Nate's Song

I had to share my favorite Christmas gift I received this year. My little sis, Kristi, had our family for the family gift exchange. We were spoiled with various home made gifts from the talented duo. After all of the gifts were were exchanged, she said she had one more little thing for me. But we all had to go in the family room where the cd player was. Kristi and Sean wrote and sang/played a song for me (and Nate!) I need to figure out how to post a song on the blog, and when I do, I will most definitely let you hear the song. It is amazing. Kristi is a little girl jam-packed with musical talent. She amazes me with her gift of music. They recorded the song at home with several different tracks. She played the guitar and sang at the same time, then recorded two different harmony parts to add to her singing, Sean played guitar solos, Kristi added a piano track...and I'm sure I'm missing some of it. You just have to hear it. But until then, here are the beautiful words. 

Oh, one more cute note. Kristi has spoiled me with songs, poems, and a movie over the past 2 1/2 years. Each thing has been about our hard times with our babies. They have been treasures to me and have captured feelings and memories better than anything ever could. Jokingly, I recently told her that I didn't want any more songs written for me (only implying that I didn't want to lose another baby). Before playing this song for me, she said "I know you didn't want another song, but I had to, because this was a happy one!"

Thank you, Kristi! I love it, love it, love it, and listen to it over and over with Nate in my arms! 

Did you imagine, the day, when you would hear me say

That I'm stayin, oh, I am staying, oh with you.

In your eyes, I see, the way you look at me,

That you like me, oh, that you love me, oh this way.

Now I can smile today,

Smile

Cuz I can Hear you laugh

And now I can hear you cry

And now I can sing you lullabye

No goodbye, this time.

You hear angels speak

You speak to me

And whisper softly to me,

So that I can Hear them laugh

And so I can hear them cry

And so I can sing them lullabye

Oh tell them I said "hi,"

You hear angels speak

You speak to me

And whisper softly to me,

No goodbye

No goodbye

Cuz I can hear you laugh

And now I can hear you cry

And now I can sing you lullabye

No goodbye

No goodbye

This time

Santa Claus Came to our Town!

Acting out the Nativity...Sadie was the lamb, Ashlyn was Mary, I switched between the angel and Joseph, Dave narrated and filmed. Of course, Nate was baby Jesus. He loved his role...he looked around and smiled the whole time.
This age has been the most fun yet to watch the girls be excited about Santa coming. Can you tell they were a little excited?
Ashlyn reading a Christmas story to Nate. You can't see it in the picture - but they had him propped up facing the Christmas tree so he could feel "Christmasy".
Nate didn't get too much from Santa. Santa knows that milk and loves are his favorite thing...which he already gets plenty of. But he did get him a Hot Wheel.

Thank you Karla!!!!

What a fun surprise the girls got in the mail today. We had just finished opening Santa's presents (yes, he came last night. It feels strange that the rest of the world isn't celebrating Christmas today. The phone rings and we wonder who would be calling on Christmas morning. Aren't they in the middle of opening presents too?) when there was a knock at the door from FedEx. Our friend Karla surprised the girls and mailed them their own real guitars! They were so excited!!! The guitars came with digital tuners, a strap, a case and a CD of guitar songs.
Ash having fun playing!
Sadie intently watching Dave tune her guitar.
This was not posed...
I guess Nate and I better learn to play so we can join the guitar gang! Thank you Karla, from all of us!!!!!!!!!!!!

No coal for me!

Nate doesn't seem too worried about getting coal.

Prayers about Santa

Tonight in Sadie's prayer she said..."Please bless Santa to not bring us coal." I wonder if she's really worried about it or if she's just trying to be funny. Santa comes Friday night (we asked him to come early since we will be in CA for Christmas). The girls can't wait. Either can the adults! I love Christmas!

Life Father, Like Daughter

Ashlyn created her own cookie recipe (peppermint chocolates, as she named them) yesterday, and they looked a bit like Dave's first cookies he made as a kid. They tasted great...they just looked a little flat.
Sadie searched through a recipe book and found these creations she wanted to make, and she named them "sandwich cookies". She made them for a party she is planning. I asked her who was invited and she said this one would just be a family party. I asked her what we would do at the party and she said "Oh, just eat some treats." Sounds like a fun party to me!

Nate's Favorite Hobby...

You want me to smile? How's this?
And this?
And this?
Nate has figured out that smiling gets some good reactions from his family, so he does it all day. Even when we put him down for bed, he is smiling as we leave the room. One time I peeked in his room (our closet) after I had put him down and found him beaming at the walls.

Happy Birthday Aunt TT!!!

Happy Birthday from Goka...
Happy Birthday from Nate...
Happy Birthday from Ashlyn and Sadie (and Dave and Meliss too!)
We love you lots! Hope you have a great birthday.

We're Back!

We just got back from a fun and full week in Washington, D.C. for Dave to attend a perio conference.
I just got finished typing a letter to Ashlyn's teacher listing all of the museums and monuments we saw to try and justify why I didn't think she needed to complete all 37 worksheets her teacher gave her to do while she was on vacation. After I finished the list, I was amazed at all we squeezed into our trip! Here are a few pictures of the things we saw...Above is Mount Vernon.
Our cute little pumpkin. He did manage to get a few treats in his bag (I knew he wanted to try candy, and the only way for him to get it is for me to eat it...so, I willingly ate some candy for you Nate!)

