10 Years Ago

This weekend is the 10 year anniversary of Matt and my first date! It was such a special date that turned into many other special dates that have since turned into a proposal, a wedding, a marriage, a move, a mortgage, a dog, and a baby. I know neither of us were thinking that far in the future on that day, but it's so fun to look back now at that very special date!

Matt and I were friends in high school. We hung out with the same group of friends and he spent a lot of time over at my house during my junior year (his senior year) of high school, always with a large group of friends. As prom got closer, neither of us were dating anyone, and one of my friends mentioned to him that it would work out well for us to go together. He asked me a few weeks before prom. We both "liked" each other at the time, but mainly were just going as friends.

The day of prom, Matt picked me up that morning and we drove to OKC to spend the day together before prom that evening. I remember telling my mom that I was nervous about the car ride because I was afraid there would be awkward moments of silence, but that day none of that happened. We talked comfortably the whole way. When we got to the city, we spent a few hours at Celebration Station playing the arcade games. I think it was a perfect first date activity. Before we left, Matt wanted to play pool. I hadn't played before, and I think he strategically planned it that way, because as he was teaching me, he casually would put his arms around me and show me how to hit the ball. There are several moments from that day and night that stand out in my memory, and that was one of them. It was one of the first moments when I realized that maybe he did like me and was seeking more than just a friendship. After our time at Celebration Station we headed to lunch at Bricktown. We ate at Zio's and I really don't have any clue what we talked about during lunch, but I remember that I had a really good time with him. We drove back to Weatherford, and went our separate ways for a couple of hours so we could both change and get ready for our big night.

Matt came back over to my house that evening before prom, and when he saw me for the first time in my dress, he immediately said, "You look beautiful." By the look on his face I could tell he really meant it, and I felt so special (another of my favorite moments of the night). We took a ton of pictures together and with friends and family, and then headed off to prom.

Prom was so much fun. We had a big group of friends, both his and mine that we spent time with. We swayed during the slow songs. He reached over and held my hand throughout the night (gives me butterflies just thinking about it). All of those moments were firsts for me, since I hadn't really been in a relationship with anyone prior to prom. It really was a magical night for us. He was so sweet and kind and chivalrous. I thought he was the best guy in the entire world (still do!), and by the end of prom that night, we both knew this was no longer strictly a friendship.

The night didn't end there though. After prom ended, we went back to each of our houses so we could change out of our formal wear and then headed back to the ball room for the after prom festivities. They hired a hypnotist for entertainment and we watched and laughed along with the group of students who were hypnotized. For one of the activities, the hypnotist told a girl who was hypnotized to go make out with her boyfriend. As they were asking for the next set of volunteers, Matt leaned over and said, "You should volunteer to go up there, so you can make out with me like that." I though, whoa, that sweet, shy boy, just said that to me. It was a funny moment and something I still tease him about today. And by the way, there was no making out that night :)

As the after prom activities ended, Matt and I both were not ready for the night to end, and my very trusting mom (she did have a trustworthy daughter), didn't give me a curfew, so instead of heading home, we went for breakfast with a big group of our friends at a local diner at 3:00 in the morning. Afterwards, a few of us went back to Matt's house and watched the movie Office Space. I dozed during the movie. We finished it about 6:00 that next morning but Matt and I still weren't ready to part ways, so instead of taking me home, one of his friends, and he and I went to get some hot chocolate at a gas station at which I got a concerned phone call from my mom asking where I was. The truth is I hadn't even thought of her worrying. I guess I was having too much fun (good, clean fun by the way). That phone conversation was another funny memory too. She wasn't upset, just concerned. I reminded her that she hadn't given me a curfew and she said she knew that but still thought I would have been home before then. I told her where we were and that Matt was going to bring me home to change for church. We changed and went to church that morning and out to lunch with Matt's family. I think we even went to Wal Mart afterward to pick up a few things. Finally about 1:00 Sunday afternoon we decided it was time for the date to come to an end.

Even today, that first date is still one of the best nights of my life. We started out as friends who had a little crush on each other and ended up 27 hours later in a dating relationship that has since evolved into a precious family.

Zoo Day

In celebration of the (almost) end of Matt's crazy work project and all the overtime he has been working, he took this past Monday off, and we all headed to the zoo. Matt and I had been looking forward to taking Nathan for a while. I knew he would have a great time. He loves being with Matt and me, being outside, watching other kids, and seeing new things, so the zoo was a perfect place to visit!

We had such a special day together. It was precious family time with my two favorite people. The weather was perfect too... such a good day!

When we sat Nathan on this turtle he just laughed. Then we showed him the real turtles and he wanted to hop the fence and sit on those too!

Whenever we got to a new exhibit, he would look at the animals, point at them and smile. He was in heaven

We caught the sea lion taking a nap.

