BBbbbuurrrrr

Nashville has a nice mix of cold and hot weather.  The four seasons actually happen here and are beautiful (well not the seasons with lots of bugs), which pretty much brings the 4 seasons down to 2 enjoyable seasons...fall and winter.  So I guess 2 seasons are beautiful ;) I like to look at the blooming trees in the spring from inside where the bees and wasps won't hunt me down.  Ok so I sort of digressed. 

This winter has been unusually cold for Nashville.  It hasn't been anything too bad, but there has definitely been several days under 30 degrees.  This temperature is a bit uncomfortable to just hang out in with a regular jacket.  If I could now convince Nathaniel that it is uncomfortable we will be in business.  Nathaniel hasn't quite grasped COLD yet.  He knows he is cold (especially when it is windy), but he doesn't understand why we can't play outside or go to the park etc... I think he thinks he can just be cold .. no problem.  His hands will be FREEZING and he still wants to run around.  For instance after we left a store the other day he wanted to crunch dry leaves in the parking lot.  It was cold.  I was cold.  He was just jumping up and down having a jolly old time.  His little cheeks turning red with no care in the world.  

Also, I wonder how people in the Midwest put all the winter gear on their kids and still strap them into a carseat.  Seriously?!?  Even just 2 layers makes Nate look like he is squished in there.  I can barely strap him in.  This is part of the reason he is usually not dressed for how cold it is outside.  I usually just walk fast into wherever we are going.  I try to put his hood on if he will leave it - but most of the time he just takes it off, he is still not a fan of leaving anything on his head.  When we play outside I can bribe him to keep his snow hat on since he knows he will have to come inside if he takes it off.... although this isn't a foolproof system... sometimes a little tantrum ensues ;)      

So while ice cycles are growing off me Nathaniel is happy as can be... when does it click that it is indeed freezing and more fun to be inside?  Don't get me wrong we aren't outside playing in 30 degrees, but Nate would if he could.  

I just remembered this too and had to add it.  The tile in the bathroom has been chilly in the morning and that boy runs around without socks and doesn't notice.  I can feel it through my socks and he is like woo hoo I'm invincible.  I'll ask him,"Are your feet cold" and he says,"ah No' and runs off like a miniature lunatic. 

Sippy Cup Snagger

10, maybe 20, maybe even 30.  That is the number of sippy cup valves Mocha has stolen and chewed since Nate started using sippy cups.  He can't resist the soft plasticy goodness of those suckers.  Granted I leave them out on the counter where he can easily grab them.  You'd think I would have learned by now!  Seriously!  When I wash them I set them on the dish mat, which is no challenge for Mocha.  The sippy cup valve is definitely the most eaten Nate item in the house.  What is more amazing is that the sippy cup valve is the one thing Nathaniel doesn't actually give to Mocha to chew.  

Those two together are trouble.  It is apparently hilarious to put a plastic animal in Mocha's face then run off real fast, have him chase you, give him the animal and then watch him chew a leg off.  Replace plastic animal with ball, stuffed animal, crayon... anything Mocha finds interesting and you have one of Nate's favorite parts of the day.  Poor dog gets confused since Nate eggs him on while I am yelling at everyone to stop the madness :) I have to admit the excited shriek Nate makes as Mocha is playing with him is kind of addicting to hear.  Granted I am pretty sure Mocha doesn't know he is playing so much as getting something fun to chew.  As I reread this I'm starting to think things at my house are resembling more of a circus than a well run machine... huh... time for some self reflection.  I'm not sure the game of *keep away* Mocha and Nate play is preparing him for preschool ;) 

Clean Up Clean Up

Everybody everywhere, clean up clean up everybody do their share.  So I know this is a song from Barney, but I've never actually watched a Barney show.  I like the song though, it's catchy.  I was singing this to myself as I watched Nathaniel clean up today.  This doesn't seem all that interesting does it??  Except for he was cleaning at a play place we went to today.

We went to an indoor play place called Shipwrecked Play House.  It was the first time I had been there and we met Nate's friend Evie there.  It was a little place that had different types of play areas: train tables, grocery store, ball pit, magnet board, play kitchen and of course a pirate ship with 2 slides off of it.  Nathaniel is still pretty cautious and climbed around on the pirate boat, but didn't go down the slide.  He also always held on to the hand rail as he came down the ramp - cracks me up a little, but I'll take that over a crazy accident.  

Now this place got messier and messier the longer we were there.  Kids carry stuff from the kitchen to the train tables, groceries end up in the seating area, balls from the ball pit are rolling around.... you get the point.  Well, I definitely noticed the mess and so did my mini me.  I looked over and Nate was putting things back where they go.  He collected some of the plates and groceries that were randomly thrown on the floor into a little basket.  He carried the balls to the ball pit and threw them in and collected magnets that fell off the wall and put them back on.  This one kid was just taking them off and Nate kept putting them back on.  Yep, while most of the other kids were just running around and over the mess my guy was trying to keep things orderly.  I couldn't be more proud of my little OCD son. ;)  Ok, while I'm proud he certainly wasn't doing this the entire time - he had a very fun time and it was actually a tiny struggle to get him out the door.  

