I adore that his feet don't even touch the floor yet, and these are kid sized chairs. :)
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Living with a Toddler...
I took these photos back in December and forgot to post them. They are just a few sweet pics of Nate eating cake for snack one day. As you can see, he has made quite the mess, but he tries so hard to be clean. Although it can be tough to clean up messes like this on a daily basis, I know I will look back at this someday and miss how cute and messy my guys once were! He is such a sweetheart!
I adore that his feet don't even touch the floor yet, and these are kid sized chairs. :)
I adore that his feet don't even touch the floor yet, and these are kid sized chairs. :)
ET's Kindergarten Enrollment Packet...
WOW! Can you believe it?!?! I am soooooo not ready for this!
Say a prayer for ET, so that he will get selected to transfer schools in the district. Unfortunately, ET is expected to WALK to Crestview!!! We all know that is out of the question, and so being that Jay will need to drive him, we are hoping he is accepted to a nearby late-start school. The school we want does not start until 9:20am. This would be perfect for ET, because he would be able to sleep in and not have to spend too much time in the after school program being that they would get out at 3:40 and Jay could pick him up at 4:45. The earliest we will find out where ET will be going will be in May - and even that would be early.
Say a prayer for ET, so that he will get selected to transfer schools in the district. Unfortunately, ET is expected to WALK to Crestview!!! We all know that is out of the question, and so being that Jay will need to drive him, we are hoping he is accepted to a nearby late-start school. The school we want does not start until 9:20am. This would be perfect for ET, because he would be able to sleep in and not have to spend too much time in the after school program being that they would get out at 3:40 and Jay could pick him up at 4:45. The earliest we will find out where ET will be going will be in May - and even that would be early.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Nate's Two Year Stats...
Nate went to the doctor on Monday this week for his two year check-up. Here are his stats...
Weight: 28 pounds (50.23%) - He lost some weight recently from being sick, because he was up to 29.4 pounds when measured at the ER.
Height: 2' 11.75" (83.37%) - This one surprised me because he has always been near 90% or above.
Head Circumference: 19.25" (56.17%)
Emmett at this age was 2' 11.5" in height (80%), and 30 pounds in weight (75%).
For this appointment Nate only needed a flu shot and a finger prick for a lead check. He received the flu shot in his leg in the same room where we saw the doctor. He cried pretty hard for this one. Then we headed over to the lab for his finger prick and he never even whimpered as they filled TWO vials full of blood from his finger. He was just entertained watching the blood go in the tube. For the doctor's exam and his finger prick he was so well behaved. He just smiled as the doctor looked him over, and both people were amazed of how good of a patient he was. I think he does so well because we bring him to the chiropractor all the time and so he trusts that no one will hurt him.
Speech Update:
-Nate talks ALL THE TIME! He sings, counts, and we believe he is talking in full sentences. However, his pronunciation of words are not articulated correctly and so we cannot understand barely anything he is saying...in other words, Nate speaks his own language. :)
-Nate still goes to Children's once a week for speech therapy. The speech pathologist who treats Nate at Children's is Becky (the same woman who treated ET with his articulation).
-Nate's hearing will be tested on February 9th just as a precautionary.
-Three women from the district came to our home on Friday this last week to start the formal evaluation process for Nate to receive early intervention through the district as well. Darby is a speech pathologist from the district who has been coming to our home once a week to treat another child in the daycare and she has been doing a little work with Nate as well. She wanted me to fill out the paperwork to get him formally written in the books, so that is why we are going through this new evaluation. As much as I understand that Nate is young, and he shows no red flags and far as anything else goes, it still breaks my heart to hear someone say my child shows significant delays and will pass for services.
The ladies stated to me that it is good that Nate is at least talking and attempting at words, because sometimes other children just won't talk. I see their point, but being that Nate tries so hard and just cannot do it makes me worried in a whole different way.
Some days I get really worried and other days I think he is going to jump this hurdle and be talking full sentences in no time. When days get really tough, I just try to visualize laying my worries at the foot of the cross and try to concentrate more on just enjoying who Nate is right now.
Some of the words Nate says somewhat well now are...
help, up, thank you, bye-bye, hi, I love you, ni-ni, meow, car, yay!, no, yeah, wow, more, all done, milk, water, shhh, N (for Nate), wash, wipe, Ma-Ma, Brenda (I am not very fond of this one, but he mimics the daycare kids), Da-Da, Emmett, and Nathan...I know there are a few more, but I am unable to think of all of them right now.
