creativity crisis.

I read an article for a graduate class that I am taking, based on student development, that essentially discussed how today's children are actually declining in creativity from future generations and how innovative children grow to innovative adults. Want to read it? By all means, go for it!

My takeaway was that I want to really encourage Nate's little mind to be as creative as possible in these formative years, so I need to step outside my fear of crayon walls and paint on the floor to help him stay inquisitive and possibly ahead of the curve. So, my resolve is to cut out the t.v. and up the art projects, reading, and pretend play. 

Yesterday's venture with paint was .... interesting. I tried the Crayola Wonder kind, that only appears on special paper. I didn't realize that it was a goopy, translucent and NOT colored at all type a paint. Clean, yes....confusing to Nate, yes. I don't know how many times I had to coax him out of not eating it.  In any case, a cute project came out of it. Here's my little goober! :)

fall jubilee.

 Chris and I took Nate to our local fall jubilee and Nate had so much fun seeing all of the different booths and running around. When we got home, we continued to spend time outside to play on his playground. Fall is such a great season, I love it! 

september recap.

Where did September go?!? I feel like 2012 is just zipping by us...well, maybe the day-to-day feels never-ending, but as a whole the time seems to be going so quickly.  Last weekend we helped to celebrate our nephew Mile's first birthday! I can't believe he is already one [reiterate time speeding by rant].  Miles celebrated with a "our little man mustache bash" which was really cute and unique. Here are some of my favorite photos from the party:

After a somewhat uneventful week, our little Nate got sick again with a fever that bumped up to 105. There are little things that a mother learns when her child is sick...and how to distinguish "under the weather" from really and truly sick, sick. One of Nate's little identifiers is whispering incoherently in his sleep.  When both tylenol and motrin didn't knock the fever down more than a degree, we headed to the ER with little man. I'm so thankful that our local ER keeps a pediatrician on 24/7.   While we didn't get a hard and fast diagnosis, I've never had an ER doctor actually talk with me rather than at me. If you're going to have to go to the hospital, that was the best kind of experience to have. Thankfully, Nate started to feel better last night and has now been 24 hours without a fever. He even felt well enough to play for a bit yesterday.

adventures in daycare: day forty-one.

Monumental, huge, ground breaking moment...or at least it seems so for the parent of a toddler. Nathan used the potty at daycare! I guess this comes as such a shock to me because we have not introduced potty training at all...I didn't even know that he knew what the potty was for! What a huge, awesome surprise to discover when I picked him up :)

fall is finally here.

After a hot and humid summer, fall is finally here! Bring on the crisp air, pumpkin spice lattes, and sweaters!  Once I picked Nate up from daycare, we played outside for a bit and enjoyed the evening...an excellent end to a long Monday.

the little things.

There are days where the small things are everything and I never want to forget any of the details that go into creating our story. My little boy is growing up so quickly, running full throttle from being a baby to a rough and tumble little boy. I feel like these are some of the only baby features that are left.

cousin playdate.

All day Nate kept telling us that he wanted to go 'bye-bye'. We asked him why and each time he told us simply 'Baby Miles'. The boys did end up playing for a little while this evening. So glad that they are only a year apart! I can't imagine what kind of trouble these two will be getting into a year from now!

fourth anniversary.

Chris and I celebrated our fourth anniversary a few weeks ago. We had a nice dinner out without a toddler and just enjoyed an evening out together. I found myself looking through our wedding photos this evening, so I thought I would share!

bath buddies.

Bathtime with a friend is always more fun!

say cheese.

This is the face that we get when we tell him to say 'cheese' for the camera. What a little ham!