Fall Fun!

October brought lots of fun - starting with Nathan's new found "chore" helping Daddy swiffer the house (please don't call DFS, I promise this was all his own idea)...

We also kicked off October with a visit from our friends, the Rorabaughs.  Unfortunately, we didn't get any fun pictures of the kids' musical parade but pulled the camera out towards the end of the visit when the kids had really had enough.  Nonetheless, here are Maya and Bryce with a very unhappy and tired Nathan...

In early October we went to Grandma and Grandpa's to celebrate Mommy's birthday.  It was a beautiful Fall day...

Yikes - Nathan woke up with some SERIOUS bedhead...

Helping Mommy blow out her candles...

Here Nathan is sporting a super cool outfit that Aunt Jill painted for him!  The sweatshirt says Nathan...Gift of God (which, if you recall, is the meaning of his name) and the pants have Nathan down the left pantleg...

This is Nathan with Pete the Penguin which was a Christmas gift from Uncle Jon and Aunt Michaelle last Christmas.  Nathan went through a phase of adoring Pete and then being utterly scared of him but then he took the upper hand...

A few times...

In the Fall Nathan was really working on mastering the art of silverware (or should we say plasticware)...

Here was a fun day at Aunt Hanna and Uncle Steve's.  Nathan enjoyed playing with his friends from the wedding.  Can't you just hear him saying "I got it!!!"...

Well, his volleyball career was short lived and he went to playing in the super huge sandbox also known as the sand volleyball court...

And then he quickly picked up a new career of kickball...

Is this shot adorable or what?!?!?!

Taking a break with Grandma...

What an absolute doll...

Dinnertime with the ladies...

Daddy is such a clown...

What a face as he's digging into his beloved banana (aka "nana")...

Keeping with tradition, we took the Grafton Ferry across the Mississippi River to Eckert's Farm to select some pumpkins.  Here's Nathan patiently awaiting the ferry with Grandma and Aunt Hanna...

And taking in the scenes with Mommy...

And doing some more waiting with Grandpa and Uncle Steve...

Finally on board the ferry with Mommy and Daddy...

Yay!  We made it and are on the wagon bound for the pumpkin patch...

Nathan took his time surveying his options...

Looking for just the right pumpkin...

And found one just his size (but a little too green)...

Success - these are the Great Pumpkins of 2010...

Family photo of the fabulous day at Eckert's...

On the way out (after Nathan gave the Johnny Appleseed statue a kiss) we stopped by the giant scarecrow growth board to get measured...

What a fun month October was!  Of course, it brought with it Nathan's 16 month birthday...

Other events of October included Nathan's 15-month checkup at the pediatrician's where he weighed 21 pounds and 2 ounces (7th percentile) and was 31 3/4 inches long (94th percentile)...tall and thin like Daddy!  Also, Nathan got his 10th tooth (his top left molar) and had his first ever taste of peanut butter (he's quite the fan)!

Of course, we can't forget the most exciting news of the month...we took a pregnancy test on October 16th that was positive and it was confirmed by our fertility doctor on October 26th!  Praise God for another blessing!!!

Spectacular September

Hello everyone!  Well, it sure has been a while since the blog has been updated, hasn't it!?!?  So, let's get right to it!  September was a spectacular month indeed!  Things kicked off with Uncle Steve marrying the now-official Aunt Hanna on September 4th!  It was a beautiful weekend for a wedding!  Daddy was a groomsman, Mommy was a bridesmaid and I was the Ring Bearer (aka Ring Man).  Here I am at the rehearsal...

Given that I had recently started to walk towards the end of July, the plan was for Daddy and me to walk down the aisle together...

Here's a family shot (one of Aunt Hanna's bridesmaids made these super fun shirts for all of us)...

Here I am getting ready for the big day (with the help of Grandma and one of her friends)...

As far as the plan of walking down the aisle with Daddy, well, um, let's just say I got a bit of stage fright when I saw all of the people, so Daddy carried me safely down...

Here's a shot of me, Mommy and Daddy...

And here we are with the happy couple and the Krestel clan...

And here's the whole wedding party - aren't we bright and cheery!?!?

The next day we had a gift opening party at Grandma and Grandpa's and here's another Krestel clan family shot...

Daddy was off work on Labor Day so we spent some time playing at the park...

I haven't quite mastered the sliding board, as you can see...

But I was all about the fountain and got soaking wet, but that didn't stop me, I was still on the move exploring everything at the park...

Here's a random picture...Mommy just loves the diaper look...

In the middle of the month we went to the famous "Brentwood Days" parade...

Here I am on my 15 month birthday.  Mommy has two stories to share from my 15 month birthday.  Apparently when it was time for my nap she said "come on, let's go to your room and read your story before bed" and so I jumped up from the living room, ran down the hall, turned into Mommy and Daddy's room, stopped short, turned around and ran into my room, over to my nightstand, picked up my book and handed it to Mommy.  Although she thought this was pretty cute, apparently I did something later that day that she didn't think was quite so cute.  We were playing in my room and we heard my doggy, Baxter, barking outside so we went to let him in.  When I saw him outside the kitchen door I said "Bayer, Bayer!" which Mommy thought was so cute until she realized that my word order was now Dadda, nanna (aka banana) and Bayer!  She's just wondering when I'll add Mamma to the list. Other events of my 15th month were that I started imitating an elephant by raising my arm above my head and shouting "ehh!" and I started to get teeth #'s 8 and 9 (my bottom right and left molars)...

One of my favorite things to do this month was play with my stacking cups...

But sometimes I looked more like a dealer at Harrah's...

Another one of my favorite things to play with was my Ring Bearer bear that Aunt Hanna and Uncle Steve got me...

He's quite the little cuddler (and when you push his paw he says "I love you!")...

On September 24th I finally had my clogged tear duct in my left eye repaired.  Mommy and Daddy got me up very early in the morning...

But, I was excited to see what kind of adventure they were taking me on...

It wasn't so bad at first because there was a fish (or as I say, "sh") involved...

And I got a fun bracelet to wear...

And I got to hang out in my jammies and wear something funny on my finger...

But then I fell asleep and when I awoke I didn't feel so great and I had this pesty blue tape on my hand (apparently from something called an iv) and I couldn't get my favorite fingers in my mouth - it was quite sad...

But, my eye didn't get gooey or crusty ever again after that day - and the next day I got to go to my friend Sarah's 2nd birthday party and we had a ball playing in her back yard...

In addition to the diaper look, Mommy just loves how I look in my jammies...

In case you were wondering, I'm still Praising The Lord...

 

And sleeping like a champ (but sometimes I find myself in precarious positions)...