life with a new baby
Holidays and Special Occasions
Halloween fun!
Nov 1st
I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween! Ours was great. We didn’t do the door-to-door trick-or-treating this year because Nathan tends to get scared easily. Plus it’s a LOT of work hauling a very strong-willed two-year-old from house to house. So instead, we decided to to Trunk-or-Treat this year at a local church. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s where a bunch of folks get together in a parking lot, decorate the insides of their car trunks, and hand out candy to trick-or-treaters. I’m not affiliated with the particular denomination of this church, so I was worried that there might be a covert anti-Halloween atmosphere.
See, when I was growing up, the churches we attended were really strict when it came to “worldly” things… such as celebrating Halloween. I’ll never forget being told that Halloween glorified Satan, especially when one dressed up as a witch, goblin, devil, etc. The times my brother and I were allowed to go trick-or-treating, I could never be anything “satanic.” I remember one year, I wanted so badly to be a skeleton, but I had to be a clown instead. It finally got to the point that I just didn’t want to fool with it… the desire to participate in Halloween activities seemed to always erupt into an argument between our parents and us.
Now that I’m an adult with my own child, I am doing things a bit differently. I don’t think Halloween is a Satanic holiday, as long as that’s not what you let it become in your family. Maybe for some people, sure. But then again, I’m sure those very same people can turn any day into a Satanic holiday, including Christmas and Easter. That’s their business. For me, Halloween is a time to have fun, dress up in cool costumes, and collect free candy. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s all in good fun, and I am 100% certain that if I let my child dress as a devil one year, he will not be “glorifying” Satan nor will it turn him evil.
I think when I was growing up, I was over-sheltered. My parents tried so hard to protect me from the world. Their intent was honorable, and I know they had my and my brother’s best interest at heart. However, once I turned 18 and moved out, the world hit me full-force. I was so naive and completely unprepared for real life, and I ended up getting myself into some trouble simply because I truly didn’t know any better.
So. That being said, I won’t be sheltering my child as much. I think he should be exposed to things that way we can talk about it and I can explain it to him. He won’t be hit by a ton of bricks, so to speak, when he finally moves out.
At first, we weren’t going to take Nathan at all since he’s so young and wouldn’t understand. But on Sunday (the day of the trunk-or-treat), I asked Nathan if he wanted to go trick-or-treating. His little eyes completely lit up.
“Tricker treat?” he smiled. “Yeah?” He was like a happy little elf, running around, bouncing with every step in anticipation of this thing called Tricker Treat. He had no idea what it was, yet he wanted to do it. So I told him we would go to the store and get him a costume. So my little man was a fireman this year and he absolutely LOVED it. After I put his costume on him and told him what it was, he was as happy as a bug in a rug. His whole face lit up and he could barely contain his excitement.
The look he gave me when I told him we were going trick-or-treating and that he was a fireman
Just like a fireman... checking out the water hose!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCWqM8Doe-g
Let's go trick-or-treat!
At any rate, I was worried that the church trunk-or-treat would be anti-Halloween. But it wasn’t! I was pleasantly surprised to see trunks decorated with witches, ghosts, giant spiderwebs, goblins, and creepy music. I saw ghouls and goblins roaming around with jack-o-lanterns stuffed to the brim with candy. Everyone was super friendly and no one pestered me with uncomfortable attempts to get us to attend their church services. They even had someone making s’mores over a little fire (with a tent set up for good measure) and were giving out free food like hotdogs, hamburgers, and drinks. They even had an area set up for pictures, complete with a photographer, and they will print and mail the picture for free.
It was awesome. And a great testimony as well. I was super impressed with the whole thing… and how there seemed to be no affiliation to their particular denomination other than it was held in the church parking lot. That, my friends, is the best way to witness to people- No “bible thumping” and no shoving the message down anyone’s throat. That is what impresses people and will make them more apt to visit your church.
Paul was unable to make it to the event with us, so it was just me and Nathan. Nathan didn’t really understand the whole thing in it’s entirety, but that’s ok. He still had a blast helping me hold out his bag, and he loved the plopping sound the candy made as it thunked to the bottom. Every time, he would peer into his bag at the candy that was slowly accumulating. Nathan especially loved when the candy-givers would let him get his own piece of candy. He would rake his hands through the bounty and slowly examine three or four pieces before deciding on one. Then he’d open his bag and watch as he dropped it inside.
There was more than one occasion when he reached his happy little hands back into the candy-giver’s bowl. I would gently take his hand and inform him that we needed to leave some for the other children. (Every time this happened, the candy-giver said it was fine for him to take another piece. Except this one time, Nathan tried to snatch a GIANT handful!)