We took Nathan over to the children's petting zoo, and he had a great time there. We saw rabbits, piglets, and goats. I think Nathan thought he wasn't supposed to touch the animals, because he just looked at them and smiled. When I grabbed his hand and helped him pet them, he got so excited.

"Come on Mom, there are more animals over here."

After the petting zoo, we stopped to wash our hands. I think this was another highlight of his day. That kid loves playing in water.

No zoo trip would be complete without a ride on Daddy's shoulders

I love that little monkey!

Matt and I were both in agreement that the best part of Nathan's day was a ride on the carousel. He seemed to be having a lot of fun just sitting on the elephant, and then when it started moving he went nuts! I seriously think he was laughing through at least 75% of the ride. He had so much fun.

I felt bad because Matt missed out on Nathan's excitement. He stayed back and took pictures of the ride. We'll have to go back so Daddy can share that fun with him.

We didn't quite make it through the entire zoo, before we were entering the danger zone of an upcoming meltdown because of a missed nap, and since we bought a zoo friends membership, we decided to call it a day and come back another time. Nathan was asleep before we made it out of the parking lot. His fun day wore him out. I can't wait to go back again!

He is Risen!

We had a fantastic weekend celebrating Easter with our family and friends. As a believer, it is such a special time of year to reflect and praise the Lord for his goodness and grace that our Savior has saved us from our sin and conquered death.

Matt's parents came up for the weekend to celebrate with us. We all went over to Mom and Barry's on Saturday evening for dinner. Nathan got to play with his Easter basket from them. Instead of an Easter basket, Nathan got a dump truck filled with fun eggs. The dump truck converts to a little car he can ride. He loved it. He can get on and off it all by himself and loves to ride it!

I tried to focus this weekend on the reason we celebrate Easter and not get too worked up in the plans we had made to celebrate. I prayed that I wouldn't get anxious or upset if plans didn't work out perfectly (because with a little one, things rarely work out the way they are supposed to). It didn't matter if Nathan spit up on his adorable Easter outfit, or if he didn't sleep well the night before and was grouchy that morning, or if he missed his morning nap and slept through Easter lunch, or if we got the perfect family Easter photo. What mattered that day was that we worshiped our Savior and reflected on Him throughout the day.

The Lord reminded me though that He is good in all things and is present even in the littlest details of our lives. He blessed us with a perfect day. Nathan slept great that night and was in a great mood Sunday morning. We got adorable photos. He played great at church and fell asleep on the way home and napped at home right up until we were ready to eat lunch. I couldn't have asked for anything to work out better.

All I think about when I look at this picture is how blessed I am. Seriously blessed.

Five years ago, Matt and I started the tradition of hosting Easter lunch at our home. I took a break last year and let my mom host since I was 40 weeks pregnant at the time, but I always look forward to the holiday. I remember the first year we hosted in our little duplex in Stillwater, I thought to myself that someday we'd have little ones to celebrate with. How fun it was to have our sweet baby with us this year to celebrate! I'm looking forward to teaching Him all about the meaning of Easter in the years to come.

We attended our church's early worship service Sunday morning. It was a great time of worshiping with our church family and a powerful Easter message. Afterward we came home and finished preparations for Easter lunch.

We had ham, potato casserole, asparagus, fruit salad, deviled eggs, rolls, and a strawberry trifle for lunch.

Nathan enjoyed his first Easter lunch

We invited a new couple from church to join us for lunch. They just moved here from Iowa and we had a great time visiting with them. They built a house just about a mile from us, and we are so excited to have them join our Sunday school class.

We got Nathan a small Easter basket this year. He's still too little to understand, but I wanted to do something special for his first Easter.

No chocolate bunnies or candy for him this year, but he did enjoy some bunny graham snacks and bunny shaped marshmallows. Those are a rare treat for him.

It was a special weekend for our family. We had been praying for weeks that Matt would get to celebrate Easter with us. There was a good chance he would have had to be in China over Easter for a work project, but once again the Lord answered our prayers and allowed him to be home to celebrate with us. He did have to go into work Sunday afternoon for a few hours and was on the phone with coworkers in China most of Sunday morning but he was home and we were together and our Savior is alive and that is what matters!

11 Months Old

Nathan,

You are 11 months old and just 30 short days away from being a whole year old! You are growing so quickly and transforming from a baby into a little boy right before our eyes. Your daddy and I were talking the other day about how much fun you are right now. We are loving how interactive you are and seeing how you are understanding and communicating with us more and more.

