Lent

Hi everyone. So it's the first week of Lent and we are trying our best to give up sodas and fast food. Even though I usually only have one soda per day, it's hard for me to give them up because I crave that sweet fizzy stuff! It's my afternoon pick-me-up...so I'm going to have to find a replacement, or better yet just drink MORE WATER!! I've brought lemons to work with me hoping that will tempt me to drink more, and so far it's working. We don't eat a lot of fast food, but I admit that we will fall victim to it at least once a week when I just really don't feel like cooking or we are in a hurry. I'm going to have to plan ahead in order to make this work, but I feel up to the challenge! I am also going to try to have more patience with people during this Lenten season, especially with Nate. He pushes every button he possibly can, so this will be hard for me, but I'm going to try. Praying more should help my blood pressure during these situations!!

Most of you know I am going through classes to become Catholic. DJ and I have been going to classes every Tuesday night for about 7 months now, and I have 6 weeks left! DJ is my sponsor, and they provide daycare for Nate so it works out for all of us and this whole experience has been awesome. Yesterday I got to meet the Bishop, it was so cool! There were like 11 churches all represented at a service yesterday called the Rite of Election where the Bishop welcomes us into the initiation process...it was a PACKED HOUSE!! I was amazed at how many people are taking these classes just in the Fort Worth Diocese, and this was only part of the Diocese! It was really cool to see so many people wanting to be closer to God and making this important step in their journey. I won't bore you all with the details, but I really enjoyed the experience yesterday and truly look forward to the Easter Vigil when I get to be Confirmed and take the Eucharist (communion) and will finally be a real member of the Catholic church. I'm so excited to be sharing this experience with DJ too, it has really brought us closer as a couple. Since I am learning so much about the Catholic faith, this year Lent means a lot more to me because it is really all about people like me...people who are seeking to know more about God and want to be better people, better Christians. Lent is not just the 40 days when you give up something you love and wait for Easter to come around...it is a time for penitance, to ask for forgiveness, to live a better and more Christian life...to examine your life and find things you truly want to change within yourself. I need more patience, this is not a secret! So I am going to take advantage of this Lenten season and TRY to exercise more patience in every situation. Good luck to all of you with your Lenten challenges. I hope you use this time to become closer to God. Have a blessed week!!

Finally an update...RECAP of 2011

If anyone out there still checks this blog occassionally, you'll be shocked to find an update. I know I have been neglecting this blog and I will try to be better in the future...but no promises!! It's just been a very busy year for us. Let's do a recap of 2011, at least the major things that made an impact on the Vargas family.....

1. I will start with summer since that is where I left off last time. My sister Lori, my friend Michele and I walked the Race for the Cure 5K in Plano in our friend Renee Linke Sendelbach's honor. It was a very meaningful experience that I will always treasure, and I was honored to be a part of it. I'm hoping to enlist DJ this year! More on Renee a bit later....

2. My sister Jenni and her family moved to The Woodlands, TX for Brian's job. It stinks that we're not all together in the same vicinity anymore, but this move has been wonderful for their family! Davis is on a great new baseball team and is starting to make lots of new friends in his new school. They found a church that they love, and Brian is loving his job. Success!!

3. Nate turned 2 in November!! He is such a joy to watch him grow and develop. He is right on par in his size and development, and we feel so blessed to have such a funny and smart child in our lives. He is definitely in that "terrible twos" phase, and throws plenty of frustrating tantrums, is a somewhat picky eater and presents many challenges each and every day. But we just can't imagine our lives without him. :) He was a lucky boy and got two birthday parties this year since we had one for him up here in DFW area, and his Vargas family in San Marcos had a party for him there too at Thanksgiving. Spoiled much?? :)

4. The same week that Nate turned 2, my beloved grandmother "Grammie" passed away. She came down with pneumonia and it was just too much for her body. She was 87, and lived quite a nice life, full of travels and adventures with her kids and grandkids. We were blessed to have her for so long, and we will miss her like crazy for the rest of our lives. Luckily we have all inherited many of her things that we will always treasure.

