Nate's A Walkin' Guy

So it's official, walking is the preferred method of getting into trouble. First stand alone steps happened at the birthday party and from there it has been a gradual transfer from crawling to walking. Nate stood up without assistance on Christmas Eve. And where is his favorite destination? The kitchen, of course.

Batman

He's a good guy and he flies.

Sport, Please

Now that it gets dark at 4 o'clock, I have had to come up with some creative ways to keep these two zany boys entertained. I have introduced them to the world of "sports", aka forts. The designs are becoming more elaborate as I try to use every piece of furniture. I haven't matched the creativeness of the Dickerman basement forts (they used to have these faux yellow leather couches that allowed for a more Jetson feel to our hideaways) but I'm getting there. We have also added the flashlight which Dylan uses to find all the toys that I hide. And what is Baby Nate up to during this time? Busting down the firetruck tent, getting stuck under the coffee table and trying to play hide and seek when Dylan is not yelling at him to stop wrecking the sport!

Nate Behind the Wheel

Hand Me Downs

Happy First Birthday, Nate!

Dear Nate,

Your board books have been well loved this year. Your favorite titles of the moment include Peek a Who, Hug, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, Touch and Feel Farm Animals and Little Gorilla. You flip through to your favorite page and squeal over and over and over again. Ducks and monkeys are of great interest to you. When you're done, you simply chew a hole in the spine. Yum!

You became a great lover of food when you could feed yourself. Bananas, strawberries, pears, grapes and cantaloupe are your favorite fruits. You have cinnamon toast waffles every morning; substitutes are thrown on the floor. Pasta, chicken fingers, cheese and anything else on your brother's plate also ends up in your tummy. You don't snack because each meal usually takes forever for you to eat.

Baby Nate, you are a fish in the water. Crawling, splashing, putting your face in the water never frighten you. You were more excited to be in the kiddie pool than Dylan.

Da, da, da is your only word but you use it so expressively. There is often lots of karate chopping hands to go along with your monologue.

Dogs, cats and kids are fair game to point at, babble to, touch and pull. Molly lays there while you roll around on her squishy belly.

It took a long time for you to appreciate your big brother. For the first six months, he made you scream. Once you were crawling and pulling up, his toys became intriguing. Now that Dylan has taught you some wrestling moves, you crawl over to him and lay down with a big grin on your face, ready for action.

You are the master of the playground. You may not walk but you will crawl over, pull up and climb up on any slide, ladder and stair that peaks your interest.

I am the most loved by you. If there is another adult around and I leave the room there is a moment of breathless silence until you explode into that wail. I want to bottle up this devotion so I can open it up in your tween years.

Nate, you are curious, tough, affection and personable (to those who strike your fancy). I love you, baby!

xoxo,
Mommy

Apple and Pumpkin Pickin'

Apple and Pumpkin Picking with Robin, Don, Ben and Jack somewhere in the wilds of Jersey

Nate is a Quick Study

So I thought it would be cute that Nate would crawl. Dylan never bothered to move until he walked at 14 months. What I didn't realize is that Nate would not only figure out crawling within a week but he would also pull up on everything. Today he thought it would be a good idea to turn around and try to walk. That was a painful lesson as he adds to his collection of bruises. Ouch...

A Family Affair

As the family photographer, it is rare to be captured on film. When Jay does take over the camera, he usually gets some priceless candids of me which I choose not to post. Thanks to Cousin Susan we have our first family photo.

Take a look at the test shot. Much more true to personality wouldn't you say?

Happy Birthday

Dear Dylan,

You sleep with Spunky 1 and Spunky 2 tucked under each arm every night.

You make some really cool sound effects when flying and driving your CVS cars, airplanes, ice cream cones and any of your other many, many small toys.

You love trains.

Aidan, Avery, Ben, Deven and Marcus have been your best buds this year.

Wrestling with Daddy and Bucko is your favorite thing to do.

Max and Ruby makes you laugh out loud and you are a Noggin junkie.

Bugs terrify you.

Your open mouth kisses on the lips are over the top.

Mr. Picky, you could eat rice pudding for breakfast, lunch and dinner along with a side of anything "choclick".

You crack me up with the sentences you think up and your conversations between your Little People although you still prefer to speak Dylan, especially when befriending older kids at the playground.

Older girls are the apple of your eye.

Hide and Seek and Freeze Tag are the games of the moment.

You can pitch a ball accurate and fast but hate watching the Yankees or the Jets (sorry, Daddy).

Goose, you can usher tears at a moment's notice for the injustices that Mommy and Daddy inflict on you and the many, many booboos that happen to three year olds. Remember when Mommy let the door close on your fingers and the nail fell off?

Dylan, you are becoming a loving older brother to Nate. You push him on the swings and meet him at the bottom of the slide always careful not to knock him down (although at home you are working on wrestling moves that don't make him cry).

My baby, you still love to be held and hugged and my favorite moments are reading you books. Sometimes you take me hand and rub it, softly.

I love you.

Mommy

Vacation 2009

Point Pleasant Beach

Turtleback Zoo

Baby Nate is Mobile

Dylan and Nate share a lot of the same baby traits. They cried or should I say screamed as if limbs were being ripped from their bodies if they were not getting their way or if Mommy was not with them. They loved to eat, nurse, chew, chew, chew. They both mastered sitting but Dylan took a break from all other developmental skills while Nate is a mover and a shaker. He sits, he gets on to his knees and slides down onto his belly to get my toes, the cats, Dylan's toys, mystery items on the floor. He sings da, da, da while slithering to his next adventure.

Lollis

Yo! Yo! Put your hands in the air and jump up and down for lollipops.

Mother's Day 2009

Wow! I had a great Mother's Day. Brunch was delicious and tear-free thanks to chocolate chip pancakes for Dylan and shut eye for Nate. We also had a family outing not to Home Depot or the playground for once. Instead we all lounged on a blanket at Van Vleck Gardens to listen to an outdoor concert (am I painting a surreal picture, yet?). And I actually made it into some pics. Nice shots, Daddy.

dylan speaks..

i like my face.

Nate -4 1/2 Months

Nate tries rice cereal. Grimace, spit, dribble but no tears. I'm thinking he's waiting for something a bit more interesting to come his way.
Good times in the exersaucer (until Dylan flies his car a little too close).

Escape From 455 Grove

It's been a long winter. Snowy, cold, dark, etc, etc. I knew I was in for it with a fall baby. I just had no idea how stir crazy Dylan, Nate and I would get these last four months. Well, we have escaped and plan to spend every sunny day at the park.
The verdict of outdoor living is still out with Nate. Actually, he loves the playground and it's a guaranteed twenty minutes of chill baby.
Amanda, Aidan's mom, and I did not plan on dressing the boys in the same shirts. Just one more example of how we are living parallel lives with this family (just had babe #2, moved to the hood in the summer, Jay and Matt work at the same bank-spooky).

How An Infant and a Toddler Play

Notice there are no wrestling Baby Nate's feet from his body or Buddha head rubbing pictures here. Those occur, daily, I'm just running interference instead of snapping the kissing pics.

I Guess I do Alot of This...

I didn't prompt Dylan to strike this pose. I swear. Dylan decided to parent Baby Cookie today. He took him for a stroller ride, wrapped him in a blanket and told Baby Cookie to keep the pacifier in his mouth. And most importantly, he fed him. Just like Mommy, he settled into a comfy spot and pulled his shirt right up. He's not all about cars and trains.