New Nate Video Clips

It's time for some Nate videos! He brightens so many lives with his little baby laughs. And no one can make him laugh like Daddy can!

We pumped up this air bed in preparation for Lesley's mom's visit next month. We put Nate on it when it was halfway blown up and Matt and his dad bounced him up and down to his delight.

Whenever Nate hears music, he starts his dance. His favorite is the office theme song, which he hears almost every day since mommy and daddy are addicted to the show.

Cracking up at Dad.

This is Nate's newest thing. He leans his head back and gives a huge smile to the ceiling. SO CUTE!

East Coast Trip

We had a wonderful trip to New Jersey and New York. We spent the first weekend with some of Matt's relatives in NJ, then traveled to Pearl River, NY for AIM's Candidate Week, then back down to NJ to see Lesley's grandpa and Alyssa and Bobby, then a final morning with Matt's aunt, uncle and grandmother. Whew! Yup, it was a whirlwind!

So, the first thing I want to say is that everyone who has a kid under 25 pounds should request a baby bassinette from your airline when you travel. They give you the bulkhead seats, the baby sleeps cozily and safely, and it's free!!! Nate slept 7 straight hours on the way there, and 5 straight hours on the way back. AMAZING. Wish I'd known about these earlier!

We arrived in NJ post winter snowstorm to find a foot or two of snow still on the ground. It was pretty special for us islanders.

Nate was cozy all week in hand-me-downs from his cousin Colt and friend Pena. Everyone is always complimenting this adorable hat! And the shoes are from Aunty Carla from Kazakstan.

Matt's super cool cousin Shelley and her husband Derrick brought their adorable kiddos down from Pittsburgh for the weekend. Nate loved hanging out with Reese, who is about two months younger than him. Here, he's checking out her toes. Nate is always fascinated by babies that are smaller than he is.

Nate enjoyed lots of playtime with Daddy, Aunt Margie and Carter (Reese's big brother). Matchbox cars were the toys of choice that weekend.

A whole bunch of family came over on Saturday and it was really fun to meet so many new people. Here is just one picture of Nate with Matt's uncle. This is one of my favorite pictures because I LOVE Nate's huge grin in this one.

It was really special that Nate got to meet Matt's maternal grandmother for the first time, who Matt is really close to.

We spent Sunday morning at the Philadelphia aquarium. We got to see penguins, hippos and of course fish, and touch sharks and sting rays! This was just some random photo op on a wall at the aquarium. Again, I just love Nate's grin. He's such a happy kid.

Nate trying to smile, his handsome Dad, and some tropical fish.

Touching the sting rays. Well, Mommy and Daddy touched them, but Nate just splashed the water a bit.

Looking in a HUGE tank.

He was completely exhausted by the end of the morning.

We were outside to see the penguins.

But he woke up after only 20 minutes so he wouldn't miss the penguins.

More playing with Reese. Note the matchbox cars again.

Then it was up to Pearl Rive for Candidate Week. Nate learned to draw on the windows in our room after a hot shower fogged them up.

All of the February 2010 candidates. Lots of new friends.

Then Nate got to meet my maternal grandfather, also living in NJ.

His daughter Alyssa (technically my aunt, but she's about our age) and her husband Bobby and their two sweet kids joined us for an awesome pizza dinner with grandpa. I hadn't seen Alyssa since we were in our early teens. Matt and I both really enjoyed getting to know her and Bobby.

All in all, it was a wonderful week!

Tons of Pictures from BEFORE Candidate Week

I wanted to post pictures of our recent East Coast trip, but I realized that we had some fun pictures from January that I have totally neglected to post, so I decided to just post a whole bunch of random pictures so I feel semi-caught up, then next post will be the trip.

So first of all, here's Chubsy displaying the latest in baby fashion. Here is Donna and her granddaughter Aeryn at Josiah's 2nd Birthday party at Kailua Beach.Barbara got an amazing arm workout toting these two around together for a while. This chick is ripped!
Makapuu Lighthouse hike with Brandon and Todd.

Mommy was there, too! I like this picture because Nate is flashing the "Thumbs Up."

