I’m so sorry that it’s been so long since I updated on here! We’ve had quite the week!

Nathan is now a crawling machine! And I am seeing LOTS of stuff that needs to be baby-proofed. This morning he almost pulled our DVD player on top of himself. And he tossed a bunch of DVDs on the floor. And yesterday, he figured out how to open the fireplace doors.

Oh my.

And not only did we master crawling this week, but he’s been learning how to sit up from a crawling position, he’s pointing at EVERYTHING with his index finger and he’s started saying his consonants – particularly ba, by and buh. Loves those B’s! And I got him to say bama instead of mama, but hey – I’ll take it! 🙂

(Forgive the jacket on the floor, Nathan’s mismatched outfit – I need to do his laundry – and the sounds of Jon lifting weights in the other room. We’re keeping it real here.)

He’s had a HUGE learning growth spurt this week! It’s hard to keep up! Last night, after we got him to sleep, Jon and I just collapsed. I think he might be teething too – Nathan, not Jon. He’s drooling all over everything, today he was running a low grade fever and has been a little cranky the last couple of days.

But, I guess I’d be cranky too if I were being spoon-fed a chicken and applesauce smoothie. 🙂 He seems to love it, though! Today, he’s been really fussy – so at one point, I did something else I said I would never do and I turned on Veggie Tales. In the middle of the day. I really don’t want to get into the habit of having the TV on all the time, but it seemed to distract him for about ten minutes today. He loves dancing to the music! And I thought it was hilarious that Kody sat down and watched it with him.

Yesterday was our running around day – I went to the grocery store, I cleaned the bathroom, I worked out and we met Clint, Leigh Ann and Leigh Ann’s parents at Chick-Fil-A for dinner (they are still waiting for Baby T to make his/her grand appearance!). Jon and I ordered Tony Horton’s 10 Minute Trainer (got it for a great deal on ebay!) and let me tell you – my buns have been feeling it! Ha! I love though that it’s such a great workout in such a short amount of time though – it’s hard finding time to work out these days. Particularly now that Nathan is so mobile!

I’m baking today – I just finished making a batch of Oatmeal Applesauce Muffins (mmm) for breakfasts this week and I’m about to make some chocolate chip cookies. Because what’s the use of getting back into a workout routine without something to burn off? Right?

Your turn! What have you done this week so far?

Look what is coming in September!!!

Yay!! The date got pushed back from its original release in May, but I’m so excited for you guys to meet Kate!

I’ll be back with a real post about it soon – like a synopsis and I don’t know, maybe a giveaway. 😉 Nathan has had a HORRIBLE afternoon as far as things like mood, naps and sanity (actually, that last one might be mine). We’re sneezing all over the place out here since everything is in bloom. Which doesn’t really help the overall morale.

But I was just too excited to wait any longer to post this!!! 🙂

Yay!!!

Last week, my parents rented a house in Durango and asked if we’d like to come along. Jon loves to snowboard, so it was pretty much a no-brainer for us. 🙂 Bryant was back in town and Caleb and Cayce came too.

The house was GORGEOUS! And we had so much fun! Nathan got to hang out with the girls while all the guys went snowboarding and skiing. And we ended up not needing the snowsuit – it was very warm most of the time we were there and there was zero snow where we stayed.

We walked around downtown Durango, we went to the tiny little Durango mall and mostly just hung out at the house with a baby who did not sleep well AT. ALL.

Which means that his mom was exhausted the whole trip too. We started out on the wrong foot as far as sleeping went by forgetting his Pack N Play (we are awful parents). So, we went to Wal-Mart and found one on sale. Which we ended up taking back the next day because Nathan would NOT sleep in it. The next night, we barricaded off a little section in our bedroom for him to sleep on the floor, but I was so worried about him that I didn’t sleep well and he didn’t either.

Jon and I were talking about it and vacations are just different these days. I remember LOVING to go places when I was younger, mostly because the only thing I had to worry about was what souvenir to spend my babysitting money on.

