Nathan's Birthday

Nathan helped make his own birthday cake. He always wants to help and do things himself -"Na-Na do it" is one of is favorite phrases. He can be a pretty good helper, too. It's fun to see him learn new things and want to try to new things. I hope he always remains a good little helper like he is now.




Nathan is two!! His birthday was on Sunday, but we had a party for him on Saturday. Grandma and Grandpa Hillstead, Grandma and Grandpa Taylor, Uncle Todd, Aunt OhMy, Uncle Brad, Aunt Brit, and Kyle and Luke were all there. We had a really fun time. Nathan was feeling a little sick, but he still enjoyed opening presents, shooting baskets with his new balls from Uncle Todd, and blowing out the candles on his cake.





Here Nathan is surrounded by his toys - he got a bunch of fun gifts. He got a big digger and an outfit from Grandma & Grandpa Hillstead, some balls from Uncle Todd, a Little Einsteins rocket backpack and Quincy from Kyle (& family), a Little People Neighborhood set and a banana chair from Grandma & Grandpa Taylor, a cute outfit from Aunt OhMy, and some books, little trucks, church shoes, bubbles, and a growth chart from Mom & Dad. He opened up the balls second and after that we had a hard time getting him to open up the rest of the presents. He just loves to shoot baskets!



This is the cute little outfit he got from Aunt OhMy. He looks like such a big boy. I can't believe how fast time goes.



Here is Nathan enjoying his Thomas the Train banana chair. In the second picture he's trying to look at me and smile without missing any of his favorite Bob the Builder show.




Here's Aaron enjoying the party. He looks so cute in his Bob the Builder party hat. He was smiling and happy all day. He even laughed for the first time while Grandma Hillstead was playing with him.

Temple Square

On Friday, the 14th, we went down to see Ryan at work and then stayed and walked around Temple Square to see all of the lights. It was very cold, but Nathan had a good time. He loved all the lights and would tell us what colors they were. At first he didn't want to put on his gloves and big coat, but it didn't take too long before he was glad he had them on. We kept Aaron bundled up in his stroller and he was as pleasant as always. Nathan also liked all the water and fountains. He was pretty fascinated by the whole experience. When we got to the nativity scene, he pointed out Baby Jesus, Mary and "Jofes" - I love the way he talks. It's so cute.











After we left Temple Square, we stopped in Bountiful to see Grandma Johnson. Nathan calls her Grandma Norma and on the way there we asked him who we were going to see and he would say, "gramma Norma." We visited for just a little while and she loved little Aaron. He liked Grandma, too. He smiled at her and held on tight to her finger.

Matching Trains

Grandma Taylor gave Nathan and Aaron matching sweater vests with a train. They both wore them to church yesterday and looked so very cute. Nathan loves to hug and kiss Aaron and Aaron is very patient and let's him, even when he isn't as soft as he should be.






I suddenly seem to have more time on my hands to post pictures on our blog, but I think it's because I'm not too tired when I do have time now. Aaron is sleeping 8-9 hours at night, so I'm getting plenty of rest and so when I have a moment during the day I can actually function enough to post something!

Aaron Reaching for Toy

Here are a couple of cute pictures of Aaron. He is starting to reach for toys and even grabbed the little blue monkey today. He just looks at them for a long time. It's amazing how these little ones learn and develop. I love to watch him as he stares at his little hand and tries to figure out how it works. I've also posted the video I happened to catch of him grabbing and pulling the blue monkey toy off.

Shoveling Snow

Last night and this morning we had some more snow, so Ryan went out to shovel. Nathan got all geared up and went out to shovel, too. His shoveling was into a little bucket, though. It was pretty cold outside as you can see from his red cheeks just before he came in, but he loved it. Ryan did our driveway and then shoveled the driveways of a couple of others in our neighborhood who needed help. I love the picture of them walking up the road...Nathan is trying to walk in his big snowsuit and boots while holding onto Dad's hand and his bucket.

Two Cute Boys

I have such cute little boys. I feel so blessed. They bring me such joy - even though it is a challenge to keep one certain little boy (the older of the two) from hurting the other little boy with too much love. I'm excited for Aaron to get older so he and Nathan can play together, but I don't want him to grow up too fast. He's a sweet little boy.





This is a cute video of Nathan counting. He can count to ten but has always skipped number 5. The last couple of days he has got it, though. When we are driving around in the car he wants to count. He says "more" when we finish and wants to start again. It's so very cute and he's so proud of himself. As a former math teacher, I hope he continues liking numbers and it translates into a love of math!

Nathan

Another little boy, Caden, in our ward came over for a little while last week. It was fun to see them interact. They ran around, shot baskets, and imitated each others' laughs and silliness. Nathan loves other little kids and thought it was great. He has been having a hard time in nursery the last two weeks, though. We moved to a new building and are meeting at 1:00 pm instead of 9:00 am, so maybe it's just too much change for him right now. It makes me a little sad because he loved nursery so much and is so cute with other kids. Hopefully he'll get used to the newness and enjoy it again soon.



Well, our clean walls are history. Nathan was coloring very nicely in his coloring book and Ryan and I were watching a segment on the news for about 1 minute. We turned around and saw that Nathan had drawn "big circles" on the wall and on the back of his bedroom door and seemed quite proud of himself. He helped me clean it up (thank heavens for Magic Eraser), but was enjoying that almost too much. I'm afraid he's going to write on the walls just so he can clean it up! Crayons are going bye-bye for awhile. He loves to draw and color, but I hesitate letting him because I have to watch him so closely. I guess he'll learn...eventually.

Aaron

Here are some pictures of Aaron. Aaron is just as sweet as could be and is a great smiler. It makes me feel so good to see his face light up and smile when I talk to him. He is a big boy and is now wearing the same size of diapers as Nathan. At least we only to have to buy one size. He is a great sleeper and so pleasant when he is awake - even when he is Nathan is trying to give him loves and kisses and pull on him.




Aaron and cousin Luke
Luke is 3 months older than Nathan. This was at Brad's birthday party. They looked like they were enjoying looking at each other. It will be fun to see them as they get older.


Aaron and Dad before bed

Christmastime

Last Saturday we put up our Christmas tree. Nathan helped put the ornaments on. We have a few sports ball ornaments, which are his favorite. He helped put those on and they were well within his reach - for about 5 hours. Then I decided to put them up higher so he couldn't reach them. After I put them up higher he would stand on his tip-toes to try to get the ball, but couldn't. He came over and told me "I can't reach it." I said that was the purpose of putting them up higher. He also tried to get on the chair to reach it, but luckily that was too far away also. (These pictures were taken after his nap and he has some serious happy hair going on in the back.)




"I can't reach it!"


Nathan knows how to turn the lights on and likes the way the tree looks all lit up. He also got an advent calendar from Aunt OhMy and every day asks for his "one chocolate." We wait until after dinner each night, but that doesn't stop him from asking about it from the morning to the evening.

First Big Snowfall

Last week it snowed about 6-7 inches. Ryan had to go out and shovel, so Nathan was watching from his window as Dad shoveled and the snow plow pushed the roads. He watched for about 20 minutes while the roads were being cleared.

Thanksgiving Pictures

Here are some more of the fun pictures from Thanksgiving. We all had a great time. Thanks Mom & Dad for making it so fun for all of us!

Thanksgiving Dinner


Nathan putting his Wyoming Quarters in his pocket


Grandpa & Grandma with Nathan and Aaron


Drawing Pictures


Playing "Here Comes a Bunch of Butcher Boys"


Eating around the Counter during the BYU game