Wonderful uniquenesses I love

For the past week, Nathan has been attempting to let go of whatever object he is using to support himself as he stands.  While he's been cruising for quite some time now, a few days ago, I saw him, let go of the recliner as he twisted and very smoothly went down on his hands and knees.  Then yesterday, he again let go for just a split second before dropping onto his bottom.  Today, he tried a couple of times, taking a couple tumbles after being unsupported for about half a second.  Then, on his 3rd try, he got it!!  My sweet baby went from sitting to standing with only a minor touch to my leg on his way up, then he stood there, swaying a little bumpily on his little feet as he check and balanced himself for about 30 seconds.  I was so proud of him!  Sweet Michael always encourages his little brother with "GOOD JOB, NATHAN!!!" while clapping his hands; his little face lit up joyfully.

 It's so funny to me how different Michael and Nathan are - and I love them so much for their differences!  Michael has always been most active, non-stop little buddy.  From the moment he started to move during his first few months of life, he hasn't stopped.  As soon as he could even attempt to roll over, diaper changes became wrestling matches.  Nathan, on the other hand, is a much calmer baby.  It has only been the last month or so that he has tried to flip over and crawl away during diaper changes!

While Michael loves to yell at the top of his lungs when he's having fun and is excited, Nathan's voice has a much more powerful volume, which he loves to exercise with loud screams to get what he wants.  Of course, the poor baby has had to be much louder to get the same attention that Michael would get with the smallest of sounds.

Sweet little Nathan is a bottomless pit when it comes to food!  I think he honestly eats 3 to 4 times the amount Michael eats on a daily basis.  After Nathan will eat a whole bowl of food (and when I say bowl, I'm not talking about a small little bowl!), he will still want to eat more of anything he sees anyone else still eating!  Everyday, Nathan eats oatmeal and at least 2 to 4 of the following vegetables: carrots, broccoli, celery, spinach, cauliflower, and tomatoes.  He will also eat chicken, turkey, pork, and fish.  Michael on the other hand, will go a whole day having only eaten 1/2 an egg, some rice, some noodles, and a lot of milk.  Of course, in general I can still get him to eat corn, peas, broccoli, or tomatoes, but he's become much more finicky and picky.  He'll almost never refuse cheese and cashews.  Sometimes he'll still eat chicken (particularly if it's Chick-fil-a!), but he refuses almost any other meat.  He does like shitaki mushrooms.  Then I can usually get him to eat spaghetti and meat sauce (where I might try to hide more veggies), potato patties (again, with veggies hidden), mac & cheese, and my fried rice, but none of these are guaranteed, either.  Fruit that he likes: bananas, grapes, cherries, blueberries, and strawberries - but again, he's not guaranteed to always eat it!

Other fun things going on over here: While Michael's favorite vehicle is still the train, he loves to watch "helkidopters" that fly overhead.  He also loves to play Nathan's new favorite game of "kit-a-boo."  Giraffes and Jaguars are his favorite animals, but he also likes "elpents."  And "Gotchew" is still his favorite game.