What Nathan's been doing

While Mom has been busy quilting, Nathan has been busy as well. The quilting store in Jacksonville shares a parking lot with a little park on the banks of the New River, so after Mom picked up some thread and batting, Nathan got to go play. The slide scared him, so we spent our time swinging.

Next, Nathan continued to work on standing up and walking. Some attempts were more successful than others, but he can now take about five or six steps in a row when he chooses to do so. He is always quite proud of himself when he does stand up or walk and makes sure to make some attention-grabbing noise so that Mom and Dad can see him and praise him appropriately. It's pretty funny. But, at least he should be able to walk before New Baby comes. Nathan has always been a fairly cautious kid and likes to do things on his own time. Even his teeth are coming in slowly - at 16+ months, he only has four teeth. At least he's cute and usually has a big smile on his face.

I'm back!

I'm sorry I fell off the face of the earth there. Two weeks ago, Chad went out of town for five days. I had no idea going into his trip just how much I would miss him. I could barely even say goodbye at his office for fear of bursting into tears. I probably don't say it often enough, but I have a rock-star of a husband who is so kind and helpful. As I drove away, I realized I had two options - go home and cry, which is completely unproductive, or go to the fabric store to find fabric for quilts, which, while expensive, is at least marginally productive. And much less self-pitying.

The previous weekend, when we were in Raleigh, I had gone to a very dangerous place, the Bernina quilting store, and purchased fabric to make a quilt for New Baby. Mind you, I've only ever made one quilt before, and that one was completed about six or seven years ago. Something about the color pink was inspiring, though, and I decided it was time for a project. I wasn't in love with one of the colors, so after Chad left, Nathan and I headed to the Cotton Patch, a great quilting store in Jacksonville, to rectify that situation. The owners had a dog, so Nathan decided that the fabric store was fun too. We left with not only a better pink but also fabric and a pattern to make a quilt for Nathan. I couldn't make a quilt for New Baby and not ever have made one for Nathan. I didn't want to add one more thing to the It's Not Fair list before New Baby is even born. The list will become long enough eventually - there's no need to start it any earlier than necessary.

So, while Chad was out of town, I trashed the house quilting. Fabric, thread, scraps, cutting boards, etc were scattered all over the place. Nathan and I didn't care about the disastrous mess (Nathan probably loved it), and by the time Chad came home, both quilts were cut and pieced. In the week since he came home, both quilts have been quilted, binding attached, and I finished New Baby's quilt last night. Nathan's quilt just needs the binding hand-stitched to the back, and it will also be done. Not too shabby considering I started only two weeks ago! Here are the two quilts in their current states of completion. I love how different the quilts are - New Baby's is pink and soothing, and Nathan's is bright and full of dogs. I think his is hilarious. The colors didn't turn out well in the picture, but Nathan clearly likes his new quilt. The sewing bug has bitten me - I've started to look at patterns to make new quilt bedding for New Baby, with pink of course :)

He walks! Sort of...

On Tuesday, Nathan decided to join the world of upright mobility! He has been able to stand up all by himself like a professional for over a week, even successfully leaning over to pick things up and returning to standing. When he stands up, he says "This!" so that you'll look at him and get excited for him. He can be such a little clown. Tuesday, he decided to take his first steps. So far, he has been unable to string together more than one step at a time, but at least it's progress. And at least he's making this progress four months before New Baby is scheduled to join the family. Hallelujah!

Nathan has also now acquired five words - Dada, this, Mama, ba (for bath), and yesterday's word was nana (for banana). Mobile and marginally verbal - we're starting to get there :) The pictures are of him downing three blueberry pancakes and a large piece of my delicious Mother's Day cake. He likes to eat.

The garden grows :)

When I went outside yesterday to check on my plants, I discovered that the tomatoes are already starting to produce! There are four tiny tomatoes growing on the cherry tomato plant, and all of the other plants are flowering like crazy. The Big Boy tomato plant is already almost as tall as its stake. My yummy tomato sandwich is getting closer and closer...

Beach Trip

On Saturday, we decided it was high time the Reese's went to the beach. The proximity to the beach is one of the saving graces of Jacksonville, and we had yet to go for a day trip. So, Chad hopped on his bike, and Nathan and I hopped into our car, and we all met at the beach. The trip was an easy one by car of only thirty minutes from our driveway to parking at the beach, including getting stuck in traffic from our neighborhood day of yard sales. Even by bike it was quite doable, taking under two hours.

The weather was glorious - upper 70s and sunny with a light breeze. The water was frigid - Nathan cried anytime a wave hit him. But other than the cold water, it was a fabulous day. Several dogs came by to say hello, and he thought he'd died and gone to heaven when they licked his face. Nathan played in the sand and crawled all over the place. Several nice ladies had dug a wading pool for their girls, and they invited us over to play. Nathan loved the warmer water and even tried to drink it. His faces were hysterical as he realized salt water doesn't taste good, and yet he tried it twice more. We had a nice picnic lunch, headed out, bought some delicious strawberries from a produce stand, and were at home unpacked by two in the afternoon. All in all, a very successful day that will be repeated many more times this summer and in summers to come. Sadly, we left the camera at home, but here are some pictures from last summer at the beach. Imagine Nathan taller and thinner, but still in the same swimsuit.

We've also added lots of new pictures to Picasa, so check the link to the right. Enjoy!

Silly Nathan

Nathan has been developing a few new favorite things to do. Heaven forbid we get bored with looking at the dogs next door and crawling around the yard all day long. Of late, he's been having fun smashing his face against the screen door and "helping" mom cook dinner. At least his new activities make for great pictures.