Meet the Skinners

Last night Nathaniel hosted his future in-laws Hong and Ken Skinner for dinner. He spent the night trying to win them over and even took Mr. Skinner aside at one point to officially ask for his daughter Sophia's hand in marriage. The Skinners appeared to be charmed by our fair Nate who went to great lengths to explain his 'plan' for he and Sophia. They seemed very impressed when Nate polished off a jar of applesauce in record time and marvelled at his ability to smile in the face of adversity after the Great Jolly Jumper Mishap (the video of which will be shown at the wedding). For those of you who like to plan ahead, the happy couple is throwing around summer 2026 as a likely date.

Nate Hits Ripe Old Age of Nine Months

Bring out the walker, this guy's getting old! Our boy in blue passed his nine month checkup this week with flying colours. The bruiser now weighs 20 pounds and is in the 75th percentile for height at 28.5 inches. He celebrated by eating his first cow's milk products (yogurt and cheese) as well as some yummy mashed potatoes. Dr. Barman instructed mommy to eliminate the middle-of-the-night suckles which the Nate-dog has become accustomed to. Here's hoping our plan to wean the hungry man off his 4a.m. feed works before daddy leaves for the Czech Republic again! While Nathaniel hasn't started to crawl in the traditional sense, he loves to push his way around the room backwards. His forward movement appears to be imminent but Nate's holding off until the Baby Proofers come to 30 Church. Our little curious monkey now enjoys sitting in the upright position in his stroller and you'd swear he was watching a tennis match as he takes in everything going on outside.

Nonno the Nanny

Nate had his first taste of freedom this week when mommy went off to teach at Sheridan. 'Nonno the Nanny' and Nate wasted no time getting into trouble once mommy was out of sight. No sooner had she high-tailed it up the QEW than the Cheerio party began. Apparently the only person who enjoys the Whole Grain treat more than our Nate is his Nonno. The boys kicked back for a Blue Jays marathon and roamed the streets looking at all the pretty girls. No confirmation at press time, but a source says Italian soap operas were also heard coming from the condo unit. Nate is spending the long Easter weekend recovering in his crib from all the excitement.

Happy Birthday Nonno!

Here is a shot of Nonno with his two birthday presents, Evan (a.k.a. The Wild Thing) and Nate (a.k.a. Nate-Dog). Tania and I got together a while back and decided it would be nice to get Andy two little boys for his birthday - so here they are Nonno! Enjoy!

Nate Passes 'Guardian Swim' With Flying Colours!

"It was great having Nathaniel in my class. He has made a lot of improvement. I think we made a water baby out of him after all." - Nate's swimming instructor Kim, on his first report card.


For those of you who are regulars on the 'Nate the Great' blog, you will remember that mommy was convinced after Nate's first swimming lesson that he had most certainly drowned in a past life. Well, a lot can change in nine weeks. Plans are already being set in motion for Nate to take home double Gold in 2014 for the backstroke AND the front crawl. Tonight he spent his last swimming class splashing everyone (including the tweens in the adjoining class), launching himself down the slide into his mommy's arms and doing 'rockets' off the platform for his proud daddy, Nonno and Baba who were cheering from the bleachers. In fact, his daddy was so proud of the acrobatics that he tried to take photos of his Son the Swimmer but was quickly disciplined in front of the entire peanut gallery by the pool staff. Way to go dad! Nate is seen here with his fiancee Sophia and future mother-in-law Hong who also graduated with honours!

Nate is a Celeb Magnet

Before Nate's arrival, mommy's celebrity encounters were few and far between. But ever since our mini celeb magnet was born, the stars have come a knockin. It seems like all we have to do is wake up and brush our teeth and bam - another celebrity spotting. We really wouldn't be surprised to bump into Brad Pitt making toast in our kitchen at this point. The latest A-list rendezvous occured this morning as mommy pushed her magnet up Church St. to take advantage of the above-freezing temps. We literally walked out of our building and smack into Mark Whalberg getting hosed down by a rain machine. Can you really ask for more on a Monday morning in March? Turns out he's in town shooting Max Payne. He had arrived in a silver Escalade and was sporting a black leather jacket to match his new jet black hair. On a sidenote, the cop who was holding down the barricade commented on Nate's 'beautiful blue eyes.' For those of you who don't follow mommies celebrity escapades, since the magnet's arrival she's had drinks with Matt Damon, dinner with Justin Timberlake, and brushed past Chantal Kreviazuk at the mall.

Boys in Blue

Uncle Sam swept into Toronto last night to hang out with his nephew en route to Barrie from his spring break in Ottawa. Oh, those spring break days in Ottawa with Patricia...Dancing the night away at Minglewoods, Long Island iced teas from the Fish Market, sleeping in until 5 (p.m.)...sorry, back to the blog. The boys watched sports and talked about women but Nate had to pack it in before Family Guy started because he was just too wiped from all the excitement.

Nate Visits Great-Grandparents in the Country

Nate is just as much a country boy as he is a city slicker and he proved this once again on his jaunt to the quiet town of Markdale yesterday to visit his great-grandpa Fred and great-grandma Glenora. Checking out the passing trees and mountains of snow was enough to keep the little passenger spellbound as his folks tore up highway 10. Upon arriving at Hamilton Lane, Nate greeting his surprised family, including great-uncle Glenn who was visiting from sunny Florida. He took the comments about his yellow nose in stride (a quick call to Nurse Donna revealed it was probably too many sweet potatoes) and instead turned his attention to playing billiards. The only downside to spending so much time in the car for our boy was the amount of trapped energy and as we all know with babies, they need to let it out at some point. So our man watched Nip Tuck and stayed up way past his bedtime before finally crashing last night.

Nate Tops Oscars Best Dressed List 2008

Whether it was beginner's luck or a sign of things to come, Nate Durkacz topped the best dressed list for the 80th annual Academy Awards. The newcomer on the Hollywood scene had heads a turning with his tuxedo (Sabrina, Made in China, 6-9 months) and matching shoes (Robeez). And in a move that is sure to have the ladies swooning for years to come, he brought his mother along for the photo op. Only eight months old and this guy already knows how to work it! Special thanks to Nate's stylist Cheryl Murphy of Owen Sound for picking out the stylish ensemble.