Hello?

Okay, this is kind of awkward, but I’m wondering who reads my blog. I mean, I have to admit that I read a lot of blogs that are written by people I have never met. Ryan likes to make fun of me for this. He always laughs when I say something like, “Oh, I read this great post on Suzie’s blog today. She’s the friend of so and so’s sister’s cousin.” Don’t tell me I’m the only one who does this! I always want to comment on their profound words, but think it would be weird and a little hard to explain. So, this is an invitation- if you read my blog, leave a comment and say hi. I’m not cocky enough to think that a bunch of random strangers are really interested in my life, so even if I know you read my blog, leave a comment anyway. This will be fun for me!

18 Months Old

My baby boy turned 18 months old this weekend! I always say “I can’t believe it!” but this time, I do. He’s gotten so grown up lately, if someone told me he was actually a thirteen-year-old in a toddler body, I would believe it.

Photo courtesy of cg photography

Here are 18 fun facts about Nathan:

1. Nathan has 7 teeth- 5 visible, and 2 that just broke through.

2. Nathan has quite the head of wavy hair. We’re not sure who he got it from!

3. Nathan LOVES cars. He drives them all over the house. We’ve always called them cars, but for some reason he refers to them all as “trucks” or “gucks”.

4. Nathan is always jabbering about something. We’re starting to get better at understanding him- or maybe he is just getting better at communicating with us. He’s started saying phrases and short sentences, including:

I see you!

I got it!

Where are you?

I don’t know!

Stinky? No! (this is a game he likes to play. He pretends he needs his diaper changed, then laughs.)

5. Nathan still loves his binky. We’re working on it but I just can’t help but give in when I hear him wandering around the house saying, “Binky. . . binky. . .  where are you?”

6. Nathan has started to realize when he is being funny, and he’s milking it for all it’s worth! He loves to make silly faces and crack us up.

7. Nathan is never still. Never.

8. Nathan loves to eat popsicles and I often find him standing in the kitchen begging me to open the freezer.

9. For the most part, Nathan has very nice manners. He’s very serious about wiping his mouth when he eats.

Untitled from Ryan Bartron on Vimeo.

10. Every night when it’s time for bed, Nathan walks around the house and says “bye-bye” to everything. The microwave, the couch, the TV, his toys, the bathroom . . .

11. Nathan loves to look at pictures of people and animals. He always points out their eyes.

12. Nathan loves to count, but he can only count to 2 so I often hear him wandering around, pointing to things and saying, “one, two, one, two, one, two”.

13. Nathan’s favorite foods include: peas, popcorn (he gets really excited when the microwave is on), string cheese,

14. Nathan loves to be outside. He is constantly begging to play in the sandbox or go for a ride in his stroller.

15. Nathan is learning to use electronics. He’s just not sure exactly where they should go. He puts the camera to his forehead and shouts, “cheese” and puts the phone to the back of his head to say “hello”.

16. Nathan has learned so many new words. Just a few are: Jesus, shh! kitty, stinky, all done, cheese, hello

17. Nathan really likes to watch videos. He especially likes Toy Story and any movie featuring himself.

18. Last of all, Nathan is still an awesome dancer!

 

This sweet boy celebrated his special day with his first ice cream cone. Yum!

Our Last Hurrah

Since Ryan goes back to school on Monday, we decided to make one last trip up to Washington to see my family and to go to the Puyallup Fair.

We got free tickets from our dear friend Natalie, but we still couldn’t justify spending money on rides and games so we just walked around in the rain and looked at all the exhibits and animals. The nice thing about my parents living only a few blocks from the fairgrounds is that we can come and go all day if we get our hands stamped.

My dad has a season pass so he came with us for a while and took Nathan into the petting zoo. Nathan loved it last year but he wasn’t feeling very good this year so he kind of hated all the animals we tried to show him. If you look closely, you can see that he’s sobbing in that picture above. Poor kid.

Nathan was tall enough to ride a lot of the rides in Sillyville, but I don’t think they expect 18 month olds to be so tall because he’s definitely NOT ready to ride on twirly, whirly, spinning, flying rides. Maybe next year!

The one thing we could justify spending money on was scones. If you’ve ever been to the Puyallup Fair and eaten the scones and jam, I'm sure you understand. I could probably buy a dozen and eat them all myself.

Nathan really enjoyed his scone too!

He always enjoys getting to spend time with Nana and Papa and his aunt and uncles. Except when he has to sit still for pictures.

Ryan and I were just glad to escape the craziness at home and have one last vacation before he heads back to school.

And just because we like him so much, a few more pictures of Nathan:

Dorris Ranch

We have been wanting to go to Dorris Ranch ever since we moved to Springfield and we finally made it there this week. Dorris Ranch is only a few minutes from our house. It’s a working filbert farm and was established in 1892. That makes it the oldest working filbert farm in Oregon. Filbert is another name for hazelnuts, in case you were wondering.

