This and That

I have been slacking this week!  I did try to post last night but Blogger was down...so I hunkered down in front of the tv instead:)

Here are some pics of what we have been up to this week.

Crawling
No, Nathanh is not crawling yet...but boy is he getting close!  He has moved away from the tricycle crawl that I described in an earlier post (except when he is really tired).  He can get himself into a correct crawling position now.  He knows to use his hands to turn to the direction he wants to go in...I haven't seen him do a total 360 yet (stationary) probably only a 180, but he could if he was motivated to.  He will be in position and rock back and forth and twice I have seen him just lunge his body forward...not such a popular move as he lands on his chin.  We, myself and various family members, have been trying to show him that he needs to move his hands, one then the other...he will pick up one hand now and can balance on three points.  Unfortunately though, when he does try to crawl, in reasonably good form, he ends up pushing himself backwards with his arms instead of getting a forward momentum...it will come...and probably sooner than I'd like!



Nathanh gets into this position himself.  In this picture my leg is against his feet, trying to get him to go forward instead of backwards!

 Playtime
One thing we have lots of around here is playtime!  Right now Nathanh seems to have two favourite toys.  One is a fish tank, from Auntie Joyce,  that plays music when it is moved.  I think he likes it because the motion detector is very sensitive so he is very successful at doing it independently.  The other is that big, green frog from Uncle Peter.  Nathanh LOVES this thing!  When I first saw it I thought it would be one of those toys that I'd put away for awhile, until Nathanh was older, able to walk and pull it behind him...not at all.  Nathanh's favourite thing to do is sit on the floor, I will put froggy in front of him but a full strings length away.  (I am amazed by this), he will pick up the string and pull it towards him and froggy comes closer, obviously...but here is the part that I am amazed at...he then takes his other hand and puts it on the string, now that he is able to reach closer to froggy and pull it...totally hand over hand, pulling!  And he is successful at getting froggy to his toes every time!  tonight he tried the same thing from his stomach...not so successful..as when froggy got the last pull he crashed into Nathanh`s head!  Ooops...There is nothing wrong with natural consequences - right?

You will notice in many pictures, that Nathanh is holding froggy's green string...if it is close by he won't let go!

Books
Nathanh got lots of books for Christmas and we make use of them everyday!  We read every morning.  I find he is slow to fully wake up so reading is a quiet activity that he will sit on my lap for during this time.  The rest of the day he is too active for more than one or two books but in the morning we will get through 7 - 10.  It is interesting to me to watch him develop his "reading" skills.  This is the teacher in me coming out.  He has his favorite books (three favourites) and will reach for them or stare at them first.  I think he is starting to remember the books too.  He has lots of touch and feel books and he is beginning, in the two he sees the most, to know (remember) where to reach his hand to, to feel the picture.  When we started this was all hand over hand, but he is now reaching himself.  I think he is also starting to realize that what I say (read) on each page is the same.  There is one book, another favourite, that is longer and more abstract...poetry about colours...I only started reading it to him because it was one of the few board books I had prior to Christmas.  Anyways, I think he likes it because it is the most familiar. 

Currently, Nathanh's three favourite books are:
Things That Go (Baby Touch and Feel), My Many Coloured Days by Dr. Seuss and his all time favourite (one of mine too) is Peekaboo Kisses by Barney Saltzberg.  Peekaboo Kisses is a touch and feel book that introduces the concept of peekaboo (a big hit with the average 6 - 7 month old!) but Nathanh waits very patiently for the last two pages.  On the second to last page there are "squeaky mouse kisses"  and the mouse actually squeaks when he hits the tummy - something Nathanh will do over and over again! On the last page is "peekaboo I see YOU" with a flap you lift to find a mirror.   He is all smiles EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I will try to get a photo of us reading this book, it really is a hoot!

We've been up to more than just this and I certainly have more photos, but due to the time and the fact that Erwin has been sick the last few days, I am rather tired and ready for bed.  I want to try to get a few hours in before Nathanh's 3:00am bottle.