Recently, all Nate wants to do is copy Ben and be exactly like his big brother (sometimes welcomed, sometimes to Ben's chagrin!). He also has recently started to enjoying coloring so here he is giving the easel a first try while Ben is using it. A little short (ha ha!), but he can reach the bottom of the board and had the biggest kick using the chalk anyways.
Two Picassos, busy at work!
Today my friends Amy, Aimee and I took the kids to Captain Nemo's Aquarium Superstore for our weekly playgroup and then had lunch afterwards. What a fun time! I had heard great things about this place, which is actually a fish store, but is known for it's over 300 tanks of freshwater and saltwater fish and several special exhibits, such as some sharks and a two-headed turtle. So, basically, it is like a small aquarium, which is perfect for a group of young children.
Here are a few photos of Captain Nemo's itself. First is the shark tank and below that is the waterfall wall in one of the rooms.
The kids had a blast running around the store looking at all of the different fish and sea creatures. Ben and Tyler couldn't get over the sharks and all of the kids seemed to get a kick out of seeing "Nemo" and "Dory" from the film, Finding Nemo. Even the three babies were mesmerized by the larger tropical fish since they are so brightly colored. There were honestly so many different fish of all shapes, sizes and colors that the kids were occupied for quite some time.
Most of the kids (minus Samantha and Brianna who were off looking elsewhere) looking at some of the tropical fish.
Jonathan and below him is big sister, Elaina.
Nate loved the fish and kept pointing at all of them saying, "Dat." (That)
Ben and Tyler looking at some little blue fish. These two guys had a case of the sillies today on our outing and kept cracking up the entire time at things the other would say! 
If anyone is interested in visiting Captain Nemo's it is in East Norriton on DeKalb Pike and the web site is: http://www.nemosaquarium.com/
The weather has been beautiful here for the past few days so we have really taken advantage and spent much of our time outdoors. Today we hosted a playgroup with my MOPS group from church and approximately 12 moms and their kids showed up. What a great time! All of the kids had fun playing in our yard and the boys just loved having their friends over.
Ben was on the go the entire time so unfortunately I didn't get any photos of him, but Nate found his happy place in one corner of the sandbox with his new buddy - little Evan Moyer, my friend Melissa's little guy who is only about 6 weeks younger than Nate.
Here's Melissa with the two little men. They literally looked like little old men, sitting together, socializing and filling a large bucket up with sand together :)
And here's Nate stopping for a snack on his kid-sized yard chair.
After naps, I broke out our sand and water table and filled it up with just water since we already have a large sandbox. What a blast and a great way to cool off in this high-humidity-upper 80 degree day. In the first photo, Ben is probably in the process of splashing Barney with some water, if I know that mischievous face of his!
This is a funny face that Nate makes when he wants us to do something or get something for him. He has dropped his toy and wants me to go and get it so he gives me the sad eyes and says "dat" while pointing at his stray toy.
We think it's so funny that Ben could probably fit in Nate's shorts, they are so long on him (even though they are his size!) :)
Tonight was bath night so the boys always look forward to that, especially when Daddy gives it to them. The result? Daddy + 2 boys + shampoo = 2 very funny mohawks :)
Storytime and "baba" time for Nate. He is getting to the age where he has started to enjoy stories, especially animal ones. He makes all of the animal sounds when he sees them and just loves to read the Touch and Feel books.
Of course, Ben has always loved storytime. His latest love is nursery rhymes so here is Andrew reading him Little Red Riding Hood before bed tonight. Mr. Bear always has to take part in the storytime as well :)
Today was absolutely beautiful weather so I felt bad when Ben was fussing during his naptime, only to find him sitting on his windowsill peering outside when I went in to tell him to stay in bed. So, I caved and let him come out from his quiet time after only a few minutes and we went outside. Of course, now I am paying for this since I am utterly exhausted after running around all morning, not resting at all, and spending four hours in the sunshine. But, we had a fun time enjoying this beautiful weather so that's what matters.
Here is Ben, Mr. Outdoors himself, enjoying a snack on his picnic table (as Barney mooches Goldfish pretzels in the background!).
Ben using his CAT excavator, a Christmas gift from Grandpa G and CC. Finally, it is nice enough to take it outside! Plus, he is starting to get the hang of it and can navigate it himself. Hours of enjoyment for a three year old boy :)
Barney loves spending hours in the fresh air. He especially loves finding oversized sticks to bring to me. Does he expect me to throw these for him? Probably! But instead he and Ben run around like Lord of the Flies together until one of them (aka Ben) gets knocked down!
Nate's done eating and is now exploring all of the toys, most of which we just today got out of the basement after being away all winter. Here he is taking his brother's wheels for a spin while Ben is occupied and does not notice :). Does this little guy look guilty or what? Caught red-handed by Mom with the camera!
Finally! Nate is beginning to show some interest in wanting to walk. He uses a sturdy wooden walker in the house but all we have for outside is this flimsy one, which Ben basically only used once he was able to walk on his own, as a push toy. Surprisingly, though, this one seems to work out great for Nate because if he uses it in the grass, it doesn't go quickly and Nate can "keep up." Hopefully soon he will start to walk!
And here is Nate again, this time using the little baby trike that we have. He was basically obsessed with this thing and sat on it most of the afternoon after discovering it. How cute does he look on his own little tricycle? Of course, he cannot move it on his own yet, but he loved when I pushed him on it (after learning that he has to hold on tight to the handlebars!).
