Nate does Disney

Matt had a few days off at the end of October and the beginning of November. I took a day off, we hopped in the car, and traveled to Orlando. We left on Thursday evening and made it in to town just in time to crash for the night. The next day we decided to take Mr. Nate to Animal Kingdom. He had a fun time looking at the cars and riding the dinosaur ride. We took him on the safari ride and Nate was more interested in watching the jeep behind us than checking out the animals. Oh, well. He had fun! I took him on the dinosaur ride and then we went to see It's Tough Being a Bug. It is a pretty cool 3-d show that scared the crap out of Nate! He screamed through the entire show. Matt and I felt like horrible parents because we took him in and couldn't get him out! We attempted to make up for the travesty by getting him a front row seat to the afternoon parade. After the parade we decided to head back to the hotel so Nate could nap. We were mistaken. After a short 10 minute nap in the car on our way back to the hotel, Nate was up and ready to go! We took him to Downtown Disney and let him build a Lightning McQueen car. I think that made up for the Bug's Life show!

Here are some of the animals we saw:

Waiting for the dinosaur ride! 

Nate loved the dinosaur ride! 

Nate wanted to chase the birds that walked around the park. 

On a break from stalking the birds!

On Saturday we took Nate to the Magic Kingdom. It was way more crowded than Animal Kingdom. Matt and I don't really do crowds or stupid people very well and our day was filled with both! We decided to tough it out for the little one, but didn't quite make it long enough for the light parade or fireworks! We took Nate on the train to Fantasyland. Once we got off the train and got the fast pass for Dumbo, Nate fell asleep. We grabbed lunch and chilled for awhile before Matt woke Nate up to watch the show at Cinderella's Castle. Needless to say, Nate was not interested in the princesses. At. all. We decided to head toward Dumbo so as not to miss the fast pass time when the pirates came out. He was interested in the pirates, but Dumbo was waiting.

We made it to Dumbo and Matt rode with Nate first. Nate had a fun time, but according to Matt he was dying to get in line for the Goofy roller coaster ride. Sadly, Nate was a few inches shy of making the cut! I took Nate on his second ride. While we were in line he was in the mood to ride in the race car ride to our right. He was too short for this one, too. After Dumbo we ventured to the Tea Cups. My little adrenaline junkie was in love with this ride. He helped Matt spin the tea cup faster and faster. Our last ride of the day was It's A Small World. Nate loved it! He was clapping and dancing throughout the entire ride. We rode the train one last time and then hopped on the ferry to head to the car.

The boys waiting in line for Dumbo. 

I think Nate still wanted to be napping! 

Nate eventually warmed up to the ride! 

Dumbo for the second time! 

We loved Dumbo!

After an eventful day at Magic Kingdom, we took Nate back to Downtown Disney to eat before crashing at the hotel. After eating we came back to watch Bama barely squeak out a win over LSU. On Sunday we packed up and headed back. It was a fun, eventful weekend. Matt and I were exhausted, but we had a blast hanging with our little man!

Happy Halloween!!

This year for Halloween our little man was an astronaut. He originally wanted to be Curious George, but that costume involved a brown jumpsuit and a monkey hat. Nate looks cute in hats, but isn't a huge fan of wearing them! So, Matt and I decided to overrule Nate's vote and we got him the astronaut costume. He had a parade at daycare and rocked the costume!

He almost didn't make it to the parade because I had a wreck on Halloween morning. Matt and Nate had to come help me out and he was running a little late. Matt got Nate out of bed, met me, and then took Nate to daycare in his pajamas. Therefore, when you look at the pictures and he has dinosaur feet it is not part of the costume, but the pajamas!

Our little astronaut!! 

This costume came with a hat, but it wouldn't stay on! 

The hatch is open and ready for candy! 

Houston, we need a hair cut!

Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere!

Last weekend Matt and I took Nate to the pumpkin patch. They had a corn maze, bouncy houses, a tractor ride, and a train ride. We had a pretty good time. Nate was a little scared of the train (it was a lawn mower pulling train cars) but we did manage to get a few pictures and a few pumpkins. He was more into the pumpkin patch this year. Being the great parents that we are the camera was out and ready to go, but we left it at home. So, here are a few shots courtesy of our cell phones!

