Nathan's Big Adventure

Colorado Springs Vacation - Day 6

2011-04-07T21:45:00.005-06:00

Today we visited the Royal Gorge Bridge in Canon City, CO.

We did a little geocaching along the way. It brought us to the edge of the gorge.

Randy looking over the edge. You can see the bridge in the background.

There were beautiful views everywhere you looked.

Riding the Ariel Tram across the gorge. Just ignore Mr. Pouty face
.

Looking down from the tram at the Arkansas River at the bottom of the gorge. You can see the railroad track right next to the river. We would love to ride that train, but we were traveling out of season.

Driving across the Royal Gorge Bridge.

Nathan riding across the bridge.

Nathan on the bridge. One great thing about traveling out of season . . . nobody is around. We had the bridge to ourselves.

Walking on the bridge.

Alone on the bridge.

This was an interesting vacation with Nathan being sick. We had fun, but can't wait to get back home. We plan to drive straight home tomorrow. There's no place like home, especially when you have a sick kid!!

Colorado Springs Vacation - Day 5

2011-04-07T19:31:00.006-06:00

"PIKE'S PEAK OR BUST"

Well . . . it was a bust. We didn't make it to the summit. It was closed today because of high winds. We were able to drive up 13 of the 19 miles on the Pike's Peak Highway. That brought us up to 11,440 feet. The summit is 14,110. We were so close. We'll have to return when the weather is less questionable.

There have been many sightings in the area of a creature that resembles "Big Foot". This sign was posted for our safety.

Crystal Reservoir - Mile 6 - 9,230 Feet

I found Big Foot hanging around Crystal Reservoir.

Nathan hasn't felt well this whole trip but he was a trooper.

We saw a family of deer right next to the highway.

Looking down on Crystal Reservoir - Mile 7 - 9,390 Feet

Glen Cove - Mile 13 - 11,440 Feet

This was as high as we could get up the mountain today. The wind chill was 0 degrees and it really didn't feel that cold.

This was right above the Alpine Zone, so there was plenty of snow everywhere.

These are the giant snow and ice movers that are used to clear the highway.

This was on the way back down. Ski Area - Mile 12 - 10,990 Feet

You have to use your lowest gear coming down the mountain. At mile 13, you have to stop and have the temperature of your breaks checked. If they are too hot, you have to pull over and allow them to cool before you are allowed to continue down the mountain.

Even though we didn't get to the summit, it was a beautiful drive.

Colorado Springs Vacation - Day 4

2011-04-05T16:43:00.003-06:00

Pike's Peak Summit was not open today. The road at the top is covered in ice. We are hoping it will melt away so we will be able to drive to the summit before we leave.

Today, we visited the Manitou Cliff Dwellings and the historic town of Manitou Springs.

We were allowed to climb all over the cliff dwellings. Nathan liked that a lot. I don't think he understood that people use to live there, but I tried to explain it to him on his level.

We went to the historic town of Manitou Springs to taste some of the spring water. There are 11 springs in the town. We tasted three of them.

Wheeler Springs - Nathan fell asleep again.

Cheyenne Springs

The spring waters contain minerals including carbonic acid. All the spring water that we tasted reminded me of Alka Selzer.

While Nathan was napping in the car, Randy and I snagged a couple of park and grab caches.

Colorado Springs Vacation - Day 3

2011-04-05T16:09:00.003-06:00

It snowed all night long. It only left a dusting on the ground but the summit of Pike's Peak received around 3 feet of snow.

This is the view from our hotel room. That's Pike's Peak in the distance.

Today we visited Garden of the Gods.

Here's a view of Pike's Peak with Garden of the Gods in front.

Sentinel Spires - The temperature was around 43, so we had our winter coats on most of the day.

Walking the trails.

Balanced Rock

Nathan hasn't been feeling well and had fallen asleep in the car. I didn't want him to miss out so I carried him up to the top for a picture.

The Three Graces - Nathan enjoyed climbing on this one.

Nathan resting in the car with Pike's Peak in the background. You can't really go anywhere in the area with out seeing Pike's Peak.

Sunset from our hotel window.

Colorado Springs Vacation - Day 1 & 2

2011-04-03T21:03:00.006-06:00

We are going on a road trip this spring to Colorado Springs.

DAY 1 - Driving from home to Amarillo, TX

We left early in the morning and stopped for lunch in Childress.

Having a picnic at Fair Park in Childress.

We also did a little geocaching. We found two in the park and two more at a cemetery near by.

We stopped for the night in Amarillo and saw some sites.

We played and explored at the Don Harrington Discovery Center. Nathan had a great time blowing giant bubbles.

Playing in a giant kaleidoscope.

There were also giant dinosaurs. The moved and made life like noises. Nathan was a bit scared of them, but did look at all of them.

Nathan was very excited the whole time we were there. He jumped from station to station and was interested in learning what everything was.

After three hours, Nathan hit his limit and was exhausted and hungry.

So, we headed over to the Big Texan for steaks. Three big guys tried to eat the 72 oz. steak while we were there and they all failed to eat it in 1 hour. Nathan, of course, loved to watch the timers count down and kept us informed of how many minutes they had left.

DAY 2 - Driving from Amarillo to Colorado Springs, CO.

We stopped off at Cadillac Ranch on our way out of Amarillo.

Not really sure what Nathan thought of the cars buried in the ground.

There are 10 cars in a row and are covered with many layers of spray paint. It's so thick that some people have started carving in it.

The cars are in a cow pasture on private property but everyone is welcome to come visit them.

We stopped in New Mexico for a rest and there were "Watch for Snake" signs everywhere. Thankfully, we didn't see any snakes.

We arrived in Colorado Springs just as snow flurries started to fall. We were in short sleeves and not ready for the cold temperature.

New Room

2010-11-29T09:40:00.002-06:00

We are redecorating Nathan's room to a camping theme. Nathan helped Daddy paint his canoe wall art. It reads, "Canoe Rentals". Nathan is really excited about his new sheets and decor. We can't wait for it to be completed.

Halloween Night 2010

2010-11-28T09:23:00.002-06:00

Nathan dressed up as a giraffe this year for Halloween. He was very eager to go out and trick or treat. This was his second year and was ready to try it again.

We went to a few houses on our street. He had a great time ringing the doorbells and yelling "Trick or Treat". He received lots of candy and had fun. He can't wait for next year.

Our Little Vandal

2010-11-27T09:11:00.002-06:00

Nathan loves to play outside and one thing that he always does is play with chalk. We have gone through two large tubs of chalk this summer. We make hopscotches and draw pictures. Sometimes Daddy will draw roads all over the driveway so Nathan can drive his cozy coupe on the roads. Everything outside is Nathan's canvas . . . even the house.

Messy Hands

2010-11-26T09:53:00.001-06:00

We like to do lots of arts and craft projects at home. Nathan loves to paint. He always starts out using brushes, then he sometimes switches to Q-tips. Our painting projects always end with finger paining. Nathan loves to squish the paint between his fingers. It's always more fun when you end up with messy hands.

Oil Change

2010-11-25T09:47:00.002-06:00

Nathan has been wanting to help Mommy and Daddy all over the house. So, we have been giving him some chores that he can do all by himself. Today, Daddy changed the oil in Mommy's car and Nathan really wanted to help. Daddy let him pour the new oil in the car with lots of help, of course, but Nathan was trilled to help out.

Trunk and Treat

2010-11-24T09:33:00.002-06:00

We did a Trunk and Treat with the Early Childhood PTA. We all met at a school parking lot and decorated our trunks with Halloween decorations and treats. The kids dressed up and trick or treated at all the car trunks. We loved this concept. It worked great for Nathan. It was also hot that afternoon and Nathan was wishing his Giraffe costume wasn't so warm.

