Things have been very busy around here since I last posted for me and my schooling goals -- dissertation finishing and preparing for the defense. This past week, we had a combination of snow and cold temperatures that resulted in cancelled classes for the boys' preschool AND the two universities were my husband and I work, respectively.
Chaos is ruling, but it's a good kind of chaos.
My little buddy turned 2 years old yesterday! We celebrated by having lasagna dinner for around 22 (my mom's side of the family, Hal's parents, and Luke's godfather's family). He got lots of presents (including a sandbox) and really enjoyed his cake, which he has been asking for for days.
Nathan is so sweet. He's talking more and more and he loves to run, climb, and jump. He and his big brother have such fun together (most of the time). Nathan is a finicky eater -- we never know if he's going to eat everything or nothing on his plate. He especially likes anything sweet, bread, hot dogs, cheese, raisins, and pizza (what terrible nutrition). We work on veggies and fruits, but he has always been very stubborn about food. If he doesn't want it, he's not going to eat it (and the reverse is true -- there is no quicker way to get a crying/tantrum than to take away something he wants to eat).
He loves lions and making animal noises. He enjoys Sesame Street, Thomas the Tank Engine, and he gets excited when he sees airplanes. He gives hugs and kisses a lot and really enjoys seeing Gammy (my mom) and "The Pa" (my dad).
He likes his book Moon Mater the best, but he loves to read and sing, especially before bed. He enjoys the bathtub and loves to say "potty," particularly when his big brother leaves a table at a restaurant to go to the potty. He likes to draw and dance and is just a joy.
Our little fox doesn't say much, but he really enjoyed collecting candy during trick or treat in the rain tonight!
Luke recycled his costume from last year because who wouldn't want to be a rocket ship two years in a row?! Cheaper for me!!!
One day I'll get a picture of them together that looks nice. Obviously not today.
A week or so ago, Nathan backed up while getting ready to go down our slide and fell about 4.5 feet from our swing set. I was standing at the ladder. I do not know how he was not hurt -- he landed on his shoulders/back/neck region. I seriously thought that maybe I shouldn't move him and just call 911. But, he was fine except that he bit his lip. Seriously, there is no reason that he was fine. It was awful. I called the pediatrician but by the time they called me back he was acting like his normal self. So much to be thankful for.
Our swing set was the previous homeowner's and it was very old and unsafe and we had been meaning to take it down. But we didn't and just were watching to make sure the boys were safe on it. Well, that night I pulled the slide off with my bare hands and also broke the ladder rungs so they couldn't climb up to the platform. The whole swing set is now dismantled.
These kids, I swear.
Tonight, Luke, who is recovering from a cold, went to school today, and didn't nap, asked to go to bed at 7:30. Yikes. Nathan cried for an hour when he woke up from his nap (teeth and cold) and was mad when Hal put him to bed. I can't wait to see how they are tomorrow.
But then there are these moments. This picture makes me so happy. I looked up from checking email yesterday (my birthday!) and these two were like this. What a great birthday present. 
And here's Luke on the first day of school:
On Sunday, we got Nathan into Gammy and Pa's pool for the first time! He loved it! Luke is getting braver this year, too. He likes jumping off the side!
As part of my fitness goals for the year, I have decided to take a walk whenever it is above 50 degrees. My temperature requirement comes not from myself but because of the boys. I don't want them to be too cold just for the sake of me wanting to walk.
Well, Thursday was GORGEOUS. It was almost 60 degrees and I was able to walk with just a sweatshirt. We decided to hit the road when we got home from picking up Luke from school.
I made the impromptu decision to walk down to the park. I saw down because it's pretty much a huge hill down to the park. It's 1 mile away (I checked later with my car), which wouldn't be too bad except for the hill.
Let me tell you, walking down a hill while holding a dog and about 75 lbs of stroller is not easy. It was all I could do to keep the stroller from getting away from me on the steepest parts.
I should have paid more attention. But the stroller was too wide to see.
The bump.
A part of the sidewalk had sunk and left a several inch straight up cliff between it and the next piece of sidewalk.
I hit that cliff going fast because it was downhill.
My strollers wheels were too small. They stopped.
But the rest of us kept going! All of the sudden I was flying over the handlebars as the stroller pitched forward, almost going upside down. I fell to the side and hit the ground next to Nathan.
Layla was confused. A car traveling alongside me on the road paused perhaps a little bit longer at the stop sign and then kept going when it saw me starting to stir.
I pulled myself up and struggled to upright the stroller. I pulled back the canopy and two sets of eyes looked at me. Not a peep. Luke had his hand on the ground, bracing himself. Nathan was just sitting there, and I'm thankful that we still had him in the shoulder straps or else he would have probably fallen out.
I got them upright. No one was worse for wear. My pride might have been a little hurt.
So we continued to the park. Where Luke climbed the crazy ladder thing like a big boy and Nathan loved the swing.
And then we walked home. Slowly. My shoulders hurt for days, and I had a big bruise on my elbow. But what an adventure!
On the second day of the year, we took a picture in some of our new Christmas clothes to send to our new aunt (my brother got engaged! They are both far away and I wanted to show her that the nice gifts she sent fit.)
Later that evening, we turned on some tunes. Luke loves music. He is especially into "pitano"(piano) music as performed by Ben Folds. Just in the past couple of days, he discovered Mumford & Sons. He contemplated their song "I'll be there," which he later sang while playing on the little fisher price piano.
We will see if I can take a picture every day this year!
From 1/1: chili parlor shenanigans.
Was crazy.
We got home on Sunday the 29th (Nathan was born on Friday). On Wednesday, I came down with such a horrible headache that I worried I had a spinal headache. I have never had a headache like that before. I still have no idea what the headache was. However, it felt much better
the next day. I got my blood pressure checked at the doctor and
everything looked good, too. I do have several pulled muscles in my neck
(I have no idea how I did that) -- and I know that at least one of them
is pressing against a nerve, so perhaps that caused the headache? No
clue. I did get a prescription for Loratab. I've only taken one -- that
first day. But when I went to pick it up, it cost me 47 cents! What the
heck? No wonder people are addicted to pain killers! ;)
So the
first week was rough -- my headache/neck problem, Luke came down with an
ear infection and pink eye, and the first week with a newborn is always
challenging in general. It was crazy, with three out of the four of us seeing the doctor! The second week was better. We
spent this weekend home at my parents' house, which was very nice. My
in town family all got to meet Nathan, which was fun!
But before that, Nathan was 1 week old! :) Here he is at one week:
And here are the boys' feet. Luke is so dainty, isn't he?
Amongst the exams (I passed!), the teaching (wraps up this week!), Thanksgiving, playing with Luke, and other fun, Hal and I have been cautiously expecting good news.
On Friday, we found out that Luke will have a little brother in April! Nathan will be here sometime around April 20th. His ultrasound looked great, although we have to get some pictures of his heart at our next appointment since he was being stubborn for that particular portion of the scan. We were relieved and so excited about having a household full of two little boys under two! What blessings!
