Biker

I practiced drawing the tattoo on Stephen so Nate would
be more likely to let me draw one on him too.
Stephen's tattoo says "Sarah" instead of "Mommy." :)

We all got dew rags to wear, so Nate would be more likely to wear his.
He wore it well!

Our little biker dude.

Close-up of the tattoo. I think it looks better from a distance!

Since Nate LOVES his bike so much (and because it was the simplest costume idea I could come up with) we decided he should be a biker for Halloween. A "Mommy" tattoo and a dew rag completed the costume. We went trick-or-treating with some friends, but Nate didn't really care about the door-to-door. He was just excited to be riding his bike everywhere, and to be getting candy for it. What a treat! Unfortunately Evie didn't dress up ... maybe next year.

Daddy's sweaty hat

When Stephen got home from his long run this morning, Nate grabbed his sweaty, stinky hat and put it on. I didn't let him leave it on for long, but just long enough to get a cute picture!

Weekend visit

Matthew, Nate, and Elizabeth

Evie trying to stay warm. It turned out to be a chilly weekend.

Nate smelling the roses at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens.

My sister, Elizabeth, came for a visit last weekend and brought her boyfriend, Matthew, for us to meet for the first time. He's appearing on the blog, so I guess he passed the test. :) I forgot to take my camera everywhere we went, so here are a few highlights from Elizabeth's camera.

4 Months

I still can't get Evie to smile for the camera!

Playing ...

Nate being silly and looking through a glass bowl.

Evie turned four months old last week! At her check-up we found out she weighs 17 lbs and is 26 inches long. I had noticed that her car seat was getting difficult to lug around, but I didn't realize she weighed so much. She's a big girl!

Explosion

This picture was actually taken a couple weeks ago, but I just realized I hadn't done anything with it. I was sitting on the couch with my arm around Evie, and my hand slightly under her, and all of a sudden she exploded! Poop was all over my hand and on the couch, and very little was in her diaper. Of course Stephen made me sit there until he got a picture! But please don't be afraid to sit on our couch again. It's clean. I promise!

I love her face in the picture too. So innocent!

Playing in the Pool

The motorcycle goes everywhere ... even in the pool!

Sweet profile picture.

Evie had fun watching Nate splash in the pool. She sat and giggled at him.

Dish Towel Bib

My sister made Nate some dish towel bibs when she was here for Evie's birth. She found a pattern for them on the internet. He didn't like wearing them at first, but now he prefers them most days. Here's a good picture for you, Aunt Liza!

School Days

Nate still loves to hold his little sister,

even though she's almost as big as he is!

Sitting in the Bumbo chair.

Too distracted by the camera to smile.

Stephen is back in school now, and I'm learning how to be at home with two kids, hence no blog updates. It's been a very long three weeks, and we're thankful for a long Labor Day weekend! Evie is growing fast. She's such a chunk! She holds her head up well, so I've been putting her in the Bumbo seat for short periods of time. She smiles and giggles a lot, but the second I put the camera in her face she gets distracted and turns serious. Hopefully we'll get some good pictures of smiles soon.

Two Little Monkeys

I've been propping Evie up in the chair lately, and Nate likes to climb up next to her. I think they look so sweet sitting there together. They're even holding hands in this picture!

Happy 2nd Birthday

Monkeys and cheerios.

Those are two of Nate's very favorite things,

so that's what was on his cake.

He needed some help blowing out the candles.

Opening a gift from his friend Jack.

Nate LOVES his motorcycle that Nana and Granddad sent him.

He woke up this morning asking to ride it!

Taking Jack for a stroll.

We celebrated Nate's birthday a little early last night. Two years have passed quickly, but it's really crazy how much our lives have changed since the day Nate was born. It seems like it should have been more like 10 or 20 years ago!