Homestead Heritage Farm

2010-11-23T09:07:00.001-06:00

The second weekend in October we visited Homestead Heritage Farm near Waco with Nana and Papa. They have a traditional craft village which has a blacksmith, textiles, gristmill, woodwork, and pottery shops. Visitors are welcome to watch the craftsmen at work in the shops and to buy their crafts. They also have a barn and a deli with a fresh bakery.

The Barn

Nathan was excited to see the animals, so we headed to the barn first. We found chickens, goats and turkeys.

The Gristmill

The Blacksmith Barn

The Hayride

After eating lunch in the deli, we rode the hayride and toured part of the farm. We stopped at this covered pavilion to look out over the fields.

Overlook to View the Fields

The fields were empty because they had already harvested everything. The Brazos River runs along the fields where they have a grove of pecan trees.

Pumpkin Farm 2010

2010-11-22T09:42:00.002-06:00

We visited our favorite pumpkin farm the first weekend in October. It had rained the day before and it was a bit muddy and messy. We rode the hayride and picked out our pumpkins. Nathan's favorite part of the pumpkin farm is feeding the animals. He is very brave and likes for the animals to eat out of his hands.

Feeding the Longhorns

Feeding the Goats

Nathan loves to feed the goats. I think he would have climbed in their pen with them if we let him.

When Nathan ran out of goat food, he thought they might like to eat his pumpkin.

October Updates

2010-11-21T11:25:00.003-06:00

October updates are coming soon!!

Sorry the updates have been few and far between these days. We've been really busy and haven't had much time to sit down. Over the Thanksgiving break, I'll share with you what we have been up to. Enjoy!!

Nathan's First Day of School

2010-09-27T21:29:00.001-06:00

Nathan started school on Tuesday, August 31st. He is in the same class that he was in last year and has the same teacher, Ms. Melissa. Nathan was very excited to start school this year. He was dressed and ready to head out the door 15 minutes early.

Nathan is eagerly ready to go back to school.

Nathan got a new backpack this year. I think it's so cute! Nathan likes it, too.

He was a bit nervous when we arrived in his classroom.

We put his backpack and lunch box in his cubby. He found some toys on the table to play with. I kissed him good-bye and reassured him that I would come back to pick him up after lunch and he was just fine.

Nathan had a great first day at school and he made some new friends. We started a tradition to end the school year with ice cream. So, we decided to start a new tradition to also start the school year off with ice cream. We stopped at Yogurtville after school. Nathan selected vanilla with chocolate sprinkles.

Day at the Beach

2010-09-16T21:31:00.002-06:00

We spent the whole day at the beach today. The algae was almost all gone, it was windy and there was some great waves.

A couple of days ago we found a great kite shop. Nathan picked out this tie-dyed fringe kite. It's easy to fly and looks cool. When he got tired of holding the kite, we would clip it to the umbrella and it would fly itself.

Fetching a pail of water to make sand castles.

We enjoyed making sand castles and just playing in the sand. Nathan likes to write letters and numbers in the sand and then erase them. He also makes roads for his car, aka shoe, to drive on.

Taking a break in his beach chair.

This was my view for most of the day. But, I had finished my book early in the day and sitting in the beach chair is a bit boring. So, I spent the rest of the day playing in the sand and surf with Nathan, while Daddy took a much needed break.

Nathan loves to go out in the water and get smacked by the waves. He just giggles and laughs when the water splashes in his face. The rougher the better for him.

For our last night in Destin, we ate dinner at Fudpucker's. Nathan was so exhausted from our day at the beach that he fell asleep and almost missed dinner. This place has an alligator farm and playground. You can write on any surface in the restaurant, so that's why the horse is covered in graffiti.

We had a great vacation in Destin. As we were pulling out of the parking lot to head home, Nathan asked when were we coming back. That just proves how much fun he had. We all can't wait to get back to beach!!

Sunset Walk on the Beach

2010-09-15T19:22:00.001-06:00

We ended our evening with another sunset walk on the beach.

Naval Aviation Museum

2010-09-15T17:04:00.001-06:00

After the Blue Angels practice, we spent the rest of the day in the Naval Aviation Museum.

Nathan's favorite part was climbing in all the cockpit trainers. They were full of gauges, dials, buttons and switches. Those are just a few of his favorite things.

Nathan taking me for a ride.

Nathan as the co-pilot.

Gotta touch every button and switch.

The Blue Angel Atrium.

After we ate lunch in the cafe, Nathan fell fast asleep on Daddy's shoulder.

He quickly woke up for a chance to sit in a Blue Angel trainer.

Nathan now wants to be a pilot and fly the planes up into the sky.

Blue Angels Practice

2010-09-15T09:22:00.001-06:00

The Blue Angels periodically practice at the Naval Air Station in
Pensacola, right behind the Naval Aviation Museum. The practice show is open to the public and free! We arrived right as the planes were taking off and we were still able to walk right up to the front row. Score another point for traveling in the off season! The show was pretty amazing and loud!

Mommy had to cover Nathan's ears on a few of the high speed fly-bys.

At the end of the show, the volunteers gave the kids flags and allowed them to go past the rope onto the taxiway to wave to the pilots as they taxied by.

Parks, Beach and Kites

2010-09-14T20:12:00.002-06:00

We started our day with a trip to the playground. We found this great playground in a sports complex.

Nathan loved playing on the train. Choo, Choo!

This sand digger was awesome!

We spent the rest of the day at the beach. The algae started to clear up, so Nathan was able to enjoy the water. We also flew kites. Randy likes to have kite wars and get them all tangled up.

Sunset Stroll

2010-09-13T19:09:00.001-06:00

We went on a sunset stroll down the beach.

Nathan loved running down the vacant beach.

Sandy Hands!!

Beautiful sunset!

First Day in Destin

2010-09-13T15:46:00.001-06:00

We arrived in Destin last night at 9PM. So, we didn't get to see the beach until this morning. And, it never disappoints.

This is the view from our balcony. This morning, I was standing in the kitchen preparing breakfast, when I saw dolphins swimming in the gulf. It was the coolest thing ever!

We spent most of the day on the beach. I sat under the umbrella and read. Nathan and Randy played in the sand and flew kites.

There was no swimming today because this is what the water looks like. There is an algae that has washed up on the beach last weekend. We weren't interested in touching it.

Here's Nathan on the beach in front of our condos looking cool in his shades.

USS Alabama

2010-09-12T18:04:00.001-06:00

We stopped by the USS Alabama on our way to Destin. This is why Randy likes to travel in the off season. We got the first spot in the parking lot right next to the USS Alabama.

We went on all three self guided tours and we practically had the battleship to ourselves.

Check out these giant guns.

Nathan and I are "King of the World" on the bow of the ship.

Mommy's goofing off and Nathan is hot, tired, thirsty and ready to leave.

Nathan was a trooper on the tours climbing up and down the stairs. It was very hot and humid and we had a very long day. Daddy carried him all the way to the car.

Nathan perked back up once we stopped for dinner and lots and lots of Sprite. We arrived in Destin at 9:00PM and are excited to wake up to see the beautiful beach.

Once Upon a Time

2010-09-12T13:49:00.002-06:00

After breakfast, we went to City Park in New Orleans and visited Story Land. Story Land is a fairytale playground full of larger than life storybook exhibits. The humidity level today was at 150%. Nathan and I were drenched in sweat, but we managed to get through it.

Beignets and Cafe au Laits

2010-09-12T09:33:00.001-06:00

We stopped by Cafe Du Monde this morning for breakfast. When in New Orleans, we do as the locals do by spending Sunday morning eating beignets and drinking cafe au laits.

Beignets are square shaped fried dough that are covered in powdered sugar. They taste just like funnel cakes and are SO delicious.

Nathan loved to just eat the powdered sugar with his fingers.

The is no way to eat them without getting covered in sugar. Yummy!!

Stop Over In New Orleans

2010-09-11T20:27:00.001-06:00

We broke up our drive to Destin with a stop over in New Orleans.

