Enjoying Nathan

Investigating the contents of a school tub

Someone asked me the other day how things were going in our home. Nathan is doing great and is changing a little at a time. He will stand for a few seconds by himself then slowly sits down. We have a push type toy that he loves to walk behind until it gets stuck somewhere, he then abandons it on the spot. Yesterday Molly went in the bathroom and came out and said, "Why is Nathan's walker in the bathroom?" I noticed that the toilet paper had also been rearranged.

Yeah, I found something!

We have never been one for gates around our house so we have to watch the stairs because he thinks it is great fun to race you there. And of course the ever popular kitchen cabinets store great treasures for him. I have a hard time keeping track of my plastic lids since they are so versatile: steering wheels, plates for the play kitchen, frisbees, etc. so with Nathan's help I may know where to look for them next time. The other day there were three stacked neatly on a kitchen chair.

Nathan enjoys being read to and has now picked up the tendency to point to the pictures in the book. Sitting on the family room floor he was opening a book and pointing randomly at the pages. He watches everything we do.

Celebrating a succesful treasure hunt.

The tubs in the pictures are for our home school books. Closed they become a great climbing toy for Nathan during the day. He spent 15 minutes the other day putting his blocks on top of a closed box then climbing onto the box and one by one putting the blocks on the floor. Who needs Little Tikes when there's Rubbermaid! Though I have been a reluctant homeschooler, maybe some day I'll share about that, it is a blessing to have three of our older children home during the day and has brought about some great shared memories for our family.

Saturdays

Molly as goalie. Yikes! (10am)

Natalie (the tall one) playing defense. (12:30pm)

Brandon following his ball. (9am)

I guess I am a soccer mom, though I am not sure that I like the connotation that has come with that term. For a while in the fall our Saturdays are busy and some of our weeknights. It is a lot of fun to watch, especially the kindergardeners.

Each time one of our children plays sports I learn lessons right along with them, though not always the same lesson. I think there are some very good things that children learn from playing on a team and sometimes some difficult lessons too (though difficult isn't always a bad thing). I am thankful for opportunities to guide our children through their season and to have fun along with them.