Minnesnowta

I'm sure everyone is expecting me to carry on about how cold it was during our visit to Minnesota. Yes, it was cold. Yes, I'm enjoying my 58 degree weather again. Now on to more exciting topics.... uhhhh.... not that the topic of weather isn't exciting.

Nathan got a lot of cousin time in during our visit. He wasn't so sure about the Crazy Cousin Clan during his last encounter with them, but things were definitely different this time around. He may have been the new kid on the block, but he certainly wasn't intimidated by them. He played so hard and had such a good time with them. They got a chance to play all together as we celebrated Laura's seventh birthday.
That's the birthday girl on the far right.
Emily and Nathan
"Elpie" (Penelope) and Nathan
Nathan even got to open few early Christmas presents.
Karl took Nathan under his wing.

Nathan had his first real snow experience over the weekend. People ask, "You live in South Dakota, don't you get a lot of snow there?" The answer is yes, but you're crazy if you think I'm going outside to play in that junk. Besides, this is the first snow that Nathan has seen since he's been old enough to actually play in it. Judging by his reaction, it looks like Nathan and I share the same opinion on Minnesota winters.
It's a good thing Nathan's vocabulary is still limited because I don't even want to know what he would have to say about us dragging him out there.
Coincidentally, I walked around with that same look on my face.
Nathan with Laura and Karl.

He's relieved to finally shed the bulky coat, furry hat and mittens. Now he can actually move.
We went to Uncle Jeff and Aunt Tanya's house for dinner on Sunday. Uncle Jeff saw how much Nathan loves cars, so he was nice enough to share his vintage car collection from his childhood.
We watched Aly and Emily's performances in their Christmas program. Nathan really enjoyed their singing and clapped with excitement after each song. 

Nathan played with Aunt Tanya, Uncle Matt and Daddy's old toys at Oma and Opa's house.


Nathan took a bath before heading over to play with Karl one more time before we left for the airport. I love this picture.

It's a good thing we got the airport with plenty of time to spare because Nathan decided that he was going to walk to the gate. I bet I heard the phrase, "Little Viking" at least 15 times as we walked through the MSP airport. 
After we arrived at our gate, this is how we passed some time.
Then we went over to watch the airplanes prepare for take-off. 
Nathan's response to seeing the airplanes, "Oh wow!!!"

We made it back to Georgia last night. Our plane took off an hour late as we had to sit on the plane while it was de-iced. The days of the sleeping traveler are long gone so, as I expected, Nathan's patience wore a little thin during the flight. I'm lucky it happened with only 45 minutes left because I don't think I would have been able to provide my amped up entertainment any longer than that. Needless to say, I was so happy to see Grandma waiting at baggage claim! It helped that she had Chick-fil-a for us, too. 

Nathan spent a little time catching up with Grandma and Grandpa and Hank and most importantly, Mace. As soon as we turned in the neighborhood he started calling out for Mace. He took a bath and went straight to bed. Then this morning, I decided that Nathan needed to catch up on some sleep, so I let him sleep until he woke up on his own. He ended up sleeping until 10:45 a.m. I feel bad that he missed school, but he was definitely in need of sleep.

Video Extravaganza

As I was packing for our upcoming trip to Minnesota, I checked the weather forecast to be sure I packed the proper attire. After seeing the expected temperatures, I suffered from a mild case of hypothermia. I know the key is to dress in layers, but I don't even think I own enough clothes for all the layers that I'm going to need. I thought it was unbearably cold when we had a 41 degree temperature a couple of days ago. According to weather.com, highs for Friday, Saturday and Sunday are 22, 23 and 19. Yikes!

This short video clip is enough to warm anybody's heart. Here is Nathan's shout out to Daddy.

Grandpa put the Michael Vick bobble head on the shelf. Then we told Nathan that the bobble head was in jail. Now when Nathan sees the Michael Vick bobble head he points to it and says, "jail." Nathan knows that he has to be nice to the dogs now because if he's not, he'll get sent to jail.