5. We went down for Grammie's funeral which was in Round Rock, and stayed in San Marcos for Thanksgiving with the Vargas family. It was very bittersweet for me, having to say goodbye to my most favorite person...and spending good quality time with the Vargas family. We had a blast, and Nate got lots of face-time with his family! And the food was DELISH!! :)

6. My friend Renee, the one we did the Komen walk for...she has been told that there is "NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE"!! This was her second battle with breast cancer that had spread into her lungs and bones, and yep...she beat it again!!! We will continue to pray that cancer stays out of her body, and remain cautiously optimistic! YAY for RENEE!!!

7. Christmas this year was two-fold. We celebrated Christmas Day with my family for the first time with Nate. This was quite different for DJ, but he enjoyed Christmas with the Davis family despite missing his family. Nate was SO excited to be opening his presents with his youngest cousins and enjoying all the family time. We then went down to San Marcos to open presents with the Vargas family. Nate figured out what "presents" are, and really hammed it up this time around! Every present drew an "OOOOOHHH", or "AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!" response from him, so enthusiastic that we wished we had gotten it on film for future blackmailing!! ;-) It was really fun, and once again Nate was totally spoiled by everyone. We now have WAY too many toys in our small apartment!


So, that's the rest of 2011 in a nutshell. Hopefully 2012 will be just as fun and memorable as 2011. Wishing you and yours a very good 2012!

Love, Meg

More pictures

Us at the Amarillo Zoo

Showing Nate how to blow bubbles

Wow, Gramps...you're really tall!

Getting some Grammie lovin'! You can't tell, but he was laughing and giggling away!

My friend Corrine

Ok, I've got a few pictures to share from our Amarillo trip. It was a great trip home and long overdue. I am so happy I got to see my old friend Corrine while I was in town and meet her family. I even got to spend some time with her mom as well, who was practically my 2nd mom for about 7 years. It was such a good time, and I wish it hadn't gone by so quickly. We also FINALLY got to visit my Grammie A, Nate's Great-Grammie, at her Assisted Living home. We had a good time, and all the residents there really loved seeing Nate! I just wish she would be more social, it's a really neat place to live! Here are some pics of the weekend.

Ups and Downs

The Vargas family had a weekend full of ups and downs this past weekend. First, we had a short but VERY nice visit with DJ's brother Rene, his wife Angela, and the girls Amie and Jamie. They came to Arlington to watch a Rangers game and stayed Friday night with us. We had dinner at our favorite Mexican food place, then they went to the game. After they got back from the game, we played Dance Central on DJ's new Kinect (Father's Day gift) and made fools of ourselves...it was AWESOME! Then we had a huge breakfast before they left early in the afternoon. It was so sweet, Nate didn't want his Uncle Rene to leave, he wouldn't go to anyone else, and cried when I finally had to take him away so he could get in the truck! It was really cute.

DJ and Nate and I then spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning and playing around the apartment. Then we got the call from my mom. She was already crying when she told DJ the news, and he looked at me with a very sympathetic face while handing me the phone. He said "Marvin is gone". I couldn't believe it. "Nooooo, he's not....no!" I yelled before taking the phone. I proceeded to whimper and cry while talking to my mom who was doing the same. We knew he was old and wouldn't live forever, but this was too soon...he wasn't even sick! My poor Dad, I just kept thinking, poor Dad!! What is he going to do now? It was a very sad evening.

For those of you who did not know Marvin, he was my puppy in college when I was in my first apartment. I had two roommates at the time, and this rambunctious and overly energetic basset hound was not fit for the apartment he was living in with us. After he chewed up a couple different comforters in my bedroom, plus a ton of other stuff, I decided he needed a yard and room to stretch out and hunt animals...just be a dog. My parents were so nice to take him in and have been taking care of him ever since. He hasn't been my dog since he arrived in Amarillo. He was my Dad's best bud and source of entertainment for the last 10 years and it is so hard to imagine life in Amarillo without him. :(

Some other updates: Jenni, Brian and Davis have moved to The Woodlands. We are excited for them to have this new opportunity and we know that this is the best place for them. But we will all really miss them and will miss having all of us sisters so close in proximity. We will just have to do more traveling to visit them now. :) Davis turned 9 this month...can anyone believe this?? I know I can't! He just loves baseball and is such a smart young man. We will miss going to his baseball games, but I'm sure we'll catch one or two in the future!

