Our Other Kids

For those of you that haven't met our cats, this is Sebastian (left) and Sachi (right, pronounced 'Sochie'). Combined, they're like having another 1 year-old running around. They eat, sleep, poop, and play sometimes. But just like a 1 year-old, when they are sleeping and look this cute, you just can't resist them.

Gobble Gobble!

Nate made this Turkey during art-day (Mondays) at school... it's made of corn husks, bay leaves, pepper corns, sun flower seeds, and a chili pepper. He was very excited about it, and wanted to make another turkey at home. We'll have to go grocery shopping for the supplies.

Las Vegas or Bust

We just returned from our trip to Las Vegas. I had a medical conference there, so we decided to turn it into a mini-vacation. April had never been to Vegas before, so this was a real eye-opener for her. Now... we are not gamblers, but we found there was plenty to do to fill up our time. LOTS of shopping and LOTS of good food, including a sushi restaurant where we ate twice. We went to the Cirque du Soleil show called "O", which was an incredible show- if you've never seen Cirque du Soleil, definitely try to go- they travel all over the country.

Mary, April's sister, also joined us for a couple days, so that was nice, especially for April since I was in conference half of the day. Overall, it was a fun trip. But we also learned that if you have any relaxation planned in your vacation, then better try somewhere else.

Mom and Dad- thanks again for watching the little squirts, we couldn't have gone without you!

Nate's Goin' Campin'

The other morning I came into Nate's room to find him packed up and ready to go... camping. Not having any clue that we were going camping today, and realizing it was about 40 degrees outside that morning, I asked him where he was going, and whether or not he had enough layers on. He answered, "We can all go camping at the campsite. I packed my blankets, so we we'll be very warm." I told him I wasn't planning on camping today, and wouldn't be able to make it. He said, "That's okay, Daddy, I will just take the green car. I'll need to borrow your keys to the green car, okay, Daddy?" So it begins...

I searched his bags, and found that he was, indeed, ready to go with 2 blankies, his Froggie, pajamas, socks, and a lunch box with 3 apples and a pomegranate. I think it would have been a long night.

Buzzy Bee Halloween

Stubborn?

stub⋅born 

Pronunciation [stuhb-ern]
–adjective
1.
unreasonably obstinate; obstinately unyielding: a stubborn child.
2.
fixed or set in purpose or opinion; resolute.
3.
obstinately maintained, as a course of action.
4.
difficult to manage or suppress.
5.
hard, tough, or stiff, as stone or wood; difficult to shape or work.

I love that little guy!

So any of you who have met our son Nathaniel for any amount of time, realize that he has a "little" bit of energy and can strategically exhaust all adults within a 45' radius in minutes or possibly seconds. There are days I want to take a nap at 10:30 am. With this energy though, Nate is almost always happy, smiling and giving. Every time a friend comes to our house they must leave with something. The friend's mom too. Many of our front porch pumpkins have found new homes because of Nate's generosity.

Nathaniel also likes to make presents for Jason and I. Today he wanted to make a pretty crown for me. To diversity, I told him - "How about we make it for Annie?" -his buddy next door. We worked on it lots this afternoon. Tomorrow we have to give this artwork piece to Annie. But tonight as I was cleaning up the glitter - I really wanted to keep this evidence of Nate's best parts!

P.S. Don't forget to check out Nate's quotes as we do try to update them. He says the funniest things somtimes!

Watch Out Lance Armstrong!

Tonight Nate made me proud. After just a few tries, Nate took control of his bike, without training wheels, and tore up the road! Look at him go! Yes, he had several educational falls, but in the end it was all worth it. Once he got the hang of it, he didn't want to stop riding. Our next step... keeping him on the SIDE of the road, so we don't have Nate roadkill. Keep it up, Nathaniel!

Our BIGGEST Pumpkins!

Nathaniel was a very happy boy a few days ago when he received a holloween gift in the mail from his Mama and Papa... an 8 ft. high blow-up/light-up pumpkin stack. The last few days have been somewhat difficult as we have not had a chance to put it up yet. We were finally able to do it last night, and boy was Nate thrilled.

It's the first of it's type in our neighborhood, and I was a little reluctant at first, but I have since come around to enjoy the finer qualities of giant blow-up/light-up toys. For one thing, airplanes appreciate using it as a location marker. We no longer need outside lights or flashlights at night-time. And our entire family can use it as a flotation device in the next storm flood. Really, it is a lot of fun, and we're looking forward to many more hours of pumpkin fun (especially Nate). Thanks Mama and Papa!

"Are these instructions in English or Chinese?"

"Where's the front???

"Hey, it really works!"

"Ahhh, I love my new pumpkins."

Could you sleep like this?

Over the past few years we've found Nathaniel sleeping in all kinds of different positions. Sometimes we can't help but laugh while we straighten him out. A few nights ago we found him in one of his most interesting positions- half on and half off the bed. We thought we would wake him up with our semi-hidden laughter and camera flashes, but he slept on...

So I think this begs the question... Could I sleep like this if I tried? Even if I had to? I can't say it looks comfortable, but Nate seems to be enjoying it. Maybe we should all try it some time. Half on, half off, and backwards. Give it a try tonight.

But here's the kicker... you have to support most of your weight on just one big toe, you see? It can't be too hard, it seems to be easy enough for Nate. Yes, in the end, we did put Nate back in a normal sleeping position, although we'll never know if he stayed there. So far we've found him in just about every position. But I'm still waiting for upside-down.

The Little Farmer!

Since we've lived here, we've made it a yearly tradition to visit "The Little Farmer"... a farm full of pumpkin patches and apple orchards. At the farm you will find LOTS of pumpkins and apples (of course), as well as hayrides, a small petting zoo, a large play area with a haybail tower and maze, a corn maze, and a farm house with all kinds of good treats- carmel apples, hot chocolate and apple cider, muffins, donuts, apple pies, and other stuff. Of course, the kids loved it. Nate especially liked climbing on the tower and the good treats. Elin loved the apple orchards, where she could bite into all the apples laying around the trees. The hayride was a big hit, too. The kids were worn out by the end. Hmmm, maybe we should go every day!

Hearts, Flowers and Piggy Tails

So this is lots of thoughts in one post! A week or so ago, I was cleaning up the kitchen at the end of the day feeling a bit tired and grumbling a bit to myself. I looked up at the chair and this was the shape of the grease/something from some meal smudge. Made me feel good.

Another feel good is Nate has discovered that I like flowers and that it is fun to pick them and put them on the table. It is lots of fun getting 30 flowers at once! He even made me get another vase after he completely filled up the first one.

And here are the first piggy tails and boy the pics say it all. Heaven help us now!

Pumpkin Pickin'

My favorite season of the year has long been autumn- I can't get enough of the fall colors, the smell of fallen leaves, hot chocolate, cozy sweatshirts, and everything else that goes with the season. And every year I look forward to pumpkin patches and apple farms and fall festivals. This year's pumpkins came from a close-by patch just west of our town in the middle of the farm fields. This was really Elin's first experience in a pumkin patch, and it was so funny to see her try and figure out what to do with all these pumpkins... "what are we doing here, anyway?" Nate, meantime, wanted to take each and every pumpkin home and put them all on our front porch. In the end, we found one pumpkin each, and Nate found two. Can't wait for carvin'!