My Thanksgiving Alphabet

(This is a work in progress)
I AM THANKFUL FOR...
A...
B... Books.  Kids books mostly.  Some day I will be thankful for my own books but right now I love that Nash and Nolan want to sit and have books read to them.
C... Canines (D was already taken).  We picked Daizy and Memphis up at the pound when we lived in Montana in 2004 and 2005.  They are such great dogs and so good with the boys.
D... Disposable diapers.  I take them for granted.
E...
F... Friends and family, both near and far.  We would not be who we are without them.  And I probably would have lost my mind by now without their love and support.
G... God, for so many reasons.
H... Health.  Even though both boys have colds, we can deal with that.
I...  In home child care (AKA Nana!) We are SO spoiled that she drives down to watch the boys at our house three days a week while I work.
J... Jason's job.  Especially with the unemployment rate so high.  I am thankful that he likes his job and thankful his job allows me to stay home with my boys 2 days a week.
K...
L...
M... My mini van/Mommy missile.  There, I said it.
N... Nash and Nolan, this one was really easy!  I love my boys to the moon and back!
O... Our Freedom, and all of the men and women who fight for it.
P... Peace and
Q... Quiet.  Rare but wonderful every once in a while.
R...
S... STARBUCKS!  Specifically the grande sugar free vanilla chai latte skim milk no water extra hot
T... Technology.  I know it's not a necessity but I'm still thankful for my camera, computer, cell phone,  etc.
U...
V...
W... Warm days when we can play outside.
X... Xanax.  This is what I take before I get on an airplane.  Trust me, if you ever have to fly with me, you'll be thankful for it too.
Y...
Z...

We've hosted Thanksgiving at our house for several years now.  It's great.  My parents usually prepare the Turkey and everyone else brings a dish to share.  I don't have to spend all day in the kitchen and the boys get to nap in their own beds.  My family has always been huge into board games and this year was no different.  If we aren't eating, we're probably playing games.  

Clockwise from L to R: Great Grandma Phyliss, Whitney, Megan, Evan, Jason, Nana and Nash, Papa and Nolan, Will, and Daniele

Four generation picture

Front: My Aunt Sandy, My Grandma Phyliss, My Uncle Win
Back: Rick and Peg

Lessons Learned from Grama Jo

We had such a great time with Grama Jo when she visited from California November 3 through the 13th.  We are already missin' her around here!

We had a wine and cheese party (a tradition), enjoyed a feaux Thanksgiving feast...

 ...played, danced, ate, shopped, worked and relaxed.  We had a chance to visit the Iowa Children's Museum in Coralville which was a ton of fun.

Although we stayed busy, we each paused long enough to learn a few lessons from Grama Jo.  Here are the highlights...
*I learned how to prepare 5 cornish game hens.
*Nash learned the second verse to "Open, Shut them."
*Jason learned that there are certain dishes that have to go on the top drawer of the dishwasher.
*Nolan learned how to stick his tongue out.

And let's not forget about the memorable trip to Whitey's for ice cream.  This was Nolan's first ride in his forward facing car seat and Nash's first ride in his new booster seat.  Happy boys!  Yes, we switched Nolan to forward facing 3 weeks early but it was time.  Besides, he's almost as big as his brother so that's how I justified it in my head.


Thanks for making the trip again Grama Jo!  We love you!

Post It Notes

Nash is able to count to ten in Spanish...Gracias Dora!  (Nana, Jason and I will also take a little credit for this one...group effort!)

I can't even put together a vocabulary list for Nash anymore...his speech amazes me.  One minor twist...he has trouble pronouncing words that start with "br".  For some reason it always comes out "dr."  "My toy is droken."  For a while I was trying to correct him each time.  One day we were talking to a neighbor and Nash said, "That's Nolan.  He's my druther."  She smiled and commented how cute it was. I have stopped trying to correct him because she's right, it's pretty darn cute.  I don't want to forget this about him because before I know it, he will have it all figured out.  Until then, I'm going to enjoy the cuteness.

Nash is really struggling with sharing.  He has never been great at sharing with Nolan but will have a sparkling moment every once in a while.  Two weeks ago after church I picked the boys up from the nursery.  The volunteers reported there was an incident where another little boy screeched and Nash happened to be right there with him.  They found a faint bite mark on the boy's back.  We had not had any problems with biting so I was hoping it was a mistake.  When we left I stopped in the hallway and asked Nash if he bit the little boy.  "Yeah, I did."  I asked him why he bit him.  "Because I can."  Really?
Then, at Chik-Fil-A the other day, Nash was in the play area with a bunch of other kids while I was in the dining area talking to my Dad.  A boy came running out to his mom crying because a little boy pulled his hair.  I cringed hoping it wasn't Nash but I had a sneaky suspicion it was.  I got up and followed her in to the gym and sure enough, he pointed at Nash.  Apparently they both wanted to drive the plane.  Nash apologized and we had yet ANOTHER discussion about sharing.  I'm not sure it's sinking in.

