The Whetzel Family

What's up with the Whetzels...

2011-04-24T20:20:00.011-04:00

A bit to catch you up on.....nothing major, but life just keeps going on! I can't believe that Josh will be 1 year old in 10 weeks! Enjoy some pictures and commentary!

These deer were seen at the bottom of our hill- just standing out there in the road. About 5 of them bounded across the road in front of Mike the other evening.... tis spring!

My boys in various greens for St. Patrick's Day!

And we're on the move.... not crawling yet, but that doesn't stop him from moving around... rolling, rolling here we go!!!

Nate having fun putting the clothes basket on top of Josh and then climbing on it.... Nate, don't trap your brother.....

Can a baby be insanely happy? I think I just found one.....

Loving the riding toy!

Like I said- insanely happy, and REALLY loving the riding toy....

He rolls under all sorts of things....

And is so happy about it.....

He likes standing.. here he's peeking inside a house that Nate and Papa built....

Like I said before- likes getting into precarious positions....and

sometimes he needs help to get out of them....

Nate wanted to snuggle on the couch with his brother, and Josh loved the idea...for a bit...

Nate is happy to be an older brother.... most of the time :)

Nate enjoying Sunday morning waffles...and Josh lovin' sitting at the little table for the first time!

This is the ear protection that we bought for Nate for his surprise trip to the Monster Truck show! I'll have to get picture off Mike's phone to post on here.... and Josh happy to try them on...

I needed to occupy him in the kitchen so that I could get dinner going... he loved pulling out the tupperware!

Baby going for a ride!

Nate wanting to jump into the picture.....

Easter egg hunt at the #1 Cycle Center... (Harley Davidson)- good turn out, and a fun time... need more eggs in the youngest category though.... kids cry if they don't get any....

Grandad helping to count the eggs that Nate found...

Easter baskets

Nate opening his Easter basket

Fun shirts from Grandma and Grandad

Nate (sporting a new hair cut and wearing his Star Wars apron) helping Grandma in the kitchen at Easter making the bunny cake.

"Helping" grandma...

And the finished product! Kind of looks like its bleeding from the mouth.. the jelly beans ran in the icing in the frig! Nate did a good job helping Grandma! (Notice the rice crispie basket ontop of the bunny... its a "fire engine bunny" so says Nate...)

Hope everyone had a happy Easter!

'Til next time!

Brothers

2011-02-23T22:04:00.002-05:00

Look alike much?

Nate 6 months old

Josh 7 months old

Wait... I'm writing on here again?

2011-02-23T21:26:00.004-05:00

Back by popular demand (well, Mike can't check facebook at work, so he requested that I update the blog so he can look at pics of his kids...)! So a year and a half later, and another addition to our family, enjoy an update!!

Got my toes!

Learning how to do laundry....er... sit in laundry....
Nate did this all by himself! Pretty cool eh?

Josh laughing at his brother....

Is that a chirping bird? Nope, that's Josh just expanding his voice :)

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T19:04:00.005-05:00

Happy Halloween! We had a great time. On Friday, Nate's class all had a Halloween party and dressed up and had a parade during the day. Nate went as a skeleton!

Nate and some of his friends at school....

Nate and Johnny!

(Nate with his mask on and Johnny the dinosaur!)

Now I know that gingerbread houses are for Christmas...but Walmart had this "chocolate" house kit to build, so Nate and I did this on Saturday morning... I let him loose with the icing bad..... lets just say that black icing is a BAD idea :)

Just thought this face was funny!

Nate's costume round 2- we were invited to a Halloween birthday party and subsequent trick or treating over in Bellefonte- we had a fabulous time! Nate has been expressing an interest in Scooby Doo lately (ever since our trip to the beach- thank goodness for portable DVD players!) so I thought I'd try to find a Scooby costume.... so using points I had for Amazon.com, I got this costume for $1.43!! I couldnt' resist...and I didn't want him to get something on it at school, and hence why we went him in the skeleton for school (I picked that up at the consignment sale....).

The 4 youngsters that went trick or treating- the twins are superman and fairy princess! :)

Fun Halloween night shot.... Bellefonte- Curtain street- was super fun to trick or treat on! :) The kids lasted for quite a while- Nate wanted to be carried pretty quickly though..... by the end the kids were having a blast jumping in the piles of leaves....the whole candy thing was getting old :)

We've been doing some Christmas/birthday shopping already- with 75% of our family with Nov/Dec/Jan birthdays as well as Christmas, we're trying to be smart about it.... anyway, the last order came in a BIG box....so big Nate could fit in it!

Where's Nate????

Before the snow...

2009-10-18T21:56:00.005-04:00

Forgot to post some pictures from the Way Fruit Farm festival from last weekend.... Hey Mom, this pumpkin is bigger than I am!!

Tractor ride!

Brrrr.... it was COLD!

Sweet Nov Rain....er... Oct snow?

2009-10-18T21:22:00.005-04:00

State College officially broke a record for the earliest recorded snow fall. The record has stood since Oct 18th 1901. Well, on Oct 16th, we woke up to 5 inches of snow on the ground!

Tree branches were down everywhere.... it was so weird to see the snow covering green leaves! The leaves hadn't even fully changed around us yet!

Snow family!

Nate's dinosaur hat!

p.s.

2009-09-28T21:34:00.001-04:00

Other late August and September moments- Mom turns 30 and Nate is potty trained! WHAHOO!

Where did Sept go?

2009-09-28T20:27:00.007-04:00

Wow- almost October.... I can't believe that September went by so fast! We waited to take our summer vacation until the second week in September, so the summer seemed quite long for us as we awaited our beach vacation! We went down with our neighbors, the Ohlsons, and mutual family friends, the Lawrences. We had a great house in OBX, great weather, great food and great friends! Now, the only bummer was that Nate had a fever for 3 of the 6 days we were there, but when he was feeling well, he had a blast! He slept in a big boy bed (which he has now upgraded to at home as well) and only got out of bed when he wasn't feeling well. Anyway, I could talk forever, but I know you really want to see some pictures! So without further a-do....

Nate's first time on the beach at the ocean!

Sara's first time too!

He wasn't too keen on sand at first....

The group standing around on the beach!

Cutie pie....

Nate climbed into the hamper...haha

Silly Nate!

OK, that's enough pictures.....

Alayna and Sara!

Watching Dora....

Walking at Jockey's ridge....

Hey Nate- this is where Daddy wanted to propose to Mommy, but a storm came and we had to leave the park!

He wasn't feeling too well when we started in the jeep, he didn't want any pictures taken....

Mommy having fun driving the jeep!!!

Wild horse.....

Yes, that's a dragon sleeping on Nate's chest.....

Mommy and Mel being silly....

Grinning on the beach!

We made a stop on the way home- checked out the home of the monster truck "Grave Digger"....

Hiking, Jello and playing with Neighbors....

2009-08-16T19:36:00.005-04:00

Hi All- Just a couple of pictures to share. Not much going on lately, just staying cool!

Enjoy some of the pictures!

Daddy took Nate hiking on a Saturday morning a couple of weeks ago....

Mommy and Nate made jello jigglers!

We watched the Ohlson girls last night and the kids had a blast!

Take a walk with the T's (neighbors- they walk most evenings, and Nate likes to walk down the street with them, so we all joined in!)

Al giving a silly pose! On our way to look at the goats!

N and Al looking in the stream

On the way home...

Al grabbed Nate's hand on her own! Super cute....It will be fun to show them these when they are older!

Odds and Ends

2009-07-24T10:23:00.007-04:00

So I finally got my pictures downloaded.... not a lot actually... but there are few from Del Grosso amusement park- very fun for the little kiddos- there were rides they could go on themselves! A couple pictures from time with Grammie and Papa with Nana and Pa visiting as well...

Making hot milk cake with Grammie

Nana brings her drum :)

Nate wanted to wear Daddy's shoes around.... big shoes to fill! :)

Husking corn with Granddad... I've always said "shucking", but Grandma and Granddad insist that it is "husking"....I googled it and it looks like it can go both ways...what's the correct word for taking the husks off corn?

And finally, I"ll try putting this video up... I don't seem to have luck with this, but will try!

German Nate

2009-06-24T11:32:00.006-04:00

I am super slow on the updates lately. We dressed Nate up in lederhosen (circa when Mike was young) and did a photo shoot in our back yard with Momma! Mike had a set of pictures taken of him in this outfit when he was younger... it was time! If we waited any long, Nate would be too big! I wish I had an image of one of the pictures from when Mike was younger....hmmmm.... Enjoy!

Sound of music anyone?

I think Nate looks the most like his daddy in this picture...

I think this is the best "normal" one :)

This one is for Nana- drumming away!

He was so fascinated with looking at himself in the sliding glass door.....

And finally this photoshoot would not have been complete without the bribe picture... yes, we bribed him with a cupcake to take the pictures!! :)

More general updates

2009-06-05T21:06:00.006-04:00

Update take 2: there were just too many pictures to share in one post...so take a look at the tall boy!! :) Nate was moved up into the 3 year old room at school- he's growing so fast! He's been there in the room for 2 weeks now and his vocabulary has increased exponentially. He's now stringing several sentences or more together and starting to tell stories! :) How fun!

We altered this shirt the other week when he was a particular pistol in school.... his teachers thought it was funny.....

I really think that Nate looks like Stitch in this picture, but I can't find a good comparison picture.

Isn't he just the little man???

Warrior pose- yes our son does yoga in school!

We visited Lancaster last weekend and Grandma and Granddad took us to the Strasburg Railroad!

This was before the train got going... we were in the open car close to the engine- Nate didn't like the whistle blowing- he thought it was too loud...he kept his hands over his ears the ride out...then the train's engine went to the other end of the train and the ride was quieter and we were able to coax Nate's hands from his ears with some yummy kettle corn!

