Bubba Bear

Nathan Bear is now 16 months old and we absolutely LOVE our sweet little guy. He is in the Tinkerbell emotional phase, where he feels 100% happy or 100% sad and there's no in between. (Much like his Mama on a regular basis!) He is so smart and understands everything we say, everything we do, and is able to put things together in his head like nobody I have ever seen. He is really terrific at problem solving, which we enjoy watching. Unfortunately what he sees as a problem to be solved is frequently what we see as "childproofing". He somehow just knows that if he pulls a block over it will make him tall enough to reach things, and there is no door in our house that can keep him contained if he wants to get to something. The other day Matt and Meredith were outside killing a humongous spider and left him inside for obvious reasons. He ran to the back door and was crying for about 10 seconds, and then he ran over to the window and climbed up on his chair to see outside so he could figure out what they were doing. The blinds were in his way, so he tried to stand on the back of his chair to reach the cords so he could see out. We thought this was an amazing trick, because he didn't waste any time thinking about it!

Bearsie is off at a full run most of the time now. He loves to play peek a boo and chase people/be chased around the house. He will have full conversations with the vacuum cleaner (which he treats with both curiosity and respect, and occaisionally yells at) and mimics everything we do. He loves to take stuff out of the dishwasher (so helpful) and when he is done playing with something he puts it away without being asked most of the time. (Of course a good portion of his day is still dedicated to moving things from one room to another...Pick up the phone in the bedroom and move it to the kitchen. Pick up the towel in the kitchen and take it to the playroom. Grab the doll stroller and push it into the family room...)We wonder if he will have some OCD issues in the future...He loves to dust and wipe things down with a rag, carries a mop and a broom everywhere he goes, and cleans up without being asked. I took him to Gymboree last Saturday and he spent most of his time picking up whatever the other kids got out.

He is the sweetest little thing I could ever imagine. Nathan spends most of his time running around the house now, but comes back to check in every so often. He gives hugs and kisses and snuggles, and pats us on the head everytime he can reach us. Frequently as I am giving Cooper his bottle Nathan will come lay his head in my lap and pat my leg with his little hand. We had family pictures taken a couple weeks ago and my favorites are of Nathan loving on Meredith. She is so good about loving him right back, even when he pulls her hair or pats a little too hard. (I will post pictures soon, I am getting caught up first!)

Yesterday Nathan started saying a few words, and I swear they were new as of yesterday! He now says "Nana" for banana (duh), "shooos/side" for outside, "waffah" for waffle (anytime he hears the toaster, which cracks us up!), and when he drops anything he says "Hunh oh" for uh-oh. He is truly just a happy kid, and is pretty content to live his little life. He loves dogs a LOT (God bless Toby for being so patient with all the lovies Nathan gives.), loves his big sis and DaDa! (always said with an exclamation mark at the end) and his MaMaMaMaaa. In his little world, life is perfect most of the time. I am happy that's the way he views it.