We got this tent from Aunt Kathy a couple of weeks ago. Nathan has been sleeping in it ever since, so we brought it on vacation with us. This is where Nathan slept in the hotel. Nathan has named it "Tenty".

Nathan's favorite part of the hotel room was this clock radio. He loved pressing the buttons and turning the music on. When we went out to dinner he couldn't stop talking about getting back to the room to play with the radio. Silly kid!

Packed Up and Ready To Roll

2010-09-11T08:00:00.001-06:00

Our car is all packed up which means we are ready to embark on another Nuckels family vacation. We are on our way to Destin to enjoy the beach and sun.

First Day of School

2010-08-31T14:57:00.001-06:00

Nathan is very excited to start school this year.

All smiles and ready to go to school.

Arrived in his classroom.

Nathan quickly put his backpack and lunch in his cubby and started to play. Drop off was very easy. He was ready to get back to his work.

After school, we stopped to get a special treat of yogurt.

4 Year Old Check Up

2010-08-30T11:47:00.002-06:00

Nathan had his four year old check up this morning. He did great as usual. He weighs 33.2 pounds putting him in the 25 - 50 percentile. He gained 5 pounds from last year. He is 40 inches tall and in the 50 percentile. He grew 3.5 inches this year. Nathan is average weight and height for a 4 year old. He has finally all caught up.

Nathan also got his 4 year old vaccinations on this visit or ouchies as Nathan calls them. He will now be ready to start school tomorrow.

Mommy's Birthday

2010-08-08T18:55:00.002-06:00

I celebrated my birthday at my parents' house. We had a delicious dinner, treasure hunt and then cheese cake for dessert.

Me, Nathan and all my nieces and nephews.

L to R back row: Joelle, Jaxon, Julia, Jordan, Alison, Josh and Collin

L to R front row: Jessie, Nathan, Me and Ryan

House Guest

2010-07-11T10:10:00.001-06:00

Nathan's cousin, Jessie, can to stay with us for a couple of days. Nathan was very excited to have his first house guest. Jessie is a year older than Nathan, but they play together very well.

They played many games together.

Yelled together.

And bounced in the bounce house many times.

Nathan loves when he has a bouncing mate. It's not that much fun to bounce by yourself.

They even enjoyed eating together. Yum!! Grilled cheese and strawberries.

We had a great time with Jessie. We would love to have her come back again!

Lowe's Build and Grow Clinic - Ball in a Cup

2010-07-10T10:17:00.000-06:00

Here we are again at Lowe's. We can't seem to get enough of these clinics. We now have our system worked out. Mommy reads the directions, Daddy puts the nails in place for Nathan to hammer them and Nathan gets to put the stickers on the project, if there are stickers.

This week's project is ball in a cup. Everyone loves playing this game!

Watch your fingers, Daddy!!

Nathan trying to get the ball in the cup. I think he hit himself in the head several times with the ball before he finally got it in the cup.

Summer 2010 - Dinosaur Week

2010-07-03T22:13:00.001-06:00

This week is about Dinosaurs.

Nathan and I visited the Museum of Nature and Science in Fair Park. We looked at many different dinosaur bones.

Nathan also dug up some bones and measured them in the Dino Dig exhibit.

Our craft project was a dinosaur made from different shapes.

First, Nathan, decorated the background with his paint daubers.

While he was dabbing, Mommy cut out shapes from construction paper. Nathan dabbed some green on them and then glued them to the paper to form a dinosaur.

We call him Shape-O-Saurus.

We did a physical activity this week. I gave Nathan a stick dinosaur. It's just like a stick horse but with a dinosaur head. We ran dinosaur races around the house. We ran relay races and also timed each other.

Nathan ran a relay race during Olympic Days at his school last year. This was a great opportunity to revisit this concept of taking turns. Nathan remembered the races from school and I think he has relay races down.

Some of our favorite dinosaur books we read this week are:

The Littlest Dinosaur by Michael Foreman

The Super Hungry Dinosaur by Martin Waddell

Playing in the Rain

2010-07-02T19:36:00.001-06:00

We've been having summer showers all week. Tonight, Nathan couldn't resist playing in the rain.

Eating with Gusto

2010-07-01T17:32:00.003-06:00

This is how Nathan eats his macaroni and cheese . . . with gusto.

Museum of Nature & Science

2010-06-30T16:42:00.001-06:00

Nathan and I ventured downtown to Fair Park to visit the Museum of Nature & Science. We have been there a couple of times before and I think hands down, this is Nathan's favorite museum.

I let Nathan plan our day and tell me what he wanted to see and do . . . which turned out to be everything.

The Science building had a water exhibit and Nathan enjoyed learning about water. He touched ice, played in water and with some encouragement walked through a fog curtain that was representing steam.

Nathan learned about water pumps and how they pump water from the ground to people's houses. He loved to turn the handle round and round to pump the water. If you pumped all the water out of the ground, it would rain to fill the reserves back up. Nathan did this several times until I pulled him away to give others a turn.

We are studying dinosaurs this week and we stopped by the Dino Dig to search for dinosaur bones. Nathan quickly found a big one by brushing the sand away with his brush.

Then, he measured it to see how long it was.

Nathan made sure we didn't miss out on making giant bubbles. We each took turns to see who could make the biggest bubbles. Nathan likes to pop the bubbles and swish his hands in the soap.

We headed down stairs to the Children's Museum. We had to stop at the dollhouse where you can turn the lights on and off. You can even light the fire in the fireplace.

I had to drag him away from the dollhouse after I noticed he was telling the other kids that it was "his" and they couldn't touch it. Nathan has started to be more assertive about things he is passionate about.

We also had to play with the numbers that you can flip around. One side has numbers and the other side shows dots. Nathan remembered this from his last visit and was requesting to play with it once we arrived at the museum.

We had to skip the water room because it was closed for a mopping. So, we headed straight to the farm. Nathan planted seeds in the garden and shopped for veggies. We also picked eggs from the chickens' nests and put them in egg cartons.

We were surprised to find the cow full of milk (water) because it had been empty on our other visits to the museum. Nathan was very eager to milk the cow and patiently waited his turn. The cow was very easy for him to milk it and he really enjoyed it.

After the farm, we headed to the backyard area. Nathan crawled through ant hills and spider webs. There is also an exhibit on neon gas with buttons to push to light up the tubes of gas. So, yes, we were there for awhile so Nathan could push the buttons over and over.

Our tummies started to growl, so we headed back upstairs to the cafe for lunch. Nathan picked out chips that left his lips and fingers orange.

After lunch, we walked to the Nature Building to see the dinosaur bones.

There is also a light exhibit in the Nature Building that has lots of hands on stations that Nathan loves.

Nathan is turning on the light bulbs to the same wattage and seeing that one is brighter than the other.

This photo wall is another one of Nathan's favorites. He played with it what seemed like forever. You stand next to the wall and it flashes. Then, you step away and it leaves your shadow on the wall. Nathan put his arms out and up. Then, he started to lift up his legs in funny poses. He giggled and laughed each time. Everyone around us enjoyed watching Nathan play with it.

Anything with buttons grabbed Nathan's attention and wouldn't let go. This cave exhibit was one of them. It had buttons to push that lit up different parts of the cave with tiny red lights. Nathan would push a button and ask me what lit up and I read him the description of each part of the cave over and over and over.

I finally dragged him away by letting him choose one more thing to do again. He choose the Dino Dig. So, we walked back over to the Science Building to dig for some more dinosaurs.

By this time the museum had cleared out a bit, so he found his own spot all to himself.

We spent about 30 minutes playing in the sand before we left for home.

We both had a great day at the museum. I enjoyed taking our time at the museum and letting Nathan lead the way. It was fun to see all the exhibits that caught his eye and keep his attention. We can't wait to return!