Ramsey turned 6 this past Saturday! She truly is the princess of the family...being the only girl will do that to you! We are all so proud of her. She is so sweet and loving, and she absolutely LOVES Baby Nate!! Happy Birthday, Ramsey!!

Earlier this month Lori and my friend Michele and I participated in the Komen Race for the Cure in honor of our friend Renee Sendelbach. She is a friend of mine from high school who is battling breast cancer for the 2nd time now...and it's a fight she is GOING TO WIN!!! It was such a great experience to be with so many people who were all walking/running for someone they loved who battled cancer. Very touching and humbling, and I can't wait to do it again next year!

Alright, that's all I can do for now. I'll try to update more frequently. Love to all!

Pictures

Easter Sunday pics

Mommy and Nate at Easter

Daddy and Nate at Easter

Pepo and the new love of his life! They have a special connection!

Nate loves his zebra!



Realized I hadn't posted pics in a while. I have lots to update you all on, but must do it when I have more time. Love to you all!!

The Encounter

Well, it was bound to happen. We were bound to run into my ex sooner or later. And when it did, I had a very strange mix of emotions that I was not expecting. I'll set the scene for you:

DJ and I went to San Marcos for his uncle's funeral the week before Mother's Day. This was a very large gathering with TONS of family...this particular uncle did have 13 brothers and sisters afterall. Well, DJ's cousin is really good friends with my ex and we knew we would run into him here. The church was full...probably 200 people were there. When most of the crowd was gone, I looked across the church and saw him, made eye contact with him from across the room. What I did not know was exactly how at peace I would feel and this incredible sense of RELIEF that this dreaded encounter had come now....and not anytime sooner. We did have Nate with us, and all of DJ's family, and you have no idea how good that made me feel knowing that I had my loving family around me to "protect" me from this person from my past.

When I made eye contact with him, I immediately felt all of those old feelings of unease, dislike, fear and disgust. But then I remembered that I am not part of his world anymore and he can't hurt me anymore. He looked the same, growing his hair and facial hair out and still had that smug look on his face. Knowing that he still looks the same, still hangs out with the same old crowd, probably still works in the same place, still not doing anything with his life...it all made me feel so relieved that I GOT OUT!!! Yes, I wasted almost 5 years of my life with him, but I'm no longer in that relationship. No longer feeling unloved, unwanted...more like a caregiver than a partner. No sir...I am out of that life.

Now I am in a healthy marriage with an incredible man who has changed his life so dramatically...for me and his son. I have been accepted into his loving and incredibly supportive family. I now have a real partner who contributes equally to our home, pays his bills, and CARES about me and my feelings. Loves me for who I am, and loves my family too. I am so lucky, and this encounter just reminded me of that. So I wanted to share it with you all, if there is anyone left who reads my blog. :)

I also want to thank each and every one of you for the support you have given me over the last three years. I have made so many changes and all of you were a part of them, even if just by being my friend. Thank you for helping me realize my worth and helping to guide me to my new incredible life. Even though it was uncomfortable to run into him at this meaningful family gathering, it was the best thing that could have happened to remind me of what I have now, and where I came from. Have a blessed day everyone!

Where the heck have you been??

That's what you all want to ask me...that is anyone who might occassionally read my blog. I know, it's been way too long, but hey....life's been busy. Since my last post we have moved into our new apartment and it is really great. No more stairs, more space, more storage, etc. And the best part it, no more commute!! It has been really good for us to all be in one town together. Arlington, so far, is an ok place to live...other than the fact that the closest Super Target is in a different city!! We're getting used to shopping at different stores, but really missing our Sprouts grocery store. But overall, it's been good.

