Top 5

Nate has been in an induced coma for the last 5 days. So far one of the hardest parts has been that there has been almost no change in his condition day after day. We've basically had our son taken from us for the last 6 days. Its not the worst case scenario but its tough. We miss him and we miss his personality. Annie and I find ourselves talking about our favorite things he does. I though I'd share some of them.

1. One of our favorite things Nate does is listen to music. Often times when I'm at my computer Nate will crawl over and grab the over-the-ear headphones I have plugged into the desktop, look up at me, and make sounds. Thats my cue. I'll play some songs and turn it up so it comes blasting out the headphones. Nate will hold them and bob his head. He'll stay there until I stop the music.

2. Nate loves to play with balls. Big ones, small ones, even the dreaded black one has become nothing more than his play thing. For a while Nate was terrified of a black exercise ball we have. Now he loves them all. He'll play catch. He will sit there and push the ball to you and wait for you to push it back. Sometimes he'll play with a toy thats not a ball, but if the ball is nearby he'll often still keep one hand on it.

3. Electronics. He truly is my son. You'd think that an infant wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a brick and an Xbox, but he can. He's not fooled by baby versions of phones and laptops either. He wants the real deal. Not a day goes by that Nate doesn't race to some electronic to turn it on and play with it. His favorites are the Playstation 3 and the Xbox. He loves turning those on.

4. Oh, you're trying to call me on the phone, well good luck with that if Nate is nearby. Trying to talk on the phone while Nate is close at hand soon becomes a wrestling match. Whoever can pry the phone from the other's grasp is the one that gets to talk. Unfortunately when Nate does get a chance to talk he just gets a big grin on his face and then proceeds to eat the phone.

5. Itsy Bitsy Spider is a song Nate has heard since birth. He has spent the last year honing his motor skills for the sole purpose of doing the hand motions that accompany that song. One day he'll learn more than two of the motions. As it is, when you sing itsy bitsy spider he starts to move his hands like the spider, then he throws his arms up for the "out came the sun".

Everything in between and after is irrelevant, he's a busy kid. Then its back to the spider, so we sing "the itsy bitsy spider" part again. Then he throws his arms back up so we sing "out came the sun" again, then........thats right, back to the spider. He thinks its a blast. He'll learn the rest eventually.