Letting Go of the OCD

Every time I give Nash something to do so that I can do something else, I seem to create a new mess for myself. I have accepted this fact and the fact that my house will never be as clean or organized as it was pre-child. Last week while scrubbing out the diaper pail (gross) I decided to let Nash play in the dirt and mud (in his PJs). How's that for letting go of the OCD?

(please excuse the runny nose, it's a fact of life right now.)

NAP: 14 Months

Dear Nash,

I could stop after the exclamation point: You are so busy! Dude, you are never still. You walk, run, climb, crawl up, scoot, and move, move, move. You love getting into the dogs' water bowl. You like closing cabinet doors and drawers. You prefer to stand in the tub. You require songs with hand movements if you are expected to sit still on the changing table. When we go to the park, we are always on the go; no swings for you. In fact, I have to chase you around with your lunch to get you to eat.

In the eating realm, you are doing pretty good. You are still not a fan of veggies and we're known to give you pouches of spinach and mango which you like fine. You love fruit, PB&J, crackers, yogurt, oatmeal, cereal bars, turkey meatballs, tortillas, fish, and sometimes chicken.

You had your first ear infection, which turned out to be painful. I think I probably waited a little too long to take you to the doctor, but I really had no idea. You had no signs other than a cold and really had a good temperament until the infection stated getting bad. Luckily a round of antibiotics cleared it up quickly.

We also visited our friends Mere and Hampton in Ft Worth and you and I took a trip to Houston to see Mimi, Buddy, SueSue, Midge, Luke, and Davis. We also got to meet BDC baby Eli. We also had a couple of visits from Grandma (who helped take care of our sick little guy) and a visit from Grandpa too. We celebrated Grandma's birthday too!

You are talking and babbling all of the time (while moving, of course). You copy words that we say (including stupid, oops). You actually say a handful of words, try to call each dog by his name, wag your pointer finger at us to say no, use the actual word "more," along with your sign language for food, more, and all done. Dad and I really need to learn more to teach you.

We had our first bloody incident this past week when you bumped your mouth while climbing up a hill at a play date. Your poor little mouth filled with blood and your nose was scraped. Luckily the bleeding stopped quickly and it does not appear to have affected your teeth.

Nashy, you are looking and acting more and more like a little boy every day. We love watching you learn, copy, process, and grow. We love watching your personality develop, even though you're a little bossy at this point (wonder who that came from?). You are so much fun and keep us on our toes!

We love you little boy,

Mom

SICK

Ladies and Gentelmen of the Interweb,

We had our first real infection. At 13 1/2 months old, Nash had to go on his first round of antibiotics. After nearly two weeks of a cold with runny nose, stuffy nose, watering eyes, and severe discomfort, I took him to the doctor's office, where he was diagnosed with a double ear infection. Boo.

Luckily, he's not allergic to penicillin and he started feeling better right away. His ears are now draining and he's on the way toward great health. He does have one lingering side effect that we call, "drunk baby." Poor guy's equilibrium is off kilter and he's constantly falling over. Hopefully this improves soon too because it's sad to watch.

A popcicle for our sad guy.

He still smiled through it all. Check out that swollen face. :(

Ft Worth

Last weekend we went to Ft. worth to visit our friends Meredith and Hampton. We had a blast! Travelling can be hard on a baby, but Nash was a champ. We did learn a very valuable lesson: do not overfeed a baby in a car seat. It causes severe discomfort for hours afterward.

They took us to the Ft Worth zoo. It was tons of fun.

Here are Nash and Da checking out the elephants. Nash an stomp his feet like an elephant if you ask.
Hampton liked the elephants too and was a good picture poser!

Here's the Pac clan on the train! Nash checked out everything on the ride. His eyes were moving so quickly that I though he was going to get dizzy.

Nash and Hampton drew on Mere and Hampton's back patio. They had a blast, till Nash ate the chalk and spilled the dog water. oops.

Check out the pants on our little Picasso.

We went out to a yummy Mexican restaurant in Ft. Worth. Nash wanted to check out the brick streets and WALK and WALK and WALK.

Pretty ladies.

