Nathan's First Christmas

Hello all! I hope your holidays were as great as ours. We had a wonderful Christmas. My child was totally spoiled rotten. He was so cute in his little blue corduroy suit on Christmas Eve. I don't have any pictures of it, though. Forgot to get them from the Grandmas.

Christmas morning was so great. Exhausting, but great. As usual, I was up til after 3am trying to get everything ready for the big day. Just as I was about to go to bed, Mr. Nathan decided to wake up to play. Usually if he wakes during the night we just give him a bottle and he goes right back to sleep. Evidently he knew it was Christmas. He woke up bright-eyed and ready to play. He wanted nothing to do with his bottle and he was not having any part of going back to sleep. He was up until 5:30! Then we had to get up at 8:30 so we could have our presents and get to my mom's in time for breakfast. So needless to say, we were like zombies.

Nathan did really great opening his gifts, but we had a little trouble getting him to put down the toy he just opened long enough to open another. He looked so cute in his little Christmas pjs, and he had the most sober look on his face while he unwrapped his gifts. This present thing is serious business!



You wouldn't believe the amount of stuff Nathan got. I thought he'd be opening all day!!




I got the cutest little package from Nathan. (I have a feeling Daddy helped.) It was all wrinkled and crumpled and it said, "To Mama From Nathan." Inside were the most adorable ornaments. One of them was a Boyd's Bear one that said, "I <3 Mom."



We had such a busy holiday! We went to Bryan's parents and then church on Christmas Eve, then we had Christmas morning at home, then breakfast at Mom's, lunch at Bryan's cousin's, and another dinner at my aunt's house. We all came home worn out. Nathan was spoiled, Bryan was spoiled (He got a PSP), and I was spoiled. I got nearly everything on my list. All in all, I have to say it was a fantastic holiday. and thanks to this little giftie that Santa brought to Mommy, I'm all ready for New Years!!



I hope you all had a wonderful holiday too, and a Happy New Year!

A Blast From Our Holiday Past

After seeing Kim's Blog I just had to post a video featuring ToyBoy. I used to rush home from school everyday in December to watch a local program called "Santa's Toy Shop." They're showing the old episodes this year, so we've been recording them for Nathan. He's really fascinated by ToyBoy. Watch and see how cute he is here, and see the best Santa-laugh ever. Enjoy!



Merry Christmas!!!

A Little Holiday Meme

Here's a little holiday activity I got from Kim's blog.

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate?
I like egg nog IN my hot chocolate! Or Bailey's. Yum!

2. Letter to Santa?
I don't usually write one. I guess I'll be helping Nathan write one next year.

3. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree?
He wraps them of course. In his own special paper.

4. Colored lights on your tree/house or white?
Colored lights on my balcony, and white on the tree.

5. Do you hang mistletoe?
No.

6. When do you put your decorations up?
Whenever I get around to cleaning the house enough to decorate. Usually not long after Thanksgiving.

7. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Aunt Geri's cheese ball!!

8. Favorite holiday memory as a child:
My dad's a fireman, and his 24 hour shift usually ended at 7am on Christmas day. We'd sleep in Mom's bed on Christmas Eve and no matter how early we woke up, we couldn't leave the room until Dad got home. That time we spent waiting was painful yet sweet anticipation. My little sis and I would spend the early morning giggling and bothering Mom for just a little peak.

9. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I really don't remember.

10. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Never as a kid, even though we used to beg and plead. Now we do sometimes, depending on the easiest way to fit in time with all of the parts of our families.

11. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
It's a tiny prelit 3ft. tree, that fits my collection of Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer ornaments perfectly. Oh, and a crocheted angel tree topper.

12. Can you ice skate?
Never tried.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Too many to choose a favorite. There was a year with a Barbie Mansion. A leather jacket I didn't think I was going to get. A puppy! (Love ya, Aggie!)

