Spring Break Fun

I am definitely late on posting about our spring break adventure for this year. We decided that since my spring break aligned with Matt's week of vacation we should take advantage of the time together and book a family escape. We decided Nate was probably old enough to enjoy a cruise. Matt and I typically cruise Royal Caribbean, but since Nate was going we decided to branch out and do a Disney cruise. It was a really nice time despite the fact that Nate was going through a horrible 3's spell! My parents went with us. They had never cruised before so this was a nice time to break them in!

We started off the trip with a visit to Orlando and Magic Kingdom. My parents had never been there either so we decided it was time. It was hot, but overall I think everyone had a fun time. Nate got to meet Woody and Jessie, but as all times before he refused to stand next to them and smile when picture time arrived.

Hanging out with Baddaddy at Magic Kingdom

Bashful Nate with Woody and Jessie

We cannot go to Orlando without a trip to the Lego Store!

We drove over to Port Canaveral on Monday after visiting the Lego Store at Downtown Disney. When we finally arrived at the cruise terminal we were all tired, but ready to board the boat.

Matt and I both had a firm hold on Nate because he was having a fantastic time running around the terminal!

Our first stop on the "Mickey Boat" (as Nate called it) was Nassau, Bahamas. We didn't do too much on the island. Nate was not exactly in a touristy mood so we strolled around for a bit and then went back to the boat to hang out by the pool. 

At the pier in Nassau

The next day was much more kid friendly for Nate. We arrived at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay, and had a nice, relaxing time. The water was a little chilly, but once you got used to it everything was great. We rented some floats and tubes and made sand castles on the beach. Everyone agreed that this was the way to spend a vacation!

Building sandcastles with Daddy!

Hanging with NiNi and Baddaddy before boarding the boat 

 Our little family :-)

Nate needed his picture with Olaf

We had a day at sea where we lounged around the boat and enjoyed our day at sea. While on the cruise Nate spent some time in the kids club playing with other people his age. He had a blast. We did manage to get him to cooperate for a formal night picture.

Hopefully we'll get to do this again once little sister arrives and is old enough to enjoy it!

On our way home from the cruise we made a pit stop at Cape Canaveral. Nate really wanted to see some astronauts and rocket ships. 

Nate had a fun time checking out all of the displays. 

He especially liked the displays he could explore. 

Nate did not want to be a part of the space shuttle picture.  

There were plenty of buttons and knobs to play with on the mock space shuttle! 

Us in front of Atlantis

We had a really awesome time on this trip! It was tiring, but worth it. It hard to believe it was our last family vacation before the little princess arrives!

When you live in Florida.....

and you are only two hours away from Orlando heading to Disney is just something you do. We decided that when Matt was off for a week in February we would make a quick weekend trip to visit Animal Kingdom and have a character lunch. 

On our way into town we stopped and played mini-golf. Nate had a lot of fun hitting everyone's balls into the holes. While playing golf, Matt decided it might be fun to take Nate to Medieval Times. We got tickets and headed that way. Nate was very fascinated with the horses and knights for the first 45 minutes and then he was ready to go. Even though our knight didn't win, I think it was a successful trip!

Go blue knight! 

Nate loved the crown he got to wear!

This was Nate's second trip to Animal Kingdom and he had a blast. He loved looking at the animals and although he was intimidated at first he enjoyed seeing the characters while eating lunch. We had nice weather and it was a really nice trip for the three of us. 

Nate was a little shy around Daisy. 

Donald was his favorite! 

Cheese!! 

Nate was bashful with Mickey the first time he came around, but was happy to see him the second!

On our way out of town we stopped by Downtown Disney. Both of my boys thoroughly enjoy the Lego store and we spend quite a bit of time there.....

After visiting the Lego store we grabbed a quick lunch at the T-Rex experience. It was okay, but I'm not sure that I would visit there again.

Finally, after arriving home, Nate and Matt decided it was time for some soccer. Nate is finally coming around to the idea that he should kick the ball and not just grab it and run all the time!

We had a really fun trip and enjoyed our family time together. Hopefully we'll get Disney all out of our system before we leave Florida!

Christmas--just a little late!

It has been awhile since I have found the time and energy to sit down and write about our latest adventures. I last posted about Halloween so I guess it's time to catch up on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

My parents came down on Thanksgiving Day. Matt was on call so we didn't see much of him. He was able to come home for a little while during the day, but then he got called in. When my parents arrived we loaded up and headed to Cracker Barrel. We decided that since they were traveling on Thanksgiving and since Matt was not home to do the turkey, Cracker Barrel was the best option! 

They stayed for several days and we were able to hang out and do some things. We took Nate to see Frozen and he really enjoyed it. It seemed like a really cute movie, but I didn't get to watch all of it. They really should not have 30 minute previews for a kids movie. He was fantastic up until the last 30-45 minutes of the movie. Thankfully we were on the back row and he had room to move around as we finished the movie. We also took Mr. Nate to the park and let him run out some energy during their stay.

