5 Weeks!

Realizing that Nathan will be 6 weeks old tomorrow has forced me to attempt to catch up and post his 5 week photos. 

A little smirk.

5 Week Updates:

• Week 5 brought the best nights sleep we have had so far - Nathan slept from 8:30p-4am!  Now I just need to work on pushing the bed time back a bit (or mama is going to have to go to be earlier)!
• Nathan loves watching ceiling fans and his big brother.  Tyler seems to fascinate him.  It is precious. 
• The smiles and coos continue and now we are getting even little laughs/squeals of sorts.  I love these moments!   I often pretend like we are having great conversations about his day. 
• Nathan loves to stand - meaning he holds himself up and we can just balance him from falling left to right.  He is so, so strong. 
 



Going on a Bear Hunt!

On Easter Day we went to GG Wood's house for an Easter BBQ.  Tyler hadn't had a great nap and was a bit cranky when we arrived.  After seeing Zach and finding his "grove" Great Aunt Susan took him on a bear hunt.  You remember going on a bear hunt, right?  "Can't go around it, can't go over it...gotta swim through it." etc.  Tyler L.O.V.E.D. going on a bear hunt and asked to do it again and again...and again.  Tyler went back to GGs on Tuesday with Aunt Sandy and was very sad when Susan ("Sue Sue") and Zach were not there at the time.   

Thanks to Jeanne for capturing the photos! 

Ready to go!

Ruuuuuunnnnnn!

Susan was leading the bear hunt.

It is really sad Tyler doesn't get any attention from the family (insert sarcasm here).  As you can see, we were all in on the bear hunt.  Tyler's enthusiasm is infectious.

So happy!  I love this photo - it is a framer!

Almost Forgot...Easter challenge/egg hunt

If you have been following along with the recent blog posts, you noticed we had a busy Easter.  I almost forgot about the Saturday before Easter when my parents hosted the scavenger hunt/adult Easter egg hunt.  Some of you may be thinking, what?  I mean it is completely normal, right? 

Let me try to explain....

The scavenger hunt/challenge meant 30 of us were split up into five teams of 6 people.  We had 6 challenges which we had to select our team members based only on the name of the challenge (we didn't know what it entailed). The challenges given were 1) Top Shot 2) So You Think You Can Dance 3) American Idol 4) Amazing Race 5) Project Runway 6) Top Chef

Patty and Jeff were chosen by their teams for Project Runway: Pick your Model.   Their task was to put together the first Lego model in the given instruction booklet as shown.  These two were pretty proud of their accomplishments!   

Kyle was on my team and we chose him for Top Chef which was to create the perfect egg.  His task was to assemble the Easter Eggs so that they were identical to the picture that was given. 

As you can tell the tasks are pretty cheesy but we are a VERY competitive family and we took these tasks waaaay too seriously.  We always have a lot of fun.  Big props goes to my mom who planned, wrote and prepared for the competition.  The final team task was a Reality Show Quiz - it was pretty tough.  I have included at the bottom of the post for you to test your knowledge. 

Kyle celebrating completion of his eggs!

Dad is such a good host!  Always the life of the party...

The adult Easter egg happens in the dark so everyone hunts with flashlights!  Mom filled over 14 dozen eggs with prizes (numbered), money and candy.  It is pretty embarrassing how excited we get for this stuff.  Don't get me wrong, some of the prizes are pretty nice - Cardinal tickets, gift cards and cash!  Some of the prizes are not so nice too as you will see in a minute.  Often prizes reappear year after year since this is an annual event. 

Tyler with one of the light up rings that Zach won and shared. 

Nathan got plenty of attention and was held ALL night long!

I love this picture of GG and Nathan.

This was one of the not so nice prizes, Christmas tree underwear, that Kyle felt it was necessary to wear on his head.  Needless to say Kyle had several of the beverages displayed in the photo.  Maggie, this is the father of your unborn child...good luck!  :)

Tyler used one of the water gun prizes as a microphone to put on a show!

Our little performer.  Such a ham!

REALITY SHOW QUIZ

1. What city hosted the first MTV's Real World?
2. What famous model is the host of Project Runway?
3. How many cities have "Real Housewives"?
4. What reality show did Paige Davis host?
5. Who was the first winner of Survivor?
6. What do the Dancing with the Stars winners receive?
7. Who was the first runner-up on the first American Idol?
8. What is the name of the dance studio on Dance Moms?
9. What are the first names of the pickers on American Pickers?  Bonus point for the name of their assistant.
10. 2012 marks the _____ season of Antiques Roadshow.
11. What is the name of the pawn shop on Pawn Stars?
12. How many bachelors from the show have ended marrying the lady they presented with the final rose?
13. What is the amount that is usually loaded on the Visa card for the "winners" of What Not to Wear?
14. What are the names of the male fashion consultants on Say Yes to the Dress and Say Yes to the Dress - Atlanta?
15. What happens to the contestants who arrive last at the pit stop on the Amazing Race? 

