Happy Birthday Friends!

Nathan had weekend full of birthday parties...3 in all! Kelly's party was first and it was Friday morning at a splash park. She turned the big TWO!

Here's the birthday girl!

Look at her beautiful swimsuit! It's perfect for Princess Kelly!

Nathan loved his party favor beach ball.

Poor Nate was crawling across here BEFORE the sprinklers turned on. Then all of a sudden he got squirted! He handled it pretty well with just a few tears and then he was off to explore again.

"Hello everyone!"

Nathan with his friend, Brock

Auntie Carrie was visiting us and was able to come to the party too. Nathan chowed down on a yummy strawberry cupcake and apple juice. In fact, this was the first time that he was able to suck from a straw. We had so much fun. Happy birthday Kelly!

On Saturday, we headed to the Arbor Hills Nature Preserve for Paige's first birthday party. She is a friend of Nathan's from Gymboree. We got to play on the playground and then head to the pavilion to cool off.

This was Nathan's favorite part! A water table was set up, and Nathan was not shy about trying it out.

He got soaked! He would fill this boat up with water and then try to drink from it like a cup. Some of it went into his mouth, but a majority of it spilled all over him :)

Luckily we had just enough time to go home and change outfits before our next party.

This is Jackson and he just turned 1 also.

Remember Nathan loving the push toy at one of his play dates? Well, Jackson had one too that all the kiddos wanted to play with. There was a small wrestling match going on :)

Although Nathan was the youngest, he was able to hold his own!

Every once in a while, they would take a break to play with other toys, but those didn't last long.

It was a busy weekend, but so much fun! Happy birthday to all of Nathan's friends...soon it will be his turn to host the party!

10 Months Old!

Nathan was 10 months old on the 13th. I'm behind on my pictures because I left my camera battery charger in Disney, and I used the last of the battery right when we got back. So I've been without a camera for a while. I'm using Mom and Dad's until my charger is mailed. But better late than never right?






Nathan weighs 21 lbs now and is about 29 inches tall. He has 3 teeth (2 bottom and 1 side) and is getting the top two teeth in too. I feel like he is changing so much, and every day it seems that he gets better at a new skill or does something completely different.


What Nathan is doing:
opening any drawer or door
walking while someone holds his hands
walking with his push toy
clapping and waving
eating all new foods
waking up in the middle of the night :(
cuddles with his blankie
crawls up and down steps
babbles non-stop
standing on his head and feet and looking between his legs (still trying to get a picture of this)
Oh and chewing on his crib! There are teeth marks on two sides!


Here are two videos of him using his push toy. I'm so amazed at how fast he mastered this!

Playdate at Mimi's

As soon as we got back from Disney World, Nathan was invited to play at Mimi's house (a friend from Gymboree). It's really fun to watch Nathan play in a big group now that he's crawling. He just moves himself around all on his own and is pretty independent. But there are times that he doesn't care who or what is in his way. He has been known to bulldoze a few kids to get to a toy, but he doesn't know any better right?



Nate loves his walker at home so when he found this one, it was all he wanted to play with. The only problem was that several other kids felt the same way. So they got pretty sneaky in trying to take it from each other!


A room full of babies! Everyone was actually really happy and easy going.


"Mommy, will you be my lookout?"


"Yay! The walker is mine AGAIN!"

Destination Disney!

Disney World was the best vacation ever! We packed in as much fun as we could in 4 days. My mom and dad rented a house for all of my sisters and their families...18 in all! Although it was a bit chaotic at times, we loved being together. And Nathan was never lonely or bored because all of his aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents gave him more than enough love and attention!



Remember me being worried that Nathan would have a meltdown on the plane? Well guess what? He slept the whole time! He fell asleep as the plane took off and I had to wake him up two hours later when we landed!


As soon as we landed in Orlando, Wayne and I headed to a souvenir shop in the airport to buy Nathan his first Mickey Mouse ears. He liked his hat until he accidentally pulled the elastic and it snapped on his face...no more ears after that.


As soon as we got to the house, we couldn't wait to try out the pool.





Soon after we arrived, the rest of the group showed up. Of course, the kids were in their suits before they even had time to unpack!



These "swords" were part of a gift package for all of the kids. The boys LOVED them, even Nathan. He still plays with his! Time for bed so we can get ready for our big day tomorrow!

Disney, Day 2

We all got up bright and early for our first day at the park. Well, actually Nathan was up brighter and earlier than anyone else (6:30) so by the time we got out of the house, he was already tired and ready for his morning nap!


Going...


Going...


Gone!


We all started out together at The Magic Kingdom. Nathan perked up and was excited by all the sights.


Our first ride was the Mountain Railroad roller coaster.



Carrie's the dare devil who doesn't hold on! After this ride, we headed to Space Mountain and Splash Mountain. But it was a little hard to keep all 18 of us together so after these rides, we split up to explore on our own. Mama and Papa took turns taking care of Nate while his Mommy and Daddy had some fun.


We then headed over to the children's area so Nathan could ride his first ride, Dumbo!


"We're going on that ride?!"


"Daddy, I'm a little nervous."


Nathan loved the ride and used the controller to make us go up and down. He was a real pro!


"What's next?!"


We then got a few snacks and walked around some more.

We found another little play area for Nathan to crawl around in.


Here we are in front of Cinderella's castle.


After a full day of walking, eating, riding rides, and more eating and walking, we went home for a short time to re-coop (and let Nathan take a short nap on Missy) and then headed back out that night for the parade and fireworks.




Victoria and her mom Lisa, Haleigh and Jake, and their parents, Missy and Rob.


Jen and Robert watching the fireworks.



Day 2 was busy, busy, busy! But we're ready for Day 3!