By the time we made it around the parking lot and oohed-and-ahhed over the scary decorations, Nathan had his fill. It had only taken 30 minutes, which is perfect for a little guy like Nathan. Unfortunately, because he was starting to get fussy, we couldn’t grab any of the food. I was a little sad because my mouth was on full-salivation mode as the smell of grilled hamburgers wafted lazily through the crisp air. But that’s okay. There is always next year!
When we got home, I turned and faced Nathan as he sat in his car seat, babbling happily about Tricker Treat and firemen. I gave him a Smarty to eat. He plopped it into his mouth and chewed.
And made the funniest face I have ever seen. EVER!
You would have thought I’d given him the world’s most sour lemon. His face crinkled up, his eyes squinted shut, and he opened his mouth and stuck his Smarty-peppered tongue out with a pained grimace. It was too sweet for him! Even though I love love love sweets, we don’t eat a lot of them at home, so he’s not had a lot of exposure to processed sugar. The sweetness overwhelmed him! I tried to coerce him into eating another one so I could get it on video, but he was too smart for that.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idGx8pN7JaQ
And then the next day (yesterday, Halloween itself) I tried to coax him into trying again. And he still refused.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pmmOlM7Urg
I can’t believe my child refuses to eat sugar! I’m thankful though. It’s (hopefully) less cavities I have to worry about and less health problems. I don’t really want him eating a lot of that stuff because it’s simply not good for him. But I don’t mind it on special occasions, such as Halloween. I bet he will be more willing to eat it next year!
Such a happy little guy!
The almost-forgotten summer pictures
Oct 27th
Paul, Nathan, and I all went to the lake the celebrate Paul’s grandmother’s birthday with other family members. Back in July. Yeah, that’s right. It was a few months ago, and I just realized I never posted the pictures I took! That, my friends, is Mommy Brain at its best. Better late than never, right? Also, as usual, I only posted pictures of Paul, Nathan, and myself for privacy reasons.
Nathan loves being outside and doing anything outdoors. Including letting the warm sun wash over his face as he trots around with his head thrown back and his eyes closed.
He ran and ran, and then when he was done with all that running, he ran some more. He ran around the entire area, exploring everything. And he is such a boy; he loves rocks. Big rocks, little rocks, smooth rocks, jagged rocks, it doesn’t matter. He loves them all and when he sees a rock (especially larger ones), he can’t help but check it out.
He was enchanted with the height of the trees. He would run to the base of one and tilt his head as far back as his little neck would allow, admiring the height and I’m sure anticipating the day when he will actually be able to climb them.
This pose looks like he’s saying, “Now wait a minute, Mommy! You can’t tell me I can’t do something!” I’m sure he was thinking that at the time. This kid loves to test everything Paul and I say… I say don’t touch, and he looks right at me and tries to touch. Of course, we are very consistent with his discipline, so Nathan is quite aware of the consequences for bad behavior. Yet he can’t help himself. He must test. It is in his very being. Anyway, in this picture, he was actually just talking to me and waving his little hands around.
Every so often, we had to coerce Nathan into taking a break from all his running. It was warm and humid that day, and Nathan was drenched in sweat. So we laid out a picnic blanket and enticed him to chill out with some of his favorite toys. I love how Paul and Nathan are laying in similar positions.
My turn to get lovings from my boy! Since this picture was taken, I’ve lost about 12 more pounds. (You can’t really tell my size here because of the angle of the camera… plus Nathan is hiding my belly, hips, and thighs. Thankfully. I wouldn’t want to blind anyone.) Speaking of weight loss, as of right now, I am soooooo close to meeting my goal of making it to my ideal weight for my height. Only 13 more pounds to go! Once I reach that goal, I will have lost a total of 50 pounds. It’s so exciting to accomplish a goal you set for yourself… The secret? Willpower, willpower, willpower. Determination and the refusal to give up will get you anything, my friends.
Nathan also loved watching all the boats and jet-skis zooming past. When he heard the drum of a motor, he would stop what he was doing and watch intently as the boat sped past. At one point, a plane flew by overhead. The child was completely mesmerized.
It was a perfect summer day. It was humid and hot enough to remind us it was still summer, but not so much that we were all miserably roasting in our own sweat. It was a perfect day, and we all had an absolute blast.
Our trip to Michigan!
Sep 16th
So a couple months ago (in July… I know, I know, I am Queen of Procrastination when it comes to getting up a ton of pictures. I am so sorry guys! I will definitely work harder at not taking so long next time!) we went up to Michigan to visit with my grandparents (my dad’s parents) and to celebrate their wedding anniversary. My Grandma isn’t doing too well. She’s in her eighties and her health is rapidly declining, so everyone on my dad’s side who was able to make the trip went up there to see her before she gets worse.
