Nate's Bday

Best Friends

The reason we went home for Nate's birthday the last weekend in June was to celebrate with cousin Lauren. These two kids play so great together and Nate is SOOO lonely here in Milwaukee!

My SIL just sent me these pictures from Nate's bday. We had planned on going to the water park in Waterloo all day with Chris's and my family and woke up to a cloudy, cold day. Instead he drove the tractor with Grandpa Harold and we had a grill out at my parents. We told Chris's family not to come up due to the bad weather and we would see them the weekend of the 4th of July. We were pretty bummed all around, but still glad he got to play with cousin Lauren.

The cake... not what we ordered, but good enough!

Chris, Nate, Jen and 7+ mo baby bump

Blew out both candles by himself!

Can't wait to get those trucks cleaned off!



Presents! Nate received lots of trucks, tractors and trains


Nate in his new bday shirt playing on the new slide Grandpa Harold just put up

We're famous!

Last night at Chris's softball game the news came and asked me if they could interview me for the news that night.... about public restrooms! Even though I look like and idiot, here is the link. Click play on the main story. The opening clip is of Chris pitching to his buddy and then Nate.

http://www.myfoxmilwaukee.com/myfox/pages/News?pageId=3.1

Elkart Weekend Retreat

Chris had a work retreat with all of the summer interns and the hiring committee at a lake resort- spouses invited. Trudy came up for a night so that I could go for 1/2 the time. We had so much fun. Who wouldn't on an all expense paid trip?! Although it was not just a free-bee. It was with the hiring committee and people have lost their job offers after the way they behaved on this trip in years past! So Chris was still on "trial".

Cell Phone picture of us bumper-boating. Jen top between the 2 yellow boats wearing black, Chris top in the red boat with the red shirt. All the others are Chris's friends from work. These boats had motors in the so it was just like bumper cars- SO FUN!

I didn't take my camera, I thought I just wanted to enjoy the trip- but I later regretted not getting any pictures of me and C together. Here are a few more photos from the website so you can get an idea of where we were.

Tonight they were going to do s'mores down by the beach after dinner (Chris's idea).... wish I could be there! But I am so glad that I got to go at least for one night and now Chris gets to have a "guys night" with his boys from work before we leave (we only have 2.5 weeks left here!)

4th of July

Nate 2 yrs. 30 lbs!!!

Nate and I spent the week back in Iowa with family. We celebrated his birthday in Waterloo with family on the 28th and then played up there until midweek when we went to Iowa City for my OB appointment and Nate's 2 year appointment. We spent the rest of the week with Chris's family and celebrated the 4th with them.

Walking to the parade with Gaga and Dazi

Daz, Nate and Gaga
The John Deere hat scored Nate TONS of candy from all the tractors in the parade!
Cute Aunt Dazi scored lots candy for Nate too!

Snacking on candy mid-parade

Completely exhausted!
Nate was asleep even before I pulled out of the parking lot to go home!

How does this happen?

Last night Nate and I were walking in the parking lot of a restaurant we always go to with the firm's softball team after Chris's games when Nate tripped. That alone is not strange, happens daily. But the scrape he got is so unusual. He scrapped all the skin off the space between his upper lip and nose- but did not get a single scratch on his nose or his chin. How does that happen?! Think about falling face first- the first thing that is going to his is your chin or nose.. I would think so at least. Anyway, poor baby is going to have a nice scab for all of his birthday pictures this weekend. We are going home to celebrate with family: day at the water park and grill out at my parents= time with Nate's best friend, cousin Lauren!


Here are a couple more pictures from Bday weekend too:

Chris's family: Mom (Trudy/Gaga), Nate, Dazi, Jon, Steve

Brave Daddy letting Nate shave him. Look how happy Nate is!

Happy Birthday

Yes! Now he can stop running in his basketball shoes!
This is the first pair of running shoes Chris has EVER owned!

Dazi, Steve, Chris, Jon and our HUGE pizza

Chris and 28" of heaven


We celebrated Chris's birthday yesterday "C-Russ" style.

