Indoors

So I told you that Nathan has begun walking, but that was just a small part of his exciting February. We all knew he'd walk eventually. Even he seems to see it as small potatoes next to his other big accomplishment. I would, too, if I could do what he does. Let's see if any of you dear readers can match him. Find a surface, big enough to sit or lie on, parallel to the floor, at your chest height. (True, he has a lot of surfaces to practice on which fit this bill. They're harder for me to come by, and probably even harder for most of you. Perhaps you'd like to try this on the high counter at the post office or something.) Got one? Okay, now reach across the surface as far as you can and use just your arms to hoist your whole self (and, often as not, a heavy diaper--I'll concede that you can skip that part) onto this chest-high surface. You are allowed to flail your legs about a bit. Any challengers, or shall I just pronounce Nathan Mr. Upper-Body Strength? He is quite the accomplished little monkey. He does this on folding chairs at church, on the couch at home, and--his favorite--on dining room chairs that he has pushed into the kitchen. It's very cute--of course he wants to be close by and watch me cook, right? Nope--he mostly wants to stand by the back door and try to unlock it. We're pretty sure he's plotting his escape. And there are deeper implications. Has it occurred to any of you yet that this means I can no longer leave knives on the counter? And today he pushed the chair over to the sink and started taking things out of it. Where, tell me, am I supposed to put the knives, or the raw chicken, for that matter? There is no place safely out of reach when you live with a monkey! Yes, we are definitely earning our gray hairs with this one. (I hope I don't sound complain-y. That's not my intent. True, it's harrowing to find one's toddler brandishing a bread knife, and sometimes difficult to keep track of his every move, but even more, it's amusing to see what interests him and to wonder what he'll come up with next!)

Note the proud grin--and the empty counter! It's hard to see, but he's holding a key to the back door.


I've been talking a lot about Nathan, but Rachel is lots of fun these days, too. She's quite a thoughtful and sensitive little girl--she often suggests that we pray for people when she hears about their troubles. And she (mostly) adores Nathan and loves teaching him things. She is a super-fast tricyclist, an excellent kitchen helper, and an unbelievably loud yeller when the situation calls for it. (This happens more often than anyone who is not three years old would believe.) She can draw people and write her name. This week's big excitement was switching the type of diapers she wears for sleeping. She parades around before she puts on her pj's and makes sure Nathan has adequately admired her new diaper. (He admires most things about Rachel, so that's not much of a problem.) She's also recently found pool confidence, and swimming with her is infinitely more fun. She even jumps into the pool now when we go to family swim. Yes, Rachel keeps us busy and entertained. Each day is new and exciting. And--perhaps this is the biggest news yet--orange and purple have joined the list of favorite colors! (At least temporarily. Fear not, though--there is nothing temporary about pink.)


Here she is teaching Nathan about airplanes, just before we boarded one to visit grandparents. (Thanks, Grand-Merr and Grandpa, for a great time!)

Outdoors

Guess what we did today? We ate lunch. Outside. With our jackets off! Ah, yes, life is good. We love spring. And this lunch was particularly fun, because leprechauns came last night and turned our milk green! Those silly leprechauns! We've been loving our time outside (and savoring it, knowing that snow is predicted for this weekend--argh!). Nathan is learning that walking on sidewalks is not quite like walking on hardwood floors. Similarly, falling on sidewalks is somewhat different. (I'd advise any of you with some money to invest to sink it into band-aid stock. Soon, like before he starts wearing shorts.) He has quickly become a master of the scooter and can almost keep up with Rachel on her trike. We've had some pretty cool adventures sans stroller lately--mostly toodling around the block looking for spring flowers. We've also been to the park a couple of times. Nathan had forgotten his love for the park, but he quickly re-embraced swing and slide alike. Sandbox presents some special peril to the new walker, so he's still hesitant to jump in there, but that will come in good time.

Here are my little leprechauns (not the ones who turned the milk green, just the ones who do the rest of the mischief around here). Nathan wore green and orange today.



And I'm not sure when Rachel got this old, but suddenly she looks way-far removed from babyhood to me.

Walking

February was a big month for us. Perhaps you guessed from my lack of blogging--I was busy chasing a new toddler around! He walked a little more each day, until by the end of February he was starting each journey on foot, then still often crawling after the inevitable fall. Now, though, he walks all over the place, and even gets up to walk again after he falls. Life is pretty exciting. Walking frees up your hands, you know, so now Nathan can carry stuff around. He still can't touch Rachel's carrying ability (Last night at bedtime I put away a rolling suitcase with a purse and two shopping bags hanging from the handle. All of these were full. Of what, heaven only knows, but we were getting ready for a big trip to both the North Pole and the South Pole, you see. Have to have lots of stuff.) but he's enjoyed carrying around crackers, plastic cows, and the like--like the pink fairy phone in the video here. As you'll note, he still has his engaging smile. We get comments about his flirting everywhere we go.



Rachel is sitting on my lap right now and wants me to tell you: "Frogs eat spiders and flies." When I asked where she learned that, she told me, "I just thought it up in my mind." Who needs relevance? Life is very stream-of-consciousness when you're three. It's a hoot.