Happy Birthday Ash!

Dave and the girls at the crystal mine (see pix below)

Here are Nate's new favorite treats. I handed him a piece of celery because he was dying to get his hands on what we were eating. I figured he wouldn't really be able to get anything off it. He LOVES sucking on it. Then he got into the cucumbers...he has one in each hand and spent a long time sucking away at the insides.

He couldn't find his celery. Where did it go?

Ash made, decorated and created the idea for her cake. I helped a little where she needed it. Her plan: home made carrot cake on the bottom, rainbow chip cake for the next layer (she wanted more flavors for each layer, but I drew the line at 2). This was a shape cake. Bottom layer was rectangle, then heart, then circle, then triangle. She dressed up for her party in a Cinderella dress and black cape...don't ask me about the black cape - no idea. She had a fun birthday party with 6 other little girls. Again, Ash planned everything...from "pin the crystal in the mud" (see lower pictures from where that idea came from), we made a pinata that she painted to look like a lion, musical chairs, etc.
This was Ashlyn's big present...to go crystal mining. Months back, Ash and Sadie were digging in our backyard. I asked what they were doing, and Ash said that she really wanted to find a crystal underground. I wondered if that was possible, so we looked into it. Sure enough, there was a crystal mining quarry only an hour and a half away. We had the best day digging and exploring to find the best crystals. We brought our tools and went to work. The girls were in heaven finding crystals every which way they turned. We came home with about 80.
The crystals need lots of scrubbing and soaking in oxalic acid to get clean and beautiful. Ash handed out crystals as party favors at her party.
Soaking the crystals...

Defense is Done!! Hurray!!!!!!

Dave with 3 of the 7 committee members for his thesis. This morning Dave defended his master's thesis and did a fabulous job! I was lucky enough to get to go and watch him (first time I've left Nate with a babysitter that was not Grandma or Daddy...and he did great, by the way!) Dave presented his research for about 25 minutes and then they spent the next 45 minutes asking tricky questions (a.k.a. PhDs competing to ask the hardest question to show off what THEY know). I was amazed with how well Dave fielded the questions that were much more difficult than Dave had anticipated. It sounded like another language to me. One guy asked such difficult questions, and then when his turn came around to ask another set of questions, admit to Dave that he was just trying to "stick him". If I had to be in Dave's place answering those questions, I can think of at least three possible scenarios of how I would respond...1). cry 2). faint from nausea and nervouseness 3). run as fast as I could away from that place.

After the questions were done, they excused the candidate (Dave) and the audience while the committee discussed the verdict. I was so nervous waiting out there with Dave my heart was racing so fast! What relief when the PhDs came out laughing and talking and I went in the room to find Dave with a big smile of relief written across his face.

I am so proud of you Dave! Way to go. We're headed to Bruster's tonight to celebrate!!!!

Yes, we do take pictures that aren't just of baby NATE!

One Saturday I was out for a swim. I came home to this sight. Let me back up and tell you that Dave always teases me when I tell him what I do during the day. He says "Whatever, you just sleep and eat chocolate all day." First of all, it would be Doritos instead of chocolate. So they posed this picture of them pretending to sleep while indulging in the generous boxes of See's from Karla (thanks Karla!). After some tickles, they squealed and started telling me all the work they had really done while I was gone.

If you look really carefully, you can see snow. Yep, it snowed here in Georgia for about 5 minutes. We were so excited! I was backing out of the garage to go to a meeting when I saw something falling on the windshield. It certainly wasn't rain because there was no noise. It looked like crumbled up leaves. Then it hit me that it was snow! I ran in and got the family so we could take pictures and document the only time it snowed in Georgia in the 3 years we've been here.

Poor Nate looked a little worried about his situation. He puts up with a lot with those two girls. He also adores them. Sometimes I'll catch Nate admiring the girls and flashing them big smiles while they have no clue he's even looking at them.

Sadie LOVES to help anyone. Often times, she'll announce that she will make all the meals and do all of my cleaning. This particular day she announced that she would be making lunch. So here she is preparing Ashlyn's lunch fit with several side dishes and a drink. Sweet Sadie!

I love that my girls are so creative in their play...except when we are trying to sell our house. This is a mild example. They were playing with a bunch of seashells, and turned the kitchen into the ocean. They ran and got bathing suits (even though it was 40 degrees outside) and were swimming through the kitchen and checking for pirates. They make so many fun things, but usually they have taken parts from all throughout the house to make their creations. Like I said, usually I like it...just not when I'm trying to keep the house ready at a moment's notice for someone to look at it. Can't they just sit together and play a board game? Or draw with a piece of paper and pencil?

I like Blogger again (see previous post)

6 months
6 months

5 months (That isn't Dave holding him, in case you cared)

4 1/2 months - At the cemetery in California, wrapped in Brie's blanket. He was a happy boy there.

It's been 6 good months...

I'm mad at Blogger right now. I've tried 10 times to upload the rest of the pictures for this post and it keeps failing the upload. Grrrrr..
These are the only ones that I could get on. I was going to put one picture from each month. And he only gets cuter, so the last couple were super cute pictures. Oh well. Today was Nate's 1/2 birthday. Actually, any time I thought about him being 6 months today, I tried my best to get the thought out of my mind. 6 months sounds too old, and I know the time will keep going fast. I'm trying my best to soak up every minute. Yesterday I packed more clothes away because he is growing too fast. I still cry every time I pack more clothes away that he has outgrown. Seeing these pictures of brand new Nate makes me want to reach out my arms and hold that tiny infant. Now Nate wants to reach anything he gets his eyes on, and always wants to be part of the fun. He still loves to snuggle, and I am so glad for that. We love this little boy.

Watch out Nate!

I knew Nate was kind of a ladies man at our house (Meliss, Ash, Sadie...) but when I saw this picture (with the tongue) I realized that Nate took it to a new level. Is he moving in on Meliss...?

Ashlyn's Recital

Friday night Ashlyn had her Suzuki Book 1 Graduation Recital at our house. She was so excited for it. Ashlyn is generally pretty shy, so it took me by surprise when she told me that she wanted to hide in her room while the teacher announced her, so she could walk out and make a grand entrance. Too funny! She said she was nervous, but she seemed so calm at the piano. It was a big night for her with lots of her friends who came ot cheer her on. She has worked on Book 1 for 2 1/2 years and it was a big accomplishment to have it done! She wrote a story using the titles of each of the 21 songs in the book. Some of you have asked about the story...so here it is.

Once upon a time there was a ferret of the family of weasels. She lived in a mine in the town of Clair de la Lune. One day Goka, the ferret, found a dollar on the ground and picked it up. She was stopped by a mother lamb and her name was Mary. Mary had a Little Lamb. The lamb said nothing but went right on walking. Goka ran to Go tell Aunt Rhody that she saw a Cuckoo Bird, a Mississippi hop frog, and a Honeybee. She also saw a Blueberry Popcicle and an Ice-cream Cone on the London Bridge that she really wanted to eat. Then Goka saw a pianist playing a song called Musette. The London Bridge was built Long, Long Ago; it crashed and Goka felt it but luckily it fell in a boat. Goka Lightly Rowed down the river and met two Little Playmates named Allegretto 1 and Allegretto 2. At midday Goka sang French Children’s Songs. At midnight she lay down under the Twinkle, Twinkle Little Stars. At mid-morning she planned her Christmas day Secrets and when she would say Good-bye to Winter. She ate Allegro soup for dinner. Goka Chanted for glee when she heard that her best friend Arabe was coming. They were happy to be together again!

The End