Sunny Sunday Afternoon

This afternoon was a gorgeous, sunny fall day, and we were absolutely thrilled to find ourselves with no plans and no agenda. We went outside to play, and I just followed Nay-Nay around and let him decide what we were going to do. What fun!

"Mama, my running!"

Nathan loves to color, with chalk or crayons.

"Mama, I sweeping with BIG broom."

"My hiding in tree!"

"My ride my Mercedes bike!" Yeah, this kid has good taste. :)

Upgrade!!

Todd surprised me today by giving my car some awesome upgrades! While I was on the road this fall he brought my car into work so that the painter could match the colors and then paint a new hood scoop (my old one was peeling and gross) and spoiler for the back. This weekend Todd commandeered my car and spent a chunk of time each day working to install them. I love the way they turned out--my car looks so sporty now!

New hood scoop--so shiny!

My super cool spoiler!

I love the way that it looks so integrated into the body of the car, but really enhances the overall look of it.

The artist!!

Saturday with family

On Saturday Grandma and Grandpa Lewis stopped in Kalamazoo on their way down to Florida for the winter. They came over with Dan and Nancy on Saturday and we all had lunch together and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon hanging out at the house. It was so nice to be at home and to hear all about the projects that Florence and Basil have for the house they recently purchased in Northport. That's right, folks, starting in the spring Grandma and Grandpa will be living in Michigan full time! I'm so excited to see them more often, and to be able to celebrate the holidays with them.

While Nathan was napping, we all passed the time by watching videos of Nathan! :)

Grandpa thought that Nathan had the right idea.

Nay-nay and Grandpa, both recharged from their afternoon naps.

Grandma and Grandpa

Nathan practicing his trick or treating skills with "Gramma Antsy."

Sharing with Papa.

The whole gang.

Our little lion on the way to a Halloween party at Fred and Cindy Bierlein's house.

He was infatuated with his whiskers, "My whiskas, mama!" which, of course, spelled disaster for the poor whiskers!

Ben and Anna's older sister Heidi was in town from Florida with her sweet little daughter, Lily. After shedding their costumes because dressing up like furry creatures gets really hot when you run everywhere you go, Nathan and Lily had fun playing on the dog's bed.

Lily definitely got the gorgeous blue Bierlein eyes!

Nancy and Dan in the spirit of the holiday!

Nathan had a ton of fun running around Fred's absolutely beautiful yard.

Halloween Parade

Today was the Halloween party at Nathan's daycare. I thought it would be a ton of fun to surprise Nathan with a visit for the morning's Halloween parade. Something about my unexpected arrival got N all worked up and convinced that he would rather snuggle with me and/or go home than participate in the parade festivities. Poor little buddy! As long as he wasn't posing for pictures and was glued to my side he was ok, and I think he got a kick out of seeing all the preschoolers and toddlers running around in their costumes.

The crew from the Waddler room: Nathan (in all his sobbing glory), Alaina, Cullen, Madeline, Maelyn and Ellie. Sam and Alek go part-time and weren't there today.

Feeling better now that he's on the move and no longer wearing his hood.

Off to show their costumes to the rest of the church staff.

Sweet little Maelyn.

The Dread Pirate Cullen

This was the best I could do for a cute picture of Gavin and Nathan!

The whole gang of Waddlers and Toddlers. Nathan still wasn't in the mood to be anywhere but Mama's arms.

Gavin is concerned about why his friend Nathan is crying.

Even a snuggle with one of his favorite people on the planet, his teacher Lori, would not suffice.

Toddlers on the move

Cullen came over to give N a hug since he was so sad.

Gavin says "CHEESE!!!"

One of Nathan's main partners in crime, Ellie, aka "Elle-Belle." Isn't she adorable? I think she looks like the Gerber baby!

Pirates vs. superheros

Heading back to the classroom to get back to the regular schedule.

Time for some puzzles!

Overalls

Earlier this week I put Nathan in overalls, and he was so stinking cute that I delayed our departure for daycare a little bit to take some photos!