Nathan is 2!

Two already??? Its crazy how I feel like I blinked and two years passed by, yet I honestly cannot remember what life what like before him. And I am glad I don't have to because this kid is pretty awesome.

We spent Nathans birthday celebrating at the zoo, just the three of us, and had a blast! Nathan was absolutely fascinated with all the animals. What a difference from the last time we went. The best part has been hearing him tell us all about the animals even days after our trip. We talk about the "big monkey (Gorilla) eating a 'nana" quite a bit.





After the zoo, we took Nathan for his favorite meal; pizza (actually a cheese quesadilla but Nathan calls it pizza) and rice. Then is was back home for cupcakes!




Happy Birthday Little Man!! We love you SO much!

Let Freedom Ring-Goodbye Crib

And if anyone needed more proof that my little boy is no longer a baby...we have officially transitioned Nathan into his "big boy bed," which for now, is actually just his crib mattress on the floor where his crib used to be. Nathan was starting to try to climb out of his crib, and while he never actually succeeded, thanks in part to my obsessive stalking of the video monitor, he was getting dangerously close. We had been talking up the big boy bed for a few days in anticipation of the switch, and the first night we decided to give it a try, Nathan was SO excited. We cuddled and read some books in his bed and when it was time for sleep, he gave me a kiss and said "nigh nigh" and that was it, he want right to sleep! I had no idea the transition would be so easy. I fully expected his first night of freedom to be crazy, either resisting the bed completely, or just running around pulling everything down in his room. I guess I should have had a little more faith in the boy because he didn't budge the entire night. The next morning when he woke up he didn't even make a peep, he got out of bed, got a book off his bookshelf, and "read" it quietly to himself in bed. I may or may not have slept just a little bit longer while he read so nicely in bed. He has been sleeping in his big boy bed for about a week and a half now with virtually no problems. I am one proud momma, but this growing up thing sure is bittersweet.

In other big news, Mark unexpectedly got transferred back to Raleigh and we are all moving into a townhouse in about two weeks!!! The move is only temporary, about 6 months or so (hopefully longer!), but we will take what we can get right now. It is going to be so nice to finally be together again and not have to do the long distance thing anymore. Nathan is going to be so happy to have his daddy there everyday. The official move in day is August 12th and hopefully Nathan will transition into his new home as easy as he transitioned into his new bed.

Future Singer??

A video of Nathan singing Rain, Rain, Go Away. This kid sings ALL the time, and this happens to be one of his favorite songs right now, along with BINGO, Old McDonald, and Elmo's world. Sorry for the horrible lighting.

July 4th Weekend

I am pretty sure I was 10 years old when we first started our annual July 4th visit to Point Pleasant beach at the Jersey Shore. My dads immediate family pretty much all live in Jersey so this has always been our time to visit. When it first started, we all used to stay at this small (somewhat ghetto) motel right by the beach called Point Pleasant Manor. Every year we would get 4 or 5 hotel rooms for our families and completely take over the motel and pool area (my family is pretty big). I have so many great memories at this hotel, like knocking on random peoples hotel rooms and running, walking to the Italian ice store down the road, and going across the street to the beach and paying $7 just to walk on the sand. We went to this motel every year until 2003 when my aunt and uncle decided to buy a house at the shore. While our trips before were very fun and memorable, everything became much better once they bought this house(minus the first year when we stayed there with no AC during record heats...brutal) Our entire family stays in this one house during the July 4th weekend. The place is completely packed, people are sleeping in all corners of the house, and both of the bathrooms always seem to be occupied when you need to use it, but its great because we can all be together.

What makes me so happy is that we are now introducing the next generation of our families to this wonderful tradition. Two of my cousins have daughters that are 7 and 10 months older than Nathan, and both of them are pregnant again! This was Nathan's second trip to the shore, and it is already very evident that he loves it. It is so special to me that some of my favorite childhood memories may be some of Nathan's as well.

This year, with the babies growing older, the trip was much less of a relaxing, do nothing kind of trip and more of a making sure the babies don't fall in the pool, brawl over playdoh colors, or color on the walls sort of trip. Thank God for nap time! None the less, the trip was still as great and memorable as always.


A view from the pool in the backyard. No wonder Nathan's new favorite word is boat.


Nathan and his cousins at the boardwalk. This was his first time on a ride, and he was very serious about driving that boat!


Nathan eating his first Popsicle with his cousins.


Mommy and Nathan in the pool

Vocabulary Explosion

Literally in the past few weeks, Nathan's vocabulary has exploded! I mean, the difference from just last month is incredible! Not only is he learning new words everyday, but he is actually talking in sentences now! His first sentence was "Where it go?" He drags out the "go" part really long and says it in the highest squeakiest voice he can. It is quite possibly the cutest thing I have ever heard. Oh and he always puts both hands up and shrugs his shoulders when he says it, which only adds to the cuteness of it. When he first started it he would just all of a sudden yell "where it go?" and frantically start looking around for something that he apparently wanted in his head. Which was fine until he got frustrated that we couldn't read his mind and help him find whatever it is he wanted. He is getting better now and starting to tell us what he is looking for, like "Where lego go?", or "Where milk go?" Also now, when he finds whatever he is looking for he yells "There it is!"

Some other big sentences right now: "here you go", "Airplane. In the Sky" when he sees/hears an airplane, and "Bless you" when someone sneezes!

In other news, Nathan also peed on the potty for the first time on June 24th!! We were both SOOOO excited. He was so cute and proud of himself. He even flushed and waved bye-bye to his pee pee and then we did our potty song and dance. We still have a LONG way to go with this potty training thing, but he is loving it right now and asks to sit on his potty all the time.

I think that is enough bragging for now! So with that I will leave you with a picture of Nathan from our engagement party.



How cute am I??????

A Celebration of Love

On Saturday, June 26th, Mark and I celebrated our engagement surrounded by all of our friends and family. We both had a blast and ate some delicious homemade food made by my wonderful mom. My sweet mom worked hard to make our engagement party so special. She came up with a sunflower theme and decked the house out in sunflowers and pictures of Mark and I. My mom made all the food and my dad grilled burgers and hot dogs in 100 degree heat. My parents are amazing and I am so thankful for everything they did to make the party so great!

the blink of an eye

I swear I feel like I blinked and a month went by. The biggest news is Mark and I got engaged!! On March 8th while walking around UNC's campus, Mark got down on one knee and proposed! Of course I said yes with tears in my eyes. And since Mark and I met while I was visiting UNC and now we got engaged at UNC, it only seemed fitting that we be married at UNC. We have set the date for May 14, 2011 at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill and we are both so excited to finally become husband and wife! So now I have added one more thing to my already hectic life, wedding planning! But I am really having a lot of fun doing it and I have already knocked out a lot of the big things.

We also went to my cousin Jackie's wedding in NJ this past month. It was so wonderful to see all my family and the wedding was absolutely amazing. Its gonna be hard to go after that one! Nathan was also their ring bearer and he totally rocked at it! As soon as it was his turn to walk down the aisle, he walked into the church and yelled "Hi" and waved to all the guests. He was definitely a big hit. If it wasn't for child labor laws, I would totally rent him out for weddings.

And now Nathan is almost 20 months old. Which means he is almost 2!! He is really just turning into a little boy now. He is talking much more now and trying to put little sentences together. He also comprehends so much more now. I actually think he understand almost everything I say to him now, although he choses not to listen most of the time. He is definitely a very independent stubborn little boy!

Pictures from Jackie and Matt's wedding: