Nathan isn't crawling yet, but he sure is ready to move. He makes his way from one side of the room to the other by rolling and pivoting around. Yesterday I recorded him trying to "fly" his way over to PJ. He does this when he sees something he wants that is just out of his reach. It's as if he is willing himself to move. (PJ, on the other hand, did not want to move. He planted himself directly in front of me as I was trying to record Nathan).
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Ladies' Holiday Gala
Our church puts on a Ladies' Holiday Gala each November and my mom and I finally went this year. It was held last Saturday and it was such a nice evening out for the ladies in our church. This year there was a guy doing impressions of famous people, a jazz band, and a speaker who talked about being women of purpose. Some ladies get really dressed up, but others are dressed in their normal Sunday church wear. Mom and I were somewhere in the middle. Men from our church volunteered as servers and did a fabulous job making sure we had everything we needed.
Me, Mom and our wondeful hostess Anne
Me, Mom and our wondeful hostess Anne
One highlight of the evening were all the beautifully decorated tables. Each table was hosted by a different lady, and she could choose to decorate her table in a Thanksgiving/Autumn theme, a Christmas theme, or a New Year's theme. I wish we could've arrived earlier (it was my fault that we got there right as it was starting), so I could have taken more photos of the different tables. Some of them were very elegant, some were very cute, and all of them were put together so nicely. Of the tables I saw, I think our table was one of the best! Anne Webb was our wonderful hostess and she is so creative and crafty. She decorated our table with a Christmas tree theme and she carried it out in so many little details.
My personalized place setting
Our table centerpiece
I'm so glad I got to go with my mom because it's not often that we get to do something just the two of us, let alone enjoy a nice dinner without the little ones. It was kind of funny when I realized I needed to slow down while I was eating. I barely had anything left on my plate when I looked over at my mom's plate and she still had lots of food left. I'm so used to scarfing down food while simultaneously spoon-feeding Nathan and getting Tyler applesauce. So, given the opportunity to focus on my own food, I downed an entire plate in about 3 minutes and 28 seconds. Now if only I could clean my house that fast!
Haircut
Tyler was in serious need of a haircut, so I took him to get one this morning. The place we always go is just for kids. It has a big indoor slide, a little kitchen set, books, etc. The kids can choose between a car, an airplane, a 4-wheeler, or police car to sit in, and they even get to watch a video. Tyler chooses to watch Thomas every time and he usually picks the airplane. Last time I let him have a sucker afterward (his first one ever), so when I told him that we were going to get his hair cut, he kept talking about getting a sucker. Kids don't forget anything, except for when you tell them not to do something.
I needed to feed Nathan after Tyler's haircut, so I let Tyler play for a while. A little boy, who is probably 3 or 4, walked in while Tyler was playing and almost immediately started playing with Tyler. I just had to giggle to myself listening to them talk to each other. The boy told him that he has a dog and a cat at his house, so Tyler told him, "I have a monkey at my house." Of course he also told the boy about Pissay. As we walked to the car with a blue sucker in hand, I asked Tyler if he had fun playing with that boy and he told me, "Dat boy is my best fen. He's cool, awesome!"
I needed to feed Nathan after Tyler's haircut, so I let Tyler play for a while. A little boy, who is probably 3 or 4, walked in while Tyler was playing and almost immediately started playing with Tyler. I just had to giggle to myself listening to them talk to each other. The boy told him that he has a dog and a cat at his house, so Tyler told him, "I have a monkey at my house." Of course he also told the boy about Pissay. As we walked to the car with a blue sucker in hand, I asked Tyler if he had fun playing with that boy and he told me, "Dat boy is my best fen. He's cool, awesome!"
Here's a before picture from yesterday...
...and after the much needed haircut.
Here are a couple pictures from the past few days. 
Hugs!
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Outer Banks Weekend
Last weekend the four of us went to the Outer Banks to watch Tim run the OBX Marathon. This was his second consecutive year to compete. Last year Tim and I went together, and it was my first time leaving Tyler overnight. This time around we decided to take the whole family, and we even had Nana, Papa, Jonathan, Becki, Cooper and Gabe along for the fun. We stayed at a hotel right on the beach and they had a townhouse further inland. The weather was beautiful almost the entire weekend--sunny and warm for November.
Jonathan, Becki and the boys had to head back home Sunday night, but the rest of us stayed until Monday afternoon. Tim and I even got to have a little date Sunday evening after I put Nathan to sleep. Both he and Tyler were asleep early that night after all the activity during the day. So, Nana and Papa stayed with the boys while we enjoyed a yummy, quiet dinner at The Jolly Roger, a seafood and Italian restaurant. We hit up the outlet mall before leaving town and ate lunch at one of my favorite places--Tropical Smoothie Cafe. The boys both did great on the 3.5+ hour drive home. They took a nap at the same time (hooray for small miracles!) and were happy the rest of the way home. It was a nice way to end a fun and memorable weekend.
