Climbing the Haystack

Pickin' Punkins...

Fall Festivities are never ending around here. Last Saturday morning, we met up with the Morten sons at Gallrein Farms out in Shelby County. The more popular place to go for pumpkin picking is Hubers (which we did go to)...so going away from all the crowds was nice. We were the first people there, which made us a tiny bit skeptical...but soon others arrived. They have a free petting zoo, free hayrides to the pumpkin patch, a HUGE haystack to climb all over, and a lazy dog that Alexa and Nathan fell in love with. :) As you can see, above, Nathan and Alexa became a part of the welcoming committee :)

Us...in the pumpkin patch.

SO many to choose from!

How 'bout this one?!?! It has already been picked!

Trick-or-Treat...YMCA Style

Mmmm...candy! Nathan and Audrey test out the goodies.

"Take the candy out of your mouth guys, and smile..." ;)

Audrey, deep in thought as Mini Mouse. (Come on! Isn't she THE cutest Mini Mouse EVER! :))

Let the festivities continue...The evening after the Zoo, the Freemans called us up and invited us to join them at the Fall Festival at the YMCA. That was fun! They had trick or treating inside the Y, which both kids LOVED! Then they also had big, bouncy, blow ups for the kids to jump around in...which I think was more fun than the trick-or-treating part. Both Nathan and Audrey let everyone know they were 2 when it was time to leave (meaning: they cried and cried and cried). :)

Sneak Peak

Nathan in his costume.

Keaton as Curious George.

Nathan and Keaton...goofing.

OOoh Halloween! I have NEVER been a huge Halloween person, until this year. And I still wouldn't call myself a "Halloween" person...I just seem to be more into the festivities than I have in previous years. I think that is because I have a child (children? can I say that yet?). It has been so fun to see Nathan learn the Halloween vocabulary (he has "Trick-or-Treat" down pat!), as well as all the traditional Halloween characters (ghosts, goblins, monsters, etc..), although he doesn't quite care about anything but the candy (which is just fine with me!).

Last week, we took him Halloween at the Zoo, and met up with our friends, the Walkers. We thought, going on a Thursday first thing would beat the crowds. Boy were we wrong! I think everyone in the entire city of Louisville decided to go that evening. Regardless...once we got in, we all had a great time! Nathan really enjoyed the train ride, the candy...and the music. He has totally gotten into music lately...and he LOVES to dance!

Oh yes, as you can see...he is Lightening McQueen! Ka-Chow!

Picture of the Day

No...he isn't peeing ;) He is in Time Out. You see, Nathan likes to spit...and he KNOWS he isn't supposed to spit, but does it anyways. Even after the "Nathan if you spit one more time, you have to go to time out." warning. In fact, giving him that warning is a 100% guarantee that he will spit again.

SO, what do you do when you are in the car, on the way to a destination...and he spits...and you throw out that warning? You have to follow through...when you get to your destination. Which is what happened here.

Frentheway Family Visit

"The Westerners": Mom/Kathy/Grandma, Hailey, Zane and Natey Boy.

Hailey and Nathan running in the covered bridge.

A couple of weeks ago...when Nathan was sick...my Mom, Zane and his fiance, Hailey, came to visit. We had a great time, aside from Nathan being really sick and nursing him back to health (sorry, Mom, Zane and Hailey...I am sure the sight of a 2 year old pooping down his leg wasn't your idea of a great vacation!).

We went to the Zoo one day, went on a drive to a covered bridge another, sat around, cooked, ate, Zane fixed our couch (thanks Zane!), I took engagement pix of Zane and Hailey...and just basically hung out! I really enjoy getting my family to Kentucky...after 6 years of being here, I am really beginning to feel like this is home (or maybe "accepting" it is a better word for it? ;)), so its nice to get the Westerners out here once in a while to show the place off! Especially in October! :)

Stickers Stickers...Stickers Everywhere!