Cousins Camp - Planet 51

2010-06-29T17:30:00.002-06:00

We went to the movies today for Cousins Camp. It turned out great because it was rainy outside. We saw Planet 51 at Studio Movie Grill.

Waiting to be seated.

Enjoying his lunch before the movie starts. He loved his drink and the french fries the best.

The happy campers. Everyone was all smiles after the cute movie.

Jaxon, Julia, Joelle, Jordan

Jessie and Nathan in the front.

Test Driving Boats

2010-06-27T17:00:00.002-06:00

We went to Bass Pro Shops and Nathan really enjoyed playing in all the boats. There was a little screaming when we dragged him away.

Lowe's Build and Grow Clinic - Monster Truck

2010-06-26T13:17:00.002-06:00

Nathan and I went to Lowe's this morning for their Build and Grow clinic. Daddy had to work today, so we were on our own to build the Monster Truck.

Nathan took over this build. This is his third one and he now knows were to put the nails and how to use the hammer.

Putting on the wheels.

After he put on the stickers, he couldn't wait to play with it. We did a great job without Daddy, but we have more fun when he comes with us.

Summer 2010 - Food Week

2010-06-25T17:06:00.000-06:00

This week's theme is Food.

We had fun talking about different fruits and vegetables. We went to the grocery store and looked at all their different shapes and colors.

We made two yummy snacks this week. The first one was pink cupcakes from Nathan's favorite book this week, Pinkalicious. I didn't get a photo of those because they were eaten up quickly.

The other treat we made were chocolate covered bananas.

Dipping the bananas in the chocolate.

Tasting the chocolate.

Yummy!!

Nathan decided to eat the chocolate off the banana and throw it away. He at least took one tiny bite of banana off the end.

Here's a list of our favorite books we read this week about food:

Pinkalicious by Victoria Kann

Night of the Veggie Monster by George McClements

Burger Boy by Alan Durant

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T16:54:00.004-06:00

Nathan gave his Daddy the Lego Toy Story Train for Father's Day. They had a great time putting it together.

They also had a great time playing with it.

New Addition

2010-06-18T17:22:00.000-06:00

We have a new addition to our backyard. We only finished the fort. The swings will come later.

Nathan has had a great time playing with it. He can't wait to customize it with a mailbox and house numbers.

Swimming Lesons

2010-06-17T18:53:00.005-06:00

For the past two weeks, Nathan has been taking swimming lessons at the Rosemeade Rainforest Pool. He really enjoyed taking this class. I will have to sign him up every year.

Playing Ring Around the Rosy in the baby pool. They started each class in the baby pool for 5 minutes to let the kids get use to the water.

Then, they would move over to the big pool. Here he is swimming with the aid of a noodle.

While his instructor was working with the other kids in his class, Nathan would stand on a platform with bars around it. He would hold on to the bar and bounce up and down. He always had a smile on his face the whole lesson. He is standing next to the girl with the pink hat.

Here he is first in line for his turn on the diving board.

On the diving board with his instructor encouraging him to jump off. He didn't jump by himself. His instructor had to lift him up and drop him in. But, don't worry. He loved it! And, couldn't wait to do it again. This diving pool is 12 and 1/2 feet deep.

This video is from his last day of lessons. The kids showed the parents what they had learned during their lessons. Nathan received a Certificate of Participation and an American Red Cross card stating that he completed the requirements for the Preschool Aquatics Level 1 of the Learn-to-Swim program.

Foam Turtle Craft

2010-06-15T14:52:00.002-06:00

We received this turtle foam craft from a friend. The box said it was for 4 and up, but we decided to give it a try.

Nathan enjoyed taking apart each foam cube. He was not interested in putting the cubes on the turtle shell, so Mommy helped him out.

Once the stickers were on the turtle shell, Nathan added a tail and head.

Here's the completed mosaic turtle.

Nathan loved playing with the turtle for several hours. When he went to bed for the night, he took the turtle with him and then decided to take each foam cube off the turtle shell. His room was covered in tiny green foam stickers. We cleaned them up and threw them away. It was a fun craft but didn't last very long in our house. I'm still finding the green cubes all over his room.

Cousins Camp - Rosemeade Rainforest

2010-06-15T12:49:00.001-06:00

Cousins Camp was at the Rosemeade Rainforest today. Nathan has been taking swimming lessons there each morning, so we just stayed after his lesson to swim with the cousins.

Nathan taking a break and eating some apples.

Nathan loves playing at this pool. He likes the spray/splash area and shooting the water guns. He doesn't like the bucket that dumps all it's water out on your head without giving a warning. Nathan also loves the baby pool because he can touch the bottom.

We had a great time with the cousins. It was a long day for Nathan. He had been at the pool since 9:30am for his swimming lesson and we left around 2PM. Nathan, of course, quickly fell asleep in the car on the way home. He was wiped out.

Summer 2010 - Summer/Beach Week

2010-06-12T18:44:00.004-06:00

This week's theme is Summer/Beach.

We had fun this week celebrating summer. Nathan loves this time of year. He loves to be outside in the bright sunshine playing outside or swimming.

We started summer week with a craft that we got from our playgroup activity swap. It's a great opportunity to get some crafts that I wouldn't think of to do from the other members of our playgroup.

We received this mini bucket, shovel, rack and scooper. The bag was filled with foam stickers and a marker to decorate the bucket.

This activity is right up Nathan's alley. He loves stickers. Pulling the backing off the stickers is a good fine motor workout. Fine motor skills helps to coordinate hand muscle movements like eating with silverware and holding a pencil, which Nathan needs help with.

Here's his finished bucket. He even decorated his shovel with stickers. He asked that I write Summer Time and his name on his bucket with the marker.

We also started our Cousins Camp this week. We get together with Nathan's cousins at least once a week during the summer. We don't get to see our cousins as much as we would like to during the school year, so we make up for it during summer. We go on lots of fun field trips to keep the kids busy like visits to the library, swimming pools and this week we went to the beach.

About a 30 minute drive from our house is this great beach on Lewisville Lake. The sand is very soft and great for sand castles.

We met the cousins there after swimming lessons, so Nathan was a bit tired. He enjoyed playing in the sand and filling his bucket full of water and dumping it out near our feet. Here he is just kicking back and eating some lunch. Shortly after lunch he was exhausted and begged me to take him home. He quickly fell sound asleep in the car. Once we got home, I just put him right in his bed, sand and all.

Nathan and I made a new sensory box this week. For our beach week, we added some shell shaped pasta, sea shells. starfish, his mini bucket and shovel and foam letters and numbers.

Can you tell that Nathan loves playing in the sensory box? He likes to feel the different textures of each item. Sometimes he likes to take items out of the box and examine them on his blanket. He really enjoyed the foam letters and numbers and putting them together like puzzle pieces.

Since it has been so hot lately, we decided to make a cool summer treat. We made yogurt popsicles.

We mixed vanilla yogurt, strawberries and bananas in the blender.

Nathan pouring the yogurt in the blender.

After mixing and pouring the smoothie in the molds, Nathan put the lids on top. Then, we had to wait for them to freeze. It was hard to be patient.

Nathan enjoying the yummy cold popsicle. It was a nice cold treat on a very hot summer day.

Here's a list of our favorite books we read this week about summer and the beach:

Pig Little by Mike Thaler

All Summer's Fun by Daniel Skalak

Sand Castle by Brenda Shannon Yee

Mouse's First Summer by Lauren Thompson

Duck Dunks by Lynne Berry

Bats at the Beach by Brian Lies

Summer 2010 - Zoo Week

2010-06-05T09:46:00.003-06:00

This week's theme is the ZOO.

This week was a short week due to the Memorial Day holiday so we didn't have enough time to fit in all the activities that I had planned. If we come across a day later in the summer with nothing to do, I'll just get out some of the crafts that we didn't get to this week.