14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you?
Well now it's making sure Nathan has a fantabulous wonderful holiday, and getting to spend time with all of the family.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
Ginger Snaps! Though they haven't been the same since Grandpa doesn't make them anymore.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
The candlelight service at our church on Christmas Eve.

17. What tops your tree?
A crocheted angel.

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?
Giving. I love to pick out and give gifts I know someone will love. Though I do of course love to get pretty things. :)

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Any by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, or Nat King Cole

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
Yummy! Especially in hot chocolate!

I'm not sure if any bloggers read my blog other than my sis and sis-in-law, but anybody who does is welcome to copy, paste, and play along.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Baby, it's cold outside! We've been hit with a nasty ice storm. We had thunder and rain all evening yesterday, and all night too. Then it dropped below freezing and poof! Everything has a nice protective ice coating. I took a few photos outside the apartment this afternoon. (You can click the images to see them full sized.)



This is the huge tree right in front of our balcony.





And this is the same tree giving the neighbor's car a nice big hug. It's hard to tell in this photo, but every leaf and every branch is encased in about a half inch of solid ice. The branches are so weighed down that they surrounded the neighbor's car and then froze to it.





Tree Popsicle. Yummy!





This broken tree stands in the yard next door, and it was rude enough to litter that branch right in the middle of our driveway.





These are some more broken trees next door. This is minor compared to the huge branches lying all over town. I saw pictures on the local news website of trees that were split straight down the middle and laid over like a banana peel.

We were very lucky to not lose power. (Knock on wood!) I was one of very few that showed up for work today. A lot of my co-workers live out of town or have kids whose schools were closed. It didn't really matter, though, because business was pretty slow today anyway. It's supposed to be even colder tonight. I'm dreading tomorrow just a little.

On another subject, I found out last night that my Mommy-Ears have grown in. I have always been a very heavy sleeper. When I was a kid, my dad always worried because he could set off the smoke detector right outside our rooms, and my sister and I would sleep right through it. I even fell out of the top bunk bed once and my dad picked me up and put me back in it and I never even knew it happened. Last night--or should I say insanely early this morning--I was awakened by the softest little "thump, thump." I sat up in bead instantly, and looked over toward the cradle only to see Nathan crawling right toward me. He's finally figured out how to climb out of the cradle. I knew it was coming. We're just going to have to set up the crib. I knew he was getting way too big for that little cradle, but I was hoping we'd be moved before we had to set up the crib. I remember when he was so tiny you could've fit six of him in that cradle. Wow, how the time does pass!

He's getting so big. He's walking more and more. It's still usually a flurry of quick little listing steps. It's like he says, "I gotta go fast or I won't make it!" He's also figured out how to climb up into Daddy's chair. I was so proud of him. He pushed a box of wipies in front of the chair and climbed right in. My adorable little couch potato!



That's all for now. Here's hoping work is closed tomorrow, and I can stay home and show Nathan the finer points of couch-potatoey-goodness!!

Titles are too hard to come up with

Hello out there! Things have been a little crazy around here. And by crazy, I mean stressful. And by stressful, I mean Bryan never shows stress so I have to do it for both of us and I go totally nuts. The store where Bryan works was sold and changed hands this last weekend. He went in to work as usual on Monday, and was told everyone had the day off so they could switch over the computer system. He went in to work Tuesday and was told, "Oh didn't someone tell you? You don't work here anymore." No notice, no severence, three weeks before Christmas. Nice, huh? Needless to say, I panicked. Especially because he was paid Saturday like usual, and they pay for everything right up to payday, so he didn't even have another check coming to him. I was completely freaking out. I called Mom immediately of course. Because that's what I do. She tried to calm me down and spoke rationally, which I soooo needed.

I was also so angry I could spit nails. How dare they do this to us? Don't they know we have a little boy's first Christmas coming up? If Bryan had quit, they'd have expected notice. Where was our notice? I wanted to take out a full page ad in the paper telling people not to shop there. I wanted to march up and down the sidewalk in front of the store with signs. I wanted to throw eggs, spread nails behind all their tires, etc. etc. I kept dreaming up all of these awful things I wanted to do. Nothing that caused bodily harm. I'm not psychotic. I was just p*ssed off!!

