Nathan having already had his nap is ready to play with our new family friends. He is in love with horses so when we saw these at the dollar store this morning I couldn't resist. I think we might actual go back to buy a couple more horses so everyone has one. 
Nathan has just started referring to himself in the third person. He calls himself, "NayNay". It's just about as cute as he is.
With Philip being in Jamaica and my sister having had a new baby, I couldn't think of a better place to spend a few days. The 5 1/2 hr drive with 4 kids on my own was not something I was looking forward to but I knew once we got there it would have been worth it. And it definitely was- baby Cal is precious and the cousins played together from sun up to sun down.
It was hard for Nathan to decide which cousin pairs to follow around and try to convince that they should play with him.
It's definitely getting harder to get everybody to look the same way and actually smile- not to mention get the lighting right so nobody has to squint.
I tried my hand at taking some photos of Cal while we were at the park one morning. He was a trooper and a cutie.
It's getting increasingly hard to figure out what to feed all these guys and the grown-ups. I can't imagine what it will be like in 5 years. Hopefully some of them will be doing the cooking and cleaning up by then.
I baby sat all the kids one morning while my sister had a doctor's appointment. I ( or I should say Charlotte, Peter, Nathan, Emma and then finally myself) got to feed Cal his first bottle. He took it like a champ no matter who was holding it or if they were paying attention to him.
This time away reminded my that relationships matter. It's not always easy to travel, to sleep in somebody else's bed, to manage a house with 11 people in it but it's worth it. I'm so thankful that my kids are growing up to know their cousins deeply and that we are taking time to invest in each others' lives.
It's so hard to believe that two years have gone by and my baby is now 2. After he arrived in our arms two years ago, we were torn between the names Daniel and Nathan. Nathan means "a gift from God". I knew that his presence in our life had already been a gift so it just made sense; he would be Nathan. After two years, he continues to live up to his name.
He loves life. He claps like crazy when he's happy. His entire body moves as he claps. He is a sweet boy. He loves babies and wants to hold everyone he sees whether we know them or not. 
Although the independence and opinions are beginning to be vocalized, I continue to speak into his little being that he is a gift! Although he doesn't speak with full sentences, he has mastered using the potty! Although he can't quite keep up, he never tires of playing with his siblings. Remarkably they have yet to tire of him either- mostly.
We drink a lot of water at this house. Although Nathan had his own camelbak sippy cup, he much preferred grazing off his siblings camelbaks. So I felt it was time for him to run with the big dogs and have his own. A good friend of mine said recently, "If I was guaranteed to have a boy as sweet as Nathan, I would have another in a heart beat.". I have to say, I couldn't agree with her more. He is a gift and keeper in my book. Happy birthday sweet boy.
For the record, Peter landed this nasty forehead injury after running into a tree playing flashlight tag! Sometimes it tough being a kid!
We fished; we spent hours at the beach.
We ate out at some of our favorite beach joints; we ate foods with no nutritional value.
We spent time with friends; we enjoyed time with cousins and grandparents.
We stayed at the beach longer than we ever have- long enough for the kids to actually ask if we could go home.
We played with the puppy; we took bike rides and walks on the beach.
We even talked Philip's cousin into babysitting 7 kids so we could go to my cousin's wedding. We came back and they were all wearing tatoos!
We wrapped vacation up with icees from Burger King. 
You know it was what we call, "vacation, vacation" when Nathan gets his very own icee.
Oh and did I mention that I got an Ultra Flip camera for my birthday! So if all these photos weren't enough for you get ready for some videos!
I've heard her tell others that she wants to be a nurse when she grows up. Not too long ago, we shared a beautiful conversation around the kitchen table about boyfriends. She told me doesn't even want to have a boyfriend until she knows that is what God wants for her. She has grown in her understanding of God and how he lives within her. She has cared for, fought with, read to, played with and loved her brothers in such beautiful ways. 
She is a blessing to us and we are proud to call her daughter.
As way of introduction, this adorable little fellow on Peter's lap is Ethan Russell Chryst. He is in the process of officially becoming part of the Chryst family by way of adoption but he has already made into our hearts and into the home of Peter and Nantasha! 
It was great to have additional hands and arms as Nathan spent most of his time out of the stroller!
Although the temperature couldn't have been any cooler, it's hard to resist the mist fountain.
or this face?
We met some friends at the strawberry patch on Mother's Day to pick some yummy strawberries.
As if Nathan's face wasn't a confession enough, Philip did confess that we ate a "few" strawberries when we paid. They assured us that it's included in the price!
We wrote about the things we saw, heard and smelled. We drew pictures of the things around us.
Other days, like today, we just played. There's definitely more on my school agenda to complete before we call it a year.
I just know these refreshingly cool and bug free days won't last much longer and I hate to spend them indoors. Besides, there is so much to learn from playing.
