First Year Memories

I want to make sure I have written down all the many wonderful things I love about Nathan, his talents, all the little things that make him so special. I can't believe my baby boy is getting so big. I love how he is growing and exploring the world around him. I can't wait for all that lies ahead!

-He is the sweetest baby ever- he's learning to blow kisses and will clap and wave goodbye.
-He is shy- he loves his Mom (awww) and likes to always know where I am.
-He is afraid of big dogs, but likes small ones.
-Nathan is stubborn! I have never met a kid like him- he knows what he wants and will fight you till he gets his way. So you better watch out for him! He has always been this stubborn..and I have no idea where he got that from :)...but as much of a struggle as it is sometimes I see a bit of me in him and that makes me smile.
-He is happy- while he's super stubborn he is also so happy. He loves to smile and giggle.
-He is more aggressive than most kids his age. He prefers to play rough...I blame Chris for that :)
-He loves to knock on doors. I don't know where this came from, but he knows that you're supposed to knock. He has now started to knock on everything, from cars, to walls, but still prefers to knock on our front door before we go in.
-He loves the moon. In fact I think his first real word (besides dada and mama) is moon (he says "moo")
-He loves to point at things, particularly at lights. it doesn't matter where we are, he needs to point out all the lights to me.
-He loves to read, but prefers to do it on his own. We're still working on letting me read to him, but I love to watch him pull out his books and flip through them.
-He loves trees. I think this is his second word, but he says "tee"
-He has started to cover his mouth when he coughs. I don't know where this came from, it sure wasn't me who taught him that. I thought it was a fluke at first but he's been doing it for a couple days now so thanks to whoever taught him.
-He loves to hold the hymn book at church. So far he hasn't ripped it yet (ok, just once but it was really small) but for some reason he has to have one when we do.
-He still loves to fall asleep in my arms, but only at church. He also loves to play with whoever is sitting behind us.
-His hair is slowly starting to not stick up so much. I miss the soft baby hair that stuck straight up, but I'm seeing how he is already looking older.
-He loves food! Right now he is loving kix, animal crackers, cheese, macaroni, peas, and bananas. I'm trying to cut his banana intake down to less than 2 a day, but he just gobbles them up so I have a hard time resisting when I know he'll eat it nice and quick!
-He still prefers to walk behind the cart while shopping or the stroller on a walk, but I'm still trying to convince him it's cooler to be inside...to bad it's cuter when he pushes!
-He loves to climb around on the couches and on our bed. He thinks it's awesome. He also likes to try to dive off the couch and bed, someday I won't be there to stop him and he'll understand why that's a bad idea.
-He still loves the dishwasher. If he's in a bad mood just opening it and making noises will stop his tears. He know loves to stand on the door and reach the counter.
-He loves to go on walks and touch trees and leaves and mulch all sorts of dirty things...he's such a boy.
-He got his first real scrape on Thursday at the park and it didn't even faze him.
-He is still a great sleeper. He sleeps for about 12 or more hours a night and takes 2 naps. He's so easy to put down...I love it! And he's so much happier when he gets both naps...him without a nap is not fun.
-He loves playing with blocks and stacking things, he's also really good at organizing all his toys and putting them back in their bins.
-He loves watching his Baby Einstein videos, we will sit together and watch a couple minutes of it and talk about what we see. I love that time we spend together and thankfully so does he.
-He loves to play with any type of electronics- I've never seen a kid love a computer so much. His little heart beats so fast when we finally let him play. He also loves our cell phones and the tv remote- and he's smart, he will not be fooled by nonworking things...it has to be the real deal.
-Nathan loves to turn the tv on and off. The power button for our tv is on the side, so he gets such a kick out of watching the lights go on and off.
-He makes the cutest little indian war noise...(you know the noise, when you put your hand over your mouth and say ahhhh). We think it is super adorable.
-He will push anything, from his walker, stroller (other people's stroller), chairs, boxes, trash cans, and today he was pushing our cooler all over.
-He loves to be crazy and throw his body back and forth when he's in his high chair or car seat. I worry he's going to hurt himself it's so forceful, but he just laughs and laughs.
-He still really enjoys bath time. He likes to drink the water- he'll put his face down and drink and he's go over to the faucet and stick his face under the running water. It's so funny because he always looks up at us after and smiles a big cheesy grin.
-Just like his dad and Grandpa (Bishop), Nathan sticks out his tongue when he's thinking or concentrating. It's adorable.
-He still loves to play the piano, but now no one else can be playing when he does. he will take my hands and move them if I try to interrupt his piano time.
-He loves climbing. Everything and anything is good for climbing in his mind. This includes anything on the floor, your body, toys, strollers, chairs, high chairs...anything. He's just a little monkey!
-He still loves to play in the bathroom and tries to sneak in there whenever he can. I'll never forget the first time I heard him splashing in the toilet or saw tiny pieces of toilet paper everywhere.
-The poor kid hates the vacuum. He is so scared of the noise but doesn't know what to do because he wants me to hold him but I'm pushing the vacuum, so he just cries even harder and runs away then crawls back to me then runs away again. I now try to vacuum only when he's asleep.
-He has a routine when he wakes up- he hands his blanket to me and I put it up nice and neat on the side of his crib. Once this is done he'll reach up for me to take him out. Hopefully this means he'll make his bed when he's older.
-He still loves loves his pacifer, and likes to give it to us then take it back and pop it in his mouth. He really only uses it to sleep now (and to keep him quiet at church during prayers).

We love Nathan so much and are so happy that he is part of our family. He makes us laugh and smile everyday. He makes us so happy and we are so glad we are his parents.