I'm Not Dead

Keri's Lake Chelan post (keriandbrian.blogspot.com) reminded me of my lack of blogging for the last several weeks.... My poor lap top charger cord has been on the fritz (I've always wanted to use that phrase, but it seems awkward...right?) for a few weeks, making blogging near impossible. If you have the Blogger App, you know what I mean!

BUT, I just received confirmation that my new charger is in the mail and should be here soon. Yay! My life will return to normal! I'll be able to take pictures and upload them. I'll be able to open my recipe file and make dinners the family actually enjoys. I'll be able to RSVP to Kimmy's shower and make camping reservations. I'll even be able to update silly facebook notifications that have been driving me crazy for weeks!

Anyway, not dead, just letting absence make the heart grow fonder. Um, right. ;-)

Elmo Lives Again

A couple days ago, James found his Elmo and has started treating him like a baby - Reading to Elmo, tucking him into bed, making sure Elmo uses the potty...

And now, James likes to give Elmo shoulder/piggy-back/yoga-back-breaking-position rides. Not quite sure what's going on here! Looks comfortable, right?

Nate's Dr Appointement

At 20 months old, Natester is coming in at -

Weight:  29lbs   (88th %)

Height:  32.5"   (28th %)

Head Cir:  49cm   (82nd %)

Nate got 4 shots at his appointment and handled them like a trooper. He didn't even cry until we switched arms to do the last 2 shots.

James watched this whole thing go down and had two reactions:
1. The Doctor hurt Nate because Nate had to wear band-aids. "The Doctor not nice."
2. "I want shots too!"

When I told James that he would get to come back to Dr. Jacobs for his birthday and get some shots, he was very excited. Now he can't wait for his "airplane birthday" (he just made that up... I guess I have my birthday theme this year!) and shots from Dr. Jacobs.

Nate has a few new words: Grandma, Papa, apple, diaper, snack, dinner, egg, backpack, wash cloth, shoes, poo, off, out, and his favorite: "STINKY"!

He can also sign all of "Jesus Loves Me" which melts my heart every time!

Thankful for a "sturdy" and healthy little man today!

7th Anniversary

John and I celebrated our 7th anniversary this past weekend. It was SO much fun. We dropped the boys off at my parents and headed over the pass with no real plans or schedule. Without the boys, even one night away felt like a long vacation!

After a deliciously overpriced dinner at South in Leavenworth, we drove over Blewett pass into Cle Elum.

We found a great campsite right next to the Cle Elum river. Did I mention we were tent camping? We never get to camp by ourselves so it was an easy, cheap, and fun trip!

One of our first surprises of the night was finding some sort of nudist camp across the river. See that blue tent-thingy in the center of the picture? It was some sort of sauna that they used. Dis-gust-ing. Thankfully they were far enough away and we were gone most of the night so it wasn't a deal breaker. But still, seriously. Who does that?

This was the {nude-less} view from our campsite on the Cle Elum River. It was really a beautiful spot.

After we got camp set up, we headed to The Brick in Roslyn. That was my first time going to the "historic bar" and it was a really fun time!

The next morning, we spent some time driving around the area and dreaming.......

Can't you just picture a cabin right here with that view?  (Minus a few trees)

We've since decided on this piece of property. I'll let you know when we start building the cabin......

..... But back to reality.

It was a very fun weekend and I'm so thankful we had the time away. Seven years seems like it should be a long time, but it has really flown by. I love my man and am so thankful for these years with him!  :)

James Loves Broccoli

James is very into broccoli these days. Whenever I make it, he eats his serving, eats second/third servings, "shares" most of Nate's serving, then mooches off of me and John until it is all gone.

Tonight we were eating on the deck and he finished off his broccoli. Being in the "I can do it myself" stage, he asked for more broccoli then said very firmly: "No, I get it myself. I get chair. Uh-huh."

After a couple minutes, I went inside to check on him and sure enough he had pulled a chair to the counter and was scooping up broccoli all by himself - one piece at a time. He seemed to have things under control so I went back outside.

A minute later, James came waltzing out with the biggest plate of broccoli I've ever seen. He was very proud of himself as he sat back down and got back to work.

Here, he showed off his cookie-monster approach to eating. I quickly snapped a picture before correcting him.... and tried not to laugh.

....... Oh, and yes, he ate the entire "second" helping of broccoli.

A Late Happy Father's Day

This year's Father's Day was pretty low-key. I'm lucky to have a guy who doesn't want anything but to hang out with his family all day.

We were joking because I feel like the best Mother's Day would be a day of pampering all by myself. But John's ideal Father's Day is a day full of family and doing whatever the boys want to do. I think he wins the "more godly" vision for this round.  ;-)

We had lunch with my parents and B, K, K, & C-Lo. Then spent the rest of the afternoon running errands and hanging out (and working a little!).

A little bit of James-throwing.

Nate didn't want to be left out of the action.

And to end the day, John promised the boys they could watch a train movie on his phone before bed.

When I married John, I knew he wasn't the biggest fan of other people's kids (in the best possible way!), but that someday he would be the best daddy. It's so much fun to see how he really is an amazing dad with our boys.