Some sentences I have understood him say are... wake up, that was fun, I don't know, and I did it. He is also very good at counting and singing. However, anyone who doesn't see Nate regularly wouldn't be able to understand any of these things because his articulation isn't mastered yet.
Nate can only produce one vowel sound when speaking, which is the /a/ sound. He typically starts a word with "a" first. So for the word 'more' he will say, "ahma." I have never heard him say the "oo" or "ee" sounds. So I have never heard him say words like: moo, boo, eat, me, mommy, daddy, etc.
Although Nate stills struggles to talk clearly, his receptive language skills scored a 108!!!! WOW! He is aware of SO much and understands nearly everything we tell him or ask of him. I am hoping he gets a little more frustrated with his lack of speaking, because as of right now he is just comfortable with how things are going for him. He understand us, and he is able to show us what he needs or wants. We try not to give in all the time, but it is clearly a sensitive issue, because he will attempt a word and then cry if he is unsuccessful at it and I don't give in. I want to reward him for attempting words, but also challenge him as well without crushing his self-esteem.
***As I am writing this I am laughing to myself because ET and Nate are playing hide 'n' seek on their own, and ET told Nate to go count so he can hide. Nate listened and ran to the kitchen, sat in the corner, closed his eyes, and started counting! WOW! :)
If you are interested in reading, here is the one of his assessment summaries from Becky (I know I will want to read back on this once Nate is older)...
Although Nate has not mastered any of his short-term goals thus-far, it is important to note that Nate has still made great gains with his communication skills since initiating therapy. The primary goal of therapy has been to address basic requests "more" and "all done" using manual signs or verbal approximations to improve his functional communication skills. Nate has made great gains with requesting "more," which he he is beginning to simultaneously produce a verbal approximation of "more" and the manual sign. Initially, Nate produced "more" as /m/ with limited jaw movement. The clinician (Becky) has been working with Nate to open his mouth to produce the vowel /o/. In the most recent therapy sessions, Nate has been more willing to attempt this, although he frequently produces this as "ahma." Additionally, Nate has made progress with requesting, "all-done" using both a manual sign and verbal approximation when provided a model.
Therapy has also spent a lot of time addressing anticipatory sets, "Ready, set, (go)" and "Peek-a-(boo)." Within the last two therapy sessions, Nate has been more willing to attempt production of "go" and "boo," although his productions are not necessarily verbal approximations, but rather vocalizations. Therapy will continue to work towards more intelligible productions of "go" and "boo" during the upcoming treatment period.
The clinician (Becky) has continued to observe significant difficulty with production of early acquiring phonemes, as well as different consonant vowel combinations. Nate's errors continue to be extremely inconsistent within sessions. He especially has a difficult time producing consonant-vowel combinations (CV) (i.e ba, boo, ma, mo, pa, etc.) For these combinations, he frequently begins production with a vowel. For example, when attempting to produce the targets "ball" or "bye," Nate produced both "aba" and "ada" for these attempts. Due to continued difficulty with speech production, the clinician (Becky) added a speech delay/diagnosis to Nate's medical chart, and also added new speech goals to address during the upcoming treatment period.
Despite great gains with Nate's expressive language skills since initiating therapy, he continues to demonstrate delays with his speech and language skills. Nate is not yet independently using words to communicate his basic wants and needs. Nate continues to exhibit an expressive language delay that warrants skilled intervention.
Weight: 28 pounds (50.23%) - He lost some weight recently from being sick, because he was up to 29.4 pounds when measured at the ER.
Height: 2' 11.75" (83.37%) - This one surprised me because he has always been near 90% or above.
Head Circumference: 19.25" (56.17%)
Emmett at this age was 2' 11.5" in height (80%), and 30 pounds in weight (75%).
For this appointment Nate only needed a flu shot and a finger prick for a lead check. He received the flu shot in his leg in the same room where we saw the doctor. He cried pretty hard for this one. Then we headed over to the lab for his finger prick and he never even whimpered as they filled TWO vials full of blood from his finger. He was just entertained watching the blood go in the tube. For the doctor's exam and his finger prick he was so well behaved. He just smiled as the doctor looked him over, and both people were amazed of how good of a patient he was. I think he does so well because we bring him to the chiropractor all the time and so he trusts that no one will hurt him.