I think Nate is getting used to his new caregiver. Her name is Donna and we like her. She is different from Sherry, and I do miss some of the things that Sherry used to do. But Donna is a rule follower, and she is teaching Nate how to follow rules too. It took a few weeks to get settled at Donna's house, but he is now one of the gang and doing well. We also have a new doctor for Nate, and we have met her once and another doctor in her practice once. No complaints there, they have been great!

DJ's job has been challenging...to say the least. But he is working through most of the issues and getting the stores fixed to the way they should be. Lots and lots of issues there, but he's working hard to make his job better! My job has not changed and it is better now that I am not having to make that awful commute. :)

So, to sum it up, we are enjoying our new apartment and getting used to our new work and daycare environments. Life is good, we are all healthy, and I can't complain about anything! We miss our family, but the extra time we have with each other is totally worth it. Hopefully I'll get some Easter pictures up soon, there are some super cute ones!! Have a blessed day everyone!

Goodbye to life in the fast lane!

As most of you know by now, our little family is moving to Arlington!! DJ has accepted his same position at one of the 3 Arlington stores that his company has, and we have found an apartment...things are happening fast! We wanted to rent a house, but the expense of moving is just too much for us right now, so we're in a little bigger apartment than we have now. Best thing about the new apartment is that Nate will have his own bathroom now!! YAY, no more moving bathtoys and his little duckie tub every time we shower! We are moving at the end of February.

Did I ever tell you all how much I love and appreciate my husband? DJ is the most supportive and wonderful husband, and even though the store he is moving to is "all messed up", he is taking this transfer to make me happy and have more time with Nate and I. He will be taking over a store where previous managers and employees stole money and basically ran the store into the ground. His new boss has been working on improving it, but it will be up to him to bring it back to the company's expectations. This is a lot of pressure to volunteer for, and I am now eternally grateful to him for making this move for me and my sanity. That brings me to my next statement:

BYE BYE, COMMUTE!!! Some people don't mind driving an hour one way to work, and then up to 2 hours home everyday. And I commend them for the sacrifice they are making daily to live in a geographically ideal location. But this commute has taken such a huge toll on me physically and mentally....and it has especially taken a HUGE chunk out of each paycheck that it hardly seems worth it! The toll road was my only option, and it was just a nightmare every month to see how much was just disappearing to the toll roads and gas. Some days the commute wasn't so bad and I didn't mind the mindless driving. But most of the time I didn't like the way the traffic was affecting my mood, it would turn me into a road-raged monster by the time I got home and I hated it!! It had to stop one way or the other. Thank God this opportunity came along when it did, and I pray that we made the right decision to make this move.

Anywho....now you are updated on what's going on with us. We have about a month now to pack and then we move on Feb. 25th, so I've got to get busy!! I hope that all of you are having a great day and month. Much love and blessings to you all!

Update on little Nate

Hi everyone! It's been about a week since I posted anything, so thought I'd update you on our lives. Nate is doing well, but is teething like crazy. I am just hoping that his little teeth take a break for Christmas since we will be out of town and out of his normal routine. He already has a hard time sleeping when we're not at home, so add teething pain to this and it doesn't seem very relaxing for mom and dad or poor baby Nate! However, we are really looking forward to seeing the Vargas side of our family, it has been over two months since we've seen them and Nate has so many things to show them! Dad Vargas has been through a lot this year, and I know he is really looking forward to our visit, and we are equally as excited to get down there and spend some time with all of them. I'm just hoping that Nate will be "nice" to everyone, he sure has been a bit cranky lately...

Last night my sister Lori and her family came by to drop off presents from the rest of my family and pick up the presents from us. Nate could not have been more rude. He didn't even smile for her, even ignored her! He smiled for his cousins who had to get their "Bay Nay" kisses before they left...but Aunt B got snubbed. Sorry Lori!! (And for those of you wondering why we call Lori "Aunt B", it is kind of a long story, but derives from her childhood nickname of "Beezer", which came from her middle name "Beth", etc. Our dad loves to create nicknames and this one just stuck...so when Jenni had the first child of our family, it was decided that Lori would be Aunt B and I would be Auntie M.) But I digress.