Speaking of dogs, Nathan is certainly has a friend and a protector in Mace. Mace took it upon himself to be Nathan's bodyguard. You might want to think twice before getting too close to Nathan in Mace's presence. 

This is how Nathan spends the majority of his time at home. He's probably going to grow up to be a used car salesman.

Video Extravaganza

As I was packing for our upcoming trip to Minnesota, I checked the weather forecast to be sure I packed the proper attire. After seeing the expected temperatures, I suffered from a mild case of hypothermia. I know the key is to dress in layers, but I don't even think I own enough clothes for all the layers that I'm going to need. I thought it was unbearably cold when we had a 41 degree temperature a couple of days ago. According to weather.com, highs for Friday, Saturday and Sunday are 22, 23 and 19. Yikes!

This short video clip is enough to warm anybody's heart. Here is Nathan's shout out to Daddy.

Grandpa put the Michael Vick bobble head on the shelf. Then we told Nathan that the bobble head was in jail. Now when Nathan sees the Michael Vick bobble head he points to it and says, "jail." Nathan knows that he has to be nice to the dogs now because if he's not, he'll get sent to jail.

Speaking of dogs, Nathan is certainly has a friend and a protector in Mace. Mace took it upon himself to be Nathan's bodyguard. You might want to think twice before getting too close to Nathan in Mace's presence. 

This is how Nathan spends the majority of his time at home. He's probably going to grow up to be a used car salesman.

Random Assortment

I'll catch you up on the happenings of Nathan over the past couple of days. We did our usual Saturday morning story time. He enjoys the social aspect of it way more than the actual story. He thinks everyone gathers together each week to visit with him.



Then we went to Monkey Joe's.

Nathan goes to the cabinet with the dog and cat treats and loads the animals up with treats. I'm sure that has a little something to do with his popularity among the animals.

Nathan better keep his eye on that Pez dispenser. Daddy might try to steal it when he gets home.
Here's a nice shot of Nathan with food stuck in his teeth.
Nathan helped Grandpa put the Christmas tree up. His favorite part was climbing on the ladder. Nathan enjoys anything that involves climbing.

Nathan and Grandma baked a pizza for Grandpa.
He helped spread the sauce and sprinkle the cheese.
Nathan licked more pizza sauce than he spread.

Random Assortment

I'll catch you up on the happenings of Nathan over the past couple of days. We did our usual Saturday morning story time. He enjoys the social aspect of it way more than the actual story. He thinks everyone gathers together each week to visit with him.



Then we went to Monkey Joe's.

Nathan goes to the cabinet with the dog and cat treats and loads the animals up with treats. I'm sure that has a little something to do with his popularity among the animals.

Nathan better keep his eye on that Pez dispenser. Daddy might try to steal it when he gets home.
Here's a nice shot of Nathan with food stuck in his teeth.
Nathan helped Grandpa put the Christmas tree up. His favorite part was climbing on the ladder. Nathan enjoys anything that involves climbing.

Nathan and Grandma baked a pizza for Grandpa.
He helped spread the sauce and sprinkle the cheese.
Nathan licked more pizza sauce than he spread.

Opinions Welcome... Just This Once

Growing up, I was the only one of my friends to actually call my grandparents Grandma and Grandpa. All of my friends had Mamaws and Papaws. I was determined to make Nathan have a Grandma and a Grandpa because I just always thought that was the way to go. We've been calling my parents Grandma and Grandpa to Nathan, but he is bound and determined to call them Mamaw and Papaw. I can't decide whether I want to continue my push for Grandma and Grandpa or just jump on the Mamaw and Papaw bandwagon. 

Blog Readers, here is your chance to voice your opinion. I know I have a lot of readers who love sharing their opinions... especially when it comes to Nathan. Select which name you think Nathan should call my mom and dad.