nate - the fish

Our summer of swimming started about three weeks ago when my parents started heating their pool. From day one, Nate has loved the water. He is fearless {which I love but it also scares me a little} because he'll just jump right on in. Wes comes with us every Saturday to swim for a little while. Every Saturday & a few times a month I put Nate down for a nap there and I enjoy a little time on a raft in the pool. I love summer.

Nate and Hadley started swimming lessons last week. It's pretty basic but he's enjoying it. He blows bubbles, kicks his feet, does big arms, loves being thrown in the air and loves jumping off the side of the pool. When the lesson is over, our teacher lets the kids walk around in the shallow kid area and that's his favorite. He gets cold really easily so after a while he says "mama, towel" so we get out and get warm.

Nate doesn't just love the pool. He loves getting wet in his sink, running through the sprinklers, going down slides in to little kid pools, etc. I sometimes wonder if he was meant to be a fish.

Here are a few photos from Hadley's 2nd birthday party over the weekend. Nate had fun with his buddy! Luckily Hadley was OK with Nate & Riley helping her open presents and blow out candles. Happy Birthday, Had!

memorial weekend at the cabin

Does two years in a row mean it’s the start of a tradition?

I hope so.



We spent Memorial Day at the cabin with my entire family. It was a little “trial run” before our official family vacation in July. We had a great time!

My parents were at their dear friend Babs’ “ta-ta for now” party (scroll down to the previous post to read more about Babs) so on Saturday it was just us kids. Which I have to say was kinda fun. We rarely get time with just the siblings. We did a few things {well, Wes/Tripp/Sam did a few things while Ali and I manned the kiddos} around the cabin like hang swings from the back deck & we bought and “installed” (dug a hole) a fire pit for my dad for Fathers Day. We took the kids down to Duck Creek Village during the day to let them play on the playground for a little while. We had yummy BBQ for lunch. And then went back down to the Village for the “Duck Creek Days” annual dinner and dancing. Unfortunately, this year it decided to rain. (last year it snowed). Even though we stayed under the canopy or in the dance hall the entire time – it was still fun. It will be a fun tradition every year.

On Sunday, we went to church in Alton and then while Nate was sleeping my dad, Wes, Sam & I did a little exploring. We drove over to Cascade Falls to check out how far the hike was to get to the falls so we could possibly do it in July. Turns out the trail is closed because it’s slipping off the mountain but we took a short ¼ of a mile walk and saw some amazing views. When the kiddos woke up, we went down to a pond near the cabin and did a little fishing. Abbie has been asking Papa to take her fishing for a long time so she finally got to go. It was a good trial run – now we’ll know where to go and what to bring in July! We spent the night out by the fire pit making smores. Abbie loved her dessert sandwich and Nate loved eating marshmallows and graham crackers with peanut butter. It was a great day in the mountains.

On Monday morning my dad rented 4 wheelers & we had a great time. Nate and Abbie absolutely loved the Rhino. Anytime we’d even slow down they’d both ask for more. And you can imagine Nate’s {the lover of hats} excitement when he realized he got to wear a helmet. He was in heaven. When the road got rocky, he’d want to hold your hand but other than that he was thrilled to sit and ride around all morning long. Wes even took him on a short ride in the cul-de-sac on the actual 4 wheeler. We did some exploring and rode on some trails and had a great morning outside. Around noon, it started to rain so we decided to return the 4 wheelers. Sam lead the way, then it was me, and then my dad/Wes/Nate on the Rhino as we rode in to town. The rain quickly turned to large chunks of hail! Talk about pain. Our faces were pelted with ice chunks as we were trying to drive. As soon as we got to our destination, it turned to snow. Go figure.

It was a great weekend. I’m excited to know that Nate will have great memories of the cabin over the years. My parent’s owned part of a house in Lake Tahoe and I have many memories with my family there. Nate’s memories will be in Duck Creek and I’m excited about that. Another great part about the weekend? It was in the low 60’s the entire time. A perfect escape from our already hot summer.

