17 months

Nathaniel is now 17 months old. Only a month away from 1 1/2! I can't believe it. He is finally starting to talk a little bit more. His current favorite word is "peesh" (please). He has definitely figured out how to get his way in this family and that is to go up to one of his family members and say "peesh" in this soft little high-pitched voice. He's got us all wrapped around his finger. Elizabeth especially is a sucker for his "peesh" and will give him pretty much anything she has, no matter how beloved by her. Yesterday, Joe got the girls balloons for Valentine's Day and forgot to get one for Nate. Elizabeth basically gave hers to him even though I could see in her face what it was costing her. She wrote "Elizabeth and Nate" on it and let him play with it. It was so sweet.

(Sidenote: In case you're wondering about Natalie, she will give up pretty much anything for Elizabeth. Just the other day she had set the table for dinner all by herself and she was going to sit in a certain chair. Elizabeth threw a fit and cried about this arrangement. I wouldn't budge. It was about time for Natalie to get to choose where she she wanted to sit! Natalie suddenly says "OK, we can change it", and happily moves everything about. I told her she didn't have to and she said, "I want to!" I was actually angry about this until I decided to calm down and let Natalie be a peacemaker if that's what she wants.)

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Nate is talking more. When he's in the mood, he will try to repeat things we say. He has even said some prayers now. In addition to "peesh" he says, "Mama, ball, Dada, Na-Na (Natalie), bubble, whoa, uh-oh (more like "eh-oo") and "da-ya" for bye-bye, and also thank you.

I think the reason he isn't talking more is that he has perfected the art of non-verbal communication. It's quite amazing, actually. For instance, if he wants to watch a show he will either point at the TV while looking at me and nod his head up and down, or go sit on the couch with his blanket and point at the TV. If he's hungry or thirsty he will come up to me and say "peesh" and then start walking toward the kitchen and make sure I'm following him. I ask him questions of things he might want and he either nods his head yes or whines for no.

Don't get me wrong--it's not all peaceful communication around here. Frequently he decides to experiment with his awful raptor-shriek to get what he wants (all of our kids have done this--that's what we named it when Elizabeth was little). We do our best to ignore that and respond to the "peesh".

A sad thing happened recently to little Nate. The tag on his blanket that he loved so dearly finally fell off. It was hanging by a thread. He would always find the tag and put it up by his face while he sucked his thumb with his blankie. When we laid him down in bed, he would rotate the blanket around until he found it. He brought it to me the other day, unattached. What did I do with it? Took a picture to remember it by and then threw it in the garbage....

The sad remains of the tag:

It was actually quite heartbreaking that day when I put him down for his nap and he just kept rotating his blanket around and around. I think he has adjusted to it, now, though. :)

Here's a little video I got of him doing his cow sound and saying "peesh". I love how he lifts up his chin and sticks out his lips when he says "moo". You'll have to excuse my wiping of his nose with my finger. Gross, I know. What can I say, I'm a mom. That boy does not stop drooling either. I think it's because of his huge mouth. It doesn't even bother me anymore but occasionally I get a glimpse of what that looks like to other people who aren't his parents and I remember to take care of it better...

Wow, I'm rambling today. The video:

I am such a sucker for that boy. He is going to be so spoiled if I keep this up but I can't help myself. :)