Nate and Jack

Last week, Jennifer and I were going to have a Christmas night out. We were going to take Jack and Nathan to eat at Chick-Fil-A and then to Santa's Village in Richardson. I've never been, but it's supposed to be so much fun for kids. But, the weather was miserable with it being so cold and rainy so we took the party to Jack's house.

Jack and Nathan haven't seen each other in a while, but as you can see, they were like old friends! Jack loves to hug!

"Nathan, my mommy doesn't care if we jump on her couch...I promise!"

They were so funny here! We had a movie on so they would sit still for about 30 seconds and then start their horseplay again. These two boys have TONS of energy!

"Oooooh, Jack's about to get in trouble!"

Nathan was in Heaven in Jack's playroom. Nathan made us dinner with Jack's kitchen while Jack got wild on the Sit N Spin.

"Jack, YOU be the cowboy."

"I wonder who that could be?"

Nathan LOVED ringing the doorbell over and over. Then Jack would run to the door and swing it open. Nathan thought it was hilarious...until Jack swung open the door before Nathan could move out of the way. But after a few tears, they were back to playing again.

Here they are having one of their calmer moments. I think they finally wore themselves out! Even though we didn't get to go to Santa's Village, we had a great time playing!

Visiting Auntie Carrie

After Nathan and I visited my sister in Springfield, we headed to Austin to give Auntie Carrie and Uncle Chris a visit. It was a long day of driving for us but Nathan did really well. We took my parents' van to Springfield so when we got back to Dallas, we took a short lunch break, let Nathan run around in the yard while Dad and I transferred all of our bags, and then Nathan and I got on our way to Austin. Nathan was so excited to see his aunt!


And he was excited to see his cousin Otis...although he really wants to have a baby HUMAN cousin soon :)


Otis was such a good sport for letting us dress him up in his Santa outfit for Nathan. He might have felt a little humiliated, but he knew Nate thought it was funny!


"When can I take this silly outfit off?"

Nathan loved watching Uncle Chris make the spaghetti sauce. He kept saying "Hot, hot" and rubbing his hands together.

So after Nathan went to bed, Carrie and I gave each other manicures. Don't my nails look beautiful?! Well, those of you who know me well, know that I don't have great nails like this. They're fake!

Here is Carrie doing her best Vanna White. I'm going to do a little product endorsement: We got these nails at Walmart for $5.00! They glue on, but are temporary (supposed to last 10 days). So they're perfect if you have a special event to go to or just want to have pretty nails for a few days. They are so easy to put on and when you're ready to take them off, they don't damage your nails at all...or at least they didn't damage mine.

Nathan is obsessed with bubbles! Auntie Carrie blew them with him the first night we got there so as soon as Nate woke up the next morning, he grabbed her hand to take her to the back door while saying "bubbles, bubbles."

Mr. Otis had to join in the fun too!

"I can do it all by myself, and Auntie Carrie and Mommy don't care that I keep dripping the bubbles all over me...or lick the wand."

"Time to go for a walk Otis."

Nathan loves holding the leash to take Otis for a walk. I think he feels like a big boy!

We walked around Carrie's neighborhood to look at all of the lights. Plus, Nathan needs to practice holding hands when walking on the sidewalk. If he could have his way, he'd just run up and down!

"Hi Mommy! I'm holding Auntie Carrie's hand like a good little boy!"

"When are we going to get one of these for our yard?"

What a pair!

"I'm ready for school!"

The next morning, on the way out of town, we stopped by Carrie's school to visit her class.

Carrie teaches first grade and has the sweetest class! This is the 2nd time they've met Nathan, and they had so much fun playing with him.

The kids were really good with him, and didn't care that he kept stealing their crayons and books, or tried to sit in their chairs when they got up.

We also brought Auntie Carrie breakfast, and Nathan had his first taste of McDonald's pancakes. Boy were her kids jealous!

A trip to school isn't complete without going to recess! Nathan played outside with Carrie's class before we headed home. It was perfect timing because he was worn out and slept most of the way home!

But before we left, Auntie Carrie had one more surprise for little Nate...a sucker! He had never had one before, but I'm sure this won't be the last time! I guess that's what aunts and grandparents are for...to give them the things their parents don't :) Nathan licked and sucked that sucker and drooled all over himself!


"You're the best Auntie ever!"

