Let’s Celebrate Birthday #2!

It’s January 4th and it’s time to celebrate birthday #2 for Nate! It turned out to be a wonderful day and Nate was in a good mood. Actually, everyone was in a good mood. Audrey had her first day back to school. She asked me to pick her up early from school because she didn’t want to miss Nate’s birthday party. How cute! But the festivities weren’t planned till 4:30 so everyone could get together. Usually we have a big family gathering at our house but as family moved away and great-grandparents get older it has become a smaller gathering. We decided on a smaller celebration with Matt’s parents at their house.

Now Nate knew it was his day. Funny how they get that so early. Anytime you said “birthday boy” or  sang “Happy Birthday,” he would smile and giggle. I feel so blessed to have him in my life (like I do both my kids) and that he is healthy with minimal complications. So this birthday felt so much more special to me than his first. Only because we didn’t have to under go all that testing and I’ve gotten comfortable with the things that can come with dwarfism. I contribute this to our wonderful blogging moms and dads out there.

At grandpa and grandma’s house we had Taco Bell for dinner. You may laugh at that but Nate L-O-V-E-S  TB burritos. So you get your choice of birthday dinner! Grandpa made 2 wonderful cakes. Why I didn’t take pictures, I don’t know? But one was a teddy bear (3D-like) and the second was a strawberry cake. Unfortunately all the excitement made Nate toss his cookies, so he got a birthday bubble bath before he opened presents. It was just 10 days ago that we celebrated Christmas with a ton of presents so what else could a boy need… a car! While everything he got was a big hit minus the clothes, I say his new red coupe was his favorite. He drives it everyday! Happy 2nd Birthday Nate!!!

           My new Car!                          Dad, grandpa and me!

              Say Cheese!                      Here’s the Bear Cake!

 

Nate in his house again! Can’t get enough!

Ho Ho Holiday #1

Tuesday was the day to celebrate Christmas with my side of the family. It was a small gathering of my husband and kids with my aunt and grandma. We celebrated at my aunt’s house which is always beautifully decorated for the holiday. Since the kids are so anxious to open presents we did so before Christmas dinner. They received a bag full of goodies, one being a Hersey Kisses cane which was the perfect size for Nate. He enjoyed walking around the house using it as a cane. The kids got a lot of wonderful stuff and Nathan is still afraid of his remote control skidster. It will be awhile till he can brave that.

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Ho Ho Holiday #2

The next celebration was Christmas Day at our house. I really thought that we would make it to 7 am before the kids would be up. I was wrong. I was gently nudged and whispered to in my ear at 4am by Audrey. I mumbled back to get back to bed. Soon after I heard her singing in her bed in which I had to tell her to go back to sleep. 5 am rolls around and I hear in my ear, “mom, I know what Santa brought me!” Go back to sleep Audrey!! At 5:30 I finally gave in and we gathered to open presents. Audrey was ready to tear into everything, forgetting that there were presents for her brother. I got her to slow down and read the gift tags. Nate wasn’t to sure what he was suppose to be doing. He insisted on taking off his PJ’s. I had him in a cute footed sleeper, which he hates because his feet are covered. You’ll notice his homage to the 70’s with the sleeper half unzipped in some pictures. But he finally understood that ripping paper off to see what’s inside can be fun. The kids were happy with all that they got and really enjoyed there gifts. Nate got two more gifts that took some warming up to; his dump truck and his talking Buzz Light-year! We do gifts for our animals too! Bentley got a gigantic bone which was funny to see him carry around. Kids got to play with all their toys until we left for Holiday #3.

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Ho Ho Holiday #3

By 3:30 we were off to my in-laws. More gifts and a wonderful meal awaited. My father-in-law is a wonderful cook and made the best spread this year. Beef roast with all the fixings and cheesecake for dessert. But before all that the kids had to open their gifts. Now you think that it is the kids who are impatient. No, no grandma and grandpa can’t wait! This is their favorite time of year. My father-in-law works for 4 weeks decorating. He puts up 3 Christmas trees. The first being a 16 ft tree in the living room. Decorated with at least 10,000 lights and thousands of glass and handmade ornaments (some which he made). The second tree is a 12 ft three in the sunroom which has a Victorian theme. Pearls, crystals, candles and paper ornaments decorate that tree. Thirdly is a small tree in their bedroom decorated with birds and snow tipped as if it just came in from the outside. He makes all the mantle pieces and the decorations for the stairway. It is amazing and beautiful. So the kids made out pretty well for Christmas. Audrey got a TV for her bedroom. We got it all hooked up and now I can’t keep Nate off her bed. They both enjoy watching it. Nate got a playhouse for outside and a rollercoaster for him to ride. Both brought big smiles and that’s all he wanted to do. He didn’t want to sit at the dinner table and eat. So, frustrating when you just want to relax and enjoy the night. As mentioned early, the decoration don’t allow me to let a 2 year old run around unsupervised. It was a wonderful Christmas and look forward to celebrating 3 birthdays in January. Nate’s is the 4th, Matt’s the 10th and Audrey’s the 28th. Hers will be the big one with a party!

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We also enjoyed baking with my new cookie pan. It was easy to make and easy to clean and the cookies were yummy. Audrey visited Santa at the library. I also have some cute pics of Nate with Matt and Nate trying to ride Bentley!

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Happy Anniversary!!

I can’t believe that December 28 is our 8 year anniversary. I have been so blessed to have found my best friend and soul-mate for life. Although it’s been 8 years of marriage. Matt and I have been together for 11 years. I love you so much Matt! We have had a wonderful life and 2 beautiful children. Thank-you for all our precious memories.

Matt and I met by chance. The funny thing was, how many mutual friends we had, yet we never met before that night. Some girlfriends and I had met up with these boys (one being Matt) and were hanging out having a good time. My friends chose to drink. I chose not to. My friend had been the one to drive us and refused to leave. I argued with her about getting back home (it was late) but she didn’t want to come. She offered to drive me home but she wanted to come back. I knew better then to let her behind the wheel. We argue about this for half an hour before Matt offered to drive me home. My knight in shining armor! The next day we ran into each other at a friends Halloween party and enjoyed talking with each other, so much so that I broke my curfew (only 19 living with mom and dad). I thought I had made a good friend and never knew what this relationship was going to blossom into. I knew after a week he was something special. After 3 months we had enough courage to say the “L” word (love you) and at 6 months we were talking about getting married. I made him wait an official year before he popped the question. Old fashioned parents wouldn’t question it after a year long courtship. We were engaged for 2 years as I was finishing school and on December 28, 2001 Matt and I wed.