So Nate has had a bit of a behavior problem of late. He is not so bad yet, I just worry about how much worse it will get before he gets better. He hits, slaps, bites, head butts and is starting to use his voice a bit more to express his frustration. He mostly does this to me, but occassionally to DJ too. DJ has a look that he can give Nate that makes him stop automatically, but somehow I can't convey the same ominous look! So that begs the question....How in the world do you discipline a one year old? He doesn't understand time out...believe me, I've tried it! He doesn't understand consequences yet and just keeps pushing our buttons. All we can say is NO and redirect him, which is quite frustrating for us. I know he is just upset and frustrated that he can't express how he's feeling in words, and I try to be as soothing as possible after he has gotten in trouble. But I don't know what is getting through to him and what is going way over his head. Please pray for me to have lots of patience, because this is one difficult stage we are in right now.

All the same, I wouldn't change anything in the world. Life is good, even with all the complications and frustrations. So, Merry Christmas to you all and please take a moment during this holiday season and really thank God for your family and everything you have been blessed with this year. We are always thinking about what we don't have and what we want, and not appreciating everything we do have. It's almost a new year, so enjoy the rest of this one with those that you love. "And God bless us, everyone." Sorry....stole that from a Christmas Carol!! :)

And we're walking.....!!

Yes, I do find it hilarious that the name of this post is also a line from one of the funniest Progressive commercials out there. I like to make myself chuckle sometimes! But seriously....NATE IS WALKING NOW!!!! It was bound to happen soon, he has been cruising around for a while now holding on to whatever he could to support himself. But somehow it still shocked us when he took those first few tentative steps all alone! It was awesome. This happened two nights ago, and we are still amazed to see him toddle a few steps and then plop down on his bottom! So cute! And now our lives change again. We'll be chasing him around for the next couple of years...better get our running shoes on!

So "baby Nate" is now "toddler Nate"...although I will never call him that. We are in a very interesting and amusing stage right now. Troubling sometimes, yes. Temper tantrums, picky eating, and mood swings galore. But so amazing at the same time. It is just awesome to watch him discovering new things every day. He is so into his toys right now! For the first time he is actually interested in them. I'm sure he will be more interested in the wrapping paper and boxes at Christmas, but he will probably entertain his toys a bit longer than he has before now. It will be so fun to watch him cruising around! We can't wait to show him off to his family in San Marcos!!

Reunion fun!

I love this happy face!!!

Nate tasting mommy's apple pie. He loved it!

Just a funny picture of Bryson

Davis and Dylan...aka "the twins"

Great Grammie meeting Baby Henry...he's a big boy!!

Aunt B giving Nate his bottle before bed

Nate is curious about his Great Grammie!

Brother-in-laws rooting for opposite teams....uh oh!

Great Grammie holding Baby Nate

So this Thanksgiving we were able to get together with my mom's brother and his family. It has been over 15 years since all of the cousins were ALL together, and guess what folks?? There's only 5 of us! How is it that hard to get everyone together in the same place? Location, location, location. Melisa lives in Michigan, Jenni lived in North Carolina for years, and Carin, Lori and I have been in Texas, but far apart from each other. Texas is a big state, y'all!! And now that we are all married and have kids it will just get harder to get us all together. But for one afternoon, it happened!! DJ and I finally got to meet Dylan, Carin and Rusty's son who was adopted last year. And we all got to meet Baby Henry, Melisa and John's 6 month old cutie! Of course they hadn't met Nate yet either, so it was a great time. But mostly, we all got to introduce our new sons to their Great Grammie A. Our Grammie lives in an assisted living facility in Amarillo now, and she doesn't like to travel much...it is really hard on her at 87. But we convinced her to come and I think she is very happy that she did! I have posted some pictures of this momentous (for us anyways!) occasion. And some other pics from Thanksgiving as well. Enjoy!