The next couple of days, I was so stressed I'm surprised my stomach didn't eat it's way out of my body. Mom put us on the prayer chain at church, and I know every one of our friends and family were praying for us too. I was praying like a madwoman every chance I got. Then Thursday, Bryan was offered his job back. I wanted him to tell them where to stick it, but I also wanted him to have a job. I was so torn, and I knew it had to be his decision anyway. Besides, he was kind of stuck, because once they offered the job back to him, he was no longer able to draw unemployment. Then I was mad that he was going back. He said he was still going to look for another job but at least this way he'd have one in the meantime. I was afraid that wouldn't happen, because it's way easier to stay at a crappy job, than find a new good job. As someone who worked a job I despised for almost seven years, I knew that better than anyone.

Then yesterday I thought of something that made me feel a little better about the whole situation. I had been praying for an answer. This is what I got. It's not what I was looking for, but He doesn't dial wrong numbers. This must be what is right for us. At least for right now. I have to be confident that what needs to happen will happen, and we don't always get exactly what we think we want, all wrapped up in a pretty bow. But somehow, it always seems to come out okay. So I've tried my darnedest to stop stressing and just see what happens. Most of the time that works, and when I start to freak out, I just remind myself that He doesn't dial wrong numbers.

So enough of all that. How can I be anything but blissfully happy, when I have this at home every night??



Oh, and for every woman who has, or ever has had, a husband, boyfriend, father, or brother, you will enjoy this little gem.



Goodbye for now!

Nathan Taught HimsELF to Dance

You simply must check out this link. It was the hilarious highlight of my day!!

Merry Christmas From the Ackleys

Nathan learned to clap today!! It's so cute. He's clapped once or twice before, but it was always kind of an accident. Today he figured it out. He was clapping up a storm and giggling like crazy. He'd clap four or five times and then look up at us like, "Did you see what I just did???" Then he clapped along with Jack's Big Music Show while he ate his cereal. Then, because he just wants to make my heart explode with mommy-pride, he started dancing! He was clapping and swaying back and forth while The Schwartzman Quartet sang about Jack the Bugle Bunny. I was so happy because I've been hoping and hoping for him to dance. It's so cute when little ones sway and twist to the music. Sure, his rhythm is a little off and his technique is rather rudimentary, but I think with a little work and his very own set of leg warmers, he'll be ready for the next cycle of "So You Think You Can Dance!"

I've been busy scrapping this weekend, so I'll post a few here. You can click the images for a full size view, and there's a link in the sidebar to my whole gallery so you can see what else I've done.









Well, that's all for today. I have to get Nathan ready for his "American Bandstand" audition. "Less lip, Monroe. More sweat!" I know, I know, only old people will get the Fame reference.

Once Again, Better Late Than Never

Happy Birthday Annell!!

Catching Up

Hello out there!! Long time no post. Like that's unusual. :) Anywhooo, it's Sunday afternoon and Nathan is fast asleep, so I finally have time for a catch-up post. Last weekend Mom and Chuck and Nathan and I went to Oklahoma to visit my brother, Shawn, and his family. I couldn't believe how much his kids have grown!! It really has been a long time since I've seen them. This was the first time they've gotten to meet Nathan, too. Sadly, I have very few photos due to some mostly-dead camera batteries. I have to get some from Mom's camera to post and/or scrap. I do have one cute one of Nathan and Uncle Shawn, though.



Last night the family all met at my Aunt's for dinner to celebrate Granny Ruth's birthday. I had to work, so Mom took Nathan with her. I got there just after he fell asleep. Apparently he'd fought it long and hard. He wouldn't let anyone hold him, because that might make him fall asleep, but he was too sleepy to let them put him down, either. This led to the very peculiar sleeping position he was in when I arrived. I just had to document this:



He stayed like that until his Grandma's feet got too tired to hold him. What a goofy kid! (Disclaimer: Please forgive the little chocolate mustache. Granny Ruth shared a little devil's food icing with him before he konked out.)

