An Attempt

I tried to give Natalie a little ponytail on the top of her head. The hair is a little sparse up there, so it wasn't easy, but it worked okay.

She's got enough hair in the back for a cute little pony, but she looks like George Washington. So we're going to wait awhile on that one. And I can't figure out how to un-underline this text.

For those who are interested, HERE is a video of Natalie walking around some more.

A Happy Birthday to My Mom

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!
I can pretty much guarantee you would like my mom. She's extremely likable...not to mention lovable. Even animals love her. That's probably because she feeds and adopts all of them. (Don't worry, she's NOT one of those cat ladies with 40 cats.) She's beautiful, and once you've gotten to know her, you are welcome to her fridge, her backyard, her car, and frankly, her bed. (That simply means that she's super laid back and makes you feel welcome!) She has raised me and my little brother and sister by herself since I was in 8th grade (with the help of wonderful extended family) and I have to say she did it magnificently. I had this epiphany when I was visiting Utah this year...I realized that when it comes to her kids, my mom is seriously the most unselfish person I know. And it had never really hit me because she does it so effortlessly and quietly. Even when it was very difficult, she found ways to make things work out for us. She loves her grandkids like they are the most important people in the world to her and I love the relationship I have with her. I love you mom and wish you a happy happy day! If you want to read another great blog about her, go HERE.

You Know You're Desperate When...

You know you're really desperate for something sweet when...

• you steal your son's potty training reward candy and find something else to bribe him with
• you find a fly in your 2 day old leftover Slurpee and now you can't eat it and you almost cry
• you want to go find the Christmas stockings and see if somehow a piece of candy got overlooked and is possibly nestled in the toe
• you eat a couple of your son's Flintstones vitamins
• you steal a sip of the generic brand, warm, diet cola you are going to marinate some meat in...and now you want more
• You are thoroughly disappointed when you get out all the Halloween decorations and there is not one piece of leftover candy hiding in there.
• You're willing to pay $.85 for a measly candy bar from the checkout aisle at the grocery store

It's all true folks.

The Ol' Feed the Kid a Lemon Trick

Truth is, as you can see in the last two pictures, she pretty much enjoyed it. Natalie's never been one to let a little sour citrus slow her down. Next up, the Atomic Fireball.

Hurricane Season

Updates: Hurricane Natalie weakened to a tropical storm as she made landfall in the southwest corner of the kitchen, leaving a trail of kitchen utensil destruction in her wake. Mommy had been bracing for the storm, and chose to wait it out in a kitchen chair.
"I just don't know if my poor house can withstand this annihilation."

An incident management team of one had been prepositioned to help with clean up and provide first-responder support to his mother.

The busiest part of the Nye household hurricane season is usually in August and September. So far this year, there have been four named storms, two of which became culinary hurricanes. Mom and federal forecasters predict a total of 12 to 16 named storms and forty to sixty hurricanes this season.

Just Paying It Forward

Many of you probably remember and entered a Pay It Forward contest as they circulated the blogging world a few months ago. Well, I actually won a couple and was awarded some fabulous gifts. My job now? To pay it forward. It's been a long time coming, but here it is. I don't care where you live, who you are, how many times you've won, just enter! Even if you've already done this on your blog, enter anyway. (No one will expect you to post the contest again...) And if you win, I'll send you a little something.

Here are the rules: You simply make a comment to this post in the next week and on Thursday, July 31, I will put your name in a drawing and the two people that I draw out get something from me! Winners will be posted on August 1. And then, if you win, you can pay it forward...if you want to. :) You better enter Lexi.

Our Little Walkie Talkie

Natalie walks more and more each day. This is a little clip of the walktress (some made up word of mine). It's kind of a short, crazy video, but I liked it because she walks over to me and grabs the cap to the camera and tries to put it on the lens. I guess she's tired of me trying to catch her walking on camera. She is saying "mommy" all the time now. In the car, in bed, when she's crawling around playing, etc. It's just kind of her "word" and she says it all day long.

By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them

After finishing some things upstairs, I came downstairs and found Jansen and the strawberries. Each one with a single bite taken out of it. Oh, and strewn across the carpet.

Here are a couple videos of the kids having fun together:

http://www.dropshots.com/nyefamily1#date/2008-07-19/10:22:08

http://www.dropshots.com/nyefamily1#date/2008-07-18/06:29:13

Saturday and More

I can't believe she's already doing stuff like this:

Yesterday was one of those nearly perfect days that you know don't happen often, so you just want to really soak up every second. It started out with waffles in the morning and then a family bike ride. We can't wait till Jansen can get a real bike and go a little faster, but he's pretty speedy on his tricycle.
Enjoying the weekend...
We picked up some Chinese food to share and then headed to the "Big Machines" exhibit at the science center. True to form, Jansen was not really enjoying it and was pretty scared of all the big bulldozers, etc. But we still had a great time. I love being in the city.



I'm really enjoying my primary calling. It took a few weeks of craziness and not-so-good lessons, but I think I've got it down now and I am loving the kids and preparing lots of activities to do with them. It feels like a mini classroom (I've got 10 kids usually) and we're all getting along great. Today in the Primary room we sang "I Love to See the Temple"...and you can see the Columbus temple right out the window. It's right there! What a wonderful opportunity to have that special place right where the kids and I can see it. I got a little teary eyed hearing the kids sing "We Thank Thee O God For a Prophet" as well because I am so happy these precious little children are learning about the indescribable blessing we have of modern day prophets who teach us eternal truths about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Making the Most of the Heat

It's amazing to me how much hotter it feels when the temperature goes up 5 degrees or so. It's been real warm lately, so we've been doing pretty much the only thing you can do when it's HOT...play in the water. I love staying busy, so I have tried to have something fun to do with the kids each day. There's nothing better than heading out as soon as Natalie wakes up from her morning nap, playing and playing, and then coming home and putting her down again. Here are some pictures of how we've been cooling off!

