California!

We made it to California and back! I didn't give birth and Nathan actually slept and ate while we were there. The only disaster we had was flying. After missing our initial flight out, we had to wait at the airport for four hours for the next one, which started a downward spiral that ended 8 hours later when we finally landed with an exhausted 2 year old (he didn't sleep on the flight) and two incredibly strung out parents. However, I will caveat our experience with the reality that flying for me is a disaster regardless of whether I have a two year old with me and am pregnant...those aspects just made it worse than normal. But I won't go into details, particularly because my husband is suffering from some sort of delirium and remembers the experience as "not being that bad."

Anyway, Los Gatos, California was absolutely beautiful. Tons of parks and kid activities and the weather was gorgeous. We really enjoyed spending time with all the family and friends that had gathered for the wedding and the wedding went off without a hitch. Maryanne and Brian looked happier than I have ever seen them and it was great to be a part of them starting their married lives together.

Nathan did not get to fulfill his role completely as a ringbearer, which was unfortunate. Like his dad, he prefers bare feet, shorts, and t-shirts to tuxes so was an unhappy camper in his tux, in spite of how adorable he looked. Needless to say, he did not last long at the wedding or reception and, as you can see below, much preferred "driving" Grandma and Grandpa Wilson's rental car in the parking lot. He also enjoyed his time with my friend Lori who stepped in as babysitter back at the hotel. Once I saw him kissing and hugging her in the hotel room (not sure if he was just so happy to be out of his tux or excited to be with a beautiful girl or both), I didn't worry about him and was able to return to the wedding and have some dinner and dancing. Thanks so much to Lori for that!

So now we are homebound until the baby comes. I have included a pregnant picture of me for your review (Scott was upset that there wasn't one in my last post). 5 weeks and counting until our life changes again and we are trying to enjoy this time with only one child while we still have it. Nathan flying airplanes with Grandpa Wilson in one of the many parks in Los Gatos.
Pregnant Jane with Nathan on the miniature steam train at the park.
Happiest kid on the block "driving" the rental car.
Mr. and Mrs. Brian Evans (and Jane)
Nathan in his tux....

More pictures

Helping Daddy blow out the candles...
And eat the cake!
Reading with Daddy
At the New York acquarium
The most recent! Trying out the bike trailer (our neighbor's) so he can go biking with Daddy! LOVED IT!

Long time, no update part 2

Hmmm....what else?

Although Scott and I have purposely not tried to overprogram Nathan, he does still go to music class every week and a puppet show on Wednesdays. He fills in the rest of his days going to the science center with Amy and pals and on the weekends we are almost always at the zoo, acquarium, water park or other fun family activity. Our family membership to the Bronx Zoo has really paid off and all of us love going there to see the animals.

From January to May, Nathan was enrolled in a Little Gym class which he loved. He is forever climbing on something and swinging and hanging and is generally fearless when it comes to that. We often get comments at the playground about his climbing ability, accompanied by the surprise that he is 2. He got his tremendous coordination from his Dad for sure. Another skill he has at this point is kicking. He has an amazing left footed kick and shocks us as well as other parents with how far he kicks a ball. He is no longer allowed to do it indoors after knocking over many lamps, picture frames, wall art, etc. We are looking to get him enrolled in soccer to put the kick to good use. He loves all sports, even without pushing them on him, but particularly ones where the ball goes high (baseball, golf, etc.) Who knows what he'll end up liking but we are supporting his athletic ability in the hopes that someday he will support us financially with his talent. JUST KIDDING.

The past few months we have had many trips from Geri (G.G.), seen Uncle Brian and Aunt Maryanne (soon to be...they get married this coming weekend), went to Atlanta for a week in May, had Grandma and Grandpa Wilson up for a visit, and really enjoyed our time with friends and family. Scott and I both have gotten new jobs that are D.C. based so we are looking for a possible move to VA by the end of the year. The two bedroom apartment is going to get really small shortly with the arrival of our daughter so a move is inevitable.

I think that is it for now. I can't promise to be more prompt with the updates but will sure attempt it.






Nathan at his weekly puppet show
Grandma Wilson visits
Nathan paying attention at the puppet show
R
Helping put candles on Daddy's birthday cake

Long time, no update

Sorry for the long, long lapse in communication. Something about working full time and being involved in the life of a two year old as well as doing things as a family has taken my focus away from Nathan's blog. Oh, and to add to that, another baby-to-be keeps me, the blog lady very busy. I feel bad not to have recorded Nathan's major life moments in such a long time so I am going to try to catch up a bit at a high level. I don't want Nathan to be angry with me later in life that I didn't capture all the precious memories that we have with him on his blog. I have a feeling it is going to get more and more difficult, but all I can do is promise to try....

Over the past 8 months Nathan has turned more and more into a little boy, our little buddy. He is still as active as ever and still loves to be outside (days when it rains are the worst). He has grown to about 35 pounds and 3 feet tall and is now talking more and more, repeating words and labeling objects with which he is familiar. He is definitely independent and likes to do things his own way but also very social and we find him often approaching other parents on the playground to relay an event or point out something. He has a flair for the dramatic like me and loves to repeat stories over and over. For example, he recently got stung by a bee for the first time. I don't blame the bee - Nathan caught it in his hand - and for days and days all we heard was "bee ow." He still is fascinated by bees, but does not try to catch them as he did before. The dramatic also plays into his tantrums which are just horrific and embarrassing to Scott but I just roll my eyes and take deep breaths to get through them. Nathan loves to go limp, yell out loud, drop to the ground and lie motionless, and other tactics to try to convince us that he needs his way. I think he has caught on to the fact that his mother invented stubbornness so he is not going to win this battle. Ironically, however, in spite of the tantrums, Nathan does not spend that much time in time out. He typically will stop the offensive behavior after a warning and definitely understands actions and consequences.

A couple of months ago, Nathan transitioned to a big boy bed which was traumatic for everyone. After months of predictable and steady sleep, we regressed back to Nathan and his parents sleeping horribly and still haven't recovered. Nathan never went back to his normal wake-up time of 7:30 so now wakes up at 6:00 most days and I can't say I have adjusted. Though initially he did not like his "big boy bed," now he sleeps well in it, just not for as long as he did before.

We are on the early end of potty training with a hit or miss approach (haha). For the most part, Nate is uninterested in the potty but has his moments (I think when he wants M&M's) when he will go by himself. He has a full understanding of the potty and loves to tell us when he goes number 1 or number 2, but just doesn't want to commit to using the potty full-time. I am not pushing it right now.

I guess the biggest news in our household is waiting for baby number 2 to arrive. It's a GIRL! Scott and I still have not adjusted to the idea as we are both so boy focused and are having the typical anxieties about how to share love, time, and attention with two children and make sure Nathan doesn't feel left out. As I get closer to the due date at the end of September, I am getting more and more excited to have the baby. Nathan knows the baby is in mama's belly but not sure that he knows what is going to happen to his life in a few short weeks. He has become quite the mama's boy these past few months and Scott has really stepped up the quality father and son time to help him adjust.

Will continue with another posting for those who are bored, to try to continue the update.

At the Jones Beach air show, lounging...
Nathan in his robe. So cute!
At the Science Center, where he spends many days a week escaping the heat and playing with the balls "ball high" as Nathan says On his scooter
How can you resist that face?