New Shoes and Other Tricks

A glimpse into the personality of our favorite little boy.

Weekend Fun

We've spent the last two weekends doing some fun things that I wanted to remember. For us, a great weekend includes a balance of couple time, family time, and friend time, and we've been able to achieve all of those things lately.

Two weekends ago, we spent Saturday morning at the zoo. The weather was absolutely perfect. It wasn't hot at all. I always enjoy our trips to the zoo, but I'm usually ready to go within a couple of hours because of the heat. This Saturday was so nice. We could have stayed all day if if lunch and naps didn't interfere. Our zoo has two new jaguar cubs, and they were the highlight of the day for all of us. We got there early and had the exhibit to ourselves, so we stayed and watched for awhile. We could go from window to window with no one else to worry about. Matt had to drag me away. 

Nathan's highlight of the day was playing in the boat at the sea lion exhibit. This trip he seemed more excited about that boat and the vending machines than he was about the animals.

That Saturday evening we invited friends over for snacks and games. We played a trivia game and some Mario Kart. Friends, snacks, games, and visiting is about the perfect way to spend a Saturday evening for us You could throw in an OSU football game I guess to make it even better :).

My parents invited us to lunch on Sunday after church and during lunch my mom offered to watch Nathan that evening, so Matt and I had a spontaneous date night. We dropped him off after his nap and headed to play Putt Putt. My husband has been talking about wanting to play putt putt for a long time. We hadn't been since before I was pregnant with Nathan. We also stopped for ice cream after we finished. It was a great way to spend a Sunday evening.

This past weekend was full of all our favorite things as well. Matt is out of town (actually, out of country) this week for work, so we planned a date night before he left for the week. We ate Chicago style pizza and went bowling. We've recently started going to a new bowling alley, and Matt bowls way better now. He averaged 180 that night!

We picked up Nathan Saturday morning after we ran a few errands and spent the rest of the day at home. We napped, played, and cleaned. That evening we invited another couple over for (you guessed it), snacks and games. We had a really great night playing and visiting. We're thankful for great friends that we get to spend time with (and a little boy with an early bedtime).

On Sunday after church and naps, we took Nathan and Rhapsody to the park. Nathan really likes to swing and climb on the playground. We also walked around for a little while too. We've been taking advantage of the not too hot weather. Later that night we were out of milk, so we decided to get some ice cream while we were at Braums. Nathan sure loves his ice cream. The rest of the evening wasn't as fun. Matt had to pack for his trip and we just relaxed.

We always look forward to the weekends and try to always have some fun activities planned. Our weekends are about to get even more fun with the start of football season. We've taught Nathan how to wave the wheat and have been adding to his orange wardrobe.

Call Me Maybe

 It probably won't go viral, but it is certainly my favorite rendition :).

Our Little Firecracker

I blogged before about how we had a really low key 4th of July this year. Matt was in China, and Nathan and I spent a relaxing day with my parents. Later that night though, it turned into a 4th of July, I'm sure I will always remember.

Before Matt left for China we discussed that if I were to get pregnant that month, I would find out while Matt was away. We decided that I could wait and take a pregnancy test after Matt got home, but if it was really bugging me, I'd go ahead and take the test while he was in China.

I could have taken a pregnancy test a couple of days before the 4th of July, but I was determined to go ahead and wait until Matt got home. All day on the 4th though, I just felt weird. I ran that morning and it was a lot harder run than I was used to, and then I was exhausted all day. By that afternoon, my stomach felt a little off. I had convinced myself that I wasn't pregnant, but it kept nagging at me, and I really wanted confirmation that I wasn't pregnant so I could stop thinking about it.

