Everyone has been asking what Nathaniel does while the girls are at school, and the answer is that he mostly sleeps. After we get home from dropping Amelia and Megan at their schools, Nathaniel takes his morning nap. I usually have to wake him up at 10:30 to leave to go get Megan. Then after we pick Megan up, come home and eat lunch, he is usually ready for his afternoon nap. And again, I often have to wake him up at 2:45 to go pick up Amelia. So his days are spent driving his sisters around and sleeping. Poor baby! He's a good sport about it, and is happy enough in his carseat if he has toys to chew on or a sister sitting next to him to look at.
So when he's not sitting in his carseat or sleeping in his crib, what does Nathaniel like to do? Well, he has figured out how to pull himself up to stand:
His favorite place to stand is holding on to Ben's leather chair. He especially likes it when there is a toy, or better yet, a remote, on the seat of the chair for him to play with.
He LOVES to play with remotes, so Ben found him an old Tivo remote that we no longer use, and this is known as Nate's remote. It is especially cute when both Ben and Nate are playing with their remotes at the same time.
Nathaniel is crawling all over the place now. We don't have gates up yet, so we generally barricade the living room entrance with the ottoman and the exersaucer so that he can't escape. He loves to crawl over to the corner by Ben's chair and try to play with the laptops and chew on all of Ben's cords. I block that area with a big pillow, and so far he hasn't figured out how to knock the pillow down to get to all the cords. It's just a matter of time, though, because he is a determined little guy.
One of my friends gave us this riding motorcycle toy that her daughter had grown out of, and it is Nathaniel's favorite thing to play with, after remotes. He loves to sit on it, bounce around, and push all the buttons to make noise. He also loves it when Megan pushes him around the living room. He likes things that make noise, so the guitar is another favorite toy.
Megan has become such a wonderful helper and playmate for Nathaniel. She delights in feeding him, reading him books, bringing him toys, and carrying him around. Nathaniel loves all the attention, and reciprocates by pulling Megan's hair and giggling at her.
What is Nathaniel eating now? Well, almost everything! He eats little bits of table food now and rarely eats pureed baby food. He loves all kinds of grains, like bread, pretzel rolls, corn bread, Cheerios, puffs, and he liked every kind of fruit he's tried, including tiny grapes, strawberries and watermelon. He loves hot dogs, hamburgers and sausage, but does not like deli turkey. He will usually eat carrots and peas, but pushes green beans and broccoli off his tray right away. He will sometimes eat cheese; he seems to like fresh mozzarella but turns up his nose at extra sharp cheddar. He does not care for beans, tortillas or plain yogurt.
When Ben is home, Nathaniel often crawls over to him and pulls up on Ben's chair to try to get Ben to pick him up. He loves it when Ben holds him upside down (guess Noah's pants are too big on him!), throws him up in the air, or lets him ride on his shoulders. He also likes to watch the Cardinals play, but mostly because it gives him a chance to chew on his remote.
Yesterday, Nathaniel was pulling himself up on the laundry basket, and he decided to help me sort clothes by pulling out the girls' underwear. I put a pair on his head because it reminded me of the time the girls wore their underpants on their heads, and he immediately pulled them down over his face. Doesn't he look like a masked underpants bandit? So funny, and I'm sure it will be so embarrassing when he is a little older!
Does he have any teeth? Nope, not yet, but he puts everything in his mouth. He still sucks his thumb sometimes, and he occasionally chews on his fingers. But mostly he likes to chew on toys. And socks.
He has a very expressive face, and is almost always happy. I love to tickle him under his chin and listen to his sweet baby giggles!
Thanks for the update. He's one really adorable (and very happy-looking) baby! Some of these pictures you posted remind me of baby pictures I've seen of you, Marcie! Keep up the good work growing, Mr. Nathaniel!
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