July 5, 2010
Dear Nate,
Happy 18 Month Birthday! I can’t believe you are only a year & a half old, I can hardly remember a time without you in my life.
Part Monkey, Part Baby, Part Goat. That is what your sister tells people about you and it’s all true, let me explain.
Monkey - Your physical skills are amazing. You have no fear. You climb anything; in fact you look for things to climb. Then you sit there with the biggest grin when I find you in the middle of the dining room table or on top of the utility cart in the kitchen. Forget the rock climbing wall outside clearly marked for “ages 4 and up”, you scale that in seconds. You decided a few months ago you were ready to walk down stairs and now are minus one baby tooth. First ER visit and missing a bottom tooth until you are about 8. You run and spin and dance this authentic Irish River dance. You are constantly in motion.
In the past 6 months you have learned to talk. The last few weeks you have really been putting stories together. “Bunny hop away tree” you told me with much seriousness last week. Of course it hopped into the trees Nate, you were chasing it with arms flying, squealing at the top of your lungs. Stealth you are not. But you are charming, your eyes light up and you have this handsome smile that gets you out of most of the trouble you seem to find on a minute to minute basis. When Nate’s being quiet you have to go find out what he is into, because it is most likely mischief.
Baby – Oh my goodness are you sweet. My favorite time is after bath when you smell that clean, baby lotion smell. We sit in the glider and read books until you turn over and put your head on my shoulder and say “Baby again” and I sing “Hush little baby” 2 or 3 times as you drift off. I hold those moments in my heart like a treasure. I don’t see how I could ever feel sad again when I have these precious memories to pull out and make me smile.
Goat – Oh Nate you are such a goat. You are still a good eater, a demanding eater in fact. “FRIES!” “GOLDaFISH” “COOK” (cookie). You request them all loud and often. But also just about anything else you find goes in your mouth. Sticks, sand, any debris pulled out of the kitchen garbage can. I can’t count how many times I have pried your jaws open to remove something that didn’t belong. Please stop doing that.
OK, I’m breaking my own rule about keeping this readable and not going over 1 page. There is just so much you are doing and saying and learning, I want to tell your future self all about it. I want you to know most of all how much your Mother loves you, how happy you make so many people just by being you. Thank you Nathaniel, thank you for being the incredible love that just makes everything right.
