Nate's 2nd Birthday - Part 1

Nate is now officially 2. It's really hard for me as his mommy to believe it.. still, the calendar doesn't lie. We had a lot of fun celebrating his birthday.... and 3 birthday parties. Here are the pics from party #1: The Koetjes:

The kids were surrounded with Nate's balloons on the way to Grandma Cathy and Grandpa Jim's house.

The birthday boy himself! If you look closely you can see his lion tatoo on his right forearmNate received many power tools! Everything in our house is now repaired! Hmmmm.... Is that cake up there???

Bri rockin' the party hat

The noisemakers were a hit!

Our future golf pro --- move over Tiger.

Whatever sister has.... I want!

Nate is obsessed with all things Brianna. One of his favorite things is to steal her dance shoes and dance around the house.. Here he's putting them on... ....and ready to bust a move! Notice the muscle shirt.

Slumber Party

There is the distinct possibility that I have lost my mind. Allow me to start from the beginning.

Nate is now very adept at getting himself out of his crib. He also has a very strong desire to sleep in Brianna's bed. I have spent the last two and half hours putting Nate in bed only to have him greet me in the living room mere moments later.

Since my willpower is much less than that of a nearly-two year old, I decided that it was time to shake things up. So, I pulled his mattress out of the crib and placed it onto the floor of the kids' bedroom.

Not being one to miss out on something special.. Bri insisted that she make a "little" bed on the floor next to his mattress; and so began the first "slumber party" in the Koetje house.

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10:10 PM -It has now been almost 20 minutes. There is far more party than slumber. I can hear Nate jumping up and down on the crib mattress and Brianna's chiding "Nafan, stop being so naughty", "Nafan, that is not a good choice" and "Nafan, NO!".

A quick peek into their room reveals that all available blankets, sheets, stuffed animals and other bedtime prutz have been piled onto what used to be their "beds". Shouldn't they fall over exhausted at some point here?

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10:30 PM -Kids still awake. Mommy still tired. Kids have now closed door to their bedroom. All hope for an early evening has been lost.

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10:40 PM - Is it too late to drop them off at Grandma and Grandpas for the night?

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10:45 PM - I SWEAR, I never did this to my parents. This has got to be Jeff's fault.

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10:47 PM - "MOMMY! NATE IS WEARING JEWELRY!!!"

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10:51 PM -

Nate: "num num num num num"

Brianna: "Nafan stop"

Nate: "num num num num num num num num"

Brianna: "MOMMY! NAFAN KEEPS MAKING HIS PLATYPUS BITE ME!"

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10:55 - husband pulls into driveway.... help is on the way.

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11:00 PM - Jeff is "dealing with the situation" I'd love to stay and chat, but the sand-man is calling!

My little stud-muffin

Here are the pics I couldn't wait to share - Samples from Nate's 2 year shoot. We don't have the full previews up, but these are the teasers that Stacey gave me.

Warm-Weather Fun

The weather is finally nice. Around our house that means it is time to break out the Blue's Clues Sprinkler. As Jeff has said multiple times - it was the best $3.00 that we've ever spent!

Pictures are on their way

Last night we had Nate's two year pictures taken by Stacey Clack. What a blast! First of all, Nate was really working the camera - apparently when he gets to be a big boy all on his own, he really enjoys the limelight.

Of course, toward the end he had enough of the smiling - so mommy was running and jumping around like a maniac to make him laugh. Thank goodness my antics are still hilarious to a 2 year old!

The best part was when he leaned up against a wall, crossed his arms across his chest and crossed his little legs. What a stud!

I can't wait until the previews are up... don't worry I'll attach a link when they are!

Apples the Giraffe

This morning Bri asked for a Giraffe.

"Mommy, I would like to have a giraffe for a pet. Do you know what I will name him? I will name him Apples. Know why? Because he has a long-long-LONG neck and if I find an apple tree he can reach up and get me an apple to eat".