Nathan Visits the Coast Guard Base

Another recent adventure we had was with Nathan's friend Kai!  We met Jennifer, Chris, Kai, and Leilani at the Coast Guard Base week before last.  They brought us Chick-fil-a and we enjoyed a nice lunch together outside.  We then got to visit the "airport," as Nathan recalls.  We heard and saw a helicopter landing and coming in.  Nathan really enjoyed this, despite the racket!  Then, we explored with awe one of the airplanes!  It was HUGE!!!!!  I mean, enormous!  Chris works as a navigator and with anything else that has to do with the wires :)  Obviously, I don't quite have a grasp on all that his duties entail, but I do know he is quite knowledgeable and talented!  The boys {and ME!} got to climb up into the airplane, see where the pilot sits with his co-pilots, and see where Chris works on the plane.  The switches and buttons covered the sides and ceiling...as many as there are stars, it seemed!  Wow!  We got to look in the back, too.  The airplane is designed so that it could hold/rescue a helicopter, if necessary.  Something unique to the CG aircrafts are the windows on the sides.  They are big lookout windows, so that the men can look out in the ocean for people/boats/etc.  It was really neat.  And did I mention that it was HUGE?!?!!?!?  

After checking out the airplanes, we went to play basketball, tennis, and baseball on the basketball courts on base.  It was fun, but it was so hot, we made it a short time.  We decided it would be better to get some ice cream from the mercantile.  So, Jennifer bought Nathan and Kai popcycle push-ups.  Nathan's first ice cream!  He liked it, but only ate 1/3rd.  Jennifer bought Nathan a miniature airplane that was a replica of the one he and Kai got to go in.  What a special day with good friends. :)  Here are a couple of pictures from out adventure.   

Here's Chris and Kai

this picture displays the enormity of this plane.  Nathan was interested in the helicopter that was landing to our right. 

Chris and Kai watch as the helicopter settles in.

On the steps of the big coast guard airplane.  It looks like Kai is saying, "pleeeaaassee" about something, doesn't it?

the boys and Chris climbing up into the cockpit of the airplane

all the switches, dials, and buttons they weren't allowed to touch

Sweet Sayings

Nathan and I took a nap today.  He was playing in his bed so he had to come sleep in my bed.  When he woke up and climbed out of bed {too soon, might I add!} he said, "Get down, Mommy.  Like Me get down?"  And then, after multiple requests for me to get up, I crawled out of bed.  I said, "Bye Bye, Bed."  And Nathan responded, "It's not goin' bye byes."  :)  ha.ha.ha!

A Ray's Game!!

Recently, Dave was able to get 4 tickets to the Tampa Bay Ray's game.  They were playing the Seattle Mariners.  We took Dave Affleck along with us :)  Nathan really did well.  I'd say his favorite part of the game was playing catch with "Coach," as Nathan referred to Dave Affleck, who is a retired PE Coach.  Coach would sit in a seat that was one step higher than Nathan, and they would throw a little foam baseball that one of the Ray's girls gave Nathan.  I think they both enjoyed it!  There was lots of excitement during the game...suicide squeeze attempt, homeruns, stolen bases, great hits, and great pitching.  Everytime there was a commotion, especially for a home run, Nathan was stunned as he watched everyone stand up and cheer so loudly.  Just about everytime, he would say to me, "go home now?"  I think he very much enjoyed the game, but did not enjoy the loud cheering.  Nathan and I went to pet the sting rays.  It was soooo neat.  Nathan really enjoyed seeing them.  He was afraid to touch them, but I think he did touch them briefly once.  You see, in order to pet the rays, you place two fingers together, as if you were checking your pulse, and put them in the water, waiting for the rays to swim by.  We were instructed only to touch their "wings" even though their stingers had been trimmed off.  {they grow back!}  It was a wonderful night!  Here are some pictures from the evening at the ballpark :)

A Daddy and his Boy

cheese!!!!

 about to play ball with Coach

 meeting Raymond and sitting on his lap!

 playing ball!  a little blurry, but it shows Coach's face and Nathan's heater, even at such a close range!

