My Baby is Growing Up...

Ever since his birthday it seems more and more that my little baby is growing up :(
He walks everywhere now, which goes a long way towards his transition from baby to toddler.  He can do some many neat little things now: When we go to the park, he can point out the ducks and make quacking sounds.  Also dogs, cats, and birds.  If we are looking at animals in a book he will sometimes point and make the sounds for cows, owls, cats and dogs (always), ducks, etc. He can follow simple commands, and loves throwing his diapers in the garbage.  He loves to "help" out, and will give me a hand washing dishes or cooking.
It's so amazing to see him grow up (and yes I realize all parents must feel this way...but watching him grow is such a miracle!).

I finally packed all Nathan's 0-9M clothes away.  Crazy how many things a little baby needs, and how tiny he used to be :'\

 Helping with the muffin cups...he ended up placing them all out, them smashing them all into one cup :)

 Our favorite bike ride to go look at the ducks

 He loves to look at the animals!

 Reading with Dad...this boy loves books.  He's always dragging books over for us to read to him, and will sit still and listen for quite a while.  He has one very large picture book that he strains to haul around...he gets mad because it's too heavy for him to lift but boy does he try!

 He still loooves eating.  And of course anything tastes better off someone else's plate. Or a fork.

 Another bike ride...this day we saw ducks, turtles, fish, and 2 snakes!

 He loves to walk down this boardwalk and look at the ducks.  Of course he doesn't want to hold my hand, so I just hover over him while he explores.

 Lemon face

 Uncle Kieth (Allan's brother) came to visit for one night and his band played nearby.  Nathan got to go on stage and test the mike.

Fourth of July

A few weeks late, but this is what we were up to for the 4th of July.  Nathan and I walked (he drove) over to a park nearby to watch them shoot the cannons off.  I thought we would be late but we ended up waiting for almost an hour before they finally went off.  Oh well, I'll keep that in mind for next year ;)
We went to a friend's house for dinner and Nathan got to get up close to their birds (cockatiel and parrot) which he loooved.  It rained all night, so no fireworks!

 I got this outfit at a thrift store. I was going to send him to daycare in it...but didn't have the heart. He looked like an Uncle Sam clown.

 Checking out some local art.

 Waiting...

 Running!

That boy loves his Daddy :)

Some Fun Home Movies

Here are some fun home movies for my Mom and Dad :)

Splashing in the tub, this boy sure likes his baths!

The Mower

Dirt and water are the best toys, but a slide is nice too

Here kitty kitty...

More fun outside

Aunt Mandy teaching Nathan to walk...before this I'd only seen him take a step or two.  A month later and he is a pro! It's crazy how fast they learn...

At the playground during our trip to MI

We had watched some boys playing soccer, and I think Nathan wanted to join in!

A boy and his cat...

This kid and his cat...best friends forever.  Nathan wakes up every morning and looks for this cat. They chase each other and no matter how much Nathan pulls Panther's tail or tackles him, the cat never scratches him. Now me, he'll bite if I so much as look at him wrong :p

But mostly, they love to look out the window together:

I'm sure I have many more like these too :)

Outside Fun

This boy loves being outside, and he definitely doesn't mind getting dirty.  I can see my future: patched knees and grass stains for the next 12 years!

 We got him a little kiddie pool to swim in.  He crawled across it twice going "ooooh! oooooh!" I guess it was a little chilly ;)

 So he decided to sit beside the pool and play with his new sand toys instead

 We got him this little climber slide for his birthday.  He loves it...especially the little door on the other side: open the door, go in, shut the door. Open the door, go out, shut the door.  Repeat.

 This is just a funny picture of him trying to squeeze through the dog door at our friends' house.  I'm sure he would love for us to have one.

Michigan!

We drive up to our home state for Nathan's birthday.  It was sooooo great to see the family and not (for the most part) be freezing our butts off! ;)

 

 Nathan thinks he wants to play soccer with these big boys now.

Nathan wasn't quite walking by his first birthday but he was really close!

 Grandpa has sooo much fruit = one happy boy

 These two :)

 Nathan enjoying his last bottle...no trouble with the transition to regular milk and I am so glad to be done with washing so many bottles every night :D

 We took Nathan to my favorite Detroit eatery, Mudgies.  He enjoyed the casual atmosphere.

 First ride on a carousel.  I chose the mighty snail!

 I can't help it :)

 We hung out with Val, Jasper, and Aunt Paulie in Ann Arbor one afternoon...checked out some owls and such.  It was actually nice to be able to go out without the baby, and I don't think Nana minded watching him ;)

 He loved this bird mobile. My dad would blow on it to make the birds move, and now Nathan blows at his mobile at home.  He also blows at ceiling fans which is so funny...

 We went to the zoo with my niece and nephew.  Here Nathan is with his patronus.

 This boy loooves his cousin!

Oh, and we had a party! With cake!  And family!