Summer Time, The Living's Easy

Seems I like that title...I've used it before..and now I have the song stuck in my head.

Nash and I went to Mimi and Buddy's in June to hang out with the family and the BDC. There was a lot going on! Uncle Matt (UM), Michael, and Buddy built a new dock. Pictures coming soon. We also had almost all of the BDC over, got to spend lots of cousin time, and ate tons!

Buddy's pretty photogenic.

Cousins!

The little boys.

Nash says "SueSue" very well.

Look at Nash sitting like a big boy with his cousins.

Naked hiney with shoes!

Silly pants, Davis! Davis and Luke are fish. They are seriously amazing swimmers.

NAP: 16 Months

Dear Nash,

What a cool month it's been. You are running, blabbing, walking, "jumping," climbing, reading, playing, sleeping, eating, and just generally being cool.

Without a doubt, you favorite thing to do is watch Elmo. We have to restrict this of course, but you are pretty adamant about it. You say Elmo, but it sounds more like, "Mal-mo," which isn't far off from Mama. Sometimes I get all excited because I think you're talking to me, but no, it's all about Elmo. Grandma and Grandpa got you a cute little chair and you love to plop yourself in it and watch your snuggly, red monster friend.

You still love playing outside, but it's not the smartest thing as we're going on weeks of tripe-digit heat around here.

Vegetables are still your least favorite food. You love fruit. You will email meat as long as there's ketchup (dipdip) and sometimes you gross Da (dad) out by dipping your fruit in the ketchup. Yum.

You are still taking two naps and now sellp from 8:30 until 6:30 in the morning. That's fine by us. In fact, it's a zillion times better than those 4:30 am mornings. We'll take it!

You understand so much. We can ask you a question and you'll answer. We can ask you to bring us something and along you'll come. You're not quite to the helping stage, but it seems to be in the horizon.

You are back into your pigeon books and even say pigeon, hot dog, what, no, yawn, and pretend snore from the books.

You are teething big time. I have no idea how many teeth are joining your current 5 teeth, but I think at least 3. They seem to bother you quite a bit. Pacis help, but you are also becoming a paci addict. Can't wait until we decide to break that habit!

Nash, you are a blast. Your toothy some warms my soul. Your blabbing and laughing capture my interest. You are the most interesting person Dad and I know. We love you dearly and are looking forward to an adventurous summer.

Love,

Mom

NAP: 15 Months

Dear Nash,

You are 15 months and ten days, but who is counting?

You are the busiest person I know. You dance, stomp, walk, run, and explore almost all of the time. The rest of the time you eat and watch Elmo. Oh, and you sleep a little (imagine me holding my index finger and thumb a millimeter apart).

You are learning so many new things. Talking is one of the things that is most impressive. I cannot count all of your words. Well, I guess I could, but I haven't. You call Mac and Zeus by their names, though Zeus is usually also combined with "Sit." You say Mama, Da, cat, dog, frog, side for outside, okay, book, feed cat, stick, rock, car, shoes, socks, grapes, crack(ers), and probably some others that I am not remembering right now. You are back to loving books, but usually just before you go to sleep. You LOVE to be outside and thankfully Daddy does too; you two spend lots of time cruising around in your little car and walking and exploring.

You are a very picky eater. You love fruit, some meat, peanut butter, bread, and crackers, but you loathe vegetables and even mashed potatoes. I guess you are against cannibalism, as we call you Nash Potatoes. That's okay, I guess. You are totally off of the bottle, but quite unhappy about it. Every time you see the milk cup, you whine and cry. Sometimes you flat-out refuse it. That's sticking to your guns!

You still take two naps, but I have to wake you up at one hour each now. If not, you wake up at 4am ready to rock and roll! You very rarely sleep past 6 am, which sort of stinks for us. Your eating and sleeping habits are becoming more and more like our Dad's. I promise, sleeping is wonderful. I am sure you will figure this out by your fifteenth birthday.

Funny stuff...you put on little dancing shows multiple times a day and alternate between fast feet, stomping, and being Super Nash and zooming around making airplane noises. You love to dig and walk up and down the street with a stick. You laugh when other people make jokes. You make me sing all the time by using sign language. When you don't like the song I choose, you wave your arms wildly until I pick a better one.

Statistically, for weight you are in the 5% at 20.8 lbs, 25% for height, and 100+% for head. Big brains on our baby boy! You are getting your 5th tooth now and I believe at least 2 more are right behind it.

Nash, you are growing so quickly. You look like a little boy sometimes in your shorts and little shoes cruising around the neighborhood or park. Your little hands are huge compared to when they couldn't even wrap around my little finger. You love your Mama and Da so much and we love your hugs, kisses, and even your pleas to be held. I love rocking you right before bed time and the sweet moments when you back up into my lap to read a story. I also love the laughter, inquisitiveness, and wild man time. You are all boy and we are loving every second (except before 6 am) of it.

Love,

Mom

Summer Time, The Living's Easy

It's technically early Spring, but it is already HOT here. The temperatures are reaching the mid-90's. Our little fair-skinned boy cannot spend much time outside in the heat of the day and sunscreen as already become a daily ritual (70 SPF,anyone?).

Yesterday, KP had the idea to turn the sprinkler on low for the little guy. At first, NAP was super reluctant. The, we turned the water down super low and he fell in love! We're getting a baby pool (today hopefully) and having Grandma and Grandpa's pool resurfaced so we will be in the water lots this summer! I need to get on the ball about swimming lessons as well.

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. :(