The Hadavi Family

Interview With a Four Year Old

2012-02-19T15:03:00.000-06:00

A couple of years ago I read a blog (I can't remember which one anymore) on which the mom interviewed her child on his birthday. I thought it was a really cute idea, but figured I needed to wait until Nate turned four to be able to get his attention long enough. And now, I've been seeing examples on pinterest, so I had some good ideas of questions. I plan to do this each year, so we can see how his answers change. I think it will be really funny some day to read back through each year. My intent was to complete the interview on his birthday, but it actually took a few different days. Once he figured out what I was doing, he completely clammed up. And now, here's is my interview with my big boy, exactly in his own words.

How old are you?

Three (said with a sly smile). Ok, I’m four.

What’s the best thing about being four?

Nothing

What’s the worst thing about being four?

I don’t like to change how old I am because I like to stay at just the number I am.

What makes your happy?

I don’t know. I don’t want to answer that question.

What is your favorite color?

I can’t believe you don’t know this Mommy! It’s orange!

(This question actually hurt his feelings)

What is your favorite thing to do?

Play racecar games! Let’s talk about my favorite sport.

Ok, What’s your favorite sport?

Soccer!

What’s your favorite animal?

Doggy

What’s your favorite holiday?

Halloween!

What do you like about Halloween?

I like to dress up in costumes!

What’s your favorite food?

Fish sticks! (pause) and yogurt and chocolate milk.

What’s your favorite tv show?

Turbo Dogs. Mommy? What do you think the Turbo Dogs are doing right now?

What’s your favorite movie?

Cars 1. I do not like Cars 2.

What’s your favorite song?

The one with smoke and a hospital.

(He’s referring to “Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors” by the Editors)

What’s your favorite book?

Racecar books

Who is your best friend?

Jiho

What do your want to be when you grow up?

I want to be four things. I want to be a skier and a sledder. I want to help people and I want to be a parent.

Half Birthday

2012-02-10T21:55:00.001-06:00

Our sweet Lukas turned six months old today. Unfortunately he spent the day not feeling well. I'm pretty sure he's working on some teeth. Poor boy was so cranky, which is completely out of character for him. He is usually the happiest boy in the world. Not so much today.

At six months, Lukas:

- is in the 25th-50th percentile for height and weight at 26 inches and 16 1/2 pounds.

- is sleeping through the night! Yay!

- can roll over from his back to his tummy. He just figured this out last week. He still hasn't tried getting from his tummy to his back, but he loves rolling from side to side.

- loves oatmeal, especially oatmeal with bananas.

- is working so hard to sit up on his own. He can actually sit unsupported for about ten seconds at a time.

- loves to be naked. When he is able to get his own clothes and diaper off, I predict he will be naked most of time.

- has the sweetest relationship with his brother. My two boys just LOVE each other. It makes my heart swell to see the two of them together.

Party On!

2012-02-06T21:55:00.002-06:00

Nate has very specific opinions on just about everything. It came as no surprise that he knew exactly how he wanted to celebrate his birthday. He wanted a Lighting McQueen party at home with streamers and balloons, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fish sticks, and he wanted to help set everything up. So, that's what we did. Mostly. I nixed the fish sticks. Nate was a good little host. He greeted everyone at the door with either a "Happy January!" or "Welcome to my Lightning McQueen Party!" So much excitement.

This was the first party where we invited kids from Nate's class. To be prepared for the 15 or so preschoolers that would be running around my home, I prepared some games in advance. I devised a Pin the Car on the Racetrack game, set up a Hot Wheels race station, a Lightning McQueen coloring station and was prepared for a rousing version of Red Light/Green Light. By the time the second or third kid arrived, Nate was quickly ushering all of the kids upstairs to the play room and away from the party. None of the games got played, which was ok. Nate had a great time and that's what mattered.

Nate standing by one of the games we didn't play

playing in the playroom

getting all that frosting is very serious business

Victory!!!

The other thing that Nate was very specific about was his cake, well cupcakes. They had to be chocolate on the outside and every color on the inside. Thank goodness for the internet. Here's what I came up with. Not bad if I do say so myself.

Happy Birthday Nate!

2012-01-31T21:29:00.003-06:00

Nate has been so excited for his birthday! That combined with the fact that he is starting to have an understanding of months and the passage of time and we have been eagerly awaiting his birthday for several months now. First he knew he had to wait for January, but then he was trying to figure out how to wait for 31 whole days. To make it easier, we made a birthday chain on New Year's Day and he happily removed a link every day.

And now, his birthday is upon us! Tell me how, exactly, my baby just turned four!

We celebrated tonight with a hearty meal of Nate's choosing - fish sticks, ketchup, yogurt, and strawberry milk. Our dinner conversation included a discussion about how poop is made. You can't beat a meal like that! He also took donut holes to school. His big celebration was a party last Saturday. I'll post pictures of that later. But first, here are the only birthday pictures Nate would let me take of him today. They are blurry because it's just too hard to stay still, but I do believe they capture the birthday boy perfectly.

At four, Nate is curious about everything. He loves learning and loves teaching us the things he has learned. He is smart and sensitive. He loves to laugh and joke and loves to run and have fun. He is an amazing big brother. He is learning to write letters. He can write his name and has started asking how to spell certain words. He asks us to write words out so he can copy them. Nate has brought so much joy to our lives. He challenges us every day and I can't imagine my life without him. I am so blessed to be his mom!

The Shark Reef

2012-01-29T20:44:00.000-06:00

When we were in Las Vegas after Christmas we spent one morning at the Shark Reef Aquarium at the Mandalay Bay. Nate was really excited to see the sharks and the aquarium didn't disappoint. It wasn't the biggest or the best aquarium we've been to, but it was just about perfect for Nate's attention span.

Here's the group at the entrance. This was a green screen photo, but it turned out pretty good.

Nate was mesmerized by the sharks. He loved that you could get right up next to the glass.

Nate is showing Aunt Sandy his favorite animal at the aquarium - the green tree lizards (they are on the top of that log). Apparently, he missed the fact that we were at an aquarium. He liked them because they were laying right next to each other and he said they were protecting each other.

This was actually his favorite thing at the aquarium. He could have spent all day watching the divers

Our funny family photo - Nate's not looking at the camera, you can't see Lukas because he's asleep in the baby bjorn and some random girl jumped in at the very last minute. Oh well, I'll take what I can get.

Shark Man!

Heard Around the Homestead

2012-01-27T23:28:00.001-06:00

Let's face it. Nate is a pretty funny kid. He also has a lot to say. Put those two things together and he cracks us up on a daily basis. For example, the following are just a few of the conversations we've had at our house over the last few days.

Nate: Mama, do alligators live in swamps?
Me: Yes
Nate: What else live in swamps?
Me: umm, snakes?
Nate: Yoda, the Jedi master, lives there he does.
(keep in mind, too, that Nate has never seen Star Wars)
***

Nate: Mama, are you still private?
Me (wondering what the heck he's talking about): Sure, I guess so.
Nate: Does that mean I still can't have a piggy back ride?
Me: Huh?
Nate: When you were private with Lukas, you couldn't give me piggy back rides.
Me: Do you mean pregnant?
Nate: Oh, right, pregnant.
***

Nate to Jason: Daddy, when I grow up I'm going to be just like Mommy except that I'm going to score lots of goals, I'm still going to LOVE milk and I'm going to play on your soccer team.
***

Nate to Me: Boy, Mommy. I sure do wish our house was made of chocolate!

Let It Snow

2012-01-16T21:15:00.000-06:00

One afternoon while we were visiting my parents, we left Lukas with grandma and grandpa and headed to the snow. Mount Charleston is about 35 miles northwest of Las Vegas and I spent my entire childhood not going there. I had no idea how much fun there was to be had!

My apologies in advance. This is a very photo heavy post. I just couldn't help myself. We had so much fun and ended up with so many good photos!

At the very beginning Nate wasn't so sure snow was for him.

Aunt Sandy got stuck and she's the one with the most snow experience since she lives in Colorado.

Jason giving Nate a boost at the top of his first solo run.

Nate at the end of his first solo run. This is currently my favorite photo of him.

Sisters in the snow.

Aunt Sandy giving Nate a boost.

It's a family affair.

Nate with Aunt Brittany

A rare photo of Jason and I together

Nate's least favorite snow activity was snowball fighting, but you wouldn't know it from this photo.

Vegas, Baby

2012-01-15T20:42:00.000-06:00

The day after Christmas, we all flew to Las Vegas to visit my family. My Aunt Sandy met us there too and it was great to see everyone. We were there for a pretty short time, but we made the most of it and packed in a bunch of fun things. We played in the snow, celebrated my mom's birthday, took the boys to their first basketball game and went to an aquarium. Jason and I even got to see a Cirque du Soleil show, Ka, thanks to my generous and awesome sister. Our trip went by much too fast. I was sad to go. I always wish I could spend more time with my family.

I'm going to do separate posts for the snow day and the aquarium because there are so many good photos, but first, I'll share the family photos we took. It was quite a challenge. Mostly because Nate is less than cooperative in photos these days.

(Nate is into posing these days)

(pose #2)

(love how Lukas is looking at my Dad)

(this sums up Nate's cooperation)

Christmas 2011 (finally!)

2012-01-11T20:03:00.000-06:00

We had a very nice, fairly quiet Christmas at home this year. Nate was so excited for Santa to come. In fact, Jason and I got very little sleep on Christmas Even thanks to Nate's overwhelming excitement. At first, it was impossible for him to fall asleep and then he woke up every hour or so through the night and burst into tears because "Santa was taking too long." Christmas morning finally came and Nate was pretty indifferent to most of his presents. He was the most excited for a back scratcher that was in Jason's stocking and the box that one of his toys came in that was big enough for him to wear. He was the least excited about opening the gifts that had clothes inside. The first time he opened a box with clothes in it, he got a puzzled look on his face and said, "Hey, how'd these get in there?" Lukas slept through all of the gift giving. We had a good day, though, just spending time as a family. They boys spent the entire day in their pajamas and we ate almost all day long. All in all, it was the perfect way to spend Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T17:25:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! We hope everyone is enjoying Christmas as much as we are!

Christmas Preparations

2011-12-24T23:13:00.000-06:00

We didn't procrastinate at all this Christmas (cough, cough) and so at 8:00 am this morning, Christmas Eve, we were in line at the mall to see Santa.

Nate was really concerned with whether or not Santa likes Oreos, so that was the very first thing he asked him. Unfortunately, Santa admitted he loves Oreos, so we had to stop at the store on our way home from the mall.

When we got home, we got to work baking Christmas cookies. Yes, I know. We are running late this year! I am actually still baking as I write this at 10:45 pm. I just have to have my Christmas cookies! Nate was very restrained in his decorating. He was very precise with the sprinkles and only put one color on each until we encouraged him to mix it up a little. Lukas, of course, did a great job supervising.