Now, it’s hard because Nathan just does not sleep well away from home, which just makes him a Grouchy Bean during the day. It makes me not anxious at all to go anywhere – so sad because I love to travel!

We still had fun though. We brought the game ImaginIff along and laughed and laughed while we played it and ate strawberry shortcakes during the evenings. I wish I’d gotten some pictures of that.

We celebrated our third anniversary this last week too. So, so fun!! 🙂 We went to a little place here called the St. Clair Winery and Bistro that we’d never been to before and oh my – it was SO good! I got teriyaki-glazed shrimp kebabs and wow. Very delicious! We left there completely stuffed!

What have you been up to this spring?

It was November. And Jon and I had been dating for eight months.

A month before, Jon had taken me on a hike up in the mountains about an hour away from my house. There was a huge river running through there and absolutely no one around. It was so peaceful and so wonderful! We had a picnic, we talked, we laughed, we cuddled by the river’s edge and just watched the water.

It was very romantic.

So, I wasn’t totally surprised when he wanted to go back before it got too cold to go again. He asked me if I wanted to go on his next day off, and days off were very rare with football games and practices every week, student teaching and classes.

Also about a month before this is when we started doing the “hypothetically” talk like this: “So, hypothetically that is, if we got married someday, when would you want to?”

I had been praying for eight months about whether or not Jon was the right one for me. And every day I just got more and more sure about it. I loved him. He loved me. We respected each other. We both loved God. Our families loved us both. There wasn’t much else to think about at that point.

Still, I was figuring he was going to wait until after football season and after the holidays before he proposed. His family was coming in town for Thanksgiving that next week and I was excited to meet his brother Allen and his wife Vicky, who I hadn’t met yet. I’d already met his brother Tommy and his wife Ashlee when they came through town before. And Jon had already asked me to think about coming out to California for New Years.

I figured he would wait until after the craziness had settled down.

We went for our next hike on a Sunday afternoon after church. I brought the sandwiches and Jon packed the rest of the stuff. The drive went by quickly, we talked about church stuff, the sermon, what his next week looked like, some questions that had come up with a few of the high school girls I met with.

Jon carried everything up the probably thirty or forty-five minute hike, we found the same spot we’d sat in before and spread out a big blanket. We ate our sandwiches, still talking, and just relaxed. It was a gorgeous day, but it was pretty cold too, so I was bundled up in a big sweatshirt of his after we’d been out there for maybe twenty minutes.

He stood up once we’d finished eating and cleaned up the food and stretched, then pulled me up too, wrapping his arms around me from behind. And we just stood like that for a little bit, watching the river, not really saying much.

At one point, he leaned down to get some chapstick out of the backpack we’d brought, but then he hugged me again and turned me around to face him.

“I love you,” he said.

I nodded, not really paying attention, and cuddled back in for the hug. “Mm-hmm. I love you too.”

He pushed me away again. “I’m so thankful that God brought you into my life.”

It wasn’t the first time he’d said things like that, so it wasn’t out of the ordinary. Particularly in a sweet, romantic spot like a riverside picnic. So, I just nodded again. “Me too.” Tried to go back in for the hug – partly because I liked hugging him, but partly because it was cold – and he again held me back at arm’s length.

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So, I just have one question…” And he got down on one knee and pulled a little black box from his back pocket.

At this point, I was just completely surprised. “Oh my gosh!” I yelled. And then that’s all I could say. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. Oh my gosh!”

I don’t think I ever said yes, but I guess Jon figured that’s what I meant, because the next thing I knew, he was standing up again, had his arms around me and I had my very first kiss.

And let me say this: It was SO SO SO SO SO SO worth the very, very, very long wait!!! 🙂

It was perfect. 🙂

And then I finally saw the ring, which was gorgeous and about three sizes too big, but I was too stubborn to take it off my finger, so I just kept my fist closed the rest of the day. Which was such fun as we hiked back down to the car in the semi-darkness.

