6 Months Old

Little Nathan turned 6 months old yesterday and I can't believe it. How is it possible that he is half-a-year old already? I tell him every day that he is so sweet. Whenever I go out somewhere with the boys, he is usually in the Baby Bjorn facing out. We always have people stopping to talk to him and smile at him. It used to catch me off-guard when strangers would just stop in the aisle at the grocery store to look and smile at us. Now I realize that he is almost always smiling away at everyone he sees. I just can't see it because he's facing away from me. I hope he continues to have an easy disposition because it certainly makes things easier for me--and it's just stinkin' cute when a baby smiles all the time.

At his 6-month checkup today, Nathan's pediatrician said he looks great. He's growing really well and he's actually starting to thin out a bit. Before he was a little chubby for his length, but now he's pretty much proportional. Other than a little mild eczema and the remnant sniffles of a cold he had this week, he's perfectly healthy.

Weight: 16 pounds, 10.5 ounces (35th %)

Height: 26.25 inches (40th %)

Head Circumfrence: 44.5 cm (75th %)

Renaissance Festival

Tim wanted to go to the Carolina Renaissance Festival for his birthday weekend, so we made the 2.5 hour trip to Concord, NC on Saturday. The boys were both really good on the drive there. Nathan slept for an hour of it and Tyler sat fairly quietly listening to his Backyardigans CDs, looking at a toy catalog and commenting on trucks and trains.

We arrived at the festival grounds around 11:00. It was kind of misting when we first pulled up, but by the time I fed Nathan, it had pretty much stopped. It had rained the night before and for most of the morning, so everywhere we walked the ground was pretty wet. Being a Renaissance festival, there wasn't any pavement in the "amusement park".

Hanging out on a swing

I had never been to a Renaissance festival, and Tim's only experience was at a field trip during grade school, so we didn't really know what to expect. At first it was a little strange seeing all the workers (and many of the other guests) dressed in their period garb. All social classes were represented from royalty to peasants to pirates. There was a shop near the front of the park where guests could rent a costume. Interesting, but not for us.

Tyler was not so psyched to meet this walking talking tree. He wouldn't say "hello" to the tree, but he did say "bye-bye" as we were walking away.

Highlights of our day included buying Tyler a pirate sword and handkerchief (to wear on his head) to complete his pirate costume, watching a jousting match (like in the movie "A Knight's Tale"), seeing a pirate show, feeding sheep at a petting zoo, and riding an elephant. Yes, Tyler and Tim actually rode an elephant. We let Tyler decide between riding a camel or an elephant and he chose the elephant.

Tyler and his new pirate sword

The jousting match

Feeding sheep at the petting zooThe elephant rideWaiting for the pirate show to begin

We were only there for 4 hours because we had to hit the road so we'd be home in time for dinner. Nathan was so tired from all the activity, so he fell asleep almost as soon as the car started moving. Tyler, on the other hand, was so wired after eating a sucker (we didn't even let him finish it), that he didn't fall asleep until an hour into the drive and only after he managed to wake up his brother. Typical.

I don't know if you can read it, but the bottom part of this sign says "sausage on a stick". Did they really have sausage on a stick during the Renaissance?

All in all, it was a fun time and we will probably try out the local Renaissance festival sometime, which takes place in the spring. And no, we won't be dressing up for that one either.

Tim's Birthday

Last Friday was Tim's 30th birthday. We kept the celebration very low-key, just like Tim himself. He wanted to have a burrito for dinner, so we got take-out from On the Border, which has a menu item aptly named The Big Bordurrito. Tim always orders it when we eat at OTB and it is always HUGE.

I also ordered a cookie cake and had a bike put on it, mainly for Tyler's benefit. He kept saying, "Dat's Daddy's bike!" (In hindsight, I should have ordered a smaller cake because I ended up eating most of it by myself. Tim has a couple marathons coming up the next 2 weekends, so he's trying not to overdo it on the sweets). We gave Tim an electric shaver that he picked out, so he wasn't surprised by his present.

It was a quiet night at home for the four of us. We had to get to bed pretty early because we were headed to the Carolina Renaissance Festival near Charlotte the next morning.

So far, I don't think Tim is experiencing any kind of identity crisis now that he has turned 30. In fact, he commented that now he'll be in an easier age group (30-34) when competing in triathlons. His ability to relate everything back to training for or competing in triathlons is uncanny.

Pumpkin Decorating

On Monday we went to a playdate at my friend Christy's house. All the moms brought a pumpkin for their kids to decorate and Christy provided all the decorations--stickers, paint, eyes, pom-poms, etc. Tyler had so much fun decorating his pumpkin. He loved using the paints and picking out stickers. He's very proud of his pumpkin and he likes to set it on his dresser so it can watch him sleep since it has eyes. (See Pumpkins post). Tyler also had a blast playing in Christy's huge backyard with the other kids because there are few things he loves more than a big open space to run around.

Switch-a-roo

Yesterday afternoon I got it in my head to do some fairly major furniture switching. What used to be our dining room is now a playroom and our dining table sits in the breakfast nook that used to be a play area. I didn't tell Tim that I was doing it, so he came home to quite a surprise.

I'm really enjoying the switch-a-roo so far. Overall, I think it's a much better use of the space we have. The dining table is much closer to the kitchen, which is great for me since I'm always hopping up from the table to get something for the boys. I used to have to walk around/through/over toys to get from the dining room to the kitchen, but I don't have to worry about tripping on a dump truck anymore. All the toys are pretty much contained in the "playroom" and living room. I did have to take the leaf out of the table to make it fit more comfortably in the nook, so it only seats 4 now, instead of 6. This isn't a big deal, though, because we only have 4 people in our family. It's still plenty big for us.

The new dining area

The new playroom

Here are some photos of the boys that I took on Sunday. I haven't taken many pictures lately, so I figured it was time for an update. I think Nathan is starting to look similar to Tyler at this same age (5 1/2 months). He has the funniest belly laugh and it is easily brought on by tickling his neck or belly or bubba chubba thighs. What a sweetie!

On Sunday, Tyler was playing with his potty jar and the money in it. (He hasn't been asking for quarters lately, and he hasn't even been wanting M&Ms or "emma-emma-emms", but that's another story. Let's just say he's only interested in potty training when it's time to go night-night. He likes to sort out his quarters from his pennies and his nickels, which he pronounces as "nipples". Great.

After playing with the money in his jar, he decided to dig for gold somewhere else. Nice.