Carefully Chosen Rooms

Googly eyes

2012-02-06T20:58:00.004-05:00

Our neighbors put a box of free kid's stuff out on their curb, and along with some toys and books, Nathaniel selected the googly-eye glasses seen in the photos. The enthusiasm with which the Kid found them, retrieved them, and has worn them would make a person think that he'd found a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I suppose, to a two-year-old, googly-eye glasses and pots of gold are basically the same thing.

Second Christmas

2012-02-03T07:13:00.005-05:00

I was gently chided by my aunt yesterday because I'd not updated in a while, so I woke up early this morning (not really) and slaved to get this videos posted (not at all). The first video shows Nathaniel walking in to see what Santa brought him, and the second video show him sitting atop that Santa gift (aka, Tony Boy). The Kid is much more active on Tony Boy, is trusty steed, these days, but in the beginning, he simply wanted to sit there and get his bearings.

Tony Boy

2012-01-22T16:11:00.004-05:00

Yes, I'm still dragging out the Christmas photos (and I'm not done yet). Oh, quit your complaining. Nathaniel is still cute in these photos, even if they are almost a month old.

We asked Santa to visit our family a second time, this time at Mary/Mimi and Jean-Pierre/Papi's house. Santa grumbled about having to hitch up the team twice in the same week but finally relented. What he left under the tree was Nathaniel's first horse: Tony Boy (so named in honor of Mary's first horse, who was the original Tony Boy).

The Kid took to Tony Boy immediately and the love affair continues. He now knows how to mount and dismount properly, and the plastic carrot and comb that were included ensure that Tony Boy remains well fed and well groomed.

Art easel

2012-01-13T20:07:00.004-05:00

As part of his first Christmas morning, Nathaniel also received an easel, which he has taken to calling his "coloring thing." For your information, nothing can be erased from the dry-erase side, and nothing on the chalkboard side can exist any longer than it takes for the Kid to find the eraser. There are rules, people.

With regard to the videos . . . I, as the cameraperson, am particularly annoying in the second one. But it was worth posting to hear Nathaniel say "B for boy," which was the first we'd heard of that sort of alphabet-related bit of knowledge. So, suffer through my obnoxiousness, if for no other reason than to observe his cuteness.

Christmas morning

2012-01-08T15:38:00.004-05:00

In order to accommodate family obligations, Santa agreed to visit us twice, once at our house and once at Skye's parents' house. These videos and photos are from Santa's first visit, which, in keeping tradition, came on Christmas morning itself. Believe me when I tell you that Santa has a lot of balls in the air.

Christmas Eve helper (and I don't mean an elf)

2012-01-05T12:34:00.005-05:00

Nathaniel found various ways to assist with the Christmas Eve duties, including using his new toddler-sized broom to sweep up (and then getting his milk and promptly leaving the room), helping in the kitchen, and monitoring the progress of the singing from the lap of the accompanist. Very helpful indeed.

Lego construction set

2011-12-31T21:21:00.004-05:00

To help spread out the Christmas mania, we let Nathaniel open a present early; namely, a Lego construction set from our friends Andrea, Steve, and Aidan, Crown Prince of Duluth. Obviously, it was (and continues to be) a hit.

And just for the sake of the video, he threw in a few extra nuggets of cuteness.

Seguin silliness

2011-12-29T15:56:00.004-05:00

While we do have several posts worth of Christmas-related photos and videos on the way, these photos taken last night at Bucka and Grandpa Don's house positively demanded to leapfrog all the holiday stuff.

First off, Nathaniel spent a goodly portion of his waking hours looking at the bubble screensaver on both computers. He would sit in one chair for a few minutes and then want to switch to the other, a pastime that lasted much longer than you might imagine. And when a toddler is happy to be involved in an activity in which s/he is seated and content to be so, then you simply must let it ride for as long as the child will have it. For the Kid, bedtime intervened, and so we didn't actually get to discover how long he would have squealed with glee over screensaver bubbles.

Secondly (though actually occurring earlier in the evening), the final course of Nathaniel's dinner was strawberry applesauce, which he chose to eat in Bucka's lap. This entire final stage of the meal was basically a doctoral disseration on how to act like an imp, with a focus on showing the other people in the room the food you have in your mouth.

