Nathan's Favorites . . . Right Now

Nathan's little personality is growing and developing. He is not afraid to tell everyone what he is thinking. He knows exactly what he likes and dislikes and it's very hard to change his mind. Hmmm, does he sound like someone we know. Let me give you a hint . . . Randy!

I want to share with you some of his favorite things right now. But, you have to remember that he is a 2 year old, so these can change at any moment.

Nathan's favorite:

TV Shows - Caillou and Yo Gabba Gabba!

Colors - pink and purple (I think it's great that he is not afraid to cross the gender line. He is asking for a pink lunch box to take to school in the Fall and I'm going to have to pull rank on this one. Sorry, Nathan, but Mommy will talk you into a different color.)

Book - Goodnight Moon (We read this book every night before he goes to bed.)

Food - granola bars, veggie chips and bunny crackers (He likes to snack all day. I can't get him to sit down at the table for any meal. At least he is eating healthy foods. I have to pick my battles.)

Toys - Legos, floor puzzles and Play-Doh

Activities - Swimming and his Little Gym class (We swim almost everyday at Nathan's request. He also loves his new teacher at The Little Gym, Mr. Travis.)

Game - Hide and Seek (I love to play this with Nathan. It just tickles him so much. I'm the one who usually hides and he will run around the house to find me. When I ask him to hide, he will just stand in a different room. I pretend that I can't see him and eventually find him.)

Let me know if there are any other favorites of Nathan that you are interested in. I'll do this again as Nathan's interests change and he grows older.

Happy 4th of July!

We had a low key 4th this year. We swam in our pool most of the day. Then, we went to my sister's house in the evening. We played with toys and visited with family. At 10PM, we headed over to the parking lot of a school to watch the firework show. It was a great viewing location up on a hill. This was Nathan's first time watching fireworks. He loved the pretty colors and said that they sounded like heart beats. So sweet!

Sorry, but we didn't take any photos today. Strange . . . I know! So, I leave you with my favorite photo of Nathan from last year.

Our Little Sea Horse

Nathan is now swimming on his own with help from his floaties!


I couldn't get Nathan to wear the floaties last year. So, I knew I was going to be challenged again this summer.


I was able to get him to try them on a few times. But, I actually got him in the pool today with the floaties on. I let go of him . . . he was off on his own.


His confidence keep building the more we swam. I went to grab Nathan at one point and he told me, "No touching, Mom!"


I declared him to be a little dolphin swimming in the sea. Then, he corrected me by saying, "No, I a sea horse!"

Cousins Camp - Tom Muehlenbeck Center

We met at Nana's house for lunch. Then, we headed over to the Tom Muehlenbeck Center to swim. They have indoor and outdoor swimming pools with water slides and toddler areas. We had a great time in the water. It was cloudy so it didn't feel that hot out. I loved that it wasn't crowded at all.


I also loved that they provide swimming vests. Nathan keep pulling his off until he finally forgot he was wearing it. It also helped that Jaxon and Jessie were wearing them, too.


The transition between the toddler area and the swimming pool were these waterfall stairs. Nathan loved walking up the stairs, getting in the pool and then walking back down. He did this over and over.


Here's Jaxon and Nathan playing in the water. Jessie is taking a break on the side of the pool having a drink.


Nathan liked the shallow pool and was able to climb in and out by himself.

Cousins Camp - Our House

We hosted Cousins Camp at our house. We played in the house, ate lunch and then went swimming. We always have a great time when the cousins come over to play.

Happy Father's Day!

We took our Daddy hiking at the Arbor Hills Nature Preserve for Father's Day. We started our hike early in the morning to beat the heat, but it caught up with us.

Nathan enjoyed gazing in the creek every time we crossed over it.


Check out this interesting flower. It's taller than Nathan.


Nathan helping Daddy up the hill.


This is where Nathan started to get tired and Mommy had to carry him.


Daddy asked us to go off the path to get a great picture of the purple flowers. They're beautiful, aren't they.


Little did we know, we were under attack. Chiggers were climbing all over us.


We found out the next day when we all woke up with chigger bites on our ankles. Thanks, Daddy! Next time, Mommy will remember to spray everyone with bug spray.


We took a quick break at the pond before heading home.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane

Randy got out his binoculars to look at planes. They were a Christmas present from Randy's Mom to his Dad before he was born. They are from the mid 60's.

Nathan likes to do everything that his Daddy does. He enjoyed looking through them, so we got him his own pair. They are bright red and plastic, so they are much lighter and more kid friendly than these.

All Dressed Up and No Place to Go

Believe it or not, we received this tuxedo as a baby shower present. I'm still not sure if it was a joke or not. I can't image him ever needing to wear it anywhere, so before he out grows it, we snapped some photos.




It was hard to capture a great image because Nathan was trying to get out of the tux as soon as possible. He keep saying, "I don't like this!" in his cute little voice. He was tugging and pulling at the jacket and almost got it completely off a couple of times.

He takes after his Mom. "Dress Up" clothes always felt uncomfortable and made me itch when I was little. I'm still a jeans and t-shirt kinda girl.

Kickin' It Old School

Nathan loves to listen to music on the iPod.



Randy thought it would be fun to show Nathan the iPod of our generation, the Sony Walkman.




After the photo shoot, Randy quickly put his precious heirloom away for safe keeping and we are no longer allowed to touch it. Just another one of Daddy's "Toys" that we can't play with.

Happy Graduation, Josh!

My nephew, Josh, graduated from high school today. We are all very proud of him. Way to go, Josh!