Snow Day

We had our weekly blizzard again today. The blizzards always fall on Mondays. I think that's just because Nathan's swimming lessons are on Mondays and there are very few things worse than trekking across the parking lot in the freezing cold just to have to go get in cold water. Worst idea ever, swimming lessons during the winter in Rapid City. They say the pool is heated, but I strongly disagree. Nathan's blue lips and quivering chin five minutes into class are dead give aways that the water is not heated enough. 

When I looked out the living room window and saw this, I decided to skip out on swimming lessons. Steve didn't have to go to work today due to the weather, so we all had fun just hanging out at home.
Nathan and I made Steve some dirt pudding this morning. Nathan learned the joy of licking the pudding off the beaters. He licked all he could, then asked me for a "fill" (refill).

I'll go ahead and catch you up on some of the activities from the past few days since I haven't been on here lately. Yesterday, we colored Easter eggs. It was kind of early, but I wanted to go ahead and give it a try. He looks totally enthused about this new venture, doesn't he.You should have seen the first couple of eggs. They were quite beautiful. He doesn't have the patience to keep one egg in a cup at a time and wait for the color transformation. He kept switching the eggs around.
Then he got tired of switching the eggs around and just decided to pile them all in the cups at once and call it good. He doesn't have time to color Easter eggs, he had to go shoot some hoops.
I'm going backwards in the week. A few days earlier, Nathan and I helped stuff Easter eggs for the squadron Easter party/egg hunt that was yesterday. We didn't go for fear of chicken pox, but Nathan had fun playing with the kids during the egg stuffing.
Nathan received an early birthday present. He can say the alphabet, but we're working on identifying letters now. Hopefully, he'll learn his letters as quickly as he learned his numbers.
Speaking of numbers. Nathan can count all the way up to number 29 now. If you asked him, though, he would tell you he can count all the way up to twenty-ten. He hasn't quite gotten the idea of number thirty yet.
Nathan's poor little face gets so dry up here. Here he is rubbing Aquaphor on his cheeks.
Poor kid doesn't have enough cars. 
Here are some pictures of Nathan going crazy on the couch.
He gets in silly moods and just starts bouncing from one side of the couch to the other. 

Snow Day

We had our weekly blizzard again today. The blizzards always fall on Mondays. I think that's just because Nathan's swimming lessons are on Mondays and there are very few things worse than trekking across the parking lot in the freezing cold just to have to go get in cold water. Worst idea ever, swimming lessons during the winter in Rapid City. They say the pool is heated, but I strongly disagree. Nathan's blue lips and quivering chin five minutes into class are dead give aways that the water is not heated enough. 

When I looked out the living room window and saw this, I decided to skip out on swimming lessons. Steve didn't have to go to work today due to the weather, so we all had fun just hanging out at home.
Nathan and I made Steve some dirt pudding this morning. Nathan learned the joy of licking the pudding off the beaters. He licked all he could, then asked me for a "fill" (refill).

I'll go ahead and catch you up on some of the activities from the past few days since I haven't been on here lately. Yesterday, we colored Easter eggs. It was kind of early, but I wanted to go ahead and give it a try. He looks totally enthused about this new venture, doesn't he.You should have seen the first couple of eggs. They were quite beautiful. He doesn't have the patience to keep one egg in a cup at a time and wait for the color transformation. He kept switching the eggs around.
Then he got tired of switching the eggs around and just decided to pile them all in the cups at once and call it good. He doesn't have time to color Easter eggs, he had to go shoot some hoops.
I'm going backwards in the week. A few days earlier, Nathan and I helped stuff Easter eggs for the squadron Easter party/egg hunt that was yesterday. We didn't go for fear of chicken pox, but Nathan had fun playing with the kids during the egg stuffing.
Nathan received an early birthday present. He can say the alphabet, but we're working on identifying letters now. Hopefully, he'll learn his letters as quickly as he learned his numbers.
Speaking of numbers. Nathan can count all the way up to number 29 now. If you asked him, though, he would tell you he can count all the way up to twenty-ten. He hasn't quite gotten the idea of number thirty yet.
Nathan's poor little face gets so dry up here. Here he is rubbing Aquaphor on his cheeks.
Poor kid doesn't have enough cars. 
Here are some pictures of Nathan going crazy on the couch.
He gets in silly moods and just starts bouncing from one side of the couch to the other. 

