My boys

Here we are, in November, and I need to update! 

L. Blaze, L. Blaze, what a fast and furious season we are in with this guy. Through our moments of, shall we say, toddler intensity, my oldest child is teaching me and refining me in a way no other person on earth ever could. And that is actually a really good thing! Just as I'm trying to teach him to walk in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control, etc., it has never been more clear that I MYSELF need to walk in those very things. Hellooooo, truth. 

Amidst the teachable moments, this blondie also gives me some of the sweetest moments of my life. As on-the-go as he is, he is still a cuddler with his mama, which never gets old. Watching him learn to help his little brother, watching him learn to play with his brother, saying I love you's to our family, his laugh, his love of tools and all things related to a "work-man," his spontaneous outbursts of singing... he captures my heart daily. He reminds us to pray for our food, and his simple prayer of "God, thank you for our food, aaaaamen" is one that I believe touches God's heart every time it's uttered. I am astounded at his memory, his creativity, his vocabulary and sentence structure and his eye-hand coordination. His love for drumming has only increased, and he has discovered the thrill of climbing things. He loves playing with "big kids" and has started informing me that he is a "big boy." As I watched him climb stairs the other day, taking them in full stride instead of one at a time, I realized yet again that yes, he is getting to be such a big boy.

Nate-a-roo, our little social butterfly, loooooves his brother. Levi has recently invented a game where he runs from his bedroom into the living room, and our little crawler will be right behind him. Levi waits, and then runs back to the bedroom, and Nathanael immediately turns to follow. Repeat. It doesn't seem to get old for either of them, and I just watch and smile! Little brother wants to be with big brother in whatever he is doing. 

Around the eight-month mark, Nathanael finally became interested in eating solid foods, and by nine months he was consuming his purees with vigor. The first time I prematurely took a puree packet out of his hands before he decided he was done with it, he let forth a scream we'd never heard before - and to date it is only used in relation to food. At ten months, he is eating like a champ. He babbles da-da, ma-ma and bubba-bubba-bubba, and when he finds himself in a room with excellent acoustics, he loves to hear himself talk and shriek. He pulls up on everything, and can stand for a few seconds without holding on for support. Gone is the constant cuddler - he has too much to do! Now, those cuddles are reserved for when he's tired or teething. At last count, he has four teeth - three bottom and one top, with another top one coming in.

Enough typing. Here are some snapshots of life for us recently!

 One of Levi's many smile faces!

Fearless 

State fair fun! 

One of our fave people!

Candy! And Aunt Leigh!

Getting to ride with Didi in the parade! 

Fall fun

Running around at the zoo

OU Homecoming parade watch party, complete with suckers

Can you see us? Enjoying a gorgeous day at the Arboretum.