He loves his popcorn!

This week- hair cut #3! Its time!

Month of May? Gone.....

2009-06-05T20:21:00.006-04:00

Two posts in April... none in May... I guess it all evens out, eh? Well, I'm blogging on a spankin' new computer curtousy of my wonderful in-laws who have INSANE luck... here's to hoping its in the genes and it just skipped a generation and Nate got their luck too! HA! Ok, so lots to update on... well, no news specifically, but for sure a couple of inches of Nate. I'm not kidding. The kid lost his budda belly this week and shot up like another inch! Ok, maybe not THAT much, but it sure seems like it! I did kind of a measurment today and conservatively he's 38.5 inches tall now... that's just about 2 inches taller than he was in Nov! It shows, it really does!

First updates: We spent a wonderful weekend south of Pittsburg for Memorial Day weekend visiting the Brown's. We had such a wonderful time, we didn't want to come home to reality! Enjoy the pictures!

Pittsburg zoo

Fun water action shots!

Check out the air on these!

The Brown's bought a slip n slide- the boys wheren't sure what to do with it, so the dad's had to help....

More Pittsburg Zoo- sorry, the move function on here wasn't working that well, so the pictures are a bit disjointed!

HOT HOT HOT

2009-04-28T10:34:00.006-04:00

Hi All-

Its been quite hot here the last two days... we suddenly went from 40's to high 80's in a matter of days (day). It took us all by surprise.... suddenly the trees are busting their leaves out and blossoms that would have lasted longer in normal spring temperatures are being shoved out for leaves to catch sun light.... the house is hot, we didn't even have our weather proofing off from winter before we had to open up our windows and stick fans in them at night in order to stay cool... sigh... relief looks like its coming soon though, so I'll stop complaining!

The Blue and White game was this weekend. It was smack dab in the middle of Nate's nap, so we just went over to the carnival after he woke up. Of course he woke up early from his nap and said immediately "I want to go to the carnival- now." So we strapped him into the running stroller and walked over to the stadium- its a bit of a hike, but we figure by the time we were going to be heading over there, we probably would have been able to SEE our car parked from our house, and decided it was a nice day and we were going to walk!

I also volunteered again at the semi-annual Rugrats Resale- it was packed! But they couldn't have had better weather, that's for sure! I picked Nate up a couple pairs of shorts, short PJs (needed them this weekend!) and some 4T tops... and I also got him.... a Little Tykes Coupe! :) (see pictures).

I'll admit, Nate's legs are almost too long for this little coupe... but he played with it diligently all weekend-

Nate's new ride....

I'm also going to put some pictures on here of our visit the other weekend with the Browns- they stopped by to visit for the weekend on their way back to Pitt. It was so good to see them! It was a great weekend then too- not as hot either! Enjoy! And note: this is number 2 post for April!

We got the bumbo seat out for little J (M's little brother) and Nate wanted to sit in it....

M and Nate- M has the 'thumbs-up' down pat- Nate- not so much...

Looking at a book together- too bad Nate couldn't get rid of his cheesey grin...

The essential Lion Shot of the Brown Family.......

Nate and Daddy on the Lion (these are the first pictures we have of Nate by the lion...bad, bad Penn Staters....)

Nate on the lion....

What is it with guys and tools?

Just a brief update on me- I'm feeling much better- drinking cold water fast still feels weird- and so does sneezing...but other than that, my tonsil problems are OVER! :) WHAHOO!

An interesting ride

2009-04-14T13:38:00.006-04:00

The last couple of weeks have been quite interesting. I had another bought of tonsillitis the last full week of March into April... Was in a car accident on Friday March 27th (I'm fine, the Focus wasn't...but is fine now), and then had my tonsils removed on Thursday April 2nd. It is Tuesday April 14th, and I'm just now back to work for my first full day. I lost the last 10 days of my life...I was so drugged up on pain medication and just trying to make it through each day. But the worst is now behind me, and hopefully I have sore throat free days for a very long time. We also celebrated a quiet Easter at home with Mike's parents coming in for the day. Nate was at his grandparents (Grammie and Papa- Camp Whetzel as we like to call it...you'll see why when I post the pictures!) for the first few days of my recovery, but I have those pictures on a different computer and will have to add another post with those shortly. For now I have a few shots of the last couple of weeks... (don't worry, no unnecessary tonsil shots or anything gross! HA!) Enjoy!

Nate wanted to cuddle with mommy (that's exactly what he said)- this is the first day he came back after my surgery.... so I'm there looking swollen and recovering...

Mike is so going to shoot me for putting this up.... heh, its a man-bag! :)

Nate and Daddy decorating Easter eggs....

Decorating more Easter Eggs....

I think Nate had just as much fun coloring on himself...luckily its washable marker! :)

Nate on Easter...

He's really picking out the water squirter from Grandma and Granddad's bag behind his basket, but it looks like he's pulling it out of his basket...look magic!

This is the second time he's wanted to wear his sunglasses in the morning...his future's so bright, he has to wear shades! (To his credit, it is pretty bright when the sun shines in there in the morning...)

Nate has reached the requirements for a backless booster seat- since they are pretty cheap, daddy went out and purchased one to put in the truck- then we went on a Sunday drive together on the lovely Sunday afternoon...this is one of our favorite past times....

Thanks to Sissy's mom for the fun bunny ears! :)

What a cutie pie! :)

I'll post some more pictures from Nate's time at Grammie and Papa's and more from Easter Sunday.... til then!

Ok, so its one a month right now....

2009-03-25T14:22:00.006-04:00

Thought I would be better at posting, but doesn't look that way! Sheesh! Here are my excuses- 1) I've been extremely busy at work- more so than I have EVER before 2) I was traveling for a week for work- back to back meetings in Chicago and then DC- all the while took the overnight train for some adventure! (BTW, I don't recommend the train from Pittsburg to Chicago or vice versa....you feel like tossed salad!) As for Nate, he's working on using the potty- we're not pushing it, he'll get it when he gets it- he also says on a regular basis that he wants to go to the beach ( I think we have Johnny to thank for that :)) and then he'll follow it up by saying that he also wants to sleep in a tent sometime. We can't wait until the weather warms up! Anyway, here are some pictures over the last month....

Nate and his cars....

Nate and Johnny had another play date- here they are trying to "fix" the car with tools....

Ah, Granddad is so proud! :)

Here is Johnny giving us his "sad" face.... look at those puppy dog eyes!

And because of those puppy dog eyes, Johnny gets his grandma to buy Nate an animal too! This time they brought over a lady bug!

You try getting the boys to look at the camera with their bugs....

... not an easy task....

Finally, cheesey grins... :)

Hanging around on a Saturday afternoon- momma's not really snoozing....she's just pretending...

Grinning!

In this pic, Nate is showing off his new kicks (shoes)- Uncle Brandon would be proud to know that they are Transformer shoes! (Size 8.5! gak!)

Here's a better pic of the shoes. We were home for a bit this morning because we had a follow up appointment with the ear doc- Nate's tubes are still in! Which is fabulous news.... lets see how long they can get him to...the longer they are in, the less chance we have of him having to get tubes again!

Nate's second hair cut! There is a new salon that just opened up that caters just to kids... I thought their chairs were pretty neat- they had 2 cars, and then a couple of princess chairs etc....

Crazy hair! He didn't last THAT long with getting his hair cut- note to self, try and put on cartoons in the VERY beginning....

The finished product! Just a touch up to make him less shaggy... I think I'll give it a try (i.e., cutting his hair) when he'll learn to sit still for me!

Play date update

2009-02-10T10:16:00.006-05:00

Hi all- I wanted to try and keep this updated. Here are a few pictures from a play date with Johnny on Superbowl weekend, a visit from Grammie and Papa and yes, a round of scarlet fever....sigh.....

Flying high with Mike, John, Johnny and Nate... I wonder what this would feel like?

Notice the superbowl on in the back ground....heh

Johnny is a precarious position....

Flying again..... (Nate is the one with dark top, lighter jeans, Johnny is light top, dark pants...)

Here's Nate doing a craft that Grammier brought with her... he loved glueing on the pieces and coloring it! (Its a frog btw)

Nate went home from school sick on Thursday, but we thought it was just the 24 hour bug that has been going around... well, though that part only lasted briefly, he kept spiking fevers and then wouldn't eat and stopped drinking.... he also developed a rash on his torso and face...you can see a bit of it here where he's sitting with Papa...

You can also see how red his tongue was as well- its what they call "strawberry tongue". By Sunday, his fever and everything was controlled by Motrin, but he kept spiking a fever, and drinking even less.....so we took him to the ER (the only place to be seen by a doc in SC on the weekend) to have a strep test done... and sure enough, his throat swab came back positive for Strep- scarlatina (Scarlet Fever)- So that was our fun for the past several days. Its easily treatable with antibiotics, so he's back to himself...

except that himself means a VERY defiant boy...I can barely get him to take his medicine... we'll see if he actually starts eating well, or will hold out for the ice cream he got when he wasn't eating anything else...

You can't see the rash here very well, but it would come and go....

Scarlet fever, or cabin fever? You would have only known he was sick because he wouldn't eat or drink much and the fact that he was REALLY touchy....When I think scarlet fever, I think REALLY sick....but he just didn't act it all the time... he's a trooper... It really just took us by surprise, we have no idea where he picked it up from. No one at daycare had reported having strep....but then again, perhaps some parents don't report that stuff.... anyway, hopefully no one else catches it!

Way over due...

2009-01-25T13:40:00.010-05:00

I apologize for not updating this more quickly...but, I guess better late than never! Lots to update you on, so I'll post oldest to newest......

