What we've been up to

I have not been very good about keeping this blog up to date. Truth be told though, there isn't really a lot to report. We are still trying to buy a house. Hopefully things start to turn around on that front. Dan is still in school, enjoying his summer school professor much more than the professor who taught his programming class during the regular school year. He is doing so much better and is much less stressed than the first time he took the class.
Nate is getting so big! For Father's Day we made a build a bear monkey named Mikey. I recorded Nate saying "I love you" and put it inside. Dan LOVED it! He almost cried when we gave it to him. So I'm counting that as a win :) Nate is getting to be a little chatterbox. He says Mom, Daddy, Elara, please, thank you, up, down, cookie, chickee (chicken), hi, bye, Jesus, amen, NO, yes, treat, fishie, doggie, go; he roars like a lion, growls like a dragon, and says more stuff that I can't think of right now. He is getting very talkative and is really good at expressing himself and his desires. Oh, and he also says soda. That's not one of my favorites. I actually wish that he didn't know that one.
He is loving nursery and church. He doesn't put toys in his mouth as much as he used to :) and he will now sit still and fold his arms during prayers. He is so darn cute. When we have family prayers, I pause, saying "in the name of....." and he looks up and exclaims "Jesus" then I pick back up again, and he says amen. He also loves to look through his books and find pictures of Jesus and fishies. He is a young man of varied interests.
I love watching Nate grow. He is such a goof. And he is determined and smart. He finds ways to achieve his goals. Some goals that I object to are climbing onto the pool table, climbing onto the counter to get cookies, climbing out of his high chair, climbing into or out of his crib and catching Princess. You may have noticed a theme there. Climbing is one of Nate's favorite ways to pass the time. He and Elara play very well together. They also scheme together very well. One day they had been climbing onto the pool table and throwing the balls. I kept getting after them, and eventually took the picnic table -their means of climbing onto the table- putting it in the kitchen and closing the door. The kids worked together. They each took one end of the table and walked it through the dining room, down the hall, and back to the pool table. They're smart and they're organized. Watching them together makes me kind of glad I didn't have twins. I don't know how well I would do in that particular situation.
We are currently preparing for the Anderson Family Reunion. This weekend will be nuts. Friday I am headed up to Show Low for Uncle Chet's funeral. Saturday we are cleaning the church building and going to Ricky's (Nate's friend from swim class last year) birthday party. Then Sunday, after church we leave for the reunion! Yay! I am looking forward to seeing Tim, Diane, Kami, Sara, Jack, Madi and P.J. Nate is getting excited too. I don't know that he really knows what's happening, but I keep showing him pictures of family members and he likes that. Plus, whenever I talk about the reunion or camping I put on my best excited face and that gets him pretty jazzed too.