Happy Birthday "Manda"!

Saturday was Amanda's 2nd birthday party! Nate had been going through his list of names all morning..."Manda", "Jackson", "Miss Susan", etc...so I know he was excited. She had a fun backyard party with Bubble Machines and Water Toys and there were lots of kids to play with. But with all that set up for excitement, Nate had a bad day...he was "that kid" at the party, the one that pitches a fit when you take a toy away from him, wants to be inside when everyone else is outside (or vice versa), he just didn't feel like being social. I have my lists of excuses* as to why he acted the way he did but the fact of the matter was he simply misbehaved and he wasn't himself.

But despite Nate having an off day, it was still a great party!

The Birthday Girl!

Nate actually playing with someone - what set the tone for the day was her doll that he didn't want to let go of and insisted on trying to get her in the water. Nothing like wrestling a doll out of your son's hands at a party!

Finally, a cupcake made everything better.

*Nate's 2 yr molars have been coming in (I can only assume since there is no chance of being able to see back there - but he has been chewing on his fingers and anything else he can get back there, he even found a pacifier today and chewed on it all morning, and he has been more irritable than normal). Has anyone else experienced a tough time with teething at this stage? He always had a hard time when teeth were coming in but I don't hear as much about toddlers being as bothered by them...

I'm A Big Kid Now!

Warning - this posting may not be suitable for readers who are not parents of a toddler or infant...

So, if you couldn't tell, I needed to give a brief update on Nate's potty training progress. Nate has become more and more interested in sitting on the potty this week. He will go in the bathroom, sit down, read a book, play with his trains...just hang out, to the point a few times I have actually had to make him get up. So, I thought this was good progress...I wasn't pushing him to actually "go" necessarily (a little encouragement was certainly provided, but that wasn't the intent) we were just getting used to sitting on it and getting comfortable with the idea. Well, on Saturday morning it was time for a routine "sitting" and no sooner than his cheeks hit the little seat did he start tinkling! (Of course the little "shield" wasn't on so it was messier then I had hoped, but I guess that is the joy of little boys.) I was thrilled and a little shocked! I might have scared him. I was just so happy that he did it and that gave me the hope that there would be a light at the end of this tunnel and maybe it wasn't as far away as I imagined. But I wasn't quite ready to put on the big boy Thomas undies (oh yes, Nena already bought him a set) just yet...

Today, we went through the same routine and...nothing. He would tell me he had to go after the fact. But I knew this was a game of patience so I wasn't discouraged. And then, tonight we were sitting at dinner and he said "poo poo" (which typically means he had already gone) so I made a big production of getting up and running to the potty...I take the diaper off and nothing...so he sits down, we read a book together and - MAGIC - he goes!!! I was so proud and he was really proud of himself too! I realize this is far more info than anyone reading wants to know but as a mother, I have to say, this was one of those amazing milestone moments. It was a moment where we achieved something we were working on together but it was also this bittersweet moment of realizing our baby is growing up and the diaper phase may already be coming to an end soon. But for now, I am just proud. (And yes, I know that he may not actually do this again for another week but I am going to keep on with my wishful thinking for now!)

Now I have to figure out how to get him to stand?? He knows to do it - he says "Boys stand, Girls sit" (a line from his favorite Potty Book) - and he has tried but he isn't as inclined to actually go that way (and we tried the step stool to the big potty and that wasn't happening). So, if anyone has any boy pee pee tips, I am all ears!

Long Overdue...

Our summer really has been more fun than it appears in our blog! We have been on the go so much and I just haven't had the time (or quite frankly the energy) to keep up with all of our pictures and postings. But, I figured, if I don't get caught up now I never will...so here is my attempt at catching up! I knew I wouldn't have the patience to do it all in one post, so there are a few event specific posts below this one...but here are some additional random things we have done so far this summer...

We drove to the mountains one weekend and had a picnic...

and hiked to a waterfall...

and found a stream that both Daddy...

and Nate played in.

Michael had a tennis match near Stone Mountain one Saturday morning so we decided to spend the afternoon there. Nate had fun riding the train around the base of the mountain (If you look really closely you will see Thomas in his hand...as you scroll through the next few posts you can play "Where's Thomas?" He loves his trains and pretty much always has one in his hand!).

We had a pool party and cookout with the Pavloffs and Luskins in July. Nate, Amanda, and Jackson played their own version of Cornhole...

did lots of swimming.

