Archive for September, 2010

Fall is here…

September 30, 2010 | Updates

Last week, our weather was in the high 80’s. This week, we’re down to 60 and 70. Next week, it’s supposed to be even colder.

And you know what? I admit it. I like the heat and I don’t like the cold. I LOOOOOVVVVEEEE summer. And spring and fall are great as long as it’s 80 degrees. But winter, well, winter and I have a bitter relationship. Winter stays outside and I stay in. It’s what I do and it’s not my favorite.

The sad thing is that my dislike for winter makes me dread fall simply because I know it means winter is coming. But this year, I’m trying something different. I’m going to try enjoy fall. Seriously. I’m not sure it will take, but it’s worth a try.

Here’s to hoping I can do it!

Documenting Life…

September 23, 2010 | Updates

The photo class I took gave us the following assignment:

1. Find someone who would let us take their picture.

2. Find something that they love.

3. Document that love through pictures.

Nathan and Samuel are always my guinea pigs for pictures because they aren’t old enough to have acquired the camera shyness the rest of us seem to have (including me). So here’s what I came up with…

Nathan loves his swimming pool…

Pumping up the pool.

Filling it up with water.

Climbing in.

It’s a little cold!

But soooooooo fun!

And Samuel loves his MP3 player.

The song starts.

Samuel recognizes it.

And…the reaction!

Actually, Samuel LOVES music and he can recognize a lot of songs. Most of them are from movies he’s watched, but some of them are ones I’ve sung to him or played for him. We can listen to songs in the car for hours and one will come on that he knows and he’ll go NUTS! He’s recognized them at random other places, too, like the rodeo or the mall. It’s pretty neat to watch and to see that he fully recognizes the songs on his own without any promptings from us! So cool.

Now it’s your turn. Document something you want to remember. Something besides the everybody turn and smile at the camera things. I mean, those are great, but the “real life” stuff is too. Try it. You’ll like it!

But if you do feel inclined to stick with the “everyone smile for the camera” photos (and again, nothing wrong with that), at least try to keep things interesting. Case in point…

(Photo courtesy of awkwardfamilyphotos.com. These are NOT my kids…although I do find this pretty stinkin’ funny!)

Randomness…

September 16, 2010 | Updates

I need to catch up on posting all our summer stuff and soon before I have to consider myself way behind AGAIN :)!

So, here is a bunch of randomness…

Father’s Day 2010

Where the kids made cute personalized gifts for their Dad and Wes was even nice enough to help Ben wrap himself up as a gift.

Nathan thought he was king for the day.

And Dad tried out his new buffalo hide gloves by boxing with the kids.

Rodeo Days 2010

We went to a lot of rodeos this year. Cowboy boots, cowboy hats, the smell of sweaty animals and soft dirt. The rodeo is one adventure that can’t be replicated by any other event. It was a lot of fun - especially when they were mixed with the loud sounds, bright lights and the smell of cotton candy from the neighboring carnival!

Summer Days at the Park

And then there were simple days at the park where we just enjoyed each other and the wonderful warm weather!

And there’s more randomness where that come from! Until next time…

Soooooo Close…

September 9, 2010 | Updates

I weighed Samuel today.

I may have cheated a little because he was fully dressed and had a bit of a wet diaper :).

BUT…

He weighed in at 39.5 lbs.

Woohoo!

He needs to weigh about 42 lbs to be the right weight for his height. (Well, actually, that’s not entirely true because that’s the weight goal they gave me for him about 6 months ago and I think he’s grown a full 2 INCHES since then.) So, his weight goal is probably higher than that now. But I’m ignoring that for the moment and enjoying the small victory of being so very, very close to 40 lbs.

For celebration, I threw Samuel on my bed a few times doing the “One for the money, two for the show” chant. The kid is about 45 inches long now and throwing him on the bed is a bit of a feat for me. But, he LOVES it! And who can resist that cute little laugh? I know I can’t.

The only down side to the whole thing was that I then weighed Nathan and he only weighed 4 lbs less than Samuel. Sheesh. I know it’s better if Samuel is a bit smaller than “normal” kids so that I can transfer him from place to place. But there is just this little part of each and every mom that makes them want to see their kids grow big and tall just like everyone else.

Ah, well, I’m just happy Samuel has a little weight on his thighs. That’s always where I can tell he’s gaining. And the past few months, everytime I change his diaper, I can feel the extra weight in those cute little thighs of his and I LIKE IT!

Because I can’t help myself…

September 7, 2010 | Updates

Nathan is always being cute and I can’t resist telling about it!

EXAMPLE A:

The other day as I was putting Nathan to bed I was noticing AGAIN how he is WAY too big for the portable crib we still have him in. In a perfect world, he could share a bunk bed with Samuel. (A bunk bed that we gave away to friends a few years ago because we realized we wouldn’t be using it again.) But in our world, Samuel has LOTS of special equipment and supplies and needs his own room. So, Nathan is still sleeping in a tiny, portable crib at the age of four (not that he probably even notices or cares).

Anyhoo, I started thinking of my plans to move Nathan into Tanner’s bed when Tanner leaves on his mission and figured it might be a good idea to present this idea to Nathan now so he gets used to it before I actually try moving him and so he understands that Tanner planned his trip and that he didn’t just disappear one day. So, I explained to Nathan that in a little while, Tanner will be flying on an airplane to a place far, far away and that he won’t be back until Nathan is six-years-old and that while he’s gone, Nathan can sleep in his bed. Nathan agreed that would be fine and happily went to sleep in his own little bed.

About a week later, I had the following conversation with Nathan:

Me: “Ok, Nathan, time for bed. Let’s go get in. Where’s your bed?” I asked, thinking I might get him down to his room without much hassle if he led the way.

Nathan: “I don’t know…”

Me: (Confused) “What do you mean you don’t know where your bed is???”

Long, long pause and deep thinking on Nathan’s part………..

And then, in the most innocent voice, Nathan asked, ”Is Tanner still here?”

You know I laughed out loud at that one! I couldn’t believe he remembered our talk from a week before. I hadn’t mentioned it since then. And now, nearly every day, he asks me if Tanner is still here. I think the kid’s just waiting for him to leave in anticipation of his new bed :)!

EXAMPLE 2:

We’re sitting at the dining room table eating Sunday dinner.

Nathan is sitting at one end and Tom is sitting at the other.

Nathan is repeating over and over and over and OVER again, “Bad guy, bad guy, bad guy, bad guy…”

After a few minutes Tom says, “Nathan, let’s not that say that anymore, ok?”

Nathan says, “Ok, dad” in his cheerful litttle voice.

Two seconds of silence and then we hear, ”Good guy, good guy, good guy, good guy…”

Man, I love that kid!