"Now, Now, What about ME???" -Nathan

It's Lexi's birthday and when we get singing "Happy Birthday" to Lexi too many times we occasionally need to take a time-out and remember the ever important Nathan, by dedicating a few of the songs to him as well, so...Happy Birthday Nathan! ...
watch this one...

HOORAY: LEXI CAN WALK!!!

About one month ago Lexi was "walking" but with help...

Then this last Sunday, the 26th of Sept we caught the first video of Alexis walking alone!!! (she'd been doing it since about Thursday)

And here she is just this morning, walkin' around on her birthday!!! To me she just seems to small to be walking. She is the right age...she is just so stinkin' tiny.  17 lbs. was her measure at her doctor visit today, which puts Lexi in the 3rd percentile of average weight for her age.  And get this...not a meal goes by where she doesn't eat more than her big brother Nathan. Funny little girl!

Way to go ALEXIS!!!

Are you looking for a reason to smile?

Nathan and Lexi get along really well the majority of the time.  Mom and Dad are hired on as referees occasionally, but Mom's smile goes ear-to-ear in moments like this...

And yet another reason to smile...just watch our little princess practicing her manners, Lexi has learned to say "please" and "more" in sign language here is proof. Mom and Dad are very proud.

Spotlight on Alexis

Just posted on Nathan's potty stories, and realized poor Lexi needs her time to shine as well.  So take a look...isn't she cute!?

In all reality she is very deserving of a spotlight (and not just because today is her 11 month birthday). But because, Lexi is learning the art of walking.  4 steps!!!(all her steps have been for daddy by the way) But she is gaining in confidence and occasionally tries without our proddings.  She is so petite that even though she is a couple weeks behind Nathan's records, she just seems too small to be walking.  She does the best when destracted by a doll or stuffed animal...her favorites, and she just loves her walker (which is on loan to us by our friends.)  Hooray for little Lexi!

Potty Training

Nathan began the potty training project early, expressing his curiousity and desire at 18 months.  As exciting as the idea of no more diapers sounded and still sounds...there's a lot more involved than anyone may expect.

Hearing other's stories either makes you think your ahead at the game or have a lot to work on, and I've felt both ways.  Nathan is now 25 months old and to meet my original 8 month goal I've got roughly 1 month to go (in reality less).

Road bumps:
*Although Nathan has nearly learned total bowel control, he still can't quite pull his "Pull-ups" or his pants up or down on his own.
*Too much Lactose = much, much less control on his part...I don't blame him, poor kid.
*It's only 50-50 as far as us reminding him to go and him telling us he needs to go.
*Most of the time he seems to do it just for the rewards, but at least they are working right!? (thank you - fruit snacks, popsicles and Mamba's)
*And of course nap and bed time are a whole nother ball park, so I'm not taking that into account.

All in all, Nathan is making me one proud mamma, but I'm not putting money on day-time big boy panties by the 17th.  I'll keep working on it, wish me luck and I'll keep you posted.

SHOWS!

More shows please, Nathan loves "Little Einsteins", "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse", and "Elmo"...aka..."Sesame Street".  And Grammy gave Nathan the royal treatment with shows this night.  His own thrown, popcorn and drink right up front and center.  What a life.

We all had a wonderful time on our expedition to the zoo.  Nathan's favorite animals were the monkeys, and luckily they put on a show for us as we arrived.  The fish were pretty fun too, but they got boring after they swam around for a little while.  Another favorite for Nathan was the petting zoo in the "farm" area.  Nathan got up and close with the goats. "Meh".  And finally, Alexis was so tuckered out that she had to catch some z's as we finished with a lunch at the zoo.

Treats at Grammy and Grampa's

Happily Spoiled Grandchildren.....

MORE COOKIES!!!

With all the treats Nathan and at times even Lexi know they can get at Grammy and Grampa's house, mom gets the challenge of convincing them that they should eat dinner and other at least semi health items.

The Move!

Well, last time we moved from Georgia to Idaho our car broke down twice in Iowa.  This was right after our stop in Illinois at Seth's parents.  This time, we were headed back to Illinois and our car broke down an hour into our trip.  We hadn't even made it out of the wonderful potatoe state and we were thwarted in our attempts to leave.  Luckily, Percy and family took us in for a day as our radiator reserve tank was overnighted in.  As we attempted to leave a second time though, the radiator cap blew and we were again stranded.  We decided not to chance it even though we were supposedly "fixed".  So we again stayed with the Anderson's.  After two days of sitting in the car and not going anywhere, Nathan and Alexis were fed up with their parents.  So on day three, after much prayer and much heartfelt searching, we again put our trust in good ol' Lara the Landrover.  It wasn't too bad as we started out, after all, we turned the heater on and the day and night was cool enough to compensate.  We reached Nebraska after a night of driving and climbing those dang mountains at 35 mph.  One humorous moment was when Katrina woke up on probably the longest climb of the night and we were crawling along at 30 mph up a steep grade and she said, "Are you hitting the brakes right now?"  Seth's reply, "No, we are going up a mountain."  In bewilderment, Katrina stated, "Well, it looks like we are going down."  After a couple of cars passed us on the opposite side of the highway, she still insisted that we were going down the hill and didn't understand why we were so slow.  Nebraska ended our humor and the day heated up, as did the inside of our car.  With the heater on and the kids in the back screaming, we had to make ice cream stops just to cool everyones jets.  So, after 34 hours and two days of worrying in Idaho, we made the supposed 25 hour trip to Illinois.  Our new addition to the family, Mia, our navigator worked like a charm, though she wasn't ever happy when we made our unscheduled stops.  So we are in Minnesota now after stopping at Seth's parents in Illinois and are visiting the Lash's.  What a blessing it has been again to know our Savior and to realize the tender mercies that He has given to us.

No picture for this one...

Mom (taken ill with cabin fever) needed to get the kids out of the house. And some place other than the grocery store. So with the snow melting away we found ourselves at the park. As we passed large puddles and muddy spots walking from the car to the playground, mom made sure to survey the area before letting Nathan run around. All clear, Nathan got back in the groove of the slide and swings instantaneously. He loved it but mom decided it might be easier to keep up with him if he was playing on the smaller play area so she didn't have to climb up after him as much. After less than a minute Nathan had tripped/face planted in an enormous puddle of ice cold water. After a long gasp, Nathan was quickly swooped up by mom who was also carrying Lexi in her car seat and all were in a mad dash for the car. Shivering and saying "Cody, cody...cody" (translation: Cold) Nathan was quickly stripped down and re-dressed in dry clothing and a warm blanket. Mom was never more grateful for the Emergency Preparedness Family Home Evening held about a month ago where we packed the car to be ready for anything. Thank heavens we were.

Papa with the Kids

Dancing with Papa...Lexi sure gets her fare share of "brotherly love," but Papa doesn't think he'll ever get enough lovin' from his grand babes.

Cuddly Little Nathan

Nathan loves animals. Visiting Nana and Papa's you could always find Nathan either chasing the cat or cuddling with the dog. This only makes it harder on dad who's been dreaming of getting a family puppy for ages.

Cousins - Nathan and Phoenix

Visiting the Johnson Farm brought Nathan and his cousin Phoenix together. The whole family enjoyed watching the two of them (only months apart) learn to interact with each other.