After church, I convinced (ok, begged) Nate to take a picture with Lukas by the Christmas tree. It took several tries, but we actually got one where both boys look normal.

Shortly after that, Nate went crazy with excitement for Santa. He was so excited, he was practically beside himself. It took him a very long time to fall asleep and even then he has woken up several different times in tears begging us to go to bed too so Santa can come.

Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope you are all spending it with loved ones and that you feel as much excitement and joy as Nate!

First Food

2011-12-19T16:09:00.000-06:00

To celebrate Lukas' four month birthday last weekend, he got his first taste of solid food - delicious rice cereal. He's not really a fan. He'll take a few bites, but isn't that into it. His teacher says he eats every bite at school, so it must be my technique.

I was going to post just one picture, but I couldn't narrow it down. I love these pictures because you can see how blue blue blue Lukas' eyes are. Maybe they'll stay this way.

Gingerbread Boss

2011-12-17T22:43:00.000-06:00

Nate and Jason decorated a gingerbread house together. It was pretty funny to watch because Nate knew EXACTLY where everything should go, but he didn't want to touch any of the frosting. Instead, he just gave Jason very detailed instructions.

planning it out is very serious business

keeping track of that green frosting

giving instructions

the finished product - view 1

the finished product - view 2

So, what do you think? Do they have a future in cake decorating?

Four Months

2011-12-12T23:23:00.002-06:00

Lukas turned four months old on Saturday. Can you believe it? I can't!

At four months, Lukas:

- is a cool cat. He's still the calmest, laid back baby ever. I think he may never roll over because if you put him on his back, he's happy to be there. If you put him on his tummy, he's happy to be there. There's no incentive for him to flip over.

- loves his big brother! During the rare times Lukas is upset, it's Nate's voice that calms him down the most.

- loves smiling and can laugh out loud. He rewards Nate's antics with big belly laughs.

- is very vocal, no surprise. He shrieks and babbles all the time. We hear lots of oohs, goos and gaas along with something that sounds like "hi!"

- is in the 50th percentile for weight and height at 14.5 pounds and 25 inches.

- is still a champion eater. This baby can put away some milk!

- loves taking baths. We had a rough start with bath time with Lukas, but now he loves them. I finally thought to put the baby tub inside the big tub so I can bathe both boys at the same time. They both prefer it this way. Works for me!

- is still not sleeping through the night, but we are working on it. Mama needs a good night's sleep!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-09T21:24:00.001-06:00

I've been procrastinating posting about Thanksgiving because I was dreading all of the photos I was going to have to sort through and edit. However, we have started doing Christmas things and I can't post about Christmas until I've posted about Thanksgiving. So I decided tonight was the night. I gathered all of the electronic devices that contained pictures from Thanksgiving and started downloading only to find that we hardly took any pictures at all. Major fail! So those of you that were with us, please send me copies!

We spent the week of Thanksgiving in El Paso which included two very long drives - 10 plus hours each way including all of the stops. The way there was a piece of cake. Everyone was very cooperative. The drive home? Not so much. Everyone was cranky and ready to be home. In between, though, we had a wonderful time and it was totally worth the drive.

We spent Thanksgiving Day eating way too much delicious food at Jason's grandparents' house and then playing football. Football was one of the highlights for Nate. Nate also got to climb the tree in the back yard that three generations of Portugal kids have now climbed. We'll have to get his picture in that tree next time we are there. Lukas spent much of his time snuggling up to Mama, Jason's grandmother. The two of them got along like peanut butter and jelly.

We are extremely blessed to have a healthy, loving family and feel extra thankful this year. It's nice to have a day to remind us to count our blessings, but we need remember to do so more often!

Fashion Show

2011-11-20T13:01:00.004-06:00

Lukas spits up a lot. A lot. We have talked to his doctor about it, but he isn't worried because 1) he doesn't seem to have any discomfort associated with the spit up and 2) he is gaining weight just fine, as evidenced below. So, aside from the annoyance of all the spit up, it's nothing to worry about. Jason and I feel like we change his clothes a hundred times a day. One Saturday, I decided to take a picture of him in each outfit to log how many times we actually do change his clothes in a 24 hour period.

(Midnight to about 6am - He looks pretty unsure of this early morning photo shoot.)

(6:00 to 6:15 - Now he's ready to have his picture taken.)

(6:15 to about 9am - This was just a bib removal, but I say it counts. If it hadn't been for that bib, it would have been a whole new outfit.)

(9am to 11am - Nate had his last soccer game and it was COLD that morning)

(11am to 3pm - This was a pretty good stretch)

(3pm to 5pm - Ready for the Longhorn game. See that tummy? Not exactly the "smallest fan".)

(5pm to 7pm - He did manage to keep his Longhorn socks on.)

(7pm to midnight - Ready for bed!)

So there you have it. Eight outfits in one day and this was a pretty typical day for us. Now I know why I am constantly doing laundry! By the way, don't be fooled into thinking that he is sleeping through the night and that is why there are no outfit changes between 7pm and 6am. Oh no, he just doesn't spit up at night. I can't figure that one out at all.

That's A Lot of Bats

2011-11-11T12:31:00.001-06:00

Last night at bedtime Nate told me:

"Mommy, I love you more than a thousand bats...
And I love Daddy more than eleven bats. That's a lot of bats!
And I love Lukas more than 39 bats...
That's too many bats to have them as pets!"

There's a lot of love in our house. I guess Halloween has made quite an impression on Nate!

Halloween

2011-11-09T21:14:00.000-06:00

Item #50 on our list of 101 Things in 1001 days is to dress up in coordinated costumes for Halloween. Since this is the last Halloween that falls within our 1001 days, it was now or never. We knew the key was to get Nate on board - the rest of us could work around him, so we've been talking about costumes with him for months. For months, Nate talked about being a pirate. That was fine with me because it gave us plenty to work with. We even found a hat for Daisy. And then, on the way to the costume store, Nate acted like we were all crazy for suggesting he should be a pirate. He wanted to be Spiderman. Duh! We quickly regrouped and went with the new theme.

And so, without further ado, I present Spiderman, Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson and the spider that bit Peter Parker!

Not the best picture of us. We are still working on perfecting the four person photo. Please ignore the burp cloth hanging out of my back pocket - I thought it was hidden back there. Also, I swear that wig looked much better on the package. Oh well.

Here's a better look at Lukas as a spider. I think he looks more like a ninja, but the eight arms say he's a spider. Either way, he's pretty cute!

Nate had a great time trick or treating. It was the first time he went further than our cul-de-sac and he thought it was pretty cool. He kept asking to go to just one more house.

When the bigger kids came out, he wasn't quite as thrilled. He took one look at a kid dressed as a ghost and decided he was scared and wanted to go home. We had plenty of candy, so we headed home. All in all, we had a pretty good time. We'll have to get a little more creative next year with the coordinated costumes.

Pumpkin Carving (also titled The Fun Never Ends)

2011-11-01T16:50:00.002-05:00

On Sunday at 9am we set about carving our pumpkins for Halloween. Jason and Nate got started by scooping out the guts. I was conveniently feeding Lukas, so I couldn't help with this part. Nate was not much help either. Jason kept telling him to get his hands in there and scoop! At one point, Jason told Nate not to be afraid to get dirty. Nate replied (I kid you not), "I'm not afraid, I'm terrified!"

About fifteen minutes in, Lukas and I joined the party. The bumbo only lasted for a few minutes, but he did a good job supervising while it did.

The Cookie Monster pumpkin was a group effort. Nate did his best to trace the lines, but went free form from time to time.

At about 10am, Nate had had enough pumpkin carving. He was off playing with his toys. Soon Lukas was napping in his swing and Jason and I were carving. And carving. And carving.

We had lunch, got Nate down for his nap, and kept carving. Jason left for his soccer game, and I kept carving. After awhile I had other things to do (you know, like take care of my kids) so I took a break. Jason got home from soccer, we had dinner, got the kids in bed and Jason finished carving.

It was 8pm - 11 hours after we first started - and we had three great pumpkins. Remind me next year to pick less complicated patterns.

So Long Soccer

2011-10-30T22:22:00.000-05:00

Nate had his last soccer game of the season yesterday. I really loved watching Nate play. He may be small, but he is tough! His tenacity will serve him well in life. In the 9 game season he scored 40 goals. Pretty awesome!

(he plays for the snacks)

I loved watching Jason coach the kids too. It was a challenge for him at times, but he enjoyed it and was really good at it. He was able to keep the kids' attention better than any of us spectator parents expected.

(Jason and his team, the Pf Flyers)

I also enjoyed watching Jason and Nate interact in a different setting. Soccer is such an important part of Jason's life and he loves sharing it with Nate. Nate of course always puts his own spin on things. One day, he asked Jason, "Daddy, why did your parents name you 'Coach'?"

(Nate and Coach)

I'd been looking forward to Nate playing soccer for so long and this season didn't disappoint. I'm looking forward to many more soccer seasons to come.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-26T09:20:00.001-05:00

On Saturday we visited the pumpkin patch at Sweetberry Farm. I've never done anything like that and it was so much fun! They had a hayride, corn mazes, and a barrel train. We could pick wild flowers, stuff a scarecrow and feed goats. And of course, there were more pumpkins (both quantity and type) than I've ever seen in my entire life. Nate had a great time. This will definitely become an annual tradition. As an added bonus, we got to mark #49 off our list of 101 things!

Nate, at the entrance. How cute is this place?

Nate being silly on the pumpkins

Brothers! This was the only picture I wanted to be sure to get. Neither of them are looking at the camera, but that's ok, I was just happy they both cooperated.

The whole family on the hay ride. Lukas was not so sure about this.

Nate working hard. He was really trying to pedal this tractor.

Nate feeding the goats. I think this might have been his favorite part. He is definitely an animal lover.

Nate on the barrel train - in the orange car of course

No Rest for the Weary

2011-10-12T19:10:00.000-05:00

When Nate started sleeping through the night at 10 weeks old, we thought we had been blessed with a good sleeper. We were wrong. The truth is that sleep has always been a little elusive in the Hadavi household. Actually, it's falling asleep that has been the challenge for Nate. Once he's asleep he stays asleep pretty well. He just fights falling asleep. Some nights, he will spend hours in his room talking and playing before finally passing out. When he does fall asleep, it is sometimes in very unusual positions.

he just finally gave up mid-escape

I doubt the table made a very comfortable pillow

or the floor... but, he did have his "pillow blankie" which is just a receiving blanket folded into a square. It makes an appearance in most of these pictures.

he arranged the covers so he is practically sitting up - probably helped keep him awake

I don't even know what to say about this one

This one occurred during a temper tantrum that I was ignoring. He stopped crying, so I went in to talk to him and found him conked out.

He was supposed to be napping in his room. I went up to check on him and found him in my room.

