Cat Napping :)

I have a data entry job that I do from my computer at home. I am lucky to have a huge computer desk that is more than big enough to hold Adah's bouncy seat, so she naps there while I work sometimes. For some reason it always seems to be very cold in my office, so one day our cat Sophie was looking for a warm place to nap and apparently Adah looked cozy.

This was super cute to me because this cat will not let Nate near her and never did, even when he was little. When Adah woke up with the cat on top of her she just pet her very softly and Sophie stayed there and let her!! It was crazy to see this cat act like that because she is normally so skittish around kids and babies. They have napped like this several times since this day. Sophie doesn't play with Adah, but they are napping buddies. :)

First Pigtails!

I still cannot believe how much hair our sweet girl has! She is so pretty and that dimple can melt a heart. One Sunday morning I decided to try pigtails for church. When I showed Nate he said "That's Jade's hair." Jade is a friend of his that wears pigtails very often so I guess he thought she had it trademarked of something ;)

Painting projects

Nate did several painting projects over the past 2 months. The first one was a little canvas that he painted for Miss Michaela's (his sitter who he LOVES) birthday. I put these pictures backwards, but he started out with a paint brush and ended up with paint all over his hands.

Our second project was painting wooden picture frames as gifts for his grandparents and great grandparents. When we painted the canvas, I had decided that it would work better if we did one color at a time and let it dry before doing another color. That way the colors would not all mix and make brown. Nate's friend Jade came over and painted with him that day. Every time we gave one of the frames out he told everyone that he painted it with Jade.

The last project we did was wrapping paper. I just bought packing paper and let him paint it. I stole this idea from Jennifer Chang, so don't think I am too awesome. It did turn out pretty cool and I am kicking myself for forgetting to take a picture of the finished product!

Better late than never

I am aware that I am SOOO behind on this! Being that I just posted the Fall post and New Year's Day is 2 days away! Better late than never. I am going to try to get caught up soon so keep reading!

Fall Festivites

First on our list of Fall Festivities was our church's Fall Fest! We had loads of fun playing games, decorating a cookie, jumping in a bounce house, eating hot dogs and relaxing on the grass with our friends.

Daddy helped Nate be a strong man and ring the bell!

On Halloween, I took the kids to my parents' house. My sister and brother-in-law and my favortie (and only) nephew came over and we went to a fall festivel at a church down the road. They had big bounce houses and slides, which was Nate's favorite part. It was pretty much the only thing that he wanted to do.

Adah was a kitten. Isn't she cute?

Nate was a dog. I made his costume out of a sweat suit and now everytime I put a jacket on him, he says that he is going to the costume party.

While we were at my parents's house there happened to be a yearly festivel in town, so my mom and I took the kids to see the parade and then Nate got to ride a pony! I told him that we would see if he was big enough to ride the pony, so the first minute or so that he was riding he kept saying "I'm big enough. Nate's big enough." I quess I shouldn't have question his 'bigness" ;)

I think Adah found the festivies quite boring. She watched the parade, but slept through the rest.

The best thing about festivels is definantly the food and the freshed squeezed lemonade! We were there around lunch time so we got some of that yummy greasy fatting food! Nate was a huge fan of the extra long corn dog.

Playing Outside

Nate loves to go swimming. Actually, he just loves to play with water, it doesn't matter where, the bathtub, dog bowl, pool, whatever! The other day, we had just gotten out of bed and I was making Nate some oatmeal while Adah was still sleeping. Before I knew it, Nate was out of sight. I began my search... not getting into the cat liter, good... not playing on the computer, good... not playing in the toilet, good but seriously where is he??? Annoyed, I yell that he better come out right now!!! Then I see it, the back door is cracked! I run outside just in time to catch him climbing into his pool, still full from the day before, in his jammies! He very proudly announced to Daddy that night that he went swimming in his jammies. So, I guess Nate knows how to work the lock on the back door... Well, now I know what it means when someone says "he is all boy." I think that is all the explanation needed for this picture...

