Monday, November 25, 2013

Lordy, Lordy

Guess who's 40?  We officially have an old geezer in the house.  I had intentions on celebrating Pete's birthday in style, but as the day grew nearer, reality set in and it became clear that I could accomplish almost nothing!  I'm sure I'll have it together by his 50th.  Be on the lookout for that Evite.



That dryer is amazing.

I've got a new running partner!


Brady is big on playing "construction site" lately


'Tis the season for lots of leaves





This is what happens when I leave Nathan for 5 minutes to chop an onion.



We were lucky to have nice weather for a few days for a little back-yard photo shoot





And it did literally take me three days to get five decent shots!







We got to extend swim season yet again with Lilliana's awesome birthday party

Brady and Sam have a snack break

Tired puppy
Nathan is finally showing an interest in books, hurray!

Pete wanted to go out to dinner for his birthday. I have no idea why.
Nathan appreciated all the cool things to look at at the restaurant, but it sure was hard to feed a moving target.





Happy Birthday Pete. We sure do love you.



Saturday, November 16, 2013

Wisconsin

We just got back from Nathan's first trip to Wisconsin!  We were very excited to take him there to meet the rest of Pete's family, and to finally meet our sweet nephew Sam.

On the flight there, the boys did very well.  Brady loves airplanes so much that I think he could fly all the way to Hawaii and not complain about having to stay in his seat.  And Nathan napped most of the trip, so he was a piece of cake.  When we landed we got a couple compliments on the boys, and we were patting ourselves on the back for being such great parents.  Then we get 50 yards into the terminal, and Brady just can't hold it together for one second more.  His tantrum got so wild that both of his shoes flew off and nearly hit one guy in the head!  Now that's the traveling Brady that we know and love.  The return flight was similar.  He melted down at the security line, and tantrum-dive-rolled through the x-ray machine.  The TSA guy looks at me and asks, "Can he walk?"  Um, yeah.  Traveling with kids is always an adventure.  And here's a little tip for those of you planning a trip across time zones with children... Don't do it the week after we change the clocks.  Double whammy.

We had an action-packed five days planned, including several family meals and a trip to the Wisconsin Dells for a little water park fun.  Brady and Nathan enjoyed seeing all the family and playing with the dogs, and of course we always love getting to see everyone together.

While we were there, Nathan turned 10 months old and he cut his top left front tooth.  We had quite a few cranky days so we are happy that that one is through.

Now that we're back, we are focused on getting the boys healthy again (we brought home some souvenir colds), raking the gazillion leaves that fell in the back yard, and cleaning the house.  Time to gather our strength for the holiday trifecta- Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Nathan's First Birthday!
 

He's trying so hard to like candy. He would taste each color of M&M, saying "maybe green will be better!" Then out it would come.


Having some sticker fun. This sequence of pictures cracked me up!








 

I think he's ready for Thanksgiving dinner

Very pleased with himself for getting his shoe off


In-flight nap

Grandma's house!


Nathan meets his great-grandparents Grandpa Raul and Grandma Mattie

Grandpa sees how much he has grown since his visit in July

Their dog brought Nathan pure joy


But a short nap and painful gums made for a less than perfect first meeting with cousin Sam
Feeling better the next morning and ready for breakfast

Some of Brady's best times were playing with the leaves and the dogs, simultaneously





Grandpa JT and the boys put together a train set

The cousins play at a little early celebration of Pete's 40th













Sam showed off his water drinking skills

Another day, another meal at Salvador's. Brady was a fan of their pancakes and dinner rolls.





Sunday afternoon at Great Wolf Lodge



Sam was kind enough to share his awesome toy. We are totally getting one of these (shh).

This water slide was Brady's favorite

Grandpa JT liked it pretty well, too!

Tina, Sam, Grandma (and the back of Jessica's head)


The not-so-lazy river

Dinner in the lodge


Nathan gulping down some water

These were the cool bunk beds in our room.

And this is where Brady actually slept starting at about 2 am. Those cute bunk beds? Too small for an adult. Trust me, I know.
We even got to see snow while we were there!


Grandma and Grandpa relaxing in the hot tub


Air Brady


Some very tired Mamas and their boys. Even though no one got a very good night's sleep, we all had a ton of fun!



Back home, sweet home

And guess what? He grew!

On to my next goal...


This was pretty monumental- the first time Brady has ever asked to hold Nathan. Unfortunately he's about 6 months too late... Nathan is hard to handle these days.


It looks like we need more cabinet locks.

My handsome boy's preschool picture. I'm still thoroughly shocked that they were able to get him smiling, looking at the camera, and with his hands down.  We might have to Photoshop this one into our Christmas cards!