22 Months Old

There is so much to note about Nathan this month. He keeps changing, growing, learning, talking, and moving about. Here is what our little man is up to lately.

* Nathan still loves books very much. He will anticipate something on an upcoming page (for example: he will start to wiggle when the next pages relates to wiggling like a bunny). He will be content sitting on a blanket while flipping through the pages of a book. Since Nathan retains information so well, I'm looking forward to some upcoming games of the card game Memory someday.

* He enjoys spinning and being hung upside down. Nathan will raise both arms to Daddy or Uncle Tyler wanting to be lifted up high so his little fingers can touch the ceiling. He loves to be outside whenever he can get the chance. He will play in the dirt, grab landscape rocks, find any stick to poke with, pick up dirt clods to hold in his little hands, or grab berries from the trees to hold onto tightly since these are like treasures to him (no worries - they are not poisonous).

* Nathan is very detailed. He can spot the tiniest speck on the kitchen floor (sometimes it bothers him so much; he will say "uh oh" and point until you pick it up and throw it away) or point out an itty bitty bug outside on the front porch. He definitely has genes from my side of the family with cleanliness. I discovered him playing with the toy vacuum in the church nursery one morning (he practically "cleaned" the entire room), he likes to help wipe the floor with a cloth, Swiffer the wood floor at his Wiese grandparents house, and will be your helper to throw something away (even an item that is not trash (i.e. his socks or Great Grandmother Diersen's crocheted coasters). Nathan will also call the toy lawn mower a vacuum - oh brother!

* He loves his blankies and carrying around a stuffed animal. It's not uncommon when leaving the house for the morning to go to the sitter that he has a teddy bear or puppy in hand to go in the car with him.

* At times Nathan takes his pants or shirt off when he is suppose to be napping - sometimes both his pants and shirt are found laying on the floor accompanied with a blanket and maybe one or two stuffed animals.

* Nathan can say apple (but pronounced appie), tractor, flag (but pronounced ag), football, drink (but pronounced dink), vacuum, and balloon. Unfortunately he says the word "no" a lot but he doesn't have the full understanding of this word (yet).

* We are working on numbers and counting together - he likes to say "two" and he will quietly keep repeating the number two as if he is counting. We are also working on on/off and up/down (for example he likes to turn on/off a light switch).

* It's really cute when Nathan points back and forth to have someone or something identified while smiling. For example we say - "Mommy's drink, Nathan's drink", and repeat. "Daddy's jacket, Nathan's jacket", and repeat. This is "Tyler", this is "Jamie", "Tyler, Jamie", and repeat.

* He is slowly getting better with table foods. He will eat chicken nuggets but prefers them cooked from the oven rather than the microwave. He will eat spaghetti now too. He does great eating a variety of fruits. Nathan's clothing, diaper, and shoe sizes have remained the same from last month. He still takes two naps a day (one on the morning and one for the afternoon); though the length varies usually with one shorter nap and one longer.

Nathan turned 22 months old (October 23, 2010) when we visited my parents in Columbus while Isaac was away in China. I captured some good facial expressions...once again. Enjoy!