Before I get to the videos, I have to mention that Caleb has been saying the funniest things lately. It's hard to remember them all. But one that comes to mind is when he got a scrape on his chin the other day from going down the slide head-first. When it healed, the next day he had a rough scab on it. So we see him feeling the scab on his chin, and he says really sincerely, "I have a beard!" ha! Over and over again. "Dad, I have a beard like you." It was seriously the cutest thing. He really thought he had some stubble just like Daddy!
I love this video. It makes me so happy when I see them having fun together. They had fun playing with Caleb's bed rail. Caleb says, "We're going on a ride, Nathan!"
I left the boys playing on the swings while I went in to make lunch. When I came back out, this is what I found. Nathan was actually loving it, but he started fussing when he saw me.
The boys got a little car from my parents for Christmas. They love it! It's got a bottom to it so Nathan doesn't fall through, but you can take it out if Caleb wants to ride and push himself. Here Daddy is giving Caleb a ride.
(David) "Officially, we were driving like Doc Hudson drives." :)
Here Caleb is giving Nathan a ride. He enjoys it almost as much as being in the car himself!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
My Nathan
Here are some updates and random thoughts about Nathan. He just turned 14 months.
He does this face I call his "silly scrunchy face smile." It cracks me up. It's usually followed up by his forced laugh. Every time I see him do it, I want to eat him up. Literally. Just take a bite out of his cuteness.
He's starting to talk more. He says ball, car, papa, mama, Boomer (my parents dog - sounds like moomer), moon, ah-me (when he wants something), hi, ca-car (for cracker), more (with the sign language), all done (with the sign), animals (ah-ma-ma)...and probably a few more, but that's all I can think of for now.
He loves animals. He had a blast at the zoo, loves my parents' dog, and always has to pet our neighborhood kitties.
He's a momma's boy. He wants me more than anyone else. He's getting much better at going to other though. He used to cry if anyone took him away from me. He gives the best kisses and hugs and snuggles.
We call him "the destroyer" because Caleb likes to line things up neat, and Nathan likes to tear everything down. If toys are on a table or ledge, he throws each one off one by one. He does like putting things in and out of containers though.
He walks a little, but it isn't his primary mode of transportation yet. He's got a little dare-devil in him. Just today he climbed up on the couch, stood up, and jumped off onto David. Luckily David was kind of aware of it, and caught him with one arm. He's been really easy to trust on the stairs. I feel like Caleb was like 2 years old before I felt comfortable with him going up and down, but Nathan is a pro. Maybe the carpeted stairs help too.
I loooove his smell, especially after his nap. It's this wonderful sweet, warm breath smell, and the smell of freshly cleaned blankies that he snuggles with. I wish I could bottle it up and smell it all the time. It makes me sad that I'll probably forget that smell one day.
He does this face I call his "silly scrunchy face smile." It cracks me up. It's usually followed up by his forced laugh. Every time I see him do it, I want to eat him up. Literally. Just take a bite out of his cuteness.
He's starting to talk more. He says ball, car, papa, mama, Boomer (my parents dog - sounds like moomer), moon, ah-me (when he wants something), hi, ca-car (for cracker), more (with the sign language), all done (with the sign), animals (ah-ma-ma)...and probably a few more, but that's all I can think of for now.
He loves animals. He had a blast at the zoo, loves my parents' dog, and always has to pet our neighborhood kitties.
He's a momma's boy. He wants me more than anyone else. He's getting much better at going to other though. He used to cry if anyone took him away from me. He gives the best kisses and hugs and snuggles.
We call him "the destroyer" because Caleb likes to line things up neat, and Nathan likes to tear everything down. If toys are on a table or ledge, he throws each one off one by one. He does like putting things in and out of containers though.
He walks a little, but it isn't his primary mode of transportation yet. He's got a little dare-devil in him. Just today he climbed up on the couch, stood up, and jumped off onto David. Luckily David was kind of aware of it, and caught him with one arm. He's been really easy to trust on the stairs. I feel like Caleb was like 2 years old before I felt comfortable with him going up and down, but Nathan is a pro. Maybe the carpeted stairs help too.
Going for a winter walk around the neighborhood.
Getting into things. :)
At the zoo.
He's my eater. He'll eat anything. And if he sees you eating something, he'll beg for some....even if he just had a huge meal. I love that wide open mouth!
I loooove his smell, especially after his nap. It's this wonderful sweet, warm breath smell, and the smell of freshly cleaned blankies that he snuggles with. I wish I could bottle it up and smell it all the time. It makes me sad that I'll probably forget that smell one day.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Big boy Caleb
Caleb turned into a big boy right in front of our eyes. Over the last month, he has moved into a big boy bed, said goodbye to his pacifier, and has been potty trained! Where did my little boy go??
