Me and the boy go camping

Nathan and I have been "camping" a few times in the backyard. We just set up the tent, eat some candy corn, and sleep outside for a night. I've been wanting to take him camping for real somewhere, and I decided to do it sometime this summer. So two Thursdays ago, we packed up the car and headed to High Falls State Park. It is located just off of I-75 a bit north of Forsyth.

We got to the campsite a little on the late side, but we were able to get set up as it was getting dark. We had to leave just after setting up the tent (~9:30) so we could go buy ice. We found a little gas station just up the road that was still open and bought some there. The place reeked of cigarette smoke. I guess they ignore the state law passed a few years ago about no smoking inside businesses. Nathan was very tired by this point, but he was good. I got him in bed when we got back and took care of getting other things situated. There were a decent number of folks in the camp (almost all RVers), but no one immediately next to our site.

We got up in the morning and had doughnuts and milk for breakfast. Then we headed to the office to finish checking in and paying (they were closed the night before, so we did a preliminary check-in with the campground host). Nathan wanted to look at the dam, so we did that and then went to one of the playgrounds for him to enjoy. Then we went and rented a canoe to go out on the lake.

Now, if you've read the blogs, you know Nathan is not a big fan of water. He just recently got to where he would walk on the bottom of the shallow end of a pool by himself and float with a life jacket without holding on to someone/something. When launching the canoe, he was on the end that was in the lake (about 5 inches deep where he was), and I was on the shore ready to push it all in and hop in my end. Nathan was VERY anxious and wanted to get out and back on shore. He did not like the rocking of the boat. I kept telling him it was okay and got in. He was still kind of freaking out because the canoe was rocking a little still. He wanted to get down from his bench seat into the bottom, so I let him do that, and he calmed down a little bit. I started paddling us away from the dam and tried to distract him with looking at stuff on shore. He would ask every couple of minutes about going back to shore, but I told him we were going to be out a while. Eventually he stopped being so anxious and was able to enjoy the ride. He was glad to get back, but later in the day he asked about going canoeing again!! Sometimes we have to push pretty hard to get Nathan to realize he's not so afraid or that he does actually enjoy new things.


Next we went and had sandwiches for lunch at the campsite. We hung out for a little while, reading books and playing with cars. We also played a game of Trouble. It was an epic game, coming down to whoever got their number to get their last piece home first. Nathan ended up getting his number and winning the game. After that we went to the mini golf course. Nathan had never played before and didn't really catch on to the rules of waiting until the ball stopped before hitting it, not being able to drag the ball with the putter, etc. I tried to get him to hold the putter correctly, but that didn't really work, either. We had fun, though, and Nathan even got a hole in one near the beginning of the course!

Next we hiked down a trail next to the Towaliga River where the falls were. There are a lot of steps at the first part, then rough rocky trail. Nathan didn't really want to go further once we passed the end of the steps, but we did go a little ways just to see what was down there. The falls were pretty neat -- very wide and tall. At this point it was the middle of the afternoon and quite hot (and my bionic knee was hurting), so I didn't mind that Nathan wanted to go back to the car.

We went up the road a bit to a different store and bought a Powerade, another bag of ice, and a bundle of firewood (it is illegal to disturb sticks or wood in a state park, even for use as firewood). We brought a pile of sticks from the yard for use in helping start a fire. Then we went back to the campsite to rest (I was pretty tired by this point). More cars, reading, and a rematch of Trouble. That game ended with the same situation, except I got my number first. Fortunately, Nathan had a good attitude. Eventually it got late enough and we worked on starting the fire to cook supper on. I was worried that our wood was not going to burn well enough to make coals for the hamburgers. It smoked a bunch, so the wood must have been somewhat wet or hadn't been dead for long enough. I got the fire going well enough with the paper and sticks we brought and stuck the purchased firewood on top. Then I threw the patties on the grill with the fire still going to make sure we would get to cook them, since I was afraid the fire would just go out and not have hot enough coals. It turned out the fire kept going (and smoking!) for a long time and we wouldn't have had a problem other than waiting a long time to cook on just coals. We ate supper and then cleaned up. Then we played soccer in the grass next to our site for a while. Nathan did well with his passing, using the inside of his foot correctly most of the time.

Eventually it got towards bedtime and we got ready for bed. We got in the tent about 8:30 or so, I think. It was definitely not dark yet, which was weird. But we were quite tired! I didn't sleep as well Friday night, waking up plenty of times. It didn't help that it was warmer than Thursday night had been. In the morning, we ate breakfast (more doughnuts, and some burned bacon for me) and started getting packed up. We left about 9:45 (I think) and headed to Bass Pro Shops in Macon before going back to Warner Robins and lunch at Sonny's.