 Matt and Nate

Nate and me

Nate was excited to see the bunny! 

He even got brave enough to pet the bunny! 

Picking pumpkins!!

My blogging has fallen behind a little, but we are hoping to take Nate to Orlando soon. If we make it there should be plenty of pictures and blogging to come!

Back to School for Nate!

My mom was here to help out for the month of August as we were all transitioning into our new routine. Matt went back onto a night rotation and I went back to work. I knew it would be quite difficult to juggle everything at the beginning and my mom was more than willing to help out! She left the Saturday before Labor Day and the following Tuesday Nate went back to day care.

He was not too thrilled to be awakened so early in the morning on his first day back. Once he got over that hump he was even less thrilled to be left at day care. He normally never cried when I left, but he now has a new teacher, new room, and a new routine so I can understand why he would be a little upset. He cried all week. Each day as I dropped him off I had to leave with him in tears. His teachers told me that he quickly stopped crying, but it's still hard. To make it a little easier on him I did dress him in his Cars shirt for the first day back. I don't think it helped! Hopefully he'll be back in the groove within the next week or two. I know he loves playing with his friends and is having a good time while there, but I want the leaving to be easier!

You can look at his face and tell he'd rather be in bed!

The Wizarding World

After returning from Adam's graduation, Matt and I were able to take a much needed mini-vacation. Leaving town for the graduation was the first time I left Nate overnight (minus the night they wouldn't release him from the hospital due to jaundice) and I was a little weary. My mom was in town to watch him, but it was still hard. Matt and I came back in to town on Sunday and spent a little time with Mr. Man before heading off to Orlando. I love Mr. Nate, but it was nice to get away and have a grown-up trip. Matt and I decided to go to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure to check it all out. Since Nate was not with us we were able to ride rides and see some shows.

When we got into town Sunday night we headed to Downtown Disney and ate at an Irish pub called Raglan Road. It was a fun time and we were even able to see the dancers. After traveling most of the day we decided to call it a night after dinner.

Monday morning we decided to travel to Universal Studios. It was hot, but we had a fun time. We rode several rides including the Rockit roller coaster and the Revenge of the Mummy indoor coaster. The Rockit coaster is cool because you get to choose a song to listen to as you ride, but it is a very rough ride. We did a few other rides and wanted to try the MIB ride, but we were not willing to wait in the line. Besides, we had a dinner date with some medieval jousters!

We left the park and were able to get back to the hotel for a quick shower before heading over to Medieval Times. It was my first trip and I enjoyed it. We got to the show a little early so we could tour the village and see various artifacts from the time. My camera battery was almost dead and Matt decided to use what was left of its life in the torture chamber. We have a few pictures....

We were supporting the red and yellow knight! Matt was not expecting me to take his picture which is why he has the weird look on his face. 

Turnabout was fair play and I had to have my picture taken near the candle-making apparatus.  

If I remember correctly, this loom is 800 years old! 

They had a display on how to make chain mail.  

This device is called a head crusher. It pretty much does what its name infers. 

Some form of torture table... 

I was pretty much finished with the torture chamber after the first few displays, but Matt said I needed to come back and take a look at the chastity belts.

On Tuesday we headed off to Islands of Adventure and Harry Potter world. It was a blast! The lines were not horrible at all and we were able to ride most of the rides we were interested in (a few lines were long and a few rides were closed). Amazingly we were able to ride The Hulk in 8 minutes! The wait time said 30 minutes, but from leaving our stuff in the locker to getting on the ride - 8 minutes! We were able to ride both coasters in the Dragon Challenge in a reasonable amount of time, too. The longest line of the day for us was the line for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. This is the ride that is inside Hogwarts. We decided to go see Blue Man Group after our adventures. While waiting for our show time we went to City Walk. We ate at Pat O'Brien's and enjoyed some piano music. As we were getting ready to leave the dueling pianos started. I wish we could have stayed longer, but Blue Man was calling. Matt and I thoroughly enjoyed BMG. I highly recommend their show if you are able to attend.

Hogwarts! (except Matt cut off part of the castle) 

I think I did a better job of getting Matt and the castle in the same shot! 

