February has been a fun month for watching Nathan grow. He is increasingly mobile & getting smarter by the minute. His favorite thing to do now that the weather is warmer some days is to go to the swing set at our apartment complex & swing. He waves his hand back & forth mimicking the action of a swing all the time--the kid would swing in the dark in the middle of a rainstorm if we let him! It's so fun to watch him get excited (panting, kicking his legs, etc.) when we approach the swing set in the stroller. When I took him for a swing earlier today, he leaned too far forward & nearly flipped out. I yelled "Whoa!" and he thought it was funny--didn't matter that Mom was scared to death--and promptly repeated the feat of gymnastics the next time I put him in the swing. He definitely knows how to get a reaction out of me . . . like yesterday, when I stubbed my toe, falling to the ground in pain, and he laughed until I did. Today he's still laughing when I say "Mommy broke her toe!" He puts things in perspective.
Nathan took his first two steps last night! We had been trying to get him to walk, but he's very cautious. Any time we let go of his hands, he'll very carefully sit down, then crawl wherever he wants to go. I finally got the brilliant (and belated) idea for Jake & I to pray for ideas on helping Nathan learn to walk. Two nights ago we included Nathan's walking in our bedtime prayers. Then last night we were practicing with him, & Jake had the idea to push Nathan forward. His problem has been that when he walks holding onto our hands, he leans back, losing all sense of balance & throwing off his center of gravity. So I knelt about a yard away, Jake held Nate's hands for a second, let go, and pushed his top half forward. Nathan's face was the best as he took two steps, all by himself, to his mommy. I cried (of course!) and hugged him forever. He had no clue what an amazing thing he had just accomplished. We'll keep practicing, and our testimonies have been strengthened yet again about how Heavenly Father hears & answers our prayers.
Nathan is learning to say so many words, I can't keep up. Last count was around 25, and since then he's probably added 12 or so words. Recent favorites include: cheek (he likes to pinch mine, I guess it's payback for all the times I let people pinch his), tree, grapes, cookie, kisses, Pooh, butter, & bug (we perpetually have ladybugs in our house, and he loves to look for them, especially when he's in the bathtub).
Jake loves to teach Nathan new tricks. Their latest masterpiece is that when Daddy says "Nuh-night," Nate lays his head down & pretends to sleep. Nathan is also an accomplished kisser now, and kisses not only his mom & dad, but the little boy in the mirror, his stuffed Pooh toys, and random children in the Pottery Barn Kids catalogue. Just today he started kissing the pictures of the Barney & Howard families, and will gladly respond to the suggestions "Kiss Hunter!" or "Kiss Uncle Boogie!"
Nathan is a smart little boy. I know every parent thinks that, but I really do think he is advanced in some areas for his age. He is doing simple puzzles, knows when to turn the page in books, can point to the words in books, and is forming associations with abstract words. When we say "We'll do it tomorrow" or "Maybe later" he knows this means he doesn't get his way, and reacts accordingly! He also shows a developing empathy for characters in his books and his favorite movie, Winnie the Pooh (he still points to the television all the time and says, "Pooh!" in the sweetest little voice, & got a whole menagerie of Pooh stuffed animals for Valentine's Day). For example, in his book Kitten's First Full Moon he makes a said face when the kitten has misfortunes & gets excited at the end when a bowl of milk awaits the kitten on her own porch. My Nathan is definitely a book worm, and his favorites right now include Where the Wild Things Are, How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon, King Bidgood's in the Bathtub and KnuffleBunny. I hope he'll always retain his love of books.
In Jake's & my lives, Jake's note is being published this month. If anyone wants a signed copy :), he gets 25, so just let us know! We're also loving the American Idol & The Office seasons--hooray for our DVR, which gives us full access to these programs, despite Nathan's bedtime routine conflicting with their start times on occasion. Ah, modern technology!