Nate started swim classes at Mike's work (yes they have a swimming pool for the employees)- there was only one other kid/parent team signed up, and they didn't show up all the time, so Nate basically had a personal lesson with the swim teacher and dad of course...here are a few shots of him in the pool! We'll continue to have him take the classes as long as we can.... he doesn't like to dunk his head under water yet, but we're working with him....

(Daddy and Nate with swim teacher Joan)

Next, we have Christmas at Grammie and Papa's. With GG's funeral (Mike's grandmother) on the Tuesday before Christmas, it was a pretty somber holiday...but the kids didn't know anything was amiss, and they had a blast! Nana and Pa came down from MA to be there for both of their great grand kids! It was Kai's first Christmas with Mel and Kevin.

Here are some attempts (some with various degrees of success) at getting a decent picture of the boys with Nana and Pa....

(The boys were having mini melt downs- who would want to pose like 30 min before bedtime anyway? So my solutions was to put in Mel and Mike, that way its the grand kids and great grand kids.....)

And finally-I think we have the winner here... only Nana's face is covered by her hands as she's clapping.... but the wonder of digital pictures... I"m working on swapping half of her out for one where she's looking at the camera... stay tuned....its almost ready....

I assisted Nate with making reindeer cookies (dad actually had the camera!)- he's a budding picassa....

Kai got in on the action too- only he wanted to eat them BEFORE they were cooked....

After getting back from our Christmas traveling, Mike, Nate and myself relaxed at home....

We took Nate bowling! The bowling alley went smoke free- it was quite busy this afternoon- lots of kids there.... Nate started bowling with an 8lb ball... and he actually beat me! HA! Notice the cute bowling shoes- yes they actually have shoes that will fit him, and they aren't the smallest ones available either! FUN!

We also played in the snow...here is Nate is his jumble of snow gear....

Here's Nate trying to catch a snow flake on his tongue!

Guess he's a little big for the baby sled, eh?

Sledding on our driveway....

Fun with Thomas stickers...just not on paper- we call this "living" art :)

Of course we put him to work...heehee, he helped us sweep!

And finally- these pictures are for you Grammie- I found this shirt at Target (on clearance none the less too!)....

All in all, its been a quiet month of January...cold, snowy and quiet. Nate has hit the terrible twos with a vengance and we hope that he kicks out of it just as fast....sigh...yesterday he refused to nap.... Anyway, I'll try to keep this more up to date.

Official 2 year stats!

2008-12-18T10:08:00.004-05:00

Nate had his 2 year appointment today. He's 36.25 in tall (90th percentile) and 30.5lbs (80th percentile). His head measurement is finally in the 55th percentile (he's been in the 25th for a while...)- he's a normal, perfect healthy boy! If anyone has any tips on how we can get him to brush his teeth (or actually LIKE to brush his teeth) we're all ears!!!

Stayed tuned for more holiday pictures!

On a sad note, Mike's Grandma (GG) passed away last night/early this morning after a long tough battle with cardiac complications. She's a fighter, and has left a wonderful legacy through her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I feel privileged that Nate got to meet his great grandmother. May she rest in peace.

Ellis Christmas 2008

2008-12-15T12:09:00.004-05:00

Hi All-

We had our Ellis side family Christmas this past weekend. Uncle Brandon and Aunt Nadege and Simone came into town (Lancaster) to be with family for this week. Mike, Nate and I traveled down there this weekend to visit. We had a lot of fun and it was great to get to meet our neice! :)

Us...Christmas 2008

Cute picture of Nate - 2008

(Our Christmas tree at home)

(Simone- isn't she a cutie pie?)

Simone 2008

(Nate-Christmas last year - 2007- notice the family resemblence? heehee)

This link will take you to more pictures from this weekend! Enjoy!

Ellis Christmas 2008

Happy 2nd Birthday Nate!

2008-12-01T15:06:00.009-05:00

I can't believe it....Nate is 2 years old. How quickly time seems to fly. I wanted to write something sappy and really heartfelt on here, but I don't think I have the energy at the moment. I don't have any pictures from Thanksgiving for the majority of us were feeling under the weather, including Nate. I'm still feeling under the weather with a cold. I've had worse, but I'm feeling pretty run down at the moment with not getting a lot of sleep in the past week with Nate's coughing fits in the middle of the night. So needless to say I can't think of anything poetic to write regarding the passage of time etc....All I can say is that we've come so far! Nate knows his numbers 1-10, can sing variations of the alphabet, he knows his basic colors (red, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, orange, brown, black and white- we're working on gold and silver) he knows signs for just as many words. He's also been known to spit out 5-7 word sentences already. He can cheer with the best of us for Penn State Football- and knows Penn State by just looking at the symbol! He loves cars and trucks and animals. I'll have "offical" stats after his 2 year apt- which is in like 2 weeks. He loves to terrorize the cat and hates to brush his teeth. He loves the movie Cars and would watch that 24/7 if we let him. He'll use the potty about 50% of the time- he really one asks to go if you ask him if he has to go....so I'm not sure he gets the "urge" yet, but he's learning- on his own I might add. He can put his coat on by himself, and undress himself out of his PJ's quite well. He knows that milk comes from cows, and that the sun went night night when its dark outside.
Ok, enough of my ramblings, here are some much anticipated pictures! Enjoy!

Nate hates posing for pictures, can you tell? Not the most photogenic face ever....hehe...

Some close ups of the cake that I made

The "you caught me before I was going to make a dumb face for the camera" pose.....

Friends from York who made the trek over to help celebrate Nate's birthday- Thank you Ben and Jess! We miss you!

Little Cody, eyeing the festivities...

Nate checking Cody out... more friends from York who came to celebrate!

There we go, we do get a few good pictures every once in a while of Nate...

Nate ripping into presents...it was so much fun this year! Its the first year he actually "gets" it!

Daddy, Lauren, Matt and Amanda in the back ground- enjoying Nate's path of destruction!

Nate playing with his Fisher Price garage (I got this at a consignment sale for $5- not bad eh?)

Mommy coming with the cake....

Nate checking it out- he hadn't noticed it all day....

Nate attempting to blow the candles out, Mom helped him a little bit....

Nate eating his cake and icecream, with a spoon no less! He was more keen about the icecream than the cake....

Such a civilized boy!

Granddad and Nate watching the fire....

Related much? heehee.....

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T17:08:00.005-05:00

Before I get to Thanksgiving, I realize that I haven't posted anything since Halloween! Ugh- how time flies! Here are a few pictures from the last couple of weeks with friends! As you all know, Nate will be 2 on Sunday- I can't believe it.... I'll post pictures afterwards! Tomorrow- Black Friday shopping! WHAHOO!

Enjoy! Two weekends ago, The Brown's visited us from Pittsburg! Malcolm is a couple months younger than Nate... I'm surprised Max stayed around the two little humans..... :)

Malcolm loved the slide!

Its too early for pictures-on our way to Church!

Nate's cute Nittany Lion hat! GO PENN STATE!

Nate and Wil!

Play date with the twins! Mr. Steve is playing "Ring around the Rosie"!

Nate, Wi and Fi playing hide-n-seek in the kitchen!

What big shoes to fill!! (Will is trying on Mike's shoes, and Fiona (below) was trying on my shoes!

We had a blast! We look forward to more play dates.... I think we're going to try bowling at some point!

Nate being creative with kitchen utinsils (splatter screens....)....

(We also used them as badmitten rackets....heehee.... that was mom's idea!)

Happy Halloween and Happy Fall and all that jazz....

2008-11-01T21:17:00.011-04:00

Here are some pictures from Halloween- Nate wore his Tigger costume to school and then he also wore it in the evening to go trick or treating with mom, dad and the Ohlson's! Chrissy came over for an hour before she headed to her Halloween party to hand out candy at our place so that we could both go with Nate. Not many of the neighbors participated in the trick or treating, but it was just the right number for Nate to have his first experience. It took him about 4 houses to really "get" it...and by the end he was saying "trick or treat- CANDY!" :) Enjoy the pictures!

Here is Nate wearing his costume in the morning for school!

Ok- test your knowledge- which one is Nate and which one is John?

This one was not planned- both Nate and John were Tigger- why am I not surprised????

Just for the heck of it, I wanted to throw in here a picture from last year of Nate and John at Halloween!

(Halloween 2007)

Here is the boys' favorite teacher- Miss Jessica- this was their last day with her as both Nate and John will be moving up to the next classroom....

We were afraid that it might be cold, so we put tigger in a jacket! :)
Nate was carrying Mike's trick or treat bag that he had as a child....

The first house we went to! Nate was just not really sure of what to think....

Mom was playing with the camera and lighted pumpkins!

Mel letting Nate pick out a goodie....

Alayna, Kirsten and Nate!

Nate was patiently waiting for Daddy to pick out a treat for him...

mmmm, chocolate....Nate took about 20 min to savor the treat..heehee....

Kirsten as the White Rabbit! :)

Here are a few other pictures from the last week.....

Nate with the Halloween treat bowl on his head.....

Nate-Houdini- once again getting out of his shirt after nap....actually- see- the neck of the shirt is around his waist...heh

He is so proud of himself....

Dad- no more pictures!

And finally, here are a bunch of pictures from the Way Fruit Farm Fall Festival

Some things to catch up on....

2008-10-21T09:12:00.011-04:00

Ok, so I'm going to go in a bit of a jumbled order, I realize that I don't have the Harvest Festival pictures on this computer...sigh... so that's from 2 weekends ago and I'll have to post that tomorrow! For now, here are some shots from the last 2 weeks...including PSU homecoming -
8-0 YEAH! And our houseguests for the game....as well as a family adventure- enjoy!