Christmas cookies

2011-12-23T18:00:00.004-05:00

Last night, Nathaniel helped Bucka and Aunt Robin make Christmas cookies. They all resisted the urge to eat the raw cookie dough, so we're pretty sure we'll have a salmonella-free holiday, which I suppose is as it should be.

Haircut (professional edition)

2011-12-17T20:18:00.003-05:00

Although I thought Skye did a great job with Nathaniel's first haircut, she thought it might be best to hang up her scissors while she was still ahead. So, with the same amount of trepidation that Skye and I traditionally exhibit when trying new things, we decided to take Nathaniel to a professional.

My own trepidation was not in the least assuaged by the fact that the outfit was called "Kaos," which at its best suggested children rioting in their barber chairs and at its worst suggested the organization that was Maxwell Smart's archnemesis. But on we went.

In fact, the place was wonderful, and Nathaniel did a great job (much more so that his father is reputed to have done during his own first professional haircut). Televisions at each station were showing Toy Story 2, and the kids could even opt to sit on horses during their haircut. (As you can see, Nathaniel opted for Skye's lap, though he did try a horse later on.) So, yeah, a pretty successful trip to the kids' haircut place. And one big boy turned into a little man.

Early Christmas

2011-12-11T16:21:00.003-05:00

We spent the weekend at Grandpa Larry's and Grandma Barbara's house, and Nathaniel got to enjoy an early Christmas, which was fine by him. He even pretended to take a nap halfway through the festivities.

Stop-gap measures

2011-12-08T15:32:00.006-05:00

I know it's been a while since I posted something new. Don't judge me. You don't know my life. We've been busy with work. We've been busy with the holidays. The dogs ate our homework. It's Nathaniel's fault. We're all still recovering from the recent malaria outbreak. Blame the media. Someone hacked my Twitter account. Mark Zuckerberg.

Anyway, to help hold you over until I post another series of action-packed photos, I've included three recent phone photos: eating apples in his carseat, my wedding ring on his toes, and just general silliness while sitting on the couch. I hope your insatiable appetite for cuteness is now quenched at least for a day or two.

Country mouse

2011-11-26T21:24:00.005-05:00

We spent Thanksgiving at the country house of Skye's parents, and Nathaniel had a great time. I would like to be able to provide a pithy comment for each of the following photos, but doing so would be next to impossible. Let's just say that the Kid's Thanksgiving was a running narrative of busy-ness and involved many locations and various family members.

Also, when looking through these photos, it struck me, your humble blogger, as funny that the Kid looks so low-key and mellow in so many of them. In other words, the photos do not do justice to the whirling Dervish of activity that Nathaniel became. And old bones are feeling it.

Kitchen helper

2011-11-20T21:36:00.003-05:00

Nathaniel has developed into quite the little kitchen helper. Or should I punctuate it "helper?" He likes to take inventory of the fridge and the cabinets and just kind of generally stare into them with a sense of wonder. (And by the way, I feel surprisingly vulnerable about opening up our fridge to the eyes of the Internet. I haven't minded sharing anecdotes about poopy diapers and whatnot, but apparently, I'm a bit reticent to let the world see, for example, our box of wine.)

Oven mitts?

2011-11-15T21:29:00.002-05:00

Yes, oven mitts.

Birthday gifts

2011-11-12T21:41:00.002-05:00

I'm really stringing along these birthday posts. What can I say? Sometimes I'm a lazy blogger. But when I bring it, at least I bring it with a hefty measure of Nathaniel's cuteness in tow. Here he is opening some of his birthday presents. A lot of serious faces on the Kid in these photos. After all, he takes getting exciting new presents very seriously.

Birthday song and cupcakes

2011-11-04T22:34:00.003-04:00

At first, Nathaniel seemed surprised that a good number of his relatives spontaneously broke into song and seemed to be staring at him while singing.

Then, he realized that maybe, possibly he liked the attention, including the fact that the song was being sung in such a wide variety of keys.

Then, he turned his attention to the cupcake, which, strange as it may sound, someone had apparently lit on fire.