(I wrote this originally less than a week after the trip, but I had misplaced the camera and thus didn't have any photos to put up with the post. Grandma found it at her house today and we got it back.)

swimming

We have taken the kids swimming three times this summer. It's not as often as we would like, but we hope to go quite a bit more. It is so funny how different they are about the water! Nathan is still very hesitant. We have to really encourage him to do much (really more like pushing him). Caroline, on the other hand, would be off by herself if we would let her. No fear!

Nathan is now walking around on his own with no support. He will also "swim" around with his lifevest. Really, he looks more like he's walking through the water...but he's not touching the bottom or anything else. So, we'll call it swimming. It's exiting to him to think he's swimming by himself! It took a lot of prodding to get him to let go and try to float on his own - much less try to "swim". Unfortunately, we don't have a video of Nathan swimming, but here is one of him walking around.



Caroline, on the other hand, was ready to go just as soon as she had some kind of flotation device. It doesn't take her long before she wants to be back on the steps where she can stand, though. I think it's just a little boring for her because she can't move around too much. She'll get the hang of it soon enough, I'm sure. She's going to be our little fish.

yay! another success

We had another potty success yesterday. All day long yesterday, Caroline went to the bathroom with me if she knew I was going. She would sit on her little potty while I used the big one. She also took careful note of what exactly I was doing. Well, during one of our trips yesterday afternoon, she went. She pee-peed. Yay! Unlike her previous success, she didn't seem bothered at all. She seemed to be very proud of what she had done. And so was her Mommy.

brother sister love

These kids love each other. And they play together pretty well, too.

Here Nathan is reading his favorite Bible story to Caroline - David and Goliath. This is the Bible story book that he used to use. He can pretty much read it all himself at this point. Now, we have a more difficult one that we use at night.


They love laundry days. They have a good ol' time playing in the laundry baskets.


This day, Caroline was standing right up at the tv watching whatever cartoon Nathan had on. I told her to go sit by Nathan to watch and this is where she ended up. And this is where Nathan let her stay.


Playing in the rain is always fun. I think this may be the first time that Caroline has joined in. She really liked splashing in the puddles.

a strange discovery

I took Caroline to the doctor on the 3rd. This was a combined 15 and 18 mo. visit because we had somehow missed getting the 15 month one scheduled. So, we combined them at 17 months. Anyway, everything seemed fine except one thing. Caroline had only gained 10 oz. since her 12 mo. visit. She went from around 50% compared to other kids to about 30%. Her height also dropped in percentage from almost 75% to 50%. It's very odd. The doctor wasn't too concerned since her height and weight were still ok together. However, the sudden drop in percentage was cause to at least keep a good eye on things. We'll be heading back the first week of September to see if she has gained some weight.

We discussed what might have caused this drop, and the doctor thought that it may just be a difference from stopping nursing. Also, since she is not a big fan of milk, she has been drinking 1% like Nathan and Matt. That way, we don't waste it. Nathan did the same thing and was just fine. At any rate, we are now trying to get two sippy cups (the bigger ones) of whole milk into her every day. I never thought I would be actively trying to fatten up my child. I want her to be healthy, though, so we'll do what we are advised. We'll see in September how the numbers are looking.

Oh yeah...the doctor also said that she could just be settling into her curve. She may just be a little more on the small side (though that would be strange in this family).

disciplining a little one

We have begun to really have to discipline Caroline. I mentioned before that she has had several "battles" over what food to eat. Well, she also doesn't obey very well at times. We want to guide her in the way of obedience. So, she has received two punishments. First, she has started standing in the corner occasionally. Surprisingly, she actually stands there like she is told. I'm so glad! I wouldn't want to have to battle over the punishment as well as the original action. At this point, she is bothered by having to stand in the corner, so I hope that she will start to get the idea. On a few rare occasions, she has also received spankings. Wednesday was one of those days. She just did not want to pick up the blocks that I had told her to clean up. She understood. She just didn't want to do it. She kept walking the other way or laying on the floor...anything to keep from doing it. Well, after she received her spanking, she was all about cleaning up those blocks. She still needed some direction from me to get them all, but she stayed right on it. I know that disciplining her is going to be very different than it was with Nathan. I just hope that we can instill obedience early on so that we don't have as many battles in the future.

Nathan's reading

Well, I haven't been able to get a great video of Nathan reading, but here is a short one for those of you who aren't close enough to hear him read in person. I'll try to get a better one before too long.



