a family visit

Last Thursday, Jenn and Kaitlin came to visit. They were able to hang out at the house for quite a while. We also ate lunch with Mama and later that night went to sears to take some pictures of the kids together. Here are a few pictures from the day:

soccer game #2

Nathan's second soccer game went much better than the first. His team did a better job of getting in there and playing, and the other team wasn't so aggressive. He did a much better job of keeping up with the the ball. However, he didn't work too hard to get into the midst of the fray. Here he is running out at the beginning of the game.


Coach Daddy getting ready to start the play back and Nathan ready to kick in the ball.


Here's the kick.


I asked Nathan after the game what he was doing here. He said he was resting.


I guess his rest did him some good. Later, he got the ball and kicked it around a good bit before the other team got to it.


And...here he is "shaking hands" with the other team at the end of the game.

labor day with family

For Labor Day, we were able to visit with some of Matt's extended family. It was nice to catch up with lots of cousins, aunts, and uncles. We spent Sunday night with Ben, Jen, Lydia, and Lauren. The kids had a good time playing together.


Nathan and Lydia took a few minutes to watch a video, but I was able to catch a picture first.


They also had a good time playing in the pool after lunch. They mostly stayed in the hot tub, though, because the bigger cousins were jumping and splashing in the main pool.


Speaking of older cousins, here are three of Matt's cousins - Anna, Kate, and Megan. They are really closer in age to our kids, though.

first soccer game

Nathan's first soccer game was supposed to be on August 23rd. But it was rained out. So, his actual first game was on August 30th. Let's just say that it was a very interesting game. Nathan's team was very tentative (those that did more than stand in one spot) and the other team was very aggressive. Nathan was run over several times and was intentionally pushed down twice. As a result, he said that "the game was terrible". Matt was pretty frustrated at trying to coach as well.

Here is a picture of the team being introduced at the beginning. They make a big deal out of the team running out. They also announce each kid's name.


Because he's playing Upward soccer, the teams pray together before the game. They also have a small devotion at each practice and a testimony after the games.


Here is Nathan getting ready to kick in the ball.


And here is a great example of part of Nathan's difficulty with this game. He was having a hard time separating Daddy from Coach.


I know that this isn't the best video to display Nathan playing, but it's pretty funny. Just keep an eye on the left side of the screen. :)

school update

So, we have now made it through four days of preschool. Everything seems to be going well. Nathan is enjoying himself and making friends. Caroline and I are working to find our school morning groove.

To back up just a bit, the first day of school was a little different from the others. After the kids were all dropped off, the parents had an orientation meeting. Then, the kids finished up earlier than normal. So, last Friday was the first normal day of school. I have to say, it was definitely a weird feeling dropping Nathan off at his class and then getting in the car and leaving. It was a little bit hard. But instead of letting myself get too sad, Caroline and I can home and did lots of housework. We stayed busy! I did, however, watch the clock all morning...afraid that I would forget that I needed to go back and pick Nathan up. Luckily, all went well. Nathan was picked up on time, and Mommy survived.

We haven't made too big of a deal about school. We're treating it like just another activity. I think that has helped both Nathan and I. I do think, though, that Caroline has been missing Nathan in the mornings. It is a strange thing for her to not have him around telling her what to do all the time. :)

bowling

We occasionally have a fun family night out and go do some sort of activity that we don't normally do. The last time out, we went bowling. Nathan enjoys it, but I think he likes playing the games in the little arcade much better! :) He's getting better about getting some speed on the ball. At times, we've wondered whether it will actually make it to the pins or not. This time, however, he decided to try throwing the ball...yes, throwing. It worked ok, but Matt and I were waiting for it to end up three lanes down.


Caroline did pretty good hanging out. For part of the time, she colored. Otherwise, she watched and did a little wandering. Here, she is cheering for Nathan.


I know this is a really strange picture. We were trying to find a good way to take a picture in the dark bowling alley. I thought this one was interesting, though.

the essence of fashion

Yeah, I know this is the third post today. I really am working on getting caught up. There are posts scheduled every day for the rest of the week. However, I couldn't resist putting up this picture. I mean, let's be honest, this is the essence of fashion! What could be better than Nathan's old painting shirt, 1980's looking shorts, black church shoes, and a new fishy purse?

just as healthy as can be

Last Thursday I took Caroline back to the doctor. We wouldn't have had that visit except that she had not gained enough weight at the last one. Between the 12 month visit and the 18 month visit (well, she was 17 months), she had only gained 12 ounces. She dropped from around 50% to about 30%. Well, this time, it had been about two months and she had gained two pounds. So, now she's back at about 50%. Everything seemed fine. We're not sure exactly what was going on at the last visit, but we're glad that it all looks good now. Oh...in case you're wondering, she now weighs 24 lbs, 12 oz.

swimming again

We went swimming again in August. Well...Matt and the kids went swimming. I actually enjoyed NOT swimming and just watching and taking pictures and video. The kids are doing pretty well. Caroline loves it (as always) and Nathan is getting braver.


Here is Nathan working on his kicking.


Once Caroline had her fill of swimming, she enjoyed hanging out in the kid chair and watching the butterflies and bees.


