Thursday, January 30, 2014

Nathan Turns 2!

Happy Birthday, Nathan!


Our sweet, generous, caring, silly, happy-go-lucky little boy turned two yesterday. In some respects I cannot believe our little Nathan is two. But in other ways, it seems like he's been with us forever. And when I think about how much he has grown up over the last year, its seems even longer! 

We celebrated Nathan's birthday yesterday. It was low key. He is only two after all! :) Plus the *real* birthday party is on Saturday! Nathan woke up to a decorated downstairs and room full of balloons! He was so excited! 

This is when Nathan came downstairs. He was a little timid about the decorations. Then he saw the balloons and was so happy! 


We had a few little gifts set out for him as well, but he really was more interested in the balloons. He kept saying "Thank you!" Everytime we'd say 'Happy Birthday you're two now!' He would respond with "I'm Two? Thank you!" It was very sweet. 

His little gift spread. Stickers. Coloring Book. Planes/Dusty Crophopper shirt. 


His 'Cheeeeeeeese' face. What a handsome two year old!


Shad went into work a little bit late so that we could have morning donuts with our birthday boy. He loved it. 


Singing then blowing out the candle. 


He enjoyed it! 


Kaisa was very interested in the balloons too! This girl is SO close to crawling. She can get all around the floor. She's pretty much mobile, she can scoot, roll, jump, drag herself, bounce along the floor... everything BUT crawl! 



Then wonderful grandma took the day off work so that she could take Nathan out on a "date." She took him clothes shopping and out to lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. He felt so special and loved his outing with Grandma! She also spent the rest of the day with us, which I also love the extra company! 

The day ended with the birthday boy choosing pasta (shells and cheese) for dinner and playing with his new stickers and coloring book. 

We are planning on having a small family party on Saturday with cake and then letting the boys go to the Disney store to choose a special gift. It can be so fun having their birthdays so close together! 



Our Nathan at Two Years Old:

-Is still a GREAT eater. He doesn't hesitate to try new foods and LOVES to eat. And I love, love, love that he isn't too picky. Too bad he is my little guy with multiple food allergies. :(

- Loves to be naked! Its hilarious, actually. Every single time we try to get him dressed (morning and night) he cries and begs to "Be nakey for a little bit?! Pleeeeeease!?" Getting clothes on him is always a challenge. Just last weekend he was in a royal bad mood, he wouldn't snap out of it. So I just stripped him down to his diaper and his mood immediately perked up! Hilarious.

- Is very caring, generous, and sweet. He always, always remembers to say thank you for everything. He asks very politely all the time for anything. "Can I eat this? Can I play with this? Can you go with me?..." He also is very good about sharing toys with brother. (Not so much with sister.) Something that he could teach his brother a thing or two about!

-Likes to say prayers. I often find him and Owen saying prayers around the house. Its very cute and melts my little heart!
Naked and saying a prayer! Makes for a happy boy! 


- Is still my chill and go-with-the-flow kinda kid. He's pretty easy going. He doesn't put up a fight when its nap or bedtime. And is just happy to be included in the fun.

-He's so Happy-go-Lucky! He walks with a little spring in his step and dance in his hips! He loves to shake his booty!

- Still has crazy curly/course hair, which is also still two-toned. Its blonde on bottom, dark brown on top! I get asked all the time if its natural; which always seems like a really dumb question to me. Of course its natural! Why would I dye my two year olds hair!? But he gets a lot of comments on it.

- Loves his brother Owen! Oh man, he wants to do everything Owen does. I mean EVERYTHING. Its adorable. He loves Kaisa too... in a big brother sort of way. He loves to give her kisses and toys to play with.
Loves to be just like BIG brother! 


-Talks like a champ! Something he learned from his brother. He can talk in full sentences and communicates without a problem. He can ask fully developed questions and speaks pretty clearly.

- Recognizes all his letters and colors. He can also sing the ABCs.

