Happy Father's Day

"Any man can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a dad." -- Anne Geddes

Happy Father's Day!




Today was just another day for us with the one exception that we gave daddy a little more love and attention than we typically do (shhh...I think he may have liked it!!). A nature walk and a quiet dinner at home followed by good ole' TV. Relaxing! Nate and daddy got some good quality time together, which is what really matters most.

We are gearing up for a very busy month of July. We're spending time on the lake in NH, heading to amusement parks, camping, and visiting local fairs. Hopefully I will find the time to blog all about it. :-)

Nate is getting so big I can hardly stand it. We are truly living in the land of toddlerhood. Some days it's great and other days I think I feel like an octo-mom (lol!). In all seriousness though I am loving this stage. I love watching him crinkle his eyebrows when he is frustrated or doesn't know how to express himself. I love that he loves to take his flinstones vitamins each day. I love how he says "potty mommy" and then sits on the potty, only to say "all done" and then walk away and pee all over the floor. I love how he runs to me at the the end of the school day. I love how he says "more, more". I love to look for turtles with you. I love how you pucker up for a big kiss. I especially love how you rock out to disney tunes with me and then all of a sudden in the grocery store start rocking out to the 80's love songs. I love how you are apprehensive about strangers at first. I love how you didn't love the slip n slide mom bought you. I love how I could go on and on...

Little man is growing up before my eyes and there is really not much you can't love. He is now in the 'big kid' classroom and is running around each day with 3 year olds. We're starting slowly with potty training and he is getting the idea. Over the next month or so we'll start to get more serious. Nate has a mini obsession with barney who he calls 'barda' so I am hoping I can get him to some type of show or something similar. He is starting to also really like Dora and Diego and anything animal. As you can see below, Nate LOVES animals! I am very thankful for that.

First trip to the Philly ZOO

The Animal Go round...


Hangin' with Dad in the tiger exhibit...

a little peak at some of the exhibits we saw...







Top it all off with some ice cream

And a Nap!


We all really had a wonderful time at the zoo last weekend. Nate was infatuated with the animals and couldn't believe there was a new one at every corner. His favorite was definitely the tiger exhibits-- he loves to meow! We think we'll make this a yearly visit to see the animals and take advantage of the educational opportunity that comes along with it. We had fun!

B-day Celebration # 2 and # 3!

Birthday cake!!

Opening presents at Nanny's house...Nate's favorite part of the party!



Blowing out my candles....he was so proud of himself


Party at home!






And then some playtime outside! Learning to ride his bike, and playing ball with dad...



I know, it sounds ridiculous...and it really wasn't over the top...but we had to celebrate our baby's 2nd birthday for as long as we possibly could! (one more party this weekend too!).

Happy Mother's Day

What a beautiful day here in PA! Nate and Rich woke me up to fresh flowers and a beautiful card! Nate gave me an extra long kiss and a big hug! I am so lucky to be your mom, Nate. Here's what I got for Mother's Day!





Nate made them himself in school; I am so proud of you little guy!

Happy Mother's Day 2009!!!

The arrival of Lily Mae

Molly and her first born little girl...

Nathaniel entertaining himself at the hospital....way too cool for school mom!

Nanny helping Nate see Lily...she's 3 days old!

Nanny and her first granddaugther!

Little Lily resting peacefully...

Nate and Nanny playing together...

The family of 3...

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY Nathaniel!!!!!!!

I am sitting here now looking at my little boy fast asleep and in disbelief that he is now 2 years old! Exactly 2 years ago today at 8pm GMT our little bambino was born into the world.

Happy Birthday Nathaniel, mommy and daddy love you (and Jun and Ben, too) more than words can describe.

Tomorrow is part 1 of his birthday celebration. In the early morning we will wake to sing Nate Happy Birthday and let him open a couple presents to get the day going. Then he'll have a party at school with cupcakes (I just taste tested- yellow cake with chocolate forsting and sprinkles- yum). We plan to go out to dinner and over to Target to let him pick out a present. On Sunday, we will have a little celebration here with just the 3 of us-- yup, more cake and presents!

Last weekend we celebrated with Nanny and Bud and over Memorial day weekend we'll have another little party for him with Grampy and Auntie Momo (ok, I think he may be a bit spoiled- but he is turning 2!!). :-)

I have some pics to get posted this weekend. In all honesty the past few weeks have been crazy. 3 weeks ago my grandmother died at the very respectable age of 94. She had a wonderful life but needless to say losing a family member is always difficult. On a brighter note, Auntie Momo gave birth to Lily Mae and Nate and I took a drive up to visit last weekend. I do have pics and she is adorable. It never ceases to amaze me how tiny little newborns are! Finally, earlier this week Juney's back legs became paralyzed. It was very sudden and appeared pretty serious. We took him to the vet for xrays and bloodwork on Monday and they recommended we take him to the hospital for further testing. We took him later that day and he had a cat scan and meilogram. The neurologist had narrowed down the diagnosis to a couple different situations. The results showed he has a slipped disc in his back lumbar area which is causing the paralysis. Typically surgery would be recommended but his case was mild and he came home Wednesday on doctor's orders for rest and a heavy course of steroids. Thankfully, his prognosis is fairly good.

Needless to say, we are hoping for a relaxing birthday weekend....did I mention with presents and cake?!

A boy and his dirt road...

Lately we have been taking advantage of the beautiful weather and going for nice long evening walks. We usually pull Nate about half of the walk but lately he has been exercising his independence A LOT more (that's a whole other story in itself!) and he is wanting to walk and run with us. We usually walk down to the pond to see the fishies and turtles or up the road to visit the other puppies in the neighborhood. Each walk we are always discovering something new. Last week Nate discovered how to pick a bouquet of dandelions and deliver them to Mom. Love it!