7 Things

1.  I know.  I haven't blogged in forevvvvvver.  I'd like to thank my one loyal reader for checking back every now and then to see if I've posted.  (Hi, Mom!)

2.  So let's get started.

3.  Nate turned the big 0-4 in July!  He's the biggest four-year-old in the history of ever.  Of course, we had the traditional grandparent party with cake and whatnot.

(Not pictured: napping baby brother.)

 

Nate loves his friends, telling jokes that make no sense, cuddling, getting my full attention,  corn dogs, the color green, peeing on the fence, playing Candy Land, and Brooke.

 

He doesn't like sharing, taking naps, anything I make for dinner, and babies that take his toys. 

 

Oh, I do love that one. Happy 4th birthday to you, Nate. :-)

 

4. Brooke lost her first tooth and now she looks like a big girl and that makes me a little sad. 

 

 

5.  Eli is 18 months now!  He doesn't say much yet, but he loves to dance.  He'll make an excellent husband someday.

 

 

6.  Brooke started KINDERGARTEN!!  Sheesh.  She's getting so big. 

I'm very proud to report that I didn't cry.  I almost cried, but I didn't.  She was just so ready and excited that it was hard to be sad.  She wanted to ride the bus and everything.  Her first day was "amazing" and the "best day ever."  Hopefully she can keep this attitude up for the next thirteen years.

7.  And that's about it!  I have plans to keep up with blogging in the upcoming months.  I've missed it.  :-)  

Cake Smash!

Eli is ONE!!!

Wow.  I know it goes fast, but wow. How is it possible that this child is one?? 

So, of course we had to have a little party last weekend.  This one was a little different than the other first birthday parties I've thrown.  Simple was the name of the game.  No theme.  Kid-made decorations. Ordered a cake. Done.  Scot and I didn't even do gifts unless you count a crib rail cover to keep him from chewing completely through the crib.  Simple.

The birthday boy provided the entertainment.

Eli's first words were "umm...seriously, Mom?"

 

 

A little help blowing out the candle. 

Let the games begin!

 

 

 

Check this out!!  Well done, baby.





 

Boy, do I love this little dude. :-)

 

And of course, bath time.

 
We all had a sweet birthday weekend with the grandparents.

My parents weren't feeling great on Eli's birthday weekend, so they came up a few days later.  Of course, we had to reinact the cake smash.  I don't even want to know how many grams of sugar this baby has had in the past few days.   He didn't seem to mind too much.

 

 

More grandparent fun! I thought the kids' heads were going to explode. 

 

Thanks to all the grandparents!  And happy birthday to my absolute favorite baby.  I love you and thank God for you every day, Eli!! 

Bowling Fun and Pics

We went bowling for the first time!  

After passing a nice little flu bug around the house for a week, we were finally all feeling better.  High time to rent some moist, pre-worn shoes, stick our fingers in germy bowling balls, and get the next infestation underway!

FUN!!

The kids loooooved it.  We all had a great time.  Even Eli had fun, I think. 





I lost.  To everyone.  My 3-year-old beat me at bowling. I'm not competitive with this kind of thing, but that really hurt.

Not much else is going on around here. I'm still chugging away at my 365.  It's going okay.  We've been sick and haven't left the house much so I'm running out of things to photograph.  Here's a little of what I have so far...

 

 

 

 

365

This year I'm doing a 365 project. It's simple: one picture a day for a year. The idea is to capture more of daily life (as if I don't already do enough of that) and watch the kids as they grow. Plus, I get to take lots of pictures. And when I'm done, I'll have a collection of pictures that I plan to print in a book.  Or something. 

I don't have a theme, anything goes.  Knowing me, I'm sure I'll miss days or give up altogether in a few months, but I'm going to give it a shot.  I won't put them all on my blog, but here's what I've got so far...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey, just 356 days left to go!

Christmas 2012

We had a good Christmas this year. 

Well, that's not totally true.  We had a good Christmas considering everyone had the flu and Nathan doesn't yet understand the "barf bucket" concept.

Seriously.

Sorry. I'll spare you any more details, promise. But really, we had some great moments leading up to Christmas.  So let's just focus on that, shall we? 

Looking at the lights...

 

Christmas pajamas...

Preschool program...

Christmas Eve...

Feeling good enough to color a picture for Santa and dictate a letter.

"Joy Baby"

Christmas morning



 

 



 

 

Here's to a healthy New Year. :-)