-Is learning his numbers. He can count to about 15. But he doesn't really recognize numbers on paper.

-Loves to sing! He loves to sing "I Am a Child of God," that's his most favorite. But he also loves ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle, Thomas Songs, If You're Happy and You Know it, You are my Sunshine, and other primary songs. (Wise Man/Foolish Man, Jesus Once was a Little Child, Popcorn Popping, If the Savior Stood Beside Me). Sometimes he just walks around the house singing gibberish.

-The Thomas obsession is hitting him too! Not quite to the extent that big brother Owen loves it. But its close. He can name all 40+ trains we own. Its ridiculous. And he'll watch most of a Thomas movie.

-He really loves to color and play with stickers.


-Loves to help around the house. Really loves to clean. He got a vacuum for Christmas and loves to vacuum, dust, sweep, unload the dishwasher, and is so helpful when its time to clean up toys. Its great!

-Is still a pretty big Daddy's Boy. he doesn't cry anymore when Shad leaves for work, which is nice because it was so heartbreaking! But on weekends he follows Daddy all over the place. ;) He also really loves his Grandpa too!

-Has learned to fight back a little bit! Owen and Nathan can really get into some spats. There is lots of throwing toys, hitting, and LOUD screaming. They feed off one another. It can be a little tiring on some days, but for the most part its under control, mainly because Nathan is so willing to let things slide. Owen does not.

-Loves planes! He loves to all things that fly. More so than Owen. He is more excited about planes than cars and trucks.

-Does great in nursery even without Owen there now! Whoop!

-He loves wearing hats, crowns, glasses, anything silly for dress up!



-Can throw a tantrum with the best of them! When he gets in a really bad mood there is little that can snap him out of it. His favorite word becomes 'NO!'

-Is just so lovable! He will melt your heart within seconds. He is just so sweet. Something I knew from birth. There was just something extra special about this little boy... and its his kind heart.



 Happy Birthday, Little Man! We just LOVE you! 


 Dear Nathan,

What a privilege and joy it is to be your Momma. I am so underserving of the unconditional love you give me and the faith you have in me to be a good parent and mother to you. You are so innocent and loving. You love and trust with your whole heart and those who are on the receiving end are beyond lucky. You are just so lovable, its easy to fall in love with you! You are just too cute.

This year you have grown up so much! You have grown from babyhood to full blown walking, running, talking, funny toddler boy! You have such a fun and silly personality! You went from crawling and babbling just 12 short months ago to walking/running and talking like a champ! I am so impressed with how smart you are. You quickly have picked up words and sentences. And your brother loves to help you learn new letters, numbers, and words.

You absolutely adore your big brother! You try so hard to be just like him! You copy every little move he makes. Its so cute. You guys can also be the worst of enemies! You often can fight and scream at one another... but that just seems to be a part of having siblings. I hope that you guys will always have a close relationship and friendship. You are a very sweet big brother too! You love Kaisa very much, and are always willing to help out with any of her needs. You always want to give her kisses and hugs and make sure she is happy.

Nathan, you are such a helpful little boy! You love to help Mom around the house with any chores. And you always want others to be happy. You are selfless with your toys and willing to give to others, especially your brother if he is crying or upset. Like I've said before, you are just so sweet. I knew it from the moment you were born. I could see your good nature and sweet spirit. You have such a kind and loving heart.

We all just love having you as a part of our little family. It certainly would not be complete with you! You bring so much love and joy into our home with your silliness and fun personality! I am so blessed and lucky to have you as my son. I love you more than you could ever know. I love watching you learn and grow and look forward to more.

Love,
Momma

1 comment:

Rosalie said...

Nathan, you are just so sweet! I love to see all the pictures! Thank you Krista for sharing your feelings about the children so I can get to know them better! Thank you for the pictures too!! How fun it is to share about them this way so I can be a small part of it all! Love you all so much!!!