What happened to my baby Nate?

It seems like over the summer, Nate has really grown up. Even when I look at pictures from his 1st birthday, which doesn't seem that long ago, I realize how much he's changed. The little guy is a real comedian who loves to crack us up. Now that he's scaling the furniture -- just yesterday I found that he positioned the chair in order to climb onto the kitchen table -- we're starting to discipline him, something we're still getting used to. No matter how sternly Chuck says, "Nate, SIT!" Nate thinks it's just about the funniest thing he's ever heard ... and frankly, so do I. So all three of us just laugh and I wonder how this is going to work when he's a teenager.

We spent some time at the Harris YMCA, which has an awesome waterpark and pools. Nate was a little apprehensive about getting sprayed, but once he saw the other kids, he wanted to play too.

He also took swimming lessons a few months ago, and Daddy -- former lifeguard and swim team hunk -- has also been teaching him.


Hi, Mom!


Nate, how old are you? One! Also, thanks for helping me unpack.


Playing ball in a cardboard box. Why do we bother spending money on toys?


A black eye.


A few weeks ago, Nate tripped and hit his eye on the corner of a wooden chest. He cried really hard for about five minutes and then was perfectly fine. When I saw the blood oozing out of his eye, I freaked out a little. Now I know how my mom felt about Joe, who had stitches three times before he turned 3 and had his stomach pumped twice for eating Children's Tylenol and drinking rubbing alcohol. Most recently, Nate took a tumble off the jungle gym at the park and had a giant black-and-blue bump in the center of his forehead, which is now fading to green. He's a bruiser!

The other bruiser in our family is Wylie, who strained her ankle about six weeks ago during an amazing maneuver in mid-air while trying to catch a ball. She had to wear a splint for the past six weeks, but her foot got infected and they had to take it off. She's completely restricted for another six weeks, which means no walks, doggie play dates at the park, or even wandering the backyard. The good news is that Nate is keeping her great company, and we're spoiling her by occasionally letting her lounge on the couch.