A Great Day for Playing Outside

What a beautiful day today. The temperature in Lawton is around 80 degrees! Nate and I are loving it.

Craft Day

Nate decided he was not going to take a nap this afternoon! So, in an effort to keep him entertained, we did arts and crafts. Disclaimer, I am not a creative person. We took modeling clay and made the following creatures. Yes, creatures. I am not entirely sure what they are!



We mixed flour, salt and paint to produce a 3-D painting project. I put the mixture in a squirt bottle for Nate and he proceeded to squirt it all in one spot. Oh well, I still think it's a masterpiece!

Sick Day

On Saturday, Nate woke up running a fever. My usually spunky kid was nowhere to be found. He wanted to lay on the couch and watch cartoons all morning. By late afternoon, his fever had jumped to over 101 degrees. Needless to say, we missed Nate’s first soccer game and date night. His afternoon consisted of laying on mom and dad!

His fever broke sometime last night and he is doing better today! I am not sure what his little body was fighting off but he seems to be winning the battle.

My Little Helper

Since it was freezing on Friday and we were stuck inside, I decided to clean house. Not my favorite past time, but a must. :) When it came time to mop floors, Nate was begging me to let him help. “Mom, I am big now and I can do it all by myself!”



I must admit, he did a pretty good job! He was a little upset I wouldn't let him dunk the mop into the cleaning solution. I think that was the part he was most looking forward too!

Brrrrrr!

The weather in Lawton has been in the high 70’s and 80’s for the last two weeks. Nate and I have enjoyed being able to play outside every day in our summer clothes! On Friday, a cold front moved in and it was freezing. The weatherman predicted we would get up to four inches of snow by Saturday (we only ended up with a tiny little bit). Nate does not like to be stuck inside the house! He loves to spend hours outside playing in his sandbox, on his swing set or playing sports. The idea of being cooped up inside the house was not appealing to him on Friday. This was our conversation at 10:00 AM on Friday…………..

Nate: I have an idea, let’s go outside and play.
Mom: Sorry Nathan, it’s pretty cold outside. We have to stay inside today.
Nate: Mom, I have a great idea, let’s go play at kids zone park (an outside play area).
Mom: Sorry kid, it’s just too cold today.

Five minutes later……..

Nate: Mom, I have a great idea, let’s go play at kids zone park.
Mom: Nate, it is too cold.
Nate: Ok, let’s go play outside then.
Mom: Tell you what, if you can stand it outside for five minutes, we will go to kids zone park and play.
Nate: I can do it!

So I bundled him up and sent him outside to “play”. He lasted two minutes and proclaimed “Mom, did you know it’s really cold outside? I think I want to play inside!”

The Most Beautiful Flowers in the World!

Nate picked me flowers. It was the sweetest thing ever. Here is our conversation:

Nate: Mom, look at these flowers, I picked them for you
Mom: Nate, they are beautiful! Why did you pick them for me
Nate: Because I love you!

What a beautiful moment!

Just 4 Fun

Yesterday we went with our mommy friends down to Wichita Falls, Texas. We went to an inflatable playground called Just For Fun. It was a blast! I am not sure if Nate or I had more fun. Nate wasn't to sure about the large slide at first, but after a few times riding with someone he was good.

It's That Time of the Year Again!

As many of you know, I ABHOR the thunderstorm season in Oklahoma. I am not ashamed to admit it, I freak out every year (hint...hint...Sean, a safe room is a great idea)! On Monday, we had a series of a thunderstorms roll through. Once again I was glued to the local news. It doesn’t help that Chicken Little (they sky is falling, the sky is falling…..) is covering the storms. He kept saying that the storm hovering over my house was “suspicious”. Ignoring all the “DUCK” rules of a thunderstorm, Sean and I ventured outside to see what was happening. Once again (last year we had this happen) two different sets of clouds decided to start colliding. We could see the beginnings of the circular winds that produce tornadoes. The winds were so strong the tornado sirens kept going off. To say I was hyperventilating is an understatement. I wonder if the doctor will prescribe anxiety medication for this time of the year? Fortunately for us, the clouds can swirl together and not produce a funnel cloud! Here are some pictures of the storm coming in!







Sorry, I didn't stick around for a picture of the swirling clouds!

The Best Husband in the World!

This weekend, while Nate and I were at a friends birthday party, Sean was a busy bee! I was hoping he would take some time for himself, but no, he ripped out our front yard! We had decided to redo the front yard with new plants and mulch and he was all over it. By the time we got home, he had removed all the wood work around the patio (termites had eaten through the wood) and pulled up the shrubs in front of the house. Wow, he works fast!





While Nate was "helping" dad, he came across a huge cricket.



Being a entomologist in training, he grabbed his bug catcher and observation kit.

An Evening with Bella, Edward and a few Crazy Friends!

Yes, I admit it, I am a Twilight fanatic. I have read all four books three times and saw the movie three times in the theater! This weekend was the release of the home video, so Joni (my sister) being Joni, threw a Twilight party! It was hilarious. As I walked up to her front door, this was waiting for me..........



Obviously, Joni is a bigger fan as evidenced by her Twilight shirt! She decorated her entire house in Twilight paraphernalia and hung white Christmas lights all over her living room!



