Montgomery Zoo

It was another beautiful day here so we decided to go to the Zoo. We gave Nathan a choice of going to Auburn for the Tiger Walk or the Zoo and he chose the Zoo. And we did have a lot of fun and got lots of exercise! Nathan enjoys the zoo but he more so enjoys sprinting from one exhibit to the next excited to see what's around the corner. He loves the birds. He walked up to the first pink bird and says "Hello birdie." and waves at him. He liked the snakes and spiders because the Dora video he's been watching has the jungle in it where they have to watch out for snakes and spiders. Of course his favorite part was the train ride.

The otter exhibit had these small waterfalls that came out at the bottom and you could stick your hands or your feet in it and splash and cool off. I had by chance packed Nathan an extra outfit so for our last stop we went back by the otters and let Nathan get all in the waterfalls and he loved it! There weren't any other people around when we did this and I'm glad because I don't think all parents were prepared like us and would not have been very happy when their child whined to get in the water. Nathan wanted us to get in it with him so Shane took his polo shirt off and left his t-shirt on and stuck his head in the water. Then Nathan said "Mommy take your shirt off. Get in the water."

And of course we had a big time on the playground.

I hope Nathan grows to love the zoo as much as Shane and me. We really enjoy seeing the animals and watching them interact. It reminds me of how big and amazing our Creator is. And also how stinky that ark must have been.

Week in Review

Here are a few pictures from earlier this week. Nathan got to walk with me and Penny Wednesday since he woke up at 6:00. Leaving the pjs on was my choice. The hat was his choice.
And of course after all that exercise surely we deserved a donut. Donut King is a close second to Krispy Kreme in my book. Nathan chose the "purple donut" (really it was pink) but then when we got home he ate a few bites of his then wanted to trade for my chocolate one. Who wouldn't?

This is a cute snapshot from our jam session Thursday morning.

Fun without Pictures

For some reason my card reader quit reading my camera card and therefore I can't post any pictures. We have had a pretty fun week however. Today we had many adventures at home. This morning we had quite the jam session in our pj's banging on the pots and pans in the kitchen. In the middle of rocking out Nathan says "Mommy, get the blue guitar." I was so honored that he invited me to join his band and play with him. Then for lunch at Nathan's request we had a pizza picnic outside in the backyard. Tonight we all went to the park and rode bikes and played on the playground. They have a General Store Window/Stand and we had lots of fun sharing diet cokes, juice and leaf cookies.

About Nathan's lunch request - it amazes me what that child remembers. Several months ago he was playing outside and I had brought home pizza. Since it was a nice night out we just put up the card table and chairs and ate outside. We don't have backyard furniture because 10 months out of the year it's too hot. Anyway, today he saw the card table chairs in the garage, pointed and said "Mommy I want pizza. Eat pizza outside." And it was an unusually cool breezy September day so I called Shane and he brought home pizza and we picnicked and had so much fun. These are the memories I'm trying to treasure because I know I'll look back tomorrow and he'll be grown.

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All Aboard!

Today we went to a train show in Dothan. It was an interesting mix of old men huddled around playing with their toys and little boys jumping around in excitement. But they had big trains, little trains, even a train you could ride so Nathan loved it!

We finished off with lunch at Firehouse Subs. Yummy! Nathan had a big time there as well. For some reason he kept saying there was a fire in his hat and we would have to pretend to put it out. The oh so sweet man working behind the counter handed Nathan a pack of Oreos before we even ordered. Gotta love that.

God's Extra Blessings

Tonight God brought a little blessing to me and Shane. This week has been a good week, but Nathan has been very "needy" this week and a bit high strung. Yesterday we received an offer to come eat dinner with some friends. So tonight we took a much needed break and our wonderful babysitter Andrea came and loved on Nathan for a few hours while Shane and I went out. Danny Little can grill a mean steak and anything Theresa's ever cooked is FINE. It was so nice to visit with friends at leisure and sit and eat a meal in peace and eat for as long as I wanted. And I did. There were 7 people at the table to begin with and I was the last one to get up. Oh so nice...

Play Ball

The weather has been a little cooler this week so we've been able to enjoy the outdoors a little more. Nathan found Shane's softball glove in the garage and "baseball" became his love for the day. All afternoon I heard "Play baseball, play baseball Mommy!" After his nap I tried to distract him with the water and see if he would help me wash the van. Normally he loves playing with the water hose but no, the whole time I was washing the van, he walked around in the front yard carrying that glove and ball saying "Play baseball Mommy, play baseball."

Nathan and Sunday School

Nathan has recently moved up from the one year old Sunday school class to the two year olds. He's having a little bit of a time adjusting to the differences.


First Week -
Mrs. Maxie: Come sit at the table so we can have the Bible story time.
Nathan: No! Nathan play kitchen!


Second Week -
Mrs. Maxie: Let's clean all the toys off the table so we can have our snack.
Nathan takes his little arm and just rakes everything off the table on to the floor in one big sweep. Then hops in the chair and says "Snack!"


