Ode to Nate

Daddy and Nate in the NICU (Feb/03)
2004

Spring, 2005. Dallas YMCA gymnastics

December 2005, Utah

Malibu, May 2005

Halloween 2005, Kansas City

November 2006

December 2006

September 2007

Okay, so that last post was a little sad. I was getting Nate a snack when I realized that I need to do a post about how great a kid he is. I think I need to remind myself of all the great things he does and all that makes him so great. So, at the risk of being a little self-indulgent (isn't that what blogs are for, anyways?) here goes:

*From the beginning, Nate has always been a happy, social kid. Everywhere we go, he makes friends. Even at the grocery store. His line is always: "Hi. I'm Nate. I'm four. How old are you?" and he says this to kids and adults alike (which can be a little awkward, especially with the adults.). I believe that he has been blessed with this gift so that our many moves have been less difficult for him. He loves being around people.

*Nate is a bright kid. We were really nervous when he wasn't really talking much by age 2 or so. But once he started, he's never stopped! He's so curious about the world. He has many questions, some which surprise me by how thoughtful or insightful they are. He knew all his letters at a really young age and would "read" to me when we were driving. "That sign says S-T-O-P. That means stop. S-T-O-P means stop, Mom."

*Now, he can write all his letters and all his numbers. Imagine my surprise when one day at church he wrote all the letters on a piece of paper and handed it to me. We'd never even worked on it, not once. I still don't know how he did that.

*He can count to 100, not missing a single number. He is obsessed with numbers and asks us, "What number is this?" all the time. For instance, he'll say, "What number is 2,0,0,0?" to which we'll reply "That's two thousand." He'll then say, "Oh. Two thousand has three zeros after a two." He does this all day. When we're driving past houses, he reads the house numbers. Gets on my nerves sometimes, but I'm so glad that he's noticing the world around him.

*He loves the movie Cars, Toy Story, the Backyardigans, and Little Einsteins. He loves to play with Legos, cars, and ride his bike.

*He is a loving little boy. I love his hugs and kisses, and he's very sweet with his little brother. Aidan probably gets more than his fair share of love ;)

When Nate was born, he spent five days in the NICU. That was scary for us. I was so grateful to have him then, and I'm grateful to have him now. I hope to never take this precious child of God for granted. He is what his name means: "Blessing from God."