Adah Joy is my little sweetie! Her eyes light up and her dimple comes out when she sees her doggies. They pretty much feel that way about anything that breathes so they lone that Adah laughs at them.

We actually bought this swing for Nate's birthday, but go figure, he isn't a huge fan of it. I guess he just doesn't like being contained. Adah, however, loves the swing and being outside.

Labor Day at the Zoo

On Labor Day, Thomas was off so we had a GREAT family day! We started by riding the train that is down by the zoo. Nate is VERY into trains right now so he was SUPER excited. There was a sweet couple behind us that offer to take our picture.

Next we went to the zoo. Which was lots of fun, but we were disappointed that the fountains at the children's part of the zoo were not on!! We even took Nate in a swim suit! Oh well... we still had a great time and let Nate run around for the first time, which he LOVED.

After the zoo we went over by this long pond thing (Houston people probably know what I am talking about) and sat on a blanket in the shade of a tree to eat our lunch. What a perfect family moment and I left my camera in the car so I don't have pictures!!! :( There are ducks in the pond that are very tame from people feeding them so Nate fed his crust to the them. One even took a piece out of my hand. Nate wanted to swim with the ducks. He kept saying "I get in there." and I had to keep reminding him, "no you will not." :) Even Adah had a good time rolling around on the blanket in the shade. Family days are the best!

Reading to Adah

The other day Nate was sitting on the couch reading a book and asked if he could read to Adah. So, I put her up on the couch next to him and Nate thought that it was super cool. After she got tired of "reading" and I took it off of the couch, ALL DAY he kept whining "wanna read to Adah!"

9-11

This topic is probably going to be the most talked about, posted about, or blogged about issue today. As we remember those men and women who lost their lives and the men and women who fight for our lives right now, let us lift a prayer for them. Comfort for the families still feeling the ache of losing a loved one and for families who are missing a loved one because he or she is fighting for that freedom we hold dear. I stand tall and proud to be an american because of the sacrifice of others. I encourage you to reach out to someone you know and thank them for the service to our country. Regardless of wars they have served in or not! I also ask for prayer for this country. God is in control and it is hard to see that somedays but we still should pray and express our concerns to the MOST HIGH!

~ Thomas

"I get a cookie"

This morning Nate woke up at 5:30 while Thomas was eating breakfast before leaving for work. I did NOT want to get up at 5:30 so I took the easy way out and took him to bed with me to go back to sleep...

About 7:20am I woke up to him crawling BACK into bed with a half eaten cookie. He looked at me with a smile and said, "I get a cookie!" You see, last night while "helping" me cook, Nate discovered a bowl of cookies on the counter next to the fridge. So when he woke up this morning, instead of waking me up, he thought, "hmmmm, mommy is not up to stop me from getting a cookie!" :) And so, Nate had a cookie for breakfast this morning!

Nate showing off his victory prize

Video Post!

Adah doesn't sit still!

It must taste good...

I have always cracked up at this picture of Nate so the other day when I saw Adah doing the same thing, I ran to get my camera. I guess it tastes good. :) Adah Joy at 6 months

Nate at 3 months

Happy 6 Month Birthday, Adah!!

Happy 6 Month Birthday, Adah! It is hard to believe that it has already been 6 months since our "beautiful addition" came along! She has been such a sweet blessing to our family. She was a huge source of joy for us during the difficult time we had surrounding my pregnancy and her birth. Through her journey to birth God taught us so much.
It has been so fun watching Nate become a big brother. He is quite good about it. When Adah cries he runs to her rescue to tell her "it's OK, Adah" or sing to her (usually "Jesus loves me"). He always seems to get great giggles out of her!

I thought I would compare some pictures or Nate at 6 months to Adah at 6 months:

Nate loved to swing. Adah usually only wants to swing when she is sleepy.