 silly Little Bear!

sweet sayings

Nathan and I were reading today.  We were reading about how Chipmunk's friends were playing hide and seek.  Before I could say what the name of the game Chipmunk and his friends were playing, Nathan says, "They're playing find donkey."  He said this because Donkey, one of Chipmunks 5 friends hiding on this page was hiding in the log and that was where Chipmunk was looking.  It was the sweetest little observation :)

Sweet Sayings

Nathan enjoys a commercial about flugtag {homemade airplanes crashing into the water}  He saw it during a commercial break while Dave was watching the Celtics or the Yanks...can't remember which.  Anyway, he made Dave play it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over.  Did I mention that he wanted to see it over and over?  Yes, just trying to make that very clear.  So, a day or two later, he wanted to watch the airplanes again.  He said he wanted to watch the airplanes on the DVD.  The funny thing about him saying it is how he says DVD.  It is so sweet.  He's got this sweet little way to pronounce it and Dave and I just figured out what it sounds like.  He pronounces it like, "teh vey day."  Like TVD, almost.  It is just the cutest thing.  I ask him a few times where he wants to watch it just to hear him say it.

Sweet Sayings

More some sweet sayings for today:

1.  I was giving Nathan a bath and he started playing with the drum.  The drumstick was missing, though.  He asked me for it and I said that it was in his room somewhere.  So, I went in his room to look for it.  I thought I remembered it on the little table he colors at or on the bookshelf, but they weren't there.  I called to Nathan and asked him where the drumstick was.  He said it was on the table.  I told him it wasn't there and if he knew where else it might be.  Well, apparently, he said, "under the table," because when he replied the second time, he said, "under the diaper change table."  And what do you know?!  That little booger knew right where it was!!!!!  Isn't that incredible.  His memory is to be envied.

2.  After the bath, he was tired and hungry, which equals Whiney!!  So, I promised a little bit of milk to tide him over til supper.  I was holding him with one arm and getting the  milk out of the refrigerator with the other. Somehow, my hand had gotten banged up {I cannot remember how!}and I commented how I needed to put him down because my hand hurt.  He immediately said, "kiss it?"  He meant that he was offering to kiss it for me so that it would feel all better.  So, I let him kiss it....of course!  Then, he said, "All better?"  Isn't that sweet?  Wait, it gets even sweeter.  I told him how much better if felt, poured him some milk and told him thank you and how sweet he was to care about me and love me and take care of me.  He then proceeded to hug my leg, as if to show that he did care, love, and takes good care of me!!!  Oh, my heart melts for this Little Bear.

Sweet Sayings

Nathan was playing with some magnets on the refrigerator and he dropped one. Here's the conversation between him and Dave {who was in a different room.}
Nathan:  Oh, no!
Dave:  What's wrong?
Nathan:  Nuffin'.  I dropped sump'n.
:)

Sweet Sayings

Today, I asked Nathan to tell Dave where we went today.  He said, "We go-ed," instead of "we went."  :)
Also, I wanted to read with him, but he was shooting hoops in the family room.  He didn't want to read, he wanted to keep on playing.  He told me, "I am busy right now."  :)

My mother's day mini session

Here are my favorites from my mother's day mini.  The date from this session is 4/24/12.  I am going to do something special with these pictures.  Aside from his newborn and 3 months pictures, these are my FAVORITES ever.  

Golf Outing

Recently we played golf as a family.  Here are some pictures from our outing.  The date on these is April 23, 2012.  

He is such a natural.  His swing is effortless and mostly makes good contact with the ball.

 In the golf cart with Daddy.  Dave tells me that often when they go golfing, just the two of them, Nathan enjoys running alongside the golf cart.  What a booger!!

 Watching Daddy about to swing.

 His "cheese" smile.

 This one actually looks painful!! :)

 The lookout into the water is beautiful.  This little nook is right off of the golf course.

 We found some "cranes."  Nathan got to sit in them and pretend he was driving them.  When we drive by "cranes," and they are being used, Nathan will comment how "they're working."  But, if no one is working them, he will say, "They not working.  They resting." :)

Sweet Sayings

A few sweet nathan-isms today.

