Andrew and Nathan

Last week, Nathan and I met Meredith and Andrew at the park. We first went to McDonald's for lunch. When I told Nathan we were going to McDonald's, he said "E-I-E-I-O" like the song :) At lunch, Nathan kept pointing to Andrew while saying, "baby," then he'd tickle his feet and make Andrew laugh. It was so cute. I've just now started to realize that Nathan isn't really a baby anymore, he's more like a little boy...that makes me sad, but he's also so much more fun now. And he'll always be MY baby!

Here is Andrew looking quite cool in his hat and sunglasses.

While Meredith was feeding Andrew, Nathan gave his container of Puffs to Meredith to open, He eats handfulls at a time and kept dropping a few on the ground. But do you think Nathan cared that they had dirt on them? Nope, he just kept picking them up and eating them. Although I tell them they're dirty, he still gets to them before me. At least he's eating his own puffs and not someone else's.

And here he is trying to sneak some more snacks out of my bag.

These last two pictures are of Nathan at the Willowbend play area. I remember when he was so little and I had to help him climb on everything. Now he just runs around, says hi to everyone, tries to escape, and climbs on everything by himself!

Nathan's Date for the Night

Nathan had so much fun last week because his girlfriend, Kelly, came over to our house for dinner. Her parents were celebrating their anniversary that night so Nathan got Kelly all to himself. We were actually over at her house playing that afternoon. Marla hadn't told her yet that she was coming over to my house because that would have been all she asked for all day. So after playing, I said, "Kelly, do you want to come over to my house and eat dinner with Nathan?" She got so excited and said, "Yes, but no Mommy or Daddy, just Nafan and Ashley." So we just said, "Well...Ok...if that's what you want, I guess it will just be us." (wink, wink) She was very serious and was ready to walk out the door. She didn't even seem to wonder how Mommy had her bag ready so fast.

Nathan was beside himself with excitement. He and Kelly talked the whole way to our house and passed toys back and forth. When we got home, Nathan went CRAZY! I think he was showing off. He and Kelly ran around the house, playing chase. They danced with Elmo, played Ring Around the Rosie, fought over toys, had a healthy dinner of mac and cheese, and most of all...kept me busy!


After playing for a while, I gave them both a bath. They splashed and laughed the whole time. Kelly even helped me wash Nathan's hair. After the bath, Kelly wanted to put some lotion on Nathan. I'll take all the help I can get so I squeezed a bit on her hand, thinking she is so sweet and smart and so EASY to take care of. Well, then Kelly started rubbing the lotion all over Nathan's hair. It was so funny because I forgot for a minute that Kelly is only 2 1/2. So we put Nathan back in the tub to wash is hair a 2nd time. Then we put on our comfy pj's and the two settled on the couch with their blankies, drinks, and stuffed animals to watch Snow White.

Kelly and Nathan went from the big couch to the big chair over and over again. When one of them decided to get down and switch seats, the other followed. Happy Anniversary Scott and Marla! We had so much fun with Kelly and will keep her any time! Here are a few videos of the 2nd wind they got after watching Snow White.

A Day at the Arboretum

Last weekend Nathan and I joined Jack, Jennifer, and Nick at the Arboretum. The weather was the prettiest it's been in so long! It was so warm that Nathan and Jack both wore shorts. The last
time I took Nathan to the arboretum, he was barely walking, so I knew he was going to have so much fun being able to run around wherever he wanted to. It would be like a giant park to him!


Here is Nathan showing off his new "face." I noticed him always sucking on his cheeks like this a few weeks ago and then realized he was getting his molars and a few other teeth in so I think he's using his cheeks as a teething toy!


Jennifer and Jack

"Jack, I'll trade you this cool stick for the elephant I just gave you."

There's that face again!

Here they are stalking a squirrel.

Nathan really did roam free. He ran around and had to go up and down any steps he found.


While running all over the Arboretum, Nathan and Jack found these bronze deer. There was a family of them, and I think both boys would have stayed here the rest of the day if we had let them!

Jennifer and I finally bribed them with a game of Ring Around the Rosie to get them away from the deer.





Run, Nathan, Run!

Along, with the fish face, Nathan's other new thing is to run with his arms back. It makes him faster :)

How sweet!

Even though they're boys, they still have their sweet, cuddly side.

But then 5 minutes later, Nathan is doing headstands on the steps!

"This is the last picture we're posing for!"

"Ok, one more...come on Nathan, stand up."

"Nah, I'm done...you smile to make them happy."

A wonderful day comes to an end. I can't wait for the weather to stay nice so that we can go back!

Celine...need I say more?

My mom, being the best mom in the world, got me, Carrie, and my mother-in-law, tickets to the Celine Dion concert! We went last night and had the time of our lives! We started the night out by driving downtown to Victory Park. Carrie and I are the types that like to get to an event early. When we go to the movies, we want to be there 30 minutes early to get our snacks, get good seats, and watch the previews. Since this was Celine, we left my house at 5:00 for the 8:00 show. We had a great dinner before the show and then headed into the American Airlines Center. We were so excited!



Mom and Carrie


Me and Helen (you can see that there aren't a lot of people here yet...just couldn't wait!)


Me and my sissy


When the show finally started, the whole auditorium was completely packed. Everyone was so excited and went crazy when the lights went out and she came up out of the stage.


My camera doesn't zoom in very much so she looks far away, but we really did have great seats. There are a lot of pictures, but I just can't bear to delete any :)







She sang all of her famous songs mixed in with a few new ones. But the one we were all waiting for was "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic. The show ended and she left the stage, but everyone kept cheering for an encore. Celine came back, sang another song, and then left again. The crowd went crazy and cheered some more. We were all praying that she would come back again. Then all of a sudden, she rises up again in this beautiful dress, with clips from Titanic playing on the screens. EVERYONE went nuts!!!! It was so wonderful, we all shed a tear...or two :)

Here are a few videos:

Chuck E Cheese

Over the holiday, Nathan had his first experience with Chuck E Cheese. My niece and nephew really wanted to go, so my mom and I took all three kids. I wasn't quite sure how it would be with Nathan, if he was still too young to really like it, but it was worth a try. Plus everyone else was at home sick (they caught what Nathan had Christmas morning) so we wanted to get out of the house anyway.


Boy, was I wrong about Nathan being too young. He had so much fun!


He even figured out how to put the tokens in and won some tickets for Alexandra and Robert.


"As long as you keep giving me tokens, I'll keep winning you tickets!"


Nathan and Alexandra taking the car out for a spin. He loved this car and would hop in and out of it. We actually saved tokens with Nathan because he didn't know the difference if a game was really working or not.


Here he is with his friend, Clifford.


"Thanks Mama for all of the tokens, food, and fun. I'll make Daddy take me next time."

These next pictures are of Nathan and Otis, my sister's dog. I swear Nathan might actually think he's part dog...or that Otis and Cookie are part kid :)


"What? If Otis can sit here, why can't I?"


"I love you Otis, even if you do drool more than me."