15 months

It is amazing how time sneaks away from us these days. It is already August for crying out loud! My son is 15 months old. Wow.

We had a good week last week, Nate was finally feeling better and we were able to have some fun time with the Oberts. They have an amazing play area in their back yard, which we practically had to force Nate to play on. He, however, was most interested in pushing the girls' pink lawn mower around! It is so much fun to see these kids change, explore, and grow - and it is all happening so fast.

Nathaniel is picking up new words daily. His latest is cracker. He is more and more active and thinks is is hilarious to say "boo" and watch Mom and Dad jump, he loves to tickle his Daddy, and continues to enjoy push toys tremendously. He also plays chase with one of our neighbor's boys (although the neighbor is often unaware that the game is on). He is very fond of dogs and cats, and has an unrealistic outlook on animal behavior since he is typically around the calmest dogs and cats known to mankind, who let him pull their tails and kiss them in the face. Fish however, which used to fascinate him to no end, are no on the guarded list when Nathaniel is around. He likes to slap the fish tanks as hard as he can and he scares the fish.

This is a really fun stage. He is learning so much so fast and he makes us laugh daily. Last week we were watching America's Got Talent and Nathaniel took a keen interest in burlesque dancers. He squealed as they performed and readily applauded when they finished their routine and then, to top it all off, he stoop up on the couch and began cheering and clapping. We were laughing so hard, but are a little nervous about what all this may entail for the future :)

We are so thankful that God chose to share this life with us. Nathaniel is a huge blessing! We never knew how much fun parenting could be.

He does seem to be growing so quickly. Here he is driving and helping with household chores. He became weirdly obsessed with the broom one night and cried and cried when we took it away from him.

And in our illness/random rash category for the week, Nathaniel has been bumped out of the number one spot. Daddy has shingles now. I have no idea if this is related to Nate's bout with Roseola or not but it is not to fun for Daddy right now. Hopefully we caught it early enough that Daddy will not experience much pain from it. And that is our life in a nutshell right now.

Roseola

And to continue with the never ending game,

"What is wrong with Nate now?"

We bring you, Roseola!

(Sometimes called baby measels, it is a rash caused by human herpesvirus-6)

My sweet boy began running fever that did not seem to respond to Motrin or Tylenol since Thurs night. By Saturday evening a rash broke out all over his body. Although he was covered head to toe, he did not seem to itch or be miserable. In fact, once the rash appeared his overall mood improved. I did not put up all the pictures, some are so bad, I don't ever want to look at them again. The good news is that the worst part of this virus is over. He is no longer contagious and we are waiting for the rash to disappear. No treatment is necessary.

We saw a new ENT and a new nurse practicioner today, both of whom impressed Mommy. We will go in for a hearing screening on Aug 8th as a usual test before tube placement (again). Thankfully this is not a serious thing and will quickly pass.

The great rain-out party!

Today we celebrated Avery and Collin's 3rd birthday with an awesome wilderness themed birthday party. Rachel and Mason went all out with the decorations and activities....and then we got some much needed rain. Only at the twin's party would this increase the activity level of all kiddos involved.

They ran around like maniacs and had a great time before singing songs by the campfire, having a picnic, catching baby frogs, making pine cone bird feeders, and making s'mores. At first Nathaniel was a bit hesitant to play in the rain but, after some puddle jumping lessons, he quickly adapted and was soon running around losing his clothing. He ended up in only a very soggy diaper. It was that much fun.

Here are a couple more pics from the past week of Mr. Nate-O the Great-o!

Some Mom's get flowers, I get dead grass...and yet, it still melts my heart!

At the park, Nate would rather eat rocks than play on the fun equipment, literally.

Daisy and Nathaniel

We are not too sure about his desire to open mouth kiss the dogs. He learned this from Bailey, his Gram Aunt's German Shepard

We love our little goof-ball!

Purse, police and temporary insanity

OK, I know this is a blog about Nathaniel but....everyone is encouraging me to write about my experience yesterday so here it goes.....

It was a typical morning, I slept in a little longer than I should have so I was running a tad behind schedule. Usual morning routine...got everything ready and headed out to drop off Nathaniel at day care. I ran him inside, and when I returned to my car it would not start. We have a 2008 Nissan Altima that has a keyless entry and push button start. Since I drove to day care I had the key.... then it was gone. In a flash someone had stolen my purse, with my keys, etc. Ted had to come and rescue me (my hero) and I headed to work. I made phone calls to very rude people at the bank to cancel my check cards but I do not have all my numbers memorized so I had to go home and look up some info.

Well, since I did not have my keys I had to break into my own home. Now, to paint a thorough picture, I had on black pants and a black tank top with a shirt over my tank. It was about 100 degrees so I stripped off the over shirt and began crawling in a window to my home when an officer approached me and asked "What is going on here, ma'am?". Imagine my surprise. He insisted I show him a photo ID that would link me to the house before he took me in on breaking and entering charges.....I have no license, because my purse was stolen. He then asked that I call someone to confirm I am who I say I am....I have no phone, because my purse was stolen. I am getting more and more upset by the minute, but trying to keep it together.

