Sheet Rides

Last night I was summoned upstairs to the boys' room to "come see this". This is what I found.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Only Tim could have come up with rides on a sheet. I mean, seriously, I would never in a million years have come up with such a game. I actually did try doing it today at Tyler's request. I must have been doing it wrong because my hamstrings were burning after hauling my boys around their room for a couple minutes.

I love the last part of the video where Tyler is hugging Nathan. Even though it may appear otherwise, I promise Tyler wasn't trying to hurt his brother. It was so cute how Nathan just kept laughing. He really does adore his big brother and Tyler has been showing him more and more attention, primarily by giving Nathan lots of hugs. Today I heard Nathan laughing while I was switching out some laundry and I asked Tyler why he was laughing. Tyler said, "I was trying to pick him up." Yeah, we had to have a talk about that.

Big Boys

When I look at some of the pictures I've taken in the past week, I realize my boys are getting so big. Nathan looks like a little man cruising around the furniture and he's too good at climbing the stairs. We have a gate at the top of the stairs, but not at the bottom. I've started placing a laundry basket at the bottom of the stairway to prevent him from making the ascent without my supervision.

On Wednesday Tyler and I went to a MOPS playdate at a comedy theatre where they put on a puppet show for kids during the day. It's all interactive and the kids even get to play parts in the story of the day. This month's show is Cinderella.

My shy guy didn't want to volunteer for a part, which was no shocker. I was surprised, however, that he walked right in toward all the other kids as soon as we arrived and took a seat on the floor right in front of the stage. He sat there next to some of the kids for the entire show while I sat in a chair next to other moms and kids. There was a time when he wouldn't have left my side, but he's growing up and I'm so glad to see him getting more comfortable in new situations and places.

At one point during the show, all the kids were given foam noodles to swing around. This was Tyler's favorite part because he got to stand up and expend some of that endless energy he possesses.

Making a rainbow

We found out the other night that Nathan loves to just roll around on/in blankets on the floor. And since he seemed to be having so much fun, Tyler had to give it a try, too.

Funny Things

Tyler has us cracking up at some of the things he's said recently. Here are a couple funny conversations...

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Me: I love you so much.
Tyler: Oh.
Me: Do you know how much I love you?
Tyler: Ummm...twenty dollars.

(When I relayed the story to Tim, he reminded me that 20 is the highest number Tyler knows right now, so he must know that I love him a lot!)

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Tyler: I love you, Nana.
Nana: How much do you love me?
Tyler: Ummm...pretty good.

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Me: Do you want some edamame with your dinner?
Tyler: We going to eat edda-you?

Edamame, pronounced "ed-uh-mommy", is Japanese for soy beans. So, when I asked him if he wanted edamame, he thought I was saying "edda-mommy".

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Last night Tyler had Tim and I completely amazed when, out of the blue, he said, "D-A-D-D-Y. Daddy!"

We haven't even been working on how to spell Daddy. He sometimes asks us to write "Daddy", "Mommy", "Nathan" and "PJ" (along with his name, of course) when we're drawing pictures with him. We were just so suprised when he busted out with it. For a second, we didn't even acknowledge Tyler at all. We were too busy looking at each other with disbelief.

Photo Update

I don't have anything particular to write about, so I'm just going to post a few photos from the past couple weeks and a video or two.

Here's a video from 2 weeks ago. We were just playing with the boys in their room before bathtime. Nathan gets so excited when he hears music and he recently started clapping along. It's kind of his way of dancing to the music. Tyler, of course, never has any shortage of dance moves to share, so Nathan gets to see lots of demonstrations. (Please excuse the mess in their room. It always looks its worst at the end of the day.)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Feb. 4th - I took these photos of Nathan after dinner one night. He was kind of a mess because he would get really mad when I tried to wipe his face to clean it--probably because at the time I was constantly wiping his little nose due to his cold. I decided not to fight him since bathtime was approaching.

I'm always reminding Tyler to keep his letter magnets up high, and this is why...

Here's a video from that same night. Nathan was playing peek-a-boo from behind the chair and he was getting a kick out of it.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Feb. 7th - We went to the park last Saturday to let Tyler run on the trails, which he just loves to do. Nana came with us and Papa was supposed to be there, too, but he had to make an unscheduled trip back to their house to track down our house key. Tim and I both walked out of the house thinking that the other had the key. So, while the rest of us went for a walk at the park, my dear dad drove for an hour round-trip to pick up their copy of our house key and didn't utter even the slightest complaint. He'll do anything for his family (especially his girl). Thanks so much, Dad!

Close-ups

Feb. 10th - Pottery Barn Kids had some of their lunch bags on sale, so I let Tyler pick one for preschool. (Yes, I realize that preschool doesn't start until September, but we're planning ahead). Tyler was very certain which one he wanted and in which color. He even knew whether he wanted his name in all caps vs. first letter capitalized only. When it arrived this week, he was so excited. He likes to put his water bottle in it and carry it all over the house. Here he is with it the day it arrived. He insisted that it join him on the couch while he watched a show before naptime.

9 Months Old!

Nathan turned 9-months-old last week, but I am just now getting around to posting photos and stats. I've been in a no-blogging rut ever since I was struck with a fairly bad cold two weeks ago. It lasted a good week and, sadly, I passed it along to little Nathan, so he's had a runny nose for over a week now. He's been dealing with it pretty well, though. He actually thinks it's funny when I use the bulb syringe to suction out his nose.

Nathan had his 9 month appointment this week. He has been such a healthy little guy that we hadn't been to the pediatrician since his 6 month appointment in October. He's definitely still growing, but his weight and length have dropped percentile-wise. I asked the doctor about it, but she wasn't concerned at all, given that he's on the move all the time these days.

Weight: 18 pounds, 8 ounces (20th percentile)

Length: 27.5 inches (25th percentile)

Nathan absolutley amazed me when he got his shots. He only got 2 this time, but he didn't even cry. He whimpered for all of 10 seconds and that was it. He's so tough. I guess having a big brother does that to a kid. I should know. =)

Other than his little cold, Nathan is doing very well. He's busy, busy, busy all the time. He crawls really fast now and is pulling up on everything, which means he's getting into more stuff every day.

I've also been busy picking a preschool for Tyler to attend next fall. Most of the registration deadlines are late January to early February, so even though I could barely talk (I lost most of my voice for a few days due to the cold), I visited 4 preschools with Tyler in 6 days because I had to figure everything out before the deadlines. There were two that I really liked, but after praying about it, building a comparison spreadsheet (my inner nerd strikes again!) and chatting with a mom whose child attends one of the preschools, I finally decided on one. When we went to register, there was only one spot open in the class we wanted and it was for a boy, so it worked out perfectly. Tyler is already very excited about going to school, even though it won't start until September. I'm glad I still have several months to get used to the idea of my big boy starting school, but I know he's going to love it.