Nathan's new "garage door" obsession is with stickers. Not just ANY stickers, they have to be stickers from the movie Cars. What does he doe with them? Just sticks them all over his legs mostly...once his legs are all filled up, he will sometimes move to his face and head (as you can see). He asks for sticker sheet after sticker sheet, and they all end up on his legs, then in his hands, then in a ball on the floor and in the trash. The adult in me wants to limit the stickers that he plays with...as it is "wasting" them. BUT the mother in me always wins out...as the stickers keep him occupied and happy. After all, they are JUST stickers! :)

Sicker than Sick

So...we seem to have caught a seriously horrible case of the flu bug around here. I should say, Nathan has caught a seriously horrible case of the flu bug, as Jonathon nor I have come down with anything (yet...I am sure I just jinxed it!).

Last Friday evening, Nathan was sitting there, playing with stickers, and he threw up a little. He turned to me and asked "what'd he do Mommy". 30 seconds later, he threw up again...A LOT. Then proceeded to throw up every two hours for the next 12! Poor little guy was so ill. He didn't have a fever until the following mid-morning, when the throwing up seemed to stop (he didn't have anything to throw up...and the dry heaves were awful for him!), then he started burning up. He proceeded to just lay on the couch all day long. Poor little thing...

I was hoping that he would start feeling better the following morning (Sunday), but he was just the same as the previous day, except instead of throwing up, it decided to RUN out the other end like a faucet! It was like a newborn all over again, except even worse! I would change him, and as soon as I would get a clean diaper on, it would run out again. He stopped drinking anything, he didn't eat for three days...by Sunday night, I was getting pretty concerned. I can handle the throwing up and the diarrhea...I was just really concerned about him getting dehydrated.

Then, at about 8pm Sunday, he perked up...played cars...and chatted...for about an hour, and then it was downhill again. Needless to say, he woke up Monday morning in much better spirits and he has been doing okay ever since. He is still very weak, and he walks a little funny...as if it hurts (someone please tell me that that is just him being weak and recovering from getting hit by the flu bus for three days. If that isn't normal, PLEASE TELL ME! I am worried that maybe this wasn't the flu, but something worse...BUT, I might be being a little dramatic - I am the mother, I can do that!). He still hasn't eaten much at all. Just little nibbles here and there. He is very clingy and wants to be held most of the time. At least he isn't throwing up or running out his diaper anymore though!

Family Night

Last weekend, our growing a family ventured to Bowman Field for the Bluegrass Balloon Glow. What a great time! We got there about 30 minutes before the balloons were even being blown up (it seemed like 3 hours though, because the toddler attention span is all of 3 minutes!), and walked around watching everyone unload and begin the set up. It all happened so quickly! All the sudden there were TONS of hot air balloons in the air! Nathan had a great time! He was a little freaked out at first, with all the fire and loud noise, but he quickly got used to it. He was in awe of the huge balloons...and continues to ask for them every morning :)

Of course, being 2...his favorite part of the night was not the balloons...it was an empty party tent with stacked folding tables. He ran around this tent over and over and over. There were a few other kids doing it to, so he joined right in. It wore him out...though I am sure he could have stayed for hours and hours! :)

First Life Lesson

Last night, Nathan and I went to the grocery, to, you know...get groceries. ;) Nathan really likes to ride in the carts with the cars in the front ("the blue one mama!"), which I am not a huge fan of because the car makes the cart so large, and I am not at all experienced in driving a semi! Anyways, it was later in the evening, around 7pm or so. Nathan hadn't eaten dinner yet (bad mother, I know), I hadn't eaten dinner yet (again, bad mother of child in womb, I know), so I was tired, hungry and just not really wanting to be at the Grocery right then. Regardless, we got through it (Nathan was a very good boy, until he started screaming because he wanted Cheetos and I told him he had to eat some dinner first). We checked out, and were getting in the car, when I noticed that Nathan had grabbed a bag of Skittles from the checkout isle while I was paying for the groceries.

Now, I am pretty sure that the only candy that Nathan really knows the packaging of are Reece's P-butter cups (and MAYBE M&Ms), the mini ones. I really try to stay away from commercial TV so that he doesn't learn a whole lot about packaging and get sucked in to the marketing of it all (call me crazy, I know...he will learn it all through other kids, I am sure). SO, for him to pick up the Skittles bag, was him just being curious as to what this shiney red bag was all about (and I am sure he wondered what must be in it). I know he really didn't KNOW they were Skittles/candy...he is pretty innocent about the checkout isle and that there is candy at all of them (and I would like to keep it that way). BUT, he did take the Skittles...

