Fall Festival

Our church helped sponsor a city-wide fall festival. Immediately Mommy and Nathaniel jumped on a hay ride through the old part of the city. Nathaniel did not play any games, but thoroughly enjoyed picking up cans and handing them to the helpers after kids knocked them down. He also found walking up and down a little hill and over a bridge to be fun (who needs moonwalks, cotton candy, face painting, etc?).

The pics are not great because Mommy has lost her battery charger and is taking pictures sparingly right now....pray she finds it soon!

P.S. Thanks for the cute shirt Auntie Leslie!

Quick beach trip

For the first time in a long time we had a true weekend, so we decided to enjoy some time at the beach while it is still warm enough in south Texas to do so. In true fashion, Nathaniel's reaction to the beach is varied and unpredictable. This trip he would walk to the edge of the tide, stare and point but did not like getting his feet wet. He did repeatedly say "Wa-Wa, Wa-Wa" which is his version of "water".

He did go in with Mommy for a few minutes, but decided it was not for him.

Instead, he much preferred the mud. Yes, he loved digging in the mud, getting mud beneath his fingernails, and throwing mud.

He also found chasing birds to be hilarious and entertaining.

It was a nice family trip. We are not holding our breath for him to be a navy seal or do competitive swimming any time soon.

Pumpkin Patch

Mom is not too into Halloween this year. What does this teach our kids? Let's get creeped out and then eat more sugar than our bodies can handle? Who came up with this? Don't get me wrong, I loved it as a kid. I love making Halloween goodies with my clients, I am just not into it for whatever reason this year. I have not even got Nathaniel an outfit yet. I suppose I will by the time it rolls around. Who knows? I do, however, love Thanksgiving; which is also all about stuffing ourselves silly and we get to hang out with some creepy family members - so is it really that different (ha, ha - I love my family, you know I am kidding)?

But to not be a party pooper, we did take Nate out to the pumpkin patch. He was not all that impressed. He did play a few pumpkins like drums and had his eye on an "older girl" who was looking for the perfect pumpkin for her house. I guess I will be more into this when he is old enough to be more into it. But for now, enjoy a few pumpkin patch pics....

Sick Gangsta' Boy

It is hard to be taken seriously as a gangsta' when you hold tight to your sippy cup!

Nathaniel had a rough week. He managed to catch the stomach bug that had been going around our lifegroup gang. He threw up a couple times at daycare on Wed and then acted fine the rest of the day at home. Then Mommy made a big mistake and gave him milk before bed; this came back to haunt us around 2 am. Oddly enough he did not care for a bath at 2 am. He the refused to go back to sleep until 7 am. He was miserable all day Thursday, but is doing much better now!

Naterbug recovering from a stomach bug :(

America, Nathaniel Has Talent...

Some entertainment moments from our long trip back home.

His favorite games "Where is Nater?", "What does a (fill in the animal) say?", and Itsy-Bitsy Spider (his current favorite song).

Sarah's Shower

How awesome is a glowing mother-to-be?

From Midland we headed to Denton for Sarah's shower. It was funny because a year ago we were there during the evacuation. My how things have changed!
We could not be more excited to watch Xavier and Sarah welcome Libby into the world. They will be amazing parents. We look forward to the adventures that lie ahead as we travel with wee ones! Congrats to all 3 of you!

A Week in Midland

See no evil....

Hear no evil....

Speak no evil.

I know I was a horrible poster in Sept, I have several excuses, but the main reason is I cannot find my cable to download pictures. Luckily to night I found a secret (actually, quite obvious) picture bridge on our printer so get ready for picture overload!

The third week of Sept Nathaniel and I spent in Midland. The thought behind the visit was to help Barbara adjust to her new role as mother of two, as Anson had to go back to work.

In all actuality, I was more of a referee between Craig and Nathaniel. The boys have developed a rather entertaining love-hate relationship that hangs on a delicate pendulum, constantly swinging back and forth throughout their time together. One second they would be chasing each other around the house, howling with laughter and the next they were fighting over toys, bursting in tears. I think Craig continues to be the bully and Nathaniel is the nark.

The first day we were there, I was able to set up a swing set for the boys. They loved it! In fact, it was hard to get them to come inside at all. Which was fine the first 2 days; then a cold front blew in. This is the first time Nathaniel has had to wear jeans and a long sleeved shirt. Yet, they continued to be outside the majority of the time. These cousins are already getting into trouble (they once went into the bathroom together and flashes of my time spent with a cousin of the same age came rushing back - we mixed up every thing we could find in my grandmother's bathroom, it is a wonder I was even able to have kids after that chemical combination).

I made a side trip to Lubbock to give a few lectures at Texas Tech which proved to be a lot of fun, while Gigi spent some quality time with Naterbug. Apparently he is more fussy when mom is around. What does that say about my parenting skills???

Then Barb's kids got sick and Nathaniel broke his doctor avoidance record and we took him in to get some antibiotics as well. So Thursday was not much fun, but you would never know it with these goofballs we call family!

Then sadly, Friday came. After another quick trip to the duck pond, which is an all-time favorite activity when we are in Midland,

it was time to go. It honestly felt like this week was over in 2 days. We were probably more stressful to Barbara than we were helpful, but it was a lot of fun. She is adjusting very nicely to having two boys. Craig is adjusting pretty to his new role as big brother. Why does time always seem to go so fast when spent with family? I very much wish we lived closer and could get the boys together more often.