Nathan's First Birthday Celebration!

October 2-3, 2010

I'm not sure even where to begin. Nathan's birthday weekend was a whirlwind of fun! Our little boy is so spoiled, but more importantly, so LOVED! Steve's parents, his sister, and his older brother all came in from out of town. Rachel also came all the way from Nebraska to celebrate his birthday. It was so awesome to have everyone here. We had the party at my parent's house in Poulsbo. It was so nice of them to let us have it there. They have so much more space than we do, so it worked out perfectly. Nathan did great. He got a nice long nap right before the party, so he was well rested and ready to party! He loved his birthday cake, chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. When he saw the candle, and we all started singing, he got such a big smile on his face. It was so adorable. I think he knew it was all for him. He didn't really get that you could bite into the cake, so Steve cut off a big hunk for him and that did the trick. He couldn't get enough of it after that. After he was done with the cake, we started in on presents. I don't think he really understood that part. He kept wandering off, leaving me to unwrap all his gifts for him. He got some pretty great toys, clothes, and even more money to go toward his education. We're so thankful for everything! It was a really fun day, and a perfect party to celebrate our little boy's first birthday. Happy Birthday, Nathan! We love you!

Nathan's Mega Cupcake

Janet made this birthday quilt - so cute and a perfect touch to our decorations!

Our little birthday Prince - Nathan's outfit he wore home from the hospital had little crowns on it, so I thought this "prince" crown was perfect to celebrate his 1st birthday.

So happy for his cake

Once Daddy cut him a piece of cake, he was all in

Forget that, he's going for it

So proud!

Aunt Diane and Uncle Jeff helping with the presents

Uncle Patrick got him this bib

Laura drove over from Puyallup to celebrate with us

Us with Auntie Rachel

Trying to figure out how to walk in his cool new boots - they're still a little big...

Look at all my birthday presents, guys! Four new sets of wheels!

A Day at the Park - Sept. 11, 2010

We love to take Nathan to the park. He absolutely loves being outside, and ever since he started walking, he just won't stop. He's a happy boy when he can get around. This was a great day spent in the park in Bellevue.

So happy!

I just love this. It's so cute to watch Nathan walking hand-in-hand with his daddy.

Nanny Grandma

Nathan's daycare was closed the last week of August, so Grandma P. came up from Oklahoma to be our nanny for the three days I had to work. I was so thankful she was able to come, because the original plan was for my mom to watch him, but that was before we found out that she had cancer. Her surgery was only a couple weeks before, so she was still recovering. The most important thing is that she is cancer free without having to go through chemo or radiation. Praise God for that. He definitely answers prayers.

Grandma P. had a fun time with Nathan although I think he might have worn her out a little bit. He's so full of energy and like any one of us, sometimes has his fussy days. It was awesome that Nathan got to spend some one-on-one time with his grandma. They went on many walks, went to the park, hung out on Alki, and even did some crafts. I came home one day and they had made a plaster of paris handprint of Nathan's cute little hand. We also got spoiled with some of Grandma's yummy cooking.

First Steps - end of August

Nathan decided to start walking while Grandma and Grandpa Powell were visiting from Oklahoma. It was pretty exciting since they don't get to see a lot of Nathan. I'm glad he decided to take his first steps while they were in town. It took a lot of encouragement, but he figured it out pretty quickly. This is a video of one of his first attempts at walking all while chewing on his shoe...yum, yum.

Annual Camping Trip- Aug 20-22

We went on our annual camping trip with the Timms and Salibas. This year we headed down south near Olympia to Millersylvania State Park. It was an awesome park with great camp sites, a lake with multiple swimming areas, and some good hiking trails. As always, we had an awesome time. Our group is growing every year. We had two new additions this year with Nathan and his little buddy, Isaiah. We ended up having decent weather this year, no rain, although it wasn't quite warm enough to go swimming in the lake, unless you are Hani or Steve. They both decided to jump in the water, but the rest of us were happy watching from the shore. We did have fun hanging out by the lake, going for walks, making s'more boats...all those great traditional camping activities. What I always enjoy the most is hanging out with some of my best friends.

The Boys - Notice the facial hair for their annual "stache" camping

The Girls

The Kids

The Salibas

Love the cowboy hats!

Isaiah hanging out with his mom

Two happy boys

Thanks for sharing, Ashley!

Isaiah and Danielle playing trucks

Our fam by the lake

More Birthday Celebrations - Aug. 15

We headed over to my parent's house to celebrate Patrick's and my dad's birthday. It was a gorgeous day out, nice and hot. My mom and I found this cute little swimming pool for Nathan, so we set it up for him to cool off in. He liked it for the most part. He wasn't too excited when we turned on the sprinkler part of it, but I think he just didn't like the water getting right in his face. We sure had fun playing with Nathan in the pool. I just wish it was a little bit bigger, so we could have cooled off in it too.

Sliding into his new pool

Playing with Daddy

Nathan and Grandpa O.

Nathan and Uncle Patrick

"Uh-oh" - Aug. 11, 2010

Nathan came home from daycare one day saying "uh-oh". It was so adorable. His little voice is just so cute. I'm sure he must have learned it from one of the other kids. It's amazing how quickly they pick things up. I'm not sure if this would be considered his first word or not. He sometimes says "mama" and "dada" too, but it is much more random.