Two Months

2011-10-10T23:13:00.000-05:00

Lukas is two months old today. I seriously don't know where the past two months have gone! At his two month appointment on Friday, he weighed in at a whopping 11 pounds even and is 24 inches long. That puts him in the 48th percentile for weight and the 50-75th percentile for height. At his two week appointment, he was in the 5-10th percentiles for both, so as you can tell Lukas is a champion eater! Look at those chunky thighs. Love it!

Stroller Success

2011-10-04T21:32:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of Lukas sleeping in his stroller. This may not be very exciting to you, but to Jason and I, it's a thrilling sight. You see, Nate never slept in the stroller - not for one single minute of his entire life. We used to enviously watch other families at the zoo, the mall, everywhere it seemed whose children slept soundly in their strollers wondering what we did wrong. Nate just never took to the stroller. I can probably count on one hand the number of times we even attempted to use the stroller with Nate. And now, Lukas has fallen asleep in the stroller EVERY TIME WE'VE USED IT! Bless you, my (so far) compliant second child! Now, I just hope I haven't jinxed it.

My Boys Today

2011-09-28T19:03:00.000-05:00

I finally managed to capture a smile on camera.

Nate at dinner with a milk mustache and a chili beard.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

2011-09-27T20:09:00.000-05:00

Nate really does love being a big brother. He is very concerned for Lukas and is always checking on him. However, a couple of weeks after Lukas was born, Nate brought this picture home from school. Pretty telling about how he was feeling at the time.

The Front

This is a picture of our family. He drew Mom, Dad and himself. When his teacher asked him where Lukas was, he replied "There's no room for Lukas". As an afterthought, he added this...

The Back

Cracks me up!

I think he's getting past these feelings. The first thing Nate does every afternoon when he gets home from school is run into the house looking for Lukas. He wants to know if he is awake or asleep and if he can look at his eyes. Lukas is pretty fond of Nate in return. Lukas started smiling intentionally about a week ago and his very first smile was aimed at Nate.

GOOOOOAL!

2011-09-17T21:49:00.000-05:00

Nate had his first soccer game today. Seriously, watching a group of 3 year olds play soccer is one of the most fun ways to spend a Saturday morning. Pure entertainment - made even more fun by watching Jason try to wrangle them.

(ready to take the field)

(the whole team, plus Jason, getting checked by the ref)

Nate is a super star and had a blast. He scored eight goals - seven of them in the correct goal. If you ask him, though, he'll say he scored three goals because he is three years old.

(right after scoring his first goal)

(headed in for another one)

He also earned his first red card (if they gave cards at this age). There was one player on the other team who was actually pretty good and kept stealing the ball. Towards the end of the game, Nate had had enough. The kid stole the ball from Nate one time too many, so Nate ran after him and pushed him down. Sportsmanship is a work in progress.

(making his mad face)

(one more action shot)

We are so lucky to have amazing friends who love our kids. Nate had his own little cheering section. Thanks guys for coming to Nate's first soccer game - it really meant a lot to him!

One Month

2011-09-10T16:57:00.000-05:00

Lukas is one month old today. I can hardly believe it! He is the most relaxed baby and is the perfect addition to our family.

Soccer Mom

2011-09-08T16:41:00.000-05:00

We signed Nate up for soccer as soon as registration opened and he has been anxiously waiting for months for practice to begin. About two weeks ago, we got an email saying that they had no coaches for the Under 4 teams and without coaches, there would be no teams. Reluctantly (but enthusiastically) Jason volunteered to coach Nate's team. Since then we've had lots of discussions about good sportsmanship and team spirit - all for Jason's benefit.

They had their first practice yesterday. It was so fun to watch. Jason did a great job with the kids and Nate had a great time. He may be one of the smallest kids on his team, but he is fast! I've been looking forward to Nate playing team sports forever, and I'm excited to officially be a soccer mom!

Watch out World Cup 2026 - here we come!

Escape Artist

2011-09-04T17:22:00.001-05:00

Lukas really doesn't like to be swaddled, but he sleeps so much better when he is wrapped up tight. In the hopes of a little more sleep, we've been swaddling him at night and he has gotten pretty adept at getting free. One night, we got a nice tight swaddle. A little while later this is what we found:

He almost wriggled right out of his onesie in an attempt to escape the dreaded swaddle. Pretty good problem solving skills!

The Greatest Show on Earth

2011-08-31T19:57:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, the circus came to town and our neighbors (who had a suite - sweet!) invited us to go with them. Since Lukas had already made his debut, Jason and Nate took them up on their offer. They had a great time and Nate loved seeing the acts. He was especially impressed with the elephants and motorcycles.

Here's Jason and Nate at the circus. This is my new favorite picture of the two of them!

Since I wasn't there, Nate was responsible for all of the photography. Here's the circus from Nate's point of view.

A huge thanks to our awesome neighbors for such a great time!

First Baths

2011-08-23T18:54:00.000-05:00

Lukas had his first sponge bath last week and he was not a fan. As much as Lukas detested the bath, Nate hated it even more. As soon as Lukas started crying, so did Nate. He was so worried about his brother and it really upset him to see him so sad.

Yesterday, Lukas had his first real bath. That was even worse. No one was happy! We are going to have to get really fast with bath time. Who knew a bath could be so traumatic?

Brotherly Love

2011-08-19T21:14:00.000-05:00

Nate is the best big brother and loves Lukas so much. He loves to help burp him and checks on him when he is sleeping. He is constantly saying things like, "Look at his nose. His nose is so cute!" and "I love you Lukas - you cute baby brother." It is so sweet. Of course we've had our tough moments too, but they are almost always directed at me (sometimes Jason) and never at Lukas. We are all getting better at working together to figure out what everyone needs.

Nate is always asking to hold Lukas. This is a picture from the first time we let him hold him. He was really excited to hold his brother, but didn't want us to take any pictures. I was not willing to let that moment go by undocumented, so it resulted in some pretty bad pictures. Nate is making his mad face in most of them, so it looks like he is really unhappy to be holding his brother. I guarantee that was not the case. This is the best one we got.

I love watching my two boys together. I hope they grow up to be great friends as well as brothers.

Introducing...

2011-08-11T21:53:00.000-05:00

Lukas Arthur Hadavi surprised us earlier than we all thought and was born on Wednesday, August 10th at 2:32 am. Everyone is healthy and doing well. We are completely in love and completely exhausted.

length - 19 and a quarter inches
weight - 6 pounds, 11 ounces
labor - 6 hours and 45 minutes from water breaking to delivery!

look at those long arms and legs

looks just like his big brother

all my guys - the first time Nate met Lukas

our first family photo

Predictions

2011-08-07T09:12:00.000-05:00

I reached the 37 week mark in my pregnancy yesterday, which means that baby boy is officially full term and welcome to join us any time. And by that, I mean, I'm ready for him to join us anytime. Really ready. This has been one hot summer!

Are there any predictions on when baby actually will join us? My official due date is August 27th. I'm going with August 14th and Jason is going with August 18th. Nate was born three days past his due date, but I just have a feeling this time that the baby will join us early. It may just be wishful thinking.

More importantly, are there any predictions on what color hair baby boy will have? Jason thinks he will be blonde and Nate thinks he will have orange hair like him. I haven't really had any premonitions one way or the other. We had an ultrasound on Friday and he definitely has hair.

And finally, just for fun, here's what I look like at 37 weeks pregnant.

Nate Draws People

2011-08-02T19:53:00.001-05:00

Nate came home from school today with this drawing. This is the first time he has actually drawn people. I'm so excited! I love the legs-coming-right-out-of-the-head look that kids specialize in!

Super Siblings

2011-07-24T09:42:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Nate took a Super Siblings class to help prepare for when the baby is born. They learned about what new babies look like, changes that would go on at home including how they might feel when the new baby is born and even how to change a diaper. Nate, as usual, had plenty to contribute to the conversation. The following are some of my favorite Nate moments from the class

- When the teacher asked if anyone knew what babies eat, one kid said that babies eat breast milk. Nate replied with an enthusiastic, "Yes! Mommies have boobies!"

- At one point, completely unrelated to the conversation, one little girl told the class that she has a pet gold fish. Nate then went into a very detailed explanation that we have only one dog named Daisy. He explained to everyone that we used to have two dogs, but Rusty got very sick and died. He then got the saddest look on his face and hung his head. The entire room was silent for a minute.

- When the class was talking about how the big brother or sister might feel lonely or left out, the teacher asked the class if they had ideas about what they could do if they felt that way. Nate raised his hand and said, "We are never alone. God is always in our heart!" I think he totally redeemed himself with that one!

It's always an adventure with Nate. I never quite know what's going to come out of his mouth.

Suburban Camping

2011-07-21T20:37:00.001-05:00

Nate has been asking to go camping for quite some time. Our last camping experiment did not go well, but that was a couple of years ago, so Jason thought Nate might be ready to try again. As a test, Jason decided to take Nate camping in the backyard last weekend. Nate was super excited!

Jason lugged all the camping gear out of the attic and went to work setting up the tent. Nate was a big help too. Don't you just love his little red hammer?

(all set up - that rain fly didn't last long)

After it was set up, the two of them got their pjs on and got in the tent.

It didn't take too long to realize that it was way too hot to be outside in a tent, so they came back inside until the sun went down. After that, they headed back out and got settled in for the night.

After about an hour, I didn't hear anything outside and I didn't see any flashlights. I ventured out (very quietly) to check on my campers. As soon as I peaked inside, Nate decided he was done camping. The fun and excitement were over. He said the crickets were too loud and keeping him awake. Ha! I would say, he isn't ready for camping. Maybe he's just a city kid at heart.

So, Nate and I went back inside. Jason stayed out and slept in the tent. He said he had spent way to much time setting up that tent and SOMEONE was going to sleep in it!

Swim Lessons

2011-07-14T19:06:00.001-05:00

Nate recently completed his first session of swim lessons. He had a blast. We had fun watching him too. It was pretty enlightening to watch him in a class setting - not something you usually get to do as the parent. Let's just say Nate is an enthusiastic student. He was always the first kid to shout out an answer - regardless of whether the answer even made sense. For example, when the teacher asked if anyone knew what "look before you leap" meant, Nate shouted, "Always wash your hands after you go pee pee!" He also got right in the teacher's face to make sure he got picked. Nate had a hard time waiting for his turn. They had to "glue" his hand to the side of the pool several times to get him to wait. He even had to sit out a couple of times. It was just too hard to wait. Swimming is so much FUN!

Ready on His First Day

Practicing Superman Arms

Practicing Kicking - see how close he sticks to the teacher?

Using Arms and Legs Together

Waiting Patiently

Not Waiting Patiently

Taking a Time Out

USA! USA!

