Our Chunkin' Pumkin

Sweet baby Joshua has literally gained 2 pounds in 1 month. That's a lot for a kid his size. It turns out that I was in fact starving him and he really has a thing for sweet potatoes, rice cereal, and formula (yes, all in the same spoonful).


a preview of tomorrow's costume.

7 months and sitting up; still no teeth.

believe it or not, it's not all fun and games at our house. (I was probably starving him again)

Funny kid

We're at the point in our lives where Aaron and I often have to stifle a giggle at something Nathan has said or done. He makes us laugh every day. Yesterday, as Daddy left for work he reminded Nathan to "be nice to baby Josh and Mommy. . . particularly mommy." Nathan was upset with this suggestion and said, "I don't want to tickle mommy!"


In Sunday School this year, the 2s and 3s are learning about Genesis and we've just started in on Noah's ark. Nathan loves saying his memory verses and talking about what God has done. A few days ago, Nathan was showing his daddy a couple of the "homework" sheets saying "dis one, 'God made the worlh and everythin in it (Acts 19:24) and dis one, 'all aboard, animals."


We've always known Nathan is a social little creature like others in his family. However, I think it may be time to discuss a few boundaries. Earlier this fall, Nathan was walking with daddy and baby Josh to the mailboxes when a neighborhood landscaper parked his truck on the street near my boys. Nathan stopped and asked the man "you done riding dat truck?" He said yes, so Nathan reached for his hand and walked him to the mailboxes. Oh, to make friends so easily!

the Great Pumpkin

Do you have any idea how hard it is to get amazing photos of toddlers at a pumpkin patch? It's rough, let me tell you! So, here are my "trick" shots- I pretty much followed Nathan from behind and then called his name to get him to look! The result is many an unfocused bum and bewildered face.

Genious as we Soderlunds tend to be, we spent a morning at the pumpkin patch trying to avoid crowds, getting lost in a corn maze, and entirely missing the tractor hay ride that was desperately desired by one particular little Soderlund. I think we all had fun, even Josh who slept most of the time, and the sun finally showed up as we were leaving.



which way?


cute boys.

and my favorite picture of the day: I believe Daddy was helping Josh keep his balance, but perhaps he was trying to pick him up by the pom.

Fall means going back to school. . . even to toddlers

Nathan and I (and Joshie this year, too) attend the Lake Washington TC Toddler school once a week. We are in the class with our great friends and really enjoy the 2 hours of playing with new toys, exploring messy art, and singing (loudly) fun toddler songs! There's also bubbles and snack, which was Nathan's favorite part this week, he told me.

We're off for our first day!

Josh is usually strapped to my back.


Nathan did not want his photo taken so the ones I snapped weren't great. But as you can see, he loves to move things around and play instruments. Surprisingly no cars photoed.


This is more accurate of my perspective!



oh, and here's the 6 month update:

What?

Josh has moved on to "sitting up" and partial formula. What? When did I miss the growing up?

OK, so the photo was snapped just as he fell over, but still. . . so big, little boy.

The Soderlund family ventured to Costco this evening where Nathan told the receipt checker at the door that he "mant(ed) a smiyey face." We're learning that Nathan is now his own little person who retains information as well as parroting our every word and deed.
On the way home, Josh had had enough and yelled for about 10 minutes. Now, being the mommy who listens to this ranting often, I tuned it out, while the daddy got frustrated and the big brother sat in the back seat calmly explaining to Josh that everything was OK.
Nathan could be heard over Josh's volume: "It's Ok, baby Josh, I know, we go home and have pizza, it's ok, I know, yeah" Then my sweet toddler sang Jesus Loves Me and Holy, Holy, Holy to his very ill-tempered little brother. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so I just ate pizza.

5 months and so much trouble

Big shoes to fill

Sleep tight

On our way up to nap today, Nathan wanted to make sure all his cars knew he would return soon and gave them all kisses, hugs, and "I la you"'s. HA!

Head, Shoulders, Knees and TOES!!