So proud of his undies!
We took up the living room rug in case there were accidents.
His sticker chart for going potty. Wow, that was like the magic motivation. He loved it!
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
New York trip
David and I got to take a little vacation - 2 1/2 days - to New York recently. We had so much fun! It was the perfect weather - about 50 degrees during the day, and sunny. I had so many things on our to-do list, and we only got to do about half of them! Hopefully we'll go back again to do some of the other stuff. But here is what we did get around to doing:
Day 1: We arrived in New Jersey about 2:30. Then we took a train over to New York. The idea of trying not to look like tourists quickly went out the window while trying to figure out the train and subway system. Oh, and getting to New York and saying, "Whoa! Look how tall these buildings are!" And "Look! New York pizza!" And "Whoa! Is that a big giant button?!" make your non-local status even more obvious. *cough*David! hehe. Love you!
Our hotel room was really nice! Modern and updated, had turn-down service, and even had hot apple cider in the lobby every evening after getting in from the cold. Really thankful it was all free from David's traveling points!
We went to Becco, a nice Italian restaurant I read good reviews about. It was in the theater district, and seemed like it would be really good food for a pretty reasonable price. I like fancy restaurants, but sometimes I feel out of place if it is too fancy, and David doesn't like if the meal is the size of silver dollar. So this was perfect. Take a look at this chicken parmesan! David couldn't even eat half of it!
The restaurant is owned by Lidia Bastianich - the PBS Italian cooking show lady that we sometimes watch. We started with Caesar salads, and we had a pasta trio side dish to share that which was super yum. I got mashed potatoes with pulled pork, some greens and sliced apples on top. Whoa. That was delish. And we got cheesecake to split for dessert. We even met a waiter there who was an Aggie! :)
Then we went to see Wicked! It was really great. David even liked it - which is saying a lot, because he's not a big fan of musicals. But he appreciates the live productions over the movie musicals. I'm so glad we picked this one. Great performances, story and music.
Day 2: We spent most of our time around Rockefeller Center. There is a lot to do around there!
We went to stand outside for the Today Show taping early in the morning. We didn't get there early enough for a good spot to get on tv though. But we did get to see the whole gang come out a couple times to talk, and we saw them interview Michael Phelps and other US swim team people. I don't think they're in this picture. I think I took of video of that instead. We definitely didn't feel like tourists in this group. There were some c-razy people.
While we were under Rockefeller Tower, we saw them setting up for the tree lighting concert. They put the stage on the ice rink...if you can even tell what this picture is.
We went on the NBC Studio Tour. But no pictures allowed.
Then we went to the Top of the Rock (top of Rockefeller Tower). We decided to do that instead of the Empire State building because we were already there, and we could get a picture with the Empire State building in the background. It was really pretty up there.
Then, one of the coolest parts of the trip - Jimmy Fallon taping tickets! Woohoo! He's hilarious. His interviews are so funny. And Thank You Notes, or #latenight hashtags anyone? Actually, I hardly ever watch his show because it's on way too late. We got standby tickets, and weren't really expecting to get in, but we made it! The show taping was really fun to be a part of. And we got to be on the band bench. When the musical guest performs at the end of the show, they bring up people to stand behind the band and dance and sing with the music. We didn't even know the band - Hot Chelle Rae - but they said we could go up there anyway and clap along. Which we did. Very awkwardly. But it was still so fun! We ended up being on the camera almost the whole time the song played. Here is the link: http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/video/wednesday-november-30-2011/1371323 David and I are on the far right. Not sure how long the link will work. You have to fast forward it all the way to the end.
Then we grabbed Shake Shack on the way back to our hotel. Um..seriously one of the best burgers ever. At least we thought so. We downed it so fast, we could only get the remnant drippings for this picture. At 9:30/10:00 at night, the line was almost out the door. During regular meal times, the line is around the building.
Day 3: We got a subway pass and ventured out farther around the city.
We went to Doughnut Plant for breakfast. It was yummy. I got a coconut cream square doughnut, and David got a cinnamon roll. They had a huge variety of crazy flavors like tres leches, peanut butter and jelly, creme brulee... But we actually enjoyed our Krisy Kremes on the way to catch the train out of town better! :)
Subway rides. Yeah, we got turned around a couple times. It was fun though.
