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.

Cranky Boy

Sorry about the derth of pictures. Just typewritten words tonight. On Wednesday, Nathaniel got his first "Cranky" circled at day care. They apparently tried to call me at work earlier that day because he was just acting funny. He woke up an hour early from his nap, screaming and was fussy and wanted to be held all afternoon. I must say (again) how much I love his day care and all the wonderful, caring individuals that work there! He was held up in the front office until Mom arrived and they said he was not being himself...but no fever. I got him home and we napped for about an hour and again, he woke up screaming. He was a total monster, nothing could appease him. Nothing, that is, until Infant Motrin hit the spot. May God richly bless the makers of Infant Motrin!!! Then he was a bundle of fun for the evening. When brushing his teeth that night, Mommy noticed a new tooth...ahh...answers. Then Thursday, after I picked him up, he was fussy again....the other tooth noted. Tonight, he was fussy again...and we noticed a molar is coming in. Three teeth in three days. Is this normal? I am glad to be getting it all over with at once!

Labor Day Cookout

Here's Nate chillin' at the Labor Day cookout

(with his spikey hair-do, thanks to his cousin Logan).

Good friends. Good food. Thanks Oberts!

What a great way to end a great weekend.

We met Dawson

And here he is!

Isn't he sweet?

Nathaniel took his third flight this weekend so we could go meet Dawson Reid Caswell, the newest member of the family. We were blessed with a fairly empty flight, which meant we got a row of seats to ourselves. Nathaniel was pretty entertained for about 10 minutes and then he decided enough was enough; and cried/screamed/threw things for the remaining hour.

Needless to say, it was not much fun for Mommy (Daddy had to stay home and work; he was greatly missed!). But once we got to Midland we had a blast. We finally got to meet and love on baby Dawson. Nate was very sweet, wanting to kiss him when Mommy held him.

Nathaniel and Craig found each other to be quite hilarious and would just take turns screaming and laughing at one another. They interacted so much more than they have previously; they had us all cracking up.

They are also quite intellectual, as you can see by the upside down book.

They must get that from their Uncle Robert, who has recently decided to go back to school for his Master's.

Cora (and her family) drove over from New Mexico to visit. Nathaniel really loved her pink cowgirl hat! It was great to see the Smith/McCasland gang.

The next day, we had a lot of fun outside. Logan filled a wagon up with water and took Nater around the yard, which ended up as an all out water extravaganza for the kids.

The next day we took the crew to a little duck pond. You cannot imagine how much fun it is for a 16 month old to throw crackers at ducks. He thoroughly enjoyed himself (can't say the same for the ducks though).

It was a great weekend, Nate was able to spend time with all his cousins

Logan & Isabella

Craig & Dawson

But what did he find most excting?

Gigi's dog, Kaci and Auntie Barbara's dogs.

The flight home was much better than the flight up and Nathaniel slept most of the way. He squealed with delight to see Daddy at the airport. We are looking forward to going back in a few weeks.

Doctor-Free Month

We are happy to announce that August has officially been our first doctor-free month since Nathaniel was 4 months old (well he did have a hearing screening but that was not because he was sick so we have decided that does not count). Woooooooooo Hooooooooo!!! He has been sleeping through most nights now and has been generally happy all month. We love this and pray that it lasts. The Oberts were gracious enough to join us for a celebratory dinner last night to mark this major milestone in Nathaniel's life.

We have many other reasons to celebrate as well this week, Granny got moved back into her assisted living place, Daddy was a witness in a small claims trial that we won, Big Daddy had a birthday, and Dawson was born. Life is pretty good right now!