Channeling Kourtney K

Nate had to get some new sunglasses that were small enough to actually stay on.  What do you think?

Dentist

Yesterday was Nate's first trip to the ever-dreaded dentist.  There were a few moments of calm...

...but mostly the morning went like this:

Nate has developed a sixth sense for knowing when he's in a place where people are going to be bugging him.  Often he panics before we even get there.  Nate saw right through the facade of "child-friendly" dental office and cried and cried the whole time.  Poor kid.

We knew Nate was having some issues with his teeth because they were starting to turn a lovely shade of grayish-green.  We learned from the dentist that not eating by mouth causes the teeth to get more build-up, but it also makes the likelihood of cavities very low.  Turns out all Nate needed was a good cleaning to get the stains off and now his teeth are pearly white again. 

The cleaning did not go down without a fight though--for a kid with a disease that makes his muscles weak, he is really, really hard to pin down!  I laid back in the chair with him on my lap and tried my best to keep him still while the dentist worked on him.  He fought and and thrashed until he was so worn out he couldn't move his head or arms anymore.  That's when he started to try to use his tongue to keep the the dentist away.  Everytime that dentist put the cleaning tool in his mouth we would see his tongue start trying to push the tool back out.  He's a fighter.

Yummy Yummy

Some days, when Nate is being particularly wonderful and adorable and sweet and chatty and clever, I remark that I want to eat him for dinner.  This statement isn't so much about cannibalism as it is about my lack of vocabulary.  I simply feel like my current set of senses isn't enough to take in all of his wonderfulness and I need another way to experience him.  Scott gets really freaked out when I say this.  But even he couldn't deny that if we did eat Nate for dinner, he'd be completely delicious.

Having an actual dinner on Valentine's Day. 
Nate looks a little scared that he might be on the menu.

Little League

Last night we took Nate to Cousin Sam's last little league game of the season.  Like the responsible parents we are, we packed ourselves a full picnic dinner and forgot to bring anything warm for Nate (in our defense it was nearing 90 degrees in our apartment when we left).  It was freezing and windy at the ballgame, but Nate borrowed Sam's sweatshirt and spent a lot of time looking for his hands every time they disappeared under the sleeves. 

Nate's interest in the game was fleeting but he enjoyed seeing Grandpa and his cousins and spotting airplanes.  The highlight was Scott taking him down the slide for the first time since he got his trach.  We disconnected his vent, hurried and took him down the slide, gave him a few breaths on the vent, and then did it again.  He normally doesn't like being off the vent but I think it was totally worth it to him this time.  Sorry no pictures, I was too busy making sure the alarms on the vent didn't go off while he was disconnected.

Nate hugging "Big Charlie" as he decided to call him last night

Rock On

Nate's love affair with music began early.

These days he's been doing more quiet, introspective listening.  Personally I don't think it's any less intense.

The song he's been into lately says, "Yooooooou better believe it's true" over and over so Nate calls it "You" and asks for it all the time.

Nate seems to have a deep appreciation for every genre of music he has been exposed to.  But when it comes down to it, this kid wants to rock.  I love him.

P.S. Don't forget to "like" Nate's fundraiser Facebook page and share it with everyone you know!

Nate the Great's Most Awesome Fundraiser!

BYU vs SJSU discount tickets available the week of June 18th.  All proceeds go to Nate and SMARD research.

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Way Way High

We spent the afternoon enjoying the lovely weather in Grammy and Grandpa's backyard.  After seeing his cousin Callie getting tossed up in the air over and over by her dad, Nate wanted in.  He kept saying, "High!  Higher!  Way, way high!  Again!"  Turns out he's kind of an adrenaline junkie.