Nash is still loving the movie "Cars" and would watch it over and over if we would let him.  He also likes "James and the Giant Peach," and "The Bee Movie."

Quotes from a 2 3/4 year old

1.  I can remember my dad always saying to us, "Are you the cleanest kid in town?" after taking a bath when we were little.  The other day Nash and Nolan were getting out of the tub.  I said, "Nash, are you the cleanest kid in town?"  "Yeah!" he proudly shouted.  Then I turned to Nolan and asked him the same question.  Nash answered again, "No, he's just wet."

2.  Nash said, "I'm gonna eat all my lunch so I can be big and strong like my boys."  I asked him who his boys were.  "Luke and Jake and Bradley and Alex."  (our neighbor boys)

Nolan Jace-11 months old

Nolan is crawling so quickly now, I can barely keep up with him.  I will find him pushing chairs around the kitchen or trying to sneak into the laundry room.

Last week I went to get him after his nap and he was standing up in his crib.  In the past week he has mastered this new trick.  He now pulls himself up on the tub, the couch, the kitchen chairs and anything else he can find.

He is taking steps when holding onto someones fingers.  He is drinking his formula from a sippy cup...no more bottle.  We had to switch to the straw sippy cups because he wasn't getting the hang of tipping the other ones up yet.  He can polish off 8 oz of formula in about 2 minutes I think.

He is eating more and more table foods, in fact, he prefers table foods.  He ate an entire piece of pizza the other day, cut up in small pieces of course.  He is experimenting more with sounds.
Nolan's vocabulary list:
1. Mama
2. Dada
3. Uh Oh
4. Moo (although he hasn't done this for a while now)
5. Arrrrrrr!   (instead of ROAR)
His belly laugh is still one of the best sounds on earth.  He loves splashing in the tub and squirming away naked before I can get his diaper ready to put back on him.  His rolls are slowly disappearing as he gets taller.  He loves to be around his brother and hates wearing hats.  He's not really liking his car seat either.  He is still in the travel system but obviously I can't carry him IN the car seat any more.  We are trying to decide what to do about the car seats since he will be able to face forward in ONE MONTH!

He likes to be on the go but I managed to catch a picture of him cuddling with Grama Jo today before his nap.  P.S.  Grama Jo arrived from California on Wednesday so there will be lots more pictures soon.

Nolan, I can't believe you are almost one year old already.  We love you to the moon and back!  Happy 11 month birthday!

Little Blessings

Nash's nap time and nighttime routine usually consists of reading two books then laying down in his toddler bed with his yellow blanket while the book reader lies on the floor next to his bed waiting for him to fall asleep.  I should say, this is how it goes unless Daddy puts him to bed and then he ends up sleeping with Mommy and Daddy.  Daddy is such a softy when it comes to sticking to the routine!  On a really good night, I get Nash to bed at a descent time and we have a chance to talk about his day.  I like to ask him what his favorite thing was about the day.  Then I ask him if he wants to say a prayer.  My hope for my boys is that they will have a relationship with God.  Nash and I are learning to pray out loud together and it has been SO awesome.  Last night was a great example.  I asked him if he wanted to say a prayer.  He said, "Thank you God for my house, thank you for my table and for my chairs.  God bless the kids who couldn't go trick or treating (I had prayed this with him the other night), God Bless Montana and Trinity and Sophie and Brian and Patty (our awesome neighbors), and God Bless my puppies."

For this, and so many other reasons, I feel so blessed!

The Skunk and the Dinosaur

Once upon a time there was a skunk... 

and a dinosaur.  They loved to play together.  

 One Halloween Skunk decided he really wanted to get his hands on a Snickers.

So, he recruited Dinosaur, Nana and Nini to help him find some.

Dinosaur was so brave and went up to the spooky houses to look for Snickers.  He gave a big, scary ROAR!

He learned his big, scary ROAR from his Aunt Nini.

 This made Daddy Skunkosaur very proud!

 Skunk was so grateful to Dinosaur for being so brave and getting lots of Snickers for him. Skunk did a great job of looking cute and distracting the other trick or treaters.  Every once in a while, when things got a little scary, he let out a spray and cleared the entire sidewalk so they could make a quick get-a-way.

 Once back at home, everyone enjoyed the treats that Skunk and Dinosaur had found.

 Mommy and Daddy Skunkosaur were so happy when they thought they had successfully hid the candy (so Dinosaur would not eat it all in one day).  This made Dinosaur very unhappy.  Skunk didn't really mind at all.  The moral of our story is...out of sight, not necessarily out of mind!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! (A big thanks to Grandma Alonna for all of her hard work on these awesome costumes!)