You Have A Friend In Me...

Nan and Paps bought Nathan his very own wagon...as you can see, Paps just HATES pulling the little guy around (I am being sarcastic, of course :)).

And it appears that Nathan just HATES riding around in the wagon as well...;)

My Buddy's Got a Boat...

Our friends, Brad and Michele Matingly, have a place on the river and last weekend (while I was away...Nathan's FIRST night alone without one of his parents. He spent the night with Nan and Paps.), Jonathon took Nathan to the river and they went out on the Pontoon boat. Jonathon said that Nathan enjoyed it, but he didnt really care for the life jacket.

11 Months and Counting...

And...so it is. 11 months today. Enormous personality. The discovery of one foot in front of the other. The concept of being an individual. Belly laughs. Numerous "oooohs" and "mooos" and "ooh ooh"s (his dog sound). Distaste for anything green that remotely resembles baby food. A severe addiction to anything requiring the need to be outside. A love for books, especially the tastey ones. Patty Cake and "Yeaaaah!". Bye-bye and blown kisses. Loves and hugs. Eleven months down, one more to go to the biggest milestone thus far. It will be here before we know it...and we will start a whole new wonderful adventure. Happy 11 months Nathan...we are well on our way!

Gulp, Gulp

Apparently the swimming pool has lost its luster...the hose is WAY more fun now! :)

Home Plate

I forgot to post a picture of Nathan sitting on Home Base/Plate at the Field of Dreams....

One Mississippi, Two Mississippi

While in Nauvoo, we were able to let Nathan put his feet in the Mississippi River.

Catching Some ZZZZZ's

Nap time while sight seeing.

MOOOOOOO

While in Nauvoo, Nathan was able to see, up close, a field of Oxen (or cows to him). He giggled and clapped and mooed.

Mmmm....Go-Gurt!

Some of you may know that Jon and I are trying to be very careful about what Nathan eats. We just dont want him wanting/eating sugary, crappy food all the time. However, once and a while it is okay (we are trying not to be "THOSE" parents ;)). So, while at Leslie's I let Nathan taste his first Go-Gurt "popcicle" (Leslie puts them in the freezer for a frozen treat...great idea!). Here he is...LOVING every minute of it! :)
MMMM...its even better when it is smeared all over his face!

And...of course the dog liked to lick him clean (dont worry, the dog didnt lick him too much or for too long)

Field of Dreams

Yes, THE Field of Dreams (as in, the movie with Kevin Costner Field of Dreams). Leslie lives 10 minutes away...so of course, we had to visit. Here is Nathan in front of the welcome sign.

Sitting where the little girl fell off the bleachers and choked on a hot dog...

In front of the house.

THE Field.

"If you build it, they will come." Nathan and I coming out of the corn...

The Backyard of Backyards!

This is the backyard of Nathan's 2nd cousin, Leslie, and her family. They honestly live in the middle of a corn field (which was beautiful!!!), and have this HUGE backyard, obviously. Along with the two very patient dogs that Leslie has...Nathan was in Playground Heaven!

Vacation Recap

So...Nathan went on his first roadtrip! Last Friday we drove to Dyersville, Iowa to visit my cousin and her family. She just had her 7th kid (yes, SEVEN!), so you could imagine the playground that was for Nathan! He LOVED it!

He was a very, very good boy on the 8hour roadtrip. He only REALLY got fussy one time. The rest, we were able to stop often enough for him to stretch his legs and "run around" a little bit. I was very suprised and a bit nervous that he would hate every minute of it and an 8 hour roadtrip would turn into a 15 hour, two day event. To prepare, I had tons of somewhat healthy snacks, lots of new toys and books (yeah $1 Stores!). It helped A LOT that someone was sitting in the back with him at all times (my Mom and brother went too), mostly it was me because Zane wanted to drive...so I was able to entertain Nathan for most of the time. He did sleep when it was his normal naptime, which was nice. :)

The only real issue Nathan had was his new surroundings. He tended to be extremely clingy to those he knew well (i.e. me...or Grandma or Uncle Zane), and didnt sleep all that well (meaning woke up at 5am!) while there. BUT, that is to be expected in a different time zone and surrounded by 7 other kids!

After Dyersville, we drove down to Nauvoo for a couple of days then on home to Louisville. We got back in Louisville late Monday night. It was a great trip! I have TONS of pictures...:)

4th of July!

Hope everyone had a good one!

(Thanks Nan and Paps for taking this picture!)

Too Cute to Handle!

Caught!

Summer Company!