Once the singing was over and the candle had been blown out, the Kid set about the business of actually eating his birthday cupcake.

Two years old

2011-10-30T21:44:00.005-04:00

Nathaniel had his (belated) 2nd birthday party on Saturday and enjoyed the company of many of his relatives. While waiting for the burgers to be grilled and the general merriment to begin, the Kid took the opportunity to show off his considerable cuteness in the backyard.

While working up a big birthday appetite, Nathaniel made short work of a bowl of potato chips.

Birthday boy

2011-10-25T08:56:00.005-04:00

Monday, October 24th was Nathaniel's second birthday, and we would have done a better job of making note of that had we not been out of town all weekend. Our plan is to have his party this coming weekend, and after that, we should have a number of photos to share. Until then, here's a photo taken yesterday as the Kid plays with his new rug and new set of tracks for his Thomas trains.

And here's a video of him playing with those same trains, and in it, you can clearly see his toddler mind at work. When Skye asks him if he is two years old, his default setting kicks in and he responds, "Me not two years old." Ah, toddlers.

Playing with Owen

2011-10-16T08:15:00.005-04:00

Friends Lisa and Jeremy came for a visit last weekend and brought their son, Owen. We had been expecting quite a scene when a certain toed-headed toddler realized he was going to have to share his toys, especially his Thomas trains. But to his credit, he behaved himself and actually enjoyed playing with Owen. (Note: they were playing in a room of the new house that had not yet been unpacked and organized.)

Rain

2011-10-09T14:28:00.003-04:00

If I were to say that it's been a while since we've seen any of the wet stuff falling, I probably would not be able to convey just how long it seems like it has been (and how long it has actually been) since it rained here. Perhaps, the following photos will better illustrate the timeframe of dryness that I am talking about. Yesterday, when it rained in the afternoon, Nathaniel was so intrigued by the phenomenon that he pulled his chair to the back door and simply watched the rain fall.

Thomas the Tank Engine

2011-10-02T08:09:00.005-04:00

Last Sunday, we had the "pleasure" of taking a ride on Thomas the train. There was some excitement, some trepidation, and possibly a meltdown or two. But enough about me. Nathaniel generally enjoyed it once he adjusted to this mind-blowing new reality that a huge version of Thomas was right in front of him. And at least retrospectively, the Kid is viewing it as a great outing.

Here Nathaniel is watching the train roll into the station. He would soon observe that the sounds Thomas makes are loud ones, and a week later we're still discussing that particular fact.

A bit of concern.

On the train and waiting as patiently as possible for the ride to begin.

Finally underway.

Returning to the front to check to make sure Thomas is still there and to try to make sense of the fact that we had recently been on board.

New house

2011-09-27T21:45:00.005-04:00

First off, we appreciate all of our legions of fans (by which I mean the three of you still reading this blog) being very patient as we moved yet again. The new house marks the fourth home that Nathaniel has had in his not-quite-two-years of living. But this one is the keeper, and we plan to be here for quite some time. Or at least until the Kid has too many little brothers and sisters to fit inside the the place. (Just kidding.)

The following photos were taken on our first morning here, in other words, the first time that Nathaniel really got to cut loose in the backyard. And boy, did he enjoy himself. He brought the cuteness hard. By the way, this is our 250th blog post. Not bad for a little mom-and-pop operation with a big dream.

Here, the Kid is trying to get out of his new custom-built (by Grandpa Don) Adirondack chair.

This is the look I was given after asking Nathaniel if I could take his picture and then being told "no."

This is the look he got while doing . . . whatever this is.

Careening around the yard in his wagon.

Our happy little fellow.

HAIRCUT!

2011-09-13T21:46:00.013-04:00

Well, we finally decided the time had come for Nathaniel to receive his first haircut. Skye agreed to do the cutting, and as always, I fulfilled my vital roles of taking photos and offering helpful suggestions, while not actually contributing to the task at hand.

First, here are some before shots to remind you of the exact level of stringy rat's nest that we were dealing with. Intrepret the put-upon expression on the Kid's face any way you want. (And, by the way, the car he is riding he alternately calls his "bicycle" and his "motorcycle.")