And once again, these pictures are out of order and I can never get my message to appear before the pictures. Oh well. :)

Nate's party and Thanksgiving

Here are some pictures from Nate's party. I don't know why I couldn't get them in order, so they are in reverse order here. So I'm technology challenged!! Oh well....

Lori's banner that she made for Nate. It says "Baby Nate Turns 1!"

Daddy, cake is GOOD!!!

And after!!

Before he dug in to his little cake.....



Hello everyone! Can anyone believe that it is almost December?? Tomorrow is December 1st!! Where did this last year go? It just seemed to fly by. We had such a great Thanksgiving weekend and were able to get so much accomplished. We had a great Thanksgiving meal, did some fabulous Black Friday shopping, threw Nate's birthday party and had a small family reunion....whew!! I'm still tired! Wish I could post ALL the pictures, but I'll post what I can.


We really missed seeing the Vargas side of our family, but we look forward to spending Christmas with them again this year. It will be so great to show off all of Nate's skills, and by then he may be walking by himself, who knows??!! Anyways, we want to send the Vargas family our love and let them know that they were missed. This was DJ's first Thanksgiving away from his parents, and it was hard for him. But it will make Christmas all that much more special, and we can't wait!

Nate's Birthday!

Enjoying his birthday cake and not too sure about his hat from Aunt Christy!

Ok, I know I'm way late with this post. But give me a break...I was SICK! :)



We celebrated Baby Nate's first birthday last week, on Tuesday 11/16/10. The night before we were feeling so many different things....disbelief that he is already one, joy that he is developing so well, happiness that he has had minimal problems, sadness that a year has already gone by and our baby is getting so big!! And many other things. We laid in bed the night before his b-day thinking back to that night we went to the hospital. The excitement, fear of the unknown, anxiousness to get it over with and meet our son. We went over the events of the night in detail..."remember how my mom just barely made it in time to see Nate coming out?", "remember how they had to work on him for a few minutes because he had the cord around his neck?", "remember how tiny and squirmy he was and how he had that squeak in his cry?" and so on. It was such an amazing night and early morning, and we wanted to remember every detail. Hopefully as time goes on we will still be able to remember those first few moments with him that were so special. We are so in love with Nate, and treasure every minute we have with him.



So Happy Birthday, Nate! We love you so much and are so proud of you. Get ready for this weekend with your party, Thanksgiving, and our little family reunion...it will be lots of fun and we will be celebrating you all year!

Halloween 2010

Vargas Family 2010

Mommy and her little Bumble Bee!

Daddy trying to steal a kiss!

The creative "Rangers" decor!

Cousin Davis is a SWAT guy!

Waiting to take off! Ramsey the Ballerina and Bryson the junior "SWAT" guy!

BumbleBee Nate and Bryson sharing a ride

Wow, what a sweet face!

Before we left the house

"How cute am I, Daddy?"

Hi everyone! Hope you all had a Spooktacular Halloween weekend like we did! Baby Nate went trick-or-treating with his cousins up here on his "Davis side". He had the cutest little Pooh bumblebee costume that his Nana got him, and he didn't mind wearing it at all! We took the head part off towards the end because it was a little warm, but he didn't complain the whole time! And he sat in the wagon with his cousin Bryson for most of the night, except for a few blocks when mommy and daddy held him. Baby Nate sure did bring in a LOT of candy for us to enjoy!! :) Boy....some people really go all out with their decorating for Halloween. But my favorite is the picture of the "graves" of the Rays, Yankees and Giants that someone put in their yard!! May not happen for the Rangers this year, especially after last night's game...but it sure was some creative Halloween decorating. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Pictures

Frustration

I'm trying to post pictures....first I tried on Facebook. Then I tried the blog. Nothing is working!! I keep getting error messages and I'm getting so frustrated! All I want to do is share the pumpkin patch pics, and it keeps NOT WORKING!! I will keep trying, but wanted you to know that I'm working on it. Love to all.

