Nate's big boy bed!

I am ashamed to say that Nate was still taking a nap in his swing. And...we all know where he sleeps at night. But, he is getting to big for his swing. So, when the Christmas tree went up, the swing came down. Nate was so excited about helping Daddy take apart the swing. If he only knew what he was doing!

Today was the first day of napping in the big boy bed. Brad sat in there with him and he cried for about 40 minutes. It was torture (for me), but he slept for 1 hour and 20 minutes. He is getting to be such a big boy!

Our Thanksgiving

Today we had my family to our house for Thanksgiving. Grammy, Grampy, Great Aunt Ellen, Emily and Amy gave over for lunch. My mom (Grammy) cooked the turkey and dressing and I made the rest. Aunt Ellen made party pizzas and ranch dip and Emily made a great Texas Caviar. Nate and I made yummy turkey cookies. I have never allowed him to eat sweets but let him have a cookie. He didn't like it! It made me so proud!

While I was cooking this morning, Nate and Brad went to Kroger. While they were there, Nate hit his lip on the handle of the cart and busted his lip. It is his first real "boo boo." It made me so sad to see it and I didn't even see the blood!

Cooking with Mommy

Today Grammy and Grampy came up to help with Nate while I started cooking for my families Thanksgiving tomarrow. Nate stayed home with Grams and Gramps and Brad and I went to Target to pick up one last gift for Nate and to Walmart. Them me, Nate and Grammy went to Kroger to get a few last minute things for tomarrow. Nate was riding in the cart and there was a rocking horse so I let him down to see it. Bad idea, he would not get back in the cart. This led to a screaming fit in the floor in the middle of Kroger. Yes, I had THAT kid today!

When we got home I put on Nate's apron and he helped me back cookies!

My smart baby

We have been doing sign language with Nate since he was little bitty. His first sign was "milky." He has stopped doing that and now just yanks on my shirt. Now he is doing "eat", "more" and "all done." These are pics from yesterday morning of him doing these signs. Such a smart little guy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today was Nate's second Thanksgiving. I hope that everyone is having a good Thanksgiving and has things in their life that they are thankful for.

I am thankful for a happy healthy little boy, a happy healthy dog and a wonderful husband. I am thankful for a wonderful, supportive extended family and a nice house to live in. I am thankful for a fullfilling job and the money to buy not only the necessities but also some luxaries in life.

Today we went to Nana and Pap's house. Great Grandma and Aunt Jenny and Uncle Lance were there too. We ate turkey and dressing and all the trimmings. Nate loved the dumplins and ate two helpings of them.

The dogs, Molly and Kiki were there and Nate loved them. He kissed them all day long. Nana and Pap have just added a room to the back of there house and Nate had so much fun running through the house. I forgot to take my camera so I do not have any pics to post.

We hope that everyone had a wonderful day!

He slept in!

Let me start this by saying that Nate has never slept throught the night. And yes, mom, I know that is because he is in our bed and he partakes in the "boobie buffet." Sleep is a battle in our house. Most nights it is a battle to go to sleep and then Nate and I visit several times during the night. Most mornings he is up by 6:30 and ready to go. This morning he slept until 8:50! I was awake and didn't know what to do. He nearly missed all of Thomas! When he finally woke up we laid in the bed and watched the last ten minutes of Thomas. Isn't it funny that I now consider 8:50 sleeping in!

My Sweet Husband

When I got home from work today Brad had a surprise for me. Two dosen roses in lavender - my favorite color of roses! It has been a while since he had gotten me flowers and had sure been a while since I had gotten that many! He is so sweet!

My funny little boy!

Nate has really started saying more words. He says "daddy, Reese (esse), up, down, more, thank you, hi, bye, cup, ball, dog, look. These are a few that I can think of. Sometimes though, he gets his words mixed up. Like, the other day we were at Kroger and I had stopped the cart to get something off the shelf. Nate got impatient and started saying "up, up". I think that he was meaning "go." My favorite word mix up happened at dinner the other night. Nate was finished eating and started throwing his food all over the kitchen. I stearnly got onto him and he started crying saying "thank you, thank you." I think he meant "sorry." I had to laugh!

