Destined to be friends...we hope!

Nate and Luke are only 6 days apart in age, so they spend a lot of time together in the nursery on Sundays. I managed to catch a few sweet, and not-so-sweet, moments on camera! 

 The picture above cracked me up because of two things: 1) Notice how Nate's shoe doesn't fully velcro...his feet are too fat! 2) Notice how Luke's left foot and ankle are oddly twisted...he is apparently double-jointed in the ankles and can turn his foot to insane angles! 

 Both smiling sweetly at the camera, though Nate's smile is hidden by his current favorite toy,  the "ring"!

 Now they're not so sure about this situation...

And this was the last picture. Right before this Luke shrieked at Nate and tried to grab him (I'm sure in an attempt to be loving=). Nate was scared and began crying. You can see Kristine rescuing Nate from her son's clutches. 

They'll either be best friends or drive each other crazy! We hope that it's more of the former than the latter. 

This week at our home...

This week feels like it has flown by! On Monday, Brett was off and we cleaned out and organized the garage. Now I breathe a sigh of happiness every time I walk out there. It looks so much better! Lexi sleeps in the garage, so there were piles of dog hair everywhere. Yuck!


 I have been trying very hard to stick to my (loose) schedule so that I actually get some office work done. I much prefer to clean the house, or bake some bread, or read some blogs, or go riding, or....etc... than to do office work. However, there is much to be done and it should be one of my top priorities! For the last two weeks I have made it my goal to strictly work on office work during Nate's morning nap. That has given me at least one hour a day and I find that if I start working in the morning then I usually pick it back up later in the day also. So now I am getting caught up and am able to revel in the knowledge that everything is current and all the accounts are balanced! 


On Wednesday I taught riding lessons and Nate stayed at Papa and Gramsie's (or Big Mama's=) house. He now gets excited when we walk in the door and he realizes where we are! There are so many fun people to play with and new things to explore! When I came back to get him, he was asleep so I did some office work and then Mom Hawkins and I went Targeting. I say "Targeting" rather than " to Target" because we always end up walking over the entire store and looking at every clearance section. It was fun and we did remember to get what we originally went for-- a pool float for Nate. 


Nate loves water, the more water the better! He tried to dive head first into the water in the pool when we were there last week. I finally let him, just to see what he would do. He came up sputtering of course, then got all excited and tried to do it again! When it comes to water he is totally fearless. I'm so glad we don't have a pool at our house. It's hard enough to keep him out of the bathtub! Even though it is empty, he loves to crawl into the bathroom, stand up on the side of the tub and try to dive headfirst into it. I'm worried that one of these times he will succeed so we try to keep the bathroom doors shut.


 On Thursday, we took dinner to Brett's Memaw. Brett works right around the corner from her, so we try to meet there for dinner every week. This time Allison and Melissa came along! Earlier in the day, Nate and I went with Jaime and her little girl Brielle to a consignment sale. We found some good deals! I bought a few new toys for Nate, some winter clothes, and a portable highchair seat. 


Here a a few pictures of Nate from this morning, demonstrating his latest accomplishments!

 Nate pulls up on everything he can and will even walk down the sofa while holding on! As you can see, he has discovered that it's fun to stick his tongue out! He's very proud of his ability to stand and frequently bounces up and down in excitement!

 Eating oatmeal and homemade applesauce for breakfast! Yum!

 Uh oh...he's discovered the bib!

 Just this week Nate learned how to drink out of a sippy cup! Before he would try to bite instead of suck, but now he has figured it out and would try to drink water all day if I let him. 

 Here is my wonderful morning coffee! Well...it's not so much that the coffee is wonderful but rather that it helps me have a wonderful morning. =) I did not have any coffee in the house for several days recently and realized that it takes me much longer to get going without it! 

 Nate's favorite recent accomplishment....climbing the stairs! I love that we have just four carpeted stairs between our kitchen and family room. They are perfect for learning! Actually, this was something I thought about when we bought this house. =) Nate has had several tumbles but just enough to (hopefully) give him a healthy respect for the stairs. 

"Why are you taking a picture of me Mom?"

Lol! He is crawling so fast towards me that he is just a blur! 

Birthday thoughts...

I am 25 years old today! Might seem young to some, but it sounds very old to me! A quarter of a century old!  Throughout the day, I've marveled at all that God has blessed me with this year, especially my beautiful, healthy, happy son. So many blessings, large and small, flood my mind when I think back over this year. 
My healthy pregnancy with Nate
Our finding out that he was a boy and naming him a year ago today                                                                                                                 All the love from our families welcoming him into the world
His many aunts and uncles being so excited to hold him!
My mom staying with me for a month after his birth
Gwen's surprise arrival on St. Patrick's day
My niece Ella's birth and her fun times with Nate
Many gatherings with family and friends
Christmas with my family here
Being part of a wonderful church body and going closer to the people there
Working on projects around our house with Brett
Having Brett's family close by with their constant love and support
 ...and I could go on and on...
 It is amazing to think of all the memories that have been made, the lessons that have been learned (and probably mostly forgotten already), and how I have changed over the last year. 

Today I've also thought often of my little brother James who never had a birthday, never even had a day. I've remembered seeing my brother John, hugging my mom over James' tiny coffin and sobbing, "Why him mom? Why did that happen to him and not to me? That could have been me." And I've cried the same thing. 


Those thoughts make me extra thankful for what I've been given, for the time that they've been allotted to me. I want to deeply love what has been given to me but not love it more than the Giver. I desire to truly treasure each year, each moment, and yet hold it all with an open hand. 

The Nater Updater

My dad loves how we call Nate, "The Nater-Tater". Actually, I think I call him Nater more than I call him Nate! He is growing up so quickly. Sometimes I wish I could slow it down, at least a little. I think he learns something new or further perfects an already-existing skill every day! When Brett comes home at night, I always have a story to tell. Earlier this week, Nate learned that he can pull himself up in his crib! So the last two mornings I have woken up to a smiling Nater staring right at me. I think it's time to move his crib into his own room! His crawling has improved immensely and he can move pretty quickly now. He can move especially quickly towards cords, glasses of water, Lexi or Callie, or pieces of paper. Every moment is an exploration! He continually scans the room,  looking for new and exciting things to discover, and subsequently stuff into his mouth. And very soon, he wants to move into another room because he has "discovered" everything in the one we are currently in. Since his main goal in life is now to pull up on things, we have had lots of falls and bumps. =( Nate now has two teeth. The second one coming in last week and the first one about a month ago. You have to be careful when he gives you a slobbery, open-mouth kiss because it can rapidly turn into a bite on the chin! Those little white teethies are sharp! Nate loves to eat, especially finger food that he can pick up himself. He has also realized that some things can go inside other things and he loves dumping laundry baskets or the toy basket. 

 Nate enjoying the breeze in the car at Grandpa's and Nana's.

 Aunt Allison loving on Nate at Aunt Kristin's birthday party

 Nate after waking up from his nap, about to stand up on the side. 

Today has been a particularly grumpy day for the Nater. I have not been able to identify a particular cause. Maybe he has seemed grumpier because I have been so preoccupied getting Gwen listed online. She is officially for sale! I really needed to get her advertised because it would be best to have her sold when I wean her at the end of the month. I will be sad to see her go, but am praying that she sells quickly and to a good home. Here is the link to my main ad. http://www.equine.com/horses-for-sale/horse-ad-1083000.html

Thy will be done...

On June 21st, my little brother James was born. He was 8 lbs, 14 oz and 22 3/8" long. God took him from us before he was born. We miss you so much.