Speech Update:
-Nate talks ALL THE TIME! He sings, counts, and we believe he is talking in full sentences. However, his pronunciation of words are not articulated correctly and so we cannot understand barely anything he is saying...in other words, Nate speaks his own language. :)
-Nate still goes to Children's once a week for speech therapy. The speech pathologist who treats Nate at Children's is Becky (the same woman who treated ET with his articulation).
-Nate's hearing will be tested on February 9th just as a precautionary.
-Three women from the district came to our home on Friday this last week to start the formal evaluation process for Nate to receive early intervention through the district as well. Darby is a speech pathologist from the district who has been coming to our home once a week to treat another child in the daycare and she has been doing a little work with Nate as well. She wanted me to fill out the paperwork to get him formally written in the books, so that is why we are going through this new evaluation. As much as I understand that Nate is young, and he shows no red flags and far as anything else goes, it still breaks my heart to hear someone say my child shows significant delays and will pass for services.
The ladies stated to me that it is good that Nate is at least talking and attempting at words, because sometimes other children just won't talk. I see their point, but being that Nate tries so hard and just cannot do it makes me worried in a whole different way.
Some days I get really worried and other days I think he is going to jump this hurdle and be talking full sentences in no time. When days get really tough, I just try to visualize laying my worries at the foot of the cross and try to concentrate more on just enjoying who Nate is right now.
Some of the words Nate says somewhat well now are...
help, up, thank you, bye-bye, hi, I love you, ni-ni, meow, car, yay!, no, yeah, wow, more, all done, milk, water, shhh, N (for Nate), wash, wipe, Ma-Ma, Brenda (I am not very fond of this one, but he mimics the daycare kids), Da-Da, Emmett, and Nathan...I know there are a few more, but I am unable to think of all of them right now.
Some sentences I have understood him say are... wake up, that was fun, I don't know, and I did it. He is also very good at counting and singing. However, anyone who doesn't see Nate regularly wouldn't be able to understand any of these things because his articulation isn't mastered yet.
Nate can only produce one vowel sound when speaking, which is the /a/ sound. He typically starts a word with "a" first. So for the word 'more' he will say, "ahma." I have never heard him say the "oo" or "ee" sounds. So I have never heard him say words like: moo, boo, eat, me, mommy, daddy, etc.
Although Nate stills struggles to talk clearly, his receptive language skills scored a 108!!!! WOW! He is aware of SO much and understands nearly everything we tell him or ask of him. I am hoping he gets a little more frustrated with his lack of speaking, because as of right now he is just comfortable with how things are going for him. He understand us, and he is able to show us what he needs or wants. We try not to give in all the time, but it is clearly a sensitive issue, because he will attempt a word and then cry if he is unsuccessful at it and I don't give in. I want to reward him for attempting words, but also challenge him as well without crushing his self-esteem.
***As I am writing this I am laughing to myself because ET and Nate are playing hide 'n' seek on their own, and ET told Nate to go count so he can hide. Nate listened and ran to the kitchen, sat in the corner, closed his eyes, and started counting! WOW! :)
If you are interested in reading, here is the one of his assessment summaries from Becky (I know I will want to read back on this once Nate is older)...
Although Nate has not mastered any of his short-term goals thus-far, it is important to note that Nate has still made great gains with his communication skills since initiating therapy. The primary goal of therapy has been to address basic requests "more" and "all done" using manual signs or verbal approximations to improve his functional communication skills. Nate has made great gains with requesting "more," which he he is beginning to simultaneously produce a verbal approximation of "more" and the manual sign. Initially, Nate produced "more" as /m/ with limited jaw movement. The clinician (Becky) has been working with Nate to open his mouth to produce the vowel /o/. In the most recent therapy sessions, Nate has been more willing to attempt this, although he frequently produces this as "ahma." Additionally, Nate has made progress with requesting, "all-done" using both a manual sign and verbal approximation when provided a model.
Therapy has also spent a lot of time addressing anticipatory sets, "Ready, set, (go)" and "Peek-a-(boo)." Within the last two therapy sessions, Nate has been more willing to attempt production of "go" and "boo," although his productions are not necessarily verbal approximations, but rather vocalizations. Therapy will continue to work towards more intelligible productions of "go" and "boo" during the upcoming treatment period.
The clinician (Becky) has continued to observe significant difficulty with production of early acquiring phonemes, as well as different consonant vowel combinations. Nate's errors continue to be extremely inconsistent within sessions. He especially has a difficult time producing consonant-vowel combinations (CV) (i.e ba, boo, ma, mo, pa, etc.) For these combinations, he frequently begins production with a vowel. For example, when attempting to produce the targets "ball" or "bye," Nate produced both "aba" and "ada" for these attempts. Due to continued difficulty with speech production, the clinician (Becky) added a speech delay/diagnosis to Nate's medical chart, and also added new speech goals to address during the upcoming treatment period.