Bouncing is one thing that they both love. Although, Nate looks super bored in his picture (isn't it funny!) He was a huge fan of the jumperoo. Adah shares his love for jumping. She will go forever without stopping. It is a great source of laughter for the whole family!

I made both of my babies a blanket before they were born. This is each of them on their blanket at 6 months old. I still can't believe that I have a 2 year old! Every age is so fun, but it is hard to not miss Nate's baby stage looking back at these pictures. I guess it is a good reminder to cherish everyday because they pass so quickly. It is such a blessing and privilege to be their mom. I thank God everyday for entrusting these sweet babies to me and Thomas. I pray that we will continually look to Him in everything we do as parents.

Happy 6 Month Birthday Adah Joy!

Adah "beautiful addition"

Birth 7lb 3oz

6 Months 13lb 15oz

Video from the Aquarium

At the Aquarium there is a train that takes you through a huge tank of sharks. Nate is very into trains so he was so excited about this. When the train was approaching to pick us up he got giddy! It was so cute! He was laughing an stomping his feet with excitement. I took this little video on my little picture camera, so it isn't the best quality. Also we were sitting right under the speaker, which was super loud, but it was neat to have sharks swimming all around us. Well, it was only neat b/c we were not in the water with them! EEEEK! Anyway, Nate doesn't smile the whole time I am taping, but I guess he was just taking it all in b/c he is still talking about it! I hope this works, I have never posted a video before!

Uncle Alan and Aunt Sarah

Last week Thomas brother Alan and his wife Sarah came down from NYC to visit! Nate was sooo excited to see Uncle Alan and Aunt Sarah! It was also their first time to meet Adah. We had lots of fun while they were here. Grammy (Thomas's mom) came too and one night she stayed with the kids while the rest of us went out for dessert without kids, which was awesome!!!!

Uncle Alan and Aunt Sarah

One of our excursions with Uncle Alan and Aunt Sarah was going to the Downtown Aquarium.Uncle Alan and Nate in front of the Aquarium

Daddy and his girl

Nate and Mama on the Train - Nate FAVORITE part

This is where they send the bad little boys! Don't worry I'm only joking, there was VERY thick glass between Nate and the White Tiger. Who knew there was going to be a Tiger at the Aquarium! Don't cats eat fish? Hmm... This guy (or girl, I am not sure) was beautiful!

We had a great visit and Adah was very happy to meet her Uncle and Aunt. The first time she saw Uncle Alan, she smiled and went right to him! Then she grabbed his nose and held on for a while, silly girl! Nate is still talking about Uncle Alan and Aunt Sawah. We do not get to see them often enough! They are very fun and we are so happy that we got to see them this summer. We can't wait to take Nate to New York to see them. We went when he was about 7 months old, but it would be neat now to be able to show him the sights that he reads about in his book Good Night New York.

Rice Cereal

Rice Cereal

You think she likes it? ;)

So when we took Adah to her 4 month appointment, the Doctor said to wait until she was 13lbs to give her rice cereal. She FINALLY hit that about 2 weeks ago so we have been giving rice cereal a shot. She has gone from gaging and throwing it up, to just spitting it out, to just letting it sit in her mouth until it comes drooling out. She has yet to swallow it, but I am sure she will get it eventually!

I have decided to make her baby food and my sister has a book that gave a recipe for rice cereal, which I totally wouldn't have even thought of! Anyway, to anyone who is interested here it is:

Rice Cereal

1/4 cup brown rice (more nutrients than white)

1 cup water

Grind rice to fine powder. I tried using food processor but got no where, but a coffee grinder worked great. When you think you have it ground enough, do it more. It cooks up a lot bigger. Mix together in pot and bring to boil. Simmer 10 minutes, whisking constantly. Cool slightly and add 3 tablespoons breast milk. add more or less to make thick or thin consistency. I ended up using 5 tablespoons maybe. serve warm and freeze leftovers.