• slept in until 8:30 (usually he is at work no later than 8)
• ate breakfast Nate made
• played a round of golf at a PGA course with his dad and brother
• played at the beach with the whole family
• ate the biggest pizza we have ever seen, 28", for dinner (see pictures)
  
• ate ice cream cake (even though we were stuffed from the pizza, I had told Nate the day before we could eat dad's cake after we had pizza and he climbed up in his booster seat and said, "Time for dad's cake". It was so cute!)
• finished the day off with a little H3 with his brother (oh yeah and then worked on a brief for about an hour- this guy works too much!)

We were so glad Chris's family could come up to spend the day together. We love living so close to them and will miss Jon and Daz this fall when they go off to school in California and Scotland. I was able to get Chris a really sweet gift this year. Chris LOVES old books and I heard him tell Daz in May when we were out at Duke that he wanted a first edition copy of The Once and Future King (the original story of the sword and the stone pre-Disney) in his library some day..... and I found one!! I got a steal on it too- which is all the better because our student budget does not exactly lend itself to book collecting:)

To finish off this birthday post I will leave you with 25 things you might not know about Chris:

1. He writes beautiful poems to me
2. He writes fiction and right now is currently working on a brilliant story because "he wants to be able to read something he has written to Nate"
3. He addresses cards and letters to me as Jenily- Jen I. L.ove Y.ou
4. He loves watermelon- he will sit down with an entire watermelon and a spoon and just eat away!
5. He runs on a tredmill every night after years of swearing to never run unless it was playing a sport
6. He makes up these silly songs when he sings Nate to sleep and now Nate requests them by name- like the "my mommy is a pirate" song
7.He is teaching himself how to play the guitar
8.He is good at every sport. As a teen he excelled at tennis and soccer but gave them up for basketball and just started playing golf in the last few years
9. He always orders a size bigger than what he wants for his shake or soda because he knows I will want some
10. He is addicted to The Deadliest Catch and Survivor Man or whatever that show is called
11. He only took an internship in the Midwest because I wanted to be by family, he would prefer to live in Hawaii
12. He makes far better pancakes that I do- and makes them all the time because he knows I love them
13. He LOVES his old car "the Flyby" - at 1993 Camry with 280,000+ miles on it and promises to restore it when he has the money
14. he was born premature and turned blue and had to stay in the hospital for a while
15. He loves drinking soda from glass bottles and says "it just tastes better"
16. messes do not bother him at all- I could not clean the house for a month and he wouldn't even notice!
17. He loves to cuddle, except when we sleep- I can't touch him at all- he says I am too hot
18. He misses his friends that have moved away terribly, especially BFF Drew
19. He loves animals. He knows the name to hundreds of obscure animals and all dinosaurs from reading Zoo Books as a kid- this will really be a good dad skill
20. He comes to bed with me every night just to talk for a few minutes even if he has to go back to studying- just so that I end every day with him- and that I go to sleep knowing how much he loves me
21. He tells me he loves me and that I am beautiful at least 10 times EVERY day
22. He can make cheesecake from scratch and it is REALLY good- and he hates it, he does it just for me
23. He has his own pizza recipe that is delicious
24. He is the best dad I have ever known. He is more patient that I am with Nate and way more fun! He can make Nate laugh harder and smile bigger than anyone else
25. He makes me feel so important and loved which means he is a wonderful husband and he can make me laugh harder and smile bigger than anyone else

Okay, I could go on and on and on. but those are the first 25 that came to mind. I hope that it helps you all see how special this man is to me and that my life would not be complete without him. Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!

The beach is

HAPPINESS

Happy Father's Day

Dad "Capa Hawold" Happy Father's Day. You have a special place in my little boys heart as he sings this song EVERY day at least FIVE times a day. He is constantly asking to go in the big sprayer or to the farm with "Capa Hawold". We were sorry to have to cancel our visit this weekend and hope to get back there soon to see you guys. I told Nate we were going to make a video for Grandpa Harold and here it is: We love you! (Sorry about the undies shot- I didn't really plan this out:)

Potty Trained!