Just a couple of quick after-swim pictures of the kids.



And here are a few videos. This first one was supposed to be Nathan swimming, but he decided to be silly. You can see Caroline in the background turning circles and kicking, though.



And in this one, Nathan is showing off how well he is kicking while swimming. If we could just go to the pool more often, we might have him swimming with no flotation device.



And here is the big one. Matt somehow got Nathan to let him throw him into the pool. I was very impressed that Nathan did it. However, once he did it the first time, he was ready to go again lots of times. I had an actual video of this, but I liked the still photos put together better. So, here is Nathan being thrown into the pool.

outside pictures

Here begins my attempt to catch up on things from around here. These are a couple pictures of the kids from one day mid-August. We went outside to play and I took my camera. Mostly, Nathan just wanted to play in the "jungle" (his word) in the front yard. Caroline was right on his heels wanting to copy whatever he was doing. She loves her big brother and wants to be just like him!

the first day of school

Nathan started school today. It went well. I'll probably give more details later, but here is a picture for now.


(PS: I was going to try to get caught up this afternoon, but I just don't have time. I'll try to do that soon, though.)

an original song

...written and sung by Nathan Moseley.

a few from August

Here are a few pictures from last week. The first one would be a cute picture except that Caroline had fallen and busted her lip. I wasn't really able to get a great picture of how swollen it looked, but the second one is closer. You can also see her chipped tooth (from the same incident).



Nathan often makes train tracks in the morning before Caroline and I get up. One morning, I looked in to find that he had not only made train tracks, but also a road of books for his cars. I thought it picture worthy.


And last but not least...a very girly picture of Caroline. I got her tutus out for her to play with and she wanted to wear them both...at the same time. Then, she decided that she needed a bow...or two...or eight. And don't miss the fact that the book she's "reading" is upside down. I always love those pictures...when the kids have no clue that something's wrong.

some of Caroline's words

The other day I sat Caroline down and got a few videos of her repeating some of her most common words. Most of these are words that she uses on her own on a regular basis. Please ignore the fact that I can't remember what words we've already done in that last one. I almost didn't include it, but it got a chuckle out of Matt and I thought it was cute. You also have to forgive her crooked hair. :) Oh yeah...and at the end of the third one, she is trying to touch my elbow...because elbows and eyes have to be found on everyone within reach. So, here they are:

who knows?

For a little while today, Nathan has been calling Caroline "March". Who knows?

more swimming

A couple weeks ago, Nana came to visit. While she was here, we went swimming over at Grandma and Granddad's house. The kids had lots of fun with Nana and I was able to get a few pictures! Yay!


Nathan is slowing overcoming his fear when swimming. It's taking baby steps, but he's getting there. He is now completely comfortable while in his vest...even enough to swim in the deep end (with an adult, of course).


He is also working on blowing bubbles. Mostly, I'm trying to get him to keep his mouth closed while trying to swim so that he won't get tons of water in his mouth. This is also a challenge with Caroline since she likes to drink the water.


When it was time to get out, Nathan was walking around without his vest but had to go retrieve it. On the way to the steps, he swam while holding on to it. This is another (small) step that I am thankful for! (yes, I know that's bad grammar)


Caroline, on the other hand, has no fear. She is out swimming as much as she can. She's getting pretty good at moving around the pool.


She also enjoys laying backwards. This is not a good picture, though. Normally, she's laying back more and looks relaxed...but this time, she was too distracted by the fact that I was trying to get her to do it so I could take a picture.


And here is my silly child (one of them). I was trying to get her to smile for me and she thought she would stick her tongue out instead!

soccer

Two weeks ago, Nathan had his first soccer practice. He is playing Upward Soccer at church and Daddy is his coach. He has been looking forward to this for quite a while. So far, he seems to be enjoying it. He has his third practice tonight and his first game on Saturday. This is our first adventure with kid sports, so it's exciting. Here are a few pictures from that first practice (which was WAY hot):




(You can see that Matt has a challenge with these 4 and 5 year olds!)

the latest on potty progress

Caroline has been making more progress on her potty training. She has pooped in the potty several more times. She is more interested in celebrating her achievement than she is concerned about seeing it, now, so that is good. Today she made some new progress. She came and told me "poop" and then actually went when we went to the bathroom. Yay! Previously, we had been catching her starting to go and then took her. She still is not peeing (in the potty), but that is usually the easier one...so if I had to choose, I'll go with the poop. :)

For those of you non-parents out there, I'll try to keep the bathroom posts to a minimum. But around our house, poop is a normal subject...has been for years.

things he says

- (leaving the room and almost to himself) Maybe one day we can go somewhere on a rocket.

- (playing in the other room) They still have Indians in Dogland.

- Mommy, I broke all the loops in the lights...I turned them all off.

- N: God is always with us. 12 verse 9
Me: Where does that come from? Romans? John? Or somewhere else?
N: Um...I think God.

- I heard the word "finale" on Word Girl the other day. I think when we go to Heaven it will be the finale on earth.

let's call it ingenuity

I glanced around the corner a minute ago to see what Caroline might be into and this is what I found. I quickly grabbed the camera before scolding her and removing her from the table.