thanks to a new client of ours . . .

[who was so incredibly excited to give this wonderful outfit to my dad to give to his grandson . . . ]

Nate is obsessed with his new“racecar” jacket & hat. 

He even insisted on wearing it to school today and I was too tired to argue.  He sat in 100+ temperatures in the car WITH the jacket on. 

[And yes, he did wear pants to school.] 

I am hoping this obsession ends SOON.

weekend at the cabin

In July, after our trip to SLC, we banned Ryan from traveling.  He was just too much work and screamed all night.  This kept us in Vegas for over two months [which may be a record for us] so we got the itch to get outta here.   We decided to temporarily lift Ryan’s traveling ban and try the cabin again.  Luckily, he did much better this go-around.

It was nice to spend a short weekend up at the cabin.  The weather was fabulous [although a little warm, still during the day].  We had great company.  And a nice break in the regular ol’ routine.  And the cold nights were fabulous.  We’re ready for autumn.

Me and the boys hitched a ride with my dad on Friday morning so we didn’t have to wait for Wes to work a full day.  Wes made it up there in the early evening – just in time for dinner and bedtime. 

 

A bit about the rest of the weekend:

. My mom picked up boxes of fresh apples and peaches on her way to the cabin from SLC.  They were picked that morning and were DELISH to munch on all weekend.  In between the healthy stuff we ate pumpkin choc chip cookies [a tradition i started this year].

. Nate got some quality time with Papa Marz and Ryan got some quality time with Grandma Marz.  I’m pretty sure Papa was ready to pass out by the time he got home after non-stop fun with Nate.

 

. Ryan LOVED being at the cabin.  He was all about a new place to roam around and explore.  Which made it pretty darn easy with him up there!  He especially loved the hardwood floor and the cabinets.  Ryan was my little buddy all weekend.  When he wasn’t asleep we played at the cabin & went on walks while Nate was out and about with his dad.

 

. Nate was BUSY this trip.  He was gone pretty much the whole weekend!  On Friday my dad took him out on cabin car rides and to feed the horses all afternoon and on Saturday he was gone all morning with Papa & Wes on the cabin cars, feeding horses & a horseback ride.  They met us in the village for lunch at Biff’s and then they were off on a fishing boat at Navajo Lake for the rest of the afternoon.  On Sunday morning I managed to get some time with Nate and I took him on a cabin car ride to the pond to walk around.

 

. the two boys saw each other a little bit!

 

. Bill & James [my mom’s brothers] were at the cabin putting a new stain on it.  Apparently the wood dries out and you have to re-coat it every few years so they were there doing that.  It was fun to get to chat with them and catch up.  They are funny!  They joined the boys on the fishing boat Saturday afternoon – Nate was a huge fan of them by the end of the trip.

 

. the leaves are beautiful up there right now.  I didn’t even capture the prettiest trees with bright red and orange leaves.  It was quite a sight.

 

We had another fun weekend at the cabin!  Hallelujah both of the boys were overall, really good!

nate is [3]

I’m not exactly sure how to describe my crazy little 3 year old.  Crazy is one word.  There are lots more. 

Funny.  Goofy.  Extremist.  Lover of Sweets.  Quirky.  Smart.  Skinny.  One-of-a-Kind.  Determined.  Thoughtful.  Naughty.  a Sponge.  a lover of movies.  People person.  Attention seeker.  Wild.  Athletic.  Obsessive.  Coordinated.  Silly.  pre-School LOVER.  Just to name a few.

When I asked him a few of his favorites – this is what he said:

fav food: spaghetti  (but I’d say his favorites are salads and sandwiches)

fav movie: Buzz & Woody

fav book: Dinosaurumpus

fav color: black

fav TV show: Ducktales

fav icecream: chocolate or vanilla.  Depends on the day.

fav drink: apple juice  

 

Naters is all over the place – moving a million miles a minute.  He’s got endless energy, it seems.   He craves structure and specific activities to do.  He loves to create with markers, crayons, paint, glue.  Anything artsy – he enjoys.  He’s also quite the athlete.  He hasn’t met a sport he doesn’t like and he’s quite good at them all.  Yes, a mom can think that.  He’s very much right handed but bats and golfs left handed!  He also is a lover of books.  He loves to sit down and just read and read.  He’s a lover of SIMPLE things.  It doesn’t take much to make him happy and he can find fun in many potentially boring situations (as long as we aren’t at home).  Give the dude a pile of rocks and he’s content!  I love this about him. 

