The Amazing Duo.

If Daddy is wearing his Spiderman shirt, then it's not even debatable that Nathan will be wearing his shirt as well. Nathan loves his daddy so much and wants to be just like him, so it's really special that they both have a Spidey shirt. He also has a great fascination for Spiderman, even though he pretty much has no clue who Spiderman is...just that he helps people and he has a cool song (which Nathan enjoys singing): Spiderman, Spiderman, does whatever a spider can.

I love my little WebSlinger!

On anthoer note: Nathan had a ver insightful quote at dinner the other night. After eating our wonderful meal of steak and potatoes, I stated, "My belly is full!". To which Nathan replied, "Yes, your belly is full of food and baby!"

Can't argue with him there.

everybody's got a seed to sow.

Today was a beautiful Spring day; the sun was out, and there was a nice cool breeze. (Actually, it got a little warm...a record-breaking 97 degrees). Since we had visited Aunt Jodi at Linder's Greenhouse yesterday to buy our flowers/seeds for the season, we decided that today would be a great day to get the flower bed and the garden planted. It honestly wasn't quite as much fun as anticipated; "don't go toward the street", "don't dump the water on your sister", "don't step on the seeds/flowers" were just a few phrases that had to be said...and Nathan's finest moment was not when he got upset and slammed our hand rake against the side-walk busting it in two pieces. But, all that said, it was still an enjoyable time, the front tree looks great with flowers planted around it, and later this summer we'll be enjoying tomatoes, peas, beans, cucumbers, zucchini, and fresh basil...hopefully. Nathan still enjoyed gardening, and is very excited to watch his seeds grow. Ella just did what she does best: look cute and copy big brother (all the while trampling the marigolds).

Nathan & Ella ready to start gardening!

Here's Nathan enjoying a little hose time. Every little boy seems to instictually know that drinking from a hose on a hot day is a good idea. And Ella's ready to water & rake (the bibs were intentional).

Here we are planting some seeds. Matt built the garden. He started it last fall, and finished it as a gift Mother's Day week.

The news is out! We're having a baby!

The latest Thompson is due to arrive October 27, 2009.

Though this has come as a surprise, we are getting excited to meet our new little baby and completely welcome this little boy or girl with open arms.

Nathan has told us multiple times that he would like another baby sister. I've explained that another sister means there will be two girls, and if he has a little brother there will be another boy in the house. But, he insists that we "need two baby girls"!

Matt is still waiting to hear the results from an interview he had in Windom, MN about 2 weeks ago. We know that God will provide, and we are completely trusting in Him and His will. I know that this will be one of those times that we can look back on and know exactly what God was teaching us and exactly what He was planning.

Down on the farm.

I love living in a city and everything that it brings, but I really love that we get to visit the farm. Oh, the great times to come with Papa, his tractors, and of course, his cows. Ella loves cows-really she loves everything with four legs and fur. Ella will tell you with great confidence what a cow says, and was of course delighted to meet this newborn baby!

(though it's hard to tell from her facial expression)

I haven't been in a bloggy mood lately, but since I'm doing this to archive the happenings of our lives, it only seems appropriate to share that Matt recently got laid-off. After working for Braun Intertec for nearly five years (would have been 5 in July), Matt was given the "go" on Monday, April 6 at 7:30 a.m. A beautiful way to start the week, I know! It was a huge blow at first, although not completely unexpected. But, after letting it soak in for a week, I know that God does not give us more than we can handle, and that in all things God works for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28).

Matt is currently looking for a new job as a civil engineer, and also debating grad school this fall. If nothing comes up once his severance package runs out, I will likely seek part-time employment to help make ends meet until he does land that new, perfect job! It will be exciting to see what God has planned for us! In the meantime, we greatly appreciate any and all prayers. We've also been enjoying the extra family time...I don't think Nathan would mind if Matt never went back to work:)

Stats.

With Ella turning a year, I thought it'd be important to update her stats.
Drum roll please....
As of March 17 (her one-year well-baby visit), Ella is 20 lbs 13.5 oz, 29 inches tall, with a head circumference of 48 cm. This is 50th percentile for weight, 50th percentile for length, and 85th percentile for head-size. There you have it. My very proportionate, average, big-brainy girl!

One.

Our beautiful baby girl has just turned 1!

On Friday March 13, birthday festivities began very early in the morning, when both Nathan and Ella decided they needed to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's room (which has never happened before). When they woke up at their usual time, around 7:30, and saw each other, they thought it was pretty fun. Immediately "wrestling" ensued...which means, we had to constantly defend Ella. Although in this picture, it looks like she's winning:)

For breakfast, Ella of course had a birthday pancake...much to Nathan's delight.

Make a wish...

The rest of the day was spent lunching with Daddy and Grandma & Grandpa Crowson, taking a long nap, and dining for dinner at Don Pablo's (Nana's choice) with "the Widmans.

The birthday party was on Saturday with all immediate family present, with the exception of Aunt Nette (who had to work), Uncle Mike, and cousin Katlyn. Ella was the picture of cuteness, of course, in her polka-dot dress and hair bow, and did not disappoint when it came to cake time. In pure Ella style, Ella ate her entire piece of cake bite by bite and picked up her scoop of ice cream to eat it like an apple.

All the cousins got to help Ella blow out the candles...it made for a kind of "spitty" cake!

Yummm, Cake!

After cake, the dress had to come off! "Mother Mayah" is always there to help.

Ella also received many wonderful gifts, for which we are very grateful. The hit of the party was a Little Einstein rocket car.

We are so blessed that we have been chosen to raise this precious baby girl. Words cannot express how much we love our Ellie bean.