Natalie's Playmates

Before we get to Natalie's new playmates, I wanted to post a picture of Jansen's new favorite game. He loves being pulled around in this laundry basket...I kind of hoped it might warm him up to the idea of riding in a bike trailer (yet another attempt to get him to ride in something so we can exercise as a family). We borrowed a friend's bike trailer and he WAS NOT interested or cooperative. Surprise, surprise.

And now, Natalie's new friends. We've had quite a few flies lately. We must have left the door open or something, but they've almost become a welcome guest. (Almost). Natalie's LOVES them. She'll spot them and just start giggling and pointing and happily gasping and then she begins the chase. Here she is prowling for one. Hopefully she never hears about the time her brother did this.

Our little pal

He requested a profile shot as well. Actually, maybe this is his buddy. We're not sure.

A sighting! How exciting!

Ramblings

Jansen had his first dentist appointment today...really it was only a check up on his mouth/teeth from his fall a week ago. He was just perfect! They let him choose a movie as he came in from the waiting room and he could watch it as he laid in the big chair. From the feel of the tooth the dentist thought it might be fractured, but after looking at the x-ray it probably isn't. So we'll just wait and see some more...and watch for discoloration and infection. I'm so sad I forgot my camera, but I'm sure there will be more exciting events to come in his life that I can capture on camera. :)

Natalie has 6 teeth now and is so close to walking. It's funny how we just can't wait for this milestone (walking) and once it happens she'll do it the rest of her life. I'm trying to just enjoy the cute little bear crawl and other scamperings. She loves to point at things and make cute little noises at whatever she's pointing at.

Jansen made us laugh the other night. He was talking about Family Home Evening and just jabbering about how we do it in our home.

Jansen: We have Family Home Evening at our house.

Me: Yep, we do.

Jansen: It's in my very own happy story.

You know as well as I do what he meant by that(?) but I thought it was hilarious and adorable.

Nate has "helped" deliver some babies and has been learning a lot in the past week or so. He made me laugh a couple nights ago as well. I always give him a hard time when he says something that could have a bit of a double meaning. We were talking about how this OB/GYN rotation was going and he said, "Well, I've really enjoyed everything I've seen so far!"

Oh really?

Ocean Shores Revisited

These are some pictures Ashley (Nate's friend Pete's wife) took one afternoon at the beach while we were in Ocean Shores. I was cringing most of the time because we were letting Natalie get covered in sand while she was wearing her pajamas. It was, of course, worth it. But just seeing these brings back the memory. She's so happy flinging it everywhere.

Don't miss the the double barrel, sand covered snot coming out her nose. It stuck just like glitter on glue!

I love this one of Nick making the trek up the sand hill.

3 men and a babyIn other news...
Well, this morning Nate left for the hospital a little after 6 am and will be there till at least 7 am tomorrow morning. I am experiencing some mixed emotions as he begins this busy 3rd year. I've spent plenty of nights alone, mostly when he was working for LOOP doing the tissue harvesting, but it doesn't seem to get any easier. I think I handle being alone at night okay but it's lonely, a little scary, and sometimes a juggling act if both kids are having a tough night. This is something I am going to have to deal with and figure out because I am married to a soon to be doctor who is also in the military! Any thoughts (since I know many of you have been through this or are currently going through it) on how to "get used to it?" I have this fear of both my kids getting sick and being up all night, both crying, and I am alone and unable to help both of them at the same time. Is this a crazy fear or has anyone experienced it and survived and can tell me it will all be fine...

This blog is so random these days. Today's randomness is some pictures from a day we spent with the Marcus (Pete, Ashley, and Nick). Pete and Nate have been friends since elementary school and we try to meet up with them whenever we are in WA. Nick and Natalie are just days apart in age. This is at a park on Lake Washington...in the middle picture Nate and Natalie are looking at some turtles on a log. Cute!

Humidity Hair

I will now list the good things about humidity:
1. The ends of Natalie's hair get all cute and curly

I haven't found anything else good about it. Okay, okay I did get a really dry nose while I was in Utah that is never a problem when I am in Ohio.

It seems like Natalie has changed so much in the past few weeks. She kind of grew up overnight. While we were in UT/WA she learned how to go all the way up stairs, got another front tooth, can say "doggie" (for reals), gives kisses, has started "dancing" to music, REALLY notices animals and is obsessed, got more hair, etc. She's so happy and pure entertainment for us right now. She gets up a little earlier than Jansen, so she and I enjoy girl time together for a little while in the mornings.

Ocean Shores

Our first adventure in Washington was a trip out to Ocean Shores. Guess where we slept? In this train! Isn't it neat?

My little conductor

Natalie playing on the beach with daddy...because Jansen would have nothing to do with the wind or the water.

Hanging out on Grandpa Tim's truck

Pool time with Grandma Kim, Aunt Emily, and Uncle Donnie

This may have been my favorite part. Nate and I rode bikes on the beach for awhile one day.

Jansen and Natalie playing with cute cousin Kaeley

A group shot before we left...we had such a great time.