Birthday song video

Maui luau

I can't resist posting this angelic picture of Nathan and Henry at a luau in Maui a couple weeks ago.

Random

Here is a picture of Nathan in his Spiderman outfit (on trike with helmet). Lookin' good! Henry and Nathan wore their Spiderman outfits many places in Anchorage and were often seen at Fred Meyer. Shoppers at Fred's were probably wondering how the same Spiderman child could be so many places at once, not realizing that there were two of them.

It is fun to observe the growing minds of kids. Nate and Henry are interested in building more complex structures now and can play with them for quite a while. So smart and good.

Firemen

I bought Halloween costumes early this year and selected Fireman (with axe) and Spiderman outfits. Nathan and Henry loved the costumes and took their roles as firemen very seriously. They spent hours "working" on the log pile in the backyard. I'm not sure why firemen would need to dismantle a log pile, but their brains just associate fires and wood. We didn't get into the details of how firemen put out fires.

Alaska State Fair 2009

I have lots of video of the boys from the fair, but the only still photos are posted below. More pony rides!! Joe and I ran the boys ragged, we had so much fun. It was a free-for-all of food, candy, reptiles, rides, tractors and animals. After the fair, we drove out to Copper Center to stay with Joe's brother's family before spending Labor Day weekend at the homestead. The boys had a slumber party with their cousins, and I think they were up until midnight. Craziness.

The last picture is from the Beach Boys concert. Joe and I went out mid-week and without kids for a date. It was fun!

Toddler beds

Below are pictures of Henry and Nathan's toddler beds. We bought these early in the summer thinking "surely they'll climb out of the cribs any day now". Our boys loved their cribs so much and they never climbed out! Amazing. Joe and I finally kicked them out of their cribs in early September. H&N are getting so long and we want to get some use out of these beds before they outgrow them. So far there haven't been too many problems with getting out of bed at night. Sometimes I have to separate them at nap time because they get wild. All in all, it has been a success.

Giddy Up

Nate and Henry are now experienced horsemen. They used to choose the smallest ponies like Blossom, but now they pick the biggest ones like Big Red. They have ridden ponies all over Anchorage this year, and the pictures below were taken outside the Sears Mall this summer. Before I had kids, I thought it was mean to make these ponies trudge around in a circle. Now our car always breaks for ponies wherever they may be trudging. Whatever H&N want, H&N get. :)

3 year old check up and stats

Henry and Nathan had their 3 year old check-up with the doctor yesterday, and they are doing great. Since we have already had the H1N1 virus, the only immunization they got was a nasal spray for seasonal flu. No stabbings! But the 4 year old check-up will be a doozy for shots. For the first time, the nurse checked vision with an eye chart of symbols and blood pressure with an arm cuff. Henry was afraid of the arm cuff even though he went second. Nothing major to report except their height and weight statistics.

Height:

38.5"-38.75": 75th percentile

Weight:

Nathan 30.5 lbs: 25th percentile

Henry 32 lbs: 50th percentile

The Big 3

Happy 3rd birthday to my two angels, Henry and Nathan! I love you very much!!

Fair teaser

A quick teaser to show how much fun we had at the Alaska State Fair last weekend. On the first photo attempt while trying to help hold up the tail, one of the boys accidentally "goosed" the alligator. So they were asked to keep their hands on top of its tail.

A handsome, mustachioed family

Joe bought a package of stick-on mustaches at the toy store, and we all took a turn trying them on. We're lookin' good with our mustaches, wouldn't you say?

Wild West Nate:

Señor Hache:

Gamblin' Joe:

Zorro:

Nate tries a mustache/beard combo:

Summer mix

Here is a mix of photos from July and August.

First, Nate and Henry reading books with me:

Joe gives a horseback ride to a kitty cat (Nathan):

Me and Henry snuggle in his crib:

Silly Nathan after waking up from a nap:

Nathan loves putting the corner of his blanket in his ear. It soothes his nerves:

Henry and Nate ride their pony:

Living Life

While Meemaw babysat H&N, Joe and I spent part of a day in Girdwood. We went paragliding off Mount Alyeska for the first time and it was super fun!

Joe says he wasn't nervous:

Me getting ready to launch with several onlookers:

Joe took this photo of me in the air:

Getting ready to land:

Safely back on the ground:

Flashback to Fourth of July weekend

Here's a flashback to Fourth of July weekend at the homestead in Sourdough. Henry and Nathan were modeling the latest in outdoorsman chic clothing: Osh Kosh B'Gosh flannel shirts and Carhartt overalls (with embroidered names on front and excavator on back). We had great weather (sunny and in the 80's) and great company with Meemaw and Grandpa Dennis.

Henry, a kid on the move:

Nathan hauling a rock to throw in the lake:

Looking for bugs with Dad:

Uncle Jon has a super cool RC plane:

But it's a bit loud:

Ironman & Ninja Turtles

Since Nate and Henry very rarely watch TV, and then only watch "mom & dad approved" dvds, I'm not sure where they learned to love cartoon characters like Power Rangers, Ironman, Spiderman and Ninja Turtles. But they do! They love these shirts as soon as they lay eyes on them. Meemaw spoils the boys by sending them super cool shirts from California to feed their addiction. Here Nathan models a blue Ninja Turtles shirt, and Henry sports a yellow Ironman shirt.

A rainy morning

On rainy days it's important to get the boys out of the house to burn off some energy. On this Saturday morning, we hit Bouncin' Bears for a jumping and sliding good time. Here are a couple blurry iPhone photos of Henry and Nathan on the jumping pillow.

Garage door

You know you're a homeowner when getting a new garage door makes you excited. Now to paint it to match the house.

Wild Animals

Sometimes when Joe and I go to pick up the boys at the end of the day, we find they have turned into wild animals!!

This giraffe (Nathan) is eating foliage:

A brown bear (Henry) is loose in the classroom:

Hikers

We have taken a couple trips to Flattop. The first one was during a cool and windy day when Henry and Nathan bagged Blueberry Hill. The second one pictured below is at the river running alongside the powerline trail. Joe and I have stricter rules during "hikes". One rule is that we do not pick up the kids. They walk the whole way on their own (at a slow pace) and do great. They need to build up their baby quads. Nate and Henry love seeing all the dogs out on walks at Flattop.

Singleton time

During late June and early July we were lucky to have Meemaw staying with us. Grandpa Dennis came up for a week over 4th of July. Henry and Nathan each got a 'singleton day' where they got to spend solo time with Meemaw. She took them on fun outings.

Here is Henry at the museum:

Nathan listening to live jazz :

Henry in front of new plants in the backyard:

Giddy up

On a sunny weekend, we are known to hit the downtown market and let the boys ride ponies. Blossom (the white horse below) is their favorite, although Ninja and Little Red have also given excellent rides. Nathan was brave and took the first pony ride, and he is in the first two pictures. After Nathan proved it safe, Henry wanted to ride but only if he could have the same horse as Nathan. Henry is in the bottom two photos.