Anyway, Nate had a great time playing with his friend Jack and definitely didn't understand that we were gathered to celebrate his birthday. I tried to make a cake that fit him most -a monkey with cheerios. His snack of choice is still cheerios, and not only does he love monkeys (or any animal for that matter) but he acts like one too. Unfortunately we don't have his monkey imitation on video. Happy birthday baby (or not so baby) Nate!

Birthday Video

We didn't take much video of Nate with his birthday cake, but we got this one. He spotted the cheerios immediately and went for them!

Pacifier

Evie doesn't quite have the paci thing down yet.

Yogurt

Every morning Nate eats a big bowl of yogurt mixed with fruit. Here are some pictures from breakfast this morning. We haven't figured out if Nate is left or right handed yet. Sometimes he uses his left hand, sometimes he uses his right, and sometimes he uses both!

2 months old

I've done a really bad job of taking pictures of Evie. She turned 2 months old last Saturday and had her 2 month doctor's visit on Tuesday. She's a very healthy little girl - in the 90th and 95th percentiles for height and weight! She's cooing and smiling a lot these days, although I haven't caught many good pictures of her smiling. I guess there will be plenty more to come!

Barbie Cake

I brought Mom's cake supplies back to Texas with me, and I was able to put them to good use this week. A friend asked me to make a Barbie cake for her daughter's birthday, and this is the final product. Overall I was very pleased with it. Now it's time to decide what Nate's birthday cake will be. Less than a month to go and my little boy will be 2!

Our newest addition

It's a swing set!

I have a feeling this newest addition to our household will get me through many LONG days at home with two kids this year. A friend's aunt was looking for a new home for it, and she found one! Needless to say, Nate loves it. His first reaction (shown above) wasn't as exciting as we thought it might be, but we thought it was worth showing anyway. We'll be adding a baby swing for Evie soon.

Since we've been home

Staying cool with the help of a spray bottle.

We arrived back in Texas Monday evening. Stephen drove most of the way while I entertained kids in the back, with the help a portable DVD player. Our best purchase ever!

After such an exhausting trip back we needed to relax by the pool. Well, Nate did anyway. We bought this pool before we left for Kentucky, but didn't bring it out until this week. We returned to temperatures over 100 in Texas, so it was much needed!

Kentucky: Round 4

As Elizabeth cleaned out her stuff, Nate found some treasures.
This hat was one of them.

Nate and Samuel's first duet.

Nate's cousin, Samuel. What a sweet smile!

A final picture all together in front of Mom's house.

We finished our "vacation" in Kentucky at Mom's house helping my sister move out. My brother and his family were able to come for a couple days and we spent one final weekend together in the house. I have to say it was much harder to leave for the last time than I expected. Elizabeth and I got to meet the family that moved in, and they said we could come back to visit anytime. I'm sure we'll take them up on that in a few years.

Kentucky: Round 3

Nate with Uncle Tim and his cousins on the gator.

With Granddad coming up the drive.

Evie with her namesake, Grandma Blan.

Nate's favorite pastime in Lewisport was riding Nana and Granddad's newest toy, a John Deere gator, or a farm buggy as his "Things That Go" book would say. Evie's favorite pastime was being in the arms of anyone that would hold her!

Kentucky: Rounds 1 and 2

Nate peeking through the railing. He finally learned how to go up and down steps!

Evie bonding with her Aunt Annie and cousin Katie.

Nate's first piano lesson given by Aunt Liza.

After a couple days in the car on our first road trip with 2 kids under 2, we arrived in Kentucky almost 2 weeks ago. We spent our first few days with Stephen's family and have been with my sister this week. It looks like Mom's house is going to sell, so we'll be in Kentucky longer than originally planned to help with the final packing and cleaning out. It's a bittersweet time. We're thankful that the house is selling without having been on the market too long, but it's Mom's house - the place we remember her most in.

Right now we plan on heading back to Texas around July 13th. We're already dreading the drive home, but at least we'll have a few more weeks of summer break to enjoy when we get back.