2011-07-08T23:01:00.000-05:00

Nate was very excited to celebrate the USA's birthday this year. He kept chanting "USA! USA!" It wasn't until halfway through the day, that we realized that he thought it was the US Soccer Team's birthday and not our country's birthday. Hence the chanting, which he does whenever we watch US Soccer games. It took some explaining, but he got it. I think Jason was secretly proud of his love for US Soccer.

We went to a small town north of us for a fireworks festival. Thanks to the drought, most of the fireworks shows in the Austin area were cancelled. We knew it was going to be a late night, so we tried everything to get Nate to take a nap. He was not having it. So we finally packed up the car and headed out. Here's a picture of Nate about fifteen minutes before we got there:

Now, this child does not sleep in the car. He never has - we once drove nine hours to El Paso and back and he didn't sleep either way. I probably have a picture of every time he has ever slept in the car because it happens so infrequently. Of course, this time he did and at the worst possible time. He was pretty cranky when we first arrived, but perked right up when he saw all the fun there was to be had.

The festival was perfect for us. We set up our blanket and took turns taking Nate on the rides (Jason) and through the petting zoo (me). Here's Nate at base camp drinking lemonade and waiting for more fun.

Since Jason took Nate on the rides, there really weren't too many pictures. He did capture this one. He doesn't look like he is having very much fun, but I promise he was.

I, on the other hand, took him to the petting zoo, so I got plenty of pictures. Nate was obsessed with the bunnies.

He was thrilled when he actually got to hold one. It took several tries to get one that would stay still long enough.

I love this picture with the goose, since it's taller than Nate. Nate never actually touched the goose, just followed him around. I think he was actually a little afraid of the goose - I can't say I blame him.

After it got dark they put on a pretty good firework show. Nate is a little skittish around loud sounds lately, so we weren't sure he would like the fireworks show. Fortunately, he thought it was the coolest thing ever. After the show was over he declared that when he grows up, he wants to be a firefighter in the fireworks department.

Always a Critic

2011-07-07T14:11:00.000-05:00

This morning, as I was getting ready for work:

Nate: Mommy, you should wear your green skirt instead of that one.
Me: You don't like this purple skirt?
Nate: Nope, I only like purple dinosaurs.

Showered With Love

2011-06-30T20:20:00.000-05:00

My awesome friend Amy threw me a baby shower last weekend. When she first brought up the idea a few months ago, I told her that we didn't need a baby shower, especially since baby is a second bouncing baby boy. She insisted that every baby deserved a party to honor him. Who could say no to that? It was perfect and included close friends and family. I am a lucky girl to have such good friends!

Me with Amy - the hostess with the mostest

The awesome cake that Amy made. Such talent!

My Mom and Me

Jason's Mom and Me

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T19:12:00.000-05:00

When you ask Nate what he wants to be when he grows up, his answer is always the same...a Daddy. I love this answer because it shows how much Nate loves and idolizes his dad. Jason is amazing and I couldn't ask for a better dad for my children.

I am lucky to have an incredible dad myself. It was his example that showed me the kind of father I wanted for my children. I couldn't be any luckier than to have these two extraordinary men in my life.

Happy Father's Day to the two best dads I know! I love you both!

I Love Technology

2011-06-12T20:13:00.000-05:00

We recently had an issue with iPhoto in which a random smattering of our photo files became corrupted. There's no pattern, no specific set of events or files - just random photos in random events from the last five years or so. Except, of course, every photo from the day Nate was born was corrupt. The only way we found to fix this (and believe me, we tried everything) was to get a copy of our iPhoto library that was backed up prior to the corruption. The good news was that we back up automatically everyday, so we were able to recover all of our photos. The bad news was that we basically ended up with a copy of every single photo file and I've had to go them through one by one to determine which ones need to be kept. It started out at over 13,000 files. I still have a long way to go. It's been awesome. Not so much.

One good thing is that I've found some photo gems that were completely forgotten - like this awesome photo of Nate. It's from last fall and he was feeling particularly uncooperative on this day. Funny thing is, this is exactly how I feel after my photo sorting sessions. I couldn't have said it better myself!

Best Friends

2011-06-07T20:24:00.000-05:00

Nate was lucky enough to have a visit from his best friend Kylie at the beginning of May. I just love watching these two kids together. Even though they live far away and see each other infrequently, they have such a special relationship. Kylie is the daughter of Jason's best friend Mando (who was also here). Their friendship must be genetic.

When Nate and Kylie are together, they are attached at the hip. They have to do everything together including eating, playing, sleeping and brushing their teeth.

For the most part, they get along really well and rarely fight. They get along so well, in fact, they can do some serious damage to a play room.

These two have so much fun together. I can't wait to watch them grow up together. I hope they always have a special friendship.

Let This Be A Lesson To You

2011-05-30T19:43:00.000-05:00

Tonight as I was carrying Nate back to bed - a ritual we perform several times each night before he finally settles in - we had the following conversation:

Nate - Mommy are girls squishy?

Me - Sure, I guess some girls are squishy. (And here's where I made my mistake.) Do you think I'm squishy?

Nate - Well, your bra is squishy. (He pats my chest). Yep, your boobs are definitely squishy.

The moral of the story? Don't ask the question if you don't want to know the answer.

Little Chauvinist

2011-05-27T21:10:00.000-05:00

It hit 102 degrees here in Austin today. Wow. To cool off, we headed to our neighborhood pool this evening, which is a short drive from our house. On the way back, Jason rolled down his window, so Nate wanted his window down too. After both of their windows were down, Nate declared, "We only roll down boys windows, not girls! Right Mommy?" To which I replied that my window was only up because I wanted it that way and not because I was a girl and certainly not because it was a rule. I then launched into an explanation that boys and girls can do all of the same things. I told him that girls can do everything boys can do and that boys can do everything girls can do. Nate listened quietly and then replied, "Ummm, I don't think that's a great idea."

I guess I have a lot of work to do.

It's The Thought That Counts, Right?

2011-05-25T19:59:00.001-05:00

Last week, Jason was out of town for work. One evening, Nate and I stopped by the grocery store to pick up a couple of things. Nate mentioned that he wanted to get a special treat for Daddy because he missed him. I thought that was sweet, so I let him pick something out. This is what he picked:

Yes, that's Broccoli Au Gratin Rice-a-Roni. The funny thing is that this isn't something we eat in our house. We almost never buy packaged rice products. Unless we are eating Mexican food (and Jason makes Spanish rice from scratch), we generally prefer pasta or potatoes. Even if we were to buy rice, it would definitely not be Broccoli Au Gratin since I am allergic to broccoli. Nate was really insistent though, so for $1.47 I figured, why not?

Super Nate to the Rescue!

2011-05-17T19:05:00.000-05:00

He's got his eye on you!

Mother's Day

2011-05-14T22:22:00.000-05:00

I had a wonderful Mother's Day this year. My guys took me out to breakfast and gifted me with a summers-worth of professional house cleaning. Best. Gift. Ever! It's amazing how perspectives change. The rest of the day we just hung out together. Nice and low key, just the way I like it. Plus, Jason did all the cooking. Awesome day!

On the Friday before Mother's Day, Nate's class hosted a Mother's Day Tea. It was so sweet. We dined on tea (and juice) and delicious baked treats.

Nate and me at the Tea

Nate trying some tea

At the end of the tea, the kids sang songs for the moms. Nate refused to participate. Instead, he insisted on taking pictures of the other kids singing. This is particularly funny because it is just one more way is so much like my sister. When Brittany was about four, she took dance and gymnastics through her day care. At the end of the year, they had a small recital. Brittany and her friend AJ refused to participate. The two of them stood, with their arms folded, in the middle of the stage for the ENTIRE show while the other kids danced and hammed it up around them. Ha!

The very best gift came tonight. As I was getting Nate in bed, he looked up at me and said, "Mommy, I love you. You're my best mommy in the whole world!" Those are the moments that make all the hard ones worth it. I wouldn't trade being a mom for anything!

Sea World

2011-04-30T23:01:00.000-05:00

While Jason's mom was here last weekend, we went down to San Antonio to go to Sea World. It was Nate's first time and he loved it. He is officially obsessed with dolphins now. He asked if we could build a swimming pool in our back yard so we could get a dolphin. Umm...no and no!

They have two exhibits where you can feed sea lions and dolphins. This was definitely Nate's favorite thing to do.

Nate feeding the sea lions. It looks like he is launching a paper airplane. The sea lions were pretty low below the wall.

Here's a dolphin waiting for food. The dolphins were much closer. You could probably get pretty close to touching them.

Nate taking charge, figuring out where to go next.

Nate's next favorite thing at Sea World was the Shamu Show. It's not really called the Shamu Show and it's not really Shamu, but you get the idea. This show turned out to be pretty cool. One of the killer whales has a baby who was a little over a year old. At the beginning the trainers told us that they'd started working with the baby and she might make an appearance. She not only made an appearance, but she did some tricks too. You could tell how excited the trainers were. It was neat to see.

Not the baby. Sorry. Still a cool picture.

Nate watching the show. He LOVED it!

Sea World San Antonio has a new section called the Sesame Street Bay of Play. You would think that means it is geared towards little kids. Unfortunately, Nate was exactly two inches too short to ride on any of the good rides. He was able to ride on a couple as long as he was accompanied by an adult. The only one he was remotely interested in was the Merry-Go-Round. Once he found out he was too short for the Shamu Express Roller Coaster, the rides were pretty much ruined for him. Poor guy.

Pretending to enjoy it.

The Bay of Play does have a huge splash pad. Apparently Sea World has evolved basically into a water park with animals. Who knew? By the end of the day, we were all so hot, we just let Nate go wild in the water even though he didn't have a swim suit. We did have extra clothes, so it wasn't too bad. After the roller coaster drama, I think this saved Sea World in his eyes.

How could you say no to this?

0utside the exit at the end of our day. See Nate's newest stuffed animal? A dolphin, of course. He picked out a killer whale stuffed animal for his baby brother too.

Nate with Granny Glo. Thanks for the awesome day!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T21:10:00.000-05:00

We had a great Easter weekend. With Easter a little later this year, we finally had some nice weather and we tried to take full advantage. Jason's mom was in town and we had a fun weekend all around. On Easter, we started off with donuts for breakfast and then church. I was hoping to get a picture of everyone in their Easter clothes, but was out voted. I was the only one in favor of a picture.

I did manage to get a picture of Nate with his loot from the Easter Bunny. Here he is with it and a very cheesy smile. We must be entering the fake smile phase. Wow!

We spent the afternoon with the Guillen and Gamboa families. The kids hunted for eggs, we all enjoyed a confetti egg fight and then we ate, ate, ate. Nate was so good helping the little girls find eggs. He is going to make an awesome big brother! I think the adults enjoyed the confetti eggs as much as the kids - I wish I'd bought more.

Nate helping Riley get an egg in her bag

All the kiddos. This is the best one I got of the three of them.

