What is that doing there?

I feel like I'm constantly on some weird game show where I have to guess what might be behind door #1, cabinet #2 or in drawer #3. Or conversely, where might object X, Y or Z be located? Little Nathaniel likes to put stuff everywhere. He does it so quick. I feel like I'm always watching him, but stuff somehow gets snuck around the house. I know he partly gets a kick out of it, but a lot of it is pure exploring and toddlerhood. The best is when Kevin asks, 'Why are there toy eggs in the pantry'... well duh... 'that's where they go' ;)

 

Some of my finds over the last few days... package of mandarin oranges in the laundry and my nightstand... big juice behind the tv... tambourine in the tupperware cabinet.... my DSW reward members card in Mocha's cage... my magazine in the bathtub... kona's collar in his mickey scooter.... green chile can in the toybox... magnetic O's in all sorts of places (hiding the letter O is a hobby of Nate's)... plastic golf balls in my purse... puzzle pieces in my purse... dog dishes in shopping bags... lotion bottles in shoes...iphone headphones next to the toilet paper rolls...

 

It is fun to open drawers and cabinets and be surprised by what is in there. Little nuggets of whimsy add to the day. I mean how can you take life seriously when you find a dog harness and five fancy rocks next to your frying pan.

Father's Day

 

 

I know I mention Kevin here or there in my blogs, but mostly in a goofy (hopefully endearing) kind of way. I fail to mention how good he really is at being a dad, both to Nathaniel and to the dogs. When you think of marrying someone a lot of people think about how good of a parent your spouse will be. It definitely was something I thought about. He was always so great with Mako so I knew he'd be a pretty good pet parent and maybe someday a kid parent. Granted it took us a very long time to be a kid parent (no comments from the peanut gallery please).

 

I can remember one father's day when we were living in Vienna, Virginia he was a little sad because he figured we weren't having kids and it hit him that he'd never be a dad. I had the exact same feelings on a few mother's days so I knew what he was feeling.

 

Luckily, he is now a dad!

 

And boy is Nathaniel lucky to have him as a dad. I hate admitting it, but that boy is a total daddy's boy and has been for awhile. He just cannot get enough of Kevin. Nathaniel can feel how much Kevin loves him in all that they do. Kevin is as excited to see Nathaniel when he gets home as Nathaniel is to see him. I know Kevin is tired from working all day, but that doesn't stop him from bucking up and giving 100% to that boy (and me a much needed break). It isn't out of some sort of obligation or guilt either, he loves being with him and just loving on him. You might think 'he could be putting on an act', but it is so apparent and genuine if you watch them together, plus Kevin isn't that good of an actor ;)

 

I will be doing something downstairs, or upstairs, or somewhere I do stuff and I can hear the laughter. One of the best sounds in the world is hearing that laughter. They are always goofing off doing something fun. I love it. Kevin makes sure he squeezes every minute out of every night. Baths take longer than they should, the bedtime routine takes longer than it should, playtime outside goes on forever.... but it is only because Kevin wants to make sure he spends time with the little guy. The little guy doesn't realize how lucky he is to have a dad that just can't get enough of him, but he will someday. Nathaniel will grow up knowing he is loved and that is so special. 

I didn't go in to detail about how much Kevin still spoils the dogs, but anyone who knows Kevin knows the dogs haven't lost any attention since Nathaniel's arrival.  He continues to make sure they are overly cuddled, walked and have sufficient luxuries.  I guess good pet parents = good kid parents!!

 

So on this Father's Day I wanted to make sure everyone knew how lucky Nate and I and the dogs are for having Kevin around. I certainly don't say it enough. 


Happy Father's Day.

 

 

 

The Good Life

Every once in awhile I find myself sitting somewhere just thinking.... 'This is the good life'. I mean, it is really the good life. I am sitting here with my handsome son, eating lunch, watching flamingos... not a care in the world except making sure that little boy and me have a good time. I was especially thankful because I had heard someone annoyingly complaining at Starbucks. They mentioned it was taking too long for their drink (no mention of having to be anywhere). I just wanted to say, really, 2 minutes??, 2 minutes??, you do realize you are getting a delicious coffee at the end of 2 minutes right? You do realize you can afford a delicious coffee, right? You do realize that you aren't in a horrible car crash or have cancer or a million other things worth complaining about, right?

 

If you look around you'll notice people really do complain about stupid things. If everyone spent that effort and time just being grateful maybe it would be nicer, just nicer. However nicer would work in your world, wouldn't nicer be great? We really do take for granted all the good things going on around us. Everyone is in a different situation, but there is almost always a lot better stuff then bad stuff. So why do we let the bad stuff take up so much time?? I know that sounds cliche, but it's true. I think for a lot of people it is just easier to be in a complainy bad mood (we've all been there).

 

But, I like when I have those moments of clarity, like today. Sure I could dwell on regrets, my constantly not finished to-do list, my procrastinated goals, hating stupid people, or I could choose to look at my son/my life and enjoy the day. I find it is quite refreshing to push aside the things that litter my mind that I won't remember in a year, next month, next week even... and choose to just give in to the day. I can thank Nathaniel for that gift.

 

Side Note: Nathaniel has found the perfect seat in the house. It's every window sill. The window sill's are the perfect Nate height. 

 

 

La La Lullaby

La la lullaby
La la lullaby
Sing, sing, sing with us
A lu-lu-lullaby
La la lullaby
La la lullaby
Sing, sing, sing with us
A lu-lu-lullaby

 

Ok, now sing that about 40 more times and that is about how many times I hear it daily. Actually, this is just a portion of the song, but the portion Nathaniel LOVES. When I say LOVES I mean LOVES.