We drove back to my parents’ house and I could NOT stop smiling. I smiled the whole rest of the night, I smiled the whole time we were saying good night before he left, I smiled the whole time I was getting ready for bed and finally I was in bed, by myself in the dark, and I STILL couldn’t stop smiling.

Smiling and watching the way the ring glinted off the moonlight that was filtering through my blinds. And I couldn’t sleep at all, so finally, about 4AM, I texted Jon, since he was supposed to be getting up around then for football practice.

I wrote this:

“WE ARE GETTING MARRIED!!!!!!!!”

I think he got nice and excited for what married life with me was going to be like then. 🙂 Ha! Poor guy. He wrote me back and we ended up texting until six when he informed me that he actually didn’t have to go to practice and so he could have actually been sleeping for the last two hours before needing to go to class all day.

Oops.

And THEN started the crazy, horrible, sweet, awful, complete mix of emotions called engagement.

Wow… I can’t believe it’s been three years!! Time/life goes by fast when you are having fun with the one you love. 🙂

What are your engagement stories?? Or, where do you hope to be proposed to?

My little Nater Tot was eight months old yesterday!

I feel like I JUST finished writing his seven month post! I can’t believe how quickly he is growing and learning and changing.

Nathan is getting to be SO fun. His little personality just shows more and more every day and he is going to be a character and a half! Ha! He’s so happy, so excited for EVERYTHING and so loves to laugh.

We weighed him on the bathroom scale and he’s about 18.5 pounds now – big boy!! He LOVES to be held all the time, so I’m getting quite the workout these days. 🙂

He’s sleeping about 12 hours at night now – yay! He’s also broadened his food horizons and this month, he’ll probably get to try some protein. Smushed up chicken – is there anything more appetizing? 🙂 He’s getting to be so good at picking up Gerber Puffs by himself – I think it’s his favorite part of the meal!

His new favorite thing to do is pinch everything between his two little fingers and so we’re now clipping his fingernails like every three days because skin is one of his favorite things to pinch. OUCH. He has definitely caused some pain!

This month was the first month where we’ve really had to start saying, “No.” I don’t think he understands it quite yet, but hopefully it’s sinking in somewhere. Whether he’s poking at the DVD player or pinching or pulling hair – we’re trying to start setting some boundaries. 🙂

He is also getting up on his hands and knees now – no crawling yet, but I’m really enjoying these last few days of having baby who isn’t constantly getting into everything. He’s still rolling everywhere and trying to scoot around, but he’s a pretty slow mover. 🙂 How do you moms with a mobile baby ever take showers??

He is completely and totally the JOY of our lives and I cannot imagine loving him more than I do! What an incredible blessing he is!

Yesterday, Nathan and I invited several friends over to play. And by “Nathan and I”, I mean me. And by “play”, I mean all the moms corralling five kids (four who were under one year) while chatting about the joys and excitements of diaper changes, breastfeeding, pureed foods and finding time to shave our legs while keeping the kids from grabbing each other’s hair, eyes, cheeks, lips, gums, toys, clothes, legs, toes, shoes, ears and ADORABLE little hair bows that made me wish I could put one in Nathan’s hair.

And leggings. Let’s not forget the leggings and tunics and precious little sweaters. Or the skinny jeans. I kid you not – all three of the baby girls that showed up were wearing either skinny jeans or leggings and I just wanted to keep them all just so I could play dress up. The babies, that is. Not the leggings.

But. We have a boy. So no leggings. And even though I think Nathan looks cute in just about anything he wears, Jon most likely would disagree. Or at least that’s what I figure since I casually mentioned that one of my friends had a 6-12 month snowsuit that we could borrow for our upcoming ski trip.

“You mean it used to be Julia’s?” he asked.

“Yeah. I guess it’s in great shape.”

“What’s it look like?”

“It’s just pink with purple polka dots.”

