Workout

 

Man!  This is a BIG ball! :)

 

We were working on a special project today and stopped by my office to cool down.  We were checking out the fitness room (because there were fans) and Nathan found a huge ball!  He moved it around for a little bit even though it was weighted.  Go, Nathan! :)

Go Tigers!

[Sorry for the picture's poor quality]

 
I tried to take a family picture this morning, but for some reason, it didn't focus. :(

We are all wearing Tigers t-shirts!  My office was doing a "Wear Your Colors" day and we could wear jeans.  Since Barry was already wearing a Tigers shirt, I went ahead and put Nathan in his.  Go, Tigers!  They are leading in their division and are doing well!  Go, Tigers!

Magnet Fun

[SORRY for the delay in posts... I've been struggling with the blogging system to be able to post.]

Who would have thought that a set of 26 magnets for $0.97 would fill Nathan's life with such joy?!  He has really enjoyed playing with magnets on the fridge so when we saw the set for so cheap it was a no brainer.  Mostly he gets them all over the place because they're not high quality, but it works.

Happy Birthday, Jess!

I've been looking for a chance to share some more pictures that we got from our visit in Michigan.  This is an awesome one of Nathan and his cousin Jessica.  It's Jessica's 18th birthday today!  She's just starting her freshman year at Saginaw Valley State University studying accounting.  Go, Jess!

Two for Tuesday

(Previous to this picture, someone had stuck his finger on the lens of the camera... I was about to erase it, but the look on his face is just priceless!)

"What are you doing, Momma?!  I'm just eating my toast."

"Yum, yum, yum!"

We've had a scare again with Little Bit.  He has a tick.  Or, rather, he had a tick and there's just a wee bit still in his body.  We were alerted on Monday that there was one on his leg/lower abdomen.  It's right near where you do the snaps for his diaper.  It was so teeny-tiny and I would never have known it.  We believe he got it when he was at small group Sunday night and in the rush to get into jammies, I never saw it.  

So, my friend Dana told me what to do and we tried it.  Unfortunately, there was still a wee bit left.  My neighbor Jackie came over and looked at it and she thinks that we got the head, but since it's so small it's hard to know.  We worked and worked on it last night and couldn't get it to come out.

Well, our hope is that it'll be fine.  It didn't look bad this morning and I can only hope that as the day progresses, it'll come out.  Please pray that it does!  We've saved the tick in case there is any problem.  We also have an order in for some eucalyptus oil that is supposed to work wonders with ticks and other bites.

Barry's Mom

We got some scary news over the weekend.  Barry's mom had been taken to the hospital and they were not certain what was going on.  Her blood sugar was low and she had high blood pressure.

They thought she had a mild heart attack, but she also had kidney failure.  Thankfully, they decided it was not a heart attack, but rather 

Eventually it was determined that she needed to be transported to a larger hospital and at this time she's about 3 hours from home in a hospital in Lubbock, TX.

L to R: Julie, Amy, Barry, & his mom

June 2011

(This is a bad picture, but all I have.  His mom has lost a bunch of weight.)

His mom had a large kidney stone that they were going to take care of and investigate a mass that was on her other kidney.  Hopefully, she & their other sister, Traci, will be there just till Wednesday.  Please pray.

Sunday Fun

We had a lazy Sunday afternoon! It was great to slow down and relax before heading off to the first meeting for our small group.  Nathan had a 3 hour nap (I suppose to make up for the 1 hour nap on Saturday) and then we played for a while.

Sunday night was quite an experience!  There were 11 families and 21 children at life group.  21!  We wanted to get in a group that had young children and we found it!  We were not prepared for how they did group, but we learned and we'll be ready for next time.  Nathan was ravenous when we left and thankfully we did have food that we could give him.  For sure, it'll be a new experience every time.  They had another family who didn't attend and several children weren't there so we could potentially have about 30 kids if everyone showed up.  Wow.

Friday Fun

 I'm not sure what is going on with the boy, but here's two interesting pictures!

(Why did he rest his pointer finger on his nose?!)  

Nathan was showing off his farmer's tan today...

This picture came from daycare.  He's riding on a toy with the basket on his head!

(He must have had a blowout since he's in a different outfit.)