Christmas break finally arrived and I decided it was time to start potty training (for real). My friend Catie and I started about the same time and pretty much locked ourselves in our houses for 3 days. Nate started getting the hang of it, but he refused to tell you when he had to go. You just pretty much had to make him go and try.

Matt was working on Christmas Day, but that didn't slow us down. We did our annual Christmas Eve dinner at Mama Lucia's and on Christmas day I tried my hand at my first homemade lasagna. Our friend, Andrea, came over and partied with us on Christmas.

Presents!! 

It is March, and we have yet to finish this movie. Zero interest on his part. 

The transformer, aka robot, brought a smile!

Matt's mom came to town right after Christmas and stayed a few days. Thankfully she gifted Nate underwear for Christmas and it was much needed after all of our potty training accidents!! Matt was off for New Years and she was able to spend some time with him.

Our break was absolutely wonderful and no one really wanted to head back to work or school!

Happy Halloween!

We decided this year that Nate was old enough to go trick-or-treating and actually know what to do with himself. My friend, Catie, invited us over to trick-or-treat in her neighborhood. She has a son who is Nate's age and a daughter who is one. The three kids had fun playing together, but, as it is true with toddlers, at some point all three had some form of meltdown. It was a blast getting to hang out with them, and Matt was able to make it over right as we started our trick-or-treat route. 

"There's a snake in my boot!" 

Nate and Olivia checking out the jack-o-lantern! 

Nate and Will riding in style after walking up and down the street!

Nate had so much fun and my normally bashful child was not shy at all! He had no issues walking up to doors, holding out his pumpkin, and saying "trick-or-treat!" He had it down. I am so glad Catie invited us over! We were dragging at school on Friday, but the kids had so much fun it was worth it!

"It's the Poo-kin Patch"

Well, we learned one thing for sure this year -- Nate is obsessed with Halloween! He had a blast during all of the October festivities associated with fall and Halloween. He calls a pumpkin a "poo-kin" and loves any form of skeleton and/or witch. We took Nate mid-October to the pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin, or three. He had a ton of fun walking down the rows of pumpkins, playing on the tractor, and playing in the pumpkin chariot. 

"Look at all those poo-kins!" 

Taking a stroll through the pumpkins 

"It's a green poo-kin!" 

He loved sitting on the tractor. He wasn't sure about the pedals, but the did try to push it with his feet! 

Prince Charming 

The pumpkin chariot! 

Nate did not want to get out. Ever. 

Pilgrims

It was a fun trip and we are very excited that Nate is getting in to all of the festivities. I can only imagine what Thanksgiving and Christmas will be like this year!

Summer fun -- just a little late!

I am behind. Way behind. I had a noble goal for blogging this summer, but I didn't achieve it. My summer pretty much flew by and by the time school started I really didn't have the time or energy to catch up on blogging. The chaos of back to school has finally started to die down and I had a few minutes this afternoon to update my blog. Let's go back to July.....

Nate and I made our yearly trip to Alabama toward the end of July. Nate and I drove up to Beulah on a Friday and stayed the night with Matt's mom and Tim. This was our first solo trip at such a long distance. It was long and dramatic, but we made it. We stopped off in Phenix City to visit with Matt's granddad before heading on to stay the night with Renee and Tim. We left Saturday afternoon and headed to Birmingham for John and Noah's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. Nate had a fun time with the games, but he had the most fun counting his 'coins' at a table.

Hanging with Big Daddy at Chuck E Cheese 

Nate refused to smile. He was busy with his coins that were in the cup. 

Nate and John enjoying their pizza. 

Nate enjoyed his cake! 

Noah stopped by to give Nate some kisses.

After the party Nate and I headed to Moody to visit with my brother, Chanlee, and Indiana. We stayed the night with them in order to be around for Indiana's birthday party on Sunday. Indiana had a farm themed party and Nate had a blast helping him celebrate.

The cake 

Nate had fun watching Indiana opening his gifts. 

Nate and my dad had fun with the train table. 

The birthday cowboy! 

Once again, Nate refused to look at the camera.

We spent several days visiting in Gadsden. While there my dad and I took Nate to the falls. He had a ton of fun riding the train and looking at the animals. He had so much fun that when it was time to leave he had a fit.  

Riding the train 

Looking at the falls

Our time in Alabama was short, but we had fun. On the way back to Florida, we stopped by and spent the night with Renee and Tim again. Sadly, on our way up to Birmingham the DVD player died so I had to purchase a new one before our trip from Beulah to Florida. Like the trip a week prior, the six hour drive was long and dramatic, but we survived. I don't plan on driving back with Nate any time soon, but it's good to know we can (somewhat) handle it!