Big Ice, Big Fun!

You remember how I mentioned that the ace up my sleeve for our next round of winter weather was Daddy?  Oh, yeah, he came through for us in a big way!

The "big ice" was really just a little ice.  Nathan was disappointed that we weren't going to get enough frozen precipitation to build a snowman (again), but he still was eager to bundle up and experience it.  Since he had been so keen on eating snow, I showed him how he could pull icicles off Daddy's car and eat them.  Both Nathan and Sarah thought that was pretty cool.  Then Daddy pulled out his trump card: the baby pool!

Daddy had the great idea to "sled" down the driveway with the baby pool.


Soon Sarah got in on the fun and both kids were flung around on the icy street.


Then pure genius emerged as we tried the hill on the cross street by our house.


In this video the kids are riding solo, but Nathan quickly requested that Daddy and I ride with them. Nathan was sure to keep track of whose turn it was so that neither Daddy nor I would get an unfair additional turn. I was so surprised at how much Sarah loved it - she never got shaken up or fussed once! The kids probably sled down this hill about 30 times before Brian and I started getting tired and we called it a day. But what a fun and memorable day it was!

An Interview with Nathan: Boston

Nathan talks about Boston ALL THE TIME.

Grandparents on the phone?  Ask them if they are going to visit us in Boston!

Time to pray?  Be sure to pray for a safe something (trip? stay?) Boston!

Going to the doctor?  Remind Mommy that he will have to get shots to go to big boy school after Boston!  And that Mommy mentioned (one time long ago that maybe) we will get a dog after Boston!

Everything in life these days can be associated with Boston in one way or another.

Big Snow or Big Bust?

The weather forecasters were calling for 3-6 inches of snow last Thursday night.  Now I knew that meant that we could get nothing, or it would be a blizzard, or somewhere in between.  Thankfully we got on the light end of the prediction, less then an inch.  And it turned out that the "snow" was really more like ice.  But at least it was white!

From the first, Sarah wasn't thrilled with the snow. She was ok while I was holding her, but then I set her down on the ground...

Nathan had been super excited about eating snow, since he remembered the video from last winter of him eating snow.  I'm not quite sure that it lived up to his expectations, though!

It did make him smile, so it couldn't have been all bad.  Unfortunately, Nathan was also super excited about building a snow man, but since the snow was basically ice it would not pack together at all.  But I assured him that we would build snowmen when we were in Boston.  "Lots and lots?"  Yes, son, we will have plenty of snow to build lots and lots of snowmen while we're there!

 

How about now, Sarah?  Are you having fun yet?

*I'm not amused, Mama!*

*I may be waiting patiently until you're done taking pictures, but don't expect me to cooperate!*

*Nope, the hat doesn't improve my mood at all.  But at least people might know now that I'm a girl!*

"Nathan, how about a smile for the camera?"

"Nathan, can I get a picture of you and Sarah together?" (The back to the camera is totally on purpose!)

In summary, the snow was a bust as far as eating and snowman building goes.  It was a bust as far as kiddos having fun goes.  It was a bust as far as cute pictures of kids pretending to have fun goes.  All around a big bust!

BUT!  We are forecasted to have a wintry mix tonight, so maybe tomorrow we'll have a second chance at snow fun.  And I'll have the ace up my sleeve as well - Daddy will be around!

A Fun Filled Family Visit

Nathan was OVER THE MOON that cousin Kevin was able to come with Aunt Karen to visit us this past weekend. After taking a while to really wake up from his nap, he and Kevin were soon laughing and having a great time!  I wish I had taken a video - they were having such fun playing on the couch!  Nathan would try to crawl behind Kevin, who would lean back and squish him as he climbed back and forth.  Lots of laughter and a great way to bond right at the start of the visit!

