Nathan’s birthday!!!!!

Nathan had an awesome birthday!  We pretended that the 21st (party day) was his birthday and he didn’t know the difference so it worked out just great!  First up on Nathan’s list of great birthday things to do… build a new racetrack with daddy!

Next, open presents from mommy and daddy… to include a monster truck, a purple big rig, and a razor scooter!

Take a nap, wake up and PARTY!!! 

Caleb and Carson are good buddies!  They live right down the street and the boys all attend the same school! Nathan loves to play with them!  Other kiddos included Bert, Ben & Hailey, Izzy & Piper, Alaina, Evan, baby Cayden, and baby Taylor.  :)

I’m not sure if the kids or the parents had more fun in the foam pit… regardless it was fun!

Climbing the tire wall… Nathan has been doing this since he was 16 months old.  He’s much more skilled at it these days!  He climbed to the top with some help, turned around and jumped in without a moments hesitation. 

The tumble trak and trampoline were crowd pleasers too!

These days, no day is complete without Bob the Builder… and of course Bob on a cake is even better!

We didn’t have time for him to open bday gifts at his party, but at home, even though it was late, he opened and played with each one.  Thank you everyone for the gifts!  So sweet and thoughtful.  They were all loved and so appreciated!

        Happy Birthday Nathan!!!

Playdate with Evan

I'm a little late posting this, but better late than never. We had a delightful cookout with our friends Wayne, Jenn, and Evan a few weeks ago. Look how big Evan has gotten! :)

The boys had a great time playing in their yard outside while Wayne cooked dinner. Nathan, as always, went straight for the sticks and began to dig in the dirt. :)

Hey Wayne... are you sure everything is alright?

Playing inside after dinner. Nathan loved all of Evan's toys!

Of course, all of that dirt and yummy dinner made a bath a necessity. Evan picked a yellow water color tab for the bath. Nathan was a little unsure about getting in yellow water (who could blame him) but in a few seconds he was perfectly fine with the colored water. :)

The highlight of Nathan's evening, one which he's still talking about, is watching and listening to Wayne play violin. He sat with Daddy for a while and listened...

I LOVE this picture of my two greatest loves.

Wayne was sweet enough to let the kids "play" the violin as well. Nathan had been told it was a pretty no no and was not about to go near it, but he enjoyed it from afar.

Thanks Wayne and Jenn and Evan for a great night! See you guys soon!

Fun playdates

We've had many many fun playdates in the past few days and I wanted to take some time to post about them! On Friday, Madison and Colton came over to play and we had a great time! We shared a meal which turned into a riot because Madison had never used a fork before, and not realizing this, I plopped some almond butter on her tray and handed her a fork.  Here's what proceeded to happen amidst her mommy's squeals that Madison knew what to do...

While we were cleaning up, the kiddos tried to ride on the toy shopping cart and when that didn't work, Nathan and Colton turned it over and Colton climbed into it!  So funny!

Upstairs, the kiddos had more room to fun and it was fun to watch them, all 2 months apart, as they played independently yet together, and how they each knew different skills.  Madison was bound and determined to push this bus all over the playroom and Nathan was happy to ride, which is unusual because usually he's doing the pushing. Madison preferred to push it when it was 25 pounds lighter.  Smart girl!

Colton and his mom made a huge block tower and knocked it down.  Oblivious to the block tower are two precious bums in the background... what are they doing?

Looking for Bailey... :)

Friday was fun and I enjoyed spending time just sitting back and watching the kids.  Little ones are so fun to watch.  I'd love to be a fly on the walls of their brains for just a moment, to be enlightened into the ways that they think, and how they think the world works. 

Tuesday, during the day, Colton, Izzy, Zachary, Nathan and the mommies when to a bouncing place in town.  It was so much fun and the kids and mommies had a great time.  I did take my camera, but I can't get the pictures onto the computer because I can't find the cord - that's why you should always take a memory card and not rely on the camera's built in memory!  We'll go again and I'll get pics then.  

Tuesday night, Nathan and I headed over to see Evan, Wayne, and Jennifer.  Remember them?  Here's sweet Evan holding George.

We had a really great time at their house.  It was fun to watch the boys because they actually played together this time for the first time.  In the past, they've merely played simultaneously, but this time, they did many things together.  Before I show you those fun pics, let me show you these... Evan's daddy got a new lens for his camera and it takes beautiful natural light photos.  I love all of these he took of Nathan.

the way he concentrates

the way he uses his hands

his sweet little head

and beautifully dimpled chin

and look at his long long long eyelashes!

those... right there.

You lookin at me?

We had a delicious dinner and the boys chowed down on homemade pizza, strawberries, bananas, and cherry tomatoes.

Both kiddos wore their meal well.

Isn't this kiddo cute?  He makes the funniest expressions and has learned to scowl and pout. 

as well as look at me like, "what in the heck?"

Nathan was happy to clean up after dinner.  He wiped down almost every surface in the kitchen and living room with this kleenex while singing the clean up song. 

Now, for the playing...

Evan and Nathan have very musical daddies, so it's only natural that they are drawn to the piano and guitar don't you think?
Then, after much pleading, Nathan got his way and we headed to Evan's room to play.  Nathan was in heaven as he and Evan have mostly different toys.
This is a shelf of toys Nathan dreams of having... and soon will I'm sure.  A pretend airport, barn with lots of animals, and a tractor... he couldn't get enough of these.






You were kidding about leaving right?
I love the cloth diaper hanging out of his pants... 
Let the chasing begin!

sword fight?
No day is complete without a puzzle or two when you are Nathan.
When Nathan got tired, he asked to get in Evan's bed.  Evan followed shortly there after.  I wondered what they would do, and not 30 seconds later, this is the scene from the crib.  Evan has at least 7 pacis in the corner, and they aren't the kind Nathan likes.  So, Nathan proceeds to pull the one IN Evan's mouth out and replace it with a different paci. again. and. again. and again.  Evan, was not amused, but we sure were!

A look back at these two... in April 2008
July 2008

October 2008
March 2009
May 2009... of course we had to take pictures of them together in a chair.  They were quite amusing too... see for yourself.

Before we left, Nathan had to play with the sheep just one more time.  Daddy, I see one of these in my immediate future!

What a fun night!  Thanks guys!