I think she bought a calendar and ripped out the pictures to hang on her walls. We even had a vampire in the bathroom watching us tinkle!

The party was awesome. Thanks Clarise, you rock!

Soccer Season Has Begun!

Friday was Nate's first soccer practice. Wow, my little man is getting so big! I can't believe he is already playing a sport. Where in the world did all the time go! Before I know it, I am going to be sending him off to Kindergarten (that will be the day I begin drinking heavily)!

I woke Nate up early from his nap so he could play with his friends at the park. I will never do that again on a soccer day. 30 minutes into the practice he was done, absolutely exhausted! His coach has the patience of a saint. I do not know how she did it, but she managed to corral about 12 three to four year old children. They started practice by stretching.........



Then they ran around the "field"..........



Next came kicking the ball. Nate did pretty good on this but he kept wanting to hold the ball and reposition it to his liking. This woman has her work cut out for her!



He was so darn cute kicking the ball back and forth between the other players.



My favorite moment of the evening was when Nate broke out in dance with his "fancy hands"! This picture does not do the hands justice! Yes, Nate is very in touch with his sensitive side and that is fine by me! Nathan, mommy loves you so much and will be in the front row cheering you on when you are on Broadway!

Duck Park Yet Again

On Friday, we met our friends at Duck Park. What a whirlwind! I woke Nate up early from his nap so we could attend. BAD IDEA! The poor kid was exhausted. I wasn't thinking either because later than night was his first soccer practice (more to come on this later)!







He was disappointed at first because the ducks refused to eat our bread! That had never happened to us. Usually the birds dive bomb us to get fed. Thankfully, right before we left, those pesky winged creatures decided to eat!

Playdate At our House

Last Tuesday, Nate and I had our friends over to play. It was gorgeous outside so the kids spent the majority of the morning outside. Fabulous!



It was great to visit with all the mommies for the morning! These women are my sanity!!!!!!

March of Dimes Walk!

Thanks to my friend Rikki, Connect the Tots has a team for the March of Dimes walk coming up here on April 25th. Nathan and I will be walking to raise funds to support programs in our community that help Moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies. It also funds research to find answers to the serious problems that threaten our babies! If you would like, please click on the picture to the right and sponsor us! Thanks again for all my donations!!

Little Man is A Genius (at least in his parents eyes)!

This morning, Nate informed me that he wanted to write his name. We have been working on writing letters for awhile now. He is still not 100% sure of the order but here it is! Go Nate, mommy is so proud of you!

Nathan Rocks!

Grilling Chick!

Since Sean was off with Nate at swim lessons on Monday, I decided to try my hand at grilling (usually when I try a new recipe or method of cooking, we end up eating out)! Not that night! It turned out amazing.

(I know, it's not even burned!)

The weather was accommodating so we decided to partake of my scrumptious meal outside.

Happy 2nd Birthday Meadow!

On Saturday, we helped celebrate Meadow's 2nd birthday.



Nate had a wonderful time playing with his buddies!

Not A Natural Born Swimmer!

Nate is a big fan of water, as long as it does not get in his eyes or the depth is not over his head. Unfortunately for Nate, swim lessons encompasses both of these dislikes. Sean and I decided it was time to bite the bullet and enroll him anyway. The YMCA offered a spring break special that allowed kids to go every day for 30 minutes. We thought it would be a great way to get little man interested in actual swim lessons. Boy were we wrong! Sean took Nate to his first lesson so I could power wash the backyard toys and furniture (we were having a bunch of mommy friends over the next day). Sean sent the following picture to me via text message………………..

He absolutely REFUSED to get in the water! Yes, that is my son hugging the back wall. Apparently, at one point the teacher had to bring Nate over to Sean in order to get him calmed down. Sufficed to say, Nate spent a total of 2 minutes in the pool out of 30! Hopefully by the end of the week, we will have a swimmer ( I am not holding my breath)!

Phobia Averted!

Many of you know from previous posts, Nate has had a phobia about motorized toys. Well, I am happy to say, he no longer suffers from this affliction (although it was definitely cheaper when he did)! Last week at Walmart, Nate noticed the ride-along toys. He was ecstatic! Here are some pictures of him!

Another Home Improvement Project

Poor Sean, it seems that every few month we are tackling a new home project! This weekend it was the spare bathroom. It was atrocious! Due to monetary constraints we had to keep the hideous green countertop but we did replace the glossy gold fixtures! What a little helper Nate turned out to be. He loved helping us with every step of the project. Here he is “taping” the room.



Okay, so he helped tape a square in the bath tub, but yeah for all his hard work!



In this pic, he is helping his dad take down all the old gold fixtures.



Nathan and Sean installing the new faucet.



My wonderful husband painting the room (due to a sinus infection and chest congestion, I could not stand the smell of the paint!)! Sean, you are the best! Thank you!!!!!







The finished product (sorry, the last picture did not turn out so well)!

A Great Day for Cleaning!

This morning was beautiful! Nate and I decided we should go outside and clean our toys (OK, it was my idea but he was game). The weather forecast for the weekend and next week is dismal! I think the highs are going to be in the low 50's.