Happy 3rd Birthday Nathan!

It's hard to believe, but our little boy turned 3 last week!  There is no doubt about it, he is not a baby anymore.  He is definitely turning into a little boy. 

Nathan is completely obsessed with sports (soccer, basketball, baseball, tennis, golf football--pretty much anything with a ball).  He is extremely coordinated and I am finding that he is quite good at anything he attempts to play.  Needless to say, all he does (all day long) is throw, hit, kick balls around. 

He is extremely talkative.  I can't even remember when it happened (it's been quite a while now), but somehow he jumped from saying single words (last year) to using complete sentences. He often surprises us with the things he comes up with.  

Nathan is kind and loving and 100% boy.  And, we couldn't be more in love with him!  Happy 3rd birthday sweet boy!!

Here are some pictures from his multiple birthday celebrations this week (lucky boy!) at home, school, and his birthday party.

Making cupcakes to take to school for his birthday.

Birthday morning.

Celebrating his birthday at home with mom and dad on the night of his birthday.

Celebrating his birthday at school.

Nathan's birthday party at Gambado.

And, since Nathan is soon going to have to be sharing the spotlight with this little guy, here is the latest picture of his little brother.  

Nathan's First Week of Nursery School - September 2013

I can't believe my baby boy is growing up so quickly!  We hit a big milestone this week--he started preschool!  There were a few tears the first two days, but by day 3 (he only goes three afternoons a week), he was a pro--he said a quick goodbye to mom and was off to find a ball with one of his teachers.  I think he is going to love it!

Excited to start nursery school!

On the bus on the way to school.

Family picture in Nathan's classroom.  He found some planes to play with :)

End of Summer 2013

We had a great summer -- gorgeous weather here in London, an amazing trip to Croatia, and a great trip home to California -- but, it flew by way too quickly!  In 4 days, summer will officially be over for us, because Nathan will be starting nursery school - so hard to believe that he is already old enough to be in school!

Luckily, the beautiful summer weather has lasted into September (well, until today, anyway), so we have been able to continue to enjoy time outdoors.

We took a day trip outside of the city to Highclere Castle, a.k.a. Downton Abbey.

So much fun running through the grounds of Downton Abbey.

Playing baseball with Daddy at Battersea Park.

Intrigued by the trapeze artists who set up in Battersea Park.

Thanks for the bowling set Uncle Casey!

Yep, we just move from sport to sport all day long around here.  Special thanks to Jon Netter for the golf gear. 

Posing in his new shirt from the Goodwins.

A rare occasion - he stopped playing sports long enough to sit down and play with his Leaptop Computer.

Miniature golf in Hyde Park.

His first IMAX theatre experience.

Last week we hit the half-way point of this pregnancy.  Only about 4 more months until we meet our baby boy.

US Trip - Summer 2013

We just got back from a jam-packed three-week trip to the United States.  We were all over the country (New York, L.A., Pasadena, Newport Beach, Chicago, Placentia, Riverside, and even Lafayette/San Francisco) and saw tons of family and friends.  It was a bit of a whirl-wind, but we all had a great trip and thoroughly enjoyed the time we got to spend with family and friends.  Given that our new little bundle of joy is set to arrive in January, that will probably be our last trip to the US for quite a while (we probably won't make it out again until next spring or summer), so we soaked it all in.  We all got lots of much-needed Vitamin D, Chris and I enjoyed catching up with great friends, Nathan loved spending all day every day outside switching from sport to sport (yes, that is literally all he does these days), and we all loved spending quality time with the Choi and Valdez families.

In other news, we were able to find out the sex of the baby in California (and it was recently confirmed by our Doctor here).  So, for those of you we weren't able to tell in person, Nathan is going to have a little brother!  We're all very excited and we're all just hoping this one is as obsessed with sports as Nathan, because Nathan is really going to need someone to kick, throw, and hit the ball around with (Nathan is quickly surpassing my skill level in most sports - but, I'm pretty sure I will still be able to take him in soccer for a while :)

For those of you we got to see in New York and California, thanks for making it such a great trip!  And, feel free to come visit us in London!

Ready to fly to New York!

Rockefeller Center

The Brooklyn Bridge with Uncle Casey.

Future Federal Court Judge

Superheroes in Times Square

9/11 Memorial

All dressed up for Kevin and Trish's wedding - Chris was a groomsman.

So good to be reunited with our Mommy and Me friends!

We got to see our old nanny, Lidia.  

Playing video games with the cousins at 6 am.

Paddle boarding in Balboa.

Ice cream with the cousins!

Cousins on the beach.

The Chois and all their grandkids.

Chris with his two best friends growing up and all their kiddos.

We took a quick trip to the Bay Area while we were in California and got to see my cousins, Andrew and Erica.

And, we got to see our dogs, who have a wonderful new home with Chris' sister and brother-in-law in the Bay Area.

Reading the paper with Grandpa - the sports section, no doubt. 

The highlight of his trip - going to the driving range with grandpa, Uncle Casey, and Daddy.

Meanwhile, I got to go to a lovely shower thrown for me by my Pasadena mommy friends.

Until next time, California...

Such a great traveler - he fell asleep right as the plane was taking off  and didn't wake up until it was almost time to land.