Nate is saying all kinds of things, and sentences! I got "I can do it myself" when trying to change him on Saturday morning...and he's getting so much better with his words! He was saying "Go Penn State!" all weekend....and he clearly says that he wants his PSU hat to wear in the morning. Last night sitting on the couch he said - I have snack- he uses have instead of wants at the moment...then I asked him what he wanted, he said "um, whale crackers"- Grandma had brought 2 pouches of whale crackers when they were briefly here last week, and he had one this weekend, and asked for the other one last night! The "um" before he says something is REALLY cute. He can pick out and say- Fire engine, fire truck, garbage truck, dump truck, cement truck, pick up truck. He was getting near the road at the end of our driveway, and I told him to come back and he said "No Way Momma!" now as defiant as that was, I was busting up inside...
Ok, too many words! On to the pictures!

Front door decorations left over from Fall Festival at Church- very homey :)

I loved this shirt on Nate, its a "fall shirt"- however, its a bit big, and he kept getting his arm out and up through the neck hole, so they changed him before he came home....

I still love the outfit though... :)

Nate and Daddy at the Homecoming Parade!

This picture if for Granddad- its a New Holland Tractor! They had a few of these in the parade...

More parade....when Nate saw the marching band, he definitely pointed out the Tubas and said "Tuba!" ah, he is my son after all... :)

So after his day of practicing getting his arm out through the neck hole of the fall shirt- and then he had a whole day in his PSU gear where he was fine... this is how I found him on Saturday morning....Houdini...

This is the adorable Hannah- she and her parents were house guests this weekend...isn't she a cutie pie??? She's just about 1 year younger than Nate (her b-day is the day before Nate's)

Here are the 3 kids who watched the game with us on Saturday (with their moms of course....) Abigail is in the pink- I must say I forgot to take pictures earlier, and Abigail was wearing an adorable PSU cheerleader outfit- missed it.... Nate of course, and the cutie pie Hannah, and Max- who really isn't sure of what to think of the 3 little humans crawling/running around....

We tried to get them all to do the touch down arms- both girls were doing it earlier in the day...but we lost the moment....

Dapper Nate with the ladies. Oh, Abigail's birthday is also a Nov birthday- so all the kids have Nov b-days...weird eh?

I swear Hannah was trying to give Nate bunny ears....look at how innocent she looks....

Nate caught her!! :)

The next set of pictures were from Sunday afternoon when Mike wanted to get Nate out into Nature, so we went hiking! We let Nate walk too. He wasn't crazy about the rough terrain at first, but then once he realized that he could pick up some of the smaller rocks and throw them into the stream, he was fine! :) Of course he wanted to pick up the "BIG ones" that he could really get ahold of....he is his mother's son after all! :)

I can't get him to look at the camera worth a darn....

He just runs away....
Nate walking on the trail...

Daddy and Nate on the trail...

Action shot - mom was just playing around....

Piggy back ride!

He climbed the little rock- though if you think about it, its kind of like a rock up to our knees and this is what he said......

All in all we had a great weekend! On another note, we found out that Max, our cat, is highly allergic- we had him allergy tested and it seems like he is allergic to fleas (we're sure he doesn't have any though), dust mites (so is Mike), 4 types of molds and fungi, and golden rod- which happens to be in season right now...sigh....who ever heard of an allergic cat??? If people say they can't come visit because they are allergic to cats, I can just say, well that's alright, our cat's probably allergic to you too! HA!

We are......... PENN STATE!

2008-10-05T20:47:00.008-04:00

Here are a few random photos from the past weekend....

This grey/lt blue fleece really brings out Nate's eyes...too bad you can't see it! HA! Squint Boy!

Throwing things.....

Looking cute....should I enter him in the Gap Baby casting call???

Touch Down!
No idea....

Helping Grandma out...

Showing Grandma what weeds to pick up....
Nope, not sure what he was doing here either.....

Here are a few videos.. haven't put up any for a while, but he just doesn't like to perform....

We ARE......

Touch Down!

Hamming it up....

2008-10-01T13:09:00.004-04:00

I'm really trying to be better at posting...I tried all last week to remember to post something from the weekend before....heh...didn't happen. At least I'm only a week and a half late this round! Enjoy the pictures! I'll post some more of the weekend that I got from Grammie- they are on a different computer...sigh...

Grammie and Nate playing with stickers...

Even the Monkey got in on the action....

Ms. Melinda (Alayna's mom) taught Nate how to do "POW!!"- here he is demonstrating to Grammie and Papa....

Another action shot of "POW!"....(definitely need to capitalize that so you could get the 'feeling' of it! HA!)

The "POW!" aftermath...

And here is Nate just hamming it up... Yes, Daddy decided to give him a whole piece of ham (granted this was his SECOND- the first one we cut up....)- he decided to bend the piece of ham in half and eat a hole through it....which of course led to....

.....a one-eyed ham mask! HA! See his eye peeking through??? heehee

Lets see how many of y'all read down this far...no more pictures beyond this point for today. A couple of things.... Nate used the potty for the first time at school last week. We're not officially "potty training" but Nate is showing interest in it. He also used the potty at home one time this weekend! Growing boy! He also learned to blow his nose on his own in the car much to my chargrin....there he is playing with the boogies on the kleenex in the car where I can't reach him...sigh...boys will be boys! And finally, Mike and I were still in bed on Saturday morning and we were listening to Nate babble away on the monitor....you can only understand about 75% of what he says, and that's only if there is a specific context with it.....so we couldn't understand anything that he was babbling on about until.... we heard clearly, not once but TWICE - Nate distinctly yelled out "I LOVE PENN STATE!!" We have no idea where that came from....heehee- maybe its in the air around State College..... I also got Nate to do the "WE ARE..... PENN STATE" echo last night.... and he still says "Touch Down!" I also found out that he knows his signs for colors- so he can say and sign- Black, red, blue, yellow, green, brown, pink, and orange. Pretty cool huh?

Anyway, that's all for now!

Whetzel Family Graduation weekend photos

2008-09-22T09:21:00.004-04:00

And yet again, another installment of graduation pictures...this time from the Whetzel's camera!

Cousin Kai! :)

Nate just wondering around....

Yup, that's goofy me on my way to graduate!

Here is a picture of Byron and me, he filled in for Laura who was on vacation....

And yes, here is a picture of my brother taking a picture! :)

I promise to have more pictures from this weekend posted as soon as I can get the pictures onto the right computer..... :)

Yet again...more pictures from Graduation Weekend

2008-09-22T09:04:00.004-04:00

Here are some pictures that my brother took from graduation weekend! I also had to add a few pictures of my adorable niece! Enjoy!

The Ellis side plus Mike :)

My brother and I....any family resemblence?

Nate and Uncle Brandon....

Mike and I standing in front of my spiffy new washer and dryer! :)

Nate helping take clothes out of the first dryer run....

And finally, an ode to my niece! :)

Happy Momma and Simone!

She's getting SOOOOOOO big!! :)

First Hair Cut!

2008-09-19T17:09:00.009-04:00

Sooooo.... It was time.... Nate got his first hair cut this weekend! YAY!!!

Here's the before......

During....here is Liz cutting his hair.....

Here's the after! I realize that you might not be able to tell much of a difference because his hair is so light... hopfully having it cut it will help his hair grow in thicker! :)

And here are some pictures of Nate and Will. Will's parents went to the game so Will came to play with us! :) By the way, Will is exactly 4 years older than Nate- they have the same birthday!

Throwing walnuts down the hill......

Will has a great arm on him! Definitely a future in baseball.....

Yes, Nate doesn't have a shirt on- he took it off himself- we're thinking that it was itchy because of his hair cut......

Long time!

2008-09-19T17:09:00.008-04:00

So this is kind of like the catch all blog for the last month. Lets see here- I graduated, we had a party, Nate got his first cold/sickness of the season, we went to Lancaster for Labor Day weekend, Nate rode his first bike, football season started, I had a birthday etc etc.....I'll have another post after this one because I have more pictures on a different computer, but I thought if I don't get these out now, I'll forget! And yes, I'm still working on my thank yous for the various festivities that have been going on! I promise I'll get those out ASAP! :)

Enjoy!

Me before I put on the graduation gown.....

Me with the Ellis side of the family - yup my brother surprised me and made the trip from WI to be with me on that day! Thank you to Simone and Nadege for lending him to us for the weekend!

The whetzel side of the family! It was soooo great to get to see Kai and Mel!

Nate with Uncle Brandon - I think he brings this out in everyone.... :) heehee

Mike has been soooo wonderful through this whole process! Nate stayed with the Ohlson's for the graduation- it was during nap time!

My graduation present from Mike.... how cool are these???? Now to just change the carpet to match...heehee

We also purchased a treadmill- see Nate wanted to help daddy put it together!

Nate was ill after graduation weekend... had a fever of 103 for 5 days.... here is cooling off- climbed right into his toy chest....

The daycare had a PJ party so Nate got to wear his lobster PJS! :) (getting a little big for the high chair you might mention???)

Nate is also fascinated with making everything a hat!

And yet again....

I bought this bike from my parent's next door neighbors in Lancaster- he can balance on it quite well!

He doesn't get how to pedal, but sheesh, he's not even 2 years old yet!

Sheesh, the grandparents putting Nate to work already! Just kidding, the deck was wet and Nate wanted to help!!! :)

Daddy, Granddad and Nate enjoying some yummy sweet Lancaster county corn....

Nate helping grandma "wash dishes"....

And finally, what would the start of football season be with out Nate saying "touch down!"

Nate is starting to say 3 word phrases- and then he'll babble on and and we're just not entirely sure of what he's saying.... :) If we say "we are...." he says "penn state!" Its soooo cute!

More posts coming soon! We're going to try for a first this weekend, but I'll leave you in suspense! :)

Vacation Land

2008-08-14T11:18:00.007-04:00

We went on our first big road trip this summer. We packed up the car and headed to Maine for a week to visit with my extended family. The weather was really nice the first couple of days, but then it rained the rest of the week and was rather cold! I had to buy Nate a pair of jeans for I didn't pack enough cold weather gear! I didn't even have a long sleeve shirt for myself, so I had to borrow one from my cousin! There are too many pictures to post on here, so I'll attempt to make an album and post the link. I'll put a few teaser on here though.