SO...being tired and hungry, I was faced with a very simple decision: Do I take the time to take the candy back into the store and return it because we didn't pay for it? It was a bag of Skittles...they would never miss it. He didn't INTENTIONALLY mean to "steal" it, he has no idea what that means. We are tired, hungry, and going back in the store, means unloading all the groceries and walking back in...or pushing the semi of a cart all the way back into the store, through the crowds of people...blah, blah, blah...OR do we just go home, with the bag of Skittles?

As tired and as hungry as we both were, I decided that this could be Nathan's first lesson in integrity and honesty (two very BIG human qualities that I deem as very important in a personality). So, we unloaded the groceries into the car, put the car cart away, and went back into the store. I told Nathan he needed to give the Skittles back to the store because we don't just take things without paying for them, regardless of how small they are. He carried the bag, and handed it over to the cashier. (No, I did not get angry at him, nor yell at him, nor even seem flustered...so don't worry that I freaked out and scarred him for life. That isn't my style!)

The cashier looked a little baffled and even started to ring them up, but I told her that we actually didn't even want them. She looked even more baffled.

On the way out Nathan hugged me and said:
Nathan: Have to pay for things, right Mama?
Me: That's right Natey, we don't just take stuff without paying for them.
Nathan: I sorry Mama...

It was THE sweetest moment, and as simple as it was, and as young as he is...he got it!

The Teachings of a Father

A New Way to Use Mascara

Apparently he thinks mascara is for his lips. Hey, at least he didnt try to put it on his lashes...that could have required a trip to the E. R!

Let There Be Light...

Well, start doing jumping jacks and cartwheels folks...the Ices have their power back on!!!!!!! We went to dinner, then to the park and got home at about 8:00pm, and the power was on! Apparently they got it working only 15 minutes prior!!! Boy oh boy...how sweet it is! Even Nathan knew that life was back to normal. :) Well, as normal as it is to see his pregnant mother doing cartwheels in the font lawn! ;)

Anyways. Whew. We made it! Again, thanks to EVERYONE for opening your homes, for offering your food, your washing machines....your hearts to make life a little more comfortable for us!

We are back in business!

Not Even a Flicker of Light...

Here we are, day 6 of Blackout Louisville. I have been pretty easy going and accepting the entire week...until about 1:30pm today, and I think I just hit a wall. Now I am irritated. People ARE getting their electricity back, so maybe that is why I am getting frustrated. I see results, its just results in our neighborhood. We haven't even seen an electric truck drive through out neighborhood! I am over it and beginning to think that electricity is just a figment of my imagination.

Many years ago, when my dad was alive, he used to take my brothers and nephews on what they call the "50 Miler". This is a hiking trip through the Mountains of Wyoming. They would hike in to their "spot" hang out and camp for a couple of days, then hike out. In fact, my brothers, uncles, and cousins still do this every year, though I think they have cut the hiking down and now have a new "spot". Anyways, my dad conned me into going on this trip, twice. It was fantastic and fun and a great experience. Now the first time I went, I remember walking out. Backpack on my back, tired, my feet still hurt from hiking in three days earlier. I was over the camping thing. All I wanted was a hot shower and a cheeseburger from McDonald's. It was just my dad and I hiking out, for some reason (maybe Matthew was either staying another day, or was a head of us). Anyways, we reached timberline, which signified we were "almost" to the car...closer to a hot shower! I remember hiking down through the timberline for what seemed HOURS and HOURS and HOURS. There was an actual point during that hike down that I thought I would NEVER see the car. I could not at all see the light through the trees, so to speak.

This is how I feel about electricity today. I can't imagine they will EVER get it turned back on.

This has NOTHING to do with Nathan. He is great. He is camping with Nan and Paps and I am sure having a wonderful time.

Again, I will continue to keep you updated. I will even take pictures of the cartwheels that I will do when/if they ever get the electricity on! ;)

Power Update

Just another quick update. We are still without power. The original estimate of 10-14 days that the power company quoted is still standing. I was hoping that they were just overestimating to make everyone happy, but honestly...at this point...we will be lucky to get power by next week!

