ON PRESCHOOL - Tiny Tots, Friend or Foe

Well, a lot of things have happened since the last time we last chatted.  The biggest is Nathaniel started school.  That's right, we're hoping the age-old childhood temptation to eat glue will get Nate to start eating again.  We weren't really sure how it would go but knew we needed to get Nate more out in the world. 

Thankfully, he loves going to Tiny Tots for the most part.  He loves to feed the pet turtle, ride his wheelchair in a circle with the kids on their bikes, participate in Zoophonics (which is a thing apparently) and provide a useful podium for kids to rest on during circle time.  His vent is the perfect height for a weary child to rest on whilst sitting.

He's had a little bit of a hard time with school lately though.  He got a cold about 3 weeks ago and that means weeks of no sleep for any of us, which dramatically affects his mood and desire to leave the house. 

Snack time has been a good opportunity for Nate to feel enough social pressure to try foods.  He gets the snacks everyone else does and will try them frequently....then spit them out.  Well, Nate's version of spitting which is opening his mouth and hoping the food will hop out or the stream of drool will carry the crumbs out. 

Since school has started he has been much more talkative, imaginative and outgoing.  We're happy we have such a great preschool so close to us.

From your friendly neighborhood Nate:

You'll have to speak up, I'm on my car phone.

Colin and Megan's Wedding

Last month Nate's uncle Colin got married.  He donned his most dapper duds and even put a little gel in his hair for the occasion.

Nate kept trying to hug Micah but it was hard.

Then he tried to kiss him and it was even harder.

The happy couple.

I feel like a total outsider in this picture.  Nate was so into hugging Scott.

He loves his new auntie Megan.

We got to meet his soon-to-be-uncle, too.  Nate was not too sure about him.  Love those shifty eyes.

Nate was totally psyched about going to the "wedding party". 

Happy day with my two favorite boys in the world.

Tahoe

This year was Nate's first time in Tahoe, made possible by our new van. 

This picture does not do it justice but there was a lot of stuff in our van.  90% of it was Nate's.

 

 

My entire family goes for a week every year.  This year our family count is up to 30 people, so it's a pretty big party.  We decided to do four days there since traveling is really hard for us, and we had a wedding to get back to.  It was a lot of hard work hauling Nate around everywhere but it was a blast.

 

He loved getting to see so much of his cousins.

 

One of his favorite things was throwing rocks in the lake.  He just thought it was fantastic.  He got pretty decent at it, too.



 

The last day we got to go on a boat.  This is what Nate had been anticipating ever since we told him we were going on this vacation, and it did not disappoint.  He was so excited and just kept wanting Grandpa to go faster.

 

 

Tahoe is my happy place.  I'm so glad Nate got to experience it this year.

 

 

 

The Smardy Duo

***UPDATE***

*The Smardy Duo has already sold out but will be restocked mid-September,

so stay tuned!*

A few months ago, my sister mentioned to me that she had a coworker at Red Cross who had heard about Nate and wanted to do something to help.  Her coworker owns a nail polish business on the side and decided to create a couple of custom colors in Nate's honor.

I thought it was an awesome idea, but it wasn't until I checked out her Instagram that I realized how amazing this girl really is.  Over 16,000 followers?!  She is the real deal in the nail polish biz!  Polished by KPT sells out regularly since their colors are amazing and all of the polishes are handcrafted, custom blended, cruelty-free, and free of the big 3 nasty chemicals that usually go into polishes.  So I feel especially cool that she has just introduced these new colors just for Nate!

The first color is called Bleu Cruiser and represents Nate cruising through his battle with SMARD.  Blue is also Nate's favorite color. :)

The next color is Glowing Smardy, which represents hope in a dark place.  This stuff glows in the dark and I LOVE it!

They are priced at $9-10 a bottle and 50% of the proceeds will go straight to Nate's fund at the DCipher Group to be used for medical expenses, therapy equipment, and donations to SMARD research.

Polishes can be ordered here.  Get some for yourself and everyone you know!  Christmas is coming soon, right? :) 

You can also help by spreading the word about these polishes on your Facebook, blog, Instagram, Twitter, or whatever the kids are using these days to tell people to about awesome stuff.

HUGE thanks are in order for KPT herself, too!  Be sure to check out her other polishes while you're shopping her site!

Photo Dump

Scott mercifully took over blogging duties for me last week, which was very sweet, but now my conscience is pricked and I feel like I have some major catching up to do. 

 

So, without further ado, I present to you Nate's entire summer.



lots of cousin time

lots of pool time

lots of seeing what sinks and floats.  fascinating stuff.

painting, and then getting a bath

Storytime with Mom.  I love that we can both fit in his new bed!



Learning to climb up and down his ramp

 

Waking up with 4-dimensional hair (and no pants, apparently)

Getting up close and personal with the construction equipment downtown

More cousin time

Visiting the temple

"Helping" me make dinner.  Why is there a loader in my casserole?

Lots of semi-annual checkups with all of his specialists.  He only shows up for the stickers.

Playing at Grandma's "beach"

Riding Caltrain

Being obsessed with human anatomy

Playing "guess my expression"

Helping me water the patio

Even more cousin time

Watching plane take off at the airport

Running through the sprinklers



Nate climbed these stairs all by himself for the first time in his life!

twice-weekly therapy

new baby cousin Lydia

Phew.