Nathan's big news

It's been a big month for Nathan, too. He has discovered that rolling over can be much more than a way to take the reins and put an end to the dreaded tummy time--it can be a mode of locomotion! He's a rolling fool these days and frequently ends up smushed up against a wall or piece of furniture, hollering to be saved. Quite a hoot! And just in the last week or so, he's gotten proficient at spinning around on his tummy. We may make a virtual tour of our house, with those 360-degree photographs, by strapping a camera to his back and setting him loose. Perhaps we could rent him out to people wanting to sell their homes... Anyway, the days of putting him down on a blanket and returning hours later to find him still squarely on said blanket are long gone. (Kidding about the hours part! Recall that there is a Big Sister living in this house--letting Nathan out of our sight for more than two minutes is like asking her to lie down on him ("I was makin' a Nafan sandwich. He's the jelly."), smack him ("I hit him because I love him."), or decorate him with markers ("I was showin' him how to drink the blueberry juice out of the marker."). Even two minutes is probably pushing it. I've gotten really fast at switching the laundry!) He wants to crawl--waves his arms and legs around like mad whenever he's on his tummy. If it weren't for that tummy being so firmly planted on the floor, he'd be off like a shot. One of these days, he will be. I'm pretty sure he made some forward progress the other day. Soon, he'll be all over the place. He and Big Sister will both enjoy that, I'm sure!

Nathan has been putting a lot of energy and effort into growing lately, too. He's solid as a brick, and his cheeks and legs are both impressive stores. He could put an autumn squirrel to shame. All the rolls Rachel had on her arms, he has on his legs. They're just delicious!

Here's where I should put in a photo of Nathan's legs, or some video of him rolling around, or a snap of him with a blue face. And I'd love to, but we're having some growing pains with our photo files. As soon as I figure it out, you'll see Rachel's gorgeous new 'do, Nathan's rolls, and their exuberant embracing of spring! Thanks for your patience.

Speaking of spring, we planted strawberries the other day. Rachel is a terrific help in the garden. We're going to have a lot of fun this summer, I can tell. I am beyond tickled that we finally have a place to grow things! (I had long ago accepted that gardening would get me dirty. Ditto for playing with children. But oh, my gosh--gardening with children! I had no idea. Between the one yelling in his seat and causing me to hurry and the other one rubbing her trowel up my leg...let us just say that I was well on my way to becoming one with our new yard. I love it!)

And now, a request of you, dear reader. (Do I sound like Miss Manners? Oh, wait--she would have called you "gentle reader.") Pray for Nathan to sleep. Please pray hard. The child is six months old today and still gets up two, three, or four times per night. His mother is becoming more addled by the day. Or, rather, by the night. So if you ever find yourself up in the middle of the night, please send some nice, calm, drowsy, somnolent, soporific, narcotic thoughts Nathan's way. (They say doing crossword puzzles is good to ward off senility. I'm working hard to fight the addling!) Many thanks!

As long as we're talking about vocabulary, you should know that Rachel has become a great lover of words. She is fully into the what-and-why stage and thinks hard about things. She asked something the other day as we crossed a bridge downtown and got me into an explanation of drawbridges. The next day, I heard her telling Nathan, "A drawbridge is when the road pops up to let a big boat through." She has also explained to him what a bouquet of flowers is and surprised her Aunt Beth with a conversation about boats in dry dock. It's amazing to watch her learn. And when I feel bad for not talking to Nathan as much as I talked to Baby Rachel (when we have playtime during her naps, I'm usually hard pressed to break the rare quiet with words!), I console myself with knowing that he has such a wonderful teacher in her.

Okay. Enough. I should probably post more often so you don't have to read so much stream-of-consciousness! Enjoy our kids. We sure do!