Amanda

Obviously, I couldn't have done this without you. Thank you for everything.

The end (of the blog)

You're 2 years old now.

It's verging on impossible to try to encapsulate everything that has been or everything that will be in your life, but that's the kind of thing that people do when they get to the end of a book -- or blog. So here goes:

The last two years feel like forever and they feel like they went by in the blink of an eye. It -- you -- have been once of the most amazing experiences I can imagine.

But it really is just the beginning. It's a tiny piece of this unimaginable journey you're taking off on.

And I'm not going to lie to you, Nathaniel. This journey isn't always easy. You're going to face some struggles, some trials, some sorrow along the way. The trick is to realize that all of that is just temporary. No matter how insurmountable something feels right now, there will come a time -- sooner than you think, probably -- that it's over.

And the best thing you can do while something seems insurmountable is to lean on your family and friends to help you through it all. No matter what happens, your mother and I will always love you and we'll always be here for you. There's going to be times when you don't agree with how we're doing things and maybe even question whether we're really helping you -- but I promise you, we are here for you.

We are here to help you grow and to help you succeed -- but, most importantly, to help you challenge yourself and to help you really think and understand what's happening around you and why it's happening.

And we are here to help you enjoy this journey. We're here to try to expand your mind and ensure you get the benefits of all kinds of different experiences to help you understand where you come from and why that's important.

There's probably going to be times when your mother and I take things too seriously and maybe forget that you're supposed to just have lots of fun along the way. But don't worry, we usually get back on track pretty quickly.

We can't wait to see what comes next for you. We're astounded virtually every day by how you're growing and advancing.

Thanks for being our baby, Nathaniel. We love you.

Passing two years

We've passed the two year mark on two major fronts now ... birth and the two-year anniversary of Nathaniel's surgery. So it's a glorious day today.

His birthday was great: Oma, Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Liz and her boyfriend Leo and, of course, Mom and Dad. Low key, but fun. The biggest thing he got was a tricycle (Huffy canopy trike ... he can't steer or anything until we take off the parental controls; until then, it's almost closer to a stroller). He really seemed to like the little bell on the handlebars. He's also a big fan of an Elmo book he got and a Richard Scarey (sp?) book. And he definitely liked the Elmo cupcakes we got instead of a whole cake ... he dug right in.

And last night, his surgery anniversary, went by quietly. Amanda made a nice dinner (she always thinks about this anniversary a little more than me, I think) and we had a little sparkling wine to celebrate. It really is something worth celebrating.

Anyway, I'm planning on doing one final blog post in the next couple of days, and that's going to be it for me. Hope some people had as much fun with all this as I did.

Amazingly cute

Nathaniel did an amazing beautiful baby thing last night.

Every night, he half falls asleep laying on Amanda's lap. I ask if it's night-night time, he always says "no," though with differing levels of fervor based on how tired he is. Once he's tired enough (or it's getting later than he should be up), I pick him up, lean him over to give a kiss to his Mommy, hold on to him while he and Amanda blow kisses to each other and say "bye-bye" several times, then take him to his crib.

As I take him into his dark room, he usually gives me a hug and kiss, then I lay him down, cover him with a blanket and give him his froggy. He frees an arm from his blanket and waves and says bye-bye again before blowing a kiss or two.

Well, last night I guess I forgot to give him a kiss just before setting him in the crib, so he struggled under the blankets, as he usually does ... but then he stood up, stood on his toes next to the crib railing and puckered up for a kiss. Once he got his kiss, he layed back down and allowed me to put the blanket over him before waving bye-bye and blowing kisses.

I thought it was fantastic that he rearranged his routine because it was important to him to get that last kiss. What a great baby!

Less than two weeks until he turns 2. Amazing.

almost 2

If the calendar didn't tell us Nathaniel was almost 2, his actions certainly would. If he doesn't agree with our decisions, he lets us know about it. This morning, he wanted to watch Thomas the Tank Engine ... I didn't want to turn on the TV, so I got about five minutes of screaming from him, punctuated with the occasional "No!" and a strong pointing in my direction. He apparently was telling people at daycare yesterday that he was in charge. Fierce little guy we're bringing up. And it's great to see how he's learning about interacting and trying to get his point across. Sure, his efforts could use some fine-tuning, but it's a really fun start.

growing so fast

Nathaniel has been growing so much lately. He's almost 30 lbs., he's trying to assert his will, he's using building blocks, he's starting to understand shapes, colors and more. It's amazing to see and we're looking forward to seeing so much more.

Recent items:
-- Another ear infection. At least they don't happen too often, but the result is we don't know why he's in such a terrible mood and unable to sleep. Made for a very rough night for all of us, but he's doing a lot better now (he has an ear-nose-throat appointment today, so we'll get a better idea of how things are going from that).
-- He seems to be getting closer to potty training. He tells us when he's poopy and he sits on his potty, but he hasn't used it yet. He has sat on the potty in the bathroom and paged through a book ... I guess he's copying daddy a little too closely, perhaps.
-- He'll be 2 years old in just a couple of weeks. His Oma, Grandma, Grandpa and aunt will be over for a smaller gathering than last year. We're all looking forward to it.

Christmas and more

What a hectic time! Even with all the time off for the holidays, I still couldn't find time to blog. Sorry about that.

Nathaniel had a blast on Christmas. Sure, he still doesn't quite get what's going on or why, but he definitely enjoyed some of his new stuff. He was deeply enamored of his new Thomas the Tank Engine playset -- he couldn't stop playing with the trains and saying "choo! choo!" (which comes out more like "shoo shoo," which just makes it cuter).

We also got him a Tickle Me Elmo, which appears to be more fun for adults than for kids, if you ask me. Nathaniel likes Elmo alot, but he was a little unnerved by the falling over and random movements. He kept trying to help put Elmo back on his feet and also squealing and kicking when Elmo got too animated. Nathaniel also seemed to decide the best way to carry Elmo was to grab him by his eyeballs and lift. Very cute.

Overall, Nathaniel was a little exhausted by the whole thing, as were Amanda and me. So it was good we had other days off.

Two days after Christmas, Amanda and I took the little guy to the Garden State Discovery Museum. Our review: Not that nice a place, but the kids seem to love it. Nathaniel loved playing with the bubbles and just running around all over and exploring. On the downside, it got really crowded and there seemed to be little control of anything or anyone. Still, Nathaniel enjoyed it, so we may go back.

We're thinking Nathaniel may be getting some molars in right now, as well, as he's a little extra cranky and drooling. Sleep hasn't been quite as good, but it's been OK.

Hope everyone had a great holiday season and is ready for the new year.

So everyone knows ... I'll be wrapping this blog up shortly. Nathaniel is almost 2 years old now, and I never intended to go as long as I have. Overall, I'm just spending more time with Nathaniel, which leaves me less time to write about spending time with him.

Also, we'll shortly be changing the Courier-Post Web site, and the blogs are going to change a good bit different when that happens. So, by the time we make the switchover, I'll probaby stop writing this blog as well.

Thanks for reading!