Christmas #1

We spent Christmas #1 in Johnson City, TN with the Givens. We were there from the 22nd-26th and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! Nate kept everyone entertained with all his new tricks, and had a blast opening presents on Christmas Day! Some highlights of our stay include:

-Nate's first trip to Pal's (Our fave drive-thru burger place). We had a picnic in the back of the van, enjoying our burgers, frenchy fries, strawberry milkshakes, and sweet tea. Nate finally figured out how to suck from a straw, so he got a good bit of the tea & milkshake! He couldn't stop licking his lips!

-Nate's first time feeding himself with a fork! He figured out how to "stab" his black bean burger bites and bring them to his mouth. What a big boy!

-Nate is a party animal!! :) The Givens had a crowd of about 20 people over one night, and then we went over to another family's house the next night and he didn't get to bed till 10 pm. He was super well-behaved and had a great time exploring everywhere!

-Nate learned everyone's names....Grandmum, Granddad, Aunt Gena, Uncle Kevin....and could point to them when asked. He even said "Uncle" once!!!

-Nate got close to 10 new dvds for Christmas, so he is set for our next road trip! Of course the Elmo one from Aunt Gena was his fave. As soon as he opened it, he walked into the kitchen, starting swaying, and held the dvd pointed to the tv. He wanted to watch it ASAP!! Then he stood on a chair and danced to it when we finally put it in. That boy is crazy for Elmo!

-Two of Nate's new tricks include blowing kisses and making Indian noises

-Nate got lots of great gifts! Uncle Kevin gave him a mozart music cube and 2 cute tees from Switzerland & Paris. Aunt Gena gave him the aforementioned Elmo dvd plus superman pjs! (Greg, Kev, and Gena all had those when they were little and wore them for 3 straight days once.) Plus Grandmum & Granddad gave him lots of dvds, puzzles, and a special block toy that Greg aced when he was a little tyke. They had to search all over for it since they don't make them anymore, and eventually found it on eBay.

-Nate is officially obsessed with being outside and going on nature walks. He decided to throw temper tantrums every time he had to come inside. Awesome. Good thing it was unseasonably warm in Johnson City for Christmastime!

WOW

Everyone knows we love our neighborhood, especially our street/circle. Well, here is just another reason why...

Today our neighbors, Stacey & Todd Rodewald, GAVE us a ton ton ton of clothes for Nate. Their son, Cameron is 3, and they also have a baby girl Mia who is 4 months old. They are the nicest couple ever, and here is the perfect example. Look at all these clothes!!



There are stacks of shorts, pants, sweaters, pjs, shortsleeve shirts, and longsleeve shirts, ranging from 12M-4T. As a bonus, they are super nice clothes too - Ralph Lauren, Gymboree, Children's Place, Osh Kosh, etc. and hardly look worn at all. We also got a few coats, pairs of shoes, and even a Halloween costume for next year. I am still in amazement that they GAVE all of this to us. I tried to convince Stacey to let me pay her, or at least take it to a consignment shop to sell it instead of just giving it away. She refused, saying that a lot of them were hand-me-downs themselves. I'm not sure I believe her though!

I am utterly at a loss for words, because Nate has a whole new wardrobe now, for the upcoming like 2 yrs. (Note to the Gibbs family: Stop shopping!! :) Guess when we're done having kids, I'll just have to pay it forward like Stacey did....wow.....

First visit to see Santa

We didn't take Nate to see Santa last year (shame on me), but decided to make the effort this year. We didn't have high expectations though, since Nate has major stranger anxiety. Especially with older men (e.g. our neighbor Larry). Nevertheless, we took him to Belk at the "new mall" and crossed our fingers. Here's how it went.

Attempt #1: He sat on Santa's lap and shook his head "no" 100 times. And cried.

Attempt #2: He held a lollipop on Santa's lap, cried, and kept reaching out to Mommy & Daddy to unwrap the lollipop.

Attempt #3: He sat in Santa's chair by himself, while Santa snuck behind the chair and poked his head up for a picture. Nate heard him, looked up to see him, and cried.

So, needless to say, we did not get any good pictures. The people at Belk were super sweet and patient, and since there was no line, allowed us multiple "attempts." But to no avail. I know some people think it's cute to buy a screaming kid photo, but I am too cheap to pay $15 for a 4x6 that is a bad shot. Maybe next year!!

Winter Wonderland

Unexpectedly, we had some beautiful snow Thursday night & Friday morning, and I took Nate outside to enjoy it (twice) on Friday. I think we had at least one inch on the ground! He liked hearing the snow "crunch" as he walked on the driveway, helped (well, more like watched) a neighbor build a snowman, and loved putting his mittens in the white stuff. Who knew TN could be a Winter Wonderland!?

After my own heart

Nate truly is a little man after my own heart. He loves to clean & organize like me!! :) Lately, he has become obsessed with the trash can in our scrapbook/guest room (see pic). He walks back and forth between rooms, like a little garbage man, holding the empty trash can.

Another example - he can put his toys away upstairs, and loves to put his blocks back in their bucket...one....at....a....time. (Yes, it takes forever but I am not complaining!!)

When we change his diaper downstairs, he takes it and walks to the garage door and points at the door, b/c the trash can is out there.

He has a plastic "briefcase" from Kindermusik, and he walks around upstairs and collects "treasures" in it...doorstoppers, rings, blocks, etc.

And, Greg handed him a cheese wrapper the other day and said "Throw it away." Nate walked to the pantry trash can, threw it away, and waved "bye bye." Love this kid!!

Peek-a-boo!

Let me just say this....I love my son. He makes me smile everyday - and with his new game - he makes me just plain laugh out loud.

I tell him to "go hide" or "get down" and he ducks behind the coffee table or loveseat. Then I say "Where is Nathan, etc etc?" He jumps up with the largest grin ever and I yell "THERE he is!" He goes wild with laughter.

Gets me every time.


Can he open his mouth any wider??

My cutie pie

Game's over, Mom

NC pics