Maybe these will give you a couple chuckles like they did for me.  Hope you have a great weekend!

Diced Tomatoes

Our neighbor had given us a bunch of tomatoes and since we hadn't used them yet, I decided to try out dicing them myself to use for future chili recipes.  Looking at the cookbook, it appeared like it would take about an hour to do.  With my handy helper (Barry), I accomplished the task in about 1 hour.  I was disappointed that I only got 2 packages of tomatoes, but hopefully they'll be the most delightful tomatoes that we've ever had!

Step 1:  Dip tomatoes into boiling water for 30 seconds or so and then dip into cold water.

Step 2: Skin and core tomatoes

 Step 3:  Cut into quarters and fill pan until they cover the bottom.  Crush with wooden spoon.

 Step 4: Heat & stir till boiling.  Add remaining pieces, stirring constantly.  Simmer for 5 minutes.

Step 5:  Let cool (for a few minutes) and fill baggies.  I tried to do less than 16 ounces (knowing a can is 14.5 oz).  Set baggies in a pan of ice water.

Since it was later at night when we did this, I put the baggies in the fridge overnight.  This morning I double-bagged the tomatoes and put them in the deep freeze.

Would I do it again?  Maybe.  I don't believe that I'd purposely buy tomatoes in order to do it, but if I happened to have a bunch again, I think I would.  Guess we'll see how the recipe turns out.  They were much more liquefied than the ones that come in the can.

Two for Tuesday

Today: "Here I come, Momma!"

One Year Ago:  "Yum, yum -- fingers!"

Nathan is getting so good at walking/running and getting into stuff.  It's hard to remember him being so small that he would just sit where you placed him!

We're hoping for a normal night after some excitement over the last couple days.

Deer at our house

No, we don't live in the country.  No, we don't live in Michigan.
Look what was in our backyard:

These fawns have been in the yard of the house two down from us, but they ventured over to ours on Sunday.  I'm very worried that their adventuring is going to cause them to make risky decisions that lead to them going across the road and getting hit.  But, I don't know who to contact to help care for their removal.  The last thing we need is a dead fawn in the road. :(

Fun with Baskets

Not sure what the attraction was with baskets today, but he was so excited to be playing with them.  He actually put the basket on his head and then couldn't figure out how to get it off.

Nathan is almost back to 100%.  He's still struggling with a bit of a cold/cough, but his appetite has returned, thank goodness!

Talking

Nathan has been frequently saying Uh Oh for the last two weeks.

This week, he's added "ball" to his repertoire (remember yesterday's post).

Balls

This alcove is just off of the main hallway we walk down to get to Nathan's class each day.  This week he has been saying ball and wants to go over and play with these balls.  I haven't yet heard him say balls in reference to his balls at home, but he may not yet understand that they are the same name even though they're not the same size.

Bath Time Fun

Nathan has gradually been getting more and more comfortable with taking baths.  We had him take a bath tonight because of the rash from roseola and hoping to give him relief.  He never did seem to be fazed by the rash.

 His trick now is to scoot as far as he can in the far corner so that you can't reach him and wash him.

Playing with toys

Sick?

The Little Guy and I stayed home today because he had a fever of 101.6 this morning.  He didn't have much of an appetite, but that seemed to be the only problem besides the fever.  Since I am going to a funeral tomorrow (and can't find someone to watch him), the daycare director is letting us bring him in the morning and then I'll check in after the funeral to see if I need to come get him.  Poor thing.

[We later found out that he had roseola because a rash popped out on his chest and back.]

With Daddy

Nathan has been feeling a little crummy today.  I had the early shift today so at 4:30, we were getting Tylenol and coming out to the couch to sleep together.  He did fine at church and then we were home the rest of the day resting and relaxing.  He thought it was fun to lay on the couch pillows with me to take a little nap.

We had hoped to hang out with friends tonight, but enjoyed being home together instead.

A good friend

We were so saddened to hear that Mr. Tony Rayburn the husband of my good friend Mary from work had a heart attack on Thursday and passed away on Friday.  Please be in prayer for the family with this unexpected loss.

This is the picture that Mary gave me for Nathan's 1 year book.

Eating By Myself?