Zoo week started with a trip to where else . . . The Dallas Zoo. We were very excited because the new Giants of the Savanna exhibit had just opened. Check out our entire zoo visit here.

Here's the big 3D sign as you go in the tunnel.

Our favorite part of the new exhibit were the giraffes. You can get up close and personal with them. You can feed them lettuce leaves and even pet them.

Nathan loved the butterfly house. There were many caterpillars all over the plants and the ground. You had to be careful where you stepped.

Nathan's favorite part was the children's petting zoo area. He was allowed in the goat barn to pet the goats and he also petted a white fluffy bunny. He was wishing that he had brought his fishing pole.

The children's zoo also has a lazy creek where the kids can wade in the water. We always forget to bring Nathan's swimsuit when we visit the zoo. It was our last stop before leaving the zoo so we just let him get his clothes all wet. It was really hot and he had a blast.

We have spent a lot of time this week in the pool. It has been very hot and the pool feels great. Nathan is a little fish. Once he is in the water, he never wants to get out. It's a good thing that Mommy loves to swim, too. We sure do love our pool during the summer!

Nathan is sporting his new sun shade hat and sunglasses. You will see him wearing these a lot this summer.

This marshmallow activity is not really related to the zoo, but it sure was fun. We built structures using marshmallows and toothpicks. I built the zoo animal cage on the right. See . . . I did relate it to the zoo. Come on . . . work with me.

Then, Nathan did one better. He built our house and then added a square shaped pool in the backyard. What a smart kid!!

This activity worked on his fine motor skills. He later built a three car garage and then a large fence around the house and garage. He called it his marshmallow city. We left them on the table over night and the marshmallows hardened. Nathan has played with it all week. I will be keeping these tiny marshmallows in stock. It's easy to pull them out when I need to occupy his time for awhile.

I had a couple of zoo animal crafts planned this week but we only got to do one. I let Nathan decide which one he wanted to do and he chose to make an elephant.

Here he is painting a paper plate for the elephant's head. We made the gray paint by mixing white, brown and blue together. Nathan loved mixing the paints to see what color they would make in the end.

He also painted two ears and a trunk that Mommy cut out. After the paint dried, which was a while because Nathan glops it on, he glued eyes and stripes down the trunk. Squeezing the glue is also great for his fine motor skills because he has to squeeze the glue really hard which works out his hand muscles.

Here is the finished elephant. I tried to get Nathan to hold it up but he was just not in the mood to have his picture taken. That is happening a lot lately.

While the paint on the elephant was drying, Nathan and I went outside to play with some parachutes. We had four little zoo animals each attached to a parachute. I thought this would a great outdoor activity but the parachutes didn't work as I wanted them to. I wanted to throw them up in the air and have them float down so Nathan could try to catch them. They just plummeted to the ground too quickly for even me to catch them. This activity only lasted about 10 minutes before we both gave up and went inside to the cool house.

To go along with the zoo theme, Nathan and I made Monkey Bread. This recipe is very easy and I had Nathan help as much as he could. We used biscuits in a tube and I cut them into fourths. Then, Nathan shook them in a zip lock bag with sugar and cinnamon and placed them in the bread pan. I cooked the carmel topping and poured it on top. Then, we popped it in the oven.

Here's the finished monkey bread. It was delicious! Nathan lost interest once it went in the oven and didn't even want to try any of it. He is currently in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich phase and is not very interested in eating much else. Well . . . I gave it a try. I have some more snacks to try out in the coming weeks. I'm hoping one of them will peak the interest of Nathan's taste buds.

Here's a list of our favorite books we read this week about the zoo.

Sam Who Never Forgets by Eve Rice

Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett

Two at the Zoo A Counting Book by Danna Smith

'Twas the Day Before Zoo Day by Catherine Ipcizade

Edward the Emu by Sheena Knowles

Touch A Truck

2010-06-04T11:18:00.001-06:00

The library kicked off their summer reading program today. Their program is called Touch a Truck. The library parking lot was filled with all kinds of city trucks. The kids were allowed to climb all over them. They even let them honk the horns. There was a dump truck, cement truck, lawn mowers, back hoes, fire truck, police car and many more.

I only got a couple of photos of Nathan in the trucks. It was VERY hot outside and he quickly lost interest.

Dallas Zoo - Giants of the Savanna

2010-06-01T17:01:00.004-06:00

We visited the Dallas Zoo today to see the new Giants of the Savanna exhibit that just opened Memorial Day weekend. Plus, school has not been let out yet, so we hoped there would be no crowds and we were right. Besides the heat, it was a perfect day at the zoo.

Mommy and Nathan entering the tunnel to the new Giants of the Savanna area.

Nathan loves zebras and was thrilled to see this giant poster of one. You can only see the zebras at the Dallas Zoo if you ride the monorail. We choose not to ride it this visit. It was a very hot day and didn't want to be stuck on the monorail for 40 very hot minutes. When Nathan asked where the Zoo Train was . . . we told him there wasn't a train at the zoo today. Shhhhh! We'll just ride it next time.

We made sure to visit Nathan's other favorite animals. First up . . . the Penguins. They are so cute. We would really love to have one for our backyard. It could swim in our pool.

Nathan is at the entrance of the Giants of the Savanna. Where there is a heard of bronze elephants and Nathan liked the little baby one.

This is the elephant section. The elephant keeper was outside by the exhibit and told us that this is Jenny. She is the elephant that everyone was concerned about. She seems very happy in her new home and with her new elephant friends. The trees in the background have hidden pockets in them where the keeper hides fruit. Jenny was using her trunk to search for the fruit and was finding every one with no problem.

My favorite part of the new exhibit is the giraffe area. I think the zoo use to have two giraffes. Now, they have seven and they are beautiful.

What makes the giraffe area so special is that you can get very close to them. There are three overlooks into the giraffe area. You can get almost eye to eye with them.

The zoo sells a handful of lettuce leaves for $5 if you wish to feed the giraffes. I recommend coming early and heading straight for the giraffes if you want to feed them. I'm sure they don't get to eat all day long. There are buckets of feed hanging from the overlooks, so the giraffes come right up to you. Nathan was in awe for getting a chance to be so close to them.

The cheetahs were exciting to watch. They would slowly walk by the glass and then take off chasing each other. Half of this Range Rover is in the exhibit and the other half is outside. I tried to get this cheetah to jump in the back so I could give him a ride but he wasn't interested.

We stopped a second time to visit the penguins as we left the Wilds of Africa section and headed to Zoo North. We stopped and ate our picnic lunch before we toured the older section of the zoo. The zoo is getting so large that we were not able to see everything this trip. We skipped around the exhibits in the older section because it was very hot and Nathan was getting really tired.

Randy mentioned the butterfly house and Nathan perked up. We happened to be the only people in the house at that time. The monarch butterfly caterpillars were all over the place. They were on the plants and the ground. We were told to be very careful where we stepped. Nathan liked pointing out all the caterpillars he saw.

Nathan in the middle of the butterfly house standing on the butterfly bench. See . . . nobody was in there but us. Pretty cool to have it all to ourselves.

There's a caterpillar on the ground. Watch your step! Or did Nathan did squash it?

After the butterfly house, we headed over to see the tigers. I can't remember ever seeing the tigers in this exhibit. Every time we have come before the tigers weren't out or were hiding in the tall grasses. But, today, we saw one tiger . . . finally!

We saved the Children's Petting Zoo for our last stop of the day. Nathan had waited patiently all day to get to the children's section.

Hello, giant fish!

We all enjoyed watching the giant fish swim around the tank. It's nice to take a rest and watch the fish through the windows on the sides.

This was the first time we had ever been allowed to enter the goat barn to pet the goats. Nathan wasn't afraid and walked around petting them as if they were dogs. You have to watch out when you are around goats. One goat nibbled on Randy's shorts and another one untied his shoes. Randy was too busy taking photos of Nathan and couldn't keep an eye on the goats.