 

The song is from the Pajanimals on the Sprout channel. Usually only a tiny bit is played on the tv. It comes on every so often around bedtime. I decided to look online and I found the whole version and showed it to Nate. Hindsight is 20/20 right? I created a little mini monster. He now brings me the iPad and says lullaby. Not just at bedtime mind you, all times during the day are fair game. I find myself humming it from time to time, which only reminds him about the song and he starts singing it again. We are all officially addicted to the song. The dogs can probably recite it by now. We were even singing it in Target the other day (anything to get 10 more minutes shopping haha)

 

His version is super cute. I wonder how long his obsession will last?!?

 

Side Note: Nathaniel likes to play with the dog's tails. He really laughs when they are wagging really really fast. Apparently, tails of all types are interesting..... 

 

 

How do you watch tv?

 

 

If you don't have the new weimaraner pillow you may want to run out and get one.  Nathaniel swears that it is relaxing.

 

Classy Nate

We went to a free concert in the park on Sunday.  It was called ‘Symphony Under The Stars’.  It started at 7pm.  That is close to Nate’s bed time so we were hoping he would last and not get tired/grumpy/antsy.  I really wanted to go since I love classical music and it was the Nashville Symphony that was playing. 

 

We arrived ½ hour early and the crowd was just starting to fill up.  We picked out a good spot on the lawn – towards the back and near a path for a quick exit if needed.  Kevin and Nate left to explore the nearby playground while I sat and people watched.  Kevin texted at one point that they may never come back since the swing was surely going to beat out classical music.  (He LOVES the swing.  It is actually one of the few things he kind of cries/whines about when you have to go) 

 

The music started Woo Hoo.  The songs were going to be a mix of classical favorites and famous show scores.  I was excited.  Kevin and Nate showed back up once they heard the music.

At the beginning of the show Nate was all chill sitting on Dad’s lap. 

 

 

Bbbbuuttt, that didn’t last long.  He started stepping on to the path behind us then running down the slight hill by our blanket.  Once running into a fellow audience member (whoops).  He ran up to them and touched their back….  Funny guy.  It was a young girl who didn’t care and thought he was cute, but we put a little more effort into containing this ball of energy.  Some snacks distracted him for a bit.  Kevin letting him circle him on the blanket distracted for a bit more.  But, mostly he just wanted to stand behind us on the path and watch people go by.  He did actually look at the musicians playing and he would clap at the end of the songs along with the rest of the audience.  Appropriate clapping was more than I could expect. J

 

We left a song or two before it ended to get him home at sort of a decent time.  I think overall he enjoyed himself and the music.  His first symphony was a fun, enjoyable success.  Yay!    

Nose Kisses

What the heck are nose kisses? I believe most people know them as Eskimo kisses. I have been calling them nose kisses. I did it once, just out of the blue, and Nathaniel thought it was pretty funny. I did it a couple of more times and he just caught on and likes to do it :)

 

Now, you are probably thinking... big deal. Kids do a million cute little things like nose kisses. Well, I'm here to say it stepped up a level of cuteness so I had to blog about it.

 

Usually in the morning we all head to my room so I can shower and get ready. When I say 'we all' I mean me, Kona, Mocha and Nathaniel. Nathaniel kind of mosies around while I do my thing. The dogs usually jump on the bed and stay out of the path of Nate. It didn't take them long to learn that if they didn't want to be laid on, poked at or have stuff put on them they better go to higher ground. Well, when they lay on the bed they tend to keep their heads towards the edge of the bed (not sure why) but it usually happens that way.

 

So do you get the scene? 2 dogs on the bed, one little boy goofing around and me getting ready as I watch and make sure nothing dangerous is happening. I was pleasantly surprised to look over today to see Nathaniel giving Mocha Nose kisses. He would rub his nose to Mochas a few times and than look over at me. He did it a couple of times. Then he moved over to Kona. I thought to myself this should be interesting. I figured Kona would snub him right away and move, but Kona enjoyed the nose kisses too.

 

This is one of those things that catches you off guard. It was so innocent and pure. No one told him to do it, he didn't see anyone else do it. This little boy just thought 'hey I am going to nose kiss the dogs.'

The Big Decision

It was early on a Tuesday morning and I glanced at Weather.com to see what the day had in store. It looked like it would be the least hot day of the week so I turned to Nathaniel and asked, "Do you want to go to the library and look at books or go to the zoo and look at animals"... granted it sounded more like, "Library - Books or Zoo - Animals" We usually go to the the kids story time at the library on Tues, but it is hard to pass up the good weather.

 

He looked right into my eyes and said, " wlkdj tlkj alkdj "..... oh man. He had an answer for me. He had an answer and I couldn't understand what it was. So I asked again. Nathaniel looked at me again with some intensity and replied with, "wlkdj tlkj alkdj". He said the exact same thing. Urgh. I'm pretty sure he is telling me, but I don't know the answer. It really is frustrating because I want to know so badly what he is saying.

 

Well, we went to the zoo. I kept laughing to myself. I kept thinking he probably said library and we are at the zoo. He is thinking to himself....*seriously, why ask me if you are going to do what you want anyway*

 

Side Note: Kevin's parents were in town so Nathaniel got to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa Hahm again. He loves all the attention. Nate really loved going to the Franklin farmer's market and running down a little grass hill to be picked up by Grandma Hahm. He did it a million times. He also got a few golf lessons from Grandpa Hahm - watch out Tiger. 

His newest goofy thing is covering his ears like he doesn't want to hear what is going on. That look along with some other fun poses were captured during a trip to the park.