Another note of interest...When Nathan reads, he often doesn't stop to breathe. What I mean is that while he is reading, he breathes but continues to mouth the words. So, whatever words he "read" while he was breathing has no sound along with them. And he just keeps going like it's normal.

a first...a first...

On July 4th, Caroline had a first. She used the potty. She has previously been interested in sitting on it, and even taking her diaper off to sit. Once, she even went to the potty and sat with her diaper on and pooped. However, this is the first time that she actually got something in the potty. I like any steps toward being potty trained. We're not pushing the matter, but we are to allow her to try when she's interested. Unfortunately, she seemed a bit bothered by the contents of the potty. And she was definitely not sitting back down once it was in there. Hopefully, this will not keep her from using it again in the future! I am including a picture. I have smudged the contents of the potty for your viewing pleasure. :)

fripp - beach pictures

I wanted to try to get some family pictures on the beach. However, I didn't make plans to do it at a good time. We tried it one night after coming back from supper. Caroline just didn't want any part of it. I was also wanting to get some pictures of her in her sailor outfit on the beach, so I just let her roam. I didn't get very good pictures of her, either. Oh well. I did get a good picture of Nathan and Daddy.


And we ended up with a decent family picture.


I thought the kids looked very sweet wondering around together.


Mostly, though, Caroline just wanted to get in the water. I didn't want her to get her clothes really yuck, so I let her play in her diaper. She had a blast, but didn't want to leave to go back inside.



Well, that's our trip to the beach in a nutshell. I hope you enjoyed the four-post picture tour.

fripp - inside

I know this isn't a great picture, but I just like it. Caroline was playing and Nathan was watching. Just sweet.


It wouldn't be a trip to the beach without Beach Bingo! This is the first time that Nathan has played for very long. He really had a great time. And why wouldn't he...everybody was his friend and he ended up with most of the prizes...at least from the round that he played.


I love this picture! I often cannot capture a good smile from Caroline. This night, she actually gave me several smiles. This picture makes me smile every time I look at it!

fripp - nana and granddaddy

The kids had a great time playing with Nana and Granddaddy while at the beach. They played out on the beach and inside as well. Nathan had a great time playing store and reading with Nana. He also helped her to make Aunt Erin's birthday cake.

fripp - playing on the beach

Last week, we went to the beach with the Moseley family and friends. As is custom, we joined them at Fripp Island, SC. It was nice to get to relax a bit and spend time with family and friends. The kids had a good time playing on the beach. Nathan mostly liked playing with the sand and carrying the water around. Caroline really enjoyed playing in the waves. Unfortunately, I don't think we have any pictures of her actually in the waves...because I think she was with the photographer every time. Anyway, here are a few at the beach.

and Caroline?

Caroline is a sweet little girl with a strong will. There are two areas where this is most evident at the moment. The first is eating. At times, she will just refuse to eat one food and want another. It isn't that she doesn't like the first food, it's just that she wants something different. We're ok with her not eating things, but she doesn't get to waste one for another. So, there have been several battles over food lately. She's going to learn about authority, though.

She loves her Daddy, Mommy, and brother. She loves to play with Nathan. She will follow him anywhere to do anything. She has really become a Mommy's girl. She often just wants me to carry her around. Last Friday, while trying to pack to go out of town, I carried her around. It wasn't the easiest, but I want her to feel loved. I was especially inclined to give her extra attention because I was about to leave for a day and a half.

She loves shoes and bows but could do without dresses. If I give her an opinion of which bow to wear, she quickly chooses one. When we went to try on shoes for the beach, there was one pair that she really liked and several that she obviously did not like. It was very funny to me that a 16 month old could have such opinions already.

She loves to eat. She is doing some major teething at the moment. She has one molar coming in and has several other teeth (at least four) that are really close to the surface. Poor girl!

Caroline is quickly picking up words. She repeats words and sounds that people say and has a good list of regularly used words. Here are some additions (and their pronunciations) since the last list:

hey - hay
ball - baw
juice - joos (also refers to anything in a cup)
bow - boh
please - peez
thank you - ay choo
all gone - ah gawn, gah gawn
bubble - buh bah
water - ??
bug - buh

She has actually gotten pretty good at using "please" and "thank you". It's quite adorable. She often says "thank you" when she means "please", but she's slowly getting that figured out.

She also sings. Most of the time she is imitating someone else singing or music that she hears. There are not words, but the sound is very nice.

Caroline knows lots of body parts. She has recently adopted a favorite, though - elbow. She calls it "bow bow". When I would first ask her where her elbow was, she would grab the bow in her hair. However, once she figured it out, she really decided that she liked elbows. In fact, on Sunday, while I was talking to the dad of one of the kids on my hall at church, she started rubbing his elbow. Glad he was a dad!