After playtime - lunch at the cracker barrel

Go Bouncy Bouncy

What do you want to do Nate?  "Go Bouncy Bouncy"  Bouncing on a big blue exercise ball is something Nathaniel has enjoyed since he was a baby.  It is either Kevin or I holding him while bouncing up and down on the ball; sometimes we go fast sometimes slow sometimes high and sometimes low.  It was less bouncy bouncy when he was a baby, but he has always enjoyed that up and down motion.  One of his favorite things to do (and mostly with Kevin) is bounce.  Of course going bouncy bouncy isn't the same without singing.  There is always a song being sung.  Current songs of choice are 'oh where or where has my little dog gone' 'ABC's' 'John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt' and of course 'Jingle Bells'  

Nate likes to change it up sometimes and bounce in the dark or bounce in the family room.  He bounces with dad before work and right away when he gets home.  I originally got that exercise ball when I was pregnant for exercise and stretching - who knew it would become one of Nate's favorite things.  I wonder how long I will get to hear the request "Go Bouncy Bouncy" and how many more songs will be learned while bouncing.  

Sniff Sniff

Bed Bath & Beyond, Kirklands and Target are some of Nathaniels favorite places to sniff sniff sniff.  He loves to sniff candles. He makes this super cute squenchy face and sniffs.  We can't just sniff one either.  We sniff all the flavors.  The red one, the green one, the blue one, sometimes the same one again.  Who knew sniffing candles could be an event.  He can spot a candle anywhere so you can't get away with not sniffing a few everywhere you go.  The best is when it is a flameless candle.  He doesn't quite get those.  He still sniffs them and I try to explain that those don't smell, but we do it anyway.  So next time you are at the store and see some candles take a sniff for Nate.

Jingle Bells

Christmas has come and gone.  It always takes a bit of getting used to once it is all over and normal life begins again.  I think Nathaniel sums it up pretty nicely when he says 'Daddy took Christmas down'  Apparently daddy gets the blame since Nate liked the tree and lights outside the most and that is what daddy took down.  Every night there was a ritual to turn on the lights and then go outside to look at them.  He probably wonders why the house can't be lit up all year.

Kevin's parents came for a few days before Christmas.  Nathaniel was so excited to be seeing grandma and grandpa.  He really enjoyed helping them pick out a coffee (kcup) in the morning and enjoying all of the extra attention.  We celebrated and opened presents while they were here.  It was fun watching Nate understand (at least a little bit) what getting presents was all about.  At his 2nd birthday he was still only mildly interested in unwrapping anything.  This time he actually opened some stuff and got excited about what was under the paper.  LEGOS from the movie Planes was a winner, but he seemed to play with grandma and grandpa's cheese flavoring for their popcorn the most :)  He really liked that little tin can for some reason.  Luckily, he forgot about it once they packed it away.  I was thinking we may need to ask for the present back  :) As always it was sad to see them go; we had a very festive time.

Playing with his new legos

Helping grandpa open his gift

Christmas Eve arrived.  It was so fun explaining why you leave milk and cookies by the fireplace and also that Santa will leave some presents for you.  Aunt Krista got Nathaniel a special 'The night before Christmas' book that we read about 10 times in a row.  The book is personalized with Nathaniel's name and that we were in Nashville etc.  It was such a special gift.  

Cookies for Santa

Christmas Eve Scene

Then Christmas morning was here.  You could tell right away he was a little shell shocked when he came out of his room.  Once we coaxed him downstairs he was a little shy.  It actually took him all day to open his presents.  We were at about a 1 present every 2 hour rate.  On one hand it was cool that he'd play with his new present before opening a new one, but on the other hand I've never seen a kid take so long to open presents.  I think the whole thing was a little overwhelming.  The magnet blocks (from Santa) and the tricycle (from grandma Johnson) peeked his curisoty the most.  We had a very fun day just hanging around, eating (our traditional mexican food dinner) and playing with new toys.  

When he first saw the presents

Nate's new tricycle

Working hard on unwrapping

Family PJ Christmas morning selfie

Thank you Aunt Krista for my Woofer guitar

Jingle Bells was the Christmas song of choice for this little boy.  He kept singing it and singing it all month long.  It is a catchy tune and easy for a 2 year old to remember.  I wonder what song I'll get to enjoy from him next year.  

Side Note:  We were finding random things in the Christmas tree even as we were taking it down.  Nathaniel loved to hoard things in there.  He thought he was decorating it.  There were flash cards, toys, legos, little plastic animals.  I didn't want to forget that cute memory.