Despite great gains with Nate's expressive language skills since initiating therapy, he continues to demonstrate delays with his speech and language skills. Nate is not yet independently using words to communicate his basic wants and needs. Nate continues to exhibit an expressive language delay that warrants skilled intervention.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Nate, What We Love About You....
- We love your baby features which are slowly going away as you grow older.
- We love your smile without showing teeth…seems strange, but it’s who you are.
- We love your awareness of everything...you might not talk our language yet, but you KNOW more than we think.
- We love your loooooong cuddles! We never knew a child could sit and just cuddle as much as you do! You are just such a peaceful little man.
- We love your kisses! You always turn your head so we are cheek to cheek. I have to turn your lips toward my cheek and then you remember and make the perfect kissing sound. :)
-We love your love for cars, Dora, Lego's and coloring...anything that brings you joy, brings us joy.
- We love when you laugh along with everyone else in the room, even though you have no idea what you are laughing about. :)
- We love how you show us your arm muscles and grunt at the same time.
- We love how clean, orderly and meticulous you can be (especially when you are eating something and you insist on using a wipe every time you get a piece of food on you somewhere). Sometimes that can be a hard skill to teach someone.
- We love how well you drink from a regular cup now. Wow!
- We love your singing! You are still not articulating your words right, but you can sing any song perfectly in tune, which makes it is easy for us to identify which song you are singing. Your favorite song is "Clop, Clop, Clop Goes the Donkey's Feet." (ET learned this one at preschool and he taught it to you.)
- We love how much you love to "honk" our nose. :)
- We love how ticklish you are...you have such an adorable belly laugh!
- We love the way you march your feet when you are dancing or when you are super excited about something.
- We love that you have such concern for others when they are sad. You always come running to give a hug when someone is crying.
- We love how well you play with others, and we also love how content you are when you are playing by yourself.
- We love the way you drum along to the beat of a song while riding in the truck by patting your legs.
- We love watching you jump. You try so hard to get both feet up off the ground. :)
- We love that you are such a good eater. You almost always finish your meal. Some of your favorite foods are...pizza, chicken nuggets & french fries, broccoli, pineapple, toast with PB or nutella, cookies (these are just a few).
- We love when you play peek-a-boo and you think no one can see you if you are just covering your eyes.
- We love your belief that if you close your eyes, everyone will just go away.
- We love how much you like going outside to play in the snow. You just love stomping your way through the snow, and never complain if you fall down. It is a tough skill to get back up again with all that apparel on, but you've got it down now. :)
- We love how you spontaneously will reach over and give your brother a love pat when you are both eating at the kitchen island together.
- We love that you have been capable of going up and down the stairs all by yourself for a while now!
- We love how good of a sleeper you are. You still only take short naps, but you have always slept so well during the night, and you adjusted amazingly to your new big boy bed!
- We love how much you love us!
We love you now for who you are and we will continue to love you unconditionally all your life. You are an amazing boy, and we are so blessed to have you in our lives.
"May the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."
- Numbers 6:24
We love you will all our heart,
Mommy and Daddy
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Nate's Birthday Party!
This year we decided to do one big party with friends and family for Nate's birthday. There were a lot of people that were able to attend, and for that we are so grateful. All but two of the daycare families came, as well as both sets of Grandparents.
Luckily, I took a few pics before anyone even arrived. The scene was set for a ton of car themed activities!
This year I put up custom-made decorations with Nate's name and age on them!
I was especially proud of my balloon wreath I made!
The tables were covered in butcher paper so the kids could color anywhere they chose. The activities included: coloring their own wooden car, coloring town/road paper with car shaped crayons, putting together your own race car with stickers, putting on car tattoos, playing with cars on the different racetracks or shooting them through cardboard tubes, playing a car video game, and a bean bag toss in a car shaped pinata.
Here you can see I set out a couple car themed books for anyone to read if they got bored...that didn't really happen. I just wanted to make sure everyone was well entertained. :) The cones were also set up if anyone wanted to play a guessing game by hiding a car under one of the cones while someone closed their eyes.
ET so badly wanted a pinata for Nate's birthday. That isn't exactly possible for an indoor January birthday, so instead I cut the top off of this pinata and made it a bean bag toss game.