Today after church we had our monthly potluck dinner, and after that, we tied fleece blankets for Project Linus. It's a really great charity that provides handmade blankets to children who are ill or have been traumatized in some way. It's the second time we've participated in this mission project. Today we made 20 blankets in an hour. Project Linus takes any kind of handmade blankets including knitted, crocheted, quilted, or whatever. We made the very simple no-sew tied fleece blankets like the one Nathan is enjoying here:



I've actually gotten partially caught up with my scrapping, too. I fell way way way behind while I was working on Mom's birthday party. Here are a couple of pages I've done recently. As always, you can click the photos for larger images, or visit my gallery link in the sidebar to see them at Designs In Digital.









Well, I believe I've covered all of the major happenings in our lives of late. I'm sure you all feel fascinated and enriched now for having read it. Glad I could be of service. lol

See ya next time!

Happy Trick-Or-Treats!!!

It's late, and I'm exhausted, and I have to be at work at 8:00 in the morning. That being said, I was given very strict orders to post photos of Nathan's Halloween costume immediately if not sooner. So here you are, Auntie M. It's the most adorable frog prince you've ever seen!

Oh yeah, I DO have a blog!

Wow! Long time no see, huh? Didja miss me? I'm not even sure who I'm talking to. Sorry I was away for so long. I was crazy busy and I couldn't even blog about it, because it was a great big secret. I was plotting away, trying to throw my mom a surprise 50th birthday dinner. Meagan was here for the celebration, and that was a surprise too. I didn't think it was possible, but we pulled it off. We actually surprised Mom. At least she's letting us think we did. lol Anyway, it was a great party. We had a lasagna dinner and cake and punch for over 50 of Mom's friends and family. Thanks to the tons of help from my sister, my aunt, and my cousins, it was a great success.






Not a whole lot more has been happening around here. Nathan's growing like a weed of course. He's still just got the two teeth. He keeps threatening to grow more, but so far he's just been bluffing. He cruises the furniture with ease these days. He'll be walking before Thanksgiving. I'm sure of it. We put him in a walker at the church and he goes 100 miles per hour. Backwards. I finally got him to go forward by pushing the walker slowly so his feet were moving the right way, but when he wanted to go fast, it was backwards or no-wards.

The weekend before Mom's party, we took our annual trip to Rolling Hills Wildlife Refuge out by Salina. Mom, Aunt Geri, Grandma and I go every year on the weekend of Columbus Day. It's a really great zoo with a fantastic museum. It's such a pretty setting and you can get a lot closer to the animals than you can in most zoos. This year we took Nathan and my cousin Kaydee with us. Nathan really likes zoos. He's been to three different ones already. He loves to be outside, and he really looks at the animals. Though I think his favorite exhibit is the people. He was really interested in the ring-tailed lemurs. They were running and climbing and flipping those long tails, and he was fascinated. We had a really good day for the most part, until Nathan crawled out of his stroller and landed on his head. He was fine except for a pretty gnarly goose egg. We iced it right away so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Our bad luck wasn't over, though. We were getting ready to leave, and as we walked back to the gates, Grandma tripped over a flower bed and fell. She ended up fracturing her wrist, so we spent the evening in the ER. She's doing well, except for trying to get around with a giant cast going from her fingers up over her elbow. That makes everything difficult. We've been doing our best to take care of her though. She seems to be healing well.

Well that's all the news I can cram into one post for now. I'm starting to nod off at the computer, so I think I'll head to bed before this entry becomes pages and pages of one key repeating because I've landed face first in the keyboard. Night all!!

Oh wait! Can't have a post without a picture of the cutest baby in the world! Here he is:

A Little Late, But...

That's just who I am. If I were on time, no one would recognize me. Anyway, here it is:


We love you Meagan!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuckered

The fair wore him out! Be sure to turn up your sound.