Nate at the beginning of the confetti egg fight

Lily at the end. I think she ended up with the most confetti.

the three (well, four) of us

Nate with Granny Glo

And finally, this last picture was specifically requested by Gloria. I'm sure my mom will appreciate it as well since she sent these lovely glasses. I put it at the end hoping no one would make it all the way through all those photos! If you did, this is your reward.

Happy Easter! I hope you all had as much fun as we did!

2011-04-18T20:35:00.000-05:00

We took Nate to his first movie in the theater on Saturday. We saw Rio. Nate was super excited going into it. It was all he could talk about for a week. A few days before, he asked if we could dress up like birds for the movie. I delicately told him that people don't dress up to go to movies and he asked if I would call the theater to ask. I didn't call. Bad mom.

When we got to the theater, Nate was in awe. He just stared at everything going on. We had trouble getting him up the stairs in the theater because he frozen staring at the screen. It didn't help that they were showing a behind-the-scenes look at Cars 2. Lightning McQueen and Mater are just about Nate's favorite things right now.

So...we got Nate a kid's snack pack complete with popcorn, candy (Reese's Peanut Butter Cups - his favorite) and a tiny drink and got him settled in. He watched the previews and was hooked. The movie started and he sat quietly through the entire thing. He only talked when I tried to steal some of his popcorn. He was so mesmerized that he only ate one peanut butter cup and didn't even touch his popcorn or drink. Jason and I had a great time watching him watch the movie.

As soon as the credits started rolling and the lights came up, Nate declared it was time to go home and made a beeline for the stairs. We asked him if he liked the movie and he said, "No. I don't like that girl bird. She's mean." I don't want to ruin the movie for you, but the girl bird was not the villain. There was a villain, but that bird didn't seem to bother Nate. I asked him again today if he liked the movie, an he said, "Yes, but I don't like that girl bird." So there's his official first review - the girl bird is not likable. Audiences cannot relate.

He did ask if we could go back to see the race car movie. Considering his great movie behavior, I have to say it's a date!

Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

2011-04-11T18:06:00.000-05:00

It's a boy! We are so excited. Nate didn't seem phased - especially since he knew it was a boy all along. Here are some pictures from my ultrasound. Sorry, I didn't include the boy stuff picture. I figured I need to protect the modesty of my kids just a little.

This is his profile. I'll have to put up Nate's profile from his 20 week ultrasound. I swear these two could be twins!

Here's his feet. They look like they are ready for soccer to me!

A 3-D image of his face. How awesome is that?

I am officially outnumbered, but that's ok. I love all my boys!

Boy or Girl

2011-04-09T18:09:00.000-05:00

I hit the twenty week mark yesterday. That means I am half-way through this pregnancy, give or take a little bit. It also means that we finally get to find out whether this baby is a boy or a girl. Monday's the big day and we are so excited! Let's just hope baby cooperates.

I think most people assume I am hoping for a girl, but that really isn't true. I will be thrilled either way. I would love to have a little girl in the house. It would be so fun to have someone to take to ballet and see musicals with. Of course, even a little girl might turn out to hate those things. On the other hand, I would love for Nate to have a brother. Brothers have such a special relationship and it would be such a gift to him. Plus, we already have all of the boy stuff, and it would be so nice to be able to reuse it! I'm just really glad it's not up to me because that would be too much pressure.

Jason, too, has no preference either way. He's just hoping this baby is a morning person. Jason is up and chipper everyday by 6:00. Not so true for the rest of us. It's a little scary around here pre-8:30. Even Daisy is grumpy in the mornings.

As for predictions...early on in my pregnancy, I was convinced baby was a girl. My early pregnancy symptoms were so different than with Nate. With Nate, I had horrible heartburn pretty much every day of my pregnancy. This time, no heartburn, but I was pretty nauseous. I count my blessings because many women have it much worse than me, but for me, it was pretty bad. Now, the surety has worn off. I really don't know. When I talk about the baby out loud, I usually refer to it as a he, but when I'm thinking about the baby, I think of it as a she. I don't really know what that means. Jason thinks I'm destined to have all boys, but he isn't making an official prediction. Nate thinks the baby is a boy because he says that it has a "boy's haircut" in the 12 week sonogram picture. My dad guarantees it's a girl.

Any other predictions? I'll let you know Monday night!

Nate's Cowboy Hat

2011-04-07T19:16:00.000-05:00

When Nate puts this hat on he says, "Look at me! I'm Cowboy Nathan!" Are you going to tell him he's not wearing a cowboy hat? I'm not.

Crabby Monday

2011-03-28T20:41:00.002-05:00

Jason and our friend Todd have had an ongoing bet over which one could eat more crab in a single sitting. When I say ongoing, I mean, the bet was made so long ago, no one even remembers when, except that it was before Nate was born. For years, the two of them have been looking for an all-you-can-eat crab location. They found one place in Austin, but it was $60 per person. The next closest location they could find was a casino in Oklahoma - about 6 hours away. Neither was particularly appealing, hence the long term nature of the bet. They finally found a more reasonably priced location in Austin, so last Monday, the contest was on!

Jason and Todd before the contest started

Partway through - still looking okay. I especially like this photo because of Nate. Such a photo sneaker!

Jason - starting to struggle a little

Todd - still hanging in there

After more than four pounds each, Jason gave in. Todd is the victor. Don't tell Jason, but I think Todd could have kept going.

I'm just glad it's finally over, but now these two knuckleheads are planning their next bet. I don't think they will ever learn.

All The Important Parts

2011-03-24T19:48:00.001-05:00

The following conversation took place while we were in Las Vegas at the beginning of February. I didn't post it at the time because we hadn't yet told everyone we were having another baby and then I just kind of forgot. Thank you pregnancy brain. We had a similar conversation yesterday which reminded me of this gem.

One of Nate's current issues is that he hates going to bed alone. He always wants "company". One morning in Las Vegas we were slowly waking up. Jason and I were laying in the real bed talking quietly and Nate was on the air mattress on the floor. We heard Nate's sweet little voice say, "It's a good thing we are going to have another kid! I need some company down here." Jason and I laughed a little at that comment, but Nate continued on. "I think I'm going to have a brother and he's going to be a big kid. He's going to have big arms, big legs and big muscles. He's going to have big thumbs and big hands too. And a big penis!"

I guess he covered all of the important parts.

The Outtakes

2011-03-20T17:55:00.000-05:00

When I chose to take pictures of Nate in his Big Bro shirt for his big announcement, it was around bedtime on Valentine's Day. It was the end of a fun day full of excitement and sugar, which lead to an interesting photo shoot. I did manage to get a couple of cute photos, but got even more photo gems. They are too funny not to share, so here are some of my favorite outtakes.

He thought an action shot would be good.

This is his surprised face.

He was trying to say "cheese" while making a surprised face.

no comment

Backup Plan

2011-03-15T21:04:00.002-05:00

Nate is pretty obsessed with cars, speed, rules of the road, basically anything having to do with driving. A few weeks ago, Jason and Nate were driving on the highway and Nate saw the aftermath of his first semi-serious car crash. The scene was complete with an ambulance and fire truck. I'm told that what followed was an in depth conversation about car crashes. Nate wanted to know how cars crash, why cars crash and certainly what happens when cars crash. After Jason was done explaining, Nate suggested that THEY make a crash. Jason explained that if you crash your car, you may not be able to drive it anymore to which Nate replied, "It's okay, Daddy. If we crash and break our car, we can always drive the fire truck!"

Deadliest Catch

2011-03-10T18:47:00.000-06:00

Nate has been asking for months to go fishing and we finally had the perfect opportunity last weekend. We were at Jason's dad's farm in Oklahoma and he has a couple of ponds on his property. Nate was thrilled!

Nate and Jason looking for the perfect fishing spot

fishing together at first

Nate's got the hang of it!

The only part Nate didn't like was when this curious cow took a special interest in what they were doing. She was very vocal too. Not great for catching fish.

Jason kept telling Nate that not everyone catches a fish every time they go fishing. Nate always replied, "I know Daddy, but I REALLY hope we catch a fish!" Talk about pressure. Jason was just about to give up and had Nate reel in the line so they could cast it out one final time. When it was about a foot and a half from being reeled in, Nate caught a fish! It was about a two pound Smallmouth Bass. We were all so excited (and surprised)!

Lucky Number Seven

2011-02-28T18:40:00.000-06:00

Nate's New Love

2011-02-21T17:40:00.000-06:00

Until today, Nate was the only kid in America that didn't like gummy fruit snacks. Not only did he not like them, he refused to even try them. I'll admit, I never really encouraged him to eat them. To me, they just barely rank above candy on the sugar content and nutritional value scale. That's probably not true, but it's what I think. So every time gummy fruit snacks enter our house (after trick or treating, school parties, birthday parties, etc.), I sacrifice and eat them for Nate. He thinks I'm taking one for the team. The gig is up.

Nate came home from school on Valentine's day with a box of valentines and candy. He has already eaten all of the "good" candy and is left with suckers and gummy fruit snacks. So today, he looked in his stash, sighed, and grabbed a sucker. Then he handed me a pack of fruit snacks and said sadly, "Here Mommy. Only parents like these." I told him that most kids like fruit snacks too and his face lit up a little. When I asked him if he wanted to try them, he sighed and said "Well...OK...I guess." And then he put one in his mouth. At first he got the most disgusted look on his face and said "Mommy, this will NOT go down my throat." I explained that he just had to chew it a little more, which he did. For awhile. But then he swallowed, thought about it, slowly smiled and then declared, "Those are tasty!" Then he quickly ate the rest of the pack.

Good thing. I was starting to wonder about this kid!

Love Abounds

2011-02-14T21:02:00.001-06:00

Ahem! Nate has a very important announcement to make!

We are expecting Baby Numero Dos in late August. Nate is very excited. Of course he's been telling people for six months that I have a baby in my tummy, so now it's true. I had my first sonogram today and so far, everything looks great! And I am relieved to report that there's only one baby in there. Nate is still insisting there's two. Ah well, he can't be right about everything.

Here's our little peanut at 12 weeks gestation.

Baby Hadavi is a thumbsucker. The baby sucked his/her thumb through almost the entire sonogram.

Love definitely abounds in the Hadavi household on this Valentine's Day.

Honoring My Mom

2011-02-13T15:37:00.001-06:00

We spent last weekend in Las Vegas celebrating my mom who retired after 37 years service to the Department of Defense. She spent most of that time working for the Air Force and was honored with a beautiful ceremony and party afterwards.

The ceremony included an impressive flag folding ceremony. I wish I had pictures of the actual folding. It gave me chills.

My mom received a letter of thanks and congratulations from President Obama.

My dad gave an impromptu speech during which he announced that since my mom is entering retirement, he is leaving retirement. He's afraid she is going to interfere with all of his free time. I think he's right!

