One is Fun

Nathan is one. He didn't really understand the importance of the day, but he reached the one year anniversary of his birth unscathed. As I mentioned in the previous post, there were not too many bells and whistles for his big day but it was special none the less. He opened (actually pulled a blanket off of) his present from Gerrit, Tessa, and I; stared at us while we sang "Happy Birthday" and enjoyed mashing a piece of his cake. We have photos of all of it but still haven't figured out the posting pictures part; so you'll have to imagine.

Nathan really likes the present we bought for him. It is a Tonka truck that you can push or ride on. The coolest part is that when you turn the key it plays the cutest little puttering along song. We call it the Tonka Rap. Nathan enjoys dancing to it. Again, you will have to envision him standing by his truck bending his knees rapidly and swinging his head back and forth. We think that he gets his dancing talent from his dad. If you are wondering what that means, ask Gerrit to show you some of his moves sometime...you won't soon forget it.

Nathan also received cards, clothes, gifts, and money from extended family--Thank you! The most exciting for him where the cards; he loved them! A close second were the tags that came on the clothes; another super exciting invention!

Yesterday, Nathan went in for his one year check. We are always interested in seeing what his height and weight are since he was so huge at birth. Well, he is 75% for height as well as weight. His head is still rather large, a trait from my side of the family. Developmentally, he is right on course. He is walking along things, standing on his own, and has even taken a few steps. Speech wise, he is definitely surprising us. He is able to say "Mama, Dada, Tessa (Tetta), Uh-Oh, Down (to Casey our dog), Hi, Whoa, and Hello--when holding the phone or a Ritz cracher to his ear.

When he has acquired the possession of something he shouldn't have he says "Tetta's" It is his way of telling on himself. Yesterday the doctor gave him the light that he uses to look in your throat, eyes, etc. in order to get him to stop screaming. He looked at it, said "Tetta's" and handed it back. In other words, "I don't think that I am supposed to have this!" That genius type comprehension and sense of right & wrong comes from my side, the screaming during the exam, from Gerrit's :)

I will end this post by telling you how famous our son is. Every year the hospital publishes a year in review. In the OB section, they list the heaviest, lightest, tallest, and shortest babies born. Well, we are proud to say that Nathan was both the heaviest at 12.8 pounds and longest at 22.5 inches. I am pretty sure that there have been babies that were longer than him but he has the hospital record for weight. We are still waiting for the year of free diapers and/or college tuition.