Thankful

This weekend Justin celebrated his ninth birthday with a big party with his friends at a local jumpy-type place.  Per Justin's request and my mom's tradition she made him a fabulous cake -Halo theme.  Exactly what he wanted.  

Lately we have been consumed with obligations, appointments and general tasks of life.  Checking things off our to-do lists and feeling accomplished.  But, its not all work and no play.  We have alot to be grateful for in life.  There are lots of smiles and joy to fill our lives lately.  

One of those simple joys in life is the whoopee cushion.  I've never met a boy who didn't immediately fall in love with the whoopee cushion and its farting-goodness.  Nathan is no exception to this rule.  He spent a half hour making farting noises with the whoopee cushion on his head, butt, belly, face, neck, feet, hands.  It was hilarious to both of us.

I have a new helper in the kitchen, and for this I am very thankful.  It seems Nathan has inherited the same love of being in the kitchen with me that his brother Justin's had at this age.  Its so sweet to watch little fingers at work next to me.

I've also enjoyed watching Nathan at play with friends his age.  I'm lucky to have some great friends with wonderful kids who are special  friends for Nathan. 

This past week both boys' schools gave out report cards.  Justin is doing fabulous in his new school.  He has made such a seamless transition to his new school.  We are so proud of all the hard work he has been putting in.  His new school is definitely more challenging for him, and he is flourishing with the added challenges to his education.  We are so happy we made this change and have given Justin this opportunity to achieve to his full potential.  Evan has been doing equally well at his school.  We had a conference with his teacher yesterday to discuss his progress in first grade.  His teacher describes Evan as a very hard worker.  She reports that Evan excels in math, which we already knew.  She also told us that Evan has an incredible story teller, and has a really creative ability to put his thoughts into stories.  We are very, very proud of how much effort Evan has been putting into his school work.

Someone around here has a birthday coming up.............Nathan will be three this weekend.  Its with a mixture of joy, sadness, and disbelief that I watch him grow and change into a little boy from that tiny 4 lb baby we brought home from the hospital just 3 years ago.  More on that to come this weekend.

Happy thanksgiving.