Nate's first campout at nine months old.

Mmmmmm...chili and sausage over rice for dinner. Delish!

(Debbie, Matt, Brandon, Trish, Todd)

We got a big group together to mark such an important event in Nate's life.

(Nate, Sara, Ben, Lucia, Alex)

Matt actually slept in the big tent and Nate and I slept in this regular one. The regular one was a bit too crowded for all three of us.

New Year's Eve Party #1 at the Wilkinsons with Jimmy, Blake and Ali (Blake's girlfriend).

New Year's Eve Party #2 at the Lims with me, Jon (holding Nate), Brian, Keri (holding Zoe), Ella, Matt (holding Jessie), and Jeremy (holding Tyler).

Two of my homeschool kids mix up the flour, salt and water to make dough for their model volcanos.

The 5th and 6th graders (and one little sister) about to blow their volcanos up...

HUGEST poop of all time. HAPPIEST baby about it.

Straight to the tub. SOOOO proud of himself.

Lunch picnic during the middle of Matt's workday at a park near HBA.

This is the sweet image I come back to every Thursday after teaching. Nate loves napping on Grandmom!

We went to the LOST season premiere at Sunset on the Beach and took pictures of Nate with some of the actors. Here's Desmond...

...and Hurley...

...and Sayid. Good fun. We took this picture at sunset on our way back to join Matt's parents to watch the show. Fun evening.

Okay, I think that covers most of the January pictures I wanted to post. Next post: NY&NJ!

Four Happy Videos

Here are a few little clips of our happy baby for your enjoyment. First up is Nate demonstrating his 360 degree swivel turns. He does them both on his back and on his tummy.

After a rather slow start, Nate is finally starting to really enjoy his Johnny Jump-Up. He said to pass along "Thanks again, Uncle Andy and Aunty Karen!"

Here's a little clip from a playdate at the beach yesterday with three other mommies and babies. Nate loved the waves washing up around him.

And now for our favorite...our little guy loves kicking ANYTHING he can get near...including the camera! Matt and I love watching his little abrupt kicks.

A Portland Christmas

We recently returned from our Christmas vacation in cold Portland, Oregon. This year, we were joined by my older sister, Carla, but unfortunately Karen and Andy were not able to make it. Of course the star of the show was little Nate, who worked on being as charming as possible while fighting a cold he likely picked up on the flight over.

Here he obediently waits with his mouth wide open for Aunty Carla to shovel in some rice cereal-yogurt-applesauce mushy delight.

After a day of rest, we headed to the fascinating Evergreen Air and Space Museum, where we saw the famous Spruce Goose and lots of other really cool planes, helicopters and even spaceships.

Nate "flying" a helicopter, with a little help from Mom.The next day, Matt, Dad and I went tubing at Skibowl on Mount Hood, then sledding in a big meadow. Nate stayed home to hang out with Nana. Here's Matt on a sweet run.

Matt and my Dad conquered this unbelievably huge hill on sleds later that day. I am surprised neither of them broke their necks. Here they are, covered with snow after crazy landings.
On Christmas Eve, we had the Mackays over for a delicious lunch.

Opening presents with Aunty Carla. Nate: "Hey, this dog looks like that crazy chihuahua we have back home!"

My Dad has read us "The Night Before Christmas" every year since we were little. This year, Nate got to be in on it for the first time.

Christmas surprise: Portland Trailblazers NBA tickets for the Christmas game. SO FUN! A super exciting game, and Portland won! Plus free chalupas...

Nate's Halloween costume was so cute (and warm), that we brought it along so he could show it off in Portland.

Matt and I enjoyed an awesome day of skiing at Skibowl on the slopes of Mount Hood. We only get to go once a year, and we missed it last year because I was pregnant. So this year we REALLY appreciated it. What a rush!

Me with Mount Hood in the background. What a beautiful place to ski.

And finally, on the last day of our trip, we got a surprise snowfall! We were even able to go sledding in our neighborhood. Don't be fooled by Nate's smile here - he actually hated the snow falling on his face. It was Pop behind the camera making him grin.