Jay set up Nate's new blue racetrack from the top of the window. The kids loved this and played with it a ton.
Here is the birthday boy with his car cake! I love Angie from Rivertown Cakes in Hastings! She is incredible!
I made the cupcake picks from the set of custom-made decorations.
As each person arrived, I fitted the kids with a car party headband, and then invited each guest to fill a party hat with popcorn (caramel puffcorn or white chocolate popcorn). This was a fun snack before lunch was served.
Soon after everyone arrived, the kids got busy with all the activities. Everyone mingled so well and it looked like the kids really enjoyed themselves.
Two of the girls wore the same party dress. :)
For lunch I served...
PB&J car shaped sandwiches for the kids,
Choice of meat and cheese sandwiches or warm chicken salad sandwiches for the adults,
Turkey pasta salad with wheel shaped pasta,
A trifle dish filled with strawberries, pineapple and grapes (layered to make it looked like a stoplight) and fruit dip,
Celery and carrots sticks served in plastic cups with ranch (I labeled them "dipsticks" for the car),
Chocolate dipped pirouette cookies (more "dipsticks"),
A variety of chips,
And car shaped fruit snacks
Planning the food around a car theme was so much fun!
I love that I was able to find mini water bottles with a twist open spout for the kids...so much better than juice boxes.
How cute is this! A picnic with trays on the couch. :)
Birthday cake! Nate attempted to blow out the candles but needed a little help from Mom and big brother. :)
Although it was not expected of anyone, Nate received many generous gifts. Some of the kids wanted Nate to open his gift before they left. Here is a pop-up car tent he received from A. I love this pic!
After the party was over, Jay and I started cleaning up right away. I went downstairs for a moment to put some stuff away and I found this on the daycare table...
ET was sneaking fruit snacks! He never did get the bag cut open all the way. When I confronted him about it and asked him why he decided to stop himself, he replied saying, "Because I thought I might get in trouble and so I didn't eat any." I couldn't help but smile...his conscience is working well. :)
Luckily, I took a few pics before anyone even arrived. The scene was set for a ton of car themed activities!
This year I put up custom-made decorations with Nate's name and age on them!
I was especially proud of my balloon wreath I made!
The tables were covered in butcher paper so the kids could color anywhere they chose. The activities included: coloring their own wooden car, coloring town/road paper with car shaped crayons, putting together your own race car with stickers, putting on car tattoos, playing with cars on the different racetracks or shooting them through cardboard tubes, playing a car video game, and a bean bag toss in a car shaped pinata.
Here you can see I set out a couple car themed books for anyone to read if they got bored...that didn't really happen. I just wanted to make sure everyone was well entertained. :) The cones were also set up if anyone wanted to play a guessing game by hiding a car under one of the cones while someone closed their eyes.
ET so badly wanted a pinata for Nate's birthday. That isn't exactly possible for an indoor January birthday, so instead I cut the top off of this pinata and made it a bean bag toss game.
Jay set up Nate's new blue racetrack from the top of the window. The kids loved this and played with it a ton.
Here is the birthday boy with his car cake! I love Angie from Rivertown Cakes in Hastings! She is incredible!
I made the cupcake picks from the set of custom-made decorations.
As each person arrived, I fitted the kids with a car party headband, and then invited each guest to fill a party hat with popcorn (caramel puffcorn or white chocolate popcorn). This was a fun snack before lunch was served.
Soon after everyone arrived, the kids got busy with all the activities. Everyone mingled so well and it looked like the kids really enjoyed themselves.
Two of the girls wore the same party dress. :)
For lunch I served...
PB&J car shaped sandwiches for the kids,
Choice of meat and cheese sandwiches or warm chicken salad sandwiches for the adults,
Turkey pasta salad with wheel shaped pasta,
A trifle dish filled with strawberries, pineapple and grapes (layered to make it looked like a stoplight) and fruit dip,
Celery and carrots sticks served in plastic cups with ranch (I labeled them "dipsticks" for the car),
Chocolate dipped pirouette cookies (more "dipsticks"),
A variety of chips,
And car shaped fruit snacks
Planning the food around a car theme was so much fun!
I love that I was able to find mini water bottles with a twist open spout for the kids...so much better than juice boxes.
How cute is this! A picnic with trays on the couch. :)
Birthday cake! Nate attempted to blow out the candles but needed a little help from Mom and big brother. :)
Although it was not expected of anyone, Nate received many generous gifts. Some of the kids wanted Nate to open his gift before they left. Here is a pop-up car tent he received from A. I love this pic!
