Racing! I can’t help but smile every time I look at this picture. He’s just so adorable with his curly hair and legs that don’t reach the pedals. It won’t be long before he can play this for real without having to sit in his daddy’s lap. (Before I took the picture, he sat in Paul’s lap to race because Paul’s legs reach the pedals. When they were done, Nathan was content to sit in the seat and pretend like he was still racing.)

When we learn about the letter “B,” for example, I’ll ask him what sound(s) that particular letter makes and then we’ll talk about different words that start with that letter. I turn it into a fun game and make it something exciting and interesting. Whenever I ask Nathan if he would like to talk about a new letter, he gets so excited, claps his hands, and will even do a little dance. So, after I drew on the board and we talked about the letter “B,” Nathan walked around the house saying, “B is for book! Book starts with the letter B! B says buh… buh… buh!”

I’m so glad he likes learning and loves to read. As long as he keeps up a love of learning and reading, the sky is the limit for him.

“You talking to God?” I asked.

“Yeah, God’s in the clouds,” he replied. Then he put both hands on my face, tilted my head up towards the sky and said, “Say hi God!”

I’m not sure if he wanted me to say hi to God, or if he was asking God to say hi to me.

You see, I’ve been talking to Nathan a lot about God. To explain God in terms that his little mind can understand, I told him that God lives really, really far away… further than the sky. He lives so far away that we can’t see him, but he has really good eyesight so he can see us. And good hearing, too, so he can hear us. I tell Nathan that God loves him so very much, to which Nathan always replies, “I love God too!”

My sweet, sweet baby. The look on his face says it all; he really does love God. Even though he’s never seen God, he loves him nonetheless. To me, that is pure preciousness.

You see, my religion is extremely important to me. I want to bring Nathan up to know God and to love him, but not to the point that I’m shoving the Bible down his throat. I want him to love God because he WANTS to love God. The best I can do, I think, is to talk to him about God and guide him in the right direction, and pray God does the rest.

So far, God seems to be doing just that.

They are awesome. Yes, I know I am quite partial.

We had Thanksgiving at Paul’s grandmother’s house and totally gorged ourselves on some delicious food. Nathan, being the persnickety little feller that he is, refused to eat any of the food. Naturally. He wouldn’t be Nathan if he wasn’t so dang stubborn. But to make up for it, I was able to snap some cute pictures.

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving. The entire Holiday season, from Halloween through the New Year, is so much fun! Even though it’s the busiest time of the year for us, we totally enjoy it all. I’m sad that the season is drawing to a close. The New Year is coming up… I can’t believe it. Ready or not, 2012 here we come!

Now don’t you feel better? Good.

So besides me being a lousy blogger during the Christmas season, everything here is going pretty much as planned. We have all of our shopping done and most of the presents wrapped… Paul has been off work for the past week, so we’ve really been enjoying that as well. Nathan is amped up and totally ready for Christmas.

Last weekend, Paul and I took Nathan to the mall with us. We arrived before 9am, so the crowds were light. All the stores were playing Christmas music, and Nathan sang along! “Jingle Bells” and “Oh Christmas Tree” are two of his favorites. He got to see Santa while we were at the mall, although we didn’t stand in line and get a picture taken. Maybe next year when Nathan is ready.

My house is a total wreck right now. I’ve been so busy with all this Christmas stuff that my housework has gotten behind. Hell, I can’t even keep up with the dirty clothes. So as much as I am looking forward to Christmas, I am also looking forward to it being over so I can finally get some things DONE around here.

So I just wanted to pop in and let y’all know that all is good here… we haven’t dropped off the face of the earth or successfully cloned an army of ourselves. (Because who would be interested in blogging after you clone an ENTIRE ARMY of yourself!) And don’t worry- my blogging will pick up again after the Holidays are over and we get back into the swing of things. In the meantime, I hope everyone is enjoying the season (no matter what you may celebrate) and I will still be posting now that I’ve gotten the big stressors (such as present-buying and wrapping) out of the way.

Now to break out the mop…

Nathan really likes to color. What’s really cute it watching him color in a coloring book or on one of those children’s menus that restaurants give kids… he tries so hard to color in the lines, but of course, he doesn’t have the motor skills to do that just yet. And he also really likes when Paul or I draw on the paper as well, and then Nathan will try to mimic what we’ve done. Right now, we’re practicing circles.

In other news, I am so looking forward to Thanksgiving! My husband will be off from work Wednesday through Sunday for a much-needed break. I can’t wait to hang out with him and enjoy some time together! And don’t even get me started on the good food I will be gorging on. We’re having Thanksgiving at Paul’s grandmother’s house, and let me tell you that woman can cook like you would not believe. And the most awesome part is that many of her recipes are from her her mother and grandmother… talk about deliciousness!

Hopefully, I won’t gain too much weight this year…

(Yeah right. Lock up your pumpkin pies because I am on a path of consumption!)

I have somewhat of a plan this year, though. I’m going to try to steer clear of foods that I have easy access to throughout the year such as candy, etc. But stuff that I don’t get that often will be okay to eat, as long as I (try) to keep it in moderation. I only have 10-15 more pounds to go before I’m at my goal weight, and with the holidays factored in, I am giving myself til March to lose it.

Wish me luck.

Remember in my Halloween post, I talked about taking Nathan trunk-or-treating and how they had someone there taking pictures? Well, Nathan’s picture finally arrived in the mail! This picture is a little low on quality since I had to scan it, but it’s still really cute. Also, you should be able to click on the picture to get a larger image.

I’m already looking forward to next year’s Halloween. We had so much fun! And yes, eating all that candy was totally worth it!

Maybe I shouldn’t have eaten all that after all…

Then again, it just makes me work out even harder at the gym!

I’ve only gained a pound from my gluttony. That’s not bad at all. I think it’s because muscle burns calories more efficiently than fat, and since I’ve been working out like an animal for a number of months now, I’ve built up a decent amount of muscle. Therefore when I do decide to splurge, I don’t gain 5-10 pounds like I used to before I started being more healthy. So bring on the holidays!

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!

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.