We sent Tyler to stay at the townhouse the night before the race because we knew it would be an early morning for us all. (For this particular race, Tim was up by 4:30 and consequently, so were Nathan and I--but thankfully Nathan went back to sleep after eating). After dropping Tim off near the starting line, Nathan and I picked up Papa and headed to mile marker 4 of the race course so we could see Tim. I think we did a pretty good job of seeing him along the course. The three of us saw him at mile 4, where he was at the front of the lead pack of 5 runners, and then we met up with the rest of the clan so we can see Tim around mile 8.5 and mile 14. After seeing Tim at the front of the pack, Cooper asked, "Is Uncle Tim the line leader?" Sounds like someone has been paying attention at preschool.
Waiting for Tim around mile 8.5
We had to drive all the way around the island to get to the finish line in downtown Manteo, but we made in time to see Tim finish in 5th place with a time of 2:36. There were lots of half-marathoners finishing when the marathoners started arriving. Tyler was watching for his daddy so intently and even though I pointed out the 4 guys who finished in front of Tim, he yelled, "Daddy win!" when Tim crossed the finish line. He was so excited.
Post-race pictures
Queen Elizabeth and Sir Walther Raleigh made an appearance at the awards ceremony.
Needless to say, Tim was pretty beat after the race, so he took a nap while the rest of us went to Jockey's Ridge State Park that afternoon. I've never seen anything like this place. It's the tallest natural sand dune system in the Eastern U.S. It was my second time visiting the park, but last time I didn't have kids. Watching Tyler and Cooper climbing the dunes gave me a better appreciation for how enormous the dunes really are. Funny enough, they were leaving the grown-ups in the dust! They just kept running, and since I had Nathan strapped to the front of me in the Baby Bjorn, I left the chasing up to Papa and Uncle Jon.
The funniest part for me was watching Tyler try to roll down the dunes. Cooper was a pro at rolling down, but for some reason, Tyler kept rolling across the dunes. It didn't seem to matter to him, though. He had an absolute blast along with Cooper and Gabe. Of course they had sand everywhere--Tyler had sand pouring out of his jacket pockets!
Here's a video of the boys making their way down one of the dunes. You'll get to see Tyler doing his patented triple-whip (from the Backyardigans "Surf's Up" episode) and you'll also hear him getting scolded for throwing sand. Ai adai! (This is a Chamorro phrase often used to express exasperation. Is it any surprise that I use it frequently with my 2-year-old?)
After all that frollicking at the dunes, it was bath time for Tyler, Cooper and Gabe.
Jonathan, Becki and the boys had to head back home Sunday night, but the rest of us stayed until Monday afternoon. Tim and I even got to have a little date Sunday evening after I put Nathan to sleep. Both he and Tyler were asleep early that night after all the activity during the day. So, Nana and Papa stayed with the boys while we enjoyed a yummy, quiet dinner at The Jolly Roger, a seafood and Italian restaurant. We hit up the outlet mall before leaving town and ate lunch at one of my favorite places--Tropical Smoothie Cafe. The boys both did great on the 3.5+ hour drive home. They took a nap at the same time (hooray for small miracles!) and were happy the rest of the way home. It was a nice way to end a fun and memorable weekend.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
T-Y-L-E-R
About two weeks ago, Tyler started spelling his name. At first he did it by looking at the letters on his bedroom wall or anywhere his name was written, but then he started doing it without seeing the letters. It sounds a little funny, though, because he can't pronounce his L's, so "L" sounds kind of like "R". I have to credit the PBS show "Word World" for his interest in letters and words. Ever since he started watching it a few months ago, he's always asking "Whuz dat name?" when he sees words on anything and everything (a building, a sign, a t-shirt, piece of paper, etc.), which gives us the opportunity to go over the letters he's seeing. He now knows more than half of his capital letters by sight.
I recorded the following video a few days ago. As you'll see, Tyler had lots to say. You probably won't be able to understand everything he's saying, so here's a little background info. He and his daddy were about to go to the park so Tyler could run on the trails. The last time they went to the park, Tyler had to go potty, and Tim took him in the woods. So in the video, Tyler talks about how he wants to go potty in the woods again. At the very end, he says, "You want me to spell my name?", and proceeds to spell it. Little show-off.
I recorded the following video a few days ago. As you'll see, Tyler had lots to say. You probably won't be able to understand everything he's saying, so here's a little background info. He and his daddy were about to go to the park so Tyler could run on the trails. The last time they went to the park, Tyler had to go potty, and Tim took him in the woods. So in the video, Tyler talks about how he wants to go potty in the woods again. At the very end, he says, "You want me to spell my name?", and proceeds to spell it. Little show-off.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Fun Fall Times
On November 2nd, Tim ran the City of Oaks Marathon and got 5th place! He was hoping to repeat his win from last year, but given the racing schedule he's kept up since his Ironman in August, even he realizes he needs to cut himself some slack every now and then. Unfortunately, the boys and I didn't make it to the race in time to see him finish (we got a little lost downtown trying to navigate our way around all the streets they'd closed for the race), but we had fun hanging out with Tim afterward. Tyler loves races, so he enjoyed watching all the runners and Nathan just likes to be outside, so he was perfectly content. It was a nice way to spend a beautiful, sunny fall morning as a family. 