We didn’t stay long but we had a lot of fun walking through the filbert trees and playing on the old farm equipment. We will definitely be back again!

It’s really hard to get a picture of this kid when he’s not running away in the other direction!

Fun with Nathan . . . and without!

Ryan finally convinced me that Nathan really is a big boy and that he needs a big boy hair cut to match. I had originally promised that Nathan would get his hair cut before nursery started, and since we only have 4 weeks left (hooray!!!) I figured we might as well go for it.

We took him to Sport Clips and he loved watching football on all the TV’s. I was nervous about how he would do since he hates being touched by people he doesn’t know. He sat on my lap and got really mad when she tried to put the cape on him but then she offered him his first sucker and he pretty much forgot about it. He was such a sticky mess but he sat quietly the whole time. I think he learned the word “sucker” after about 30 seconds and he’s not going to forget it. The only problem was at the end when he got a little tired and he started rubbing his face. This rubbed sticky sucker drool all over, which started collecting little hairs. Consequently, he got a nice, warm steam towel on his face to finish off the haircut. Anyway, we have a handsome big boy now!

After his haircut, we decided to take Nathan to The Science Factory here in Springfield. I had been once for a playgroup when Nathan was 6 months and he liked it then.

He loved the Tot Spot with the little ball pit and blocks but it was pretty crowded so we moved on.

Then he found the race track with the big wooden cars and he was stuck. He would have stayed there all day if we had let him! We did manage to get him to look at a few more exhibits but he was always right back to the cars. At least we know we know it was worth the trip.

Playing is serious business!

This weekend Ryan and I went on a fun date together. We went putt putt golfing! It was a lot of fun and something we had never done together before. Ryan won, of course, but I didn’t do too bad either. At least no one else was on the course so we didn’t embarrass ourselves too much.

 

What an interesting man I married.

Ryan made sure to get a picture of my poor putt putt skills.

Afterward, we went next door to The Roaring Rapids Pizza Company for lunch. The fun thing about Roaring Rapids is that it’s right next  to the Willamette River. We tried sitting outside but it turns out the bees love their pizza too, so we had to move back inside. Still, it was a fun, fun date!

Catch Up Time!

You many not have noticed, but I have been on a major blogging hiatus the last month or so. We have just been so busy this summer. The good news is, I have tons to blog about. The bad news is, I haven’t had the time to blog!

The biggest reason I have been busy is because (surprise, surprise) we moved at the end of July. This time our move was only a few minutes away instead of out of state. I thought this would be easier, but I think it only made the process longer and slower. Instead of packing and cleaning in one day, we did it in a week and it got old!

We love our new place. Especially the dishwasher (hooray!), the third bedroom, and the little fenced backyard for Nathan. I was worried he would have a hard time adjusting and not sleep well but he has been sleeping great! Actually, he may be sleeping a little too well.

 

I feel bad though because he has had to entertain himself a lot lately since I have been so busy packing and unpacking. The poor kid is forced to pick out his own outfits and watch movies by himself. (Whenever he sees those orange boots, he insists I put them on him so he can wear them all day.)

Right after we moved, we headed to the coast with my family for a few days. We all stayed in a nice little house in Lincoln City and had a great time relaxing. This was Ryan’s first view of the Pacific Ocean and Nathan’s first view of any ocean at all. I tried to warn him, but I think Ryan was still surprised it wasn’t blue and warm like the Atlantic. Nathan loved the sand but wasn’t too sure about all the water swarming at him.

We spent our time playing on the beach together (even though it was chilly).

Nathan with Leslie and Papa

With Uncle Ryan and Uncle Jesse (we missed Uncle Kevin!)

 

Nana trying to keep Nathan warm

Playing in the “World’s Shortest River”. Nathan preferred this warmer, slower water to the ocean.

We also visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory while we were in town. Of course!

The viewing rooms were closed, which was disappointing, but I’m not going to deny that I was just there for the ice cream! Ryan rode his bike the 40 miles there while the rest of us drove. I think he’s the only one who earned the calories! Still, no one was going to keep me from my Chocolate Peanut butter ice cream. No one.

Nathan loved the cheese samples and all the pictures of cows. He spent his time says “oo oo” (moo moo) and eating extra sharp cheddar (too sharp for me!)

We couldn’t help it.

We also had some fun in the gift shop.

We also spent a day in Newport where we toured Ripley’s Believe it or Not (it was a little too dark and scary for Nathan) and watched a bunch of sea lions lounge.

We came home to a messy house full of boxes but we had so much fun, it was worth it!

 

My Grandma Betty was in Washington visiting my family so we headed up there for a few days in the middle of August.

We went to a concert in the park. Nathan loved dancing and running around.

 

We also went to the zoo and the Farmer’s Market and played at home.

 

We head back up to Washington next weekend to go to the Puyallup Fair!

Shake it!

I have so many things to blog about but no time to do it! Until I’m able to update the blog, here’s a little taste of Nathan’s awesome dance moves.

Untitled from Ryan Bartron on Vimeo.