And now that you have that shaggy reference in mind, you can fully enjoy what we (meaning Skye) were up against. Lights! Camera! Action!

The first cut is the deepest. To the Kid's credit, he said not a peep and made not a moment's protest.

And once the hard part was over, I stepped in to gather some of the glory for myself.

And Nathaniel went about the task of admiring the pictures of himself on the digital camera.

And now . . . presenting Nathaniel 2.0 . . .

Sneak preview

2011-09-12T13:35:00.001-04:00

Here is a taste of things to come in the next post. Skye gave Nathaniel a haircut.

Zen and the art of Thomas the train puzzles

2011-09-09T21:10:00.006-04:00

As I mentioned in the previous post, Nathaniel loves him some trains. And for the Kid at this point, "trains" almost exclusively means "Thomas the train." He is now the proud, proud owner of four Thomas puzzles, which are a bit advanced for him but which he likes to sit among and contemplate nonetheless. It's sort of the toddler version of a Zen rock garden. He's even anthropomorphized the Thomas puzzles to the extent that every morning we wake the puzzles up and every night we put the puzzles to sleep. It's a whole thing.

And of course, he loves the Thomas books that he has. So much so, that he doesn't want to stop reading them even when we're performing what you might think would be distracting tasks, such as changing his diaper.

Oops. How did these get in here? (Notice the Sesame Street stickers.)

Makeshift tunnel

2011-09-03T22:16:00.003-04:00

We're big into trains these days. We're also big into coming up with interesting things--like, for example, several CD wallets stacked on top of one another––for various trains to roll under. To wit . . .

Mall train

2011-08-27T16:26:00.002-04:00

At the Lakeline Mall here in Austin, there is a trackless train that we figured Nathaniel would enjoy riding. And right we were. Damn, we're good parents.

P-I-C-K-L-E

2011-08-21T16:33:00.003-04:00

We learned it is better to spell "pickle" than to say it, because saying it will inevitably lead to demands for one. As it is, Nathaniel ends every dinner with a pickle, and here the Kid finds it in his heart to share his pickle with Papi.

(Note: At the beginning of the video, it appears as though I'm waving a sharp knife around the Kid's face. I assure you that is an optical illusion.)

Those pearly whites

2011-08-16T21:25:00.004-04:00

We're not sure if we're early, late, or on time with beginning to brush Nathaniel's teeth. (Never really bothered to look that one up in the baby instruction manual. At least, I didn't.) But regardless of when it's supposed to happen, it's only just begun to happen in Nathaniel's house. We are fortunate that, so far, the Kid seems to enjoy the process, mostly because he gets to stare at himself in the mirror.

And here is the final spit, which produces very little actual saliva and is more just him saying the sound puh.

The Seguin Streak

2011-08-12T21:18:00.004-04:00

So, this happened.

It's a good thing Nathaniel remembered to wear his sunglasses, because otherwise these photos could be really embarrassing.

And apparently, this is a game of Guess What I'm Pointing At.

Cardboard box, outside edition

2011-08-08T21:34:00.005-04:00

In addition to the main cardboard box inside their house, Bucka and Grandpa Don prepared Nathaniel a vacation home in their backyard. It wasn't quite as fancily decorated as the other box, but it did have a certain charm (and by "a certain charm" I mean that there was no cross breeze, thereby making it hotter than hell inside). Even the dog resisted going inside. Bucka, on the other hand . . .

Cardboard box

2011-08-05T22:42:00.003-04:00

For our most recent trip down to visit them, Bucka and Grandpa Don fashioned a cardboard box into a house for Nathaniel. Yeah, it was pretty much love at first sight.

Return to Landa Park

2011-08-02T21:24:00.004-04:00

Since Nathaniel and I were in Seguin again, we decided to make a return trip to Landa Park in New Braunfels. Once again, the Kid got to ride the train (while wearing his new Star Wars shirt, no less), and this time he was even brave enough to hand the tickets to the conductor.

After the train ride, Nathaniel got to feed some ducks, who quite frankly seemed a bit apathetic for ducks who were having large amounts of bread being thrown at them by such a cute young man. Whatever the ducks' feelings on the matter, the Kid had fun chucking the bread at the feathery ingrates.

