Our Trip to OKC

Sorry it's been a while since I have posted anything. We just returned this week from spending a week in Oklahoma City with my mom and grandma. Nathan liked spending time with his grandma and great-grandmas, however, he did not like to sleep at night. He would scream bloody murder until I would come and get him and put him in bed with me......then of course he immediately fell asleep. So after a week of sleeping with mommy, we had a little bad habit to break when we got home. The first two nights at home was rough. I had to let him cry it out for an hour before he would fall asleep. Boy it's been a while since we've had to do that! He is finally back in his normal sleeping routine and all is well again! :-) We had a good time in OKC, but there's no place like home. Nathan always learns new things when we take him on trips and this one was no different. He learned to say "bananas" (or "nanas"), "water" ("wawa") and "night-night". When he sees a dog, he'll say "ruff ruff" or "bow wow wow". Today he started saying "ba" for "ball". It's really exciting to see him learning to say words now. It's fun to watch him learn and explore and develop his little personality, but as his personality develops, we can see that he is very determined, but with little patience. He gets so frustrated when he can't do something or we are busy doing something and can't play with him right when he wants us to. When he gets frustrated, he screams and we've done just about everything we can to get him to stop and nothing is working. I'm hoping he gets through this phase quickly. If anyone has any suggestions on how to get him to stop screaming, we are all ears!

Here are some pics from our trip:

The Ravioli Battle

After battling Nathan to let me feed him his ravioli so we wouldn't make a big mess.........guess who won.......

Having some indoor fun

Between the frigid weather (ok well it's in the 40s.....to us Texans, that's cold!) and Nathan's cold, we have been stuck at home for the past week or so. I know we both can't wait till the weather warms up so we can go back outside! Nathan will point out the window like "Mommy I want to play outside!". Here are some pics of him having some fun inside:

Nathan's Dedication

Last sunday we had Nathan dedicated at our church. It was a very special time for us and Nathan did so good on stage and during the prayer. It's so humbling to me when I think about the privilege God has given us to be his parents and what an important job we have as his parents to ensure that he is raised in a Godly home.

Outdoor Fun

This past week we spent alot of time outdoors enjoying the beautiful Texas weather. We went to the park with friends, rode in the wagon around the neighborhood and played in the backyard with bubbles. Here are some pics:

Our Little Guitar Hero

Like I mentioned in my previous post, we have been Guitar Hero freaks here and the obsession has now passed down to the little one.......

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Ok so it's a week into the new year and I'm just now posting about our Christmas.....I'm just now getting caught up it seems after all the holiday festivities.

We had a really great Christmas with our families. Jake's family was down from Minnesota and mine from Dallas. It was the first time we were all together since our wedding 3 years ago! We had a great time! Nathan proved to be quite the little entertainer. Nothing was more precious than getting him dressed in his Santa pajamas and bringing him downstairs and seeing him get so excited to see all his family and his presents. He would scream gleefully and dance up and down and flail his arms about with such joy. This little boy definitely cleaned up in the gift department between his birthday and Christmas! We are set on toys and clothes for the next year. He just loves everything he got for Christmas. He plays with all of his toys all day. One of his favorites is a Radio Flyer wagon that he got from Grandpa Smith. He LOVES to takes rides around the neighborhood and to the park. (It's so nice to be able to do such outdoor activities in January! God Bless Texas!) Nathan is not the only one who got some fun toys for Christmas.......Jake got Guitar Hero III and 2 guitars to go with it and I'll tell you what, I find myself drawn to that game the second I put Nathan down for a nap or if Jake's playing with him. The second Nathan goes down for bed at night, Jake and I begin our guitar battling. I say this with a humble heart........I give Jake a run for his money. :-) I would never have imagined me saying to Jake "you've played enough, it's MY turn!". I think we really have become addicted to this game. Jake went out and used his Best Buy gift card on Guitar Hero II and they came out with an 80s edition of Guitar Hero that is calling my name. Anyways, it's been nice to spend more time with Jake in the evenings instead of him upstairs watching his shows and me downstairs watching mine.

For New Years, we went to our friends Jody and Emily's house and played with their sons, Dylan and Justin. (along with other friends as well) Nathan had a great time playing with all the kids. He LOVES playing with other kids. We obviously didn't last at the party till midnight, but we lasted until 8:30 which is late for Nathan since he usually goes down at 7. Once we got home and put him to bed, I laid on the couch and Jake in his lazy boy and watched all the festivities on tv. I tried so hard to stay awake but just couldn't hang. I fell asleep about 10 and Jake woke me up about 11:30 in time for the new year, then it was straight to bed and back to sleep. :-) Maybe one of these days we'll be back out amongst the crowds for a New Years celebration.