Nathan is walking on the bridge that goes over the duck pond.

Last but not least . . . the lazy creek. We saved this for our very last activity at the zoo. We always forget to bring Nathan's swimsuit when we visit the zoo.

But it was so hot outside, we just decided to let him go in with his clothes on.

This section, of course, was the most crowded of the children's zoo. I'm surprised that Randy got these photos of only Nathan because there were kids everywhere.

Nathan loved cooling off in the cold water. After getting splashed from a few of the other kids, he had had enough. Thankfully only his shorts were wet. We just took them off and headed home.

We loved the new Giants of the Savanna. The whole area is very beautiful and is all about getting us closer to the animals. They even have a restaurant with a wall of windows where you can dine right next to the lions. The only bad thing is that the zoo is getting too large to see everything in one visit with a toddler. We are looking forward to our next visit. And I promise, we'll ride the zoo train next time.

The Pool is Open

2010-05-30T19:07:00.002-06:00

We took the cover off the pool today to see how warm the water was getting. We had 90 degree days all week long. The water was very warm. This is the earliest we have been in our pool without turning the heater on.

Nathan couldn't wait to swim this season. He had been asking me for weeks if it was time to swim. Once he was in the water he asked, "Is it now summer time?" The answer to that question is . . . YES!!

I signed Nathan up for swimming lessons which start next week. I wanted to make sure he had a chance to get in the pool before his first lesson. Hopefully he will enjoy them as much as he loves to swim in our pool.

Race Car Build

2010-05-30T11:00:00.001-06:00

We went to Lowe's this morning for their Build and Grow clinic. This morning we built a race car. Again, Nathan loved it. He likes to hammer with the kid sized hammers. This is a great free activity and we will be going back for more fun.

Summer 2010 - Sports Week

2010-05-28T21:07:00.006-06:00

This week's theme is SPORTS.

We started our week with a field trip to the Palaestra Gym. Our playgroup won a party there and we were very happy to attend. They have gym equipment, several trampolines and even had two bounce houses.

Nathan loved the trampolines. They had an extra long one for tumbling. Nathan ran down it over and over and over. I ran down a couple of times. It was really fun! The two bounce houses are in the background. One was Disney Princess with an obstacle course and the other was a giant fire truck with a tall slide.

Nathan coming down the slide. He was moving so fast all over the gym, it was hard to get a good photo of him.

Nathan loved this gym. We both got lots of exercise there. He didn't want to leave when our time was up. We will be going back in a couple of weeks and we can't wait!!

We also did a couple of craft projects. Nathan painted different sports balls on construction paper. Mommy cut them out. Then, Nathan stuffed them with shredded paper and stapled them shut.

Nathan painting a football.

Here are the finished balls hanging from the kitchen ceiling. We made soccer balls, footballs, basketballs and baseballs.

Nathan and I played basketball in the living room. We gathered all different sized balls that we could find around the house. Then we took turns throwing them into a laundry basket. We only keep score by the amount of fun that we were having.

Our sensory tub this week was filled with Cheerios. I added some sport ball whistles and erasures that I found in the party section of the store. I always put a magnifying glass in the tub so Nathan can get a close look at everything. I also add a couple of plastic eggs to hide items in or fill them up with Cherrios and shake them.

Nathan likes to play with the sensory tub outside. I put a blanket on the patio and he will sit and play in the tub for a long time.

Our second craft that we made was a torch. Nathan remembered the Olympic torch they had at school for their Olympic Field Day.

Our torch was made from a paper towel tube. Nathan started to paint it with a brush but finished with his hands.

He liked squishing his hands in the paint.

Messy Hands

When the torch was dried, he decorated it with some blue glitter glue. Then, we glued orange tissue paper at the top for the flames.

Nathan and I visited the library and checked several sports books out. We read books about baseball, football, soccer, basketball, hockey and golf. Our favorite books were:

Let's Play Basketball! by Charles R. Smith Jr.

Long Shot by Chris Paul

Dino-Hockey by Lisa Wheeler

Little Granny Quarterback by Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Sampson

Hunter & Stripe and the Soccer Showdown by Laura Malone Elliott

Big Kicks by Bob Kolar

Catapult Build

2010-05-22T12:47:00.001-06:00

We went to Lowe's this morning and participated in their Build and Grow Clinic. This week's build was a catapult. Nathan had a great time using the little hammers. He started each nail and Daddy finished hammering them in. The clinic is for ages 5 and up, but Nathan was engaged the whole time.

Nathan was thrilled with his catapult. It is extra special because he built it with his Daddy.

Last Day of School

2010-05-20T14:39:00.003-06:00

Today is Nathan's last day of school. He was very excited to go because they were having a water play day. The weather was perfect for them to play outside.

Dressed in his swimsuit and very excited for the last day of school.

Mommy had a flat tire, so Daddy had to come rescue us. Nathan ended up only being a half hour late, but arrived just in time to play outside with the water tables.

After school, we stopped to get an ice cream treat and Nathan wanted to bring it home to eat it in the backyard.

His teacher, Ms. Melissa, gave him some bubbles and he couldn't wait to open them up.

He is very happy that it's finally summer time. He can't wait to swim in the pool.

Nathan had a great year in preschool. He loved playing on the playground, singing in music class, doing craft projects, dancing in creative movement, attending chapel and eating lunch. The best part of school was his teacher, Ms. Melissa. She was very loving, caring and a lot of fun. We will miss her, but can always stop by her classroom to say hi next year.

Nathan's Little Gym Skills

2010-05-19T20:09:00.000-06:00

These are the skills that Nathan learned during his sports class. He learned to throw a frisbee, putt a golf ball, shoot a hockey puck and hit a ball off the tee.

Nathan's Little Gym Entrance

2010-05-19T17:25:00.003-06:00

Each child entered the gym and hit a home run off the tee. Then, they ran the bases and slid into home plate. Nathan didn't get a good run around the bases and needed help sliding.

Show Week at The Little Gym

2010-05-19T17:00:00.003-06:00

This was the last week of Little Gym for this semester. Nathan was taking a sports class. He learned sports skills for several different sports. Today they showed us everything they had learned and put on a show for the parents.

Showing his frisbee skills.

Nathan still needs some help with his form. Mr. Travis is showing how to wrap his arm around his body first, then throw.

Sitting on the watching wall and waiting their turn.

Mommy double booked Nathan on Wednesdays, so by the time we arrive for Little Gym class, he is ready for a nap. Here he is taking a rest before his turn.

Hanging with Mr. Zak.

On the podium getting his medal.

Showing Mommy his medal.

His sports class with their teacher, Mr. Travis.

We invited Nana to come and watch the show. Nathan is showing Nana his medal.

Afterward, we took Nana to our new favorite place, Yogurtville, for a treat. Yum!!

The Start of Summer

2010-05-19T09:08:00.000-06:00

I can't believe that Nathan has only 1 more day of school left this year. He has had a great time at school. Summer has snuck up on me this year. So, the past few days I've been feverishly surfing the internet looking for ideas, projects and field trips to keep us busy all summer long. We can't spend the whole summer swimming in the pool. :)

I decided to assign a theme to each week, like bugs, dinosaurs, nature and zoo. I have planned several art projects, activities, sensory tub and a field trip all supporting that week's theme. I will ,of course, share our summer adventures with all of you.

I hope this will keep Nathan entertained all summer long. If not, you can find us in the pool!

3-Year Old Preschool Graduation

2010-05-18T14:19:00.000-06:00

Nathan's school had a graduation program today. The students sang songs that they had learned in music class.

Nathan ready to go to school.

He was excited that Mommy and Daddy were coming to school today.

His class is getting ready to sing a song.

This is the only time he participated.

Not sure what he is doing here.

Or here.

All is good, when it ends with a cookie!