After just a day and a half, this potty- training rock star has been accident free! We have even been taking long outings to the zoo and the mall and he always goes right when we get there and right when we leave. He has mastered both #1 and #2! I wish I could share any secrets or tricks that worked-but it was all Nate. He was the one that wanted to go potty, he is the one that tells me when he needs to go, HE'S AMAZING! I had not planned on potty training until Christmas break because I didn't want to deal with it right after having a new baby.... but lucky for me it is already done!

Home, sweet home

The Emergency Spillway of the Res.The Coralville Strip
Bottom left: softball complex and Walgreens
Top left: my house- student housing :( You can tell there isn't as much water on that side of the railroad track so far.... but it is expected to get a lot more.

On the left: El Dorado, Lonestar, that Hawkeye hotel
On the right:Hardees, Motel, Movie Gallery, Copy works and vet clinic
Very Bottom right, just barely in the picture is Taco Bell

Just to give you guys of where this is taken. Pretty amazing and overwhelming. And Cedar Rapids was a lot worse than this. How will CR recover if we are this bad?
Those are a few more heartbreaking pictures I saw on Press Citizen's website. It looks like the first one should be a picture of a rapid river in Colorado. While our families are suffering through major relief efforts in Iowa, we have finally had some summer weather in Milwaukee. I know this is kinda blurry. I forgot to take my camera, so it is with my cellphone, but you get the idea. We have had a great time playing at the beach. Nate would probably stay there all day long. His favorite things to do: throw rocks and sticks in the lake, build "fences" with dad by sticking all the sticks in the ground, filling in holes dad digs.

You will understand when you see these

For all my use-to be Iowan friends, when you look at these picture, you will understand how insane the water is getting. You will all know where this is. And they said it isn't even close to the worst we are going to get! The Wig and Pen one breaks my heart. I love that place.

Why we had to evacuate

My mother-in-law took these while standing on top of the railroad tracks that cross over top Mormon Trek. She went to our apartment around 10 this morning to get the only thing they left yesterday- a curtain rod. She lives 3 minutes driving to our complex, but had to walk because the traffic was so bad since Melrose is the only way to get to the hospital from this side (1st Ave and the strip/Hwy 6 and Mormon Trek are closed.)

These are the ghetto buildings right before you cross under the railroad bridge. The white building in the right upper corner is Iowa State Bank and Trust (it is being remodeled). The red rectangle in the upper right corner above the small white bank building is Walgreens on the corner of the strip. So this is of the block from the strip south to the bridge.

Our backyard

The bank again, and the empty space between the trees was Mormon Trek. The softball complex is to the right. This is all one block from my complex

Mormon Trek toward Melrose. Where the cars are is around the start of Finkbine Golf Course to the left and student housing is to the right.

Keep in mind that when she went there yesterday afternoon, less than 24 hrs from when these pictures were taken, there was no water to be seen. The flooding isn't even suppose to peak until late next week. Yikes. Hey, maybe I will get new flooring and cabinets in my apartment:)

Rain, rain go away

I thought I was being so prepared getting us moved in to our student housing apartment this early so that when I come back for OB appointments we will have a place to stay and Nate will get to know the place before we come back in August so I don't have to go through the whole adjusting thing right when I am having a baby. I thought it would be too many new things at once. I kept telling my mom last weekend as we unpacked- I am so glad we are moving in this early. Well, I spoke too soon. We just received an email saying that our apartment complex is under mandatory evacuation. Thank goodness we live by family. My dear in-laws are moving all of our stuff out that we just moved in last weekend!

Click on this link to see more
http://www.press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage

Lauren Elizabeth

Cousin Lauren

Since birth Lauren and Nate have had this special bond. Even though they don't see each other that often, they have the best time when they do and ask for each other when they are apart. Lauren has the best laugh, and uses it often! She will dance to ANY music, including organ music at church. She loves to dress up and look pretty, but also loves her hound dog Mack and loves to ride in the tractor with Grandpa and Dad. Nate calls her "Warren". Lauren calls herself "Warren". One of my favorite things Lauren has said recently:

L: Nate come sit on my lap
Nate starts to move over.
L: No wait, you're too big!

