Treasure Lake!

We spent the past few days at Treasure Lake in PA where my parents' house is!  They were in town for a couple of weeks and we took a few days to visit :)  We headed up on Wednesday after Gary got home and stayed through Sunday afternoon.  We squeezed in lots of fun activities while we were there! 

 Alex had fun visiting with Great Grandpa (and his Aunt Linda who I didn't get a good picture of) one afternoon!

 The boys loved the campfires we'd have each night!  One night we ate dinner by the fire... I think it was the best they ate the whole weekend!

 Love this sweet boy :)

 Alex pushed this truck around outside A LOT!  He wore himself out running!

 Alex's imagination is so cute... he talked and talked about feeding the horses, giving them water, keeping them tied up, riding them, etc.  Here he is on his "horse"! 

 Nathan loves rocks!  Here he is with a collection of them one evening :)  Such a little boy!

 Enjoying one of our nightly campfires!  So fun to spend time with my parents and sisters!

 Cutest face ever :)

 Gary and I also got to spend some extra time together going on a couple of dates!  One afternoon we went ring shopping!  Gary's ring has bothered him for the past 5 years and we decided it was finally time to get a new one... we kept the old one but got him one that he can actually wear while typing on the computer and such ;)  We also got to go out to lunch and a movie! 

 One morning we went to the beach!  Nathan was a little unsure about walking in the sand/water but gave it a try after a little bit ;)

 We went out on the boat a few times, too!  Crazy how much more the boys enjoyed it this trip than last time!  They had a GREAT time!

 Nathan loved the sand at the beach!

 Nathan fishing!

 This was Alex showing Nathan how to work the fishing pole (the pics got a little out of order)  Such a sweet moment!

 Alex caught a fish!!!  He was pretty excited :)

We had such a fun few days visiting and playing at the lake!!

Summer Weekends!

We've been busy enjoying our time together as a family on the weekends when we don't have visitors!!  Here are our past couple of weekends in pictures!

 We've spent a lot of time at the pool!  Both kids love it!!

 Alex is using swimmies now!  We've been trying to convince him for a while, and he finally did it and was THRILLED to be able to swim "all by himself"!  He's gotten pretty brave (for him) and is even using a kickboard now!

 One of our Friday night family traditions (or sometimes Thursdays if Gary is off on Friday) is movie night!  Alex absolutely LOVES movie night... he gets pretty excited!  We almost always have pizza, eat on the couch, and make popcorn after dinner!  The past few times we've been making our own pizzas, which has been really fun!  I haven't gotten to the point of making our own dough yet, but we have fun personalizing our own with toppings just the way we like it :)

 Excited!!!

 Last weekend we went mini-golfing!  We've taken the boys once before when we were in Gatlinburg but found a place here where kids 4 and under are free!  The boys both had a BLAST!  And so did mommy and daddy ;) 

 Nathan held tight to his ball most of the night, but did try swinging at it a few times!

 Having fun!!

 Then this past weekend we went to the Prince William County Fair!  Alex was really excited and kept talking about going on the Ferris Wheel when we told him we were going there.  We weren't sure how he'd do with rides... he's always been pretty timid!  But he LOVED the rides!  He went on everything he was tall enough to do by himeslf and we let him do the Ferris Wheel with daddy!  He kept eyeing the roller coaster (pretty sure he would have HATED that... but he really wanted to do it... we said maybe next year haha)

 Poor Nathan just watched most of the day... he actually didn't mind too much, except for the train... he tried really hard to sneak in and take his own ride on the train!  He didn't cry or anything, just "asked" in his own way many times if he could go too... but it really wasn't worth the money, you could spend a fortune at the fair!

 Nathan loved the animals though!!  He started out saying "ruff ruff" to EVERY animal, but started to make some of the other sounds by the end :) 

 Petting a goat!! These goats loved Alex :)

 And Nathan had no fear!  You had to watch him pretty closely ;)

 Loving all the tractors!

 Petting area :)

 Loving it!

