Celebrating Nathan's Fourth Birthday At Legoland

Nathan decided that he wanted to go to Legoland with his best friends to celebrate his birthday this year.  I, of course, was fine with that, as it meant that I did not have to plan a birthday party :)  Unfortunately, one of his friends was out of town for his birthday.  There was no way we were going without Brice, so we waited for him to get back from his trip (and get over his jet lag).  And, with the Three Amigos together again, we made the trip out to Windsor for Nathan's final birthday celebration this past weekend. We all had a great time, especially the birthday boy!!  

Birthday muffins in the van on the way to Legoland.

The roller coaster!  Nathan had been talking about going on the roller coaster for months and it did not disappoint!  He loved it!

The Three Amigos

We braved the water rides, but not without the appropriate gear :)

Pumpkin Patch 2014

It was a gorgeous autumn day today--perfect for our annual trip to the pumpkin patch at Garsons Farm in Surrey. The big boys were extra excited, because we let them wear their Halloween costumes this year!  We have never felt so safe at the pumpkin patch as we did today with Ironman, Spiderman, and a Storm Trooper accompanying us to pick out the perfect pumpkins.

Back to London and Back to School - August/September 2014

Although our trip to California this summer was great, it is so nice to be back home and get back to a normal routine!  Nathan started back to school a couple weeks after we returned to London.  And, Trent went to school too -- I initiated baby sleep bootcamp after Trent's jet lag wore off (apparently 5 weeks on the road makes a good sleeper turn bad).  After a few nights of the dreaded cry-it-out method, my good sleeper came back to me and now both boys are sleeping 7 pm to 7 am and we actually have a schedule again!

We have been enjoying what has so far been a gorgeous autumn.  Incredibly, we are still having days where the temperature gets into the low 70's!  Nathan has made it his mission in life to bring baseball to the UK, so we are out at the park playing baseball (yes, we even drag bases over to the park!) on most nice days.

Trent is trying his best to keep up with his big brother.  It's amazing to me that we left London in July with a non-mobile baby (he could roll to where he wanted to go, but definitely not even close to crawling) and came back in August with a mover (crawling, pulling himself up to standing, and even cruising along the furniture).  At our 8 month checkup the doctor seemed impressed that he is ahead of the curve and I asked what I could do to change that.  At this rate, he is going to be walking soon and I am definitely not ready for that!

This was just after we got home from California.  He was trying out all his new tricks he learned in California to make sure they worked in London too :)

This was also just after we got home from California.  This is when Boots figured out his world had changed in the span of a month :)

Bringing baseball to London!

Our first order of business when we got back to London was to drop the crib!

Nathan and his besties!  Can you tell they missed each other? 

First day of school.

Eight months old - not sure where the time has gone!

The saxophone player was a good sport.  He was chasing the boys around while playing music.  He got a good tip that day for entertaining the boys :)

Daddy and his boys :) 

My boys "helping" me unload groceries :)

He got his first two teeth right at the beginning of our trip.  So far, those are still the only two teeth he has.

Happy 4th Birthday to Nathan!

I can't believe my baby turned 4!  The past four years have been so much fun with our little boy and we have made so many great memories already.  He is a little ball of energy, but also such a sweet little boy.  

It's amazing to me that Nathan really is a little boy now, no longer a baby.  He has an extensive vocabulary (and he uses it to talk/converse all day long!).  Sometimes, I forget that he is only a pre-schooler.

He is also an incredible athlete (I'm actually blown away at how good he is at whatever sport he tries - even skateboarding!).  And, he is completely obsessed with sports--all sports.  He is not into trucks, or trains, or Legos, or any of the other things little boys his age are typically interested in, he only likes sports.  And, he plays sports all day long, every day.  He is constantly hitting, kicking, throwing, catching, etc.  And, he even uses sports to learn other things.  Because he was so enthralled with the World Cup, he learned all of the flags of all of the countries who had teams in the World Cup.  He also knows what all of their jerseys look like :)  Coming from a family of athletes, I couldn't be happier to have a sporty little boy - I absolutely love going to the park with Nathan and playing football, baseball, tennis, etc. with him and also going to his lessons and watching him play.  I can't wait to see what the future has in store for him!

This year, we have also had the chance to see what a great big brother Nathan is.  He is so sweet with his little brother and it is so cute to hear him talking to him and teaching him things.

Happy birthday baby boy!

Making cupcakes to take to school for his birthday.

Birthday morning - balloons and presents!

Happy birthday pancakes before school.

Nathan's friend, Aiden, took him to lunch at the Rainforest Cafe for his birthday.

 

Birthday Boy!

Happy 4th birthday, Nathan!

Summer Trip to California 2014

I think we have finally recovered from our trip to California.  The jet lag has now worn off and both boys are back onto normal sleep schedules :)  As always, we were crazy busy going here, there, and everywhere, but we had a great time and it was so nice to see and spend time with all of our family and friends!  Thank you to everyone who came to see us!!

Sunbathing with Uncle Casey.

Trent and Uncle Ryan

Swimming with Daddy.

Making S'mores.

Getting some love from Uncle Dale and Aunt Deanna.  It was so nice of them to drive down from Washington to visit us.  The boys had so much fun hanging out with them!

He loved falling asleep on Auntie Chrissy's lap.  She is the baby whisperer!  We asked if she wanted to come back to London with us, but she declined :(

We were lucky enough to spend a couple of days with these two jet-setters :)  Great Grandma and Great Grandpa got to meet their youngest great grandchild and they got to play some baseball with Nathan.

Grandma and Nathan at his early birthday celebration at Farrells.

Trent with Grandma and Grandpa.

Trent with Auntie Chris and Uncle Bob.

Trent with Uncle Dan and Auntie Anne.

Nathan helping Uncle Bob blow out his candles.

Apparently our month in California was good for Trent's development of gross motor skills.  He started crawling while we were there and he started pulling himself up to standing while we were there.

Trent's inch-worm/army crawl.

Trent meeting Grandma Choi for the first time.

Skateboarding with his cousin, Monica.

Mini-reunion with some of our friends from mommy and me class.

Visiting the dentist - no cavities :)

Slip and slide fun on a hot summer day.

Swimming lessons.

One of the best parts of our trip home - In 'n Out!

Golfing with Uncle Dale.

Fun at the Orange County Fair. 

Nathan's first piñata.

Pool time with the cousins.

Fishing.

Trent and his aunties.

The Choi Family

Thanks Auntie Anne and Uncle Dan for the new skateboard!

Baseball is his new favorite sport.

Paddle boarding in Long Beach.

Crystal Cove

Nathan with Grandma and Grandpa Choi.

Skateboarding cousins.

Trent on his 7 month birthday.

Back in London.  This is what jet lag looks like - a little snack and some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse at 2:00 am.  And, yes, all four of us were awake :)