Then he launched into lecture-mode. “No SON of MINE is EVER going to wear a snowsuit with PINK and PURPLE polka dots.”

So, lucky for Nathan and his dad, his Gammy found him a nice navy blue snowsuit on sale. I don’t think they realize how lucky they are because me and my money-pinching ways would have definitely borrowed the snowsuit. Pink and purple polka dots notwithstanding.

I figure you guys can handle my honesty. My mother called me stingy this morning on the phone (and she didn’t say it all mean like that, I just casually mentioned that I wasn’t going to blow $50 on dinner out and she said something about how that doesn’t shock her and I was like, I know I’m becoming stingy and she said “becoming?”. So I guess she didn’t TECHNICALLY call me stingy, but I feel like the implication was definitely there.) Anyway. So, thank you so much, Gammy!! Nathan will look like the adorable little boy he is now!

Speaking of dinner out, Jon and I will be celebrating our third anniversary next week. Which I think is a great time to wrap up the story of us, so I’ll be posting that on our big day, the 15th. We’ve planned to get dinner out and I’ve planned to get my hair cut that afternoon so I don’t look quite so much like a more-straggly version of that old country singer who wears blankets around all the time. Not that it matters too much, because with how much Nathan is into grabbing everything that is and is not moving nowadays, I have had COUNTLESS chunks of hair ripped out of my scalp so I tend to keep it up more than down these days. However. Since we’re doing a nice dinner out and might even potentially spend that $50 on dinner, I will probably actually do more with my hair than put it in a ponytail.

And this is another side note, but waaaaaay back when Jon and I were dating/engaged/married-without-children, I liked to watch What Not to Wear (and no idea why I just used the past tense of that because I still like to watch it, I just never do). And there were always these shows about these ladies who used to be all stylish and cute and then they had a baby and became that Poor Young Mom who only wore sweatpants and their husband’s undershirts. And I used to tell Mom and Cayce this: “If I EVER become like that as a mom, will you PLEASE just slap me really hard? So hard that I fly back into a decent pair of jeans? I do NOT understand why it would be so hard to actually look nice even if you DO have a baby.”

Well. I say this as one who is sitting here in sweatpants and one of her husband’s undershirts, I now know, Poor Young Moms. I now know.

And speaking of young moms, I just want to say a big THANKS to all my sweet friends who came to visit yesterday. Not only was it so much fun laughing with y’all about all the fun things we get to do nowadays, but Nathan crashed for a great nap yesterday afternoon and Jon got to hear a 45-minute breakdown of the clothes that all the baby girls were wearing. So I know that he’s now scared to death that we might have a baby girl someday and I’m going to spend our last dollars on a pair of skinny jeans and leggings for her.

Which won’t happen, really. Because like my mother told me today, I’m stingy.

Or implied. If you want to get all technical about it. 🙂

Y’all have a great day!

Good news!!!

Nathan is gobbling up the homemade baby food. YAY! This is seriously a huge answer to prayer, you guys, because this will save us so much on our grocery bills! He was getting to the point where he was eating two of those 3.5 ounce containers for breakfast, lunch and dinner. SIX jars a day! My boy can put away food – I’m already worrying about how we’ll afford to feed this kid in ten years!!

Side note, but have you noticed how prayers change during your life? Five years ago, I would have never ever thought that I would be praying for my son to eat a pureed sweet potato. I told Jon the other day that praying has become one of the only conversation throughout the day that isn’t half baby-talk. So thankful that God listens to us always!

Anyway, I’ve been very excited about him eating homemade food now. You can ask anyone I’ve seen in the last few days and they’ll agree, mostly because I haven’t been able to stop talking about it. 🙂

We went to Costco this weekend and they had a little wagon out on display, so naturally, we had to try it out. 🙂 Doesn’t he look like such a mini man in this picture??