Also:

Oatmeal

1/4 cup rolls oats

3/4 cup water

Almost same as above but simmer 5 minutes, not 10.

EXTRA HINT:

Freeze it in ice trays then move to freezer bags. This way you can thaw only what you need each day!

anyone else having blogger issues

when I got on this morning my entire dashboard had been wiped clean. Either I have been hacked or there is some kind of system error?!? Any ideas?

And the firetrucks came?

A few weeks ago, one of our neighbors' houses was on fire and 5 firetrucks full of firemen came to put it out. It seems to have really effected Nate. He saw all of this as it was starting, because he and Thomas were coming home from running around town. He is still talking about the "big bire" (sometimes his f 's come out as b's). He also tells me that he is scared of the fire in the window, probably because huge flames were coming out of the windows on the house before the fireman got there.

Anyway, he has a storybook bible that we read a story out of every night. A couple nights ago we read "A firey furnance". Since then he keeps wanting to read the page with the picture of the fire on it. Yesterday we were looking at it and he said,"That's the big bire." I agreed. Then he said, "And the fire trucks came?"

How cute is that. I told him that God sent a special fireman to save them and that God gave us firemen so that they would always keep us safe from fires.

Update on Nate's hand

The day Nate burned his hand, a huge blister came up. Right before bed that night it popped. Now the skin is starting to come off and we are trying to keep it clipped per his doctor. I change his bandage and medicine a couple times throughout the day. That is pretty much the only time he acts like his hand is bothering him and it is probably b/c he can see it looking all gross. He even claps with that hand, so I feel like he must not be in a ton of pain! The pictures are not great b/c he did not want to sit still! Shocking, I know. ;)

An unrelated note: This morning Adah was lying in the floor and Nate got down with her with a leg on each side of her and sang "itsy bitsy spider" to her tickling her with his fingers like I do to him. It was so cute. I tried to video it on my phone. We have go to get a real camera!

Venting

Okay, so it is only Tuesday morning and already this week Nate has burned his hand, I didn't hear from the job yesterday, AND this morning Thomas's car shut down on his way to work in the HOV lane with 2 riders! He is having it towed to a shop. Our mechanic in Tyler told him over the phone that it could be a $200 fix or a $2000 fix. The car is only worth about $1500 so this puts us in an interesting position. Please pray that it is a $200 fix!

Curiosity Killed the Cat... or Burned the Hand

Little boys are way too curious for their own good! Nate has touched a hot frying pan before and burned his hand, but today he got WAY too curious today. What is it about "that's hot, don't touch it" do little boys not get? When Thomas was little he touched a hot blow torch and in an effort to follow in Daddy's footsteps, our little stinker put his entire palm down on a hot burner today.

We were relieved to hear the doctor say that it isn't that bad and will heal fine. Nate did however milk a chocolate milkshake (no pun intended) and some extra Veggie Tales out of it. He is playing with his toy farm animals. He stops every once in a while to say something about burning his hand on the hot burner, but seems to be pretty content. Adah better not be this curious!

Monkey Business

So since I have a baby to take care of, Nate has decided that he does too. He has a Curious George monkey that has become his baby. It is pretty logical, he is shaped like a baby and about the same size as tiny Adah! This is Nate turning on the swing, music and all to help his diapered monkey to relax and take a nap. He says, "It's ok, monkey." Yes, Monkey wears a diaper because he is not yet potty trained. However...
...we are working on it! Nate even gave him a book to read. He got in trouble later though because he had a "poopie diaper". If George really did go potty, maybe Nate would learn how I feel cleaning up his pee off of the floor! ;)

Pray

I would request a prayer for Jamie regarding her interview today!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is Daddy's birthday! After he left for work and before I left for work Nate helped make his birthday cake for tonight!
Thomas - You are a wonderful husband and an awesome Daddy! We are very blessed to have you in our lives and happy to share another birthday with you. We hope it is a special birthday. Love you so much!