Black and Blue Festival

This morning we attended the Black and Blue Festival at Petals from the Past. It was so much fun. We picked blueberries, listened to information about growing blackberries and blueberries, and sampled some great treats made with blackberries and blueberries. They also had pony rides and a small petting zoo area. Nate loved the blueberries. I love to introduce him to new flavors and textures so he will hopefully not be a picky eater. By the way, blueberries from the grocery store do not even compare to fresh picked blueberries. They will be in season for several more weeks if you are interested in picking some at Petals from the Past. I am pretty sure you can pick any time any day of the week.

While I was trying to get a picture of Nate and the goats, this sweet little goat licked Nate's toes. I never thought they could stick their head that far out of the pen. Thankfully it was only a lick and not a nip.

Now for some cow education. This is a Belted Galloway (like Angus, etc.). Nate has the cutest book called Clancy the Courageous Cow that's about a solid black Belted Galloway that feels left out because he's beltless (no white stripe). I have never seen an actual Belted Galloway cow, so I thought it was kind of neat. I must admit this little guy is probably not the best example for his breed.

11 Months

Nate is 11 months old today. He is doing great. He finally has two top teeth (he already has three bottom teeth). They didn't seem to make him feel too bad, thankfully. He is crawling around everywhere and pulling up on everything (I had no idea how fast babies crawl!). He loves to walk up and down the couch and around the coffee table, but hasn't taken any steps alone yet. He is loving to eat all things green (the real stuff, not baby food). His loves lima beans, green beans, sweet peas, green grapes. Tomorrow we are going to try some pieces of avocado. Hopefully we can add that to his favorites list as well. He is doing great with his sippy cup. We had been working on it off and on for about a month, but I honestly wasn't that consistent with it. When we returned from the beach I told Nate that I was going to be more consistent with giving him the opportunity to learn to use a sippy cup. It's funny because that very day he quickly got the hang of it and has been doing great since then. I know I say this every month, but he is becoming more and more of a love bug. He actually gave me a kiss last week without me asking or prompting him. If that won't make your heart melt, I don't know what will. I am starting to see more and more personality traits and I must admit he can be a little sassy and defiant at times. For example, if he's mad and has his paci in his mouth, he will take it out so he can cry louder. It's too bad they can't be totally sweet and innocent forever. Speaking of crying, he looks so pitiful when he crys. I know this is true for all babies, but he sticks his bottom lip out sooo far. It looks like a child actor who has been told to really exaggerate the lip action. My mother says her dad used to tell her that she could walk to town on her lip. I think Nate could do the same thing. The last couple of days he's been saying da da da da almost constantly. I honestly don't think he's talking about Darren, but we like to think so.

My parents just recently returned from a two week trip out West and they brought Nate this cute cap from South Dakota. I was surprised that he would actually keep it on his head. His favorite thing to do when wearing a hat is to take it off.

(This is not the best photography, but I thought Nate was too cute in this picture.)

The Zoo

Today we went to the zoo. We had a great time. It wasn't too crowded and the weather was nice. Nate enjoyed looking at the animals, but I think he enjoyed watching the other people more. I wanted to get pictures with Nate and animals in the same shot to have for his scrapbook since it was his first time at the zoo. This was almost impossible since he wanted to look at the animals and not me. I did manage to get one picture with him looking at me at the butterfly exhibit.

Fun at the Beach

We went on our first family vacation to the beach earlier this week. We had a fabulous time. The weather was great and Nate adjusted well to a new environment. He really enjoyed the beach. He ate a big handful of sand about a minute after we got there and I wasn't sure how he would react, but he just grimaced and went on playing. He also had his first swimming pool experience and enjoyed that also. He loved watching all of the other children splash and play. We had so much fun that time flew by and it was time to come home before we were ready. Next time we will definitely stay a few more days.

Mother's Day

It was so exciting to celebrate Mother's Day. After several years of wondering when I would be able to celebrate as a Mom, yesterday was wonderful. Praise God for the precious gift he gave us in baby Nate! I had a fabulous day. Darren surprised me with breakfast. I really wasn't expecting that. It was really sweet and thoughtful. He and Nate gave me a food processor - don't worry ladies, I have been wanting one for several months and was very excited. I will be ready to make all of those deceptively delicious recipes :) They also gave me the sweetest "First Mother's Day" cards. We had a wonderful time of praise and worship at church. I really appreciate the fact that our pastor recognized all of the women at church Sunday morning instead of just mothers. We have several women in our congregation who are going through or have been through infertility treatments, so it was nice that everyone was included and prayed over during the Mother's Day celebration. Darren and I are blessed to have our families close by and we were able to spend time with them Sunday afternoon. I will have to admit that the highlight of the day was when Nate got up from his nap, he gave me the sweetest kiss! I thought my heart was going to melt. He is such a sweetheart!

Nate is 10 Months!

Wow. It's hard to believe that Nate is already 10 months old. It seems like I was doing his 9 month post yesterday. The days are flying by. He is doing super. He is crawling around everywhere and getting into everything, if I am not keeping a close eye on him. He is learning the meaning of "No" - I hope. He has three teeth - just bottom ones. Darren and I joke that he may have all of his bottom teeth before he has any top ones. He is getting sweeter and sweeter and becoming quite the love bug. He will lay his head on our shoulder and pat and rub our back. He will also give us "sugar." His hair is getting curlier each day (I am sure this has a lot to do with the fact that it is getting more and more humid). He loves to wave hi to people. He does this by raising his hand straight up in the air. He also loves to wave Hi to the many baby Nate pictures we have around the house. This started from us looking in the mirror and saying hi to baby Nate. He loves to eat Puffs and would put 10 in his mouth at one time if I would let him. He loves books (this is one of the few traits that I know he got from me and definitely not Darren), especially ones with pictures of babies. He gets so excited looking at his "Where is Baby?" books that he squeals. He enjoys being outside and gets so excited to see the cows. We usually go see them every afternoon when Darren gets home.

Today he attended his first party. His cousin was celebrating his second birthday. This was a lot like the egg hunt we attended. He had no idea what was going on, but there were a lot of people around to talk to him and entertain him, so he had a great time. We are starting to make decisions about his first birthday party. I know he doesn't care what we do, but I want his first birthday to be special. Here is the one picture I took at the party. The golf cart was a big hit.
We will be taking a short vacation to the beach soon. This will be Nate's first trip to the beach and our first family vacation. We took a one night trip last fall, but this will be our first several day vacation. I hope things go well and Nate sleeps well in a different environment.

I am continually grateful for the huge blessing Nate is to us each and every day. It is such a joy to get to spend each day with him.

Sleeping Booty

I don't know how in the world this is comfortable, but this is Nate's favorite way to nap these days.