Christmas in Springfield

December is always a busy month, but it's been especially busy for us! As soon as we got back from Nashville, my parents and I took Nathan to Springfield, Missouri to visit my family (one of my sisters, 2 nieces, my aunt and uncle, and my cousins). It's been a while since they've seen Nathan, so it was so much fun to show him off!


Our first stop was at Aunt Mona and Uncle Gordon's house. Nathan found a little kitty that lived next door and had so much fun trying to catch him!


After a 7 hour car ride, he was ready to run around! He actually did really well in the car. Luckily Mom and Dad have a DVD player in their mini van, so Nathan got to watch Dumbo and his Baby Einstein videos non-stop!


Mom and I then took Nathan to the park to play. The first thing he headed for was the swing!

After the park, we went to my sister's house for dinner and an early Christmas. The only problem is that my camera battery died, and I left the charger in Dallas. Lisa took lots of pictures though, so as soon as I get her pictures, I'll post part 2 of our Springfield trip :)

Nashville Getaway

I know this blog is dedicated mainly to Nathan, but I can have one entry right? Last week, Wayne and I had a mini vacation in Nashville! Wayne had to be there for business Monday and Tuesday, but we flew there Friday night and left Nathan with my parents. Although we both really started to miss Nathan and were ready to get back to see him, we had so much fun!


Downtown Nashville is a blast! There is live music all over the place, and I swear no one ever sleeps! We went out each night, but stayed out one night until 2:00 a.m. and bands were still playing with tons of people still walking around. I can't remember the last time I stayed out so late, but since I knew I could sleep in the next morning and not have to take care of anyone except myself, I took full advantage!


We lucked out and found out that Carrie Underwood was having a concert one of the nights we were there. I love her and have always wanted to see one of her concerts so Wayne got us tickets. It was packed!


We were on row 15 so we had perfect seats!

Inside the auditorium, they had so much good food! We thought we'd have a little snack of hot dogs and nachos before the show and then get dinner afterwards. At one point, I left to go to the restroom and saw a funnel cake stand. I love funnel cakes, so since we were on vacation, I thought, "What the heck, I can't pass this up!" Since it was so crowded, I had to squeeze my way back to my seat (dropping powdered sugar on everyone in the process). When I finally got to my seat, guess what Wayne said? "Ashley, this is a concert, not the fair." We both laughed because as I looked around, I was the only one with a funnel cake and coke (plus the hot dog and nachos I had earlier).

While Wayne was in a meeting Monday afternoon, I ventured out on my own. I saw this crowd and stopped to see what was going on. Although you can't see her in this picture, it's Taylor Swift doing a photo shoot! For those of you who don't know, she's an up and coming star :)

We spent our 5 days relaxing (I had a day at the spa), eating more than we should, staying out late, sleeping in, ordering room service, and then going to two company parties. I really did have so much fun, but I couldn't wait to see my baby! When we got home, Nathan hugged and hugged us both. He was so sweet! I think I came home nice and relaxed, and Mama and Papa went home exhausted...but they loved being with him, and I know he had the best time being spoiled.

Dinner with Kelly

Last week, we met Marla, Scott, and Kelly for dinner. We went to the Shops at Legacy where there were tons of Christmas lights up. Kelly and Nathan were so good at dinner, but they had the most fun outside walking around.


Kelly is so sweet, and took Nathan's hand to walk around.


"Kelly, you want to go look at those trees?"


"Come on Nate, just follow me."

Out of all of the lights to look at, they had the most fun on this grate! All they wanted to do was stomp, jump, and run around on it!

Nathan and Lauren

Lauren's parents had to go to a Christmas party, so Nathan and I took care of Lauren for the evening. Nathan was so excited when he woke up from his afternoon nap to find Lauren downstairs!



They always give each other a hug when they first see each other.



I just put up my Christmas tree and surprisingly, Lauren and Nathan just looked and didn't touch. Every morning, Nathan takes my hand and leads me into the dining room and points to the plug because he wants me to plug in the tree :)

"Lauren, this is a book. Can you say book?"

"Smile for the picture lady!"

While I was getting dinner ready, I accidentally left the fridge door open. If a door is open just a crack, Nathan finds his way in, and that's just what he did with the refrigerator!

I could have stopped them right away and kept them from making a mess, but it was just so cute! So I had to run and get my camera. Now I'm sure Nathan will be completely confused about why I tell him "No" when he tries to get into the fridge in the future :)

Nathan with his dinner date.

They ate a really good dinner although you can see Nathan trying to pass off his veggies to Lauren.