Get down!

2011-07-31T21:30:00.004-04:00

How to introduce this?

So, this weekend Nathaniel and I went back to visit Grandpa Don and Grandma Judye (aka, "Bucka") while Skye was out of town. After finishing dinner one night, I asked Nathaniel if he wanted to get down (meaning "get out of his chair"). Then, Grandpa Don made a dance move and asked Nathaniel if he wanted to get down (as in "get down and boogie"). Apparently, Grandpa Don hit upon something, because the Kid's answer was an emphatic yes. And all this while wearing his new sunglasses, courtesy of Aunt Robin.

Tiny exploding outhouse

2011-07-26T21:41:00.002-04:00

The title pretty much says it all.

Cooling off

2011-07-23T11:17:00.002-04:00

There's nothing quite like a nice dip in the pool after a long day of riding the rails through Landa Park. And for a Nathaniel, a dip in the pool constitutes swimming, splashing, and yes, even drinking some of the pool water (not pictured). But hey, the Kid's cute, so he can get away with such disgustingness. Right? Right?

Landa Park

2011-07-17T22:48:00.004-04:00

Nathaniel and I spent the weekend with Grandpa Don and Grandma Judye (the latter of whom the Kid has renamed Bucka [long story]). As part of our visit, we went to Landa Park in New Braunfels and rode the train.

This first picture was taken as Nathaniel spotted the train coming back to the spot where we would get on. (The word for that is "station" if you prefer to use fancy train lingo.)

And then once we were abroad, the Kid had plenty of time to mug for the camera before the ride began.

Bucka and Grandpa Don apparently did a bit of mugging, too. (I actually think this is the moment when Bucka was trying to sound like a train in order to make the experience seem more true-to-life for her grandson.)

Nathaniel certainly enjoyed waiting for the ride, and then also the first parts of the ride itself.

And then, the slightest hint of worry began to show in his eyes, and he sought refuge in Bucka's lap.

In his room with a book

2011-07-15T14:13:00.002-04:00

Nathaniel is really into a book called My World (by the same author and illustrator who did Goodnight Moon). In the video, he has several points to make about the book, and once those are expressed, he somewhat unpredictably decided to stand on the book and then all bets were off.

Beach, volume V

2011-07-10T16:10:00.003-04:00

Well, as an amateur (and amateurish) blogger, I supposed I've milked this trip to the beach for all I can. So, here is the final installment of the beach photos. Of course, I do have some beach video that I have yet to look at, so that might be coming in the near future. Stay tuned.

Beach, volume IV

2011-07-03T16:23:00.004-04:00

After counting the clothes pins, Nathaniel explored his other options on the deck, including sitting on the boogie board.

And picking things off of the boogie board.

And just generally being cute and sweet.

Beach, volume III

2011-06-27T22:52:00.004-04:00

After a hard day of playing at the beach, Nathaniel enjoyed returning to the deck of the beach house and amusing himself there.

One of the ways in which he amused himself was counting clothes pins.

Beach, volume II

2011-06-24T21:32:00.006-04:00

I'm not even sure how to explain what was going on here, so let me summarize using the following equation:

Papi + Nathaniel + the beach + the tent shelter = hijinks and hilarity

Beach, volume I

2011-06-19T17:39:00.004-04:00

We are just back from our annual long weekend at Surfside Beach, and I'm happy to report that Nathaniel had a great time, especially considering that last year he could barely countenance the water in is kiddie pool, much less the awesomeness of the infinite seas. But this year, he was much more into the big water, or "Nathaniel's water," as he labeled it.

Of course, it all started with some serious trepidation.

Not to mention a hairdo for the ages.

But he gradually welcomed (by which I mean he was moderately okay with) the sea and sand and all that surrounded him.

That is, until he was feeling overwhelmed again and sought comfort in the arms of his Mimi.

Once he was feeling more at peace, it was again okay for Skye and me to hold him.

Hannah

2011-06-15T12:50:00.003-04:00

Our friend, Hannah, spent last weekend with us, and as you can see from the photos, Nathaniel was quite content with her being here. Other than Skye's mom, Hannah is the only one who goes back with Nathaniel all the way to the hospital in Atlanta where he was born. And that gives Hannah a special status, one that apparently involves Nathaniel siting in her lap while eating his apples and holding onto his shampoo bottles.