 Brave boy! 

 Nathan thought he was going on a ride here... he LOVED sitting in this!  haha

 Alex's favorite ride!  He rode this 3 times in a row! 

And he loved the ferris wheel with daddy! 

Kathryn's Visit!

My best friend from college came to visit the first weekend of August!  (I know, I've been very behind!)  We had SUCH a great few days!  After picking her up Sunday afternoon, the two of us spent the evening together going out to dinner and a movie!!  It really made me realize how much I miss having girlfriends around to hang out with like that!  Hanging out with friends these days pretty much always includes kids (theirs and mine) and it was fun to have a kid-free evening where we could talk without interruption! :) 

Monday we headed to the aquarium downtown... it was great!  The kids both absolutely loved it!

 Checking out the alligators!

 It didn't take long for the boys to warm up to Kathryn!!  They love her! :)

 After the aquarium and lunch at The Corner Bakery, we went for a walk around the National Mall.  It was extremely hot, so we only made it to the Washington Monument (Alex's legs were "just too tired" and he couldn't walk anymore! he was also "toooo hot!") 

 When we got there though there was a nice, cool breeze in the shade of the monument and we hung out for quite a while before heading back to the car! 

 The kids ran around like crazy "racing each other"!

 Nathan wanted to be just like his brother!  It was too cute... he kept saying "go!" and "wow!" 

 Alex was thrilled to spend time playing with Kathryn at home too... and loved that she read him his bedtime stories and tucked him in!  So cute :)

 Tuesday we went to the pool for a picnic and swimming!

 Alex loved his swim buddy :)

 It was such a fun few days, I was so sad to see her go! 

Our only attempt at a picture together, oops!

Visitors!

The last Saturday evening and Sunday in July we had Gary's parents and oma in town!!  The kids enjoyed playing with oma, opa, and great oma!  It was a quick visit, but we squeezed in a couple of dinners out and a quick trip downtown!  Because of the heat, we mostly just toured by car (Gary has become quite the tour guide, he knows what EVERY building is and knows his way around really well!)  We did park and walk to the Air and Space Museum though!  The kids, of course, had a blast!

 It was especially fun having the boys' Great Oma from Canada visit!  We don't get to see her often, but it was so nice watching her interact with the kids! 

Baby #3!!

I'm 14 weeks today, pregnany with baby #3!  Still hard to believe we'll have another baby in February!  We found out at about 4 1/2 weeks... took a pregnancy test only because we wanted to "make sure" since I was just a few days late and had been regular for the past couple of months.  I was still nursing Nathan and we were really just wanting to ease our worry... much to our surprise, the test was positive!  We weren't quite convinced since it was one of those tests with the + and - and the second line wasn't THAT visible... well, I was pretty sure, but Gary was a little bit in denial ;)  So I picked up a digital test on my grocery shopping trip an hour later, took it as soon as I got home, and confirmed that, yes we were pregnant!  We were definitely surprised and a little bit in shock, but never dissappoiinted or upset in the least bit!  It's funny how something that you are not at all planning (at least for another year or two) can still be such a welcome and happy surprise!  And that something you didn't really "want" you instantly fall in love with!

So the last couple of months have been a little rough - lots or morning sickness and exhaustion in the midst of the moving and the start of my job watching 2 extra boys!  I'm 14 weeks today and the nausea has definitely eased up, but is still there... instead of CONSTANT nausea, it's only about 50%  of the time now ;)   My first appointements have gone great though, and they've calculated my due date at Feb 6th!  Alex and this little one will be almost exactly 4 years apart and Nathan will be 21 months older than his little brother or sister!