Just the fact that a 2 year old would tell someone to sit on her lap and then change her mind because of the size of the person was so cute and funny to me. Any time Lauren is doing something fun - chasing my parents cat, jumping off of the couch onto Grandpa- she ALWAY says "Nate, come on". And Nate runs over excitedly. I love that sweet little girl for always including my little guy and for loving him so much.

My brother Ben (closest in age to me), Lauren and his beautiful wife Erica.
Thanks for all the great pictures Erica. We love you guys!

I LOVE this!

If any of your kids love Mac and cheese you should try this! I never bought this because I thought it had to taste nasty since you only add water. Chris bought it one time while he was out getting groceries and it is amazing! It really tastes good and these little packets only make enough for one bowl and it is ready in 4 minutes! This is going to be a life saver for Nate when baby #2 is here!

First catch

It is such a fulfilling sight to see your son participate in something your husband loves so much. Chris caught a fish right away when they tried for Nate's first fish... hopefully he won't think fishing is always that easy!

Waterloo

My little boy was in heaven last week. Besides the gym, my dad farms which means for Nate LOTS OF BIG TRUCKS! Monday my dad brought the sprayer down and let Nate drive. For those who don't know how cool that would be for a two year old here is what a sprayer looks like-
The "wings" on the side (that's what I call them) swing out and move up and down. Nate got to push all of the buttons besides steering. It kinda reminds me of a transformer. On Tuesday we went in the semi with my dad while he hauled grain. It has been raining so much they can't get in the fields to plant (get your food storage ready! Grain prices are going to sky rocket!).

At the elevator (where you unload the grain) my dad let Nate get out and open the hatches below to dump out the beans. Almost out of reflex, Nate reached out and started to put the beans in his pocket before they went down the drain!
Wednesday he went to a John Deere dealership with my parents while I went out to dinner with my brother. He sat in every tractor and lawn mower then picked out a few toys to bring back with him to Milwaukee. Thursday we played at my parents house and had a visit from Great Grandma Jo. When he wasn't busy climbing in tractors Nate was chasing Mickey the dog (who he repeatedly said "wuv you" to) and chasing my brothers around. My favorite memories were- one night I was trying to rock Nate to sleep and my dad came home from work. Nate said "see Grandpa a minute" so I let him down and he ran down the hall into my parents room. When I went in there a few minutes later he was snuggled up next to my dad in bed watching tv. It was such a simple moment, but it melted my heart. The other was watching Nate and Lauren chase each other on the power wheels and chase the farm cats together. Cousins are the best! Thanks for the fun week family!

Tough Week

It is finished. After a rough week, we are binky free. Nate was sick this week and I knew we wouldn't be going any where and it was easier for him to breath without the binky so .... I DID IT! I pulled the plug. After about 1/2 a day I realized that I needed the binky more than him. There were so many times I wanted to give him the binky to just make him stop crying! But I didn't do it. Giving Nate a binky at nap time is like flipping a switch, he will just shut off and go to sleep. It was VERY hard to get him to sleep this week. Our neighbors complained to the office about all of the crying. Boo Hoo. But in the end, we did it. It was a hard week on both of us (Chris was gone for a work trip so he missed out on the fun). So we are spending a week at my parent's farm to relax, have some fun, and play with our family that we have been missing (Warren and Haircut!) Yesterday Chris took Nate fishing and he caught his first fish!(picture to come) It is so nice to be on a farm and every time my kid runs out the door I don't have to panic thinking he is going to run into the street (which is a safe 1/4 mile away here!!) or someone is going to take him. I was able to just sit on the swing under the big tree and watch him run around and explore. It was good for both of us for me not to be hovering over his every move. It will be hard for both of us to go back to the city.