After I put Nathan to bed, I had made the decision that there was no way I could wait another four days to find out, and since I wasn't going to wait until Sunday, there was no reason to wait any longer, so I took the test that night. In my head I had told myself that I wasn't pregnant, probably trying to protect myself from disappointment if the test was negative, but then I saw two pink lines! I was so excited and emotional, and honestly that was a tough moment for me. There was no one to run to and hug and scream and get excited with, and I had a pinch of regret wishing I would have had the will power to wait until Matt was home (even though by that point, I would have been pretty sure I was pregnant without a pregnancy test). If Nathan would have had any clue what was going on, I would have woken him up to celebrate. I immediately called Matt, and of course he didn't answer. I tried again a few minutes later, and I scared him with my phone call. It was mid morning in China, so Matt was at work. I try and avoid calling him while he's at work, unless it's something important, so I could understand while he was worried that something was wrong. I needed to tell someone though and he was the only person I could talk to! I felt better after I talked to him, but he was pretty reserved since he was at work. The next morning though we got to Skype and share our excitement together which I needed and a few days later, I was able to get my celebratory hug. I spent the rest of the evening praising God for blessing us with another precious life and trying to calm down enough to get some sleep. Just like the first time around, it amazed me how one tiny little moment in the form of two pink lines could have such a drastic impact on our lives.

I think it's a fun story that I found out on the 4th of July. I thought about referring to the baby as our little firecracker, but I'm not sure that would be wise or I might end up with a baby with a fiery little personality :).

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Last Tuesday, we took Nathan to a Tulsa Drillers' baseball game. We had so much fun the last time we went, that we wanted to be sure and make it to another game before the season was over. My parents came with us, and we had a great night.

I don't think Nathan knew there was a baseball game going on, but he made sure to clap and cheer when the Drillers' made a big play and danced to all the music.

He also spent plenty of time at the splash pad and play ground.

He enjoyed his first soft pretzel too.

And he walked up and down the hill over and over.

It was a fun night!

Big News!

From a BIG brother!!

 

We are just thrilled to be expecting our second child! Sometimes I can't get over how very blessed we are to be expecting another sweet baby. Our due date is March 10, so Nathan and the new baby will be about 22 months apart.

I know right now Nathan has no idea how much our family will change in a few months, but I am certain he will be a fantastic big brother. I always refer to him as Mommy's little helper, and I know his helpful personality will come out even more when his little brother or sister arrives. This baby will be blessed to have him as an older brother.

We are praising God for this new life and are trusting that He has created this little one to be the perfect addition to our family.

Weekend in Houston

Last weekend, the three of us flew to Houston to visit our good friends Corey and Brooke and their little boy Wyatt. It was a great weekend full of fun activities and quality time with some of our favorite people.

We also viewed it as Nathan's first vacation since we didn't take him on our cruise with us, and it was his first time to fly in an airplane. He did really well on the plane. Our little wiggle worm doesn't like to sit still for any length of time, but we were able to distract him during the flight with looking out the window, snacks, and books and we managed to make it to and from Houston in one piece!

On Friday we took the boys to the Houston Children's Museum which was fabulous. We'd go all the time if we lived closer. They had a big area just for toddlers and Nathan had the time of his life playing with all the toys and activities. He played hard for almost two hours. It was nice to have such a big space that was completely child proof and nothing off limits for his little hands.

The door bell, tea set, and cars were his favorite toys but he managed to play with almost everything in the museum. We'll have to go back when he is older. The rest of the museum looked pretty awesome too.

Before we left, we headed outside to the waterworks area, where Nathan managed to get soaked, and we had to drag the Daddies away from playing so the boys didn't get sun burned. They really are just big kids :).

Nathan was exhausted on the drive home.

On Saturday afternoon we went swimming for a bit. We went to a fun pool with a splash pad. Nathan loves swimming especially with his daddy.

Saturday night, Brooke wasn't feeling well and offered to watch the boys after they went to bed, and the rest of us headed downtown Sugar Land and had dessert at the Cheesecake factory. Yum!

We spent the rest of the weekend watching the boys play, playing Settlers while they slept, watching the Olympics, visiting  and napping. It was a great weekend all around.

 There were a couple of pretty handsome boys before church on Sunday.

Mudge was a great sport even when Nathan climbed on her back and wanted to go for a ride. She put up with Nathan's "petting" all weekend.

We tease that Nathan and Wyatt will be OSU roommates someday. Wouldn't that be fun?! We're praying that become good friends as they grow up and have many fun adventures together. We are also thankful for Corey and Brooke's sweet friendship and that we've been able to maintain our friendship with them even when we don't get to see them very often.