Jackson, Austin, Amanda, and Nate taking the wagon home for the evening.

Nate and I rolled out the paper one Saturday and brought out the paint and brushes and glue and created a messy masterpiece. Here is Nate admiring his work.

Here he is doing the "Thanks for Letting Me Make a Giant Mess Mommy!" dance.

The Artist at work

Then cleaning himself (and Cameron) off in the yard afterwards.

He is also working hard at figuring out how to dress himself. Sometimes he does a great job, some times it gets confusing.

We have played in the water a lot this summer...sometimes at the pool, but sometimes its fun to just turn a sprinkler on in the yard...

That (and the following posts) is just a snapshot of what has been going on the last couple of months with us. We haven't done anything extravagant this summer but it's been a good one none-the-less. It's such an amazing thing to experience summertime with a child...it makes doing simple things all the more fun! We hope your summer has been as fun as ours...

Nate in the Wild

Michael has been wanting to take Nate camping since before he was born...and I finally gave in a couple of weekends ago and agreed to give it a shot. Camping overnight, in a tent, with a toddler didn't really sound like a good idea, but it actually turned out to be really fun and Nate loved it. We went just north of Dalhonega in the North GA Mtns to a place call Desoto Falls and it was (luckily) much cooler up there.

Bringing his Dump Truck turned out to be a good move...while we were setting up camp he pushed it around and collected rocks and sticks.

Having a snack in his tent. He slept inside his tent inside of ours so he had a little cocoon. He stayed up a little later than normal just because it wasn't dark out but after a little bouncing around he fell sound asleep and didn't wake up until 7:30 am. Cameron slept in the tent next to him so he was very excited to wake up and see the dog next to him! I woke up to him saying "Hi Puppy!!"

We went for a little hike around the campsite and Nate found a creek to play in.

The Dump Truck also served as great entertainment...it was really fun to ride downhill in it!

Helping Daddy get the campfire started. He did well staying away from it...he just danced around it saying "Danger!" and "Hot!"

Hanging out by the Campfire

Cameron loved being out in the wilderness (even though you can't tell in this pic - he was tuckered out by the time evening rolled around)

We grilled out steaks and made smores (of course)...yum...you can't have your first camping trip without them.

Nate was an excellent little camper...we may even do it again. ;)

The Lake

In July, we spent a weekend in Knoxville with CC and Papa Steve. We fit a lot of activities in to less than 48 hrs but we had a lot of fun!

Michael and his Dad and Aunts played golf so, after a morning of shopping, we met up with them at the club for lunch.

Then we went to Margaret and Gloria's and met up with Sydney and Piper for a fun day on the Lake.

Nate got to drive the boat

We thought we would take Nate for a spin on the wave runner...but the sun and the wind in his hair must have been too soothing because he fell asleep! Who knew you could sleep on a wave runner??

Michael did some fishing and caught a bass (see it??)...Nate thought it was hysterical.

After a long day in the sun (without a nap - unless you count the 15 mins on the wave runner), we went to a cookout with the rest of the Cox family. Nate played with Gavin and Ryn for as long as he could until we finally had to return to Papa Steve and CC's to turn in.

It was a quick but fun weekend in TN!

Nate's Date with Thomas

To say Nate is obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine (and his friends) would be an understatement. He sleeps with at least two trains every night, he knows every single train's name (to include the buses, helicopter, and other random train yard equipment - I still can't even tell them all apart), he can spend hours in his playroom pushing the trains around the track, and several times a day he comes up to us just to say "Watch Thomas?" and when we let him watch it he starts dancing around. Then he proceeds to narrate each episode as only he can..."Thomas sad", "Slow down Thomas!", "Be Careful Percy!, "Crash!"....

So, when Amanda and Jackson bought him tickets to see Thomas Live at the Fox Theater for his birthday, he was very excited! He loved the Fox - the stars lit on the ceiling were captivating, he kept saying "tinkle tinkle!". Then the show started and whoa...he went nuts! He jumped up in my lap and screamed "Hi Thomas!! Hi Percy!! Hi Gordon!! etc etc" pretty much the whole show. I was worried that his attention span wouldn't be long enough for t

he whole show but he did great. It was a fun night and it was really cool to see him so excited to see Thomas in "real life"!

Nate & Mommy on the way to see Thomas!

Checking out the stars on the ceiling (Note Thomas and Percy clutched in each hand)

On his feet to see Thomas