twenty-three months.

This has been a rough month...Nate developed a high fever that lasted for about 12 days, usually staying between 102 to 104 degrees. My poor little boy turned into a human pincushion as he went through several rounds of lab work, a tuberculosis test, a chest x-ray, catheters, and lots of swabs. After all of that testing, we're still not sure what happened. What I can report is that my happy, healthy boy is back! As mysteriously as this mess started, it went away.  As a mother, I've never been more worried and consumed with something; it's such a helpless feeling when even the doctors are not sure what's going on.

After much ado, I'm finally able to talk about Nate at twenty-three months. Some recent Nathan-isms include:

-starting to learn words to songs and actually sing along
-says some words with a nearly-British accent: Peter is "Peetah" and treasure is "trea-sha"
-begrudgingly I admit that he recognizes the McDonald's sign.  We started letting him have chicken nuggets on the weekend and now he knows the golden arches. It makes running errands interesting, because he knows the roads and we take a lot of alternate routes
-says "cheese" when you take his picture, but does not necessarily look at the camera
-demands your full attention when he wants to talk to you. Multi-tasking does not satisfy this one, as he'll say "Momma...Momma....MOMMA!!!" and then he'll grab your face and center it with his so that you are nose-to-nose
-alerts me pretty consistently to his poopy diapers by saying "I stink". Unfortunately, he still thinks it's a game to run away and avoid changing, so potty training may be a ways off for us
-is sleeping in a toddler bed and not causing all too much chaos; when he's by himself he usually only goes after his stuffed animals rather than ransacking his dresser
-wants you to follow him everywhere. Nate will lead you by the hand and say "c'mon" about a million times until you go

Here are some photos that recap our story, good times and bad, through his twenty-third month. I can't believe he will be two years old in only two days!

adventures in daycare: day eight.

Nate pulled a funny today when I went to pick him up at daycare this afternoon. After I told Nate 'hi', he grabbed the two closest kids, gave them huge hugs and (open-mouth) kisses, told them bye, and then was ready to go. We'll work on the kissing other kids deal, which is mostly my fault since I encourage it, but I'm so happy that he is having fun and adjusting well.  I love that he has little friends!

adventures in daycare: days five & six

We've broken some new ground this week. Nate will only be at the daycare center two days this week, because of the holiday, but we've hit a few milestones that are important to me. First of all, the child has cleaned up toys two days in a row! Hallelujah! I try so hard to get him to do this at home without too much luck, so hopefully the concept is sinking in a bit. Second of all, this morning Nate didn't cry at drop-off. I'm not sure who was more surprised, me or his teacher. Either way, I dashed out the door before he changed his mind. Our last milestone isn't a 'good' one, but it was handled well and that's all I can ask for.  I received a 'courtesy call,' as the teacher termed it this morning, to let me know that Nate fell and bumped his head.  Of course, he was fine...he didn't even cry.  I really appreciated her taking the time to call me about it, even though I know it's protocol.  I honestly can't even see the bump.

For those of you who either don't have a child or have not experienced daycare, let me tell you: there is a ridiculous amount of paperwork. Permission slips, applications, daily reports, lesson plans. It's not even preschool yet. The organizer in me came out tonight and I made Nate a daycare binder. This holds all of the tuition/policy information, lesson plans, and daily reports that I get for him. Confession: these are organized by month with dividers and everything is in sheet protectors. Why the heck does this matter? I'm not sure...but I sure as anything will keep it all together. Here's a look at my little project:

toddler bed.

Today after I put Nate down in his crib for his nap, I kept hearing strange noises. Bumps and muffled cries, followed by slams. Surely, I thought that either he had unleashed a herd of elephants or was jumping in his bed. All of a sudden, the door to his room started to shake and you hear a voice scream "knock, knock!!".  Little booger had scaled the side of his crib and gotten out!

After some soul searching, we decided to bite the bullet and convert his bed to a toddler bed. Of course, this involves removing the front panel and replacing it with something infinitely smaller. Okay, yes that's an exaggeration, but not by much for a mother with a little boy running around.

A HUGE 'thank you' to my Dad and my husband for putting this together tonight! Even though Chris mistakenly grabbed the wrong piece at first, they got it done before Nate fell apart needing to go to sleep!

When it came time to put him down, which I was dreading, Nate surprised me like he always does. He went to bed without a whimper or even getting out of bed to explore. Granted, it's only midnight, but I couldn't have asked for an easier go-to-sleep moment.

I know I am a bit neurotic with the camera sometimes, but here is a picture of Nate when he first got to see his big boy bed. I'm so happy that I am able to catch these little memories, because words do not suffice sometimes. He was SO excited!!

In the moment, I had an unexpected reaction: I started sobbing. The realization hit me that my baby isn't a baby anymore!

adventures in daycare: day two through four

After a successful first day at daycare, I was feeling a bit more encouraged and optimistic about jumping into the rest of the week.  Nate woke up early, of course, which actually gave us some time to spend together before I had to drop him off each day. Unlike day one, Nate cried and I didn't when I dropped him off. He seems happy when he comes home and I know he has a great time playing with the kids.

Because I am a big proponent of the pro/cons list, here goes my week one reflections:

Things that I like:

• Nate playing with other kids 
• Learning new things, especially from the other children. One case in which peer pressure is a good thing! From eating at a table to nap time on a cot, Nate is taking in a lot of new habits
• A consistent schedule
• A minimal number of inspection violations. Oh yeah, this is addicting to look at!

Things that I don't:

• The perpetual daycare runny nose. Nate already has one after only a week.
• I wish this center had live feed cameras. No, this isn't a crazy person wishlist item. I've talked with some parents with children in other centers that have them.
• I would like more notes about what he does during the day. Granted, they are pretty comprehensive, but he is my baby and I want to know every last detail (again, not feasible)