15 Months Old

Nathan,

You are 15 months old. You continue to amaze us with how quickly you grow and change. The biggest development we have noticed this month is your comprehension and understanding. You seem to understand almost everything we tell you and you follow  commands all the time. The other day I handed you a kleenex and told you to put it in the trash. You grabbed it and took it straight to the other room and put it in the trash. I didn't even know you knew what a trash can was! You help pick up your toys and put them in the basket when I tell you to. You understand when we tell you take something to Mommy or Daddy. And Daddy gives you food sometimes and tells you to feed it to Rhapsody and you always understand and follow through. You are also very observant and have figured out how many things work. A friend was over the other day and left her shoes in the living room. You saw them, picked them up and carried them off to my closet. You also found a clean diaper on the floor and picked it up and put it in the trash can in your room. You know how all of your toys work and which buttons to push to make them go. When we play in your room, you'll go from toy to toy pushing buttons. I have to be careful what I tell you sometimes because of your understanding. If I tell you that Grammy is coming over, you'll run to the front door and stand there until she comes.

 As much as you comprehend, you are still not super verbal. Your new words this month are fish, cookie and hot. Hot is your favorite word. You say it all the time. Every time we put you in your car seat you say hot- which it usually is, and a lot of time when you are eating you will say hot (whether your food is hot or not).

 

 You love to be on the go. You go stir crazy if we don't leave the house for a day. You'll grab my purse or keys and walk to the door and whine if you want to go somewhere. We try and leave the house at least once a day. 

You give hugs and kisses all the time. Such a sweet boy. 

When you want something or want to go somewhere, you come find us, grab our finger and lead us to where you want to go. Sometimes I've been carrying you and you'll point somewhere and if you think I don't understand you, you will get down and grab my finger and lead me to it. You'll hand us things sometimes that you need help with, and if we don't immediately take them, you will grab our hand and physically put the object in our hand to make sure we understand what you want.

Your favorite toys are your dump truck, popcorn popper, shape sorter, cell phone, and books. You show preferences in which books you like. Your favorites right now are The Fire Engine Book, The Big Red Barn, Goodnight Moon, I Love you Through and Through, The Little Red Hen, and What a Noisy Zoo. You'll sort through your stack of books to find just the right one. You love to flip the pages and make us read very quickly sometimes :).

The water hose is your favorite outside toy. You help me water the flowers and carry the hose all around the yard. I've even caught you taking a drink out of it several times. You are getting much braver in the swimming pool as the summer has gone on.

We went to the doctor this week for your 15 month well check. You weigh 24 lbs, 2 oz and are 30.25 inches long. You are wearing 12-18 month clothes and we are in the process of transitioning you to a size 5 diaper.


You're still a pretty good eater and eat a variety of things. You sure are messy though. Most of the time you will take bites of food chew them up and then spit them back out. We're ready for you to outgrow that. And if you have a mouthful of food and see something else you'd rather have, you'll reach up and take the food out of your mouth, so you can put more in.

For the most part, you are only taking one nap per day, and I try and stretch it so that you go down after lunch around 12:30. Some days it's tough to keep you up through your morning nap time, but it is pretty much a guarantee now that if I put you down in the morning, you won't go back down again in the afternoon (which makes for a very long evening). You are sleeping for about 2 hours for your nap and are consistently sleeping 10-11 hours at night. You go down so easy. I'll rock you for a few minutes and then ask you if you are ready to get in bed. You'll point to your crib, and I'll put you in it and you fall asleep pretty quickly afterward. The other night I asked you if you wanted to go to bed and you reached up and gave me a kiss before you pointed to your crib (You sure have a way of turning me into a pile of mush sometimes). You still get your paci in your crib and in the car. And you are good about putting them in your crib if you find one lying around (and I tell you to put it away).

You have such a helpful personality, and I can already tell that you are developing a servant's heart I'm praying that we can continue to instill and strengthen that part of your little personality. You want to help us all the time. You want to help sweep and the other day even brought me the dust pan while I was sweeping the kitchen. I'll give you a swiffer while I'm dusting and you will dust too. You help me put your toys away, and even help by putting my shoes in the laundry basket. I try and make a point to always encourage your helpfulness and find little ways to let you "help" me even if right now that's extra work for me. You are just the sweetest little boy and we are so proud of the person you are becoming.