Coastin'

Nate has had a great year so far.  Just in this month alone he has had his first sleepover, started primary and visited his first amusement park.  AND!  Nate went on his first roller coaster and LOVED it.

 

We decided to go to Happy Hollow this last week.  We try to do things with Nate that sound painful and exhausting for us because that's usually a good indicator that it is something exciting for him.  Nathaniel has never been on anything even resembling a ride and even though there is some anxiety for us to do something like this we knew it would be good for him and us.

 

 

 

 

First up was the Merry-go-round.  Nate thought it was loads of fun so we thought we'd check out what other rides there were.

 

As we neared the back of the park Nate saw the roller coaster and it was love at first sight.  I don't think he knew exactly what it was but he saw it going around the track and knew he wanted to be on it.  The ride seemed pretty tame so Nate and I put on our matching shirts and hopped on.

 Nate was so excited to be on the rollercoaster, I thought he was going to shake himself apart.  Once the ride got going I was worried that he was going to have a smile permanently attached to his face.  This may sound great but if he has a permanent smile then what was he supposed to do during serious moments? 

Anyway, Nate loved it.  He loved it so much we had to ride it again immediately. 

Nate has a lot of anxiety issues.  The world is full of loud and scary things and he doesn't have any control over them, he can't just run or walk away from something that is upsetting him.  This makes him a little more anxious then other kids his age but one thing I know, Nate is ALWAYS up for something that gets his adrenaline up. 

 

 

Let's Talk About Christmas

Annie and I were very excited for Christmas this year since it was the first year that Nate was really going to be aware of everything and be excited for it.  Almost as soon as he discovered Transformers he knew what he wanted from Santa this year and it never deviated, Optimus Prime.

 

It was great fun to see Nathaniel participate in traditions that I had as a kid, not to mention how much fun he had with uncles, aunts and cousins, which he saw lots of.

 

This was Nate and Callie making Candy Cane cookies to put out for Santa on Christmas Eve.

 

It was delightful to seem him with a Christmas wish but Annie and I also wanted to make sure Nate understood what Christmas was really about.  So, we mixed up the traditional Christmas activities with food donations, hospital visits and a book drive for kids in the hospital. We told him he was helping the kids that need help.  I think we can safely say that Nate was just as excited about the Nativity story as he was Santa.  This made his role as one of the wise men on Christmas Eve particularly exciting for him. 

He could not wait to get in his wise man costume, which he picked out himself.

Maybe one of these days the secret film of the Green family Nativity will see the light of day.

The 3 wise men.  Uncle Marcus probably changed his costume about 6 times that night....what a diva.

Pajamas on Christmas Eve.  Nate finally is able to make sure his love of construction vehicles follows him to bed now with his construction vehicle jammies.

"Hmmmm, do I like what's happening"

Is it just me or does Nate's left arm look really tan?

Christmas morning finally arrived and Santa brought Nate an endless supply of Transformers.

And then Nathaniel saw it under Grammy and Grandpa's Christmas Tree.  Optimus Prime!

Optimus Prime reaction shot.

Nate loved Christmas, received Optimus Prime (which he played with for 6 days straight) and was able to experience giving to those who are in need this season. And in his nightly prayers he still prays for Heavenly Father to bless the kids who need help.

Scooter Board

Have you seen Nate's scooter board?  He has gotten so fast on this thing.  We take him off his vent and he cruises around Grandma's hardwood floors all day.  The other day he did it for an hour and a half straight. 

 

 

He also just developed a new move where he chases his own bum around in circles.

 

Thank you!

Thank you to everyone who participated in our hospital book drive!

 

Thanks to all of you we were able to donate over 120 Christmas books to children at SCVMC and LPCH.

Both hospitals were so grateful for the donations and we are grateful to you for supporting our little project.  We hope these books have brought just a bit of cheer to the kids who received them.

 

Nate went with when we took this batch to LPCH and he was very, very excited.  He always says "please bless all the little kids in the hospital" when he says his nightly prayers.  I am happy that he is learning that a big part of Christmas is giving to those who are having a hard time. 

 

Thank you for your kindness and support.  Merry Christmas!



Guess who Nate got to meet yesterday?

Last year Nate met Santa but he was a bit overwhelmed.  He didn't cry but he did not want to get closer.

This year Nate was very excited to meet him and tell him about how much he wanted Optimus Prime for Christmas.  I think he was a bit in shock about meeting Santa.  He looked like he was star stuck the whole time but he was definitely happy about it.

As a reward for meeting the big guy Nate and Callie got candy canes which they were apparently very proud of.

Nathaniel has been getting more and more anxious about doing things lately.  We are not sure why but it's getting harder and harder for him to leave his very small comfort zone and I was pretty sure he would have at least a mildly negative reaction to Santa once he got close but it was a Christmas miracle.

I think it helped that Nate had the support of his cousins Callie, Samantha and Micah.  Callie and Nate were headbutting and punching each other before hand to psyche each other up. 

I am not joking. They were literally bonking their foreheads together and laughing and then punching each other in the stomachs.  Although by the time we got a picture they had calmed it down a bit.  It was kind of delightful.

Holiday Book Drive

Scott and I feel like we have been the recipients of so much kindness and generosity during the last few years and we have been trying to think of something we could do to "give back" this Christmas.  We decided we'd like to deliver some holiday books to the kids at the hospital where Nate spent four months as a toddler.  Then we thought, why not give the rest of you a chance to donate a book or two so that all the kids there will be able to get a book?  So, we're starting a holiday book drive!

 

 

We never had to spend Christmas at the hospital, but we did spend a couple of other holidays there and those were particularly hard days.  These children in the hospital are going through so much and their families' lives have been turned completely upside down.  Many of them don't know if their kids are going to live or die.  Imagine being stuck in the hospital during the holiday season when everyone in the "outside world" is enjoying lights and parties and picking out a tree and all of the other wonderful things that come with the holiday season.  Sounds pretty crushing to me.

 

We were given a few nice gifts from random donors while Nate was in the hospital and I can say honestly that they made a difference in the hospital experience for us.  So, I want to make sure every kid at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center can get a book from us this year to make their Christmas a tiny bit brighter.

 

I'll be accepting donation of new holiday books until December 1st.  They can be for any age from 1-12, although they tend to have more toddler and young school children admitted.  I'm focusing on mostly Christmas books, but it would be nice to have some "wintery" books too, if there are children who don't celebrate Christmas.

 

You can give books to me anytime before December 1st.  Or, if you prefer, you can order online and have them shipped to me.  Email me at smardypantsnate@gmail.com to get the address.

 

If we get enough books, which I hope we will, I'd like to take some to Lucile Packard Children's Hospital as well.  Happy Book Shopping!

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.