And now for our favorite part of the trip - SCOTT'S PIZZA TOUR!!! My parents did this a couple years ago when they went, and they bought us the tickets for the tour for David's birthday present. It was soooo fun! But I think we got super lucky because normally the tours have 16-24 people, but we were the only ones that signed up. Another couple that Scott knew ended up joining us, so it was like a private tour! So I can't guarantee everyone would have the same experience as us, but we LOVED it! We got the history of pizza from Italy to New York. We sampled all sorts of different kinds of pizzas. Besides the pizza, the highlight of the tour was Scott himself. Seriously, this guy lives and breathes pizza. He is funny, entertaining and knows his stuff. I didn't know there was so much to know about pizza! I definitely have more of an appreciation for it now.
We got to go into a pizza place before it opened. He showed us their oven, how it worked, differences in ovens, their dough, what makes a good dough, etc. The first pizzeria was Keste, soooo good!
This is what the first pizzas looked like. It's called a Neapolitan pizza. No sauce, just a little cheese (reggiano, I think?), and some basil. It was gooood.
Then we stopped at John's Pizza for some classic New York pizza. That was great, but forgot to take a picture.
I borrowed this picture from Scott's blog because I forgot to take a picture of Roma's where we tried potato and rosemary pizza, and carbonara pizza. They cut it with scissors!
Us and Scott! David said all boys probably wish they could grow up and get paid for eating pizza. :) If you go to New York, want to sample NY pizza, and have 3 hours to spare - GO ON THIS TOUR!
We ended up in Grand Central Station after one of our subway rides. Very surreal and grand. Beautiful architecture. We didn't take part in a flash mob though. Too bad my picture is blurry. :(
Then we went to World Trade Center Memorial. We had to go late in the evening because you need to have reservations to go, and we didn't realize that. I'm glad we went at night though because it was beautifully lit. The names all had lights under them. I was hoping the museum would be open, but it's not opening until 2012.
And since we didn't get to see the tree the night it got lit up, we went back for our photo op. These were the trees surrounding the Christmas tree. They had lights wrapped on every single twig! I don't know how they did that.
Day 1: We arrived in New Jersey about 2:30. Then we took a train over to New York. The idea of trying not to look like tourists quickly went out the window while trying to figure out the train and subway system. Oh, and getting to New York and saying, "Whoa! Look how tall these buildings are!" And "Look! New York pizza!" And "Whoa! Is that a big giant button?!" make your non-local status even more obvious. *cough*David! hehe. Love you!
Our hotel room was really nice! Modern and updated, had turn-down service, and even had hot apple cider in the lobby every evening after getting in from the cold. Really thankful it was all free from David's traveling points!
Getting ready for dinner and our Broadway play.
We went to Becco, a nice Italian restaurant I read good reviews about. It was in the theater district, and seemed like it would be really good food for a pretty reasonable price. I like fancy restaurants, but sometimes I feel out of place if it is too fancy, and David doesn't like if the meal is the size of silver dollar. So this was perfect. Take a look at this chicken parmesan! David couldn't even eat half of it!
The restaurant is owned by Lidia Bastianich - the PBS Italian cooking show lady that we sometimes watch. We started with Caesar salads, and we had a pasta trio side dish to share that which was super yum. I got mashed potatoes with pulled pork, some greens and sliced apples on top. Whoa. That was delish. And we got cheesecake to split for dessert. We even met a waiter there who was an Aggie! :)
Then we went to see Wicked! It was really great. David even liked it - which is saying a lot, because he's not a big fan of musicals. But he appreciates the live productions over the movie musicals. I'm so glad we picked this one. Great performances, story and music.
Day 2: We spent most of our time around Rockefeller Center. There is a lot to do around there!
We went to stand outside for the Today Show taping early in the morning. We didn't get there early enough for a good spot to get on tv though. But we did get to see the whole gang come out a couple times to talk, and we saw them interview Michael Phelps and other US swim team people. I don't think they're in this picture. I think I took of video of that instead. We definitely didn't feel like tourists in this group. There were some c-razy people.
While we were under Rockefeller Tower, we saw them setting up for the tree lighting concert. They put the stage on the ice rink...if you can even tell what this picture is.
Walking around the plaza, we took a picture before the tree was lit up.
We went on the NBC Studio Tour. But no pictures allowed.
Then we went to the Top of the Rock (top of Rockefeller Tower). We decided to do that instead of the Empire State building because we were already there, and we could get a picture with the Empire State building in the background. It was really pretty up there.