No More "Nastics"

Nathan said bye-bye to his gymnastics buddies today. This was his last class, at least for a little while. We're quitting, most likely temporarily, because the class just sort of sucked. I was expecting something more like what he had in Georgia, but Ms. Kim had something more along the lines of Nazi Germany in mind. Just kidding, it wasn't quite that bad. The class was supposed to be non-structured, but Ms. Kim held up the entire class until every kid was doing what she told them to do. Imagine how long it took to get 10 two year olds (age +/-) to all cooperate. All Nathan wanted to do was run around and jump on mats, but that was never in the curriculum. 

Lucky for us, Ms. Kim was snowed in and couldn't make it today, so we had a different teacher. She was very cool and laid back and held the entire class in the big gym. She set up various mats all over the floor for the kids to climb on. I started to rethink my plan of quitting during today's class. I asked the new teacher which other classes she taught and at what times, but she teaches the next class up. So, that's the end of Nathan's gymnastics career. At least temporarily.

Luckily Nathan was on his best behavior today or else that shirt would have made him look really bratty.
Nathan was so well-behaved and had such a good time. He even behaved during the parachute game, which he normally hates. Probably because the parachute game only lasted five minutes rather than the usual 15-20 minutes.
Talking and playing with other kids was even allowed.
Normally, the mats are off limits. How stupid is that? No playing on the mats in gymnastics.
They played chase the hula-hoop. The teacher rolls it across the floor and the kids chase it and bring it back to her. It's basically the game of fetch, but with a hula-hoop. Nathan absolutely loved it. Looks like we're heading to Walmart later to buy a hula-hoop.
Waiting patiently for his stamps.
Nathan was actually tired after today's class. I usually have to take him to the park to burn off his energy after gymnastics. He came right home and said, "seep, bee boy bed." And that's the last I've heard from him!

No More "Nastics"

Nathan said bye-bye to his gymnastics buddies today. This was his last class, at least for a little while. We're quitting, most likely temporarily, because the class just sort of sucked. I was expecting something more like what he had in Georgia, but Ms. Kim had something more along the lines of Nazi Germany in mind. Just kidding, it wasn't quite that bad. The class was supposed to be non-structured, but Ms. Kim held up the entire class until every kid was doing what she told them to do. Imagine how long it took to get 10 two year olds (age +/-) to all cooperate. All Nathan wanted to do was run around and jump on mats, but that was never in the curriculum. 

Lucky for us, Ms. Kim was snowed in and couldn't make it today, so we had a different teacher. She was very cool and laid back and held the entire class in the big gym. She set up various mats all over the floor for the kids to climb on. I started to rethink my plan of quitting during today's class. I asked the new teacher which other classes she taught and at what times, but she teaches the next class up. So, that's the end of Nathan's gymnastics career. At least temporarily.

Luckily Nathan was on his best behavior today or else that shirt would have made him look really bratty.
Nathan was so well-behaved and had such a good time. He even behaved during the parachute game, which he normally hates. Probably because the parachute game only lasted five minutes rather than the usual 15-20 minutes.
Talking and playing with other kids was even allowed.
Normally, the mats are off limits. How stupid is that? No playing on the mats in gymnastics.
They played chase the hula-hoop. The teacher rolls it across the floor and the kids chase it and bring it back to her. It's basically the game of fetch, but with a hula-hoop. Nathan absolutely loved it. Looks like we're heading to Walmart later to buy a hula-hoop.
Waiting patiently for his stamps.
Nathan was actually tired after today's class. I usually have to take him to the park to burn off his energy after gymnastics. He came right home and said, "seep, bee boy bed." And that's the last I've heard from him!

Frisky Business

We want to thank Uncle Joe and Aunt Lexi for an amazing trip to their home in San Antonio. Nathan had an absolute blast. As soon as we saw Uncle Joe, Aunt Lexi and Lady at the airport, Nathan got so excited and greeted each of them and fell straight into Lady's arms. That was the last I saw of him. Just kidding. He couldn't quite understand why PawPaw wasn't there. For the first couple of hours he kept asking, "Where PawPaw?"

Nathan was his usual cheery self during our long day of travel. When I say long I mean, really long. We had a 3.5 hour layover in Denver in addition to a few hours of flying. Nathan was such an easy going guy that it made the day really fly by.
Just making sure airport operations are running smoothly.

