fifty-five, and counting.

We celebrated my mom's 55th birthday last night with a trip out to one of our local Japanese steakhouses (http://akasakajapaneserestaurant.com/).  We also celebrated her 50th birthday there, so we definitely spent some time reflecting back on the last five years and how much our lives have changed. For me, I was not married yet and Nathan was not even a glimmer of a thought -- it's funny how short of a time he has been part of our family, yet I forget that he hasn't always been here!

Last night we had a lot of good food, a great chef, and a really nice time.  I mean, really, how can you go wrong with Japanese food and ice cream cake?!  Happy Birthday, Mom! I hope it was great. Here are a few pictures to capture the evening...

easter.

We have had a very nice Easter, but let me too you that I am worn out! Yesterday, I had Nate practice with Easter eggs to get used to playing with them. His mission in life yesterday was to first separate the whole eggs from those that were in half (plastic, people...hard boiling eggs is cooking, which we all know I don't do!).  Today, we had a cookout with Chris's parents and Nate had an egg hung (read: eggs in the grass to put into his basket).  All in all, he did a great job and really picked up the idea quickly! :)

I hope that everyone had a great Easter and was able to keep the real meaning of the holiday in mind!

chris's birthday.

Well, as far as birthdays go, I think that Chris's birthday this year was an improvement over last year. Of course, last year Chris had back surgery on his birthday, so there was no where to go but up! :)  This year, Chris is recuperating from yet another back surgery, but is much further along in the recovery process -- so, we got to celebrate! Not just once, but twice in fact with both his parents and mine.

What makes my husband happier than presents and grilling meat? Not much! We had a really nice cookout with my family which was topped off with an ice cream cake from Coldstone. Yum!

Happy 32nd Birthday, Chris!  We really had a lot of fun helping you celebrate -- just next year, let's stay away from all of the surgeries, okay? :)

see nate bounce.

We are so fortunate that we have great neighbors who have kids for Nate to play with. We went to a birthday party tonight for one of the neighborhood kids at one of the local inflatable play zones (http://www.houseofbounceva.com/) and Nate had an absolute blast! Granted, he isn't quite big enough to do all of the climbing yet, but he played hard and had a great time!

Venue for his second birthday party, perhaps? We'll see! :)

first nathan's of the season.

It's become a family tradition to frequent our favorite local ice cream spot, Nathan's, every summer. And before you ask, no, that was not the inspiration for my son's name! :)  In any case, my Nathan is too little to remember going there last summer, so he was definitely in for a nice surprise tonight.  Against every instinct in my clean-freak nature, I let Nate hold his own cone. Hilarious!

sidewalk chalk, wagons, and flowers.

As we try to make the most of the beautiful spring weather and Nate's seemingly inexhaustible supply of energy, we continue to spend many of our afternoons outside.  I think that it is truly amazing to watch him learn through all of his experiences.  In just the last few days, Nathan has learned and said all sorts of new words: stick, rock, flower, bubble.  All of them while spending some time in the fresh air and sunshine!

Spending time outside is great for little man, but even better for Chris at this point.  Life post-spinal fusion is slow going, but he is able to take walks with us! It's a nice time of the year for some outside PT.  In the meantime, Nate is learning to play with sidewalk chalk rather than eat it, how to pick pretty flowers, and play at the neighborhood playground. Here are some pictures of our outdoor fun!

outdoor adventures.

We've been spending a lot of time outside lately...and the way that this child loves being outside, I think we may just have to buy a swing set this summer! The warm days lately have just been too nice to be inside and Nate has so much fun playing with the other little kids in our neighborhood.  We've blown bubbles, rolled his ball down the driveway, ran like crazy, and collected sticks.  I love this age, it is so much fun!

nineteen months.

I guess it will be time to stop counting the baby-birthday months soon, once he turns two, but for now I will make the most of it!

Some recent Nathan-isms are:

• Running laps through the house each night chanting "go, go, go" 
• Every number is "two" and every letter is "E" 
• Learning.how.to.climb.EVERYTHING. Today he discovered that the drawers in the kitchen make a nice ladder!
• Coming out with new words every day, like: happy, hotdog & move
• Log-rolling through multiple rooms of the house and somersaults on the beds
• Says "please" when he wants something!

Here are some pictures of little man.  He is growing like a little weed!