On our way up to ME, we stopped off in Massachusets to visit Mike's grandparents, Nana and Pa. It was a nice break in the trip, and Nate got to hang out with not only Nana and Pa, but with Uncle Bill and Aunt Sue as well.

Here are some pictures from our vacation! Nate playing with bubbles...

Nate got to play around in some antique cars at Shelley and Gene's place!

Obligatory road trip picture :)

Nate getting a drum lesson from Nana

Nate with Great Grammie Belle

Nate getting a wheelbarrel ride from Grandad

Family picture at Shelley and Gene's place! It was chilly!

Cool sky at on the ocean in the evening!

Picinic at Swan Lake
Nate's first run in with a cooked lobster.... I forgot to say that when Nate first saw the lobster he said "Big Bug!" it was priceless......

I'll try to post the album soon!

Long time coming!

2008-08-14T11:14:00.003-04:00

This week has been really busy as we arrived home from our vacation on Sunday evening and have spent the better part of this week catching up from last week, and also preparing for my graduation party on Saturday!

Here is the first of several posts. I wanted to share with you my latest cake creation for a baby shower... I wasn't able to make the shower for we were leaving for Maine on that day, but I managed to whip out the cake on Thursday before we left! For those of you who didn't know, cake decorating is a hobby of mine....

Our little acrobat

2008-07-30T14:27:00.006-04:00

Nate is definitely growing up! He's becoming less and less cautious with climbing and such. Here are a few pictures of his latest escapades!

Up the ladder we go!

No worries, Daddy was right there the whole time

See his cool transformer shirt from Aunt N and Uncle B?

Touching the garage door....then.....

On our way down!

This was his second time doing it, I didn't have the camera the first time.

He has a renewed interest in his ball pit.... these pictures aren't for the faint of heart- no, he didn't get hurt... :)

I think he has momma's smile....

I swear I have seen a picture of me with a similar expression on my face... I'll have to see if I can find that....

Notice that his feet are hooked up behind him.....our daring little boy!

Our lego boy...

Believe it or not, he's pretty camera shy... when I have the camera pointing at him, he doesn't like to look at it....

This picture is funny because the shadows behind his head make him look like he has a mullet, let alone his hair sticking out everywhere... :)

Last but not least, here is our first cucumber from the garden! :)

Spikes!

2008-07-21T13:06:00.007-04:00

Hi all!

Mike, Nate and I went to a minor league baseball game last night - the Spikes- thanks to Minitab! If it weren't so hot out, we could have walked to the game! We can hear them announcing all the time. We got a bowl of popcorn, and even though it was kind of stale, Nate dug right into the bowl, I swear he ate like a quarter of it! He kept wanting more! We also had a great time over at the Tomsho's place where the boys played in the pool- of course I forgot our camera this round....grrr... so make sure to check out their blog to see some pictures of the boys from this weekend!

Enjoy!

I should have dug the camera out sooner, Nate was dancing to the music......it was so funny! Not enough people saw him dance though, it was priceless! He can definitely put a smile on people's faces- even complete strangers!

Dad was attempting to point out what was going on down the fielf...but Nate was eyeing something over Dad's shoulder....a puddle maybe? A storm had blown through the area, just about the time the game was supposed to start, so it was rain delayed. We didn't get to see much baseball being played....

Ok, now Nate is interested in what's going on down in the field...

They were folding up the rain tarp that they had used to keep the field from getting too soaked.

Cool sky, eh? They aren't like the skys out west, but it holds its own....

Nate would clap when anyone else would clap... "yay!"

Nate digging into the popcorn bowl....

Nate trying to pick pieces of popcorn out of his hand, for he couldn't get the whole handfull in his mouth!

Nate wanted nothing to do with a picture, his eyes were on the popcorn bowl!

We had a blast!

Dog days of summer

2008-07-18T21:12:00.026-04:00

I'm a little late in posting these pictures- Lynn got to them before I did.... so if you checked out Johnny's blog you had a preview of what I"m going to post. The boys played in the pool last weekend, and we had a blast! We're hoping for a repeat this weekend!

The highlight of this week was that I finally finished my dissertation! The final version was uploaded to the graduate school site, and I handed in my signature page! WHAHOO! I'm finished!!! It's done.

Enjoy the pictures!

Nate with Big John learning how to use the squirters.

Johnny drinking the water!

Johnny and the water squirter!

Johnny looks like he heard something funny!

This is how Nate acts when he's hit by water....

But then he likes it!

Trying to get the boys to look in the same direction...

Nate running through the sprinkler....

They boys being dunked in the water by their dads!

Water action shot!

The boys working together!

Johnny didn't like grass on his feet.....

Nate was getting cold...

Muscles!!!

Johnny's lost interest, but he's saying Nate's chair.

Uh, what's going on here....
Nate's muscles, and Johnny's outta here.....

A couple of pictures from earlier in the weekend....

We found out this weekend that Nate is too big for his pack n' play.... guess we have to find a back up for him for our family trip coming up...

Nate's new table - he ate lunch there - love it!

A day in the life of....

2008-07-05T22:51:00.006-04:00

I'm trying to be better at posting.... so here are some new pictures from the last week. Nate saw the fireworks for the first time, and stayed up for the entire time! (Ugh, to 10pm bed time...) He kind of spaced out watching them, wasn't scared at all....he would say "boom boom" to 'what do fireworks do' the next day... but other than that, no worse for wear. We were able to see the fireworks only a stone's throw away from our house- perfect view in the farmer's field!! Party at our place next year! YAY!

Enjoy some pictures!

Nate enjoying his first nectarine- which he still says "apple" to, but hey he's getting the hang of it... Yup gave him the whole thing to see what he'd do with it...he didn't understand why the pit was hard though....heh

Happy 4th of July outfit!

Nate (already in his PJs) watching "Eemo" (i.e., Nemo) with Dad before bed.....

Dad taught Nate how to put his hands in his pockets... you know, for all those stores one goes in where you can't touch anything!

Here's just a "GQ" action shot- now if only he was wearing a suit....heh....

We finally broke out the "my first Craftsman Chainsaw" that Grandad got Nate for his first Christmas.... I think he's a bit confused- he says "truck" (because it does make a motor sound) and I say no, honey, its a tool like your hammer, and then he bangs the chainsaw like a hammer...heh....he'll get it eventually....

He does get a kick out of the safety glasses though!

Dr. Mom

2008-06-23T21:07:00.018-04:00

Yup, that's right, the 5 year gestation period and subsequent birth of my dissertation is OVER! This morning I successfully defended my dissertation at 9am. So just call me Dr. Whetzel, or er, Dr. Mom. Here are some pictures over the last couple of weeks. Enjoy!

Mike, Nate and Kai at Grammie and Papa's house

Mike, Nate, John and Johnny playdate!

Boys and slides!

Playing in the pool to stay cool!

A running hug from Anna- had to be quick to get this shot!

Here's Nate on the "chair" that Daddy build him... and his expression is the result of saying "cheese".... er...cheesey... heehee

We ate out on our porch on Saturday night!

GG- if you see this, make sure you check the mail this week!

Time is just flying by! I can't believe that its almost July already! I know its a weird connection, but the Discovery Channel is already advertising for their annual "Shark Week" which feels like I just saw that, but that was a whole year ago...sheesh....

I'm working on dissertation edits, and reintigrating into the real world... I'll keep you posted! Sorry that there's been so much time inbetween posts- I'll try to be better!

Hot stuff!

2008-06-07T22:44:00.014-04:00

Whew- it has been hot and sticky here in good ol' State College. No central AC for the new place either....we're trying to figure out how to keep it cooler inside.... though it does manage to stay cooler inside than out, it is still wicked hot inside. I haven't posted for a couple of weeks- sorry about that...but I've been busy. T-minus 4 days until my committee gets my dissertation, and T-minus 15 days until my final defense on June 23rd. Yup, I'm tired and my brain doesn't want to work anymore, but the end is near. So we push on. Its a family effort! Here are some pictures and commentary from the last couple of weeks. Nate's been great- saying new things we didn't know he knew every day....

Nate's a lucky little boy to be visited by his great grand parents!

Nana's a drummer (i.e., a percussionist!) Here she's showing Nate how its done...

Here's Nate giving it a go.... he did really really well!! Notice his left hand position-he's actually holding it in the proper way!!! Do we have a future drummer in our midst? Perhaps I need to research some really good ear muffs!

Here's Nate at lunch.... I know this must be a gang sign in some city... sigh... :) He went around the table and made each one of us show him our elbows....

Nate eating a snack on Papa's lap....Grey is hard to wear when you're still drooling...heh....

Nana and Pa in State College!

Our sadistic little man with power tools! (Well, a totally safe version that is....) I swear we get the weirdest looks on camera!

Here's Nate chillin' in a folding lounge chair that Grammie and Papa got us for our anniversary... he loves climbing into it.....

Nate chilling with Grandad watching NASCAR!

Trying out some new sun glasses... not sure he likes the band that velcros behind his head... He loves "glasses" now... points them out on all of us!

Again, checking out the sun glasses....

Here he is eating corn on the cob for the first time.... so why is it 'corn on the cob' when the other version isn't called "corn off the cob?" No wonder the English language is hard to master....Can't wait until Nate is old enough to ask those questions....

More corn....and what goes good with corn on the cob?

What else but, KETCUP!!!! (yes, he actually did eat more of the corn after he dipped it into ketcup....well there could be worse ways to get your child to eat veggies....he really does like his veggies...and only dips them in ketcup when its out....)