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair...

If you've seen the musical "State Fair," that title may have you humming now.

We took Nathan to his first Fair tonight. We had so much fun! He really enjoyed being outside all day, and all of the activity going on around him. His little neck may be sore from swinging his head from side to side trying to take it all in.

He got to pick a duckie. I remember doing this at the fair every year when I was a little girl.



He won a red rubber ball. That reminds me of another song...



We also shared one of my favorite fair treats: Dippin' Dots. I was afraid Nathan wouldn't like them because they were so cold, but he went nuts for them!



And this is the face we make when the Dots are all gone.



That sour face only lasted for a minute, and that was the only fussiness all day. So all in all, we had a really good family outing. I can't wait for next year so Nathan can ride the carousel!!

This last photo I'm posting just for my sis, and she will totally get it.



That's all for now! Tune in next time...

I Heart Yo Gabba Gabba!!

Wow! I've never watched this before, but it's my new favorite show! I was trying to get ready for work today, and Nathan decided to be a little clingy, so I turned on the tv. I know, I'm a terrible mother for parking my baby in front of the tv, but I just needed a little time to get some stuff done. Anyway, Yo Gabba Gabba was on, and Nathan was just mesmerized! He wouldn't take his eyes off it! I think I'm going to have to Tivo a few episodes.

We're Back!!!

We made it back okay from our trip to Auntie M and Uncle Dave's. It was a really great trip and we had a blast. We travelled at night on the way down, and Meagan had breakfast for us when we arrived at 5am. Now that's sisterly love! Bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy, hash browns, it was fit for a king. In a nutshell, we shopped Friday, swam Saturday, went to the zoo Sunday, and came home Monday. I'll be sharing more photos in the next few days, but i have to share this video. I guarantee you, you've never laughed so hard at linguini in your life. This is Nathan eating (or trying to eat) his very first pasta, and trying to figure out what in the world we're all laughing at. We're all just trying not to pee our pants.

Just a quick update!

Not a whole lot going on around here. I just wanted to post a Nathan-update. We went to the doctor on Wednesday, and our little man got a glowing report. He's up to 19 pounds, 7 and a half ounces, and he's 27 and a half inches long. He's growing wonderfully, and ahead on most of the milestones. (i.e. reaching for things, sitting up, rolling over, etc.) We already knew he was doing fabulously there. He sits like a champ and within the last couple of weeks, he's started pulling himself up on the furniture and crawling on all fours. Cousin Matthew's got him beat for teeth, though. He's got two already! Mom and I decided he needed those to help fend off all of those brothers and sisters. (5 of them!!)

Nathan and Mom and I are going to visit Auntie M and Uncle Dave this weekend. We're all so excited that we're counting the hours. Well, all of us but Daddy. He keeps saying, "You're taking my boy for four whole days?? That's such a long time!" He's really going to miss his little buddy!

Well, I know it isn't much of an entry today, but I'll write more later. I know I'll have tons of new photos to scrap and share after our trip, but here are a couple of new pages I've done recently. Enjoy!

Where Does the Time Go??

My sweet baby is six months old now. I can't even believe it!! It seems like yesterday that I was pregnant, yet when I look at newborn pictures I think, "That was ages ago!" To really see how much changes in just six months, check out this video of Nathan. He was only about a week old in it. This also happened to be the first video I ever shot with my camera, so it isn't any cinematic masterpiece. It was more of an experiment with the movie setting, but it does serve to illustrate how much Nathan has grown and changed in his first half a year.



Amazing, isn't it? He used to make every move in slow motion. Now it's nearly impossible to keep up with him, and it's just going to get harder I know. I'm a little nostalgic for the tiny little bundle that used to sleep on my chest and fit in my hands. Now I have a squirmy 18 pound baby boy who's over two feet long. I do love this age, though. He's so much fun. He's the happiest baby I've ever seen. He smiles all the time, and he's very social. I love his little giggle! Sometimes I can't wait until he's older, and sometimes I want to keep him six months old forever. Just to compare, here's a little video I shot in Lawrence while we were there for B's cousin's wedding. This is Nathan and his daddy playing together in the hotel room.



