ahhh....memories....

How awesome are my in-laws!! We just got a little package with these two fantastic nuggets included!! Seriously, how could I resist, love?!?! Look at how happy you look!!

Kids are too much fun!

What the heck were we doing for fun before this?!?!

"pun-tin pie and bacon, Mama?"

Sadly, we had neither...and had cereal and fruit.

Thanksgiving 2008

As an annual tradition, a number of our friends avoid the crowds and head up to Apple Hill the day after Thanksgiving. The weather was awesome and we had a blast being able to join the gang this year to pick out our Christmas tree!! Nathan was mostly preoccupied by all the sticks he found along the way but paused long enough for Mommy to get a couple cute shots to mark the adventure.

Follow up on PIE!

Sorry, Nicole, it's only 1:47 not 2:41.

Nat's first words this morning.

Nathan calls when he wakes up in the morning, "Mama! Mama!" So Stacy went in to get him and the first thing he said was, "I want pie and a spoon."


(Picture stolen from Lara's Apple Hill Facebook album where she said, "Nathan insisted that the ice cream he was eating was PIE, no matter how hard Auntie Lara tried to change his mind....")

He's been talking about pie pretty much non-stop for the last few days. I think that trip had an effect on him.

Deals to be had...

Ok, so usually I would leave such a post in the very capable hands of our deal-sniffing friends, but I can't NOT mention a few things to the "group".

First, live.com is a search engine arm of Microsoft and for some reason has seen fit to offer cashback rewards for searching through their site. I found this out when I was scouting out a sweet ebay deal and then got an additional 25% off by going through live.com. It's similar to ebates, or sites like it, but the percentage off is much greater (meaning it won't take forever to earn it) and it includes maybe not more stores, but at least a little different variety. So, I'd strongly encourage anybody who plans on doing any online shopping to sign up for a Microsoft cashback account and get going! Unless you like chasing your toddler down the store aisles. :) It has been fun to find the treasures that NRMy has placed in our basket at checkout.

Ok, Second. Amazon grocery. Seriously. First of all, we love Amazon.com...who doesn't? But after snooping around their grocery "aisles" I have realized that if we didn't have a Costco membership, we could get some very competitive pricing on a whole bunch of stuff, with an added bonus of NOT HAVING TO GO TO COSTCO. A whole host of bulk items can be sent to you automatically in 1, 3, or 6month increments--free shipping and an additional % off the regular Amazon price (which as I mentioned is already competitive to Costco). If you don't feel as though the bulk shopping is your bag than at the very least checkout some other stuff...shipping is free, generally, on any order over $25 so don your sweatpants gleefully and save the going out for fun stuff like park day!!

Also, I have long had disdain for Raley's and their higher prices...I mean, seriously, who pays $2 for generic bleach?!!? C'mon!! Anyway, I may be changing my position...sort of. Their email club offers some pretty snazzy insider deals and coupons on occasion. You haven't won me over completely, Raley's (although the dutch crunch loaf for .99 is a good start!) but I may not speak so ill of you in mixed company.

Lastly, this is for the folks:

Carving our first pumpkin

We had hoped to be joining the annual pumpkin carve-off at the Nevins this year but sadly, a snotty nose and some rain precluded our journey over. We did, however, manage our own small gooey mess on the kitchen floor and captured some carving action in the collage and video below.

(Please excuse my numerous attempts to get him to say "pumpkin." Before the camera came out he was running around saying it over and over and it was so cute....anyway, on to the show...)



Nattie loved cleaning out the inside pumpkin guts but got a little hung up on piecing the pumpkin back together after daddy cut out the pieces.

Older, bigger . . .

. . . but still really cute.

So...it happened...today at Costco...

Ok, so I have heard that pregnant gals crave strange things like dirt, clay, and a whole list of inedible substances that up until today I've thought unbelievable. And then...waiting for Nana in Costco a guy had a whole flat cart filled with enormous jugs of delicious? Pinesol. It's weird but I really did look at them and think they would be good in some way...strange. Of course, I did naturally wonder why the heck would one person need soooo much Pinesol in the first place?? And then I thought it sounded yummy... Anyway, I am sure that I can fight the urge...but Love, don't be stressed if you come home to a house smelling like sparkling wave tonight. I'll be more inclined to clean the floor more often these next few days but that's all I'll do....I swear! :)

In other news...

We went to Bishop's Pumpkin Patch in Wheatland this Monday. Good times. Great corn dog....pretty good pie. Looking forward to an Apple Hill trip soon, though!!



AND Papa's Pirate party week is worth a little mention...

Rodney's office had a week long employee appreciation party and while it didn't help the impression of lax state workers it did include free breakfasts, lunches, eye patches, and walking the plank...AND we scored a nice date night prize at Pyramid Alehouse! Way to go, Babe!! ARRRR!!

They copy everything

Effie Yeaw

We went to Effie Yeaw Nature Center last weekend and Nathan had a great time chasing the turkeys



throwing rocks in the river



and watching deer

FunFest

From FunFest

Here is a great picture courtesy of a friend who does professional family portraits. Check out their excellent work at Eikon Photography. There are a few more picture from the FunFest at our church last Sunday at the album link above.