I am so proud of my mom. She entered the work force at a time when women didn't have the same opportunities as men, sexual harassment was ignored, and women had to fight for equal rights. As a young professional, she was actually told that she was too pretty and too blond to be taken seriously as a supervisor. The men would never take her seriously, or so she was told. Since then she has been named as the Federal Employee of the Year in the Supervisor Manager Category, received Special Congressional Recognition and has lead her office, currently the Airman and Family Readiness Center, to receive the award for Tactical Air Command Center of the Year three times and Air Combat Command Outstanding Center four times. Yes, it's clear to me that no one ever took her seriously.

My mom has always been such a strong role model to me. She has taught me that not only is it okay for me to be a strong, motivated and intelligent woman, but it is expected of me. She has shown me that it is possible to be both a respected, successful career woman and a supportive, loving mom. A lot of people say that you can't have it all and you can't be all, but I know that isn't true because my mom is living proof. I am so lucky to have her!

Three Cheers for Nate!

2011-01-31T22:29:00.000-06:00

I cannot believe my little boy is three! I was looking at pictures today from his first birthday and cannot believe how little he used to be. He has turned into such an amazing kid. He is so funny and so smart. He uses words like "ridiculous" and "probably" like they are a normal part of a three year old's vocabulary. He is strong willed, stubborn and self assured. At times, I wish to myself that he would just comply with me, but I know these traits will serve him well as he grows up. He will not be one to give into peer pressure. That is for sure! He is a joy and I am so proud to be his mom.

Also, this kid knows what he wants! For approximately the past 11 months and 364 days, Nate has been telling us that for his birthday this year, he didn't want a party at home. He just wanted cup cakes and party hats at his school. So that's what we did. I'm certainly not going to force him into a big party. This afternoon, Jason and I took race car cup cakes and party hats to his school. He loved having his friends sing to him.

When we got home from school, Nate opened his family birthday presents. He has to be the best gift opener ever. He kept saying things like, "Look, Mommy! Isn't this neat!" or "Ooooh! I love this!"

Later, our friends Ryan and Amy (along with their pups Bailey and Desmond) came over for a very informal birthday dinner. Since Nate was the birthday boy, he got to choose what we ate. I was very nervous that he would choose fish sticks. Luckily he chose pizza. It was close, fish sticks are his most favorite food right now.

Nate was very specific about the birthday cake he wanted for home. It was to be chocolate with strawberries inside with orange colored frosting. He originally wanted a strawberry cake, but when he found out strawberry cakes are pink, he revised his order. He also picked out every single decoration. I'm certainly not going to win any awards for this cake, but Nate thought it was perfect and that's what counts. It actually didn't taste too bad.

I'm pretty sure Nate had an amazing day. He went to sleep tonight singing happy birthday to himself. My kid is awesome!

The Plate

2011-01-30T15:24:00.000-06:00

The first night we were in Las Vegas after Christmas, my mom and I went to see Jersey Boys. It was great! I've heard the Las Vegas version has been edited down, but at two hours, it was just the right length. The singing was great and the story was really interesting. Did you know that Joe Pesci had a hand in the formation of the Four Seasons?

My sister generously offered to watch Nate. When we got home, she made it seem pretty uneventful. After dinner, they hung out a while and then she had no trouble getting him in bed. On our last night in town, I learned that there was more to the story. On our way to dinner, we made a pit stop to pick up the surprise Nate and Aunt Brittany made! I learned two things. First, my sister is awesome (well, that I already new), but she is also very brave to take an almost three year old out on the town so close to bed time. Second, Nate can actually keep a surprise! Here are some pictures from their adventure.

The funny thing about this picture, is that Nate is terrified of the blow dryer at home. I guess a guys gotta do, what a guys gotta do.

This one is blurry, but it's the only one Brittany is in, so too bad!

The finished product. This is honestly one of the nicest gifts I have ever received. I will treasure it always!

And for the rest of the story... apparently Nate almost blew the surprise several times through out the week. He kept talking about the "broken airplane" and asking if it was fixed and what was wrong with it. Luckily, he has a very active imagination, so I just figured he was making a story up. Not so much. There is a place near the airport where you can park and watch the airplanes take off and land. It's in between my parents' house and the pottery place, so Brittany took Nate to look at the planes. Well, when they got there, there was a plane out on the runway surrounded by emergency vehicles. That was the broken airplane. They never did figure out what was wrong with it, but they did get a picture of all the excitement.

Potty Training Update

2011-01-27T20:34:00.001-06:00

Nate has been fully potty trained for about a month now. I've hesitated putting this out on the blog because I just knew that the universe would get me if I got over confident. It's time though that I make it official.

I tried my hardest to be patient, but I knew he was physically ready. I tried the potty chart - it was no help. He earned exactly two stickers. After a couple of different people suggested we "run out" of pull ups, I figured it couldn't hurt to try. So one Friday evening in December, I got Nate ready for bed and told him the pull up he was wearing was the very last one we had. When I asked him what we were going to do, he replied, "Well, I guess I have to go pee pee on the potty." I simultaneously thought "Yippee!!!" and "Are you kidding me, kid? Is that all it took?" Instead, I replied, "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea to me."

I won't lie, that first Saturday was rough. It wasn't that Nate wouldn't go in the potty. We just didn't have our timing down yet, so there were a lot of accidents. Sunday was better. We even ventured out of the house. On Monday morning, he told me not to worry because he just knew his teacher could find some pull ups for him. She was one of the ones that suggested this plan, so I knew he was out of luck. We brought a lot of dirty clothes home from school on the first couple of days, but by the end of the week, Nate had gotten the hang of it. He had a couple of accidents after that, but hasn't had any in at least a month.

We are officially a diaper-free household. It's awesome!!! Now please, universe, please don't make me regret saying so.

Rain, Rain Go Away

2011-01-24T21:31:00.000-06:00

Lately, the weather here has either been really cold (high 20's and low 30's - that's cold for us) or rainy. Unfortunately, these two things don't occur at the same time, or we'd have snow. And that would be fun. Last weekend, Jason and Nate had had enough of being cooped up in the house, so they went out looking for rain puddles. No rain boots, but that didn't stop them.

And don't worry, the rain boot situation is being remedied. I've ordered some for Nate's birthday. You'd be surprised at how difficult it is to find boys rain boots in toddler sizes here. Crazy!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-16T13:48:00.000-06:00

This was the first year we stayed in Austin for Christmas. Now that Nate is almost three, it is important to us that we start having Christmas traditions at home. Nate was so excited for all things Christmas this year. It was so fun watching his excitement. On Christmas Eve we went to the Children's service at our church. It lasted exactly 23 minutes. That's the fastest Christmas Eve service I've ever been too. We heard the Christmas story, though, so I guess the important stuff was covered. Nate looked hilarious. I dressed him in corduroy pants and a festive plaid shirt. He refused to let me button his shirt all the way up. All he needed was some chest hair and a gold necklace to complete his look. Plus, he refused to wear his dress shoes, so he was wearing grey converse. I am trying to choose my battles with him, though, so away we went. Nate is not very cooperative when it comes to photos these days so you'll just have to imagine the ensemble.

When it was time for bed, Nate very carefully got cookies and milk together for Santa and the reindeer. He insisted that the reindeer have their own plate. He insisted, too, that the milk be in a bowl. He explained that reindeer can't drink out of cups.

Nate with his offerings. You can see the top half of his Christmas ensemble.

When Nate woke up Christmas morning, the first thing he said was "Let's go see if the reindeer liked the cookies!" After ensuring all the cookies were gone, the gift opening began!

Nate with his vacuum

We had a very wonderful Christmas together. It was the perfect day!

The day after Christmas, Nate and I flew to Las Vegas to continue the Christmas celebrations with my family. We took a night flight, which of course ended up being delayed. I figured Nate would at least sleep through the three hour flight. Not so much. He stubbornly stayed awake until the captain announced we were making our final descent. Nate promptly sacked out and slept all the way until the next morning. He even slept through the very busy, very noisy Las Vegas airport.

We had a wonderful time in Las Vegas. It's always fun to be with my family and Nate had a great time playing with Grandma, Grandpa/Papa, Aunt Brittany and Grandma's kitties. We were also able to celebrate my mom's birthday with her. As an added bonus, thanks to the bad weather back east, we were able to see my good friend Morgan and her husband Matt. It's always fun to spend time with them and we see them too little.

gift opening continued

Gandma reading to Nate - still one of his favorite activities

checking out the new moon bounce

playing hot potato - I can't believe how big he looks in this picture

As for the orange alligator...Santa was able to score a sweet orange alligator thanks to my awesome cousin Katie, who MADE one for Nate. She just whipped one right up. As an added bonus, her sister Becky, made Nate a matching orange scarf. Such talent! I'm in awe.

Ridiculous!

2011-01-10T20:01:00.000-06:00

When we walked into daycare this afternoon, our favorite teacher said, "I've got a good one for your blog." She was right!

We took Nate to get his hair cut on Saturday. Apparently, he was not happy with the outcome. When Miss Wendy asked him if he got his hair cut, Nate replied with a sad face, "Yes. It's ridiculous." Later, when Miss Rhonda asked him about it, he not only told her that it was ridiculous, but that I made him do it. So apparently, not only is he unhappy with his new style, but he also blames me. Super. It's not even any different, just shorter.

I would show you a picture, but the little turkey won't let me take any pictures of him. He just wraps his arms over his head and shouts dramatically, "No pictures!"

New Year, New Post

2011-01-05T22:00:00.011-06:00

Happy New Year! I promise that we celebrated Christmas this year and I promise that there is photographic evidence. Nate and I flew to Las Vegas the day after Christmas to see my family, got back on New Year's Eve and I promptly got sick on New Year's day. We are slowly getting back into our daily routine. I hope to sort through all the pictures this weekend. In the mean time, I'll leave you with this picture from dinner tonight.

A month ago, we couldn't get Nate to even wear his helmet. Now, we can't get him to take it off. What you can't see is that he is also wearing knee pads. We wouldn't want him to sustain any injuries during dinner. It's such an extreme sport.

Visit to Santa

2010-12-21T22:57:00.000-06:00

On Saturday, we visited Santa at the mall. Nate protested at first because "Santa doesn't live at the mall! Can't we just go to his house?" After some careful explaining, Nate agreed. He was pretty excited and then got really shy once he met him. He quietly whispered that he wanted a train set for Christmas. I guess that is in addition to his previous requests. Good thing Santa knows Nate so well!

After meeting Santa we took a train ride through the mall. It was a train, on wheels, that the conductor drove through the mall. As in, through the mall where the throngs of shoppers were on the last Saturday before Christmas. Oh the things we do for our kids!

Nate is excited for Christmas! He has been collecting some of his toys to give to Santa (in addition to a plate of cookies) on Christmas Eve. He told me that if Santa was going to bring him toys, he wanted Santa to have some toys too. He came up with that all on his own. Melts my heart.

