Playdates, playdates, playdates

One of the things I deeply cherish are playdates with my friends and their kiddos.  I see some of these kiddos so often that they feel like my own.  I love the way Nathan snuggles with their mommies and looks to them for guidance and comfort.  I love the way he is learning to relate with other kiddos and how he lights up when we talk about going to see Colton, Izzy, Zachary, or Madison.  He sees these kiddos the most and knows them by name.  Colton is a right handed "play" sign.  Izzy is "eeeee".  Zachary is "ah-reeee".  Madison is "Mad-a-ma".  He loves his friends and I'm so thankful for them.  Love you guys!!!!   

Time for pictures!  Here are pictures from a large group playdate a few Monday's ago -this is the playdate where 5 kiddos got the stomach bug and several passed it to their parents.  At least the kiddos had fun while they were there!

me and Izzy

Izzy and Madison

Nathan and "E" sharing cheerios

Swiffer man

Jennifer and "C"

me and my buddy

Kristin, Zachary, Joy and Baby "S"

"E", Sara, Shelby, and Madison

Izzy and Bethany

Nathan loves him some Madison!

and Izzy too!

Monday of this week was beautiful!  Near 80 degrees and bright blue Carolina skies!  We had a morning playdate at the park with some friends from church.  Nathan was a big fan of the mulch at this park, as was Izzy. He also loved carrying around "L's" ball and saying "baw baw baw" as often as possible.  Sending the ball flying down the slide was also a big hit!

Nathan's buddy "L"

His big brother "J"

Oh happy day!

Mulch is so much fun.

sweet girl

climbing boy

love this pic!

Then, after our picnic lunch, we headed home for a nap.  On the way home, Kristin and Colton invited us to come over in the afternoon for more outside fun! It was beautiful and we sat in the sun on Kristin's driveway watching the boys play.  We spent much of the time watching Nathan try to put the ball into the basket...

this was priceless

Colton opted for baseball

The boys even challenged one another to a sharp shooters fight... or maybe it just appears that way.

There was plenty of this

And some of these too

and even some turn taking

They passed Nathan's green monkey hat back and forth but Colton was by far the funniest with it!

and a head bump or two for a good buddy

Last but not least, Nathan's first wagon ride!!!!!

On Tuesday, we headed to MOPS and spent the morning playing with more kiddos.  After MOPS, Bethany, Shelby, and I plus our three kiddos headed to lunch and met Chad.  Now this was a bit daring because all of our kiddos were past the tired point and we were subjecting them to a leisurely lunch in a cafeteria style establishment filled with older adults.  Melt downs would not have been appreciated.  I kid you not, the 7 of us had a delightful lunch without so much as a thought of a whine.  They ate, flirted, and talked to one another while we adults enjoyed our lunches and chatted a bit.  I love that we can do that!  On the way out, we were saying bye to our friends and Nathan planted a huge kiss right on Madison's lips!  He never kisses other people in the mouth, only on the cheek, but Madison must a bit more special than the rest of us.  :)

Wednesday, we met Zachary and Kristin at the park for some exploring time! The boys had a great time swinging and playing on the playground. 

 After they played for a bit, we headed to a wide open field for them to run around.  They were more interested in each others cups and my pony tail holder than the wide open spaces to explore.  Perhaps we need to do more outdoor exploring!  So, instead, we headed to the farmers market to pick up some veggies and clementines.  The boys seemed to enjoy looking at everything.  There were tons of bright colored vegetables and lots of fruit.  Nathan quickly spotted the bananas, apples, and oranges.  Too cute to hear him call them all by name.

I believe this is the picture definition for "bliss"

Thursday morning, Nathan and I headed to Zachary's house for pancakes and Tot School.  Those pictures in a post to come.  They played for a while at his house, and then Bethany and Izzy called and we all met for lunch.  Again, three mommies, three tired and hungry kiddos, yet a beautiful relaxing lunch!  I loved it!  Thanks girls for the fun and for a great day!  Love you guys!