Nathan did his best to show off to our guests. On Saturday morning he wanted to do about every craft activity we had in the house. Markers, stencils, crayons, water paint - he kept asking to "do something new". Finally we were able to distract him by getting out the puzzles (one of his new favorite activities).  Aunt Karen had given him a 24 piece dino puzzle for Christmas and we had tried to do it together once, but it had been a frustrating experience for both of us.  Since then he has mastered a fire engine floor puzzle that he eagerly showed off to our guests (I had to guide him through every step the first two times we put it together, but he quickly figured it on his own).  Even so, when he asked to try the dino puzzle again (Aunt Karen had gotten it out to give it a try herself :), we were all very surprised at how well he could put it together for the "first" time!

At one meal, out of the blue Nathan told Kevin "I really love you!" and I got all teary eyed because it made me so happy! Then Kevin started telling Nathan "I love you more" when Nathan would tell him that he loved him. When it was time to say good-bye on Sunday morning, Kevin was holding and hugging Nathan, who then looked into his eyes and said "I love you more!"

And while Kevin was a big hit with Nathan, Sarah had some time to bond with Aunt Karen.  Here, Karen would pull out the measuring tape just a little, then Sarah would take it and pull it out to arm's length and let it automatically retract with a *snap*.  So funny.  Every time.  Aunt Karen also loved how Sarah would go find a book she wanted read to her, then just come and back up to Aunt Karen, just expecting to be picked up and read to.  I was also excited to show Aunt Karen how much she loves her ladybug pillow she got for Christmas.  It is our official shoe-putting-on seat, as well as her go-to spot when she is reading by herself.  Its really amusing when she decides the pillow isn't quite in the right spot in her room and hefts it up (its pretty big and bulky for her) and moves it a foot in one direction or the other.

Today we were over at a friend's house, who mentioned that their friend Kevin had come to visit them lately.  Nathan was quick to pipe up that HIS Kevin came to visit too!  When I asked him "Who is Kevin?", expecting him to say "cousin", he instead answered "My best friend!" Family's the best, isn't it!

Catching Up: December This and That

December 1st was my thirtieth birthday.  I so appreciated all the cards, calls, messages and presents everyone gave me to make my day special, but unfortunately it wasn't a really great day.

We had gotten back home after our trip to Knoxville the day before (Friday), and Saturday morning Brian was off to work.  I had a house to unpack and whip back into shape after being gone (it seems to take me a week to recover any time we go out of town!).  And Sarah, who was a sleep rebel during our stay in Knoxville, decided to continue the trend on my birthday.  So a grumpy, grumpy little girl + a birthday mama trying to get a lot accomplished = frustration!

There were definitely highlights, though.  Like when Nathan and Sarah were playing "beach" while I was working on laundry (playing happily and peacefully together, so I wasn't paying much attention), and I head Nathan say something to me about "pink sand."  When I finally took a break to see what he was talking about, I discovered that he had taken some pink lemon aid packets from the downstairs pantry, opened them, and spread them over the carpet so that he and Sarah would have sand on their beach!  My initial response was more frustration, but I immediately realized how creative he was being and how little the mess really was, so I grabbed my camera and snapped a picture before we cleaned up the "sand".

In somewhat related news, I'm the mother that has never snapped a picture of her kids with all the toilet paper pulled off the roll or other such "classic" kid moments - I always think about taking the picture AFTER I've called "Stop, Please!" and "helped" them roll the tp back onto the roll.  But I'm trying to work on smiling and remembering those "kids will be kids" moments rather then rushing to stop/fix whatever's going on.

After Daddy FINALLY got home from work, he took the kids with him to run by the grocery store and pick up some pizza from our favorite restaurant so I wouldn't have to cook dinner.  They were gone an absurdly long time, during which I vacillated between enjoying my quiet alone time to putter around and GET THINGS ACCOMPLISHED and being worried about Sarah having a complete meltdown because of a late dinner and her single, pitiful nap.  But they finally arrived home and we enjoyed our dinner and then I was serenaded over the strawberry cupcakes Brian had made for me the night before.  And then it turned out that the super long outing was due to Brian getting me a last-minute birthday gift (so I wouldn't see the charge on the credit card).  What a sweetie he was!  And thankfully being thirty has been going much better then turning thirty did!

Here are some of the other random pictures from last month.

Nathan and Sarah love to play together in Nathan's bed.

