Ta-da

It's more shuffling than crawling but he will be there within the next couple of weeks.

Media Down Pour

We have so many videos and pictures of Nate that we cannot possibly keep them all. So Annie and I are offering them to you, for free, through this weblog.

Nate has started clapping. His accuracy is little under developed but his heart is in the right place. He likes to do it but it's difficult to catch it on tape. Big Foot probably feels much the same as Nate's clapping. I bet Big Foot wants to be seen but there have been decades of him being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don't know what I'm saying.



Nate and his cousin Samantha have some things in common. Both Nate and Sammy need to consume more calories than your average child. They both are unintelligible, but emphatically so. And now Nate has seen Sammy play her favorite game and adapted it to his strengths.

Opening and closing doors.

The Un-holiday

I don't get New Years. I know what it celebrates but I don't know how to celebrate it without alcohol. Celebrating New Years seems a lot like winning a drawing to me. I know it happens to someone but I've never seen it nor do I know how it happens. Nate had his first Christmas but it was not what we had hoped for. He started pushing teeth through his gums and thought it would be a good idea to get sick at the same time. It was a rough Christmas for him. He did open some presents though and was delighted to receive a plush Grover and "Monster at the End of This Book", which he loved.




Nate has also picked up a few new habits. He likes to rub the bottom of his tongue along his new found teeth. It's very amusing.

He also likes to copy you when you're talking, but only if your talking sounds like growling. Beware though, his growl is ferocious and has attracted the attention of wild beasts.

Christmas

Christmas was great. It was really, really great. Nate was sick and sad but still managed to smile and be happy most of the time. Years ago my brother Marcus and his wife Jenny were snowed in and could not fly in for Christmas Eve. The spent the night with their two girls, ages 1 and 2 I think, filming their version of the Nativity story.

It was cute and charming. Since then they have made A Christmas Carol and this year Nate helped film How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Jenny did the filming and I did the editing.

3 days more

Nate spent another 3 days this week in the hospital. We took him in for his normal check up on Monday and the doctor freaked out about his low weight and sent us to the hospital. The low weight is concerning, her reaction was just as concerning. We spent 3 days in the hospital and no one really knew why, including most of the doctors and nurses.

Nate has a deadline. If he cannot show that he can gain weight by the 21 then he will be admitted to the hospital and receive a temporary feeding tube. A few weeks later they will surgically implant a feeding tube directly into his tummy....I mean stomach. I feel like there is a countdown above our heads and it makes enjoying the season a little difficult. If anyone would like to help, feel free to send food. Nate likes mountain dew and doritos.

On the bright side Nate is wonderful. He loves to push himself backwards. Sometimes he disappears and we find that he has pushed himself backwards into the closet or under the bed.

For example; here is Nate pushing himself under the bed. He got so far under he couldn't push back anymore.

A few pictures

Disneyland

We went to Disneyland this week. It was an early Christmas present and a quick trip. One day to drive there, one day at the park and then back the next day. There were only two drawbacks; Nate couldn't go to the park with us and Nate had to sit in a car seat for 6-7 hours.....twice. Lets take a photo tour.



After hours of being stuck in the car seat Nate was so happy to get out and play in the back seat for a little while as we sat parked in a gas station parking lot. A sad little boy became the happiest boy on the planet.

Until we told him there were still 2 more hours of driving.


There were many sections of the park that were really well decorated. Especially the "Its a Small World Ride". The creepy lifeless dolls seemed to frighten less and entertain more as they sang Christmas carols instead of pounding "its a small world" into your weakening psyche.
I cannot understand what the appeal is in that ride. Its like watching Chucky come to life.

On this trip though, Annie and I took a ride on the Disneyland train for the first time ever. Best decision we ever made, yes I mean that. Not only did we ride around the park but we got to take a very weird trip to the prehistoric Grand Canyon.










Nate was so excited to head home that his whole mouth and tongue went numb.


Nate was such a good boy that I let him drive for a little bit. There was an.... incident. Mistakes were made and now we know not to let Nate drive. So, all-in-all it was a good thing, a learning experience.