One thing to mention - Nate developed an obsession with his big cousin, Abbie on this trip. He must have said Abbie more than 100 times. He'd wake up at 6am (vegas time) crying for Abbie. Big cousins rock.

babs

Even though we've known today would come - it doesn' make it any easier. My mom's dear friend, Babs Beatty passed away today after a long battle with cancer. She was diagnosed with breast cancer about 10 years ago. It was Stage 4 (I believe) and the odds were not in her favor but with a stem cell transplant procedure she was able to live another 10 years in remission. It was only recently that they discovered the cancer was not only back, but it was everywhere.

My mom and Babs have been friends since junior high school. They did not have just an ordinary friendship. They had a friendship that not everyone gets to experience. It involved a lot of love, loyalty, kindness, laughter. All of this and more for 50+ years. I have many fond memories of Babs & Steve and their three daughters. We spent a lot of time in their home in Utah growing up and we also went on a few vacations with them. Babs is such a wonderful lady. She's an amazing and talented artist, a great mom/grandma/friend & will be greatly missed. I am grateful that I have had such a wonderful example of friendship in my life.

It's hard to believe that she isn't with us anymore. It's got to be a unique experience to know you are going to pass away. She wanted to have a party which she called - "ta-ta-for-now" - before she passed away. Her party was three days ago. I'm so glad she was able to do that. My mom also was able to spend a lot of time in Utah with Babs in the last few months. I know my mom will cherish those memories.

My heart aches for Steve, their three daughters Kim, Steph & Megan, her grandkids, my mom and everyone else who had the privilege of knowing Babs. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Babs will be greatly missed. I'm so glad the saying "ta-ta-for-now" is true and that we will all get to see Babs again someday.

5.20.09 was a great day

Nate and I spent the entire day together today. Just the two of us. And it was a great day. And the best part? Wes got home at 5pm from his traveling this week so we got to spend part of the evening with him. We even sat down as a family and ate dinner which is a rarity these days with Wes' schedule.

I've been experiencing the terrible two's lately so today was refreshing. It was tantrum free - tear free - complaint free. And he used his manners all day saying please and thank you. Seriously! We laughed all day long and Nate gave A LOT of big hugs to his mama. He even played on his own for a little bit. While I love it when he does that, I love it even more when he comes and grabs my hand & says "mama - come" and pulls me over to his toys.

Days like today are much needed for every mom. A day free of chaos & tantrums where you can just sit and play with your kiddo. The added bonus was that he was so incredibly well behaved. I'm still in shock. After his behavior lately - I didn't know he had it in him!

I sure do love my little Naters.

nate and i played in phoenix

This is the third set of flights I've booked to go to Phoenix and it finally happened! Wes was out of town all of last week so Nate and I picked up and flew to Phoenix for a few days to visit our dear friends Mimi & Claire. Mimi and I are friends from BYU and it had been a year since we'd seen them!

They were great hosts! It was fun to get the kids out to play and I really enjoyed just being able to chat with Mimi. I didn't haul my big camera down there and you can definitely tell by the looks of these photos so I'm hoping to post a few better ones eventually off of Mimi's camera.

We . . .

Went to the Children's Museum. What an awesome place. I soooo wish we had one like that here. Nate was in heaven until he had a little {okay, major} meltdown.



The kids played in the fountains at Desert Ridge . . .



And we spent a lot of time in Mimi's backyard. She turned the place in to a little water park for the kids and Nate loved it!



Mimi even had a ton of the "old-school" popsicles that were so yummy on a hot summer afternoon.



Nate not only got to play with Claire but he got to play with Claire's cousins, Addison & Mackenzie, too. Mimi has a fabulous family and I love seeing all of the Merrill's when I'm there.



