April in Hawaii with the Taranto Grandparents.

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I made a photo book for Greg's dad's birthday-highlighting some of things we did here in Hawaii while they visited us in April. I hope he enjoys seeing all the photos from their trip.

My baby boy is ONE!

Happy Birthday to Nathan! We are going to celebrate his birth when his Daddy returns with a big bbq, cupcakes and homemade ice cream (pictures will be posted of my boy's first cake-I'm sure it will be a hoot.) Today was still a speical day. I made a card for my boy-I think it's cute. I also made a banner (which is also for Nathan's dad-who's birthday is tomorrow)I thought it would have been fun to go out for breakfast to celebrate the day. I remember vividly going out to breakfast at Jeff's Pirate Cove the day before giving birth, I also remember enjoying the breakfast served at the hospital (although I was so hungry-anything would have tasted good)Eggs are a favorite food for Nathan-it would have been a fun tradition to start but we did not go out for breakfast-I thought it might be a little weird going by ourselves-Maybe next year.
We spent the day quietly-We ate enchiladas for dinner and than went for a nice walk around the neighborhood before calling it a night. I told Nathan his birth story-it was fun to remember the day he was born it was more fun to watch Nathan react to me telling a story-he has a lot of facial responses and expressions-mostly cute smiles.
The picture above of Nathan crying made me think of the song "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to..." Nathan is crying because I caught him in the closet playing with my stamps. I took the stamps away and pulled him out of the closet-which he did not like at all. After his crying spell, I had that song stuck in my head all day long.

Happy Birthday Nathan!

Watching Dad

Greg recently bought a new guitar (new to him)and purchased some new knobs and switches for the guitar. The new hardware needed to have larger holes drilled to fit properly. Greg excited to use his drill and thinking it was a wee bit funny-politely asked me to take his picture while he "modified" his guitar. Nathan was cute as usual watching his dad at work.

mmmm Pork Carnitas

Last night I made pork carnitas-It's a crock pot recipe and super easy. Greg thought they were "ok" he'd eat 'em again but he didn't think they were anything special. I liked them because I had dinner put together and on the table quickly and easily with the help of the crock-pot. Nathan LOVED them! He kept shoving meat in his mouth along with corn tortillas, avocado and rice. This made me happy because lately he's been such a picky eater- only eating cereal and scrambled eggs and throwing a fit or turning his head at all other foods. A meal that my boy happily eats and is easily prepared is a winner to me.

Welcome 2011

New Year's eve was the best yet with Greg coming home several weeks earlier than anticipated. He had to work New Year's Day but that's no bother-he'll be home for a while and I'm just happy that he's back safe and sound. This afternoon I took Nathan to the park where we met Hudson. Hudson is a 9 month old who lives on our street but we also see him and his mamma at Stroller Strides (when we go)The babies had a good time playing together.

Nathan's First craft

Nathan and I made our first craft together! I didn't get any pictures since I couldn't easily manage a camera and a 10 month old with inky hands-but the experience was fun for the both of us-of course it took us a few tries since Nathan kept making a fist when I tried to take a print of his hand. Once we got into the swing of things we were able to make about 15 cards. They are going to be our thank you notes for our Christmas presents and/or a Happy new year card. I think it's adorable.

Japan

Nathan and I flew to Japan last week and spent a few days with Greg-it was a fun-filled week.

Looking ahead

I'm enjoying my (very short lived) time with Nathan as a baby but after reading this article I'm looking forward to the future and working in the kitchen together. Nathan loves to sit in his high chair and watch me work in the kitchen-sometimes he spends the time playing with measuring cups and spoons-it's nice to read something that tells me these moments are also learning opportunities. I think it's wonderful when young children are involved in "real" work.

Nathan and Auntie Sarah

We are having lots of fun visiting with Sarah-who (thankfully)takes more and better pictures than I do. Nathan's toy collection increased substantially-thanks to a suitcase filled with goodies from Grandma and Auntie.

Nathan @ Roxie's house

Here are a few pictures of Nathan playing with Roxie's little girl-Arianna

32 weeks!

As usual I've not been diligent about taking and posting pictures. Yesterday (marking Nathan's 32nd week) We went to our church BBQ. Nathan wasn't happy being carried in the sling. (it was too hot for him or there was too many interesting things to see and he didn't want to be bundled up) someone gave me a box of fabric to be crafty with and our pastor walking by joked with me about how my box was so "frugal" and would make a fine crib or playpen. Immediately I took Nathan out of our sling and put him in the box and he loved it-We got a lot of comments and laughs from people walking by. Several people wanted to know where I was mailing him too-I joked and said he was on his way to grandma's house. Someone else said he was way cuter than a puppy. (of course he is) My friend Kari took this photo of Nathan (I didn't have my camera.)

29 weeks

Nathan is getting lots of floor time. I bought a rug for him to play on. Some how he still manages to play on the tile instead now that he can scoot or roll to wherever he wants. Oh well I guess that means I just have to be extra diligent about keeping the floors clean.

pictures from 26, 27, and 28 weeks

I've fallen off the blog bandwagon...but I'm determined to continue on and at the very least post a picture of Nathan every week. So much as happened these past few weeks Last Sunday marked week 28. I can't believe how fast life is going by. Nathan is rolling around front to back and back to front. This new skill makes diaper changing a challenge. His daddy thinks that crawling is right around the corner. Nathan is also eating "solids" his favorites so far include avocado and carrots. We've graduated from the kitchen sink to the bathroom tub for baths. The last few baths have been a TON of fun for my little boy. He laughs and splashes and has a really good time in the water. It's so much fun to see Nathan growing up. It's also a little scary to me when I think about the future and caring for a toddler. My friend Amanda just had a baby a few weeks ago and Nathan is such a big boy when you compare him to such a tiny newborn. At church my friend Mary (a mom of 4-compared to her I'm such a rookie mom )asked me or rather exclaimed "Isn't being a mom wonderful?" my reply Yes. yes it is.


The other day Greg was lying down with Nathan-I thought the contrast in size was so cute and I wanted a picture unfortunately I couldn't get either of my guys to look at camera.

25 weeks

These photos were taken by my new friend Roxie! She did a great job. I love the shots she took w/ Nathan in the grass. It was his first experience sitting in the grass and he was a bit mesmerized by it-I think he liked sitting on the grass.

24 weeks