Baptism

This picture was taken after the reception...he was SO tired and enjoying "Uncle Polanco"!

The light that shines in all of our hearts....we can never let it go out!

Showing him off to congregation

Nate's CUTE cake

Us with the grandparents

Sweet face!

Nate's godparents

Us with the Deacons

Well, we finally had Nate baptized this past weekend. It was such a wonderful service, done by Domingo Vargas, Sr. (aka Dad, aka Pepo). His homily was so great and personal, from the heart, and we will remember his words for a long time. DJ and I are so lucky to have the family that we have. All of my immediate family came (except for Bryson), and all of DJ's immediate family was there as well. My uncles both came, we were just missing my Aunt CiCi. My Uncle Mike did a reading, and also was able to participate in some other things in the service. My sisters Jenni and Lori each got to do a reading as well. DJ's uncle Peter allowed us to have the reception at his house, and it was very nice. His uncle Johnny smoked the brisket for us, and even got up at 3 am to get it started!! Again, we are so very lucky to have such a wonderful family!

Brisket, sausage (from Lockhart!), beans, potato salad, and a delicious cake....YUMMY! We are so thankful for all of our friends and family sharing this beautiful day with us. Nate behaved wonderfully, of course. He is such a good baby! I do know that eventually his behavior will change, and he is definitely starting to have separation anxiety when someone other than mommy or daddy wants to hold him in a big crowd! But for as many people that he had around him he behaved very well!

So....thank you to all who came and celebrated Nate's special day with us. We love you all. And to those who couldn't make it, we love you too! The important thing is that Nate is now on a journey with the Lord, and we intend to be there with him every step of the way. Love to all!

10 months and counting!

Happy 10 months, Baby Nate! We joke that Nate will always be called "Baby Nate" because all of our family calls him this. But I'm sure that when he's in Kindergarten he will make us put a stop to it! We'll see....regardless, he will always be my baby. I am so incredibly blessed to be his mommy, and I can't wait to see what his personality will be when he gets a little older. Although, judging from his already forming personality, he will be sweet, funny and a little ladies man!! :)

Have a great day everyone, and say a little prayer in thanksgiving for Nate on his 10 months in this world!

Another update on our lifestyle change

Well....it didn't go as well as I'd hoped. We did lose weight, just not what we wanted. There are many excuses I could insert here, but I'll save it. We just didn't do the work! I lost only 5 pounds total. Lost some, gained some, lost it again. But I'm still hanging on to my 5 pounds! And I don't plan to gain it back, even with the impending holiday season looming around the corner! DJ probably lost about 10 pounds too. We just need to work out. That's all it comes down to. We haven't been eating badly, in fact we're pretty darn healthy! We've been shopping at Sprouts and buying mostly fresh food. It's just finding the time and energy to actually work out. The motivation is there for both of us....we want to be healthy for Nate and to be good examples for him!

Ok, enough wallowing. We can do this! And now that the weather is cooler it will be much more pleasant to go on walks. We will do it!!!


On a Nate note, he has a little cold right now, but is doing very well. He is so happy most of the time...except when you're trying to get him to sleep! I did discover that children's benedryl will knock him out, so I will use it sparingly. He does not like meat or beans right now, but we're going to keep trying. He loves all fruits and likes a few veggies. Not a big fan of peas anymore, or green beans. Oh, we went downstairs last night to hang out with our neighbors who have a little boy who is almost 11 months hold, he's a little over a month older than Nate. Their son, Sam, kept trying to sit on Nate! Nate was a good sport, and just smiled and laughed, but Mandy and Ben were mortified that their son thought our son was furniture! Sam is a sweet kid, just not used to socializing with babies smaller than him. He kept taking toys away from him too. Nate was very sweet though, I'm sure he will make lots of friends in his lifetime! Ok, back to work! Love to all!

Pictures!

Nate's reaction to the first bite of chicken!

I just love this pic of the kids...their expressions are priceless!

He's so handsome!

Nate and Gramps...this is rare!

How handsome is he??