While Nate loved playing with his long lost human friends, his favorite new friend was Claire's dog, Tahoe. Although Nate quickly named him Taco and asked for the dog THE ENTIRE time we were there. He'd wake up from a nap saying Taco. He wouldn't eat without Taco in sight. It was pretty cute to see him so in love with this dog. Once again, good thing the neighbor's have dogs for him to play with.



Even though Claire hasn't hit the tantrum or mean phase yet they played pretty well together. I think Claire wins the "happiest baby of the year" award - I think she only cried briefly twice while we were there. But Nate gave us a few pretty good tantrums to make up for it. I think they both liked having an around-the-clock buddy for a few days.



On Wednesday, Mimi hired her little sis Nicole to come sit at her house while the kiddos slept so mimi and I could get out for some girl-time without the kiddos. It was great! We ran a few errands for Mimi and then grabbed lunch and got pedicures. It was a fabulous afternoon!
It was great to see you guys. Thanks for letting us come and hang out with you!

{Just to document the airplane adventure we had. Both flights were completely full so Nate sat on my lap and it was interesting to say the least. The poor people around us and in front of us! We survived the flights but on the way back our bags didn't make it so luckily Sam came to our rescue and picked us up from the airport with a car seat since Nate's didn't make our flight! Nate and I made another trip back to the airport at 7pm that night to get our stuff.}

OH, and Jacksons & Binghams- sorry I didn't see you guys this trip! I'll drive next time and make the rounds in the Phoenix area to see you all!

Nate's dance moves

Nate loves to dance. We went to Sam's house for a little while this morning on my way to a work meeting to help her organize. I LOVE to organize (I know, you can't tell by walking through my house!) and Sam always lets me help. So while we were there - Sam taught Nate some dance moves. My mom has this dance move that used to embarass Sam & I when we were growing up and now Nate knows how to "dance like grandma." Nate even said Sam for the first time today. Sam was pretty stoked.

One other thing about Aunt Sam. She and I love a good soda and Sam has somehow taught Nate that a Diet Coke is "ca-ca". So every time he sees Sam with a drink, he points and says "ca-ca." He did that a lot this morning. It's pretty funny to me that he associates all of Aunt Sam's drinks as yuck. Good thing he hasn't realized that they are so yummy.

It's not the best video - but you get the jist.

a day for moms

I've always loved Mothers Day {and fathers day}. Parents do alot and it's nice to celebrate that. I had a great day. Other than the few hours this afternoon that Nate had a complete meltdown, today was fabulous. Wes did all of the work around here and we had a nice day together.

I'm so grateful that I get to be a mom. There are a lot of people out there who want to be a mom but for one reason or another, can't. Nate is my little miracle and I remember daily how lucky I am to be his mama. And speaking of moms - Wes and I lucked out with great moms of our own! Happy Mothers Day!

Wes is flying out at 6:30am tomorrow for the week. Luckily, I have a fabulous friend - Mimi - who offered for Nate and I to come spend the week with she and Claire. So, we're going to the airport tomorrow, too to go to Phoenix to hang out with these wonderful people. That's the beauty of working from home. It doesn't matter whose home I'm in - I can still work! :)




Have a great week. I sure will!

daisy doodle

Does it get any cuter than this? I love my niece's little red shoes and her fun pink skirt.



While i L O V E having a boy - girls sure are fun to dress.

Nate at {21} months

{21} months . . . already? I can't believe I have an almost two year old. But then you see the way my sweet little boy acts sometimes and there's no questioning that the terrible two's are starting a little early. Through all of the good, bad, happy, sad, frustrating and hilarious things a two year old brings . . . I sure do love this kid.

Here's a little about Nate right {now}:

- He's quite the chatterbox. Sometimes it's actual words and sometimes it's jibber jabber. It makes me smile - I love that he can communicate.

- He loves to "cook" and "clean". He's always asking for a bowl/spoon to "make a cake" or for a rag to clean.

- He loves to wash his hands.

- He's obsessed with hats and shoes. He rarely has a bare head or feet. And he loves gloves: garden gloves, oven mits, snow gloves.