Okay, so this picture looks rough. Really rough. However, there's only so much you can do when you're trying to take a picture of yourself!

 We ate lunch at Blondie's Cafe inside Islands of Adventure. This is a Dagwood sandwich!

By Wednesday it was time to come home. We were missing Nate and getting tired! We stopped by the outlets and grabbed a quick lunch before heading back. Nate was excited to see us and loved his car we brought back as a souvenir. Our trip was a fun adventure and I'm sure we'll make plans to go back soon!

Back in Bama X 2

On a sunny Wednesday afternoon in July, Nate, Indiana, Chanlee, and I hopped aboard one of Southwest's finest jets and flew to Birmingham. Nate and I visited for a few days with family and friends. We didn't do a lot, but we did manage to get in some rest before summer comes to an end. I was also able to squeeze in a quick trip to Tuscaloosa to see my friend Meredith's new addition, Riley. While there, Nate had fun playing in his inflatable pool and digging out some of Uncle Jeffery's old toys. Nate is currently obsessed with cars, trucks, and pretty much anything with wheels. He had a ton of fun hanging out and taking it easy.

Nate loves his pool! 

The pool has a little thing to squirt water, but Nate didn't care for it so much. 

Nate did love Jeffery's old fire truck. He found it in the garage and insisted that we get it out. 

Vroom, vroom!! 

He eventually started riding the truck. 

Yes, we were outside in our pajamas. It was so hot during the day that we would go out first thing in the morning!

Nate and I returned from Alabama on Thursday and on Friday Matt and I headed back to Bama. Well, not exactly Bama, but close enough. We drove to his dad's house in Georgia Friday night to see his brother, Adam, graduate from Auburn on Saturday. Matt and I survived our trip to the Plains, but we were definitely out of place with all of the "War Eagle" shoutings around us. Here are a few pictures from Adam's big day...

 Noah was very entertained by the Kindle :-)

Adam receiving his diploma 

Here he is shaking the president's hand

All the boys except Nate. Nate stayed home due to the amount of driving and the fact that he doesn't idle at all! He would not have been great company at the ceremony.

It was a bit of a whirlwind weekend, but we were excited to see Adam graduate. Maybe we'll be able to make it back to Bama soon!

July Visitors

I am a little behind with my blogging and since school is about to start my goal is to get caught up this weekend. We'll see if it happens!

Toward the end of July Chanlee and Indiana came to visit. We filled our days with activities designed to wear out our active little boys. One day we took a trip to St. Augustine. While there we walked around and tried a homemade (and delicious) popsicle at The Hyppo. It was a nice treat on such a hot day! After lunch we went to the park. Nate and Indiana played hard on the playground. Nate got to go on his first carousel ride. He loved it so much we ended up riding two more times! Here are a few pictures from the day...

Indiana had fun on the playground equipment. 

I tried out this crazy slide and almost took Nate out in the process! 

My sweet baby! 

They had fun on the playground! 

I took away the pacifier and now he chews the fingers. Needless to say, the pacifier is back until I figure out how to break the finger chewing! 

Chanlee and Indiana on the carousel. 

Nate and me on our third carousel ride!

Another day we went to the zoo. It was HOT, but the boys seemed to enjoy it. They loved looking at the animals, riding the train, and playing on the splash pad. They came home and had a nice nap that day!

Checking out the wildlife... 

I would love to have someone push me around the zoo!

We decided they needed their picture made in front of the big snake! 

Giraffes! 

It was hot, but he was a trooper! 

It was super hot in the butterfly garden! 

Nate got to cool off under the whale's tail at the splash pad. 

Indiana loved running around through the water! 

While they were here we also spent a day at the pool and a day at the beach. The camera didn't make it on those trips! Before she left Chanlee helped us get a few family snapshots. We don't have many pictures of the three of us because Matt or I am usually behind the camera. As you will see, it's getting harder and harder to take pictures with Nate!

Nate refused to look at the camera! 

I think this picture of them turned out cute! 

Once again, Nate refuses to look at the camera. 

This picture pretty much sums up the photo shoot!

We had a fun time with Chanlee and Indiana in town. Nate and I left town with them and took a quick trip to Alabama. I'll have another blog on that trip soon!