Pac clan again.
Nash and Hampton. Multiple times over the weekend Mere and I thought aloud that more than a decade ago in our college dorm rooms we would have never imagined that we'd be spending our weekend hanging out with our children. Great times (other than Nash spilling a HUGE glass of red wine on light carpet). Thank you for hosting us, Mere and Hampton.

NAP: 13 Months

Dear Nash,

You turned thirteen months several days ago. It kind of passed without fanfare. I believe this is because I simply cannot have a baby who is older than one year (and one year plus one month is older, you see). Wow. Thirteen months.

Let's see...what are you doing? WALKING. That's pretty much all you want to do, other than read of course. You walk in circles around the house: through the kitchen, into the living room, back around the hallway and back into the kitchen. You require that we allow you to walk before getting into the car seat or stroller. You do this by arching your back and throwing a fit. Nice. You make it in a high chair at a restaurant for about 30 minutes before you need a walking break. We really do not go out anymore. You are enjoying trying to go up and down steps, many, many times, and thankfully, use our hands for a little assistance.

You still love to read. We have given your Pigeon books a break (they are up high for a few days), and you have found new favorites including, Goodnight Gorilla, and From Head to Toe and Polar Bear, Polar Bear by Eric Carle. You still love your Boynton books too. You are starting to take more of an interest in other toys as well. You like to pretend to hide them and make them reappear!

I think I have been in denial for months; you are a picky eater. You do not like vegetables. At all. None of them. You also do not love meat. You can't eat cheese or anything with lactose in it. Feeding you is kind of intense. After stressing over this (and sometimes we still do), we have decided to go with the flow and just encourage you, but not worry too much. Eventually you will eat, right?

Nash your vocabulary and communication skills are awesome to me. You use your sign language for food, more, all done, bye-bye, and hot. I need to learn more to share with you. You also say your words and have added duck and Nash. Yesterday you were looking out the front glass door and got very excited. I asked what you were excited about and you said, "cat!" I love that you can communicate.

You are more cuddly than ever. I ask for Eskimo kisses (I am sure that's not politically correct) and you will rub your little nose to mine. When I pick you up from nap, you snuggle your arms under mine, cuddle in, and then will meet my face for a kiss. Oh, how I cherish this time. You also love to snuggle with Daddy in the mornings as you wake up. It's funny to see how he races to you in the morning.

You make a new face, "duck face" that we documented below. You do it on command. You also are again interested in the fan and wave your arm round and round, you open and close doors (not the door knobs), you help feed the dogs and cat, push the laundry basket with Mommy, are trying out animal movements and sounds, like to wear sunglasses like Daddy, to pet the dogs, and so much more! Oh, and our favorite new thing: as soon as a bathroom door opens and you are allowed in, you bee-line for the toilet paper and start pulling!

You only get a bottle of lactose-free, whole milk twice a day. Other than that, you are on water out of a sippy cup. You have been sleeping through the night for weeks. We are giving you allergy medicine right now, so that might be helping out.

Every month I think, "he's the perfect size." And you are. I enjoy each and every day with you. Daddy yearns to be home with us each afternoon. We love spending time with you, helping you figure this world out, and giving you lots of love. Son, you are one awesome thirteen-month-old.

Love, Mom

Happy Friday!

This is my effort to snap pictures again and get them up on the ole blog. Nash is a bit of ridiculous cuteness right now. I'll detail it all in his 13 month update in a few days, but here are some pictures of the cutest boy in my life.

You can really see his hair 'do in this picture. He's such a boy!

Da (Daddy) and Nashers.

Pac-men doing the duck face.

Duck face. Nash likes to d this to the ladies, seriously. He also makes it when you say quack, quack.

Our room is a bit of a construction site as our bathroom is being mini-remodeled. So, this HUGE mirror is temporarily living in our room. Nash loves it. W make faces in it several times a day. It also provided the opportunity for a Nash and Mommy picture.

yawn. Have a great day!

Videos for the Grandparents

Nash re-discovered his birthday card from Grandma and Grandpa yesterday.

Nash's picnic table, from Mimi and Buddy, arrived a little after the party and we set it up while Nash was asleep. Though we did not capture his initial delight, he was very excited all morning!

Nash sings while he rides the pony!