I've just figured out why Joshua has decided sleeping is overrated, besides the heat that is. His little brain is overloaded with all the amazing things his body now accomplishes.
Yesterday he found his toes!!

Today he officially accomplished the "roll-over." Here's the breakdown. First, the head toss and the leg flip:

The reach:

The side pause:

Oooh, yummy fingers:

The last umph:

The pride:

Photo Bonanza

Nathan begged and fussed for the camera today. He demanded to smile and pose. After the flurry of fashion, flashes, and fever, here are the best we captured.
"Magma"

"Blue Steel"

"Caught"

"Oblivio"

"Contemplio"

You decide

Here's Josh at 4 months old

Does he look like Nathan at the same age?

Happy Independence Day

4th of July. Big holiday for the Soderlunds. This year was spent with 3 other families up in Stanwood. 8 adults and 7 children under 3 1/2 in one house. I'm sure someone had fun. We played on the beach, rolled in the Stanwood parade, ate lots of chocolate, and set off illegal fireworks. All in all, a successful vacation.

Nathan embraced his "peeps" by waving, smiling and wishing all a "happy 4th!"
Then his popsicle fell on the ground.

Joshie sucked on his digits

We had a few brief moments to remember that we enjoyed each other

We briefly saw the cousins on Camano

Growing. . .

June 23

May 23

April 23

Day 3: "Shea"m on us...

A good effort, but we didn't get any 'Rally Fries'.

Shea Stadium with the Mets' New Stadium in the background.

The Transaction: My Wall Street hot dog.

Walking Across the Brooklyn Bridge. (Brooklyn in the distance)

Me NOT buying anything at Tiffany's. Sorry Beth.

"You're Fired!"

The Statue of Liberty... well... sort of.

Part of the hole at 'Ground Zero'


Just another muggy day in the Big Apple. We got off to an early start today and headed over to the subway stattion by Columbia University. We grabbed some Starbucks for the 1/2 hour Subway ride south to Manhattan and were on our way. (Yes, we tried the Dunkin' Donuts coffee like the locals drink, but... nasty)

First we went to Ground Zero where we experienced the largest hole in the ground I think I've ever seen. There wasn't much to see at Ground Zero, but what was the most amazing to me, was to see this completely vacant block in the middle of the financial district in Downtown Manhattan. Crazy. I was never in New York while the Twin Towers were standing, so I didn't have anything to compare it to, but the expanse of nothing was striking enough. And here we are almost 7 years later and they're still clearing it out. Wow.

Then we hoofed ourselves to Battery Park (the southern tip of Manhattan Island) where we could see the Lady in the Water (no, not M. Night Shamalan's movie) But our dear friend the Statue of Liberty. I didn't realize how far away she was from land. We couldn't see much. But in the distance, there she stood. That was cool.

Then it was off to the Brooklyn Bridge by foot where we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge for the sake of walking the bridge and being able to take in the NYC Skyline on the way back. Wow! It's huge! Along the way to the bridge I naturally had to get a hot dog from a corner vendor on Wall Street. Some trade stocks on Wall Street. I trade my health for experience. And, it was quite and experience!

Finally we made it back to a Subway and took it up to Central Park. After a nice lunch at Mickey Mantle's Restaurant (it is a baseball trip, remember) we strolled through the southern part of Central Park and then mosied back over to Park Ave, Madison Ave, and 5th Ave. We even saw Shaun Alexander walking down 5th Ave. What's he doing in NYC anyway? Do you think he's going to sign with the Giants or the Jets? Hmm... Or perhaps I'm just starting rumors. Lastly Rockefellar Center.

To cap off the day, we took the 7 train under the water and over to Queens, where Shea Stadium and the Mets call home. The Mets were playing the Mariners, so we dressed the opposition in a New York sports event. We saw our pitcher, Felix Hernandez, hit a grand slam on his first at bat of the season. Dave caught an Adrian Beltre foul ball. And the Mariners marched on to victory over the Mets. It was good night! A couple of long subway rides later, we were back in our cozy little hotel back in Jersey where we got little to no sleep as we had to get out first thing for the plane ride home.

And that's our trip to New York! We LOVED it!