Pickles

2011-06-11T11:27:00.004-04:00

There are few things that Nathaniel likes more than pickles, including possibly Skye and me. It's to the point now that the Kid gets a pickle for "dessert" after every supper and begins to ask for pickles almost immediately upon sitting down to eat. In fact, we don't even bother putting them in a bowl. We simply cut them up and hand him the cutting board. The boy is serious about his pickles.

And of course, nothing washes down pickles quite like a nice cup of milk.

Phone photos, volume IV

2011-06-06T21:44:00.004-04:00

Sorry that we don't have an original post to offer. But some of these old phone photos are fairly cute, too. In truth, it's a bit hard for me to look at some of these because I know that some were taken at times when Nathaniel didn't feel great. But the Kid's a little trooper, at least as much as a toddler can be. Plus, he's well now, and that's something.

Incidentally, these are from January and February of this year.

Feeding himself

2011-05-30T11:31:00.004-04:00

Nathaniel hasn't had much use for feeding himself with a spoon until recently. For a while now, he's been very capable of shoving way too much into his mouth at once using his hands, but the spoon was not his friend. Now, apparently, it is.

He also prefers to eat with his left hand, which bodes very well for his prospects as a Major League starting pitcher. (In fact, I'm considering printing up a T-shirt for him that reads, "My daddy has already spent my signing bonus.")

Taters of the Lost Ark

2011-05-25T21:28:00.004-04:00

Leah, a kind and generous coworker of mine, gave Nathaniel his very own Indiana Jones Mr. Potato Head, and it's helped me make up my mind about a very important child-rearing issue. Maybe the most important. Namely, when to let the Kid watch "Raiders of the Lost Ark" for the first time.

I think 19 months is plenty old. Sure, at different points in the movie, Indy steals priceless artifacts from unsuspecting nations, is trapped in an Egyptian tomb full of snakes, fights a guy until that guy inadvertently walks into an airplane propeller, is dragged under and behind a truck, and is present when several prominent Nazis are melted by the power of the Lord emanating from the Ark of the Covenant. But really, what 19-month-old today hasn't seen all that stuff a hundred times? It's not like I'm showing him "Temple of Doom." That would be over the line.

Busy boy

2011-05-22T11:07:00.005-04:00

Before bed each night, we give Nathaniel a few minutes of calm play time in his bedroom. This video was done prior to that quiet time, and as you will see, it's not exactly quiet. You wouldn't think that a 19-month-old would have such a busy and yet random evening agenda, including sitting in a cloth box that is clearly too small for him. But then, as has been pointed out to me, 19-month-olds are notoriously unpredictable.

Hat

2011-05-14T11:30:00.003-04:00

Nathaniel has never shown any interest in hats except to get them off of his head as quickly as possible. Until this week.

He found a hat among his toys and has been wearing it off and on around the house for a few days now. The only problem is that it was meant to be worn when he was younger, so that now it just sort of perches on top of his head like a cherry on top of a hot fudge sundae. (Now I'm hungry.)

Mimi's boy

2011-05-08T11:04:00.005-04:00

These are the last of the Easter photos. For the occasion, Nathaniel wore a T-shirt given to him by Uncle Greg and Grandma Mary (aka "Mimi").

Lawn mower man

2011-05-04T22:30:00.002-04:00

Nathaniel received a lawn mower for Easter, and he is excited to put it to good use. However, what the Kid doesn't realize is that I actually still enjoy doing the lawn, which means that he'll first be relieving me of other duties, such as cleaning out the cat box. But since they don't exactly make a toy version of that, we went with the mower.

Kiddie pool

2011-04-30T10:47:00.003-04:00

Last Saturday, the day before Easter, the family gathered around and watched Nathaniel play in his kiddie pool for a while. It started innocently enough, but then devolved into one long, giddy striptease.