1.  He was looking at a Care Bear book that we have.  The bears are riding on a train.  The blue care bear was looking out the side of the boxcar, as if looking at the scenery.  Nathan thought this was funny!  He mimicked him by turning his face/head all the way around 180 degrees, keeping it there for a few seconds, and then turning it around back towards me.  He said, "like this," meaning that the blue care bear turns his head like this, what he had just demonstrated.  A second later, he turns his head again to imitate and says, "the blue one did that."

2.  We took a shower and he enjoyed watching the bubble suds go down the drain.  He watched at first, but then increased the speed in which they drained by swishing his hand over them in the direction of the drain.  "I sweep it away.  They all gone," he says.

3.  We played baseball inside today.  He is A-Mazing at throwing.  I mean, seriously, he can throw "the heater."  Anyway, he likes to wear his baseball hat when playing baseball.  His baseball hat of choice might be one of his that is actually for kids, one of Dave's, or one of my old hats that I cinched down for him.  It really doesn't matter to him, he just really needs a hat on while playing ball.  Well, he's kind of getting back into the Sandlot movie...he has been more recently pre-occupied with Caillou.  So, when we began to play and quite a few times in the middle of playing, he would go over to the blinds in the family room, separate them just a bit and say, "I'm goin' to play some ball."  This is what Smalls says when Bennie invites him to go play at the sandlot.  Too cute!!  As we were playing, he found one of Dave's baseball hats and told me to wear it, so we both had our baseball hats on.  When I had it on, he said either, "pretty mommy" or "mommy look pretty" or "mommy pretty."  Something like that, I can't remember his exact phrasing, but I thought it was so sweet because he is such a baseball fan and a girl looks pretty in a baseball hat!!  :)

4.  I gave him a horsey ride on my back today.  He did really good holding on.  Usually, when ever I give him a horseback ride on my hands and knees, he teeters from side to side, just about falling off.  I don't know if it's how I move my hips when crawling or the shifting of weight, but whichever, it is hard for him to stay on.  Well, today, that didn't happen.  I don't know why.  So, at the end of our ride, he says, "You good it," meaning, I was good at it.  :)

5.  This happened a few days ago.  And I couldn't remember it until now.  I was changing Nathan's diaper and we were talking about playing basketball and he said, "Like at the airport."  And it took me a second to realize that he was talking about when we went to the Coast Guard base with Jennifer and Kai last week.  We saw a helicopter land, go inside a CG airplane, go inside the mercantile store, and play on the basketball courts.  We never talked about it being an airport, though.  We just talked about all the things that are there.  And our conversation in which he was referring to this field trip was multiple, multiple days after we visited!  He is so smart!  I will have a post on this visit to the CG soon.

6.  Speaking of smart, Miss Esther told me today that when Nathan and her were playing over at Caden and Christian's house, Nathan saw a picture of the two boys when they were quite young.  They were holding hands in the play area of Chick-fil-a.  Nathan told Mom-Mom, as he calls her, "chick-fil-a."  He recognized that was where they were, even thought there was very little of the surroundings showing in the picture.  He is so observant.

Today I just praised God for Nathan James.  I thanked Him for giving us such a joy of a son.  He is so sweet, fun, healthy, smart, athletic and coordinated, just about perfect!  I was just overwhelmed with love today while we were playing at the playground and my heart just sent praise to God for his blessing!!

Sweet Sayings

This morning, Dave and Nathan were playing baseball inside while I was getting ready for the day.  Nathan can hit a ping pong sized ball when Dave tosses it to him.  And he hits it solidly, too.  His coordination blows our minds!  Dave said, "You hit the snot out of it, Nay Nay!"  Nathan wanted to hit some more.  Nathan expresses "some more" with "more some."  So he said to Dave, "More some snot," meaning he wanted to hit some more snot out of the ball.  :)

Sweet Sayings

Today, I was whistling and Nathan said, "Stop blowing the horn, Mommy," meaning he wanted me to stop.  :)