A week in the life of Nate

rollin' in the hay at the common ground fair

full time motherhood can be stressful, but Dawn handles it well

baby monster!

reading my poem from Grammy

makin' faces in the mirror

i think he may have learned this from the cats

monkey see, monkey do

time to step up the baby-proofing

Nathan's 1st b-day party

Scenes from Nathan's ho'-down

Nathans first nap ran long and made him fashionable late to his own party

The guests ate corn while they waited...

Nathan checks out his new blocks from joanna with one hand and dribbles the balloon with the other

don't worry, we're not grilling baby toes

Nathan spies the candle flame, and likes it...

not sure what mom is doing...

but seems displeased with it's effect

First piece of cake ever

smiles in the hammock

new 'toys'

it's pretty but how does it taste?

(pucker up jacq! nate's got a thank-you kiss with your name on it)

Happy 1st Birthday Nathan!!!

My, oh my, a whole year has gone by!
Nathan's official birthday party is not until this weekend but we let him open one present this morning.
And it was full of bunches and bunches on toys! (and clothes too!)
These toys have already been sampled and deemed play-worthy by Nathans big cousin Alexander. Nathan's wearing his new sea turtle onsie, that was his first first birthday present from his God-parents, Lonnie & Jen

Nathan had his first pancakes (blackberry & peach buckwheat) this morning and we all donned Finding Nemo party hats!

...and the pancakes were a hit!

Gulf Hagas, The Hike

The entire hike is about 8.5 miles round-trip, so we approached the day with little expectation about the distance we'd cover and committed only to having fun & not losing the baby in the wilderness. Nathan caught a nap en route to the trail head.

About a 1/2 mile up the trail from the parking area is a shallow river you have to walk across. Given all the rain we had over the preceding month we were not sure what to expect regarding the height of the river and swiftness of the current. When planning the trip, there was a moment of concern that the river would be impassable and the whole adventure would be a flop... fortunately that wasn't the case.

Turns out we did not move at the same pace as the rest of our group and ended hiking as a trio for most of the day. We would catch up with the crew at the various stopping points, so it was still a social hike. Here you can see our group at Screw Auger Falls, which got it's name from the 12-15 foot deep hole under the waterfall that has been carved out of the rock over the past million-or-so years. Notice that Mia is with everybody at the falls... she abandoned us shortly after we crossed the river and spent most of the day with the 'fast group'... Traitor.

So deep water under a waterfall can only lead to one thing...

Group photo at swimmin' hole #2