Yee Haw

2010-12-10T19:09:00.002-06:00

As much as Nate likes taking horsey rides, he equally loves giving horsey rides. He and Jason trade back and forth, back and forth. Tonight, as Jason was getting on the horsey, Nate advised, "Hey cowboy! Hold on to my shirt so you don't fall off!" Safety first.

Dear Santa

2010-12-07T20:47:00.000-06:00

Nate has asked for exactly two things for Christmas. The first is this:

Yes. That's a cleaning trolley complete with a functioning vacuum. The vacuum is the biggest draw for Nate. Personally, I'm all for nurturing his desire to help out around the house.

The second is an orange alligator. We tried to get some specifics out of him, such as whether he's asking for stuffed animal or a plastic toy alligator. He only requested that it not have polka dots. Well that's helpful! Where are we going to find an orange alligator? Right about now, I'm wishing I had a workshop full of elves that could whip one right up.

The Best Made Plans

2010-12-05T15:02:00.001-06:00

Our plan for today was to go to a Christmas tree farm. We've been talking about it all week, and were looking forward to apple cider and pine cone painting. Nate woke up excited and ready to go. We were merrily getting ready to go while Nate played in our room.

And then...thunk!

Nate tripped and hit his face on our bed frame. He ended up with a pretty good gash on his eyelid. We put ice on it right away and, surprisingly, it didn't bleed all that much. We are very lucky because our good friend, Tony, is a doctor. It didn't need stitches, so Tony was able to glue it up and save us a trip to the Urgent Care. Unfortunately, our Christmas Tree plans were thwarted.

Nate was really upset for awhile. When we were icing and then gluing it, he kept saying, "Leave me alone! I'm all done!" Poor kid. He is doing fine now. As I type this, he is supposed to be taking a nap, but I hear him singing in his room at the top of his lungs.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-04T01:02:00.000-06:00

We spent Thanksgiving in El Paso this year. I always look forward to Thanksgiving with Jason's family. There are always lots of people to have fun with, a ton of yummy food and never a dull moment. We didn't get to see everyone this year, but we were grateful for the family we got to spend time with. In the month before Thanksgiving, Jason lost an aunt on the Portugal side and his grandfather on the Hadavi side. It's been a rough time and we are reminded now, more than ever, that we need to cherish the time we spend with our families.

The absolute best part of Thanksgiving with the Portugal family is the post-meal football game. They are a competitive bunch and take this game very seriously, but it is FUN! It helps that not only was I on the winning team this year, but I scored two, yes two, touchdowns! The players ranged in age from 2 years to 88 years and everyone had a blast.

practicing for the game

ready to play

Nate's favorite part of football was diving in the grass. I had to remove a lot of stickers!

While we were in El Paso, we were able to spend some time with our good friends Mando, Kelly and Kiley. Nate and Kiley are long distance BFFs. Nate just adores Kiley - she can do no wrong in his book. The grown-ups went out Friday evening mainly to remind ourselves exactly how old we are getting. I won't go into details, but suffice it to say we are not 22 anymore. On Saturday we took the kids to a park to play. We always have such great time with them. Oh, how I wished we all lived closer.

This is the only picture I have of the two of them together.

Back Talk

2010-11-22T18:53:00.000-06:00

One of our challenges with Nate lately has been back talk. He doesn't usually talk back to us, but apparently it has been pretty bad with his teachers. This weekend, Nate started talking back to me, so I put him in time out. After his time was up, I asked him if he knew why I put him in time out. He replied, "Yes! Because I was being a little parrot!"

The Need for Speed

2010-11-18T19:47:00.000-06:00

Arcade cars may be the closest Nate gets to driving an actual car until he is at least 25 years old. I have a feeling this kid is going to have a lead foot. When we are driving, he routinely shouts, "Faster, Mommy, faster!" He points out cars and demands, "Pass them Mommy!" or "Why is that car going faster?" He has even, on occasion, started crying when another car passes us.

Nate's Potty Chart

2010-11-11T19:55:00.002-06:00

***Disclaimer...I am fully aware that this post may contain too much information for some of you. It is about potty training. I say "pee pee" several times. If this bothers you, stop reading now. Aunt Brittany, I'm talking to you.***

Nate went pee pee on the potty for the first time in December 2009. In the almost year since then, he has gone pee pee on the potty exactly one time. One time. One. Time. He has absolutely no interest. For everything else, he insists he is a big boy. If you ask him if we wants to go pee pee on the potty, he responds, "Nope. I'm not big yet. I'm still little." Now, I know he could do it if he wants to. He stays dry all night long and has for some time. He is just stubborn. That is mostly okay with me. We are being patient and not pushing it knowing that that will only cause more delays.

That said, he is quickly approaching his third birthday (aaahh!!) and I have changed A LOT of diapers. So, I decided to make him a potty chart with the hope that a reward system will get him in gear. We settled on a reward of an orange car if he goes pee pee in the potty five times. We made his potty chart together tonight. I let him pick out the clip art. Here's how it turned out:

This cracks me up. I totally get the balloons and the trophy. I even get the doggy since he really loves dogs and this dog looks sort of like my parents' dog Dexter. But the little boy scout? I don't get that at all. I asked him why he wanted a boy scout. He said it was because he likes boy scouts. I guess I can't argue with that.

I am excited to report that not even ten minutes after we printed out the chart, Nate earned his first sticker! How about that! Also, he is so thrilled with his potty chart that he won't put it down. It is currently in bed with him.

Like, Seriously, Mommy!

2010-11-09T18:57:00.001-06:00

This is a picture of Nate's star light. Last night, around 10:00, this star came crashing off his wall. While Jason reattached it to the wall, I had a chat with Nate about what happened. I asked him if he yanked on the cord or pulled down on the star. He insisted that he didn't do anything. When I told him that I thought he had to have done something to make the star fall, he replied, and I quote:

"I was just laying on my pillow really hard and like, seriously, Mommy, it just fell down all by itself!"

I, like, seriously, am not buying it!

The Halloween Post

2010-11-03T20:07:00.001-05:00

Halloween did not go quite as I had planned this year. I have to admit I have never really been the biggest Halloween fan. Even as a kid, I kind of hated it. I don't like scary things and have a serious fear of masks. I knew when I had kids, though, I was going to have to get over it so my kids could enjoy it. I did pretty good last year, but could not get my act together this year. We talked about taking Nate to a pumpkin patch, but it just never happened. Then we ended up spending the week before Halloween in El Paso due to a death in our family, and I just didn't have the energy to carve pumpkins when we got back. I didn't even buy Halloween candy until October 30th!

I still wanted to make Halloween fun for Nate, so I bought stuff to make Halloween cookies and do some last minute decorating. Plus, Nate's school was having a Halloween party, so we could go there before trick or treating and just make a fun day of it. Then Halloween morning came and Nate woke up with a temperature of 103. He was miserable all day and didn't want to do anything. Poor kid. Tylenol helped a lot and we finally convinced him to put his costume on once trick or treaters started coming. He absolutely did not want to trick or treat, though. He just wanted to stay home and pass out candy, so that's what we did. Even with a fever, he looked pretty darn cute! Plus, he kept saying, "To infiminy and beyond!"

So Long Summer

2010-10-30T16:29:00.000-05:00

Back in September, we had an End of Summer Party. I have been neglectful of my blog lately, so I never got around to gathering and posting the photos. In my defense, it's been in the 90's here until recently, so it really didn't feel like summer was over. Last night we used our heater for the first time this season and we needed jackets this morning, so I declare it finally Fall! Plus, I can hardly ignore all the pumpkins and cornucopia that are everywhere. I've decided it was time to finally post the pictures from almost 2 months ago. Shameful!

We rented a giant slip 'n slide for the party. This is seriously one of the most fun inventions EVER! We rented one for Jason's 30th birthday party a few years ago and some of our friends have been begging us to do it again ever since. It's technically meant for children, so I signed the waiver and promised that it would not be used for persons older than 12 and that the combined weight on the slip 'n slide would not exceed 300 pounds. Details, details. Hey, we let Nate play on it too!

the full view - when I say giant, I mean giant!

the guys racing

even Nate got in on the fun

I think this is the type of race the company is trying to avoid

this one too

not exceeding the weight limit

the ladies, post race

even Aunt Brittany was here to enjoy the fun

Hook 'Em Horns

2010-10-23T21:38:00.000-05:00

We took Nate to his first Longhorn Football game today! We won't talk about the actual game. We are just going to call this a rebuilding year. Win or lose, though, Nate had a great time.

outside the stadium

first view of the field

watching the game - a very serious job

Nate carefully took everything in. He loved seeing Bevo and loved all the cheering. He even made up his own cheer:

We're far far away!
We're far far away!
Goooo Bevo!

We're far far away!
We're far far away!
That's still Bevo!

Gangsta

2010-10-20T19:30:00.000-05:00

You may have noticed that Nate signed his letter to Jason as "Nate-dog". That's what he calls himself these days. It started a few months ago and I can't believe I never mentioned it on here before!

One morning we were walking out to the car to go to school. Nate is not a morning person and was moving really slowly. Like, REALLY, REALLY slowly. The following conversation ensued:

Mommy: Hurry up Slow Poke!
Nate: I'm not Slow Poke.
Mommy: Well, you're not Speedy Gonzalez!
Nate: Nope, I'm Nafan Hadavi, or Nate-dog

Letter Dictation

2010-10-13T18:57:00.000-05:00

Nate came home from school last week with a letter for Jason that he dictated to his teacher. I love it!

You can tell the things that are important to him right now. First, he loves art and loves to paint. Everyday I ask him what he did at school that day. His first answer is always either "I painted today!" or "I didn't paint today." It's the most important thing to report. Second, he gets a sticker if he lays quietly during nap time. We are working hard on that at school right now, so a sticker is a BIG deal. Third, he must tell us 20 times a day that his favorite color is orange. Lately, he's been throwing red in the mix once in awhile.

This was such a cool thing to get. Nate has awesome teachers!

Seattle

2010-09-30T22:05:00.000-05:00

Earlier this month, we spent a week in Seattle. We had fun together and enjoyed the cooler weather. Jason was hoping it would be a little cooler than it was, but it was perfect for me. This was not our easiest trip in the Nate department. He is very schedule driven and had a hard time being off his usual routine. It's never been a problem on trips before, but was definitely an issue this time. We kept telling him, "We're on vacation!", but apparently that didn't really mean anything to him. Still, it was fun to experience a new city and eat all of the delicious food Seattle had to offer.

We really enjoyed the Woodland Park Zoo. It was by far the best zoo I have ever been to. It was extremely interactive and the grounds were beautiful. They had an awesome giraffe exhibit where we were able to feed the giraffes!

How cool is that?

No zoom or cropping!

Hanging out with the elephants.