Sarah making a mess with her standard breakfast - plain yogurt and prunes with toast.  She loves to eat it and loves to make a mess with it, and I love that she has a healthy start to her day!

Another thing that Sarah loves? Her belly!  And showing off her belly!

Little Park: Shorts in January

At the beginnning of the week is was 70 degrees outside and Nana and I decided we MUST take the kids to the park and enjoy the wonderful weather. Oddly enough, less then a week later we had ice and snow on the ground!

We started off with swinging, which is always a hit with kids young and not-so-young!

Then onto the play structure for climbing, sliding and conversation!




Sarah is so much more daring then her older brother was at this age! I love that even though she loves necklaces and shoes already, she also seems like she's going to be tough and brave. Great combination, in my opinion!

Catching Up: Band-Aids!

These pictures are from early December, a few days (weeks?) into the kids' "fun with band-aids" phase. I would only let Nathan open one band-aid a day because, really, they would tear through a whole box in a day if I let them. However both kids would get a kick out of playing with the wrapped band-aids and the box. Its like these poor children don't have any toys to play with or something (NOT!).

When Nathan got two packages of band-aids for Christmas, I told him he could open as many as he wanted, whenever he wanted, and this is what he chose to do...


I think he chose to do the full hand applications twice, and both times they were off within an hour. And that ran though his supply pretty quickly!

Catching Up: Knoxville Thanksgiving Trip

Brian had to work a stretch of nights on OB starting Thanksgiving night, which was a bummer!  The silver lining of the schedule was that he had a stretch of post call days that we used to visit grandparents and great-grandparents in Knoxville!  

I had one morning with Grandmother and Granddaddy all to myself, then brought the family over for a visit and dinner the next day.  I love how Nathan just knows his way around the house these days!  Downstairs he gave me a tour, showing me which room he slept in and which one was for Mommy and Gran.  As usual, the pool table and the Noah's Ark animal figures were the two favorite things! Grandmother served us a delicious supper (with roasted veggies - yummmmm!) and a wonderful time was had by all!

The theme of our visit with Nana and Grand Dad was riding toys!  They had a cozy coupe for Sarah and a big wheels for Nathan, which were just as much fun to play with inside the house as out!

There was lots of exchanging of the toys, especially since Sarah thinks she's just as much of a big kid as Nathan is!

We had some days of really nice weather that we took full advantage of!

Before we could get to riding the trike, Sarah decided her car needed to go off-roading.

Nathan spent some time riding the trike around...

...but it was Sarah that was most excited about "riding" with Daddy.

Daddy and Sarah were having so much fun, Nathan couldn't help but join in, running up and back and up and back the driveway!

Catching Up: Joint Birthday Weekend

On Sarah's birthday weekend back in November, we hosted lots of the family at our house to celebrate both of the kids' birthdays. Aunt Karen, Nana and Granddad, and Gran and Pawpaw were all able to make it to celebrate with us!

It was a beautiful weekend, so we spent lots of time outside. Brian also took this opportunity to clean the roof off the house, with Nathan, Grand Dad and Pawpaw providing the supervision!

Sarah was still pretty teetery walking around the yard back then, but she loved jumping on the lawn chairs...

...going for piggy back rides...

... and most fun of all, playing kick with the "giant" soccer ball!

After dinner came one of the best parts of the weekend - cake, candles, singing and presents!

After having a little trouble blowing out the candles the regular way, he got a straw to direct the airflow more accurately!

Then it was Sarah's turn!

Nathan graciously offered to help blow her candle out!

Sarah testing out the cake and icing, making sure its fit to eat...

And, yes, she loved it!

Unfortunately, this is my only photo documentation of Aunt Karen's presence that weekend (Aunt Karen - we must remember to pose for photos during your next visit.  Our fridge photo of you and Nathan is well over a year old!).  She brought a wonderful array of dinosaur presents for Nathan - his special favorite being the dino pillow pet!  He carries it all around the house during the day, but it must be in his bed at nap time and night time!



It was a wonderful weekend, surrounded by lots of family that we love. And they all adore our two children, who adore them right back!