Ok. I think that's it. I'll keep thinking, though.

Nathan's art

This is a typical Nathan train. They get much more involved than this, but this is very very normal. I'm not sure I believe him, but he says that he spelled the name different on purpose.


Here is a song that Nathan wrote during one of his down times. In case you need it interpreted, it says "A toy dog would be good to go (he meant to the beach). And God and Jesus love you. And me and Nathan and Caroline and Daddy and Mommy are going to the beach tomorrow. And it's going to be a long trip to get to the beach. But we're going to have lots of fun at the beach."



Nathan has really been into drawing mazes lately. I particularly like this one, so I set it aside instead of "doing" the maze.


This is a multi-level car that Blue and Magenta (of Blue's Clues) drive.


And last but not least...a board game. He and I played it yesterday with a die (that would be the singular version of dice) and Dots (the candy) as playing pieces.

what has Nathan been up to?

The biggest thing in Nathan's life right now is reading and writing. He is reading so well. I am continuously amazed. He can read "normal" kids books. He doesn't read ones with multiple paragraphs on each page, but he is definitely beyond simple board books. He even reads with intonation and is comprehending everything he reads. It's just crazy!

He talks continuously. If you have been keeping up with him, you know that he didn't really talk at all until he was 2.5. Then, he talked in full sentences but not real often. Now, though, we can hardly get a word in. He is always telling us about the things around him or asking questions. He wants to know the details about everything. And we try to give him lots of information. At times, though, we just have to tell him not to talk for a little while. He's ok with that. We usually give him a time, though, and as soon as that time hits he's back at full speed!

One of his interests at the moment is anatomy. He's always interested in how things in the body work. So, the last time we were at the library I picked up a kids level book that explains the major systems. He enjoys learning about each thing...especially the digestive system. When we were looking at the picture of the heart, I explained to him how the blood went through each section. After talking about how the blood goes to the lungs and then comes back with oxygen, he began taking intentionally deep breaths and let me know that he was putting oxygen in his blood. So funny!

He is still drawing like crazy. Trains are always a part of his collection, but he has added all kinds of things. He often copies things that he has seen including games - like mazes and board games. I plan to go through his pictures today to figure out what to keep from the month of June. I'll try to scan a few to share.

For anyone who has wondered, Nathan still has a special spot in his heart for William (who is often accompanied by two blankets). That poor doggy has been well loved!

Personality-wise, Nathan is still a bit shy around people he doesn't know. Nobody who sees him often would know that, though. He is very well mannered and helpful. His latest "problem" has been with whining. I finally got tired of it and made a list of consequences. With each whining episode, we applied a consequence - no extra chances. While he wasn't too upset by the first couple, he REALLY REALLY didn't want to get to number 10. That was enough motivation to quickly limit the whining. I was thankful because we didn't have the continuous back-and-forth of trying to get him to act right. Since being back from the beach, I think he's only gotten to number one once. We might even be able to set aside the list soon!

Well, that's all I can think of at the moment. If I think of something else, I'll come back and add it later.

several June pictures

pictures

Hello all! Sorry I've been away so long. I hope to get going again this week. Until then, you can enjoy updated pictures by clicking on the "More Moseley Pictures" link over on the right.

songs

Back on April 22nd, I recorded Nathan singing several songs. However, I never put them up here. Well, I am finally getting it done. I hope that you will enjoy hearing him.

The B-I-B-L-E

Jesus Loves Me

Lead Me Lord (words below)

Oh How I Love Jesus

Somebody's Praying For Me (words below)

The Wheels On The Bus

William Song -an original by Nathan

Lead Me Lord
Lead me Lord, I will follow.
Lead me Lord, I will go.
You have called me.
I will answer.
Lead me Lord, I will go.

Somebody's Praying For Me
Somebody's praying, I can feel it.
Somebody's praying for me.
Mighty hands are guiding me
to protect me from what I can't see.
Lord, I believe.
Lord, I believe.
Somebody's praying for me.
Somebody's praying for me.

the many names of Caroline

In addition to "Caroline", our little girl gets called many things around here. Here is a list of the ones that I could think of:

Daddy:
- baby girl
- Carolina

Mommy:
- sweet girl
- missy
- miss priss

Nathan:
- Caroween
- messy
- baby
- vavy

two months

I am proud to announce that Nathan has now been dry at night for two straight months! Yay! At this point, I think it's safe to say that we have finally said goodbye to nighttime accidents. I'm not completely sure, but I think a Thomas sticker book was finally enough motivation. And maybe, too, he was just ready.