Milestones

It's a busy month for us. Sam graduates next week and his family is coming in starting on Sunday. Add that to the school year winding down for Nathaniel and my junior high students and you have one busy family. But, I still thought I needed to jot down some thoughts about what's going on with the family because this is kind of my "my children are growing up and hitting new milestones" journal as well as a way to keep people updated with our lives.

Aaron is growing like a weed. He had his 15 month check up last week and has hit 28 pounds and 31 inches. Luckily his car seat is large enough for him to still face backwards until he hits 34 inches (apparently the new guidelines want kids sitting backwards until they are 2). He got a vaccination at the doctor's office and it was pretty cute. He cried for about 2 seconds and then, as the nurse exited the room he smiled and waved and said, "byeeeee!" in his sweet little voice.

He doesn't say much. He can say "Hi" and "bye" but he doesn't say much else. He signs A LOT but his verbal skills consist mostly of pointing and giving a tribal yell. We're working on getting him to be more verbal. He does shake his head yes and no a lot, so I know he is completely understanding everything we say. He is also really good at following simple instructions, I just think that Nathaniel speaks for him most of the time.

Nathaniel is winding down in school. His one day a week preschool co-op ended a few weeks ago and Cubbies ends next week. I'm not sure when his school year ends since his preschool is more daycare and goes year round. We also haven't decided whether or not to keep him in the program through the summer. It all depends on Sam's job situation.

The other day Sam and I were talking about my job and some of the difficulties I've been facing. Nathaniel was sitting at the table with us and he turned to me and said, "Mom, why is it hard for you?" I was taken aback because this was his first question where he actually showed empathy and interest in someone else. I almost cried, but then I answered his question. He really is an empathetic child, which I love. I love his heart for others and the sensitivity he has towards others. Whenever something sad happens in a movie that he's watching he cries, even if it's the 15th time he's seen it. I hope that he can continue to have empathy towards others. Although, yesterday he was talking about different friends at preschool and he said that he played with "J" this past week. Then he looked at me and whispered, "Mom, I thought that 'J' was a girl because of his curly hair, but he's actually a boy!" I think it was his first encounter where he wasn't sure of someones gender. I thought it was cute.

That's it here. We went camping last weekend with the junior high students and had a blast. Sam graduates next weekend and after everything I will be able to blog a bit more and post pictures.