Tyler is getting so good at building train tracks by himself. He used to build one long string of tracks that didn't connect at the ends, but this is what I found the other day. I thought it was pretty impressive that he figured out how to do this on his own without any help.
It is definitely fall around here because the leaves are coming down in spades. We have lots of trees in our yard, so every year we spend a lot of time raking leaves. Tyler "helped" me last fall and he has enjoyed helping again this year. We give him a broom, which is much safer than a rake, and he does his best to sweep the leaves into piles. Too bad he ends up destroying the piles I make, thereby creating more work for me. Oh well--he has fun and it's a great way for him to expend some of the endless energy he harbors in his little body.
I don't have a picture of this, but Tyler loves playing outside with PJ (still lovingly referred to as "Pissay" by Tyler). It's great having a fenced yard where the two of them can play and I don't have to worry about either one of them running off. I can keep an eye on them while I'm cooking in the kitchen. I often catch Tyler trying to feed PJ leaves and sticks, and of course PJ will give everything a little taste before spitting it back out. Even when they're inside, I'll hear Tyler calling PJ to come play with him. "Pissay! Come updairs, Pissay! You want to pay wid me?" It's really cute, but sometimes PJ just wants to go hide in Tim's office.
Fall Fairs
On the evening of Halloween, we took the boys to a nearby church for a fall festival. Tyler was a pirate and Nathan was a monkey (which was Cooper's first Halloween costume 3 years ago). It was a very cool evening, so the monkey costume was perfect because it kept Nathan nice and warm. 
Tyler had a blast playing all the little carnival games like go fish and a ring toss. The ring toss was hilarious to watch. The goal was to get one of the plastic rings (about the size of a frisbee) to hang on one of the spider's leg. Tyler, who loves to play frisbee in our backyard, immediately knew what to do with the plastic ring. The only problem was that he doesn't usually play with such a small target in mind. The poor volunteer at the ring toss was almost beheaded by a ring or two, and by the time Tyler finished, there were rings in just about every other booth. At one point, the volunteer said, "I think you almost caught a fish with that one." Tim, Nana and I were cracking up because it was such a funny sight to see rings flying everywhere.
It's amazing how my definition of fun has changed since I had kids. Just the fact that Tyler loved getting dressed up and had a blast at these two fall fairs made it a fun weekend for me. And having the cutest little monkey around made it even sweeter.
Tyler had a blast playing all the little carnival games like go fish and a ring toss. The ring toss was hilarious to watch. The goal was to get one of the plastic rings (about the size of a frisbee) to hang on one of the spider's leg. Tyler, who loves to play frisbee in our backyard, immediately knew what to do with the plastic ring. The only problem was that he doesn't usually play with such a small target in mind. The poor volunteer at the ring toss was almost beheaded by a ring or two, and by the time Tyler finished, there were rings in just about every other booth. At one point, the volunteer said, "I think you almost caught a fish with that one." Tim, Nana and I were cracking up because it was such a funny sight to see rings flying everywhere.
There were also several inflatable rides, which Tyler always enjoys. One was an obstacle course with several steep climbs and big slides. Only one child was allowed on the course at a time, which was not so fun for the kid who was in line behind my son. Don't get me wrong. Tyler, my awesome little climber, did a great job scaling the walls, which were kind of like rock-climbing walls. It just took him a little bit longer to get through the course because he was younger and smaller than the other kids. The volunteer in charge of starting the kids on the course even went looking for him after a while. We watched him the whole way, so we knew he was okay. It was so great to see his huge smile when he finally made it to the top of the big wall and went down the big slide at the end. He was huffing and puffing, but he had so much fun.
We couldn't stay long because it was getting cold and Nathan needed to go to bed, so we came home and handed out candy for a little while. We didn't get too many trick-or-treaters this year, but Pirate Tyler enjoyed passing out candy to all the "kids", as he called them.
Our church had a fall fair the next evening, so once again, we got Tyler all dressed up in his pirate costume. He got to play more games and he even got to ride a pony, which he insisted was a "horsie". ("No, Mommy. Dat's not a pony, dat's a horsie.") 
It's amazing how my definition of fun has changed since I had kids. Just the fact that Tyler loved getting dressed up and had a blast at these two fall fairs made it a fun weekend for me. And having the cutest little monkey around made it even sweeter.
Monday, November 3, 2008
alphimals
Anyone who has known me for longer than any length of time has heard about my uber-talented and creative older brother Jonathan. If you've been to our house, I've surely pointed out his paintings that hang on our walls. Well, brace yourselves, because here comes a bit more shameless bragging.
Brother (as I call him) and his friend Mario have designed a line of artwork for kids called alphimals. Click here to see the brand new website, where you can view all 26 alphimals--one for each letter of the alphabet. They are all stinkin' cute! Have fun picking out your favorite!
One alphimal could serve as a focal point in a nursery (pick the alphimal for the first letter of the letter of the baby's name), or several of them grouped together on the wall in a kid's bedroom or playroom would be super cute. So, if you know anyone parents who may be in the market for something cool and a little different for their kids' rooms, please send them to alphimals.com.
Btw, the "who we are" section of the website is a must read. =)
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