Nathan has advanced a great deal over the last three months. Just after his first birthday, he started pointing to objects such as the fan and chandelier as if asking me to name them. Nathan also began to wipe down surfaces with a sponge or cloth. He probably picked that up from watching me wipe down his tray... it's very cute. He practiced standing at the beginning of February and was even able to climb off his Home Depot truck at that time. By mid February, Nathan was "talking" on the phone, scribbling, and had taken his first step. On February 11th, he did a pretty amazing thing... he placed one of his cardboard boxes on top of a chop stick and twirled it around, repeatedly. He also learned how to stick out his tongue. By the end of February, Nathan was coordinated enough to set the clown (engineer) on his toy train engine and make the train run.

Nathan took his first real steps on March 2nd and continued to practice throughout the month. He seemed encouraged to do so by watching other children in his Kindermusik class walking. At the end of March, he could put two legos together and seemed to understand when I would tell him to climb down from high places "de reversa" (in reverse)... he would actually turn around and climb down backwards. On March 31st, Nathan was able to climb out of his co-sleeper (seeing him coming down the hall with a big mischievous smile was priceless) and was "asking" me for snacks by directing me to his food cupboard. Unfortunately, Nathan also began throwing tantrums and even biting me this month. I later realized that this new negative behavior was in response to my working more and spending less time with him (I started helping Greg with some work on the computer for a couple of hours a day). It's amazing how little changes can have such a big impact on a baby. Once I stopped logging on while he was awake, the tantrums seemed to stop.

By April, Nathan could stand up on his own (without pulling himself up) and could walk pretty well. He would practice walking by throwing a ball and then walking toward it to pick it up and throw it again. He went to McAllen to visit in early April. He liked his aunts but was a bit afraid of his uncles. He started warming up to them a bit by the end of the trip though. Nathan got to play with the twins while he was there. He was jealous of them at first... he didn't want me holding them, but he didn't seem to mind by the end of the trip. My mom has stairs in her house and Nathan loved them... I was amazed at how well and quickly he could climb. On April 16th, he started pointing properly and he was able to climb into and out of the laundry basket and tub on his own. April 17th was a big day for me... he finally uttered "ma, ma, ma". By the end of April, Nathan was off the bottle.

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Last Updated April 27, 2002