Who knows what next week will hold. :)

Daddy's Rock Band

This morning we got front row seats to the Calvary Praise Band Concert on the sidewalk in front of Peeble's.
Nathan loves to watch his daddy play guitar and sing with the youth praise band. And he can jump/dance like nobody's business while they are playing. After he finished dancing to one of the songs, he shouts out to Mrs. Michele "Mrs. Michele, we rock!"

We also got front row seats to a God show tonight. We just happened to be finishing an errand at the end of a pretty hard rain and got to see a complete double rainbow in the sky.

We All Scream for Ice Cream (And Trains)

Tonight after supper we decided to take a family bike ride to Sonic to get some ice cream. I was a little nervous to say the least riding in and around traffic. Eufaula traffic anyway. Shane rode his bike to and from class at Auburn. I never did. Tonight I almost swerved out and hit a car but the car went around me. Anyway, we did have a fun time. Shane and Nathan got to ride a little off road and see the train that was stopped and being loaded. Nathan loved that and he loved the ice cream.

Playing Inside & Out

Tuesday night we rented the new Thomas the Train DVD which has reignited a flame for Thomas and all the trains again. Last night Nathan went to sleep with the stop sign (railroad crossing arms) in his hands and as soon as his feet hit the floor this morning he headed straight for the train station to play again.

Tonight it was actually cool enough to play outside for a few minutes after dinner. Nathan took right to his bubble mower and cut grass all the while giving us a play by play.

"Mommy, I play the lawnmower." "Daddy I cut the grass." "Mommy I cut the lawnmower."

Birthday Party!

Just last night as I put Nathan to bed he asked about my family, naming them off - FeFe, One, Amanda, Jonathan go night night at their house? Almost as if he was asking are they coming here again soon? Little did I know his wish would be granted. My mom called at 9:45 today and told me they were going to Grandmama's today to celebrate her 85 birthday. Well, that's all it took. I already had the itch to take Nathan somewhere and he was just asking about them, so why not. When I got off the phone with mom and told him we had to get dressed because we were going to see someone his first response was "Go see Caleb!" but when I told him it was my family he was just as excited if not more. And did he have fun. Here are some photos from today.

Slam dunk!

Cousin Hannah, Amanda, Nathan and Grandmama

Firemen Jonathan and Nathan

Am I the Sucker Here?

Yesterday, as we pulled up to the bank Nathan was suddenly excited about going in to the bank. I needed to talk to a friend working there for a few minutes so I went prepared with Teddy Grahams and milk in hand. But as I was making my deposit at the counter he couldn't help but see the basket of suckers. What do you do when you're trying to finish your conversation and get out of there? I let him have a sucker. A purple one. We opened the sucker in the bank. When we got home he was still eating the sucker. We sat at the kitchen table for several minutes while he finished his sucker. And then we needed a bath!

I usually try to avoid giving Nathan sugary treats like suckers unless it's a special occasion but somehow he wound up with two of them in two days. Today before lunch he found a Tootsie Roll Pop in a drawer in the kitchen. I told him he couldn't have it till after lunch. Well, he at a few bites of lunch but not much. A few minutes later he makes his way back around to that drawer and tries to get the sucker out. I told him he hadn't eat enough lunch. He had to eat two more bites of sandwich first. Those little legs ran around the table and he shoved two whole bites of sandwich in his mouth before I could even blink. If only I could bribe him with a sucker for everything!

Yeah for Chick Fil A

Monday, to ease the transition of Fe Fe, One and Amanda leaving we went with them to Chick Fil A in Opelika. They were giving away free chicken strips for wearing a team logo, an offer we just couldn't pass up! It was not a game day, on a Monday afternoon, as we were getting out of the van and all going inside dressed in our matching Auburn gear, Shane was feeling just a little dorky. But we were no worse than the family of Georgia fans with four little ones under the age of 5 dressed in Georgia gear and six boxes of free strips lined up on their tray.

More Family Fun

Sunday evening my parents and my sister Amanda came and spent the night with us. We had a fun time rocking out with the praise band at church Sunday evening and walking and riding on the bike trail Monday morning. Just being together brings so much joy.

Jonathan and Jennifer

Sunday Morning Nathan woke up to a big surprise - my brother Jonathan and his girlfriend Jennifer were at our house! They came in late Saturday night after the Auburn game. Nathan didn't want to go to Sunday school without them and was very excited to find them in the Sanctuary as soon as the morning church service was over. We enjoyed lunch together and Nathan could hardly take a nap because he wanted to "play Jonathan and Jennifer." They had to head back to Pell City Sunday evening but we enjoyed their visit so much and look forward to them coming again.

Playtime in the Pool

We had a wonderful Labor Day weekend with family and friends. Saturday evening we were invited to swim and grill with some friends from church. Nathan and Shane had tons of fun in the pool. Shane's determined Nathan is going to know how to swim by the time he's 3. :)

Since Nathan couldn't get the ball in the goal in the pool he just did it his way. On the side of the pool!