Thanks to Aunt Shannon for bringing some costumes for the girls to borrow. I knew I wouldn't have time to make costumes this year. Ash was a witch and Sadie was Ariel. They were happy as could be with their costumes and had a blast trick-or-treating with the Schwab's (my sis-in-law's parents where we were staying). I realize that I am still a kid when I can hardly wait to dive in to the goods after trick-or-treating. I still love all of that sugary candy!
This was the first full day in D.C. Dave was gone to meetings before we were awake. It was quite an experience figuring out the subway system in D.C. with Nate in the sling and the girls at my side. We had a great day exploring the National Mall and seeing as much as we could.
We were at the Lincoln Memorial - one of our favorite places on our trip. Dave was reading the Gettysburg Address to the girls. I thought they all looked so cute as they listened to Dave and were so interested in the story that went along with the Addresss.
This is a common sight of the girls when Sadie is too short for something. I'm surprised how happily Ash gets on all fours for Sadie. Our carved pumpkins!

A nicer picture to view...

My apologies to any of you who looked at the last post. I had to hurry and put a newer and nicer picture to view...and what better than a picture of Nate smiling! He's showing off his first real outfit to church (opposed to the comfy onesies).

Last night we had some friends over for a campfire in our backyard. We had a blast! Dave set the tent up for the kids to play in and tell their scary ghost stories. We grilled gorgonzola cheeseburgers and the kids had mummy hotdogs (sort of like pigs in the blanket). Dave got a pretty good fire going - and the weather was just perfect for a night outside. It's actually cooling down to the low 70s this week - alright!
The guys gave us some great music to listen to while we all chatted.
8 kids eating their mummy hotdogs and loving having their OWN soda!

Couldn't decide which smile was cuter to put on, so I decided on both :) Don't mind the spit-up on his arm. I was about to change him, but he was in a great mood to smile and I wanted to get a picture with his cute shirt.

"AAAhhhhh!!!"

This was a well timed photo. If you look real close you can see what Meliss was surprised about. I had to do a little photo editing with the clone tool to make it a viewable picture.

Two months and Too Old!!!!!!!

I haven't posted in a while because we've been busy having fun with family visiting. Shannon and Lindsay were here and then 4 days later the Waltons came. Tonight I finally got a chance to catch up with a few pictures.

Today I had a few sad moments realizing that Nate is growing up too fast. He is getting bigger and there is no way I can deny it any longer. I tried to ignore it for a while, but I must face it. Today I had to retire a few outfits and it made me so sad to do. Then I was pulling out a few bigger outfits and that made me sad too. So today I was determined to take a bunch of pictures to capture the cute looks of my two month old.

Let me do a little explaining on these pictures...especially because I know Dave will be embarrassed of some of the not so clear ones. Nate was in a great mood - and I was ready with the camera to snap as soon as he smiled. Ash and I were having fun talking to Nate and getting him to smile. I kept trying to get the smiles on camera but wasn't doing a very good job. It's hard to make cute noises and smiles and tickle while holding the camera up with the other hand. And my apologies for putting up 4 pictures of the exact same outfit and pose with mildly different facial expressions. I realize and readily admit that I am a bit crazy about Nate and think that every single expression is the cutest. You would think that he is my first baby with how I adore him and forget that the world is going on around me when he is awake.

Grandma and Grandpa Walton came for a visit!

We had such a great time this past week with Grandma and Grandpa Walton here. We went on a walk by the Savannah River, visited Dave's school, went on a boat ride up the Augusta Canal, visited a couple stained-glass shops, introduced them to southern cuisine (including the infamous Waffle House here in the south), went to a pumpkin patch, went on a date to see the new Bourne movie while G and G babysat...loved it!!, and stayed up late having some great talks. I'm sure I missed some of the things we did. The girls loved having G and G to do shows for and to be read to and to snuggle with. Oh, and of course we did lots of holding and admiring Nate. Thanks for coming! Please don't fall Dave...

On the boat ride...it was a warm day.

Pumpkin Trip and Zoo Trip

Grandma and Grandpa Walton took us to the pumpkin Patch down the street. The girls loved searching the patch to find their favorite pumpkin.

Sadie, Nate and I got to go to the zoo with Ashlyn's class for a field trip. I think their favorite part was the reptile house with the huge snakes.

Nate's Blessing Day

Like their matching outfits? Different shades of yellow, but we thought they looked like a match.
We were going to bless Nate on the October fast Sunday, but decided to do it when we had some family here. We were so happy to have Shannon and Lindsay with us today. We missed the rest of our families and wished everyone could be here. Nate was in a great mood before and after the blessing. He just looked so happy and content. One of the highlights was his adorable sneeze in the middle of the blessing. Dave gave him a beautiful blessing. I think we had all had a grateful heart today. Oops- I forgot to rotate the picture before putting it on. You'll have to turn your head.

Dave and Nate getting ready for a nap out on the porch swing this afternoon.
Nate is saying thanks to Grandma Shelly for getting this special blanket for him. It was perfect!

We all melt when Nate smiles - and they have been coming a little more frequently. We love it!