Fully clothed

Pants off

Diaper off

And finally . . . the full monty

Vocabulary at 18 months

2011-04-24T16:46:00.007-04:00

Today, Nathaniel is 18 months old, and the Kid is into saying a lot of stuff in a series of volumes that ranges from whispers to whatever this is:

For about 10 days, we've been keeping track of his vocabulary, and the following list of 89 words and phrases is the result of our labors:

again
apple
baby
bag
ball
bear
bib
bird
bite
blanket
Blue’s Clues
bottle
bowl
box
bread
bridge
brush
bubble
Bucee (“Bucky,” as in the convenience store)
buckle
button
bye-bye
car
cat
CD’s
cell phone
chair
clock
cookie (as in “Cookie Monster”)
cracker
dada/daddy
diaper
dog
don't bark (his advice to the dog)
down/down more
duck
ears
elbow
eyes
farm
friends
go
hair
hat
hey
hi
hippo
Hoffa (a friend at Ms. Ellen’s)
hop
horse
jar
Jessica (a friend at Ms. Ellen’s)
kiss
kitchen
kitty
light
Lilah (a friend at Ms. Ellen’s)
magnet
mama
Mimi
mine/mine-mine
Mira (a friend at Ms. Ellen’s)
moon
more (can say and sign it)
music
night-night
nine
Oscar (the Grouch)
place
Pooh
pop
Popper (a toy)
purple
puzzle
rabbit
shirt
shoes
socks
splash
swing (can say and sign it)
Texas
thank you
train
trash can
tray
uh-oh
up
Waddle (a book)
watch
water

The blessing of a silent fire truck

2011-04-22T06:54:00.005-04:00

Last Sunday, Nathaniel got to push his fire truck around Aunt Robin and Uncle Lucas' backyard for the second time that weekend. Somehow, mysteriously, the batteries that go inside the truck and power all of the annoying sounds were misplaced. Just one of those things about life that are best left uninvestigated.

More front yard shenanigans

2011-04-16T16:34:00.007-04:00

What can I say? The boy loves the front yard. And though we've not yet captured in on camera, he is particularly fond of saying "hi" to the trash can. (Yeah, you read that correctly.)

Sometimes, though, all does not go according to plan.

Little house

2011-04-11T21:56:00.004-04:00

Two weekends ago, we spent the night at Skye's parents' country house outside of La Grange. Since Nathaniel has recently discovered all the glories of the great outdoors, his schedule of events for the trip was quite extensive.

He played ball with Grandma Mary,

took advantage of the resident wagon,

made a break for it,

inspected the treadwear on all the vehicles,

was coy with Grandma Mary,

and then did whatever this is.

And the only price he had to pay in return was that he had to wear a straw hat for everyone's amusement.

Drying off

2011-04-09T10:37:00.003-04:00

Nathaniel recently had a bath (which is newsworthy enough on its own), except that this bath also involved me once again getting the camera out, this time to capture the post-bath process. Lucky for us, the Kid was in a cooperative mood, which is not always a foregone conclusion.

Phone photos, volume III

2011-04-07T22:21:00.003-04:00

These are from July 2010. For me, this is the time period when the baby begins to disappear and the little boy begins to emerge.

Phone photos, volume II

2011-04-03T15:57:00.005-04:00

More phone photos, all from June of last year. (June was a busy month in the phone-photos-of-Nathaniel business.)

Phone photos, volume I

2011-03-31T19:18:00.002-04:00

My phone recently told me that it's memory was full. And of course, what it was full of was pictures of Nathaniel. So, I cleared out its memory, but not before saving all of the photos to my computer, the first batch of which is below.

These go way back and appear in the order that I took them in May and June of last year.

On the mend . . . maybe . . . hopefully

2011-03-22T21:06:00.007-04:00

So, Nathaniel has been sick yet again. (We're been monitoring Ebay in search of a toddler-sized biohazard suit.) But, we're hoping he's getting better. To celebrate the return to good health, the Kid and I spent some time in the front yard. (Please ignore any dried snot you might see on the following [otherwise adorable] photo.)

He fell over and didn't want to put his hands down in the grass to stand back up.

Then, say hello to the tree.

Then he wanted to stand on a very particular paving stone.

Then say "hello" to the tree again.

Then, catch a bug.

Then, ride in his wagon and hand me single leaves that happened to fall in with him.