Water Table

We are halfway into June and it is fair to say that our water table is going to get plenty of use this summer. It was a gift from Nanny Kay and Pop Pop for Christmas, and we have just been WAITING for it to get warm enough to set it up. Nathan adores it. He will play for ages at it, happily entertained with dumping water out on the deck. He's also gotten the concept of dumping water into the bucket to move the waterwheel, but unfortunately, the cup is almost always already empty by the time he makes it up to the bucket. Ah well, that's what the rest of the summer is for. Sometimes I'm smart and strip him down before we even start. Other times, we start out dressed and shed layers as we go. Love that happy little body! 

There are a few other fun shots we have gotten over the past week or two as we enjoy the beautiful weather. This Spring has been fabulous for the most part. I'm hoping the summer is just as great. 

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

I don't know how often he checks in here, but Father's Day wouldn't be complete with a post about my awesome papa.

I know most people say that they have the best dad, so I'm happy that everyone is satisfied with what the cosmic lottery paid out to them, but my dad is pretty darn amazing himself. My childhood was filled with sock fights, backyard baseball games, and learning how to wield a hammer, all thanks to this guy. Dad, you're the most stand up guy I know and we couldn't be luckier to have you as our dad.

The little ones are pretty lucky to have you for a papa too.

Happy Father's Day, Brian!

Father's Day marks the beginning of a series of events (our anniversary and his birthday are coming in short order) that make me think of all of the reasons I am so grateful and happy to be married to the man I snagged. He is the most excellent of complements to me in so many ways. Here are the things I appreciate most (today) about the dad he is.

Strong man. 

He can rough and tumble better than I can. I do my best to be as physical as I can be with Nathan. I know it's good for him and let's be honest, he's a boy who loves drama, but the reality is that Brian is stronger than I am and some of the things he does with Nathan scare the heck out of me. Too high! Too fast! Too dangerous! Nathan couldn't love it more.

Calling it. 

He is good at calling a stop to things that we've slid into out of force of necessity or the course of events. When Nathan's reflux kicked up again and I had made multiple calls into the pediatrician's office to see what may be the problem (and an ER trip one night after he'd been up and crying for 3 hours) just to be told that "babies sometimes have trouble sleeping" and "separation anxiety is usually bad at that age" I had given up on finding a solution. We had gone from sleeping through the night to waking up every 2 hours again, and I was defeated. Brian, the voice of reason, said, "that's enough," called the pediatrician, and got us in the same day. We left with a prescription doubling his Prevacid and 4 nights later, Nathan slept through the night again. I couldn't have loved him more.

Leaving him alone.

Brian is better at leaving Nathan alone to entertain himself. Either that or Nathan will let Brian leave him alone. It's an invaluable skill and so good for him.

Getting Active.

Brian has pushed us to take Nathan out and stay active since he was born. I'm naturally more inclined to stay closer to home, but Brian encourages us to try to new things with Nathan and see how it goes. While they may not all be complete successes, more often than not it goes really well.

I couldn't be more grateful to be in this with him. It's incredible to so intensely share the love of a person with someone else. I wouldn't choose anyone else. 

Uncle Art and Boys Alone

I have put off writing anything about the recent loss in our family. The words don't seem to come out right, but that's no reason not to try. Uncle Art, we will miss you dearly. I didn't take my camera when I went out to Seattle, but Liz managed to capture how amazing our family is when everyone pulls together. I love each and every photo. Uncle Art wanted a party with great food, great scotch, and loud music. I think I can safely say that Gretchen, Emily, and Rachel came through and delivered a party he would have loved.

Brian held down the fort with Nathan while I was gone and I can honestly say that I wasn't the least bit worried about leaving the two of them alone together. Brian was sweet enough to keep me updated throughout the trip with photos, videos, and text updates. It was almost like I was there. Turns out, when the boys are alone together, Brian gets ACTIVE. They went for runs in the morning, walked to the farmer's market, and even went to IKEA.

Foooood!

We have been having a lot of luck with real food (not purées) the last few weeks. It seems that Nathan is finally starting to grow out of his crazy overactive gag reflex. We have been trying lots and lots of new foods and he's really liking trying the new textures and making a mess. Bananas and bread are pretty consistant winners. Strawberries, blueberries, carrots, steak, kiwi, tomatoes, broccoli, melon, crackers, applesauce, yogurt (coconut and soy), and a few others have gone over well at different times. We are relieved to see an end to jars of food, but not thrilled about the mess. Ok, that's just me talking. 

PA phone photos

I mentioned earlier that I didn't really take any photos the first two days of our visit to Reading. Thankfully, there were a lot of iPhones around the place and people were willing to share. These were some of my favorites!