We went to his classroom after the program and we all had lemonade and cookies.

Daddy and Nathan

Car Wash

2010-05-16T16:49:00.005-06:00

*Forgive the underwear photos . . . we are potty training.*

Nathan loves to help Daddy wash the cars, but sometimes he gets in the way. Nathan likes to soap up Daddy's car after it has already been rinsed and dried. So, I thought that Nathan could have a car wash of his own.

Soaping up his truck.

"Thanks, Mommy! This is really fun!"

Daddy showing Nathan how to use the hose to get all the bubbles off.

Rinsing off the truck bed.

Making sure to get the wheels all clean.

This is a great summer activity to keep Nathan occupied. He washed his truck over and over for more than an hour. It's also a great way to keep cool. We will be playing "Car Wash" many more times this summer. Nathan has lots of cars and trucks to keep him busy.

Body Art

2010-05-12T20:00:00.002-06:00

This is what happens when Nathan is left alone with an ink stamp pad.

He had stamps all down his legs and there were even two stamps on his back. While I scrubbed him in the tub, he was yelling, "Don't wash my art away!"
SILLY BOY!!

More Camping at Cooper Lake

2010-05-08T20:15:00.001-06:00

Papa, Josh, Collin and Ryan were playing a serious game of poker Saturday morning.

Julia, Jordan and Joelle playing in the mud.

Nathan enjoying the beach.

Joelle and Julia swimming in the very cold water. The cold just doesn't seem to bother the kids.

Nathan flying his kite on the beach. He's all covered up because the wind was very cold.

Kite flying was a big hit.

Even with the older kids.

Jaxon flying his kite.

A battle of the minds over a scrabble game. Ryan, Josh, Jenny and Nana with Joelle looking on. I think Josh ended up winning.

Nathan played really hard and fell asleep on his Aunt Patty. Then, she passed him off to Papa who also decided to take a nap.

Back at our cabin, Nathan is looking for someone to play with him.

Nathan and Jessie

My family loves to play games. Here we are playing Left, Right, Center and Papa just won all the nickels.
Nathan, Collin, Ryan, Julia, Josh, Jessie, Laura and Papa

Nathan getting a game of frisbee and football started.

I love camping with my family. It's nice to spend a couple of days just hanging out with them. All the kids play very well together. I hope we can keep this tradition going each year.

Cooper Lake Family Camping Trip

2010-05-07T19:01:00.001-06:00

Arriving to our cabin.

Nathan couldn't wait to check out the playground.

Nathan's cousins, Joelle & Jessie, arrive and are ready to play.

Mother's Day Tea

2010-05-04T09:48:00.003-06:00

Nathan's school invited all the Mom's to a Mother's Day Tea. We started the celebration with a prayer service in the church. Each child selected a rose and placed it at the foot of the Virgin Mother's statue.

Nathan selecting his rose.

After the prayer service, the children honored their Mother's with a tea. Nathan made me a chocolate covered pretzel with sprinkles. We also had cucumber sandwiches, chocolate cake and fruit salad. Nathan also made me a pink flower pin, a card and a candle holder.

It was a very special event. Nathan was so proud of his gifts that he made me. And, I was a very proud Mom.

Jack-In-The-Box

2010-04-29T09:44:00.002-06:00

Nathan has really enjoyed music class at school. This video has a surprise at the end. Enjoy!!

Jack-In-The-Box

Olympic Days

2010-04-22T14:57:00.003-06:00

Nathan's school had their Annual Olympic Days today. The kids had a chance to participate in many fun games. My photos are not that great because I have a new camera and I'm still learning how to use it. Also, I volunteered to help out, so I didn't have much time for photos while chasing balls, bean bags and kids.

Opening Ceremonies - All the kids lined up and filed outside. One child from each class ran around the parking lot with a paper torch.

Soccer Ball Kick

Basketball Toss - Here's Nathan cheating a little.

They also played Football Toss, jumped on mini trampolines, Shotput with beanbags, Long Jump, Tall Jump and had a Baton Relay Race.

Everyone returned to their classrooms to eat their snacks and rest. Miss Susan surprised the school by buying popsicles to help the kids cool off.
After snack, they headed back outside for more fun.

Stick Horse Races

Sack Races
They had a Wheels Race with tricycles and an Obstacle Course. Then, the kids went indoors for Tug Of War.

Nathan's class getting ready to pull.

The kids in Nathan's class are small, so some of the kids in the 4 year old class jumped up and started helping out. But, they still lost. They gave it all they had but they were tired out.
After the games, Miss Kim hosted the metals ceremony.

Nathan on the podium getting his metal. (Sorry for the blurry picture . . . new camera.)

This was such a fun day for the kids and parents. When I picked Nathan up from school, he was exhausted. He almost fell asleep in the car on the ride home.

Car Conversations

2010-04-21T17:19:00.002-06:00

This conversation happen on the way home from Nathan's Little Gym class.

NATHAN: Mom, I'm small.

MOM: Yes, you are, but you are growing bigger every day.

NATHAN: I'm not growing bigger.

MOM: Every night when you are sleeping, you grow bigger and bigger. You are growing up to be a big boy.

NATHAN: I'm NOT growing bigger. I'm growing smaller to a baby.

MOM: You're not a baby, honey, you're a big boy.

NATHAN: I want to grow smaller to be your baby. I want to be your baby, Mommy.

MOM: You will always be my baby.

Isn't he a sweet boy. I wanted to pull over and give him a big hug.

March of Dimes - March for Babies 2010

2010-04-17T14:18:00.001-06:00

The rain stayed away today, so we could walk another 5 miles for the March of Dimes. We raised $500 towards our Plano NICU Parents team total of over $12,500. We give a BIG thank you to everyone who made a donation and who walked with us.

We received a lot of love and support today by having many family members join us on the walk.

Back Row: Papa, Josh, Collin, Uncle Matt, Aunt Patty and Daddy
Front Row: Nana, Alison, Aunt Kathy and Mommy
Very Front Row: The star of the day, Nathan.

Nathan's Path of Hope sign was at the end of the 5 miles. By that time our group was spread out with the younger kids walking way ahead of the older ones.
Aunt Kathy, Aunt Patty, Nana, Papa, Mommy, Daddy and Nathan (Uncle Matt took the photo.)

Mommy, Daddy and Nathan with his Path of Hope sign.

Beach Play

2010-04-06T15:40:00.001-06:00

After lunch, we went back to the beach to play. We're good at that!

Flying his kite on the beach.

And . . . in the water.

Holding hands with Daddy.This is the only picture of Randy from this trip and it's just his shadow. That's what happens when you're the photographer.

The beach is the best place to fly a kite.

Hopscotch on the beach.

Watching the waves roll in.

Here he comes!The water was cold and Nathan didn't like the waves getting him.

Super cute baby feet on the beach.

There are two bench swings next to the boardwalk. Nathan liked to swing in them each time we came back from the beach. Notice the new wood. They just finished the boardwalk and these swings the week before we arrived. The boardwalk and swings were taken out by the hurricane.

Moody Gardens Playground

2010-04-06T10:18:00.003-06:00

We went back to Moody Gardens this morning to play on their rainbow playground. Nathan loved it and had a great time . . . of course!! If you know Nathan, then you know that he is on board for any outdoor activity.

Galveston Beach

2010-04-05T16:45:00.004-06:00

Nathan was refreshed from his nap and ready to hit the beach.

We flew two kites and Daddy enjoyed having kite wars with Nathan. I think Daddy won.

Nathan's cool new beach shoes.

You can see the eroded beach from Hurricane Ike with our condo in the background.

Here's Nathan on the balcony two years ago. How cute!!

Look how tall he has grown.

Eating PB&J on the balcony.