Grand Dad, Grand Mom and Nathan

Grand Mom and Nathan

Last week began our three week summer company extravaganza! First Jonathon's Mom and Step Dad (Grand Mom and Grand Dad to Nathan) came in to spend some time with us...then on Wednesday, my Mom and brother (Grandma and Uncle Zane to Nathan) come in for a couple of weeks. It is a nice change of pace with company around, and Nathan surely enjoys the nonstop attention! :)

MMMM, I feel...HUNGRY!

So, as I have mentioned, Nathan LOVES books. However, there is one book that the only thing he likes to do with it is eat it. I am not sure what it is about this book that tastes so good, but it is the only book out of his entire collection that he eats!

(Notice the missing bottom tab. He. Ate. It!)

Baby Steps...Head First!

Nathan taught himself how to go down the steps...head first! We of course have not let him try this tactic out on the big step leading upstairs, as surely he would learn real quick why going down the steps head first is not the brightest idea!

(P.S. Don't mind the drool and the big drool spot on his shirt. The child HATES bibs, yet is a drooler!)

Diaper Acrobatics

Apparently, somewhere/sometime, in the last couple of months Nathan has decided that getting his diaper changed is no longer an essential, but a game. The MOMENT he sees me get the diaper and the wet wipes out, he starts crawling away as if to say "chaaase me!". Which of course, I do, because...well...he stinks!!! ;)

Once he is caught, he lays there long enough for you to get the pants/shorts and dirty diaper off, only to immediately flip to his tummy and crawl away again. He does not seem to care if there is still stink on his cute little bum....he just wants to get away and be Naked Nate again.

Getting a clean diaper back on him is the ONE thing that just about sends me over the edge! ;) Especially when he has the hint of a diaper rash and he lays there long enough to get the Desitine (or however you spell it...the white, sticky, creamy stuff that takes away diaper rash) smeared on his rump, and THEN crawls away, getting white, sticky, creamy stuff all over everything.

He does this with a HUGE grin on his face...and a giggle in his gut. His game of choice, for sure.

10 Months

Really? For real? Nathaniel Charles Ice...is he REALLY 10 months old, already???? I think I say this every month that passes...how does the time go so fast, yet continue to move even faster?

Nathan has mastered pulling himself up on things...even the wall. He is just now starting to show a little interest, or ability rather, in taking steps while holding on to someone's hands. He does KIND of cruise...but it is not all at once and he definately doesnt quite realize he is doing it. He does stand alone for a good 15 seconds then either sits down or grabs on to something. The crawling thing though...he has got that down pat, and he doesnt seem to be doing the "anyone seen the bridge" anymore. Only when he is in a really goofy mood...

Which...GOOFY! His personality is so entertaining! I keep joking to everyone that Nathan is going to be the kid in the back of the classroom eating glue....and I say that not being mean or saying that he is "weird". He just has a great sense of humor that I can totally see him being the class clown. He makes himself laugh, or he makes funny faces and sounds. He grunts and yells and "ooohs" all day long. Just watching him is completely entertaining and enjoyable!

All boy! One of Nathan's FAVORITE games is to drop something and then pick it up. He likes it when you pick it up for him, but he certainly isnt against picking it up himself....even if he is already on the floor and he just drops it from there. He will first drop it, then look at you and say "Ooooh. Ooooh?" as if telling you that he dropped it, then asking where it went. He then looks at the object and grunts and breathes real hard as if he is physically working hard to pick it up. Once he has it, he says "Aaaaah!" claps his hands, then proceeds to drop the object again. Sometimes, he will manage to throw the object and crawl through his entire minefield of dumped toys to get it, grunting the entire time....as if he were in a war zone, dodging bullets to get to where he needs to be. I am not quite sure what is going on in his mind, but it is obvious that the imaginiation is working overtime!

Books. Still in love with the books! If it were for the little Gerber cereal puffs and books, Jonathon and I would not go out to eat...ever, and I wouldnt be able to get through the grocery store or Target! He LOVES books. Pop-up books! Elmo books!

He still loves chasing the cats...and the cats are still trying to figure out when this little human being is going to leave. ;) Ahh, the cats love him...:) They are fascinated by him, and will sit on the outskirts of the room, just watching him (until, of course he sees them and makes a b-line to them...and the chase begins!).

He hasnt started talking yet, with the exception of "mama" and "dada" and "babababa" and "mmmmmm" and the afformentioned "ooooohs" and "ahhhhhs". I havent been real diligent in saying things like "up" or "out" or "more", etc...but I have started trying to do better at that.

Nathan LOVES to growl! He growl sings to his favorite songs, or will growl crawl around the house.

He just started waving goodbye yesterday. :)

And...he dancy dances!