My new big boy bed!

Today we converted the crib to a toddler bed. It made me so sad (even though he hardly ever slept in the crib)! He is not too sure about it. We are trying to get him to take naps in it to start out. Reese loves it!

We miss you Buster

When I was 14 we got a dog. He was big, red and had a wringley face. We named him Buster. He grew into a very big dog. Whenever he would see anyone (the mailman, UPS man, neighbors) he would get so excited. He would want to run up to them so they could pet him. Everyone would ask what kind of dog he was and we would say "staffordshire terrier" which was technically true. Of course, if you know anything about dogs you know that a staffordshire terrier is a type of pit bull. That's right, we had a pit bull. The thing was, he thought he was a poodle! He loved to sit in your lap, loved giving and getting kisses, loved being brush and would very gently take food from you hand. When you would eat food, he would sit at your feet and drool.

When I went off to college he stayed at home with my parents. After college, I moved to IL and he still stayed with my parents because he would not ride in the car. He was terrified of car rids and the vet. I talked to my mom everyday and always asked how Buster was doing. I couldn't wait to see him everytime we went home.

When Nate came along we took Nate home to indroduce him to Buster. Buster loved babies, puppies, kittens, rabbits etc. He really didn't have a mean bone in him. Nate was five weeks old and Buster loved him! He wanted to sniff and kiss him all over.

Buster was getting old (13) and my mom kept talking about the fact that he was getting old and sick. I wouldn't hear of it and refused to talk about it. One Saturday I was talking to my mom and she said that Buster was doing really bad. We decided it was time to go home for a visit. When I walked into my parent's house, Buster jumped up and ran up to me for a kiss. My mom said that he hadn't done that for while. That made me feel so much better that he did that. He was getting thin though.

Two weeks later my mom said that he really was not doing well so we went home again. This time when we walked in the house, Buster just wagged his tail. He was so thin, you could see every bone in his body. It broke my heart. He still gave me and Nate lots of kissed though.

When I got home from work today, Brad told me that Buster had died. My mom called me and said that she had taken him outside and he fell and couldn't get back up so they called the vet and he said that he would have to be put to sleep. My mom and dad were both with him and they had given him a nerve pill so he would be calm (like I said he was afraid of the vet's office.) Mom said that he wasn't afraid at all.

I am heartbroken and will always remember him. He would have been 14 in January and lived a good life.

We voted today!

After Nate went to the dentist, I had to go to work for a little while. I only worked for about three hours and then came home. We all went to play at the park and then went and voted. Brad wasn't registered so me and Nate voted. When we went to take the ballot to the machine I asked the man if we could take a pic and he said that he guessed we could. Brad was not happy and said that I embarrassed him taking pictures!

I thought it was monumental considering it is Nate's first election and such a historical election.

Nate's first dentist appointment

We went to the dentist this morning. Her name is Dr. Biggs. She is a pediatric dentist in Marion. Nate LOVED it. She held him in her lap and looked at his teeth and counted his teeth and then flossed his teeth. So, now we have to brush and floss his teeth. Dr. Biggs said that his teeth look good and that it looks like he will have his other molars in the next six months.

Mommy's day at the spa!

I had a gift certificate from the spa that I had gotten for my birthday (in May) that I had never used. I feel so guilty being away from Nate on the weekends since I work during the week. You gotta love mommy guilt! I finally decided to use it. I got up early and feed Nate breakfast and headed out. I was afraid that Nate would cry but he stood and the door and waved and said "by". (Thank you Nate for not crying)

I got a bath and a facial. The bath was amazing. It was 25 minutes but I could have laid in there for days. Then the facial. It was relaxing but nothing like the bath! I want this for every holiday for now on!

I got home and Nate and Daddy had a good boys time while I was away. They had played hard and watched Thomas. Daddy needed a nap and laid back down (men - what whimps)!

I am definatly looking forward to going back!