You are getting really good at playing patty cake. You will almost always imitate me if I start clapping. We play it a lot. You learned to point this month too. When I get you out of your crib in the mornings, you will point at your door. I think you're telling me not to even think about rocking you back to sleep. You want to get up and play! You'll point at Rhapsody a lot too and when you see other babies or children you'll point at them and laugh. You have figured out how to open and close doors (as long as they aren't latched). and it's another one of your favorite games. You seem to really enjoy opening and closing things likes doors and drawers. You also like to "put things away." I'm not sure how to describe it, but you will take your toys out of your basket or bag or whatever and then pick them up and put them back in it. I'm not sure what that says about your personality, maybe you like things organized and neat? You absolutely love to play on our bed. You start giggling as soon as we plop you down on it and you crawl up to the head of the bed to climb up the pillows.

You also pat us when we are holding you. I think it's Grammy's favorite thing about you right now. She always tells you thank you when she's holding you and you pat her shoulder. You are a busy boy and unless you are sleeping, you are on the go constantly. No matter how short of a time I turn my back, when I turn around, you are always in a different spot playing with a new toy. As busy and active as you are though, you are still sweet and cuddly when you are tired. As soon as we sit down together in the rocking chair in your room, you will cuddle up and lay your head on my chest. Life doesn't get any better than that.

You are interacting with Rhapsody more and more. You will grab one of her toys and just laugh and laugh. You'll hold it out for her to take (she is very gentle with you), or I'll help you throw her ball. I'm pretty sure playing with her is one of your favorite things. You've started feeding her too. I gave you a piece of waffle yesterday morning while I was eating breakfast, and instead of eating it you reached right over to Rhapsody's mouth, held out your hand, and waited for her to eat it.

You are getting closer and closer to walking. This month we've noticed that you have begun to realize that walking is the best way to move. When you are trying to get somewhere, you will crawl until you find something to pull up on, and you will hold on and walk as long as you can before you drop down to crawl again. You pull up on everything and everyone including any furniture, toys, the wall, doors, our legs, other kids.You still will rarely let go and stand by yourself, but you are barely hanging on. I will be surprised if you are not walking by your birthday.

Your cart is one of your favorite toys right now along with your music table, shape sorter, and anything that rattles when you shake it. I took this video about three weeks ago. You walk so fast with your cart. Now you just need to learn how to steer :).


You started saying mama this month. It's the sweetest sound you make! You'll look at me when you say and you usually say it while you're eating too. I'm not sure what that's about. You also can say "dada" and "hi."

You still take four (six oz) bottles a day- one around each mealtime, and a bedtime bottle. I can't believe we're just a month away from being done with bottles and formula! You are eating a lot more table food this month. Outside of foods associated with common allergies and sweets, we'll let you eat almost anything, and you are a great eater, no matter what we throw at you. Your independence shows up  strong at mealtimes. You prefer to feed yourself finger food, than us spoon feed you. As much as you detest pureed peas and spit them out of your mouth, you will happily gobble up whole peas if I let you feed yourself. When you are done eating whatever we are feeding you, you just spit out the bites we give you. You are a messy boy sometimes.

For breakfast, you like to eat yogurt, rice cereal or oatmeal and fresh fruit. Bananas are one of your favorites, and I'll let you hold a big hunk of banana in your hand and eat it. You'll eat almost a whole banana with breakfast. At lunch I usually give you a pureed vegetable and more fruit. For supper I'll usually give you a jar of baby food with meat in it, a cheese stick and some of whatever we are eating for dinner. Your favorite snacks are goldfish, crunchies and fruit. Your favorite foods right now are blueberries, bananas, and cheese.

You go to sleep around 8:00 at night and usually sleep until 7:00 in the morning. The last couple of weeks  you have started waking up early (5:30-6:00). I'm associating it with teething, but you're going to need to stop that soon. Your momma is worn out! You are a great napper if we are at home during the day and take a morning nap that usually lasts about 1.5 hours and a 2 hour afternoon nap. If we are out and about (which we are a lot of the time), you adapt really well to shorter naps, or naps that are off your schedule.

Your favorite place to be is outside, and now that the weather is warming up, you are able to be out more and more. Walks are a favorite past time for you. You are very content to sit and ride in your stroller. You look all around and talk and babble while we walk. You also love to swing. Your face lights up as soon as we start pushing you in it. I'm looking forward to a fun summer with you.

Bath time is another highlight of your day. As soon as you hear the water running in the bath tub, you scurry all the way across the house straight to the bath tub.

You finally got some teeth this month. Your two bottom ones just recently came in.

I'm guessing you weigh around 22 pounds. I took you to the doctor to check your ears on March 16 and you weighed 21 lbs 4 oz. You'll be close to tripling your birth weight by one year! You wear 9-12, 12 and 12-18 month clothes and a size 4 diaper.

Life gets better and better everyday with you, Little One. We love you oh so much!