And last but not least, my latest scrapbook page. It's my new favorite. Credits can be found HERE.

The Newest Love of My Life...

Yesterday we had a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. A monster was set loose in our house, and his name is Nathan The Terrible Teether. That poor, poor baby was in so much pain that he just wasn't happy all day. It took me a little while to figure out what was wrong. He would be smiling and playing one minute and screaming and wailing the next. I just could not make him happy. I had to take him to Granny Jane's last night because I had pool league. He was not a happy camper over there either. When I went to pick him up, I brought some baby Orajel. I put it on his little gums, and he was a totally different baby within minutes. He stopped crying and started smiling. He was sitting on my lap and he looked at me and smiled, and then he leaned over and gave me a big kiss. It was so sweet! But then I felt really lousy. I don't know why I didn't do that sooner. It was so easy to make him feel better. It just took me all day to figure out what was wrong and how to fix it. I guess that's just part of being a new mom. It's amazing how motherhood can make you feel supremely happy, extremely powerful, and horribly inadequate. It all just depends on the day. But I wouldn't give it up for the world.



Here's a new LO I did the other night. I really like how it turned out, so I'll share it with all of blogland!


Credits can be found HERE.

His Favorite Skill

I have another Nathan video to share. Mommy and Grandma Helen were trying to get a picture of his beautiful smile, and this is what we got instead. What we failed to capture in this slightly dark video is the exact shade of crimson his face turned. He was working so hard on those raspberries, I thought he was going to pop! Enjoy!

Randomness...

Hello out there in blogland! It's been a long time. What is it about not having a blog that makes it really easy to come up with things to blog about? I've come to the blog several times in the last week, and just couldn't come up with enough for an entry. Suddenly I have nothing to say? Right.

I can brag that my sweetie hubby brought me these gorgeous things yesterday:

Ain't he great?! For some reason, you can only see 11 in the photo, but there are a dozen. I love the multi-colored bouquet. The best thing about them? They're No-Reason-Flowers. It's not a special occasion, he isn't in trouble (as far as I know), he just brought them cuz he wanted to. What a stud!

So I'm sure no one is going to be shocked, but I have to spend the rest of the entry braggin' on my baby boy.

Wait, sidetrack: You know, I never thought about it much before, but all of those people who get tired of hearing new moms go on and on about their little bundles of joy should just hire them a babysitter and take them out for Margaritas. Sure, you'll probably hear about every cute thing the little carpet-varmit has done since labor and delivery, but at least when the night is over she'll have one child-free story to tell. The reason we new mommies only talk about our babies is not because they're particularly exceptional (though mine is) or extra, extra cute (he's that as well) or because they think no one has ever experienced a more wonderful baby than their baby (that's my boy!). It's mainly the fact that there isn't really time for anything else, so there isn't anything else to talk about.

Think about it. What do people make small talk about? Great books you've read? Dr. Suess usually doesn't count. Movies you've seen? Not if they're more than five minutes long. That's about the average chunk of free time. Politics? I don't even have a clue what the president's latest screw-up is. Weather? Don't even talk to me about weather. It just reminds me that the seasons will change soon, and I don't know if Nathan has enough warm clothes. Or maybe he has enough warm clothes, but not enough in-between-seasons clothes. He's growing so fast it seems like I put pants on him in the morning and they are shorts by nightfall. Speaking of nights, we're working on changing his sleep-schedule. It's so important to get him on a schedule. Speaking of schedule, when's his next doctor's appointment? Is he due for shots? The doctor said to start feeding him fruits soon, and then meat. Will he still want his cereal? Speaking of cereal, what time is it? Is it nap time, or dinner time? Oh, did you say something? What were we talking about again?

Your Honor, the defense rests.

