Shaving fun!

The kids got so many neat toys for their birthdays that it was time to do a toy overhaul! Matt took at least 5 garbage bags, full of toys, to Salvation Army yesterday. I must say we were in desperate need of a good clean out!

My dad got Nathan a toy that shoots balls out with air...I knew all the kids would like this, but I had no idea that they would play with it together....I thought it would be a toy they would fight over! I was so pleased with their good playing that I had to snap some pics...this does NOT happen very often!

Last night, Nolan got the pleasure of taking a bath by himself....so I got out his new shaving kit for him! His only instruction to me was not to laugh at him while he was shaving. So I said okay, and asked if I could just take some pictures, and he agreed that pictures would be fine. I had to control myself from laughing because of the seriousness he took in giving himself a "shave." He even looked in the hand-held mirror to make sure he was getting all of the shaving cream off!

Here are some more pics!

Natalie riding her new "bike."

Just a little more shaving cream left!....OH the concentration!

Natalie says, "Say cheese, Mommy!"

Natalie & Nathan's Birthday Party!

Today was Natalie and Nathan's birthday party....Nathan's birthday is actually today, though Natalie's birthday was on the 20th. The party was to be at noon, but we started having guests arrive at about 11:00 (while I was still running the sweeper!). We started the party with sandwiches from Kroger that were absolutely delicious! I had anticipated serving birthday cake next, but the kids had other plans...those presents were just too tempting!

Nolan got his Christmas present from Aunt Kelly, and he also got an early birthday present from Mom-o and Pops since they won't be at his party (shame shame....for Steve;). I hardly got any pictures of the kids opening their presents because Matt and I both were helping tackle this task.

Here are a few pics...

Nolan opening his present from Aunt Kelly

Natalie placing a baby doll in her new stroller.

Nathan trying out his cake.

So cute!

Natalie taking a power nap on the chair after the party.

Catch Up!

Our computer had some issues a couple weeks ago, so my brother Les had it and fixed it for us, and we just got it back today. I've got a lot of catching up to do....so here we go!

First, we celebrated Christmas at my grandparents' house on the 15th. The kids had lots of fun opening their presents, and Judson and Nolan had a blast being around each other again. The kids all got some neat presents...but were extremely tired by the time we headed back to Matt's parents' house for the night. Though Nolan decided he was going to spend the night with Judson....so he left a little later with them. At about 10:45 that night, Nolan had not returned to Mom-o and Pops' house, so I decided to go on to bed....figuring that he may actually be spending the night for real this time. Well, at about 11:30, Nolan and Kim were knocking on the door....guess he's just not ready for an overnight'er with Judson yet. Jason and Kim said that Nolan and Judson were both in the bed, in their pajamas, ready for some sleep. Jason had gone downstairs to get the boys something to drink, but when he started back up the stairs, both were crying. Nolan told Jason "this just isn't going to work," and Judson was in hysterics because he thought Nolan didn't like him since he didn't want to spend the night!

Next, we celebrated Natalie's birthday on the 20th (her actual birthday)....she and Nathan are having a "party" this Saturday, but we wanted Natalie to know that this was her actual birthday. We let her open her present from us and from Aunt Pam, and we had some cupcakes to celebrate.

I wasn't sure what to get her, but she really enjoyed the tea party toy that Nolan and I picked out for her. I let Nolan and Natalie pour some water into the teapot and serve each other drinks.

On the 23rd, Steve and Teresa came up to celebrate Christmas with us. The kids were all very excited to see Mom-o and Pops again so soon. We hadn't planned on opening presents right away, but the kids just couldn't wait. The first package that Nolan opened was an outfit and a pair of shoes....he kind of moped around and pouted a little....guess he thought this was all he was going to get. But then, Mom-o pointed out some other presents for him to open which contained toys, and this really brightened his mood. Natalie saw one of Nolan's toys, and decided that she really wanted it. She tried and tried and tried to get it away from Nolan and threw a tremendous fit...somewhere in all the action, she scraped her face right under her eye. Once we found a Dora phone that was Natalie's present, she calmed down.

Finally, we had Christmas at our house! Christmas morning, Nathan decided to wake up around 6:30 am. I fed him a bottle, then tried to sleep with him on the couch. We were both almost asleep when we heard Natalie awake in her crib. Matt went ahead and woke up and brought Nolan and Natalie downstairs to see what Santa had brought. They were both excited to see toys under the tree. Nolan got a bike, a pirate dress up kit, a nerf ball gun, and a bouncy ball. Natalie got a Dora kitchen, some kitchen supplies, a remote controlled car, and a bouncy ball. Nathan got a push/ride-on toy and a cement mixer toy. We then let the kids open the presents from us. Nolan was more thrilled with his toy from us than with any of the other Santa toys....we got him a toy washing machine that Nolan had spotted at Wal-Mart a week before. I'm surprised we haven't had to replace the batteries yet, cause it's the only thing he wants to play with! Natalie was content playing with all the toys, and Nathan didn't care what was going on as long he could get his hands on a candy cane!