The boys and their trikes. Ben is still yet to master the whole idea of pedaling but I think he is getting very close and will soon be off on his own.
And after a long afternoon of playing, it's time for another snack. Here are the boys relaxing together on the bench eating...and one final photo of Nate reminiscing about his day in the sunshine :).
Today was my 12 week OB check-up so the boys and I ventured out to Abington Hospital this morning for the big event of "seeing the new baby." Thank God for Easter lollipops when you have to have an internal exam with two little kids (im)patiently waiting! Ben was deadset on the fact that the baby was coming home with us today...and kept saying that he doesn't see a baby while we were looking at the ultrasound! "I don't see a baby there, Mommy"..."Where's that new baby, Mommy?"
Plus, Ben has now decided that he wants a "boy baby" (who, coincidentally he wants to name "Baby Nate!) because "Ben wants two brothers, three boys, four with Daddy, fiiive (as he says it) with Barno." Good grief, would I be outnumbered! So we will have to see how many times this changes since last week he wanted a "girl baby like Baby Brianna," his friends Tyler and Samantha's little sister :).
So, the appointment...
Things went pretty well. I am still very nauseous all day long, although not vomiting quite as often. My diabetes has been running on the low side and I have had several low blood sugar attacks in the past week or so, so after reviewing my log, the doctor has given me the ok to add an additional snack into my day, which would allow me to eat a few more carbs than I am eating now. So, that was good! I have to monitor it closely and cut back as soon as I see any adverse reactions or high glucose levels.
I am measuring slightly larger than my due date, although the original ultrasound at 8 weeks is the most accurate so my date does not change. Result: I will need to have monthly ultrasounds to closely monitor my diabetes and make sure the baby is not getting too big. I am measuring about 1 week ahead of where I should be at this point, but this could also even out. The good news is that I get to have monthly ultrasounds AND there is a higher chance that we will be able to find out the gender of the baby a few weeks earlier than expected, during one of these routine ultrasounds. Here is today's ultrasound. No wonder Ben couldn't figure it out - ha ha!
Well, I've certainly felt better than I did this past weekend for Easter. I really was having a rough weekend so I wasn't my usual festive, camera-happy self :). Fortunately, my good friend Julia Spencer of More Precious Than Photography was taking family photos at church so we got some taken to preserve our memories for the day.
My parents visited us for the weekend so here are our photos, both with them and also alone. Hope everyone had a happy Easter!
This week Ben had his three year check-up at the pediatrician. He was Mr. Social, chatting with all of the nurses and showing everyone who entered our room his dump truck underpants (haha!). Luckily, Ben doesn't need any shots until he is 4 so he did not have to have any this time around. His current stats are:
Height: 3'3" (75th percentile)
Weight: 33 lbs. (50th percentile)
His eye sight is great, his behavioral and social demeanor is normal, and he now will need to see a dentist since he is three years old. Of course, Ben is convinced that the dentist will also use a Matchbox Cars toothbrush and Disney Cars toothpaste in his office when he goes for his appointment :)
Our only outcome of the visit is that we are going to have him evaluated again by the Montgomery County Early Intervention Learning Center for his articulation (pronunciation) of sounds. The doctor gave him the highest accolades for his actual vocabulary, saying he knew several words that some four year olds do not know, and was impressed with his frequency of speech since he was such a late talker, hence the reason we had him evaluated last year. He actually seemed bored going through her standard flashcards since he knew every single one of them without a second thought - numbers, letters, shapes, colors, pictures, opposites, etc. But, many of his sounds are still mispronounced and he is quite difficult to understand for that reason, so she wants us to get him evaluated. To qualify for services, he would need to test at a 25% delayed level, which she is not sure he actually is, but it is worth it to just have the evaluation done to see for certain. If he does prove to have a delay, the private classes will help him articulate his sounds and form the proper combination of sounds for those that give him difficulty. Of course this is a free service through the county so my message has not been returned yet, but last year we were able to set up an in-home evaluation soon after I heard back from them. I will keep everyone posted on our progress.
Today we went to our church's Easter egg hunt. Boy, was it windy out but the kids seemed to have a good time regardless. At least it was not as cold as it was last year, so that helped a lot. Here are some photos of the boys gathering some eggs.
We went with good friends Tyler and Samantha and their family...
After the hunt: opening up the loot! Nate preferred the plastic eggs while Ben dug right into one of the chocolate eggs :)
Our babysitter Alyssa is coming tonight and Ben always likes to make a special treat for dessert when the sitter is here. So, with Easter approaching we opted for two very simple treats: Pillsbury bunny cookies and jelly bean bark. My friend had told me about the bark and since Ben is obsessed with "jellies" I knew he'd love it. Basically, you melt chcolate, spread with jelly beans, let cool and break into pieces. Yum! Plus, both of these are incredibly easy since I'm not really in the mood for cooking or baking lately since I've been feeling so ill.
Both boys had fun making our treats. Here's Ben, smiling ear to ear with his empty cookie box (while they baked).
And making our jelly bean bark. We had only green, orange or purple chocolate wafers in the house so Ben chose green. Very Easter-ish, wouldn't you say?
The bark is still hardening but both boys had a cookie for a treat after lunch. I think they are enjoying them, wouldn't you agree?
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