2 Year Check Up

We saw Dr. Burns this morning for Nate's two-year appointment.  As we noticed on Saturday when he was standing next to his friends, Nate's bigger than most kids his age.  He tipped the scales at 30 pounds (80th percentile) and is 35 inches tall (60th percentile).

He was his usual charming self.  Telling the doctor his name (Nate Davis) and how old he is (dos anos) and then smiling at us all while he drew all over the paper and his legs.

We were confident he's on par with his peers developmentally but it is always nice to hear it from the doctor.  In regards to his MCHAT and ASQ, the doctor made our day when she said, "He's easily the furthest from an autistic child I've seen."  She also laughed when I told her we had to check "Not Yet" for the question about holding, rocking and diapering baby dolls because really all he does is beat them and drag them around.  Her response, "So you're telling me he's a boy."

One shot and not a single tear.  And now that he's a big boy, the reward was a token for the treat machine and a sticker - he picked Donald, of course.

T-W-O

How is it possible that two years have passed since I wrote this?  (well almost two years since I lagged on actually writing about his arrival)

We celebrated Nate's birthday with a pool party for his friends and then a backyard party for family.  Saturday we hosted ten of his friends at the swim club for a couple of hours of quality pool time.  It was a big hit and such an easy party - I didn't even have to clean my house!  A friend of mine said we should do it every year and if Nate allows, we just might.

Sunday we had Nate's Philadelphia family along with part of his Harris family - the Cleveland and Louisville contingent - and some of our closest friends to celebrate with lunch and cake in our backyard.  My favorite moment of the day was after we sang Happy Birthday (and he beamed ear to ear) he looked around the table, smiled and said, "Sing again!"  Of course we all obliged and sang another round of Happy Birthday before the candle was blown out.

Nate's favorite part was not the cake nor the endless mountain of generous gifts.  He is still talking about the moment when he, Sam and Will noticed Donald Duck in the window, waving to them.  All three boys stood there in amazement and waved back for several minutes.  It's a mystery how this happened. I don't think we invited Donald to the party.  Also a mystery is where Aunt Flann was when this waving was going on.  But it is all Nate talks about.  He fell asleep telling me, "Donald waved.  Sam waved, Nate waved, Grandma waved."  And the first thing he said to me this morning when I woke up was, "Nate waved to Donald."  Glad we didn't rent a pony or hire a clown - all we needed was a stuffed Donald waving from the window to make it Nate's favorite party ever.

Idlewild

On Saturday, we packed up the car and headed to western Pennsylvania to meet up with my Mom and Dad in Ligonier, PA.  It is almost as exact to in between us and them as you can get making a good meeting spot.  And there's a park there so we made a trip out of it.

Idlewild is perfect for the 2-year-old set.  Aaron and I both described it as quaint and they have a large area dedicated to rides for little guys Nate's age.  I was bummed we didn't get to see Mr. Roger's Neighborhood (broken trolley) but we'll hit it up next time.

Nate's favorite attractions:
Watching other people ride the log flume.  Every time someone came down the big hill, he'd yell, "Mas!"

The potato sac slide with his Dad.  Notice he's holding his little arms in the air.

Riding the train.

Choo Choo!

And "driving" the cars.

He was also a huge fan of the jacuzzi tub in the hotel room Saturday night.

After we left on Sunday morning, Nate headed home with Grandma and Papa for a Bear's Vacation this week.  They'll bring him back on Friday so we can celebrate the big T-W-O.

Our Night at the Museum

We took advantage of one last Congressional perk and attended the annual Smithsonian Congressional Family Night, this year at the National Air and Space Museum.  Last year we left Nate home with Kate but this time we brought him along.  Allow me to sum up the evening in one conversation that was repeated many times over.

 

Aaron: (points to a plane) That's a Supermarine Spitfire.
Nate: It's a plane.
Aaron: And that's a P-51 Mustang.
Nate: It's a plane.
Aaron: (points to a plane hanging from the ceiling) That's a Mitsubishi Zero.
Nate: It's a plane, up high.

Nate's favorite part?  The escalator.  And the cheese they served at dinner.

Visting the Doctor

Last week Nate was home sick from daycare.  I had an appointment so he had to come along.  I was nervous about having a toddler in an office with me but it turned out to be fun.  Dr. Band has sons and his experience with kids showed.  He was great with Nate and had him sit on the table next to me and showed him how to use the Doppler.  So Nate was actually the one to find the baby's heartbeat.  Which of course he won't remember, but I think I always will. (146 bpm, right on the border for anyone using the old wives tale to try and predict gender!)

The funniest part of the visit was when Nate grabbed a cup from the stack and began pretending to drink out of it.  The stack was new, clean cups.  But the picture was too good not to snap.

Bowling

Sunday night, Sierra came to babysit Nate and we joined some friends for an evening of bowling.  At the White House.



Aaron claims this was on his DC Bucket List.  I did not know there was a bowling ally in the White House until our friend Dori invited us to go bowling there.

Another shot of the ally.


And a few action shots.  (Photo edits made to comply with security rules.)

Wearing a long dress was a bad choice.

The bowling class he took in college really paid off.

And the end of the evening. You can't see my final score but I'm happy (and a little surprised) to report I did not even come close to finsihing last.

There's a New Sheriff in Town

Quite literally.  Elmo has reigned supreme in our house for a long time.  For a while, every time Nate saw any kind of screen he pointed to it and demanded Elmo.  But in the last weeks he has developed a new obsession.  And when we put it on, Aaron and I are instantly hooked too.  I'm fairly sure the whole family will be reciting every line by the end of this month.

July!

A favorite month in our house.  Aaron and I met in July 1998, we moved into our house in July 2007, and of course the biggest celebration, we welcomed Nate to the word in July 2010.  Also a great month to celebrate family birthdays - me, my Dad (aka Papa), Ashley, Brendan, Grandma Shirley, Cyndy, and a couple of my uncles.

The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday.  How can you not love a holiday that celebrates the beginning of our country and is observed by relaxing, visiting the pool, eating hot dogs and drinking beer?  Last weekend, we held our fifth annual July 4th cookout.  Things this year were a little different than in the past since we were going on 48 hours without power.  But we didn't let that stop the fun.  We knew from past years that the partying all occurs outdoors anyway and without power indoors we had to grill all of our food - party or not.  Without a doubt, Nate's favorite part were the cupcakes his cousins Taegan and Shailey made - he licked off all the icing and then went for another one.  Can't wait to see how he enjoys the birthday cake later this month!

We eventually got power back and I spent Monday throwing away everything in our fridge and freezer and then scrubbing it top to bottom.  A chore I've been meaning to do anyway so I suppose I should thank our power company.

Also on the early July agenda was Nate's very first field trip.  Tania and Raul took the kids to the zoo on Tuesday.  Nate was clueless when we talked to him in advance but Tania tells us he was nuts when they got there, running all around and naming every animal he saw.  We're looking forward to taking him back when the petting zoo is open (it was too hot the morning they went).  I think petting a cow might blow his little toddler mind.

This weekend we're having a big yard sale as we clear out the playroom as we get ready to move Nate into his big boy room.  Then we'll likely camp out at the pool as we try to keep cool.