Balls!

 

 

Nathan loves our bucket of balls in the playroom.  It is one of his favorite spots.  He has figured out how to hang on to the bucket and throw the balls on the floor. 

I swear he often calls it a "ba."  So what if that is the same sound he makes when he climbs on Tyler.  Right now all the things he loves are called "ba."  Maybe it is his term of endearment. 

Hi Mom! 

(Yes, I still had my sweats on this morning while we were playing). 

Don't you love his Mizzou shirt? :)



Apple Picking!

Several friends of ours had been to the apple orchards and this past weekend we had our turn.  It was wonderful!  You could buy a wristband for all the kiddo activities for only $5!

 

Tyler had one bounce house all to himself for a while.

So happy!  Daddy helped get him dressed and loved his a little dirt never hurt John Deere shirt.  :)  I am pretty sure Tyler's grandpas will agree!

Nathan and I enjoyed the fall day together. 

Racing down the big slide!

Our little dare devil. 

This photo makes me laugh every time.  This was supposed to be a maze you walk through.  Tyler didn't bother.  He just stepped over the ropes.  A little out of the box thinking. :)

I can do it myself!

This is as good a photo as we were able to capture of me and the two boys.  Thanks for cooperating Nathan and Tyler (insert sarcasm here).  Regardless, the tractor/wagon ride was one of the highlights of the day. 

This was another big highlight.  I think Daddy and Tyler ate at least three apples before we left the orchard. 

Picking apples...

...and more apples...

...and more apples.  I had enough to make Nathan applesauce, an apple pie and still plenty to eat.  It was an awesome fall activity.   



September Doctor Appointment

Our doctor's appointment on September 20th was great to get both boys checked out with one stop for their 6 month and 3 year check ups for Nathan and Tyler, respectively. 

 

Giant baby!  Nathan weighed in at whopping 20lbs. 8oz. - 90th %tile and was 28.4 inches tall - 95th %tile (I say tall rather than long because he much prefers to stand these days). 

 

This is Nathan's head circumference chart.  Dr. Ruldoff even measured it again to check the nurses measurement.  It was correct.  Huge head = big brains!  (At least that is what we expect!)

 

This big boy was 42lbs. 8oz. and 40.3 inches tall - the 98th %tile for both!

 

I love this picture as this is what Nathan does constantly - watch his big brother's every movement.

They both still enjoy playing with the tissue paper on the exam tables. 

 

Nathan got 3 shots including his flu shot (we have to go back this month for the 2nd dose) and Tyler got the flu mist.  I am pretty sure the shot may have been easier.  I too got my flu shot which was very convenient!

 

How is it possible our babies are getting so big so quickly?



Painting!

Tyler got several of the paint with water books for his birthday!  I love them and he loves them.  He is constantly asking to "paint."  It is perfect because it keeps him occupied and it doesn't make the mess that real painting has the potential to. 

 

Hard at work.

(Don't mind my messy counters or the birthday cake.  This was a few weeks ago and it has since been discarded - one family can only eat so much birthday cake!)

I am not sure if you can tell but he did paint on his face a bit!  

Don't you love his shirt?  Go Mizzou or Go Home! :)

So proud!   He does a pretty good job of only painting the parts with the color so thankfully the entire paper is not sopping wet.  

 

I am not saying he is the next Vincent van Gogh, but we are still pretty proud of our little artist!



Talented Grandma

Nathan received this awesome quilt from Grandma Francis recently.  I just love it and think it is so special for him to have. 

 

I love all the sports teddy bears.

I also love that it is personalized just for him.  As a younger brother, Nathan gets a LOT of hand-me-downs so it is wonderful for him to have something of his own. 

 

Thanks Grandma Francis!  You are so talented! 



Introducing Hadley Anne Zick!

We are so excited to announce that our niece/cousin is here - Hadley Anne Zick!  She arrived September 24 at 11:29pm.  She weighed in at a tiny (at least compared to my boys) 7 lbs. 7ozs. and was 20 1/2 inches long. 

Warning:  There are a whole LOT of pictures! 

Nathan meets his new cousin for the first time!

Grandma and Grandpa brought Hadley a volleyball.  Tyler got a basketball when he was born.  Dad and Kyle agreed they would both rather watch girls volleyball than girls basketball.  Ha! 

