Everyday holds the possibility of a miracle...: 19 Months Old

Dear Nathaniel,

19 Months of Fun!!

The month of October passed in the blink of an eye, and here we are at November 1st and you are NINETEEN months old! Little buddy, you are growing each and every single day and Mommy and Daddy just adore you!

Hanging with Daddy at a football game

You spent a lot of time around the marching band this past month. Mommy is grateful that Daddy brings you to practices, football games, and competitions so that she gets to spend more time with you. Apparently this time around the band has rubbed off on you, as now you like to walk around the house singing and conducting, or marching around and "playing" the (broken) piece of flute that Mommy brought home for you. You are an absolute riot when you do this. Mommy and Daddy laugh every time!

Helping Mommy warm up the band on an unseasonably warm day

Now that the weather is starting to turn cold, you are wearing a few more 24 month items, if for no other reason than much of your 18 month wardrobe is summer clothing. You have a fair amount of long sleeved 18 month items, but when we buy new things for you, we are looking towards the 24 month items. At your 18 month pediatrician appointment at the beginning of the month, you were in the 50th percentile for height and the 75th percentile for height.

Sweet boy heading out the door!

Your eating habits have been pretty good lately. You mostly eat what we put in front of you, but every once in a while, Daddy finds himself as a short order cook, making you something different halfway through a meal. You love to snack on pretzels and goldfish crackers, and you aren't very good at sharing your snacks. In fact, if Mommy is eating some pretzels, you seem to think that you can just take them away from her and eat them on your own. We're going to have to work on this sharing thing little dude...

Yummmmmmy!

Being picky and separating the chickpeas out to eat separately from the rest of your food.

Mommy feels very lucky that she can post month after month that you are a good sleeper. If you wake up in the middle of the night at all, you usually just need to have your binky replaced and your back rubbed, and then you are good to sleep a little longer. Sometimes if you wake up close to when Mommy and Daddy would be getting up for work, we take advantage of it and have some extra snuggles with you.

Hanging out before bed one night

You enjoy playing with pretty much anything we put in front of you, but you definitely show a preference for your little cars or your wooden train set. You like to set the cars up in a line and push them all along from the back as though they are a train. Sometimes you line them all up on the windowsill. (You love hanging out by the window!). You also enjoy your blocks and your kitchen set. It is so much fun to watch you learn and explore through playing!

Big boy in gym class!

Of course, October meant Halloween, and you were the cutest dude out there! You were a chef this year. Mommy and Daddy picked that costume because of how much you like to play in your kitchen and pretend to cook. Grandma made your costume for you and she did a beautiful job. Mommy added "Chef Nate" to your hat to give it a personalized touch, and everybody just loved your costume! You participated in the borough's Halloween parade (because the band was there!), went trick-or-treating to a few houses with your friends Jake and Teddy, and also went to the Halloween party at MyGym.

Daddy and Nate on Halloween

Mommy and Nate on Halloween

Nate at the borough's Halloween parade

Trick-or-treating

Your next teeth are coming in, and that has caused a few fussy days. You like to eat frozen raspberries to help soothe the pain. We've been able to handle your teething discomfort with your amber teething necklace as well as some homeopathic teething tablets. After these four come in, we just have to wait for the two year molars and then we get a break from teething! Whew!

Look at those teeth!

You are learning new words all the time. You all of a sudden started to say, "thank you" whenever someone gives something to you. You also have said "you're welcome" after someone says "thank you" to you. Your babysitter says that she rarely has to remind you to say "thank you" or "please" which makes Mommy and Daddy very proud! You also say something in response to Mommy saying "I love you" that sounds vaguely like you are trying to repeat it back to me... or maybe that's just what Mommy wants to hear! You also learned to say "trick or treat", but you wouldn't say it at anyone's house when you were actually out trick-or-treating. Your vocabulary is exploding and it's awesome to hear!

Reading with Mommy

Sweet little man, Mommy and Daddy love you so much. These past nineteen months have been the best of our lives, and we can't wait to see what the future for our little family holds!!!