 

Naps are a thing of the past.  But we’ve settled in to a “quiet time” routine every afternoon that consists of a movie in mom/dad’s room.  So far, so good.  He stays in there for the full movie giving me a much-needed little break in the afternoon.  And because there’s no sleeping going on during the day – it’s LIGHTS OUT by 7pm.  I love that part.

This boy makes me laugh.  He comes up with some of the funniest things to say.  His vocabulary is great – he’s always using new words and reminds me daily that I need to watch what I say because he will absolutely repeat it.

    

He’s a good big-brother in his own way.  He is still trying to figure out how to give Ryan some space.  He’s usually ON TOP of the poor guy.  Not always being intentionally mean.  Just sometimes.  Deep down he truly does love the little dude and is always aware of where he is and what he’s doing.  He’s already looking after him.

Nate is absolutely a people person. You may not always get that vibe from him – but it’s true.  He just may have a funny way of showing it sometimes. 

One more observation about Nathan is that he is a little extreme.  He’s either really happy or NOT.  There is rarely an in-between with this dude.  Which keeps me on my toes.  The nice thing is when he’s happy it’s REALLY fun and when he’s not – he’s in his room in timeout!

I love this little boy of mine.  He makes me smile every day and I’m so grateful I get to be his mama.

out of the mouth of NATE

After school today - Nate's buddies Hadley & Harrison came over to play and have lunch. Harrison & Nate were being typical boys and were a little crazy and obnoxious for Hadley who was simply trying to do her own thing. They pushed it a little too far so I put both Nate and Harrison in their own corner for timeout.

After sitting there for a minute or so quietly, Nate turns to Harrison across the room and says in a very serious tone - "I'm sorry Harrison. This is all my fault."

- - - - -

Tonight at the dinner table, I was talking to Nate about how we need to be nice to all of our friends all of the time. He sat there, taking it all in - pondering what I was telling him and the only thing he could say was:

"Mom - I'm just struggling a little right now."

I had to laugh.

ryan is [7] months old

wow.  seven months old.  for some reason 7 months seems old to me - definitely not a little baby anymore.  

 

. he is absolutely everywhere – still with his army crawl that gets faster every day.  he lost skin on his big left toe from pushing off and a blister is forming - it isn’t stopping him. 

. he climbs in to things. 

. he climbs up the stair by our front door and is trying to figure out the staircase. 

. he’s no longer content sitting with a bucket of toys – apparently that’s boring. 

. he waves hi and bye and is quite proud.

. he grunts.  alot. 

. it is nearly impossible to change this dude’s diaper or get him dressed.  I think baby restraints need to be invented for crazy boys like Ryan.  It’s insane!

. he loves playing on a big sheet on the grass in the front yard - you can find us out there alot watching Nate play. 

. he loves food.  when he sees either a bottle or a bowl of food for him – he gets a huge grin and starts panting.

. he loves chunky food like pieces of a banana or a pear.

. he isn’t a very long napper during the day.  a few times a month he surprises me with a good, long nap but they are usually quite brief.  this is mainly due to the fact that he is a sleeping pooper.  he poops almost every time he sleeps.

. which means he goes to bed between 6:30 – 7:00 every night.  a few times a week he sleeps from 6:30pm – 6:30am STRAIGHT. 

. he wants his own personal space from his big brother which rarely happens.  He doesn’t want anyone in his way – he wants to do his thing without being interrupted.  however, he always wants to see someone.  he doesn’t like being alone.

. he gets M A D when you take something away from him.  holy cow.

. still loves his binky & the bath.  he’s just like nate with the water . . . loves having it poured over his head or dunking his head in.

. he finds a tag on anything and everything and will eat it until you take it away.

. i think more teeth are on their way.  he currently has two on the bottom.

 

[the wave in photos]

 

[spencer & leigh – your nephew may need some dental work down the road with this thumb obsession.  we’re working on it.  promise.]

a little [30th birthday] surprise for mimi

 

i have awesome friends from my college days at BYU.  One of which is Mimi who happens to turn 30 this week.

Mimi’s sis-in-law, Amy planned this little get-together in her head over a year ago and it finally happened on saturday.

The details?

. I flew to Phoenix on Saturday morning and flew back Saturday night.

. Amy picked me up and we went straight to Mimi’s to surprise her.  I simply knocked on her door and the look on her face when she opened it was P R I C E L E S S.  Seriously – we pulled off the ultimate surprise.

. We spent a day as Mimi, Lindsay & Amy.  Not “_______’s mom”. 

. We chatted alot.  We got pedicures. We ate.  We shopped.  We chatted some more.  I usually only get 5 minute conversations with Mimi before one of us is pulled away by a child so having 8 straight hours was amazing.

. We were kid free and loving it.