As you can tell, the challenge has absolutely nothing to do with Easter other than to get together and have a fun time.   

Great Grandpa Zick's Birthday!

Great Grandpa Zick turned 82 years young this past week and we were fortunate to join him to celebrate at Kreis' Steakhouse. 

Great Grandma and Grandpa Zick.  Aren't they a cute couple?

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Chris and Doug.

Ross and Julie.

Doug and Dad. 

Mom couldn't make it because it was the first night of her golf league for the season. 

Kyle and Maggie.

Jeff, Nathan and I.  Tyler got to stay at home with Great Aunt Patty.  Thanks, Patty!

Also, the horse painting in the background of this photo was a topic of discussion due to the odd proportions. 

Grandpa, along with Dad, Doug, Chris, and Kyle all had the PRIME RIB!  I love meat but this amount(32 oz.) kinda grosses me out.  

Daddy with his baby boy - so sweet!

It was a GREAT meal with AMAZING company! 

We look forward to many more years celebrating Grandpa's birthdays!



Sleeping Handsome!

While getting Tyler ready one morning, I put Nathan on Tyler's bed to chill.  Next thing I know - he is out and looked so peaceful so I had to snap a few photos. 

I love that he can fall asleep on his own without nursing or being held.  This is outstanding to me at this point in his young life because Tyler was not so simple.  Good boy, Nathan!

One Month Old

Nathan turned one month old yesterday.  My how time flies when you are having fun.  I mean that seriously too!  Transitioning to life with two little ones has been easier than I anticipated.  Don't get me wrong, I have my moments when they are both fussy...but overall it is absolutely wonderful!

One Month!

Our good friends, the Wades, sent the ties to help us remember/document the changes in our little Nathan every month.  I love them and think they are sooooo cute!  Thanks Heather, Mike and Owen! 

Our handsome sweet boy!

He is a long one - at the doctors appointment today he measured 23 inches. 

Smiles are becoming much more frequent. 

They sure do help when Nathan wakes up for the 3am feeding. 

Other stats:

• Nathan weighed in at 12 lbs. 1 oz. at his one month appointment - 95th percentile  
• 23 inches long (as mentioned above)- 95th percentile
• 16 inch head circumference - 95th percentile
• Still sleeping really well but we must have been having a little growth spurt the last few days as he has been hungry every 3-4 hours.  I am hoping to go back to the 6+ hour span at night soon! 
• Nathan seems to be balding on top of his head a bit which is pretty funny. 
• Nathan has started cooing and it is so sweet.  Couple the coos with the smiles = perfection!

 

 



Easter 2012

I had to get some photos of the boys in their Easter best...

So handsome and serious.

We tried this photo several times and this is the best we could come up with. 

All my boys!  I love this one!

The boys didn't cooperate very well for a photo with Mommy.

Easter baskets!  Tyler also got a water table outside!

We went to Aunt Jenny's for an Easter BBQ and had an unexpected egg hunt.

Tyler had it down!

Tyler really cashed in hunting eggs this year.  He and Nathan both collected $50 for their college 529 funds!  The Easter Bunny loves college too! :)

Easter Egg Hunt #2

The second Easter egg hunt of the season included a carnival beforehand.

The parachute was a huge hit last year for Tyler and this year was no different.  See last years post: http://www.francisfamilyfun-alison.blogspot.com/2011/04/happy-easter.html

Tyler was not too into the craft project, but did like the letters for his name.  He wanted to take them off though after Grandma helped him put the letters on his cross. 

Bubbles! 

 I thought it was very smart that the church put down saw dust so that the kids wouldn't slip on the blacktop with all the bubble solution on the ground.

This photo doesn't do justice to the amount of eggs that were in the yard for the 1-2 year old age group.  This Easter Egg hunt advertised that they had "hid" 20,000 eggs (for all age groups) and I believe it!

In action...

Grabbing 3, 4 or 5 eggs at a time!

We stopped hunting when our basket couldn't hold any more!

Again, Nathan was thrilled by the activity...notice a trend?