My dad’s side of the family is spread all across the United States. They’re in Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, Colorado, Washington State, Tennessee… so you can imagine how hard it is for us to all get together. The last time we saw each other was in 1987. Yes, you read that correctly… it had been TWENTY FOUR years since I had seen most of my aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Although I took a lot of pictures of me and my family, for privacy reasons, I only posted pictures of me, my husband, and my son.
Here we are leaving Tennessee. My mom and dad rented a minivan and although I must say I borderline LOATHE minivans, this one was pretty bad ass. I packed tons of stuff for Nathan to play with, including his favorite thing in the whole wide world- books. He did remarkably well, considering this is his first long road trip ever. We had to stop a number of times for food and diaper changes, but it wasn’t a problem. Nathan did get a little fussy at times (who can blame the poor kid?) and we’d just simply find a restaurant or gas station and let him walk around with us to work off some energy. Traveling with Nathan wasn’t bad at all.
My dad, wearing his aviators. And you see mine in the first picture? They match. That’s because my dad knew I have been dying to have a pair of REAL aviators (not those knockoffs you get at the local store) so he went to the PX and picked me up a pair… the exact same kind he’s been wearing ever since he flew in the army.
Happy once we got out of the car
Keeping a watchful eye on Nathan... we both kept our fingers crossed that we wouldn't have to wait long for the food!
Since my husband, brother, and my cousin P flew up, we stayed near the airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The day after we arrived, we made the 45-minute drive from Grand Rapids to Grand Haven, Michigan. Since Cousin P was pretty familiar with that area and armed with maps and directions, we all decided we would follow her to Grand Haven. Only she missed one of her turns, and instead of ending up at our destination, we ended up in South Haven, which is approximately an hour or so south of Grand Haven. Adding a VERY hungry and tired Nathan to the mix made for a rather stressful adventure, but once we found a little pizzeria in South Haven and got some food into his little belly, it was all good.
Once we ate our fill of delicious pizza, we made the trek to Grand Haven, where we sought out the beach. That’s right, we totally went swimming in Lake Michigan! If you don’t know anything about Lake Michigan, it is COLD. I mean… coooooooooooooooold. That was the coldest water I have EVER been in. In fact, the day we were there, the temperature read a whopping 55 degrees.
Nathan didn’t let the frigid water stop him, though. That kid loves, loves, loves the water. He played in it, splashed around, and enjoyed watching the boats whizz past.
He was completely oblivious to the cold water. Well for him, it doesn’t matter. Water is water, and water is fun to play in, regardless of the temperature. This kid is seriously a total water bug!
He loved walking in the sand, and that odd sensation you get as you stand on the sand and a wave laps at your feet. He walked up and down the beach, smiling and clapping his little hands. It was a rather hot day… Michigan had a heat wave while we were up there. And even then, notice how there is NO ONE in the water.
My Cousin P, me, and my brother braving the frigid waters of Lake Michigan. It was so cold that it felt like needles were piercing my skin as we walked. Cousin P dared us to go out as far as we could stand. Our goal? To get up to our necks. Mission: failed. We were, however, able to quickly dunk ourselves up to our necks though. And see my brother on the right? He is a brave, brave soul. He kept himself mostly immersed, even though he was shivering.
Paul and Nathan’s footprints in the sand. I can’t believe that one day my little boy’s feet will quite possibly the the size of his daddy’s…
Nathan and Daddy walking along the beach. Watching Nathan pretty much REQUIRES a lot of walking around. That child does not stay in one place for long!
A lovely picture of the sun over the lake. And see that pier in the background? Grand Haven has it’s very own pier. We didn’t actually go there (Nathan would have balked had we taken him out of the water too soon) but it was beautiful to look at.
A random stranger at the beach said Nathan could use a sand shovel she had. And let me tell you, Nathan thought he had hit a gold mine! He had so much fun scooping sand and flinging it everywhere.
Of course, whenever you have your children anywhere near water, you must remain vigilant at all times, especially when that kid loves to be around water. So there I am, keeping an ever-watchful eye on my little water bug.
Another shot of the pier. Beautiful, isn’t it?
That’s my dad, Nathan’s Grandpa (or as Nathan calls him, Papa), helping Nathan dig more proficiently. See how my dad is even guiding Nathan’s arm? I think it’s so precious.
Running around near the water, looking for more digging ground. He is holding onto that shovel for dear life… he totally loved it. (And believe me, wringing it out of his tightly-clenched little fists when it was time to give it back and go home was a feat in and of itself.)