Radio City
Then, one of the coolest parts of the trip - Jimmy Fallon taping tickets! Woohoo! He's hilarious. His interviews are so funny. And Thank You Notes, or #latenight hashtags anyone? Actually, I hardly ever watch his show because it's on way too late. We got standby tickets, and weren't really expecting to get in, but we made it! The show taping was really fun to be a part of. And we got to be on the band bench. When the musical guest performs at the end of the show, they bring up people to stand behind the band and dance and sing with the music. We didn't even know the band - Hot Chelle Rae - but they said we could go up there anyway and clap along. Which we did. Very awkwardly. But it was still so fun! We ended up being on the camera almost the whole time the song played. Here is the link: http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/video/wednesday-november-30-2011/1371323 David and I are on the far right. Not sure how long the link will work. You have to fast forward it all the way to the end.
Since we did the Jimmy Fallon taping, and grabbed a bite to eat in the building, we were late getting to the tree lighting. We didn't get to see it! There were so many people by the time we got out there. We were just around the corner. They had jumbo trons playing the concert. It was still fun to be there. And while we were eating in the building, we saw Judah Friedlander from 30 Rock.
Then we grabbed Shake Shack on the way back to our hotel. Um..seriously one of the best burgers ever. At least we thought so. We downed it so fast, we could only get the remnant drippings for this picture. At 9:30/10:00 at night, the line was almost out the door. During regular meal times, the line is around the building.
Day 3: We got a subway pass and ventured out farther around the city.
We went to Doughnut Plant for breakfast. It was yummy. I got a coconut cream square doughnut, and David got a cinnamon roll. They had a huge variety of crazy flavors like tres leches, peanut butter and jelly, creme brulee... But we actually enjoyed our Krisy Kremes on the way to catch the train out of town better! :)
Subway rides. Yeah, we got turned around a couple times. It was fun though.
And now for our favorite part of the trip - SCOTT'S PIZZA TOUR!!! My parents did this a couple years ago when they went, and they bought us the tickets for the tour for David's birthday present. It was soooo fun! But I think we got super lucky because normally the tours have 16-24 people, but we were the only ones that signed up. Another couple that Scott knew ended up joining us, so it was like a private tour! So I can't guarantee everyone would have the same experience as us, but we LOVED it! We got the history of pizza from Italy to New York. We sampled all sorts of different kinds of pizzas. Besides the pizza, the highlight of the tour was Scott himself. Seriously, this guy lives and breathes pizza. He is funny, entertaining and knows his stuff. I didn't know there was so much to know about pizza! I definitely have more of an appreciation for it now.
We got to go into a pizza place before it opened. He showed us their oven, how it worked, differences in ovens, their dough, what makes a good dough, etc. The first pizzeria was Keste, soooo good!
This is what the first pizzas looked like. It's called a Neapolitan pizza. No sauce, just a little cheese (reggiano, I think?), and some basil. It was gooood.
Before: Watching our Margherita pizza being made - tomatoes, basil and cheese.
After. Notice the special pizza knives.
Then we stopped at John's Pizza for some classic New York pizza. That was great, but forgot to take a picture.
I borrowed this picture from Scott's blog because I forgot to take a picture of Roma's where we tried potato and rosemary pizza, and carbonara pizza. They cut it with scissors!
Sicilian pizza - square, thicker dough, more sauce with spices, caramelized onions, cheese and bread crumbs on top.
Us and Scott! David said all boys probably wish they could grow up and get paid for eating pizza. :) If you go to New York, want to sample NY pizza, and have 3 hours to spare - GO ON THIS TOUR!
We ended up in Grand Central Station after one of our subway rides. Very surreal and grand. Beautiful architecture. We didn't take part in a flash mob though. Too bad my picture is blurry. :(
Went to the NY public library. More beautiful architecture.
Ice skating rink in Bryant Park right behind the library. We just walked around. Didn't have time to ice skate.
Went to dinner at Katz's Deli - the one from When Harry Met Sally.
They're known for their hot pastrami sandwiches. So good. I could have died. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating. But this was one-of-a-kind. We're pretty much ruined on food now. No pizza, deli sandwich or burger will ever live up after this trip.
Then we went to World Trade Center Memorial. We had to go late in the evening because you need to have reservations to go, and we didn't realize that. I'm glad we went at night though because it was beautifully lit. The names all had lights under them. I was hoping the museum would be open, but it's not opening until 2012.
And since we didn't get to see the tree the night it got lit up, we went back for our photo op. These were the trees surrounding the Christmas tree. They had lights wrapped on every single twig! I don't know how they did that.
And there is the Christmas tree!
Ok, now you're probably sick of seeing our huge self-portrait faces. :)
The tree, the cold weather, the hustle and bustle, being serenaded with Christmas songs from Michael Buble definitely put us in the holiday mood!
Can't wait to go back!
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