Poison Ivy

Friday, 4/27:  Nathan is not scowling here- he is a terrible case of poison ivy.    This picture isn’t even the worst of it- this was taken about 8:30am.  By the late afternoon his right eye was swollen almost shut and his earlobes were swollen to the size of grapes.   He has poison ivy all over his arms, chest and stomach area around the waist band of his pants.    I took him to the pediatrician that morning- he said that the infection was systemic and to far along to treat locally or topically.  He began a 5-16 day regimen of oral steroids that afternoon.    Within just a few hours of the first dose of steroids his eyes were open again and the swelling was starting to go down.    He is now (4/29) on day 3 of the steroids and looking MUCH better.   He has done really well not scratching because he doesn’t want to have a bloody face.    Poor guy!

Nathan & his cub scout uniform

4/23/2012-  Nathan’s year of cub scouts is ending and it occurred to me that I am not sure I’ve taken a picture of him in his uniform.    Is he cute or what??

The Scientist

Nathan the Scientist

3/31:  If Nathan had his way, he’d spend hours with his Primary Science Set every day.  Unfortunately for him, we don’t have as much time to do this as he would like.   Finally, on a Saturday that Kip took Mary & Savannah to work, Nathan had several hours all to himself to play with his science set.    He mixed water, olive oil, vinegar & food coloring.   Added salt & pepper.  Tested whether various items floated or sank.    Then he put it all in the freezer and has been playing with it all week long whenever he gets the time.

*BOY* version of a compliment…

Good Grief- another one from Nathan. He was trying to pay our friend a compliment tonight when she was babysitting the kids. He said “You know, Ms. Barbara, you’re a real antique!” (American Pickers is his favorite show, so he meant it as a compliment. I think he needs to work on his technique though.)

Nathan’s (first) Birthday Party!

Saturday, January 7th, 2012:  Nathan’s 7th Birthday Party

In our family we don’t do kid parties until the child’s 7th birthday.   Prior to that, we always have family parties- whoever is in town comes for dinner, cake & presents.   But finally, Nathan’s long awaited 7th birthday arrived and it was his turn for a party!     Several months ago I asked Nathan if there was anything special that he wanted for Christmas and he replied “Mom, all I want for Christmas is science, science, science!”.    With that in mind, we chose a science theme for his birthday party.    We decided to do four science experiments for his party- instant snow, baking soda & vinegar explosion, Diet Coke & Mentos explosion and making glow-in-the-dark slime.   I decided that messy, exploding science experiments + 10 boys was not something I wanted in my kitchen so we rented out the auxillary hall at the local fire station.  

We got to the fire station early and set up for the party.   All of a sudden Nathan turned very pale, clamped his hand over his mouth and said “Mom, I think I’m going to throw up!”   We rushed him off to the bathroom but he never did throw up.   When I questioned him about it a few minutes later he said “Mom, I’m just so nervous that I feel sick!”.   Poor guy!   I think he was nervous no one would come or that everyone wouldn’t have fun.    Of course, they all came and everyone had a good time.

Here he is before hand, ready & waiting!

His birthday cake.

The firemen allowed the boys free run of the fire trucks.

Blowing out his candles and opening presents…

The exploding Diet Coke & Mentos…  some of them went really high. 

Nathan’s 7th Birthay

Nathan is 7 years old!!!

-He loves building sets.   He got an erector set, zoobs and legos for Christmas.   These should keep him busy for a while!

-He still prefers salad to almost any other food.    Although new favorites this year are Slim Jims and nuts- pistachios, salted almonds and especially my Mom’s spiced pecans.  He has also discovered fresh cauliflower dipped in Catalina dressing and added that to his favorites list.

-He is still very interested in Science.   Probably his favorite gifts this year were Science related- a Chemistry set, a primary scientist set that includes child size beakers, flasks, test tubes, etc.   He has gone wild for snap circuits and is building all kinds of circuits each day.    He is happiest when he has something to think about and something to do, all at the same time.  His favorite tv shows are usually Science related- Beakman’s World, Mythbusters, Dirty Jobs although he does also like American Pickers & River Monsters (a show about fishing).

-Nathan continues to love & adore “his” baby.   He is very attentive to her & always concerned with her safety & comfort.

-He is learning to read quickly and loving it!

-He is 7 this year and in our family that means he gets to have his first kid party!    It will be science themed and he is super excited about it.

The kids always get three gifts from Daddy & Mommy for their birthday.  This year Mary & Nathan are both getting bikes!    (Mary’s birthday is just 4 weeks away)

Opening gifts from his sisters.

From Daddy & Mommy- primary science set, a make-your-own paper mache volcano kit & a bike!

Nathan’s breakfast of choice- those little white Sweet Sixteen doughnuts with orange juice and bananas.   Savvy was thrilled! 

It was only 30 ish degrees this morning so quite cold for North Carolina.  Nonetheless, he couldn’t get dressed fast enough- he was out the door & on his bike by 7am.

He wore his cowboy outfit for birthday dinner that night.  Cute, eh?  I bought a pair of jeans for $1 at a consignment sale & used a coupon to get the buckskin/fringed fabric for $4 from Jo-Ann Fabrics.  A friend of mine cut the legs off the jeans and used the fabric to make new legs & a poncho.   He already had the hat & I got the red bandana for $1 at Wal-Mart.    Kip got him a nice set of cap pistols to go with his outfit.   Such a fun gift for a 7yo boy!  (this was his Christmas gift)

Bubbling potions on the dining room table.   (We used colored water & dry ice)  His snap circuit set as the center piece.  And other science related items on the table.    For dinner he requested my Chicken & Sausage stew, salad & breadsticks. 

We have a family tradition of keeping their birthday cake a surprise.    I think he was pleased with the volcano cake Kip & I did!

Opening presents….    My sister & Alec, Kip’s parents- Paw Paw & Mimi, and our piano teacher, Mr. Hicks, all joined us for his birthday dinner.

LEGOS!

The kids all disappeared & were quiet while the adults were visiting.  This would normally be cause for concern so I went looking for them.   I found everyone on the couch with Nathan’s new hexbugs set.  I’ve since bought the girls their own, pink, bugs so they are all having fun with this!

All I Want For Christmas….

10/24/2011

All Nathan wants for Christmas is his two front teeth…