He LOVED the wagon. And I thought it was awesome that there are cupholders in the side of it. Too fun – I know we had a wagon when I was a little kid, but the only thing I remember pulling in it was lemonade for our lemonade stands on the driveway. 🙂

I’m sitting here on my loveseat while Nathan is napping and I just looked up and saw this:

Oy. Again something that five years ago I would have never imagined my floors to look like. I’m a pretty neat person all-in-all, so sometimes this mess gets to me (it looks worse in person than it does in this picture, just so you know). Just noticed I’ve got one slipper on one side of the room and one on the other.

It was a crazy morning learning the fundamentals of crawling. 🙂

Has anyone been watching American Idol this season? I’ve got my bets on Lauren, but I thought Pia did a great job this last week too. Crazy how many people got cut last week, though!! Who is your favorite?

Thursday was my father-in-law’s 50th birthday! And we are experiencing one of the bummer times of living so far away from them since we didn’t get to help him celebrate – not that he would have wanted us there – as of right now, he and my MIL are on vacation by themselves. Yeah. We would NOT have been welcome! 😉

But I think the Nater-Tot might have something up his sleeve for when they come visit us in April. 🙂

Yesterday, my friends Leigh Ann, Melanie and Eryn (yep, that’s how she spells it. Isn’t that fun??) and I all went to lunch at Chick-Fil-A and then to a kids sale at a local church (no, they weren’t selling kids). Nathan TOTALLY made out and got some new toys and I found a jogging stroller for a great deal! I’m pretty sure I heard my stroller sigh with relief when I pulled the jogging stroller out of the car – we have been taking nightly walks since it’s been so nice out and it’s been a killer on ours. 🙂

It was such a needed time of laughing and talking with ladies who are in the exact same place as me. And especially having some conversation that doesn’t go like this:

“Nathan, can you say, ‘BUH BUH BUH BUH?'”

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHGGHHHH”.

“Close. It’s BUH BUH BUH. Like BUH-aby and BUH-lack.”

I didn’t have to enunciate any words at lunch. 🙂 We all had such a great time that we decided to do it again next week, except minus the kids sale.

Then we had Clint and Leigh Ann over for an impromptu pancake dinner. SO fun. Nathan has decided that everyone (and anyone) everywhere (and anywhere) exist purely for him to entertain. So he danced and laughed and talked for us.

Crazy bean. 🙂

BUH-ean, that is.

Not to sound too much like Rafiki off of The Lion King, but…

It is time.

Time for sunless tanners, that is. What can I say? I’m getting a little tired of people spontaneously bursting into “White As Snow” whenever I pass by them. Or pulling their sunglasses out at the sight of my arms. And since the weather has been SO nice lately, the arms have been a lot more visible to the general public.

In the past, I’ve used Jergens Natural Glow, but I’m not the HUGEST fan of the scent that seems to follow me around after I put it on until I take a shower.

My friend Jen uses Banana Boat Summer Color (and she’s got gorgeous skin, so I can’t really argue with her!). Plus, I’ve been around her after she’s put it on and she still smells as pretty as she always does.

You guys have any suggestions?? What’s your favorite sunless tanner?

We’ve been laying low the last couple of days, recovering from the madness that was our weekend. 🙂 Nathan has discovered that he can pull himself up to a standing position, so now anything and everything exists just so he can try and yank himself up on it (my robe was the lucky winner earlier this morning).

I took his walker outside to the back porch yesterday so we could enjoy the pretty weather. He loved it and was too busy playing for me to get a decent picture of him!

I’ve been roasting a sweet potato for his lunch today – he’s been eating jarred baby food, but I’d really like for him to eat homemade stuff. It’s WAY cheaper (though, it’s a lot bigger hassle, so we’ll see how long this lasts!). He hasn’t been a fan of homemade stuff yet, so we’ll see!!

Another question for you budget-conscious people out there – how do you keep yourself to a grocery budget?? I try SO hard every single month and every single month I go over. Any advice is VERY welcome!!

Have a great Wednesday!