. Mimi and I haven’t spent any quality time with just girls since college.  We’ve always been with hubbies or kiddos so we were in need of some girl time.

 

 

the 30th birthday girl.

  

 

Happy Birthday week, Mimi!  I am glad I got to celebrate with you for a day!  Out of the mouth of Mimi – the day was “magical”.  And I concur.

 

a few thanks are in order:

1 – Amy.  For thinking of this fun day and planning it.

2 – Tony. Dan. Wes.  For being super dads on Saturday.

This is what my boys were up to while I was gone: Kyle’s soccer game.  Bass Pro Shop to look at fish and pretend ride cabin cars.  And the carousel/rides at the outlet mall.  All photos courtesy of the i-phone.

a "sick day" for moms

It's really too bad one of those doesn't exist.

nate's room

Remember when Wes painted Nate's room the day we got our keys to our house?

Well, it's been a work in progress for the last 7 months but I think it's done. Of course there are things I'd change but I'm moving on to my office & family room.



Nate loves seeing pictures that remind him of something. So there's a lot of nate in his room. We've got Nate with Pluto at Disneyland. When Nate caught his first fish. His first day of preschool. And Nate on a cabin car with Papa.

Nate is pretty proud of his hand painting on the wall.

These are Nate's friends that sleep in his bed every night. Yes, they all sleep in there. Even the giant Iguana named Piggy-Iggy.

i love this boy.

I am in love with this boy of mine.  He is at such a fun [and much easier] stage & I’m loving it.

For one, he is a HAPPY dude.  He’s got such a great personality.

He’s loving these newer developments:

. sitting up big in his stroller.

. sitting in a high-chair at restaurants.

. sitting in the shopping cart at the store.

[notice a trend?  much less time in the ol’ carseat which he’s not a big fan of.]

. eating puffs [best baby food invention] as well as little bites of fruit.  He loves it.  And being able to feed him during times when he’s a little bored/fussy/tired is fabulous.  I am so impressed with him – he had no trouble at all eating something more substantial than baby mush!

 

And I am loving:

. all of the above.

. that he’ll sit with a bucket of toys and just play and play.  That is, as long as Nate isn’t around to pester him.

. that he’s moving around – but I don’t feel like he’s everywhere yet.  It’s just enough to keep him happy.  Usually if I plop him down sitting up, he stays sitting up instead of crawling.  But that started to change today.

. that he goes to bed between 6:30pm-7pm every night and wakes up around 7am [with one quick bottle in between].

. that even when he’s crying and upset he can put himself to sleep pretty quickly – most of the time.

. his constant smiles.

 

I feel like we’re in that “calm before the storm” period.  The storm being where he’s absolutely everywhere and in to everything.

I’m one happy mama with this little boy.  Hallelujah that the little baby/newborn stage is over.

nate's first day of [pre]school

Today was it. Nate's first day of [pre]school. He's totally ready for some regular structure - he loves it. And today was the best day we've had in a long time. He was so well-behaved all day. He even fell asleep for an hour right after school!

We've been talking about going to school for a while now but Nate's usual response was "i not going to school." He's either really unsure of the unknowns or overly confident. But until this week he wasn't excited about school.

Luckily his cute teacher, Miss Monaca [she's in our old ward], had a pre-school open house last night for us to come see the classroom and meet his teacher. He was beyond excited as we drove there but then was pretty shy and hesitant the entire 30 minute open house. But I knew that would be the case. Monaca's classroom is adorable! [it's a little bit of a drive for us to get to school . . . so the entire way out there Nate kept saying . . . "mom, this is a little too far for me."]

Today? A totally different story. He was beyond excited. He wore his backpack for a good 30+ minutes before we had to leave & he was excited to get his "school" picture taken. He was eating breakfast and I could tell he was thinking about something. All of a sudden he turns to me and says, "mom - I won't cry at school. I'll just wave goodbye and say 'mom, have a nice day!"

And that's pretty much what happened.

School wouldn't be the same without these TWO kiddos. Two of Nate's favorite people - Hadley & Harrison. It definitely was fun for him to get to go to school with two of his buddies.

I can't believe I have a kiddo in school.

I debated a little bit on whether to keep Nate at this preschool since it is a little ways from our house and I won't be able to come home while Nate is there. But he loves being with his two buddies so seeing him today made it all worth it. And I've committed myself to walking [with an occasional jog in there] while Nate's in school. We'll probably stick closer to home next year but I think this year will be a great one for him.

I'm really excited to have some quality time with this monkey. Even though preschool is killing Ryan's nap schedule I'm excited to have some time with just him. I think he was ready for a little toddler freedom, too.