That’s me wiping some sand of Nathan’s cheek. I was sooooooooo cold that my already pale skin had this icy blue-purple tinge to it! Totally worth it, though. I would go back in a heartbeat.
I think Nathan was looking at a seagull here… or maybe it was some of the other kids who were building a sandcastle nearby. Whichever it was, Nathan was completely enamored with everything about the beach and tried to soak up everything he saw.
It was hard to get him to stand still long enough to get a smiling picture of him, but at long last, SUCCESS!
Leaving the lake. It may have been the COLDEST water I have EVER been it, and my whole body may have turned purple from the freezing temperatures, but it was the most fun I think I’ve ever had at a lake. It was such a great experience, and now I can say that I SURVIVED LAKE MICHIGAN!
So the next day was the actual celebration of my grandparents’ wedding anniversary. I won’t say exactly how long they’ve been married, but it’s more than SIXTY YEARS… and counting! My grandfather is doing a stellar job helping my Grandma out since she can’t do the same things she used to be able to do. It was so good to see them. See, they live in Michigan… and before my Grandma became ill, they used to drive down to Florida for the winters. And every time they came through Tennessee, they would go out of their way to stop and spend a night with my mom and dad. So twice a year, I was able to see them. The last time they did that, however, was about four years ago. Since then, my Grandmother has become unable to travel… and it’s almost impossible for us to get up to Michigan to see them. Oh it was so good to see her. I miss her so much.
Nathan happily playing with a toy at my Aunt D’s house. Everyone, naturally, was completely in love with Nathan. This was the first time anyone on my dad’s side has met my husband and my son. My grandparents met Paul when we were first dating, though. I can’t even tell you how good it felt to give everyone a great big hug and see my family face-to-face for the first time in 24 years.
There’s Paul, helping Nathan open a gift. Aunt D had gotten all the kids little gag gifts, and of course, Nathan thoroughly enjoyed ripping off the wrapping paper. And Paul was amazing… the whole time we were at my aunt’s house, he watched Nathan for me so that I could socialize and hang out with my family. And you know how I mentioned earlier that whenever you watch Nathan, there will be plenty of walking around involved? Well, Paul walked around after Nathan so much that he developed a blister on his toe! THANK YOU, HONEY! It really means the world to me that I was able to spend time with my family.
Taken the day we were leaving Michigan. We ate a delicious lunch in Grand Rapids before my husband had to catch his flight home. Nathan and I rode back with my parents.
The looooooong ride home. (Well, long when you have a two-year-old with you!) See Nathan holding an orange? Yeah, I totally bribe my kid with fruit. Well, it works! Nathan loves fruit, and he loves to play with it as well. We also had some Blue’s Clue’s and Sesame Street DVDs for him to watch during the drive, and he totally loved it. Our trip to Michigan was super awesome and fun, and it was so good to see my family. I hope that another 24 years does not pass us by before we are all able to get together again.
A trip to Michigan
Jul 22nd
Well, it’s been a few days since I’ve posted last. So much has been happening! We went on a trip to Michigan to see my grandparents (Dad’s parents). It was an amazing trip… I was able to reconnect with aunts, uncles, and cousins that I had not seen since 1987. That’s 24 years, y’all. Twenty-four years is TOO LONG. See, we live all over the United States… Tennessee, Michigan, Wisconsin, Washington State, Arizona, Colorado… so it’s incredibly hard to schedule get-togethers. Then, before ya know it, TWENTY FOUR years has passed since the last time you’ve seen your family.
The trip went by way too fast. We went up last week (I had pre-written a few posts and scheduled them to go up while I was away so that it wouldn’t be too awfully long with no a posts) and we got back earlier this week. I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off (gross imagery, right?) trying to clean, unpack, and get Nathan settled back into his routine.
We’re almost back to normal now.
So that means that soon, I will write more about my lovely trip and post some PICTURES! Lots of fun, good memories, and DELICIOUS food. And, most importantly, I GOT TO SEE MY GRANDMA!! I haven’t seen her in about four years or so. They live in Michigan and used to travel down to Florida in the winter, so twice a year, they would make a detour by my parents’ house to see us. Then, my grandmother was diagnosed with a form of Parkinson’s and became unable to travel, so that’s why I haven’t seen her in so long.
It was GOOD to hug her again.
I miss my family so much already.
Recent Comments
Aww thanks, Tina, it was good to see you too! I wish I could have talked to you more... I ...
I'm sorry you all had a rough go yesterday, but it was good to see you both :) I have ...
Thank you, I appreciate that. It's so cool to hear people say that we look alike... I've been told there ...
Awww... what really nice photos! You two look so alike, especially with the way you smile.