chapter books

Abby reading chapter books = a whole new era! Abby's reading inspires other members of the family to browse the bookshelf too.

the new walker

Nate took his time learning how to walk, but once he started he got good really fast!

natester walks!

Today friends, Nate learned to walk!!!  Yay Nate!  No photo documentation yet, but soon.  For now, a look back at some recent crawling / sitting days....

These pictures can probably speak for themselves....plus we've got lots of pics to catch up on, so that might be a more efficient use of time!

We love you Nate.

busy busy

We had a busy weekend -- lots of fun catching up with lots of friends and remembering fun times at G&G's last weekend..... 
And some q-time at home too.... dry erase board anyone?  Big hit here!

One highlight: brunch out with Georgia and her family.  We joked that there was a "table for two" (aka Georgia + Abigail and Sophie + Nate) on either side of us and that we were just out for a double date. 

Abby's not the only one who likes her new chair..... Nate gets to try it out while big sis takes a nap.

Also, major news: NATE HAS LEARNED HOW TO CRAWL!!! At approximately 10.5 months of age, Nate can (slowly, with his left leg tucked under his bottom) crawl short distances.  Farewell to the days of putting Nate down and finding him in the same spot when you return.  Nate's crawling speed is reduced due to the fact that he will complete 1/2 or 1/3 of a crawling motion and then sit up and clap for himself with a look of pure joy.  Repeat this over and over and it takes him a LONG time to get a SHORT distance. But, he seems genuinely pleased with his progress!  And his parents are genuinely thankful for so many months of jolly immobility!

sweet strawberry sitter

Nate's been slower to bond with the whole sitting up thing than Abigail was, but he's kind of getting into it now. Here he is, just casually observing the world from an upright position.
"What's up guys, you mean you don't lie on your backs all day long?"


Rear view.

rice cereal

Big day for Nate-o! Rice cereal! Nate had been looking at our food longingly for weeks so we finally gave it a go. Abigail was thrilled to be a part of this milestone. Nate's not 100% sure what to think about food, but it was overall a pretty positive experience for our little hungry man.

Doesn't seem like that long ago that Abigail was just starting on the solid food adventure.... Abigail didn't start rice cereal until right around 6 months. Nate's a little before 6 months, but oh so curious about food food food. And it's telling of our busy-ness of late that we have not yet gotten a highchair for Nate....oh second child that he is! Abby would like him to have the same chair that she uses, and we will probably do just that. Bumbo seat for now though!.

major milk milestone

Nate took a bottle! At home! From papa! It was only about 1.5 ounces, but we all celebrated this big achievement....Nate in his bouncy seat!

Nate's a man on the move.

Highest unassisted bouncy seat bounces ever witnessed. (Abigail has been known to "help" Nate bounce higher.)

We thought he was going to get himself flipped from back to front, but not this time...

potty, part deux

Potty time continued in full force on this 3-day weekend. Abby did GREAT and deserves all the credit, as we just kind of sat back and watched her do her thing...(sometimes for hours on end, but hey!). On our first day of panties we went out to dinner and Abby shocked us by going potty at the restaurant bathroom. Then we went grocery shopping immediately after dinner and Abby shocked us again by going potty at the grocery store bathroom. Sunday we bit off more than we all could chew by going on an apple picking excursion and had a few accidents en route and while there. Monday, we stuck close to home and Abby was back to her super star self, today going poo-poo in the potty too. And not a single accident all day! WOW!
Here's Abby after a successful potty stop:

Jellybeans are so yummy!

potty

**NEWSFLASH: This post was about to be posted when Abby went pee pee in the potty!! Mark this day on the calendar friends!**
We've been trying to ramp up the potty progress around here... it has been slow going. We did have a major breakthrough recently where Abigail finally decided to try sitting on the potty. HUGE! Now she sits on the potty a lot - often for an hour and a half at a time . . . but . . . so far, UNTIL TONIGHT nothing has gone in the potty....

We read books, sing songs, there's a jar of jellybeans to reward success, Abby drinks water, etc etc

She drinks a lot of water....

Sometimes for these marathon potty sessions, adult beverages are also consumed. Here, mommy delivers a beer to papa who is on potty duty.

Try try again! Right now for instance, Abby is still sitting on the potty after her pee pee success, insisting that poo poo is soon to follow..... We shall see.

Just checking.

Abby really likes toilet paper. We aim to decrease the quantity of toilet paper used as we increase potty successes....

busy times two

We're all keeping busy here....

Greeting our newest family member as he and mommy get home from the hospital.

Catching lots of zzz's. And when not snoozing, eating lots. Baby Nate had his first pediatrician visit and he is back up to birth weight, and beyond by now...

Hanging out with Papa.

Abby and Grandma wash the windows - long overdue and much appreciated!!

Washing hands for dinnertime....what will we do when Grandma and Grandad go home and we no longer have resident chefs to fix us wonderful meals??

Cuddling with Grandad.

More cozy nap spots and a little lamby friend to sleep with.

Nathaniel goes for his first walk around the block. Cute little yawn.

Abby and Akaash - big hugs! It's been so nice for Abigail to have Akaash and Madeleine to pal around with this week with all of the new transitions happening at home. There will be another big transition next week when Abigail starts preschool (!). We're so happy that Akaash will be at school too...

A&A ham it up for the camera.

look who . . .

. . . has a new ride - scored off Craigs List just today . . . the handle flips back and forth so little Miss A can face her parents or the big world ahead of her . . . we like getting to chat with her as we stroll.

. . . is fully mobile - she can get herself to standing from pretty much any position now, no need to pull up on things anymore, and she can chase chase chase the cat!

. . . graduated to the BIG tub - Abigail loves taking advantage of every square inch of tub space...and has a blast with all of her fun bath toys . .. clean baby!

walking!

One of our most exciting developments is that Abigail seems to have started to walk more than she crawls. (Though crawling and knee-walking sure continue to be easy and fun ways to get around.)

watch out world

Abigail is on the move!

pre-walker

Evidence of a very exciting milestone that happened while we were in MN. To all of our surprise, Abigail - with the help of a stool and two yogurt lids to hang onto - discovers that there is another way to get around besides speed crawling! She even manages a right turn as we cheer her on . . . watch out everyone!

first snow

Abigail experiencing her first snowfall!Contemplating the white stuff.

"Is this a crawl-able surface?"

Yay! She loves it. Her midwestern roots shine through. Lucky for Abigail she'll get to see even more snow and chillier temps as we are off to Minnesota soon for a visit!