After the party was over, Jay and I started cleaning up right away. I went downstairs for a moment to put some stuff away and I found this on the daycare table...
ET was sneaking fruit snacks! He never did get the bag cut open all the way. When I confronted him about it and asked him why he decided to stop himself, he replied saying, "Because I thought I might get in trouble and so I didn't eat any." I couldn't help but smile...his conscience is working well. :)
January 19, 2012
Here is our sweet, cuddly, caring, funny, and smart TWO-YEAR-OLD boy!!!!
Big brother trying to get a few laughs out of Nate...
We stuck to our regular routine for Nate's birthday. We definitely celebrated with balloons and cupcakes, but Nate started out the morning going to speech like normal for Thursdays. Here is a few pics of Nate coloring during project time. We also played a with play-dough for a while, but I was too late to catch a pic of him while he was still interested.
Nate still LOVES coloring!
Nate with all his daycare friends...
For lunch the kids ate car shaped PB&J sandwiches, cooked carrots, and apple slices. I sat there watching him eat while thinking back to his first birthday. What a change since then! He has almost all his teeth now (all but his two-year molars) and can eat anything with no trouble at all and can drink from a regular cup! The only thing I need to do for him is cut off the apple skins (they are still a bit too tough to chew and swallow).
He also very much understands that he needs to eat all or most of his food before he can get a treat.
This was a silly little car treat I made for the kids. It is a fun-size candy bar with a teddy graham and four M&M's for the wheels. :) Nate was so upset that his M&M's fell off before he was done playing with it.
For his cupcakes I made cream cheese vanilla cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting and sprinkles. He loved it!
After work Jay and I figured we should go somewhere to have dinner to celebrate. We headed over to Davanni's for pizza and of course, another cupcake! WOW!
Do you notice in this picture Nate is playing with a car while we are trying to take a picture of him? That's Nate for ya...one hand is almost always on a car!
He chose to use a fork for his frosting...
and then just dove into the rest! :)
After pizza, we came home and opened presents.
Nate received a new car book, a long blue racetrack that you can configure any way you want, and another racetrack where the pieces of the track connect or come apart with four battery powered cars to go along with it.
Here is Nate in his big boy bed at the end of a very fun-filled birthday. It was hard to leave his bedroom this night. I get emotional when I think about how another year has already passed by. He is growing up so fast. Please send your prayers for Nate so that he may have another healthy and active year!
Pretending to sleep...what a cutie-pie! :)
Big brother trying to get a few laughs out of Nate...
We stuck to our regular routine for Nate's birthday. We definitely celebrated with balloons and cupcakes, but Nate started out the morning going to speech like normal for Thursdays. Here is a few pics of Nate coloring during project time. We also played a with play-dough for a while, but I was too late to catch a pic of him while he was still interested.
Nate still LOVES coloring!
Nate with all his daycare friends...
For lunch the kids ate car shaped PB&J sandwiches, cooked carrots, and apple slices. I sat there watching him eat while thinking back to his first birthday. What a change since then! He has almost all his teeth now (all but his two-year molars) and can eat anything with no trouble at all and can drink from a regular cup! The only thing I need to do for him is cut off the apple skins (they are still a bit too tough to chew and swallow).
He also very much understands that he needs to eat all or most of his food before he can get a treat.
This was a silly little car treat I made for the kids. It is a fun-size candy bar with a teddy graham and four M&M's for the wheels. :) Nate was so upset that his M&M's fell off before he was done playing with it.
For his cupcakes I made cream cheese vanilla cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting and sprinkles. He loved it!
After work Jay and I figured we should go somewhere to have dinner to celebrate. We headed over to Davanni's for pizza and of course, another cupcake! WOW!
Do you notice in this picture Nate is playing with a car while we are trying to take a picture of him? That's Nate for ya...one hand is almost always on a car!
He chose to use a fork for his frosting...
and then just dove into the rest! :)
After pizza, we came home and opened presents.
Nate received a new car book, a long blue racetrack that you can configure any way you want, and another racetrack where the pieces of the track connect or come apart with four battery powered cars to go along with it.
Here is Nate in his big boy bed at the end of a very fun-filled birthday. It was hard to leave his bedroom this night. I get emotional when I think about how another year has already passed by. He is growing up so fast. Please send your prayers for Nate so that he may have another healthy and active year!
Pretending to sleep...what a cutie-pie! :)
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