Alex is pretty excited... he always thanks God for "the new baby" and says he wants "a brother, just like his Nathan".  It's funny how he's adamant he wants a brother again!  When we first told him there was a baby in my belly, he thought it was the funniest thing!  I guess if you think about it from a 3 year old's perspective, it is pretty silly!  Now he comments that my belly is getting bigger all the time.  He went with me to my appointment last week and I was explaining that we were going to listen to the baby... he wanted to know if he was "singing in there??"  haha... too cute :) 

We feel so blessed to have a third baby on the way!  Pray for a healthy pregnancy and baby!!  :) 

15 Months

Nathan is 15 months!  So hard to believe... my little baby is a toddler now and  seems so big! 

*He says "peeaase" alll the time and expects to get it because he's asked so nice :)
*Nathan's learned to hold his own with a big brother and the other 3 year old I babysit around all the time!  He won't let anyone take a toy from him without a fight!  He has also started experimenting with some hitting... not mean hitting but more of an attention getting hitting.  He "hits" when he is frustrated with you or wants you to pay attention to him. 
*This brings me to time-out... we started time outs with our sweet little man a couple of weeks ago.  And as sad as it is when we put him there, it is also so stinking cute.  He feels hurt, but stays there till we go get him and then gets the biggest grin and gives the biggest "I'm sorry" hug! 
*We also started blanket time!  I think it is a FANTASTIC thing to do with toddlers and gives you a great break, too!  Nathan does it for about 15-20 minutes now and doesn't cry *too* much, he's even coming to enjoy it already (after about a week of protesting).  It helps increase focused, independent play, and teaches boundaries, and listening skills.  He's does great obeying and staying on the blanket, but sometimes does stop playing and fusses.  He hasn't gotten off since the first week though!  He gets most upset if he sees me though, otherwise he plays pretty nicely. 
*He talks all the time!  Some of the words he says are: please, thank you, mama, dada, A-ex, Ash (Asher), hi, ball, eat, yes, nigh-nigh, juice, milk, wow, yay, ruff ruff, raaar, bye, up, down, nack (snack), all done, choo choo, cookie, set go!, let's go... and i'm sure some that i'm forgetting
*He also repeats a lot of words if you say them first and tell him to say it.
*He makes sound effects for cars, planes, superheroes, etc. 
*He brings me his shoes all the time!  He LOVES to go outside and go "byebye".  He'll go get his shoes from the closet and bring them to me! 
*He loves his passy... we never had that with Alex past 6 months and I dread the day we take it away!  We mostly keep it for nap and night time, but he is hooked! 
*At bedtime he picks out his own story from his basket of books in his room and brings it to me!  It is the cutest. 
*He folds his hands when we pray or holds hands around the table with the rest of us, and says "Amen"!  so sweet. 
*He LOVES when you try to "get him"... he tries to escape when he knows you want to change him and giggles uncontrollably if you say "I'm gonna get you!" Then he tries to run and his feet and body can't keep up with one another and he always ends up falling if you don't get him first.  So cute!
*He is still napping twice a day... 9:00 for 45 min or an hr and 2:00 for about 1.5 or 2 hrs.  He sleeps with his bear and just loves him! 
*It takes Nathan and Alex a while to fall asleep in the same room becuase they are so busy playing and giggling together... I can't decide if it's a problem or not haha.  They eventually sleep and it's not like one is really keeping the other up... but sometimes it can go on for as long as an hour or more...
*But they sure do love each other and it is so sweet :)
*He still gives wide open mouthed kisses!  love them :) 
*His hair has a red tint to it and curls in the back... he needs a haircut BAD, but I haven't been able to bring myself to do it yet.  There's just something about that first haircut that makes them seem too grown up!
*He had his 15 month appt on Friday and he is 19 lbs 12 oz and has gone from the 14th percentile to the 3rd.  Gary took him to the doctor since I had an OB appt at the same time, but the doctor was giving him a pretty hard time I guess and saying we need to feed him more... not that we don't!  He is just a busy boy and not a huge eater.  Anyway, we're supposed to cut way back on the juice and offer lots of pastas, butter, ice cream, peanut butter, etc.  I feel like we've tried hard, but I guess we'll work on his weight more over the next few months!  His iron levels are up and doing great though, and he's grown 1 inch in height!