Thursday, January 19, 2012

Nate is two!

I chose a car themed birthday party for Nate this year for one reason...NATE LOVES CARS!

Nate is almost always holding a Matchbox sized car in his hand during the day. He plays imaginatively with them and loves to organize them.

Organize them? What? A two-year-old organizing? Yes! Nate definitely seems to have a type A personality and likes things clean and orderly. I guess Jay and myself have really rubbed off on him or it is just genetic.
Nate will line up his cars, and then soak up the fact that they are are all perfectly aligned. No need to worry...he is a totally normal and social kid, he just likes his cars placed in an orderly line from time to time. :)

Here are a few pics to prove it...

Seriously, I did not not fashion the cars this way for these pictures. This was all Nate's work!



Here he has them lined up on the tray on the ottoman. He is counting them...

Now he is driving them over to the other side of the tray, and lining them up again. He is making all the boyish noises as he moves each car. :)

and back again...



Nate, you should know...

Last night when I was getting you ready for bed I was saying, "Tonight is the last night I will put our one-year-old to bed" and ET replied saying, "YAY! Tomorrow Nate will FINALLY have to listen to me!!!!!!"

I laughed under my breath because although things will change dramatically for you this year, I know you will still drive your brother crazy at times, and I will have to step in saying, "He is little, you need to understand Nate is only TWO years old!" :)

Birthday pictures coming soon!

Catching up on posts...

AHHHH! I cannot believe it! Today is Nate's 2nd birthday! Wow, the time has gone by fast.

I am behind on posts a bit, and so I am a little sad that Nate's birthday won't be the first thing I post about on this special day. However, I will just do a few shorts updates and then get to Nate this afternoon or tomorrow.

First up...


Nate was sick last week. Terribly sick. His fever was 103 and higher for two straight days. By the end of the second day, I decided to rush him to Children's because I became pretty worried. His eyes were bloodshot and his chest was red and splotchy from the fever, but his hands and feet were cold. His fingernails were even blue at one point. He was shaking and shivering and we were worried. After waiting in the room at Children's for over an hour I finally approached the doctors about going home or being checked up on (nicely, of course). The lead ER doctor apologized and motioned to his left saying, "I am sorry Ms., but we are treating this baby over here." I looked over and never saw such a sight in my life. There was a teeny tiny, little baby on a table with so many machines and plugs hooked up to him, and so many doctors and family all around singing and trying to comfort him. I instantly cried and told the doctor to stay where he was at so that he could continue to care for that child. He followed me to my room and assured me that everyone is important. I couldn't tell you how many different feelings I had at this point. I was tired, worried, and scared for Nathan and now for this baby as well. Nathan was crying and screaming because he wanted to go home. I was a ball of emotions imagining what this mother, child and family might be going through in the next room.
Shortly after all this unraveled, we went home and I cried as I fell asleep that night, but not before I said many prayers. I consider us blessed that Jay and I get to kiss our children goodnight in their beds every night. In one instant of seeing that child in the ER, EVERYTHING in life was put into perspective again. In addition to seeing this, Jay and I were informed just recently that family members of two separate friends of ours lost one of their children last week. My heart absolutely aches and grieves for these people.

So kiss your children goodnight tonight, and remind yourself how important they are to you and what a gift they are from God.


"Each day comes with its own challenges - endless opportunities for worry, stress, guilt, regret, heartache. But sometimes a change of perspective, a moment of reflection turns those worries into platforms for blessings and joys as they push us closer to the heart of God and his plan for our future. That transformation - from fear to confidence, from despair to hope - is a daily gift of grace. Available to us constantly: new every morning, fresh every evening, present every moment of the day as we reconnect with the loving Savior whose sacrifice made the gift possible." - Women of Faith

"Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him."
Psalm 127:3


On Thursday of last week, my wonderful MIL came to watch Nate for the day (he was still sick at this point) while Jay was out for the day getting Lasik! Everything went smoothly for him and he looks and feels great! I get incredibly grossed out and scared when I think of what they do for this procedure, so I consider him very brave to have gone through it. :)



On Sunday, ET was invited to another birthday party for one of his preschool friends; Caroline. Just ET and I went this time (Jay didn't want to miss the Packer game - understandable). It was so fun to watch ET among his friends. He was so well mannered and sweet. :) The party was at Pump It Up. The kids played in two separate rooms for an hour and a half (45 minutes in each room). Each room had three large inflatable bounce houses that were of all different types.



Afterward, we all went into a separate room where the kids ate cupcakes and drank juice. After eating, Caroline had the privilege of sitting in a large inflatable chair as she opened her gifts and pretended she was Queen of all her friends. She was a sweetheart, and I see why ET likes her so much. :) Unfortunately, she will no longer be going to his preschool at the end of this month. Her parents decided to just stick to the daycare curriculum she has been getting at her new daycare.