Here's Nate sharing his toy name train that Pa built with the cat... Max wasn't too sure what to think about this, but Nate put all the pieces one by one next to the cat... sorry that I don't have a good picture of the full train yet... I'll try to get that up on here to show you...

And here's the final cumulation of the Nate train by Max....

Nate found a unique seat while playing.... he turned this block over and took the lid off of his lego set and was pulling out legos and building with them!

I realize that there are other pictures I should post...but that's all for now! Enjoy!

Time sure flies.....

2008-05-16T21:06:00.005-04:00

When you're having fun.... or, er... working on your dissertation.......Wow- I realize I haven't posted on here in a week or so.... We got a couple of good pictures the past couple of days.

After Nate got through his colds, both Mike and I had a couple of doosies.....we're just now getting over them. Other than that, there's not much else going on here. The weather keeps switching on us - nice one day, crappy rainy cold the next. Hopefully more nice days are in the forcast than crappy ones.

Anyway, enough about weather... enjoy the pictures!

Don't blink- you never know what this guy is going to get into.... choose your battles, I just let him pull the stuff out....

Pullin' out the baggies- all of them

Here mama- here's some oatmeal for you!

"Hat! Hat!" Oh, wait its a cereal box...

Yup, definitely a cereal box (and yes he previously drooled on the chair....)

I love this picture - he actually turned and smiled at the camera instead of squinting!

Ok, so this duck tub is getting a little small.....

Blowing bubbles.....

Bubble beard!

...and so proud of it!

Just long enough....

2008-05-06T12:53:00.009-04:00

Nate's been pretty healthy the whole month of April, but just when we think we're clear for the summer.... I think he just has one last hang on cold... lots of coughing etc.... So between him and the cat last night (wonderful to wake up to a hairball being hacked...and then an hour an a half later the cat is meowing because he's out of food interspersed with Nate coughing here and there......) we're pretty pooped today. It could be worse. Anyway, just want to share some photos from this last weekend!

Yes, he's the least photogenic when the flash goes off....

These are some film strip photo booth type pictures of mom and son- see any family resemblence?

Back shot.... Definitely has Mr. Dozer in a precarious position....

Front shot! But he's so proud of it!

Even the cat closes his eyes when the flash goes off....he looks pretty comfortable on Nate's chair...

But Nate didn't like him being on his chair.... needless to say that Max is the most tolerant cat ever....

Yup, you got your chair back for the .43 seconds you stayed there....

He is "yellow" i.e. coloring... when he says "yellow" you know he wants to color....

Is he a lefty?

Or a righty? Only time will tell....right now he switches back and forth...

Grandma and Nate.... isn't it a reallly good picture of Grandma? I thought so....

Grandma and Nate out for a walk...

Now, Granddad and Nate out for a walk....

Nate and Dad playing ball...

And yes, Nate and his hoe......Glad we had a light jacket back up, his red one got muddy from the day before... he is a boy after all!!

Yup, a boy and his hoe.....I know what you're thinking! No they didn't have a kid shovel or a rake when we bought this....heehee.....

This Weekend

2008-04-28T10:12:00.005-04:00

We made the trip down to Chambersburg to visit Grammie and Papa- we had a blast! Here are a couple pictures from the weekend!

Here are my boys! :)

Nate pulling the red wagon around....

Grammie taking Nate for a ride...

Grammie showing Nate how to spread the dandilion population! (no, it wasn't in her yard! :))

Here is Papa showing Nate a few things on the computer- the keyboard that you see isn't hooked up at all- its a spare that Papa has around for Nate to bang away on... Nate just doesn't know its not hooked up (shhhh, don't tell him!)- Papa is good at making things happen as Nate is pounding away, so he think's he's doing something... They sat there for quite a while....

"Hold on Papa, I have something to show you...."

"See, I knew you'd like it!" :) (He's so proud of himself -Nate that is... :))

Quickie!

2008-04-25T09:28:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to put a picture up of my lovely new niece and her proud daddy (my brother).... As soon as I get a good family picture, I'll post the whole fam up too! :)

A couple of pictures....

2008-04-22T21:53:00.000-04:00

We went to the Blue and White carnival - it was new this year- they had a whole lot of activity around the blue and white scrimmage- its where the PSU football team separates and plays themself....but hey, no one's had any football since New Year's.... so it's a big event... especially when its a nice day out... big excuse to go tail gating (big excuse for people to get drunk and sunburnt...haha...not us- plenty of sunscreen used!). We went for a little while...but I forgot the camera :( Nate just rode around in the stroller looking at the thousands of people mulling about... We got home and had lunch and Nate went for a late nap. After the nap we went to Tractor Supply- if you want some free fun and you have a boy who loves tractors and trucks, go to the Tractor Supply store.... :) I DID bring the camera for that... Then on Sunday it was rainy and we were indoors.. so I taped some paper down to the floor and let Nate go wild with his markers that Grandma got him! They do this at daycare, so he knows to stay on the paper- he did really well! :) Enjoy!!

Just chillin' on a tractor....

I don't even think he's heavy enough to make the springs on the seat go down.....

This one's for Granddad's woods road!

Playing with the markers...

He wasn't very good at putting the marker point down... he's better at crayons right now....

When you say " do you want to color?" He'll say "yellow"- he points out yellow objects as well- especially the yellow daffodils and forsythia bushes- he'll say "yellow"- when you ask him what color say something blue is he'll say yellow- or he won't say anything at all.....we haven't quite figured out what his association is yet, for he'll only call out and say "yellow" if he sees yellow things....so its not like every color is yellow - but i think he's associated the word "yellow" with yellow things as well as the word "color".

And this one is just because he's cute! :)

Also- I want to give a shout out to my new niece - no pictures yet.... Got a call from my brother around 9pm- Simone was born at 7:34 (central)pm this evening weighing in at 8lbs 8oz and is 19in long- we are so happy for them and can't wait to see pictures- they she's beautiful with dark hair! :) If her hair stays dark, she'll be quite a contrast to Nate! :)

Beautiful weather means....

2008-04-18T10:05:00.000-04:00

SHORTS! Nate had his first pair of shorts on for the season.... and check out his red jacket from Grammie....

He Loves to "try" and carry his lunch box to the car- it was a little heavy this morning- I put a bottle of sunscreen in it....

He always wants to wear his hat like daddy....

Daddy and Nate! :)

Look at the big boy brushing his teeth at the sink! We just started it this week... how does he get up there you might ask....

With the step stool that Granddad made!!! He can climb up on it himself, but we like to make sure he doesn't back off at the moment... Only thing is, he's tall enough to reach the faucet and keeps turning the water on.... heh... we'll have to teach him water conservation soon!

Warmer weather!

2008-04-10T21:23:00.000-04:00

Warmer weather is finally here- we could actually venture out this past weekend without a hat on! Here are a few photos from Grandma and Granddad's visit this past weekend. Keep your fingers crossed, but we've been on the mend lately- the warmer weather helps!

Helping Grandma make something yummy!

Falling in the yard clean up... and Daddy wiping my nose.....

See it was either a picture of Nate looking at the camera and Granddad looking away, or Granddad looking at the camera and Nate looking away....

Nate playing in Daddy's truck! (Oh, he can say "truck" on a regular basis now non-prompted)

A little more room to grow before he can reach the gas.....

Honking the horn!

It was a ketchup night....

I thought this shirt said a lot " My Parents are Exhausted"....

Oh, evidently Nate kissed a girl today in daycare.... well, I heard that she initiated it.... She went to give him a hug (and he hugged her back) and she went in for the smooch! And Nate was all to eager to oblige......heh.....

Easter, building, new shoes, mike visit, home show, wagon ride, steppin up

2008-03-30T17:09:00.000-04:00

Whew- its been a busy couple of weeks. Easter was a bust, both Mike and Nate were pretty much under the weather, so we really didn't do a whole lot that weekend... and then of course I started getting sick on Monday, which kind of escaladed into an asthmatic bronchitis attack. Yay. So I'm pretty much taking it easy this weekend, though it doesn't look like it. We had a really fun weekend! These are kind of out of order.... but check out the web album as well, I think I uploaded about 70 pictures.....

ATV at the Home show at the Bryce Jordan Center!

Steppin' up to the sink to get a drink of water! And he washed his hands at the sink after lunch!

This one is for Nana and Pa! Go Red Soxs!

This one is for GG- we got the wagon out today- though it wasn't quite 50 we couldn't sit inside forever!

Easter morning- look what the Easter Bunny brought!

Stacking blocks! I think he got 9 high before it fell over- he was working on this for quite a while...it fell down a few times, but he kept at it! There's more pictures of these on the web album below....

New shoes to the right, old shoe to the left! Just a little bit bigger!

Mike Schellhase was up in State College for a class and stopped by for a visit on Friday evening!

The last couple of weeks

Just because

2008-03-19T21:11:00.000-04:00

Here are a few pictures from when Grammie was visiting last week while I was at a conference in Baltimore.....

He did this himself, really.... doesn't seem really bothered by it....

He's learning how to climb.....

Hmmmm.... what's for lunch?

A fire engine came to visit at school!
This is one of Mike's old toys- a 3 foot long fire engine!!! Nate was VERY excited! :)
Throwing things phase.....

He kept Grammie VERY busy......

Playing with Papa......

Official 15 month stats

2008-03-12T09:22:00.000-04:00

Hi All- No pictures today. I just wanted to update you on Nate's 15 month well visit to the doc's. He's 34in (well above the 95th percentile for height) and 25lbs7oz- he's fallen to the 75th percentile for weight, and is staying in the 25th-50th percentile for head circumference. Everything else is fine. Only one shot this time- whew!

What were you doing at 12:20am?