I wish this wasn't so blurry, but you get the drift... Nathan is feeding himself his oatmeal.  Some of it made it to the table, other bites are all over his face and hands.  I would put some on the spoon and then hand it over to him to take the bite.  It was rather comical.  Even with the bib, we had to go change clothes before going to daycare.

A lot of the time now if we're trying to get him to eat and he won't, if we give him the spoon (even if it's a piece of something that has been on his plate or the table to pick up with his fingers) and say: "Nathan do it," he'll eat it!  He's been eating better this week -- of course we've had his favorite - rice - a couple of times and pizza once.  Yum!

Reading

We're in that transitional time where the board books aren't as interesting any more, but "real" books are too tempting to tear up.  He still loves to read, but damage control is needed.  In fact, he's even torn up some board books.

Oh well.  It's being a little boy, right?!  We got two accident reports today for things that Nathan did to other children.  He's learning boundaries and that he can't have everything that others have.  But, I hate it that he's hurting others.  We're trying to teach being gentle, but when he doesn't have other kids to "practice" on at home, it's hard to teach.  Pray with us that he'll stop kicking and pushing (unless it's with soccer, right?!).

18 Months Old

What's the deal with the eyes?!  He had been crying previous to this so I guess we're doing good that he would even look at Barry.

The results are in... Nathan has gained 3 pounds (from 21.8 to 24.8) and has grown almost another inch (from 32.9 to 33.7).  He's still in the 25th percentile for his weight and in the 75th for his height.

The doctor wants us to keep track of his communication skills and really "force" (how do you force a child to speak?!) the issue with getting Nathan to talk.  By age 2 he's supposed to be able to speak 40-50 words.  So, if we don't see improvement in the next couple months, we're supposed to check back in with the doctor.

Oh -- on a sad note, the circle of life was demonstrated in our yard last night.  We came home to one of the bunnies dead in the driveway and a hawk hanging out on a nearby tree.  Barry moved it so that we wouldn't see it, but there it was the circle of life.  Hopefully the hawk won't decide that Nathan looks like a yummy treat. :(

Two for Tuesday

Look what I did... Yep, it's the rocker and the seat is pushed off to the side.  When I tried to get him out -- helping him raise his legs over the edge, he ended up falling and hitting his head on the side table. Oh the joys of toddlerhood!

We just couldn't take the "Bozo" hairdo any longer.  I trimmed the sides by his ears.  It's a bit crazy, but it should hold us until a barber can fix it.

Practicing Skills

We were preparing for the 18 month doctor's visit and trying to fill out the form of what Nathan can and can't do.

One of the skills was if there were small items in the bottom of a bottle, could he figure out how to get them out.  Why, yes, he can! :)  In fact, it kept him occupied for quite a while and he didn't want to get out of his seat after I thought he sufficiently showed that he could handle the skill.

He's doing much better for this appointment than for the 15 month appointment so we hope to continue to see progress -- maybe in communication!

New adventure

I haven't really said anything about our church in my blog... I think because we have been so gun-shy since our last encounter.  But, we have been going to this church now for over 2 years.

 

The new adventure is that I'm going to lead a women's small group.  In seeking out relationships for encouragement and help with the struggles of a new mom, I found that there wasn't the help that I had hoped for.  I talked with several at the church and then finally concluded that if it was going to be done, I would have to be the one to do it.

This weekend I spent time in training about being a leader -- focusing on connect, change, & cultivate -- for the basis of what a group should do to be successful.  We have to wear the shirts the next 2 Sundays as there will be sign-ups.

I'm praying for a location to host the group (our house is too small) and for ladies to join in the adventure.

I'm a Kitty...

 Can't you tell?  Nathan is a kitty?!

He sits under the table like a kitty does.

(Doesn't he look like a little boy in this picture?!  He's growing up!)

He moves close to the ground like a kitty.

 

Ha ha! :) Nathan has been crawling under the table and playing around it.  I'm not sure why except that we do spend a fair amount of time here.  He especially likes to walk around the table in circles. 

Silly boy!

Walking Toy

Do you remember when Nathan got this for his birthday?
Flashback...

Look at him now!

He just decided to pull this out last night and play.  What a big boy!