I love that he teaches them to be manly men (at one and two!).
I love that he's an example of a hard worker and faithful husband for them.
I love that he has nothing but patience for the boys and their endless chatter.
I love that he loves Jesus and seeks His will above all in our family - James already walks around the house telling me that "Mommy and Daddy LO--VE Jesus". 

John = Best. Guy. Ever. 

Happy Late Father's Day!

Nate in a Nutshell

I don't mean to make fun of Nate so much... or at all, but he is just such an awkwardly awesome kid. I predict he'll grow up to be the guy who will do anything for a laugh - or for a buck  (Uncle Reed?). He's already living up to it...

One of Nate's favorite things is showing off his belly (or his "muscles"). If you mention anything about a belly, he'll pull up his shirt with great pride and wait for the laugh. 

 

And he always gets the laugh, I can't help myself!

Learning to teeter on the edge of the crib, Nate was completely unaware of the 4 foot drop. He's a dare-devil. Climbing on anything he can find without any fear!

Speaking of... I started to take a video of the boys jumping on the bed and I couldn't even get past a few seconds! This is just the norm for Nate.

Oh yes, he's a keeper!

Nate rarely goes down the slide on our play set, so he always does this awkward almost-falling-but-totally-in-control move to climb down the ladder. Freaks me out every time...

I got this, Mom.

My biggest form of entertainment recently has been watching Nate learn how to jump. He randomly walks around the house like this video shows and he is so proud of himself!

 

As Nate's vocabulary grows, he's beginning to say "Buuh" for brother and "Laah" for I love you. Doesn't seem like much, but I love it!

Nate adores his brother and one of his favorite times of the day is "Hugs and Kisses" before bed. "Hugs and Kisses" is free-reign to smother each other with love (picture wrestle-mania). Just the other night, Nate was giving James TOO much love and James bit his face. Then Nate wacked James across the face. Lesson learned.  ;-)

After much review, I believe Nate is trying to eat the table here.

But, he's no stranger to dirt.

Nate is the sweetest kid ever and I'm so thankful to be his mama!

 

He's definitely going to give me a run for my money.......  :)

June 22, 2012

With summer upon us.........

The boys and I are staying home and inside today. 

I don't know how we are out of the house so much, but I feel like days where we can be home all day are a real treat. And I'm a much calmer person with no itinerary or outside schedule. I actually agreed to James' fifteen requests: "Mama, just couple more minutes" when we played outside (in between the rain showers) this morning.  { I know, living on the edge here.... }

Nate insisted on wearing the rain boots this morning. They're 2 sizes too big, but who's counting!

James rides his "motorcycle" everywhere. He actually steers really well despite his brute-force speed.

For me, I think I'll make myself a coffee, grab a book, and continue this most excellent summer day!

June 20, 2012

I feel like I take a lot more pictures when it's nice out. Happy 1st Day of Summer!

James desperately wanted me to come watch his "tricks on the quad". He put on quite the show. 
(Sorry, blurry. Wrong settings!)

Nate also loves to show off his climbing skills.

In other news... NATE ATE HIS FIRST SLUG last night. Bleghchhheggg!!! Some friends were over and we were all playing with our kids down by the swings. We looked over to see Nate with a weird look on his face kind of gagging on something. I figured it was a rock - he always eats rocks. I ran over there and realized his hands were covered in slime, then realized his MOUTH was FILLED with slime. 

Oh. My. Goodness. I did not realize this is what I signed up for.

With lots of help from LeAnn, we got him cleaned up as much as possible. {As a side note, DRY washcloth works best for slime. There's a freebee for ya!}  Some OJ and cheerios to wash the rest down, and he was happy as ever.

Did I mention that it was gross? I still get heebie-jeebies thinking about it.

I love clear, sunny days because we have the BEST view of Mt. Rainer... One of my favorite things ever.

"You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior,  
the hope of all the ends of the earth, and of the farthest seas,  
who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength,  
who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations."
Ps 65:5-7

The heavens declare the glory of God;  

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Ps 19:1

A Little Bit of Grandpa Wally

John's sister (Hi Becca!) posted this on facebook the other day. I've always thought James looks exactly like me when I was younger, but now I keep looking at him and realizing he really does have a lot of Carruthers in him - especially the older he gets!

Wally    ---    James

Oh How They Grow

A lot of changes in nine months...

 { That nine months is not a reference to pregnancy. I am not pregnant. Although, that would be a nice way to announce it. But I am not, let's be clear. }

09/2011

06/2012

See that raspberry on James' chin? Yesterday John asked James to show him how fast he could run. Well, James ran fast... straight into the corner of the table.

It was just a little scratch last night, but when I found him this morning the size had at least doubled. James told me his "chin hurt" and I said I was sorry and asked if it hurt from running into the table. He said (matter-of-factly) "No, I picked it. It need to look nice".

Whaaa??? Weird kid!  :)

09/2011  -  One of John's favorite Nate pictures.

06/2012  -  Sweet little excited Nate.

I Adore Them

Cousin Time

Cousins came over to play last Friday night... And it's always a fun time! Little Claire is getting SO big and is already walking around and saying a few words. I adore the cheesy smiles from that little one.

Claire really wanted to climb by herself. She successfully climbed one step (I was holding on, don't worry Keri!) then I got freaked out for her and pulled her down. She's a little dare-devil!