So back to braggin' on the boy. He's crawling all over the place these days. He's getting so good at it, he hardly ever tips over anymore. I kind of miss that. It was so cute when he'd get his arm caught underneath him and tip forward on his face with his bottom half up in the air. Guess you have to be there. Anyway, I took a little video of him crawling today. Now remember, I'm not a professional videographer and I took this with my Canon digital camera, not a real video camera. It takes him a minute to get going, and the cat decided she was ready for her close up, but then you can watch him take off and crawl right to the camera, then get tired and take a little rest. Ignore the E! channel playing in the background. I'm ashamed to post actual evidence that it was on my tv for more than 30 seconds, but I swear I wasn't watching it. So here it is; enjoy!

Shopping For Hairplugs

So what's up with post-partum hair loss? I know it exists, but my little man is nearly six months old, and my hair is still falling out in handfulls. Every morning in the shower drain there's enough hair to make a Cher wig! It's annoying and frightening. I keep checking for bald spots. So far I haven't found any. I'm worried because I didn't really think my hair got all that much thicker while I was pregnant, so if it keeps up like it is, Nathan and I will have matching chrome domes. A bald baby is adorable, but I'm not sure I can pull off the Britney Spears look. Besides, he's finally starting to grow some hair. The little traitor. On the upside, I guess I can order one of those "Solar Panel for a Sex Machine" t-shirts. I've always wanted one of those. Ugh!

Here's my newest LO. Credits can be found here.

We're Rockin'!!

One more first this weekend: we took Nathan swimming! Since we sadly do not have a yard, my mom set up a little kiddie pool at her house for Nathan. I thought he would cry when we put him in it, like he did when I dipped his feet in the water at the lake, but he really loved it! Of course he had about fifty toys in there to distract him. He played and splashed Daddy and tried to eat all the toys. Oscar (the weiner dog) was trying to lick the water off his head, and then ended up getting in the pool with him. It was a lot of fun to watch. This child is so well documented it's not even funny. I was snapping away with my camera, my mom was snapping away with hers, and Grandpa had his video camera out. If Nathan ever becomes famous, the paparazzi won't bother him a bit. lol

Speaking of pics...

And I almost forgot! My fabulous SIL named me a Rockin' Girl Blogger!

You like me, you really like me! I'd like to thank the little people; my manager, my hairdresser, etc. etc.

Now I have to bestow this honor upon five other Rockin' Girl Bloggers.

• Fantacy, You Rock!! This scrappin' bloggin' diva has two blogs, and she may use this little banner on either one of them. Check out her awesome freebies!
• Miss Kim, You Rock!! This awesome bloggin' girl shows off her gorgeous LOs and then shares some fabulous templates, too! And she doesn't live too far from me!
• Gina, You Rock!! Gina Miller has probably never heard of me, but I have to include her as a Rockin' Girl Blogger. I love to read her blog all about her little kidlets and shopping and her fabulous designs!

Until next time...

Big Weekend

Nathan got to experience his first demolition derby this weekend. Some of B's friends from Stafford were driving in the derby, and Nathan hadn't got to meet any of that crowd yet, so we decided to go. My parents went to the derby with us and then took Nathan home so we could stay for the after party. He had a lot of fun, though just like the Little League game we took him to, he didn't seem to be all that interested in the event itsself. What he was interested in was the checkered flag they gave him and all the other kids in attendance. Only instead of waving it, he just tried to eat it. He's at that age where he's part goat and part dustbuster, so everything within reach goes directly in his mouth. That is, unless he misses and puts it in his eye. Don't worry, we watched him really close to avoid that.

Here's the Get Bent Demo Crew we went to cheer on.

Nathan had another first this weekend too. Now that he's five months old, he was ready to start eating veggies! We started with squash, and I made sure to have the camera ready to capture the funny faces, but he didn't really make any. He seemed to just take it in stride. Just another day in the life. Oh well, here's a piccy anyway.

Until next time...