I hasn't been too bad. We have actually had to TALK and ASSOCIATE with each other, including neighbors! What a concept! ;) While it has been a huge inconvenience, it has been nice to simplify life a little :)

Again, thanks to those who have had power that have fed us and let us use their Internet connections :)

More updates later.

Clown Fish

Last night, while we were sitting in the Wendy's drive thru line (for FOREVER), Nathan started getting irritated and wanted to get out of his car seat. Well, he got to the point of just starting to lose it and really show is 2year old colors when the following conversation occurred:

Jonathon: Nathan, knock it off buddy. That is enough!
Nathan: *smirks at his dad*
Jonathon: It's not funny!
Nathan: Dad, I'm a clown fish...

I know, it doesn't read funny, but we could not help but to laugh. He said it so seriously, and the fact that he knew what a "clown" fish was made it even funnier (for those of you who have seen the Disney/Pixar movie Finding Nemo, you are aware that Nemo is a Clown Fish, which is where Nathan picked up the term). It was just funny. Guess you had to be there :

The Eye of the Storm

So...for those of you that do not live in the Louisville area, here is a minor update:

Yesterday, Louisville (as was Indianapolis and Cinci as well as tons of other cities) was hit with a severe windstorm, remnants of Hurricane Ike apparently. 75mile/hr winds whipped through the city (Cheyenne people, this is not new to you, I know. I actually turned to Jonathon and asked him when we moved to Cheyenne. ;)) Trees fell and power lines went down with them. SOO...250,000homes are without power today, and the electric company is saying that it will most likely be 10-14 days for power to come back on (I assume they are overestimating that just to be on the safe side). We are without power unfortunately. A tree (or trees) behind us and a few doors down fell directly on the power lines and the power boxes (not sure if that is what they are called) exploded.

Our neighborhood is not priority at this point. The Ryder Cup is in town this weekend, so that is priority (damn that golf!). SO. We wait.

Thanks to those that have offered their homes and food and showers and freezers for us, and everyone else that is without power. Things could be a lot worse! Luckily everyone is healthy and happy...

I will keep you all posted!

The Verdict

So...we went to the Doctor this morning. It was overcast, and we had had an early morning thunderstorm. It was VERY sticky and humid. The doctor's office seemed to be pretty busy for a Friday morning, or maybe we were just anxious. We got called into the ultrasound room, where I sat on the table and the technician began. She measured everything it seemed. Head. Feet. Face. Hands. Stomach. Brain. Counted toes and fingers. Checked for a cleft lip.

Did you know that now (at least in this Doc office) the 3-D ultrasound is standard?! When I was pregnant with Nathan, you had to pay extra and set up and additional appointment to get the 3-D photos. Not today, she kept showing us picture after picture. How cute the little one is. Little arms hiding the face, two little fingers offering up the "peace" sign. SO CUTE...and a little odd to think that this was/is a new little one in our family. I am not sure I am a big fan of the 3-D pictures. While it is amazing to see what the little one looks like...I wonder if it is yet another "surprise" that is being taken away from the actual birth (you know how they say the "last great surprise in life is not know the sex of the baby before it is born".). Alas, I assume the little one will change a huge amount in the next 4 months that even the 3-D photos will have any resemblance to what actually comes out of the womb. It was pretty cool though :)

So yeah, it was a great morning! Very exciting to start thinking of names and imagining how life is going to be with two children to care for. At some moments it seems very overwhelming and scary, and then there are fleeting moments where there is just pure excitement at the prospect of a new little one. :)

A good day. :)

Oh yeah, and it's a BOY! ;)

A Brother or a Sister?

So...this coming Friday (September 12, at 9:30am) I will have an ultra-sound (or is it a sonogram...what is the difference?) to find out if Nathan will have a Little Brother or a Little Sister. I put a little poll up on my other blog a long time ago, but I am going to throw one up on this blog too. Sooo those that have already voted, feel free to vote again (did you change your mind???), and those that want to vote, feel free to do so. :)

See right --->

Sprinkler Montage

How's that for some funny faces? ;)