2008-03-11T20:08:00.000-04:00

Not sleeping evidently! (No, he didn't get out of his crib on his own....but once he was out, he hit the ground running.....) We were up with him from 12:20am-1:40am..... he wasn't crying or anything, which was a blessing...but mom and dad just need some sleep! We asked him at one point "Nate, are you tired?" and he shook his head "yes" - "Do you want to go to sleep?" And he shook his head "No"! It begins.....Also, his room didn't start out like this...he proceeded to completely wreck the place....sigh....

12:20am wake up call.....

Enjoy! Click on the picture above to see more pictures!

And we'll try to upload a video....

Spoke too soon....

2008-03-09T15:45:00.000-04:00

Sorry that I haven't posted here in a bit... so after Nate got better, I came down with a version of what he had. It was horrible, the worst type of cold ever- caused by a nasty virus that causes hand, foot and mouth disease in kids.... it took me a good 14 days to get over it, and I'm still not 100%. Nate had a great couple of weeks, until this weekend. He started with a low grade fever yesterday and was just miserable by the afternoon....rough night and then again, he was pretty miserable... maybe teeth? Who knows... all I know is that Mike and I didn't have a very relaxing weekend. Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks! Enjoy!

Ok, I'm having a lot of issues posting photos on here at the moment... so hopefully I'll have better luck posting them on the photo website

Whew- spoke too soon

Made it.....

2008-02-24T15:19:00.001-05:00

Whew- "under the weather" is the ultimate understatement for what the last 2 weeks have meant for us. Nate had 'hand, foot, and mouth disease', which then resulted in a secondary bacteria infection from one of the sores...sigh... so now 2 weeks later, and he's finally cleared to go back to daycare, and we're finally cleared to have a full nights rest! We luckily had Grandma to come and help take care of Nate and us :) Nate had plenty of one on one time with Grandma, and then Grandma took care of the parents! :)

Grandma and Nate just goofing around!

Walk like a duck!

Bam! They all fall down......

Percarious position.......

Cool dude- ready for summer... too bad its winter.....

Nate has been especially drawn to his blue blanket these past two weeks, he rarely went anywhere without it....

First, he'd only eat macoroni, then he moved up to pasta with marinera sauce....

Bath night! All clean in the doggie towel (and yes, he was saying "woof woof" when wearing this...)

Nate got to see Little John again- we went over to their place to go sledding on Saturday - the boys had a blast and it was nice and lowkey for Mike and I as well... Too many to post here, check out another picasa web album! http://picasaweb.google.com/Cwhetzel2008/Sledding

Uh-Oh!

2008-02-13T15:18:00.000-05:00

Being contemplative as he waits for Grammie and Papa to arrive.....

That's what everything is right now... uh-oh! He first says "uh-oh" then proceeds to chuck his sippy cup... He's been under the weather for the last couple of days, so we've been getting better and recouping at home. Here are a few pictures from last weekend.....

Being contemplative with Dad's mountain dew bottle......

No, honey, those aren't monkeys- they're squirrels!

Somehow I don't think its such a good idea to have him walking around with the mountain dew bottle in his mouth......

Big shoes, er, wicked good slippers, to fill!

Hey, I"m getting the hang of it!

Touch down!

Finally caught this on video...its a bit weak, but you get the idea.... :)

Some things to catch up on...

2008-02-05T20:08:00.000-05:00

It doesn't take long for a child to change now does it? It seems like Nate is moving a step toward being a little toddler every day. I mean he can toddle, but he's starting to really exert his independence.... He's not saying much yet, but that sure doesn't stop him from sounding like he's talking. Lets see here... what has he added to repetoire of tricks... he now says "nana" for banana- even the mention of the word "banana" he immediately starts making the more sign and points to where we normally keep the blessed yellow fruit. I can understand why parents start spelling out words....."eat your protein and then you can have a banana" meanwhile he hears the mere mention of the word "banana" and dinner is all over and suddenly, crap, you realize that you mentioned the "b" word and there's no way he'll eat more meat....sigh.... We also taught him to hiss like a snake tonight... I don't think he even knows what a snake is, but if you say what sound does a snake make, he says "hisssssss".

Enough of my rambling, on to the pictures!

Show me your muscles!

Not much snow, but the sled sure went!

Ok, I'm going to try something different. This blog is being annoying when it comes to loading pictures. So I'm going to post a link- click on it and it will take you to more pictures!

Click here - http://picasaweb.google.com/Cwhetzel2008/TheLastTwoWeeks

When you're on the webpage click "slideshow" and then you can see the pictures larger with the captions I wrote. To get back to the blog, click the "back" arrow in your browser.

I've included pictures from Mel's baby shower down in VA as well as our play date the other weekend with the twins, Willem and Fiona, Nate's other two friends Little John, and Ada.

Enjoy!

Some pictures....

2008-01-16T17:10:00.000-05:00

As promised! Enjoy!!

Whew!

2008-01-14T10:08:00.000-05:00

I swear I have some more pictures of Nate, I just haven't had time to download them yet, and since I"m currently at work and my camera is currently at home, I'm unable to down load pictures now.

Two things for today 1) Can Toddlers grow a couple of inches in one weekend? I say that because both Mike and I noticed this morning that Nate's head is officially above the top of the high chair when he's sitting in it.... His budda belly has receded- so I'm thinking that he grew out and then UP! AND I thought I'd be good for a bit with 18month clothing... I'm noticing that 18 month onesies might not last us much longer....he's too long.... I put one on him this morning and it looks like a scoop neck tee shirt! AHHHH!!! So either I"ll have to go with shirts that aren't onsies, or get some 24month shirts... luckily it looks like the 18mon pants will last a little while longer. No wonder he had a crabby night on Saturday night- he must have been growing! I asked him this morning to get me the pig (small plastic animal) and he went and found it and brought it to me. He waves, he blows kisses regularly now. He knows how to smell flowers, and he can identify his slippers from his shoes. He makes a "fishy" face, and can currently (though not regularly yet) make sounds for: duck, dog, cow and a pig. And, he says "Touch Down" for any sports what so ever. I have a video clip of him saying it, though its a weak one- I need to try and catch him saying it like he typically does. (Yes, he says "touch down", though he hasn't said "momma" yet.) He does the sign language symbals for: hungry, eat, all done, juice and down. He can find his head, his nose, his knee, his foot and his belly. And, thanks to Little John, he has the hand gesture for "I don't know". Though last night when we were putting him to bed, and the cat wasn't there (Max typically comes in to say good night), Nate was pointing to where the cat usually sits and was doing the "I don't know/where" gesture-as if to say "Where's the cat?" a complex thought. He amazes us with everything he comes up with. He can point out pictures of- ball, slide, dog, bus, pig, chicken, cow, sheep, monkey, car and a lion. He's also learning to put away his books and toy cars. Anyway, just wanted to share!

ok, and (drum roll please....) the second item I'd like to update you on is...... Nate's cousin (our nephew) will be arriving from Ethiopia within the next 6 weeks! (exact date is TBD at this moment....) Since the adoption is officially, well official, I can post the picture of Kai! :) The family is having a baby shower this coming weekend to help Mel and Kev stock up! :)

That's all for now, I'll try and post some more pictures soon!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T20:36:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't updated through out the last week- its been a whirlwind of a week. We went down to Chambersburg to spend before Christmas with Mike's family- went down to VA (I stayed in Chambersburg to work on my dissertation), came back to Chambersburg (he had a fever for most of the time we were in C-burg and VA-but was better by Christmas), then headed to Lancaster to spend the rest of the week with my parents. We left Nate with my parents for Friday and Saturday and they brought him back up to State College on Sunday so that Mike and I could finally unpack and settle our house a bit more. Nate had ear tubes put in at the Geisinger Facility in Danville on Monday Dec 31st. We had to get up at 4am to get him to Danville for his 6:45am reporting in time- needless to say that Mike and I were wiped and went to bed early- so the ringing in of the New Year was quite low key this year. Santa was ridiculously good to Nate (and us for that matter) this year- I have some pictures and videos of him the last week. Nate's doing great after his surgery- you wouldn't even know he had them. For all of you who didn't know, Nate has been on 8 rounds of antibiotics since Oct, for he had major fluid in his ears that wouldn't clear, and thus he kept getting ear infections. We couldn't get him into the ENT (ears, nose and throat) doctor up here in State College until March (which we weren't going to wait that long for...there are so many antibiotics, tylenol and advil that a kid can have in his lifetime, let alone in a 6 months)- we were able to get him into the Geisinger Facility in Danville PA ( about 1 hour 30 min from SC) for his consult on Dec 19th, which it was evident that he needed tubes and she got him into surgery for Dec 31st, thank goodness! Hopefully this will help us avoid ear infections for the rest of the season.

I'm sorry that I didn't get to send out Christmas cards this year either- it doesn't mean we love any of you less- we've just been ridiculously busy- i.e. sick kid, buying/selling a house, working on my dissertation etc.... Hopefully you've been able to get your "Nate" fix here on the blog. Hopefully as the writing of my dissertation progresses and the house gets settled, I'll have more time to keep in touch!

Enjoy the pictures and videos! :)

Puffs with Papa

Playing music from Great Nana and Pa

AND..... the ball pit from Grammie and Papa- more of this to come....

Nate sitting in the sled that Grandma and Granddad gave him....

That's our little angel!

Here is Nate helping Grandma to open her gift.....

This is Nate's "special" tree- notice the legos and cheerios that decorate the tree.... he also didn't leave the hat on long for the outfit....

Hopefully this is a video of Nate and the ball pit/slide

Nate helping Daddy put together the ball pit/slide....

(Yes, he has learned how to sit down to slide down....)

Nate's tree at home! :)

That's all folks! More to come....

Snow...etc.....

2007-12-17T17:46:00.001-05:00

Cousin Janet came into town this past weekend...and it was almost a year ago exactly that she came the last time!