Nolan and his bike.

Nolan and the toy washing machine.

Natalie baking in her Dora kitchen.

Nathan pushing his toy.

So happy to have a candy cane!

A Week of Breakthroughs

This past week has been a pretty exciting week as far as milestones go. I'll tell you each of the kids' breakthroughs, oldest to youngest....

Nolan has been sounding out his letters, and determining what letter starts a word. This week, by sounding out his letters, he successfully spelled the word "cup". This may not make the headlines, but for me I am so thankful. Since we're still struggling to find a preschool here, I work extra hard with him on his education....thankfully he is eager to learn. So far, I've found that the average preschool cost is around $120 a week for three days! Give me a break....we were only paying $150 a month before we moved up here. I am currently awaiting a return call from the BOE regarding state-funded preschools...but I'm not holding my breath for Nolan to get a slot in that either.

The pic is of Nolan in his "superhero" outfit. I tied a blanket around his neck, and he used an empty paper towel roll as his sword.

Next, we go to Natalie's exciting week. Last Wednesday, she started using the potty!!! I thought she was a little too young to get the hang of this, but she was showing all the signs of being ready. When she would pee just once in her diaper, she would bring me a new one to put on her immediately....and I know she didn't feel wet since diapers are so absorbent....she just knew that she had peed. She was also saying "shoo-wee Myrtle" right before she would poop....(this is the family poop saying). So I thought I would give it a try. I put panties on her and she had a few accidents, but also had a few successes...so we continued the next day. I learned from Nolan that underwear is the key to successful potty-training. Today, she wore her panties all day and only had one accident! I'm so happy for her....she likes to be a big girl. Sometimes after she sits on the potty and pees, she get down and stands right in front of the potty tilting her hips onto the potty....she's trying to figure out if she can pee standing up like Nolan does....it just cracks me up! After she uses the potty however, I attempt to put her panties back on her. But little miss independent takes them from me an tries to do it herself. She usually gets both legs in one hole, then waddles over to me whining for me to help. At least she is trying....but doing a number on my patience as well!

Finally, Nathan is moving away from bottles and baby food and entering the wonderful world of table foods! This picture is of him after eating pasta all by himself. I am only fixing two bottles a day for him now....at a total of 10 ounces. He drinks his milk from a cup, but usually tries to find one of Nolan or Natalie's juice cups on the floor so he can guzzle it down instead. He's never been much of a fan of baby food....so it looks like table foods are his foods of choice....and I don't blame him a bit! He prefers to pick up food himself, so spoon feeding is hard to do. When I do feed him from a spoon, I must use 2 spoons. He always steals one from me so that he can "feed himself" so I have to have a backup handy.

With Natalie and Nathan's accomplishments, it's really going to help our finances! We spent about $35-45 a month on Natalie's diapers and around $70-80 a month on formula/baby food. So I'm loving life right now!

First Snow

We have our first snow coming down right now. It snowed a little on Monday, but not nearly enough to really cover the ground. But this morning, when we woke up, the snow was falling, and we had about 2 inches on the ground. It looks as if we have about 4 inches now, and it's still coming. Steve and Teresa came to our house last night and spent the night, so this morning, when they were getting ready to leave, Steve had to clear snow off of his car. Nolan went out to help him, and to play in the snow a little. I also took Natalie out so she could play too. Steve and Nolan built a little snowman and threw snowballs....Natalie was getting the gist of the snowball fight too, and I'm sure if we go out this evening, we'll have a battle going! Matt may stop at our storage unit after work and pick up the kids' sleds. I hope he does, because Nolan enjoyed sledding last winter, and talks about snow being his favorite weather! Here are some pics!

The little snowman designed by Pops!

Pops with Natalie and Nolan.

Natalie checking out this white stuff.

Nolan showing off his snowball.

I think she likes it!

Nolan getting ready to blast me with his snowball! Yes, he got me...then smeared it all over my back....you just gotta love little boys!

After Matt got home, we took Nathan out for a few minutes.

Natalie enjoyed being pulled on her sled!

This was at about 12:30....around 4 inches.

5:30pm...about 7-8 inches and still snowing!