Nathan Turns Three--Yippee!

After getting Karlie all better after spending 3 days at Scottish Rite Hospital with Pneumonia and 2 weeks recuperating at home, we were excited for a celebration! Luckily, we had Nathan's Birthday to look forward to. He turned 3 on July 13th, and as you can tell from the pictures, he is all about Transformers right now.

On the Saturday before his birthday, Daddy was going to take Nathan to see "Ice Age 3" in 3-D. When Nathan found out what movie they were going to, he burst into tears, saying "I just want to see Transformers 2!" With Mom and Dad not being so sure about sending a 3 year old to a PG-13 movie, he ended up settling on going to Burger King instead (since they had Transformers toys in their kids meals).

Nathan couldn't wait to have his birthday cake, so we ended up making it the Sunday evening before his birthday. I decorated the cake to his specifications, and then left it on the kitchen counter and went upstairs to take care of the baby--you would think I knew better! About 30 minutes later, I heard Brandon getting after Nathan, and Nathan crying. I went downstairs and discovered Nathan covered in chocolate frosting, and half of the cake demolished! I cleaned him up (without taking a picture first, dangit), and told him it was okay, that now it just looked like the transformers got in a battle on his cake.

Nathan's personality certainly showed through as he opened all of his Transformers-themed gifts. He thoughtfully inspected each one, and then he happily played with them for the rest of the day. Sure love that little boy!

Playing Catchup. . .

Grandma Hansen came to visit us the first weekend in June, so we blessed Colin that weekend. It was a beautiful blessing, and Colin was very well behaved! We were so glad that a few of his aunts (Karen and Angela), a few of his cousins (Sara, Caitlin, and Karoline), and both of his grandmas were able to attend. Nathan loves his baby brother and looks for any opportunity to pose with him in a picture.

Colin has become a very easy and mellow-tempered little guy. Where he used to scream in the car, now he is content. Where he used to despise diaper changes, he now gets a big grin on his face as soon as the diaper comes off. He even likes baths! He smiles so sweetly now, and he has both of his parents and all 3 siblings wrapped around his little finger. He also loves to "talk" to us. He is very content when his mommy wears him in the sling where he falls fast asleep. We're so glad he is a part of our family, and we are loving every bit of his babyhood!

Four Weeks Old, and Mommy is Smitten

Our little Colin Eli was born on Easter Sunday, and we have been enjoying a family love affair for the past 4 weeks. We are all in love! Here are some photos taken at 2 1/2 weeks old.

My Sweet Girl

I have 2 sweet girls and one precocious little guy, but Abby is the one who has taken to rubbing my swollen and extremely uncomfortable feet as of late. I was complaining that they were hurting one night (hoping that my hubby would take the hint and give me a foot massage), and Abby just sweetly reached over and started rubbing them. She rubbed them for a good 20 minutes and did a very nice job! Now, anytime I'm sitting down by her, she starts massaging my feet. How did I get such a thoughtful child?

Just 3 more weeks of the swollen feet syndrome. . .and then we'll have another little guy in our house! The count-down has begun. . .

Our Pint-sized Attorney

Brandon and I jokingly refer to our 2 1/2 year old Nathan as "our little lawyer". He likes to argue, and he doesn't back down. One good example of this is when my sister and I took him to the zoo, and we went to see the tigers. Angela said, "Look at the tiger, Nathan". "That's not a tiger, it's a lion," was Nathan's reply. "No, it's a tiger". "It's a lion". This went back a forth for a few minutes until Nathan finally relented and said, "Okay, it's a tiger". Then, as we were walking away from the tiger exhibit, Nathan said under his breath, "It's a lion".

Lately, Nathan has not been a good eater. All he wants to eat are fruit snacks, and he doesn't understand why he cannot eat these exclusively. Today, after church, I asked him if he wanted a peanut butter sandwich or a ham sandwich, to which he replied, "I want fruit snacks." "Nathan," I said, "Man cannot live by fruit snacks alone." Without skipping a beat, he looked me straight in the eye, and said, "I'm not a man." Point taken, but he still didn't get the fruit snacks!

My Own Little Cindy Lou Who

Abby came home from school on Thursday and informed me that she wanted to dress up as Cindy Lou Who for Dr. Seuss Day on Friday. She was very specific in what she wanted to wear and how her hair had to be. Needless to say, I was nervous that I might not be able to get it right according to Abby's specifications. Abby is my daughter who wants everything to be perfect. When she practices the violin, if she messes up on a song she starts all over. If she gets less than a perfect score on a test at school, she is sad. If a teacher reprimands her, she is heartbroken. If one piece of her hair is out of place in the morning when we are straightening it before school, she is not happy and tears may fall. So, we researched Cindy Lou Who online, and Abby picked out the picture she wanted to resemble. Abby has extremely thick, naturally curly hair, so I was quite pleased when my idea of sticking a straw in the middle of the ponytail on top to keep it standing up straight was successful. I was even more pleased when I saw the smile on Abby's face when her hair was done. Not one single tear was shed that morning!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Snow in Georgia is a very rare event. When we got out of church today, the snow was falling heavily. Within a couple of hours, at least 2 inches had accumulated on the ground. I don't know what the kids enjoyed more--making the snowman or promptly destroying it (I looked outside and saw the carrot that had been the snowman's nose being eaten by Karlie). Nathan was so excited to go out and play in the snow, but his enthusiasm lasted about 10 minutes before he decided it was no fun to be cold and wet.

Here's hoping that the power will stay on tonight, and maybe we'll get a snow day tomorrow and the kids will get to stay home for the day!