Swing!

You might have seen this picture before in a previous slideshow but it's so great it really deserves it's own post. Plus we need to bump that last post down. It was, however in the tradition of the picture we sent in an email announcing Nathan when we first found out we were having a boy.

BTW

In case you haven't heard



It's a girl.

Quick camera phone pic

seriously...how could I resist ??

What a weekend! The parade of sugary goodness has come to an end but not without leaving behind some great memories...

Sneak preview

Monday, August 14th 2006

Two years ago today we started this blog. Here's a snippet from that first post:

The doctor wanted us to come back to his office to go over options. We got there about 6:30, well after his regular hours, and he told us he thought it would be better not to wait til Saturday so we decided sooner was better than later. He called the hospital and set it up for 6am tomorrow.

We all know what happened then!

remind me what "normal" is again...

Sure...our friends are posting videos of their kids doing smarty-pants things like first words and first steps but why follow the crowd, I say! This will be just another video he'll appreciate is on the web when he's applying for college. We love you, little bucket-head!

He looks like such a big boy!

Photo courtesy of Lara again!

What do you mean I haven't posted this picture yet?!

feeling nostalgic

thanks to this post, I got to thinking...wow, 2 years! man! have they been awesome...and quick! our little guy isn't all that little anymore. he doesn't even look like a chubby little baby and he's on his way now to be a big brother. i can hardly believe it.

Playing with Grandpa

Here's one from Stacy and Nathan's recent trip to Wisconsin.

Nathan saying "cheese!"

Too fun!

It's great to hear this little guy get excited and use his voice!

Alien Feet

Nathan found mommy's gloves in the closet and decided they should go on his feet. He needed some help getting them on but was pretty pleased with the outcome.

CHEESE

We had to get a cheerful, albeit somewhat gross, close up of our little man up here since the last post generated too much sympathy from well-meaning grandparents. :)

Plus, this picture just makes me giggle. Who knew peanut butter could be so much fun!

Another fat lip

Stacy called me this morning and said, "your son has only been awake for two hours and he's already bled twice". I'm not sure why I think that's so funny.

**Mommy report: Because for some odd reason I am not able to leave a comment on this post, I feel compelled to "edit/update" Papa's post by saying that our little NRMy is alright. His tumbles aren't anything that our "Mr. Bump" ice pack can't handle. And who doesn't like extra lovin' from Mama?!?

**Comments should be fixed now. Sorry. And I never had any doubt Nathan was just fine. I just know these are the first few of many future injuries.

Just something silly for the grandparents (and daddy at work)

Nattie is starting to make all kinds of noises (some words--but mostly enthusiastic noise) but I was able to catch a few moments of his latest little noise game on video. He does this sometimes while we drive around...especially if mommy and daddy are busy talking to each other.

Our little sprout can really dance a jig!

Unlike big brother NRMy, this little one gave mommy and daddy something to really watch during our last ultrasound!

Doc says baby looks healthy...measures out right and heartbeat is strong. News on boy/girl won't be for a couple months....somewhere around August/September and that's if the baby cooperates! So, we'll keep you posted!

Oh, hey. Did I miss another Wednesday?

Photo by Lila.

We love it when Nathan laughs

Nathan likes sleeping with a pillow now

Extending the praise list

Our news has been pretty widely spread at this point, but just to keep a record of events in our household...

WE ARE PREGNANT.

About 6 weeks along and our first doctor's appt. is tomorrow afternoon (when we'll get an actual "picture" of our little sprout).
The picture above however was too awesome to not share. Taken from a magazine that charts the growth of a baby from conception to birth, the photo above is 2 months and theoretically what our baby will look like in a couple weeks.

We'll keep posting information as God, time, and mommy's energy allows!

Water fun

Here's a great collage Stacy put together from their trip to visit grandparents! So fun!

Couch laugh

Nathan is visiting his grandparents and this came from their cell phone. I'm not sure why he's doing what he's doing but it cracks me up. Of course I'm a bit biased.

It's sideways but I have this great free software that flips and rotates video--it's called Free Video Flip and Rotate--and it works great except it strips the sound. And, really, the sound is the best part.

Nathan's first real boo-boo.

Nattie took a tumble today at the park and scored himself a real big
boy boo-boo.....and lives to "tell" the tale.

Daffodils!

Picnic at Daffodil Hill before it closed for the season.

[Editorial note by Rodney: Inspired by the Yows Stacy had the great idea to have a picnic at Daffodil Hill. The flowers were a bit past the peak but it was a great way to spend a sunny Saturday! Thanks for posting the pic, baby!]

Poppies!

On the way home from a great week of vacation in Southern California, Rodney took us past the CA Golden Poppy Reserve as a special treat to break up the long drive. What a great time too!! The poppies were vibrant and gorgeous and even Nattie was happy about the stop!

Helping mommy in the kitchen!

Awesome!

Big Boy

Ok, this will be the last one of these, I promise, but, for Matt.

Salsa!

Nat was digging the salsa at his Nanty's rehearsal dinner a few weeks ago.

Tintin?

This is kind of a repeat but it was inspired by, I think, Lucy, a very long time ago. I just saw the Tintin picture again recently and knew what I had to do.