Many of you know about the big Packer game that was on Sunday. Unfortunately, the Packers are done for the year. Jay was VERY disappointed, but ET said "It's okay, I like all the teams." Whew! I don't know what I will do when I have a house full of men who are mad at the TV. :)
On Monday night I came home a little late from my book club meeting to find ET in his bed like this...

Jay had got him dressed in his PJ's, but then he dressed himself in his Packer attire while he was playing before he fell asleep. He had on everything Packers he owns. He still has much love for the team...that is one true Packer fan!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Preschool Work...

Here are some recent projects that boys have completed...

A Winter scene, and an igloo.

ET's "I Can Read" book of the month...

ET has been doing great with his coloring. He is interested in making things look realistic, and not just coloring anything with any color.

This is a page from ET's most recent journal. He was asked to draw a picture of something that starts with T. He drew a picture of teeth. :)

I love noodle art! :)

ET made this one at Seeds of Faith. I am guessing it is two people outside at night while it is snowing. The white dots are his fingerprints.


Nate's recent work...

He still LOVES to color.

We practice his name together a lot. He seems to really pay attention.

Again, there is something so sweet and cute about noodles used for art! :)

Friday, January 13, 2012

ET'S 1st Official Birthday Party Invite!

ET got his first official invite to a birthday party from his friend Max at school. I was so excited for him! The party took place at the Giggle Factory in Hudson. Luckily, all family members were welcome and able to attend, so we included Nate, Jay and myself, and made it a fun evening out together.
The party was pirate themed. The kids made pirate hats and necklaces. They served dinner and cake, and even surprised everyone with a Captain Jack Sparrow impersonator! This guy was pretty cool to watch!


I loved how this place was set up. First off, the whole thing was closed to the public during the party. Second, the eating area is right in front of the play area, so we did not need to change rooms to eat. Also, the Mother was able to bring her own food for the party! That is a pretty good deal if you ask me.

Here he is...Captain Jack Sparrow! His mannerisms were even spot on to the real pirate. He entertained the kids well for about an hour. He passed out gold coins to the kids that answered questions right or did certain things. Nate surprised us! He ran up there in front of everyone and just kept talking to him. The captain thought he was so cute, that he gave Nate two coins right from the start. Jay and I were just very surprised that Nate was not afraid of him in anyway.



Walkin' the plank! :)


Blindfolded! :)


Tuesday, January 10, 2012

New Year's 2011

The remainder of our Christmas break/vacation was kind of a blur. The time went by so incredibly fast. After the busy couple days of putting together Nate's new bedroom set, we really didn't do a whole lot of exciting things. Although, we definitely did enjoy our time together as family relaxing and hanging out.

We hosted a small get together on New Year's Eve. The kids had a blast hanging out and playing. Everyone stayed until 9pm, and Jay & myself were in bed by 10:30pm. We planned on waking up early the next day, so this was plenty late for us.

Here are a few pics of the party...

There ended up being 9 kids, all age 4 and under. The kids were so wonderful and fun to watch!



Nate corralled all the girls into his room for a party of their own on his new big boy bed! He seriously acted like he was King of the castle. :)


I can't say exactly what the kids ate for dinner that night. I tried making a plate of healthy food, but they were having too much fun playing with their friends. I caught Nate several times snatching the sugary parts of Betsy's Chex mix! :)


On New Year's Day we headed over to New Brighton to attend my Aunt Diane and Uncle Rick's church. My cousin Mark was giving the sermon on this Sunday because their pastor was on vacation. I absolutely LOVED welcoming the new year with the presence of family, and the word of God. Afterward, we headed over to my parents house to celebrate Christmas and New Year's with Becky's family and my parents. We had a nice time relaxing, eating all sorts of appetizers, and opening presents.


I cannot believe this is our last Christmas with Matt as a high-schooler! Next year he will be in college!!!!







ET received his first video game!



Here ET is opening The Lion King movie from Gma Terri and Papa Jim. He asked for two things this Christmas...a Packer's Jersey, and The Lion King movie. You can just imagine how excited he was to receive this! Since this day, he has watched the movie a few times, and darn near has the whole thing memorized. He is constantly telling me lines from the movie!


Nate received a bucket of animals. Strange request, but I knew he would LOVE them!


After a few years, I finally perfected Matt's request for cheesy potatoes. I have learned he likes shredded hashbrown potatoes (not real potatoes, and not cubed hashbrowns), and no cornflake topping. :)

Of course, ET had to play his new video game that night. He did remarkably well! We are wondering where he learned to drive. :)