We went to a Mariner's game. Pretty exciting since they were playing the Red Sox. There were far more Red Sox fans in the crowd than Mariners. Poor Mariners. Good for us, though. We were able to get really cheap tickets.

Nate's 1st MLB game.

Nate's favorite part of Seattle was the Space Needle. He spent the whole time we were on the observation deck looking through the telescopes. He asked us everyday if we could go back up.

Jason and Nate at the base of the Space Needle

We also spent some time at Children's Museum. Nate liked story time best. We flew him all the way across the country and all he wanted to do was read books! He definitely didn't understand the vacation concept. We practically forced him to look at the other exhibits.

I really don't know what this is, but Nate looks cute.

We relied on public transportation, which means we did a lot of walking - a LOT of walking. Nate spent most of his time in our arms or on our shoulders. He found ways to entertain himself.

We were also able to spend some time with my cousin Alex and the Sadlers who are friends from our days in Phoenix. It was great to see them and wished we had been able to spend more time with them all. I didn't take any pictures, so you'll have to trust me on this part. I know, you are devastated.

Overall, we had a good time. We may just have to re-think our focus for future family vacations until Nate is a little older.

Food Fight

2010-09-29T20:16:00.000-05:00

This is the note we got on Nate's Daily Sheet from school today:

In case you can't read it, it says "Today Nate dumped milk on a friend's head at lunch today. Any suggestions on how to fix this?"

*deep breath*

When we asked Nate why he dumped milk on his friend, he replied, "Because it's funny!"

*deep breath*

Sometimes, it is really hard to be a parent. You are required to keep a completely straight face and explain to your child why it is not nice to dump milk on their friend. All the while, you are cracking up inside like a giddy six year old. It also doesn't help when the other parent is laughing hysterically in your line of vision but just outside your child's. I won't tell you which parent did what.

For the record, we did talk to his teacher about this. She wasn't there at lunch today and it sounds like the kids were taking advantage of the fill-in teachers because several of the kids had similar notes for their parents. He is in a class with 10 boys and 2 girls. I feel very sorry for those 2 girls.

Watching Football with Nate

2010-09-18T19:57:00.000-05:00

We just got back from a week long trip to Seattle, so I have piles of laundry I should be doing and a mountain of pictures to go through. I am very behind on blogging. I have several posts I keep meaning to write. It's almost Nate's bedtime, so I should be putting him in the bathtub. Instead, we are sitting here watching the Longhorns game. I love college football, but love watching it with Nate even more. He is so funny to listen to! Every time something exciting happens on the field, he shouts "Touchdown! That's why we play!" and there is a constant stream of commentary and questions about what is going on. There are several things I ought to be doing right now, but nothing I'd rather be doing. Those other things can wait.

Lost Photos Found

2010-09-12T22:43:00.000-05:00

I was playing on Jason's phone this weekend and realized he had a ton of pictures on there I had never seen. Apparently, when he syncs his phone, he doesn't sync the photos. Rude! Anyhow, here is one one my favorite found photos. It's from June. I love this kid!

One Liners

2010-09-05T12:18:00.000-05:00

My son is definitely preparing himself for a long career in stand up comedy. The things that come out of his mouth crack us up!

The other day, we were running some errands. As I was putting him in his car seat after leaving one of the stores, Nate looked up at me and said, "Mama, it's freakin' hot!"

************

One weekend as we were eating lunch, Jason was going over the plan for the afternoon...lunch, then nap, then playground. After Jason was done explaining, Nate replied "Ok, Daddy. That sounds like a planet!"

************

One evening, we were driving around trying to find a new restaurant. After making several wrong turns and even more U-turns, Jason exclaimed "Jesus!" in exasperation. Nate responded, "Jesus? (pregnant pause - while Jason and I looked wide-eyed at each other) Jesus loves me!"

If laughter is the best medicine, we have to be the healthiest family in America!

The Many Phases of a Three Mile Walk

2010-08-29T20:20:00.003-05:00

In an effort to be more active as a family, we decided to walk the trail around the lake by our house. It's a three mile trail and flat, so not very difficult. Nate does not do well in strollers and strongly denounced the use of a stroller on this particular walk. We figured he could walk some of it and then we could put him on our shoulders for the rest. Our three mile walk took one hour and fifteen minutes. It was beautiful outside when we started, but pretty hot by the time we were done. Our three mile walk took so long, the sun actually had time to heat the air. When you take a 75 minute-3 mile walk, you will notice several phases through out the walk.

During the first phase, Nate was very excited to be on a walk. He kept yelling at us to run faster (even Daisy). He was quite the little drill sergeant. He even kept telling us to keep our hands up...two hands up! Proper running form is essential. Here's Jason, Nate and Daisy demonstrating:

During the second phase, Nate was no longer interested in running or walking. Instead, he was more interested in checking out nature. He was sure he could spot something interesting on the lake. He was looking for an orange duck. Here he is using his binoculars to see what he could see:

During the third phase, Nate was on Jason's or my shoulders. This made for a much better lookout perch.

During the fourth phase, shoulders no longer provided adequate support. This is how the fourth phase looked:

During the fifth and final (thank goodness!) phase, Nate felt rejuvenated. Not so much that he wanted to walk, but enough that he could resume his perch on my shoulders. When we were very close to the end, I told Jason I couldn't wait for the walk to be over because I though my neck might fall off from all the weight. Nate was concerned and said, "I'll keep you safe Mommy" and then wrapped his arms around my neck to provide extra support. What a thoughtful guy!

So there you have it. Who knew a three mile walk could involve so much?

Ladies Man

2010-08-21T13:17:00.000-05:00

(Nate with Kylie last September)

Last night Jason made the comment that it would be nice to win a billion dollars. We like to remain deeply rooted in reality. He told Nate that if we won a billion dollars, he could go to college anywhere he wanted. I said that was fine because if we had a billion dollars I could go too. Jason looked sideways at me and said, "No way...he'll need his space." Nate replied, "Yeah, Mommy. I need space for all the ladies!"

What are we teaching him?

The Official Numbers

2010-08-17T20:15:00.000-05:00

Nate has been in his rectangle bed for a little more than a week. Here's the official count:

10 = the number of nights Nate has slept in the rectangle bed
1/2 = the number of nights I have slept in the rectangle bed

4 = the number of times Nate has fallen out of the rectangle bed
3 = the number of times Nate has slept through falling out of the rectangle bed

8 = the number of nights it took Nate to figure out he could get out of the rectangle bed all by himself
2 = the number of times Nate has gotten out of the rectangle bed and opened his door
0 = the number of times Nate has gotten out of the rectangle bed, opened his door and left his room

So far so good!

Baby Fever

2010-08-13T21:14:00.000-05:00

(Nate in November, when he was still suspicious of Baby Riley - she is about 3 days old here and apparently very sneaky, sneaky.)

Someone in this family has baby fever. It isn't me. Or Jason. It's Nate. Nate is constantly talking about babies. Everywhere we go, he points out babies when we see them. He also likes to look in the infant room at day care. He used to FREAK OUT if I even got close to a baby. Forget about me holding a baby. Illegal! Now he just talks about how cute they are. He has started asking for a baby brother or a baby sister. Some days he is specific in his request. Last week he actually told someone I was going to have a baby brother. I quickly corrected him. Unfortunately for Nate, Mommy and Daddy aren't there just yet.

Rectangle Bed

2010-08-07T22:17:00.000-05:00

Nate has been asking us for weeks for a Buzz Lightyear Rectangle Bed. He's been giving us not so subtle hints that he is tired of his crib - like asking to sleep on the floor. So today, we went out and got a Buzz Lightyear Rectangle Bed. Do not make the mistake of calling it a Big Boy Bed. I made that mistake and was quickly corrected. It's a Rectangle Bed!

Here's Nate taking his first nap in his new bed. Yes - he is upside down. The good news is, though, that he stayed in it the whole time. When he woke up, he stood up on the bed and shouted, "I all done sleeping Mommy!" and waited for me to come get him. Apparently, he doesn't realize he can just get out. Please don't tell him!

Alas, my baby is no longer sleeping in a crib. Sigh.

Joseph + Joy

2010-08-05T21:12:00.001-05:00

We spent last weekend in Dallas for the wedding of Jason's brother Joseph to Joy. It was wonderful to see Jason's family and wished we had been able to spend more time with them. Jason was the best man and Nate was the ring bearer, so we were kept on our toes! My men looked so handsome in their tuxedos!

(the three of us, the happy couple, Jason's dad, and the Hadavi grandparents)

(Joseph, Granny Glo and Jason)

(the three of us)

I will not lie, I had serious concerns about Nate making it down the aisle. In preparation, we showed him videos of ring bearers on you-tube and talked it up big time. During the rehearsal, he REFUSED to go anywhere near the aisle. On the day of the wedding, he surprised us all and did it! He had a moment of hesitation once he saw everyone looking at him, but quickly got over it. He took his job very seriously.

Nate's second favorite part of the night was the chocolate fountain. I think you can tell by this picture that he was in Heaven!

His most favorite part of the night was the dancing! Once he started we had a hard time getting him to stop - even after he said his tummy was hurting. Too much jumping combined with too much chocolate fountain. By the way, I think I have a little B-Boy on my hands. Look at those moves!

Art 202

2010-07-26T17:46:00.002-05:00

When Nate brings art home from school, I always ask him to tell me about it. He is always very certain about what he's made.

I love this particular explanation:

Chatterbox

2010-07-18T12:04:00.000-05:00

Nate is a major chatterbox. He can talk and talk and talk. The other day, as we were driving home from breakfast, he gave a monologue from the backseat. Below is an excerpt, and I quote:

"Where do you work mommy? I want work. Orange work. Buy me orange work. Please. I silly Mommy and you silly and Daddy silly and Daisy silly! We all silly. I wearing sandals, we all wearing sandals. The sun is out. It might go away. I want moon to come out. The cow jumped over the moon. Will you buy me an orange moon? Look Mommy! Dirt. I like dirt. White dirt and brown dirt and silver dirt. That brown dirt. Cow jumped over the moon. A chocolate cow. Over the moon. Look Mommy, doggies! Dem look like Daisy and Rusty. Dem on a walk. I like cows. I like cows and doggies and the moon. I like orange."

It's exhausting to just retype all of that!

Potbelly Beach

2010-07-12T20:03:00.005-05:00

One of our favorite things about being in California was spending time on the beach. My aunt and uncle generously let us stay in their beach house and we can't thank them enough. The back porch was literally on the beach. We got spoiled listening to the waves as we fell asleep each night. Nate loved sitting on the porch benches watching the waves with my mom and Aunt Sandy. He loved getting in the water, even though it was a cool 51 degrees. We had fun building sand castles and built a bonfire for smores. Jason even went kayaking. We had a fantastic time on a much needed vacation. We also got to cross #56 and #63 off our list of 101 things. Here's a movie of our beach adventures.