As the day progressed though, Nathan came down with a full body rash consisting of lots and lots of red spots. I had no idea what it was, but it didn't seem to bother him. I called the on-call nurse later that night and she suggested we go to an urgent care clinic the next morning. So that's how we started our first full day in San Antonio, at Little Spurs Urgent Care. Turns out, he had an amoxicillin rash. It's not an allergic reaction, just a rash. There you go, that's the explanation for Nathan's appearance in the pictures.
After we were picked up from the airport, we went out for dinner. It looks like Lady is giving Uncle Joe the "slant eye" in this picture. Probably because he was a total Nathan hog for the first couple of hours.
See what I mean?
It's a shame that Uncle Joe doesn't love Nathan at all.
When we got to Uncle Joe and Aunt Lexi's house, Nathan was introduced to Bunker, or as Nathan called him, "Bumper." This cat was the highlight of Nathan's trip. As much as I don't like giving Joe compliments, I have to admit that his cat is the coolest cat in the world. And as for Nathan not wearing a shirt, it was hot in Texas.
Bunker is the feline version of Mace. He followed Nathan around during the entire visit, letting Nathan do whatever he wanted.
Nathan kept throwing the ball up the steps for Bunker. These steps made me realize how much I like living in a one story house with Nathan.
This cat wouldn't leave Nathan alone, just as much as Nathan wouldn't leave him alone. 
Nathan really tormented this cat when he realized the kitty wanted his Cheetos. He ran back and forth across the room just so that Bunker would chase him.
I know where I'm sending Nathan next time Steve and I decide to take a vacation.
Sweet kisses.
Flying like an airplane.
Flying like an airplane all by himself.
Bunker also flew like an airplane, and purred while doing so.
Nathan would take off running as fast as he could across the yard then Uncle Joe would dart across in front of him. That game got lots of laughs.
Sneaking up on Bunker.
The guys hanging out.
We fulfilled our tourist obligations by visiting the Alamo and the River Walk.
The rocks were the most exciting part for Nathan.
We spent quite a bit of time playing in the rocks.

Nathan climbed in the big pot of rocks and began lining them up like he does with his cars. 
Then Lady started this routine. He repeatedly jumped off the pot.
Then climbed up her body.
Just to be snuggled and tickled, and repeated.
Nathan at the River Walk.
Nathan playing with the kitty.
More full body hugs for Bunker. It was so strange to see a cat that likes this kind of attention.
Nathan would have been perfectly happy staying at Uncle Joe and Aunt Lexi's house during the entire visit. I bet Joe and Lexi had no idea their house was so much fun.
Nathan and Bunker were quite the pair. As you can tell from this video, Nathan wasn't hurting for any attention.

Since Nathan is such an animal lover, we took him to see the "amals" at the wildlife ranch.

This was right up Nathan's ally.
Throwing food out the window.
This was just a warm-up for Nathan as he prepares for Old Mac's Farm to open.
From a distance, ostriches don't look scary, but just wait until they try to stick their head in your car.
Nathan got to see a real giraffe on this trip, unlike his trip to the zoo in Montana.
After we visited the wildlife ranch, it was my turn for fun.
Not only was this fun because I love these stores, but mainly because Nathan stayed home with Aunt Lexi.
I snuck a picture of Uncle Joe helping Lady shop for a new purse. It looks like he's being nice and helpful, but the only reason he was looking through all the purses was to check for the extra inside pocket that Lady requires. That way he could stop her from wasting time and looking at the ones that didn't have the pocket.

As I was busy shopping, Nathan was busy doing what he does best. Getting dirty. Nathan spent the afternoon playing with Aunt Lexi (while I shopped) and doing whatever he wanted. No wonder he's still talking about her.

Just following Texas dress code.
Just kidding. He actually got so dirty while playing outside that we had to strip before he could come inside. Then he saw Uncle Joe go back outside so he thought he needed to go out again. 
We had an early celebration for Nathan's upcoming second birthday.
Nathan blew out the candle and said, "nandle off."
He opened a few small gifts.
Our plane left at 6:15 a.m. Monday morning. I woke up at 3 a.m. and Nathan woke up at 3:45 a.m. It's a good thing we had early flights though, otherwise we wouldn't have made it back to Rapid before the blizzard. 
Here are Lady and Nathan hanging out at the San Antonio airport before we boarded.
I can't really tell if this blog is about our trip to San Antonio or if it's about Nathan playing with Bunker. I know, way too many cat pictures, but I thought they were all cute.