He then looks at my mail. Ah, at last, if my name matches the mail he will let me in to get my passport to show him who I am. HOWEVER, he takes the mail and asks my name. I tell him my name. He then asks if I go by any other names. I tell him my maiden name. He again asks if I go by any other names....."um, no officer.". Funny he says, then asks if anyone else lives here. I mention my husband and son. He says my info does not match up.....WHAT?!?!? Well, my mother-in-law's mail comes to our address since she is hospitalized. Guess whose name was on the envelope in his hand? And guess who loses it.....that is right, I become a blubbering fool. The office took pity on the crazy lady and let me crawl into my window and get my passport. And yes, I am who I say I am. Although I also had to show him my marriage license since my passport is in my maiden name.

Then, I get inside to have a phone call from my bank that there is unusual activity and the thieves have already racked up some debt on my cards (this is only about an hour after they took it). I filed a police report and they lost all the info due to a computer glitch - it was one thing after another yesterday.....thankfully, today has been better and I have been able to see some humor in it all. I also got a new purse, wallet, and phone out of the deal so it can't be all that bad. Right???

Sarah (and Libby's) Visit

This was the best weekend, it was filled with fun, fun, and more fun. One of Mommy's closest friends, Sarah, had a conference to attend in Houston so she spent a few nights with us- while Daddy went up to Denton to have a "Man Weekend" with two of his best friends. Yes, this is the Sarah of come-and-bring-your-friends-and-all-your-animals-and-stay-with-us-during-Hurricane-Ike-evacuation. We were really excited to see her AND....she is expecting her first little one in December - we can't wait for her arrival.

Friday night we threw a surprise baby shower with some of our Costa Rica Mission trip friends (Debbie and Melissa) and Nicci. It was a late night crammed with all kinds of baby talk and a whole lot of laughter. Nathaniel was a perfect gentleman and was his usual charming self.

Saturday Nathaniel went to a birthday At Jump -N- Jungle for a little girl who is in his class at day care - and low and behold, her siblings are in the class Mom leads at church, we had no idea they were siblings nor that they attended our church - so that was a fun surprise. Nate had a blast running around in the jumpy things!

Saturday evening Gram Aunt Peggy graciously kept Nathaniel and Mom and Sarah went to the Melting Pot for a fabulous dining experience. It was sooooo yummy and soooo much fun.

Today (Sunday) was church and more eating out deliciousness before Sarah had to pack up her stuff and head back to Denton. Altough we were sad to see her go, it was a memorable weekend. We can't wait until Libby arrives on the scene and adds more excitement to our gatherings! And we eagerly await Daddy's return home. Also, Nate picked up the word "bubbles", or a form thereof, this weekend!

Making the Girls Jealous

With a sick baby, we did not go out and do anything exciting this weekend (although we did score some of the food from the Oberts' party - thanks Oberts, it was delicious!). We spent a little outdoor time where he showed of his fine ATV driving skills.

Followed by a long bath time before we were off to bed. Every now and then, I am just amazed at the length of his eyelashes. And so I share this natural wonder with you, his faithful blog followers....

Seriously, doesn't that make every girl jealous???? He should do commercials for mascara - except Daddy would have a fit :)

We are happy to report, Nathaniel is getting better. He actually climbed out of our laps today and played on his own some. He is also doing fun things that I have not yet mentioned in the blog (yet performance took a significant decline since he has been running fever). He is now making attempts to sound like a dog (uh, uh), a cat (owwww) and a snake (sssss) when asked. I have tried to get a video - to no avail. Be on the look out. The only body part he consistently knows is still his famous belly button. He learns so much so quickly these days. It is sooooo much fun!

Fourth-O-July Sickness

Happy Birthday Grandma D & Happy Birthday America!!!

Usually this is one of my absolute favorite holidays; however this year I spent it with a sick little boy and decided this is no fun. Wed night when we put him down he was running a low grade temp (mind you he has been on antibioics for the ear infection since last Friday). Thursday I ran him to the doctor - where she wanted to just continue with his current antibiotics. Friday, he ran high fever all morning. I gave him some Motrin around 11:00 and took him back to the doctor at 1:00 - where miraculously his temp was 97.8 and he was running around like his usual happy-go-lucky self. I am convinced the doctor thinks I have Manchausen By Proxy Syndrome. She again says, he looks better, let's continue with our plan (do nothing). By 4:30 his fever is in excess of 103 and he begins vomiting. I call the doctor's office....leave a message, they say they will get back to me...guess what? Office closes at 5:00. Answering service nurse says take him to urgent care, so off we go. Long story short. One shot of Rocephin yesterday, followed by another today. Ear aches, vomit, diarrehea.....needless to say, it really does not feel like much of a holiday at our place right now. Poor kiddo.