It is pretty awesome to watch your "little" brother turn into a dad! :)

So sweet!  I am pretty sure that Hadley has her daddy wrapped around her finger. 

I couldn't get over how tiny she was, especially her head.  Her head circumference is only 13 cm.  Nathan's was 20 cm! 

So excited to have a little niece to spoil! 

GG and Hadley

Two sleeping babies.  They sure do have a whole lotta love!

Tyler gives Hadley kisses.  I think Hadley will be well protected in high school.

Great Grandpa Zick and Hadley.

The boys and their new girl.

Hadley is jammin' out already.  :-)  She was having her hearing test.  She passed with flying colors.  Aunt Tanya will be proud!

The happy family!

LOVE!

We love her! 

I think she has Kyle's eyes (although I didn't get to see them open) and Maggie's nose. 

Proud grandparents and their grandkids! 

Random note: My dad wore this same shirt when Tyler was born and my mom had the shirt she is wearing when Nathan was born.  I thought it was ironic that they kinda matched up for Hadley's arrival. 

Look at all that hair!  

 We feel blessed to live so close to Kyle and Maggie.  It will be so fun to watch our kids grow up together!

We are so excited you are here, Hadley Anne!

New Toys!

The morning after Tyler's birthday party, our house was pretty quiet.  Daddy and Nathan slept in which gave Tyler and I the perfect chance to hang out just the two of us and play with his new toys.  I am pretty sure I love new toys just as much, if sometimes not more, than Tyler does..

 

This toy, the GeoSafari, goes waaay back.  This was a toy that Kyle and I had when we were younger and I LOVED it then.  We had passed it on to Zach and then it was passed back to Tyler.  It was the first thing Tyler asked to play with Saturday morning.  Some of the cards are too advanced for him - the solar system and the muscle groups to name a few.  He did love the sounds.  The lights flash to a picture - example PIG and Tyler has to figure out what letter the picture starts with.  He did perfect!  We are working on addition and subtraction now.  I think we will try to learn the states and state capitals next!

We got Tyler a new puzzle.  He loves puzzles and this one had letters, occupations and was a cool shape with a bonus puzzle in the middle.  He needed a little assistance with the middle part but otherwise did a great job. 

Tyler and the finished product.  Yes, Tyler wanted to play with his new toys with no pants on.  I mean, really, who wants to wear pants on Saturday morning.  Ha!  It was too cute not to post.  Someday he is going to kill me for this whole blog thing...



6 Months!

This post is only a week behind...that means I am catching up! :)

 

Yes, our baby is already half a year old.  Crazy, right?

 

Nathan always has something in his mouth - his fingers, a toy, food - whatever is handy, no pun intended. ;)

The shadow in this photo makes his head look even bigger than it it.  Ha! 

Crazy hair!  And teeth!  As of today - his third tooth is in.  Now he has two on the bottom and one on the top!  At this rate, he is going to be able to have filet mignon by Christmas. 

He is very ticklish .   Daddy still gets the best laughs.  Nathan's belly laughs make everyone within earshot smile too!   As Tyler would say, "Nathan's so silly, mommy!"

So this has started and only lasted a day...

After one day on his knees, he figured out how to get on his feet. 

Yep, we are full fledge pulling ourselves up on EVERYTHING possible.  He is so happy standing.  I guess now that he is all over the place crawling he might as well figure out how to walk.  This little man is so strong! 

 

What else is Nathan doing?

• Eating like a champ - loves sweet potatoes, peas and cereal.  Carrots and pears are on the menu next.  He is still nursing and hadsn't yet ruined it with all his teeth.  I will admit it makes me nervous but so far, so good.   A weight update coming in a future post! 
• Sleeping is pretty good too.  We had a stretch when he was waking up a bit earlier than I would have preferred but I think it was teething related.  We have had to lower his bed with him pulling himself up.  He is almost always sitting up in his bed when I walk in his room. 
• Really starting to babble too - he will sometimes repeat sounds - ba ba, ma ma and dah dah.  Squealing is also in his reportore. 
• He does not like to sit still - crawling, sitting up, climbing, kicking.  I know he is just about out for the count when his movements stop for more than 30 seconds. 
• I cannot imagine how much more he will learn by next month.   I remember with Tyler I was so excited for him to learn the next thing.  With Nathan, I somehow want to slow him down.  Obviously, he is no of the same mindset.