- He loves our bed. He's always asking to play "boo" with the covers.

- The binky is still around - but it's only during nap time and at night. He still asks for bink throughout the day but he's slowly learning that he's only going to get it when he's sleeping. We still have a major meltdown every few days.

- He hates milk but loves everything else dairy.

- He can lock me out of the house. I experienced that yesterday morning - luckily Wes left the sliding door unlocked earlier that morning or I would have been in trouble!

- He loves to dance & even asked me to dance the other day.

- He loves balls. And he loves his basketball hoop. In the middle of sacrament meeting at church, he constantly looks back in to the cultural hall and says "hoop."

- He can be quite a little sweetheart giving hugs and kisses and pats on the back. Or, he can be a bully - pushing little kids over. We're working on that.

- He has a "happy run" that is more like a gallop. I love it.

- He asks for Ki (Kiley) all day long. Every time there is a knock at the door he looks at me and says Ki?

- He loves to brush his teeth. If I forget at night, he's always quick to remind me.

- His favorite words are: cheese, ju-ju (juice), mama, dada, mommy, hat, shoes, clean, cook, up/down, car, beep beep, honk honk, please, treat, eat, wet, hands, "I go", blue, green, Nate (pronounced Net with a strong N and a strong T), Had, Ki, no-no, mine, ice, Elmo, Why (Super Why), train, Pooh, Roo, poop, pee-pee, toot, burp (yes, he's a gassy kid), home, away, back, tight, play, weeee, owie, hug and many more I can't remember right now.

- He is obsessed with numbers 2 and 10. If he has two of anything, he'll tell ya.

- He says his name about 100 times a day. He is constantly telling me when something is "Net's" (Nate's).

- He's a much better eater these days.

- He loves to water the plants.

- He loves nursery. He relaxes so much in there that he always poops at least once!

- He loves to hide. He'll either hide behind the curtains, behind a chair, or he'll be in plain view with his hands over his eyes. If I don't notice that he's hiding, he's quick to yell . . . "mama - hide." Or in other words, come find me mama.

- For months, we had no problem at bedtime. He's starting to test those waters again but he'll soon find out that bedtime is bedtime, regardless of the stunts that are pulled.

- He has some really funny mannerisms that crack me up. He's got this head tilt that he gives you sometimes when he's "talking" to you and it makes me laugh-out-loud every time. If a little kid is sad, Nate will get down on the floor and look at them and pat their back and say . . "sad?"

- He's not a mama's boy or a dada's boy. If he had it his way, he'd have us both around all day long.

My friend Brooke just started a photography company so here are the photos she took of Nate a few weeks ago. {she also took my new blog header photo.} Thanks Brooke! You can check her out here.

Nate was running everywhere during this photo shoot. We were at a new place with lots of fun toys and Nate did not want to sit still. Pretty typical of a 21 month old boy. But Brooke got a lot of his personality - his goofy looks, saying "ssshhh", acting like a monkey, and hiding.

A couple of my favorites . . . a little bigger . . .

{he sticks his tongue out just like his dad}

a summer girl

I am a summer girl. I don't necessarily love 115 degree summers, but i L O V E all of the other things summer brings.

I love walking around barefoot. Playing in the sand. Going to the beach. Snowcones. Swimming. More swimming. Running through the sprinklers. Being tan. Shorts & a t-shirt. Flip flops. BBQ's. Afternoons spent in my parent's backyard. Laying on a raft in the pool with a good book. Mornings at the Multi-Gen activity pool. Slurpees. Water parks. The lingering smell of chlorine. Corn on the cob. Fresh fruit.

And what I love most of all about summer? SUMMER VACATIONS. We got lucky in this category. Both Wes' family and my family get together for a week every summer for a vacation. And we get to go to Hawaii again alone with Wes' work in July. I can't WAIT for all three vacations.

Nate is at a great age this summer to go out and have fun. I'm glad summer is here.

POTD = picture of the day