Last year......

This year! (He wasn't feeling great, he had gotten his shots the day before.....) But the next day he was feeling much better, we decided to get him outside to see what he thought of the snow...

Ok, so he can walk in doors with the boots (man, they don't make them very friendly to get on....)....

But he didn't quite get outside walking.... this is mere seconds before he fell on his face....hasn't really learned to catch himself with his hands, especially when he's bundled up... he was fine though!

I couldn't resist- here is Nate and Daddy exactly a year ago than the one of Daddy and Nate in the snow suit! (Dec 16th)

1 year stats!!

2007-12-14T20:57:00.000-05:00

Ok, even though I just posted a post today, I wanted to update you with his 1 year appointment stats that he had today. Nate is officially 33 3/4 inches tall (grew 2 inches in the last 3 months), and is 24lbs 10oz (hasn't gained a whole heck of a lot of weight) He's way off the curve for height, but he's in the 90th percentile for weight, and in the 50th percentile for head circumference. Poor little guy also got his shots- it should be an interesting night!

Enjoy a few pictures we took this evening!

Mom and Nate reading - Dad's grabbing the camera more!

That's our bucket boy! Who cares of what comes in the bucket, its the bucket that's fun! He put it on his head himself....

Not long 'til Christmas now....

2007-12-14T10:17:00.000-05:00

Who does Nate resemble more? Mom or Dad? Or..............

the caroler???? What??? :)

Here's me reading with Alayna in my lap, and then along comes Nate, he wants to be a part of it too!

Getting used to the new place.....

2007-12-12T22:50:00.000-05:00

We'll try and get Nate out in the snow this weekend- for it looks like we're going to be getting some of that falling white stuff.... Lets see here- Nate has his 1 year appt on Friday, I'll post his "official" stats when I can. He's learning all kinds of things at daycare- he's dancing to music, and starts doing hand motions for songs- I was talking to Miss Jenny and was wondering what patting his head meant....and she said its the Monkeys on the Bed song! He's also learning how to use spoons to feed himself. He actually can moo like a cow now, instead of every animal making the same "woof woof" noise... They explore and make pictures every day- here is a shot of "naked baby painting" - they stripped them down to the diapers and let them play with yellow paint and potatoes- though it was washable paint, all the kids looked slightly jaundice for a couple of days! HA! Lynn sent this along to me... :)

Dad thinks that he can only get away with wearing this sweater now....he could get beat up for it when he gets older...heehee....

Don't ask me how he stayed on the arm of the chair.......

Nate in his Christmas outfit- both him and little John have the same one- we'll have to get them together to snap a shot! :)

Here's Nate playing around with Dad's hat

Whew! Busy week!!!

2007-12-05T09:33:00.000-05:00

This is our new house!!! 165 Lenor Drive- nope there wasn't any snow on the ground when we moved in, that came the next day! Once the inside it cleaned up a bit, I'll post some inside pictures.

So not only did we move to a new house this past week, we also celebrated Nate's 1 year birthday! So here's a picture of him on the day he was born, and one on his 1 year old birthday- its amazing how much he's grown!

Then........ Nov 30th, 2006 - 9lb 1oz, 22.5 inches long....
Now.... Nov 30th, 2007 - roughly 24.5lbs, and around 34inches tall....Is that really the same kid????

This is kind of like a 'where's Waldo' only it's 'where's Mike?' - this is a scene from our old bedroom after we brought everything down from the attic.... its a bit deceiving, for under the stuff is our bed, and 2 empty dressers....but still......

Here's Nate wanting to help- sorry about the open mouth and squinty eyes- its what he does now when he knows we're taking a picture.....

I'll try and post some more pictures soon once we have our Christmas decorations up in the new place.....

Lots of new things this week....

2007-11-26T14:29:00.000-05:00

UPDATE: For those of you who don't know, we're relocating within State College- we close on our new house this Friday (Happy Birthday Nate, here's a new house....) -We'll put up new pictures once everything goes down....

Also check out a fellow family member's Blog as well- The DeNeale Family.... (Cousin Ethan)-[check out their blog link on the right hand side of this blog......]

First- New kicks- big BOY shoes! :) Get this: Size 6 XW (that's size 6, extra wide....definitely doesn't take after Mommies feet....) We walk pretty well- we went to Target on Sunday afternoon and let him walk around the store in them, and then did some walking outside in our parking lot at the house....

Check em' out!

Then, we have a new daycare that just opened up.... here's Nate and John (Happy 1st Birthday John TODAY!!!! :)), taking no time at all to destroy the room (in a constructive learning matter of course! :))

We also met our new Friend Luke (Check out the Schellhase Family blog link to learn more about Luke...) this weekend also!

"Ok, Mommy and Daddy, I'll sit here for one minute...then I'm up and chasing the cat...."

"ooooo- who are you?"

"Ok, enough of that, lets go find the cat...."

Happy Thanksgiving! and Happy Birthday take 2

2007-11-24T08:27:00.000-05:00

We're down in Chambersburg this holiday couple of days and I thought I'd take some time and post some pictures from Thanksgiving, though I realized that I didn't get any with Nate next to the turkey... oh well.... We also combined it with a mini birthday celebration hosted by GG (Nate's great grandma)..... check it out!
Look at me, I ate the WHOLE piece!!! :)

There's just something about red icing......

Mike, Cousin Ethan, and Nate

Mmmmmm... Candy corn..... :) Well, he had cake and that was loaded with sugar...why not? JUST KIDDING!!! The bag wasn't open! :)

Pre-Birthday preview

2007-11-19T10:32:00.000-05:00

Uncle Brandon and Aunt Nadege were in PA this past week, so Grandma and Grandad brought them up on Saturday to have a pre-birthday celebration... check out the pictures! Grandad and Uncle Brandon's birthdays are in Nov as well.... we did a multi-person celebration!

Keep the cake and lit candles far away from reaching baby hands.....

Blowing out the candles.... hmmm, what on earth are they doing?

ooooo- present from Uncle B and Aunt N

FUN! A soft Stingray from Monterray Bay Aquarium!

Being dainty with the chocolate cake......

Pat pat pat the cake..... oh wait, that's patty cake......

Here we go......

Hallelujah chocolate!!!

This was today- trying out the seat forward.....

(Last weekend- trying to stay off the "bottle"! HA! :)

Snow-vember???????

2007-11-19T10:28:00.000-05:00

The view from our front window on Sunday morning....

Our back parking lot....

"What the heck is this sutff?"

Nate taking it all in.... upside down none the less.....

Another day in the life of.....

2007-11-10T21:34:00.001-05:00

....a busy boy who is almost 1 year old! He likes to get into his little wagon, even if its full of toys....

Can you tell he likes to squint and open his mouth when I point the camera at him?
Yes, at 11 months old, he's tall enough to open the piano himself and play it. Instead of banging a bunch of keys at once, he's getting enough control to press one key at a time... its funny, when he concentrates he looks like Schroeder from Charlie brown....

Well, I guess the piano has to be a little bit smaller before he looks like him....heh...

I'm going to attempt to post a video (or 2)..

Commentary for video 1:"Look! Look! I can walk...and even turn into the next room... wait is this really where I wanted to go?"

Commentary for video 2: "oooo piano....no wait, I want to unplug the lamp!"

Ok, couldn't resist.... just one more....

Commentary for video 3: "I'm going after the cat...ooo LOOK A PILLOW!!!"

Baby, its cold outside!

2007-11-05T11:12:00.001-05:00

Time to break out the hat.... Nate has also started to grin at the camera instead of stare at it blankly...(well at least when he's in a good mood! These were taken this morning...)

Just playing around....

2007-11-05T11:08:00.001-05:00

Just a few pictures from this weekend. I'm working on getting a little video on here of this same play time. Dad piled all the cushions from the couch onto the floor so Nate could crawl around! :)

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T10:36:00.000-04:00

I don't think we're going to take Nate out trick or treating tonight... though he's on solid normal food now, I don't think he's ready for candy yet! :) Here are a bunch of pictures from when I dropped him off this morning at daycare. Evidently the bigger kids will parade through the classroom this afternoon to show off their costums! :)

Nate and John looking at each other- "man, what are you wearing?"

The daycare crew in the morning... lots of orange going on here- Nate is playing with Grace's foot- I think he likes the pumpkin on it....

Ah, the boys.... if you press on the vampire on Nate's costume, it makes an evil laugh...MWAH HAHAHAHAHA
Nate- "Come'on John- lets go play over here"

Ham it up for the camera!

Here's Nate with the hood up....

11 Months old!

2007-10-30T21:37:00.000-04:00

Hi all- I just wanted to post some pictures on here from this weekend and today. Nate got to play with John on Sunday - they had a blast! Its neat to see how well he plays with John, I guess if you think about it, they've known each other all their lives!! :)

Nate's the one with the perpetual bib on... no we didn't dress them alike on purpose!! HAHA

They fall over each other all the time, and use each other to stand (well, John uses Nate to stand up....).

Nate pulling out the frying pans.... NOT light!

And he's so proud of it! (Nate's 11 months old today- where has the time gone?)

He's taking more steps now, and eating solid food. He wants to eat everything we eat now! We'll keep you posted!

Cautious exploring

2007-10-22T10:04:00.001-04:00

Nate is finally back to himself- and we had a great weekend! Check out some of the pictures to see what he's been up to!

Nate likes to climb in things now....

We went to Way Fruit Farm for their fall festival/pumpkin picking event.....

"I can move these, I know I can...."

Nope, too much going on.... not going to look at the camera

He stood up on the bench by himself- I couldn't quite capture how excited he was... but he was having a blast!

Dad showed him how to climb in here....and that's all he wants to do!

A little bit more of a challenge- climbing into here when there are legos in it.....

No problem!