Busy, Busy!

That's what we've been lately! I'll start with last Saturday. Our friends Paul and April came over with their son Jackson, our Godson. If you remember from a recent post, the last time Nathan and Jackson were together, Nathan made Jackson cry! There was no crying this time! Nathan isn't a bully! Our other friends, Brian and Jenny, came over as well. We spent all evening on the patio and we tried out our new fire pit. Jackson was able to go to bed at our house, so all the kids were sleeping by 8:00pm. We were able to enjoy some much needed adult time. We even made s'mores...yummy! We had a wonderful evening, up until 11:00pm.

Nathan woke up at 11:00pm, crying really hard. When we went up to check on him, we discovered that he had a 103.3 temperature. It was scary seeing him just laying on Joe, not really crying or moving much, eyes glassy. It was a long night, but by Sunday evening, Nate was back to his old self, just in time for Gigi and Papa's arrival.

My parents arrived on Sunday and stayed until Friday. As usual, they were so helpful. They are just so great with the kids, constantly playing with them. And Ella's new thing is, "Will you play with me?" Over and over and over... Joe and I were even able to sneak out one night to see the new Harry Potter movie. What a luxury! We were lucky to have my parents here since Tuesday night, Nathan again woke up with a high fever. I ended up taking him to the pediatrician on Wednesday and there really wasn't anything they could do. He tested negative for strep throat and ear infections, so mostly likely it was viral. My parents stayed around the house on Thursday, while Joe and I were at work, to take care of Nathan. My dad did duck out to meet with a realtor, since they are seriously considering moving to Wisconsin in the next year or two. I am thrilled about this news! It will be so nice to be just a short drive away, not a 6 hour drive away. Oh, and Nathan seems to be fine now. But then Ella had the exact same thing! High fever one night, nothing for 2 or 3 days, then another fever today. What is this???

I started pilates on Wednesday, through the New Berlin Recreation Department. It happens to be taught by the same woman who taught the Zumba class I was in this past winter. Pilates is hard, but it makes me feel more flexible and ballerina-like. (haha) It's only a 6 week class, but hopefully it will help me tone up a bit. I love my kids, but man, did they do a number on my body!

Friday evening, we packed up the van, picked up Joe from work, and drove up to Green Bay. We stayed with Joe's sister Julia, her husband Greg, and their almost 6 month old, Harry. Harry and Nathan will eventually be in the same grade in school, which will be really neat for them as they grow up. We enjoyed some pizza and beers and went to bed early (since we're all parents of young kids!) On Saturday, we went to a place called Bay Beach. It was so cool! There were mostly rides for little kids, so Ella was able to ride most of them by herself. We all rode the train around the park, and Joe and I went on our favorite, the Tilt-A-Whirl. It was cheap too...only .25 a ticket, and most rides only took one ticket. Ella wasn't scared on the rides, but had this very serious expression much of the time. She took her first pony ride as well! While the babies were napping, Julia took Ella and I to the local pool. It was a lot like Wirth Park, which I wrote about in my last post. Ella even went down the big water slide with me. I was so proud of her! What a great weekend! Thanks to Julia, Greg, and Harry for a wonderful time.

Nathan is not crawling yet, but he is sure getting close! From a sitting position, he can get onto all fours, but that's where is ends at this point. He gets really frustrated that he can't move forward! He is so ticklish, it's hard to keep my hands off his sides. When I feed him his bedtime bottle, he puts his fingers up by his eye and tries to touch his eye lashes. And when he's tired, he grabs his face and kind of pulls down. He is such a sweetheart. A little high-maintenance at times, but still a sweetheart. I have so much love for my kids. It still surprises me sometimes, just how much I love Ella and Nathan. I can't even put into words how much they mean to me. When I walk into a room, and Ella says, "Hi Mom," I get the biggest smile on my face. Something as simple as that. I am so lucky and so blessed to have two healthy, happy children. And I don't forget that for a minute. (Well, maybe when Ella is having a tantrum, but otherwise, I don't forget it!)