Beautiful Sunset

Rainforest Cafe

2010-04-05T13:31:00.003-06:00

We ate lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. Nathan loved watching all the animals come to life. He also liked the rain storms. Nathan ordered a drink that had a red-eyed tree frog in it. They quickly became best buddies. Nathan was very excited to see a giant red-eyed tree frog outside.

Red-eyed tree frog that is just Nathan's size.

After lunch we visited the gift shop and deck on the gulf called Murdock's Pier. Nathan was so wiped out from the aquarium and lunch that he fell asleep at the store on Randy's shoulder. He slept all the way back to the condo and took a long nap.

Sacked out in his bunk.

Galveston Easter Trip - Moody Gardens Aquarium

2010-04-05T11:56:00.000-06:00

We packed up the car and headed for the beach Easter morning. Monday morning we went to Moody Gardens to visit the Aquarium.

Hanging out watching the sea lions swim around.

Checking out the shark stamps on his hands.

Gazing in the tanks.

Is Nathan in time-out? No . . . he's just in the shark cage.

In the tunnel aquarium.

Can't have too many shark stamps on your hands.

Easter

2010-04-04T09:23:00.003-06:00

The Easter Bunny left Nathan's basket on his table in the living room and filled it with toys.

He also hide eggs around the house filled with money and jelly beans.

Nathan is telling me that he is getting a tummy ache from all the candy.

The rest of our Easter was spent in the car. We packed up Nathan's Easter basket and hit the road headed to the beach.

Spring Morning at the Nasher

2010-04-03T13:06:00.002-06:00

We enjoyed another "Family Day" at the Nasher this morning.

Nathan with his Daddy.

Mommy and Nathan in a neat sculpture that was like a glass phone booth with groovy mood lights.

Nathan took a break from the art and decided to have pitching practice.
"Can I throw this?"

Here's the pitch . . .

. . . SCORE!!!

"I can do it, AGAIN!!!"

The wind-up.

SCORE!!!

Easter Party

2010-04-01T14:01:00.003-06:00

Nathan's class had an Easter Party at school. They also had an Easter egg hunt. Each kid decorated a pail and shovel and used them to gather their eggs.

Squeakquel

2010-03-22T16:35:00.002-06:00

We took Nathan to his first movie. We saw Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. Nathan was amazed the whole time. The first 15 minutes of the movie he was leaning forward in his chair. He loved it and can't wait to go back to see another movie.

He has his movie ticket.

Looking for the right theater.

Getting settled in his seat.(Thank you Aunt Kathy . . . the booster seat worked out great!)

Waiting for his movie to start.

Aunt Samantha's Birthday

2010-03-21T21:21:00.004-06:00

Aunt Sammy had another birthday, so we celebrated at Nana & Papa's house.

Laura & Samantha

Kathy, Jenny, Samantha, Laura and Patty

Samantha opening Nathan's present. He made the wrapping paper all by himself.

Numbers Tower

2010-03-21T13:08:00.002-06:00

These are Nathan's newest legos that he got here. As you can see . . . he loves them.

More Snow!

2010-03-21T09:33:00.000-06:00

We got some more snow. Nathan thinks this happens all the time.

Please Sponsor Us for March for Babies 2010

2010-03-07T17:35:00.004-06:00

Hello Friends and Family-

It’s time again for March for Babies 2010 – April 17th! This is our 4th year to walk in the March for Babies benefitting the March of Dimes. We walk to raise money to prevent other parents from going through what our family has.

Our son, Nathan, was born 3 months premature on August 27th, 2006. He wasn't due until mid November and there I was at the end of August delivering him weighing just 2 pounds, 4 ounces. It was the scariest day of our lives.

We wouldn’t wish this feeling on anyone. The March of Dimes funds research to help find reasons for premature birth, prevent birth defects, and to reduce rates of infant mortality.

We're very happy to say that after two long months in the NICU, Nathan finally came home with us and is a very happy energetic 3 year old. The surfactant he received in the hospital to help him breathe was a direct result of research done by the March of Dimes. They continue to find ways to keep preemies alive and prevent preterm birth from happening.

This is why we walk…to prevent other parents from walking in our shoes. If you would like to support us in this effort, click HERE and you can donate towards our walk. Every donation helps . . . even just a dime!

Your donations are truly appreciated!

CLICK HERE to view our team's video from last year.

You can find my posts from 2009 - Here and Here; 2008; 2007

Serious Game of Hopscotch

2010-02-28T17:28:00.003-06:00

A Trip to the Mall

2010-02-27T17:04:00.002-06:00

We took a trip to the mall and visited the Lego store. Nathan picked out a set of Legos and was very excited to get them home to open the box. He wanted to hold (more like drag) the bag all by himself. He wouldn't let anyone help him with the bag. He dragged it all over the mall, which caused a very large hole in the bottom of his bag. Nathan received many comments from the other shoppers about how cute he looked dragging his Lego bag behind him.

Nathan on our driveway ready to go in the house and open his new Legos.

Losing his Legos on the driveway.

Nathan didn't even notice his bag got lighter and keep walking into the house. He didn't want to let go of the handles of the bag. Once inside the house he realized that his bag was empty and went out looking for the Legos.

Snow Day!!

2010-02-11T19:57:00.003-06:00

We woke up this morning to a winter wonderland. Nathan "berry berry" wanted to play in it before he went to school. Since we don't get many days of snow, I couldn't say "no".

Nathan played for about a half hour in the snow with his Dad. We couldn't get him to come in the house and get dressed for school. He ended up being a few minutes late for school this morning but it was worth the fun.

Randy came home early from work and we all went outside to build a snowman. It had snowed all day long and was still snowing, so we had lots of snow to make a giant snowman.

Mommy, Snowman and Nathan

Nathan leaning on his snowman.

Rosey nose and cheeks.

Catching snowflakes on his tongue.

Record breaking snowfall today for Texas!! It snowed for 16 hours! Official DFW measurement was 9.5 inches!! Fort Worth got 12 inches!!

Snowflakes Falling

2010-01-12T15:46:00.000-06:00

This is another video of Nathan in Music class at school singing Snowflakes Falling. I love when his Music teacher, Miss Marilee, takes video of the kids singing.

Handy Randy

2009-12-27T20:38:00.003-06:00

Nathan got a sit and spin for Christmas. Jaxon and Nathan helped Randy put it together. It was great to see them playing and sharing with each other.

Christmas at Nana and Papa's House

2009-12-27T20:21:00.004-06:00

The family gathered at Nana and Papa's house to exchange gifts and eat dinner. I love when our schedules allow us to all get together. It's fun to watch the kids play. All the grandkids sat in a circle on the floor in the living room. Nathan ended up in the middle of the circle. They each took a turn and exchanged their secret santa gifts.

Nathan's Santa Gift - Bounce House

2009-12-25T22:41:00.000-06:00

The only thing that Nathan asked for this year was a bounce house. He was such a good boy that Santa had to fulfill his wish.

There was snow on the ground Christmas morning, so we emptied out his playroom. The bounce house takes up the entire room. Nathan loves it and bounces in it everyday.

White Christmas in Texas

2009-12-25T17:17:00.000-06:00

Christmas Morning 2009

2009-12-25T12:43:00.001-06:00

Hot Wheels! You can never have too many of those.

Three wheeled scooter

Daddy quickly put it together so Nathan could hop on for a test ride.

This is the helmet that goes with the scooter.

More Hot Wheels!

The Aftermath! Yes, that's a bounce house in the playroom.

Christmas Eve 2009

2009-12-24T19:06:00.000-06:00

We spent Christmas Eve at Grandma's house. We first ate lunch. Then, we opened and played with our presents. Nathan got a lot of neat toys.

Opening his first present.

Playing with his awesome Hot Wheels track.

Markers to go with his easel.

Playing and singing with his piano.

Nathan loves to perform concerts for everyone.

Back to the track

Ready for Santa!

Nathan and Daddy

Wrapping paper tube fight!