HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY SWEET BOY NATHAN!

I wrote this post yesterday but didn't get to post it until today.....

Three years ago today....Me, family and friends (it takes a village right?!) welcomed sweet baby Nathan to this world.  Here are some pics and comments from that day:                                           

First, here is a recent pic of my blonde haired cutie with his big bro..... 

I was soooo excited to meet him!  Here I am getting ready to walk into the maternity ward at the hospital!  Whoo Hoooo!!!
Before I got changed, I posed for a pre-baby out of my tummy pic....
I just love this pic of Eric and I with my belly!  
Eric all ready to go meet his son!
It was here :-)
12:36 pm 8 pounds 1 ounce, 21 inches long....we welcomed sweet baby Nate!
Yeah, he was not happy about it!
Welcome to the world sweet baby boy!!!

Proud Daddy holding his son for the first time!
This was an emotional moment for me....I  was getting to see him for the first time after coming out of recovery.....I wanted to wait a minute and just look at him before picking him up....just looking at this picture reminds me of all those emotions I felt that moment....

Showing off his precious boy to a some of the family!
My mom and Natey meeting for the first time...
Cute toes!
Uncle Toddy and Natey...
Eric's mom holding Nate for the first time....
This was adorable...Zachy was sooo excited to meet his brother!  He brought him a present!

Auntie Julie...I was fortunate to have her by my side for both of my son's births!  She took all the wonderful pictures!
My dad and Natey!
I got LOTS of presents in the hospital...it was FUN!
Sarah and Natey!
Ahh my sweet baby boy....

Remembering that day brings tears to my eyes...it was a special day...one I didn't think I would get to experience again.  After loosing some babies to miscarriage, Eric and I felt so blessed to be given our second miracle!  What a gift.  

Daddy celebrated with Natey this morning and took him and Zachy to breakfast.  They went to Natey's favorite....IHop.  I was working so I couldn't join them.  After I got done working, we took the boys for the rest of the day to the Aquarium of the Pacific...Natey loves fish and boats, so the kiddo was in heaven.  Tomorrow we will celebrate him with a small party of friends and family.  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET BABY BOY!  YOU BRING ME MORE JOY EVERYDAY I GET TO BE YOUR MAMA!

Blog slacker...

Well gosh, its been a while...ok, its been quite the long while!! I have had so much going on that blogging was kind of on the back burner for me. But tonight i am hanging with the kids and the hubby and its quite the quiet night, so I thought I would catch up on my blog...lets do some updates here....

Nathan....
Gosh that little guy is getting insanely big! In fact he turns 3 on Saturday! I can't believe it and seriously its bitter sweet. He is such a fun kiddo and boy have the last few months been crazy! He is pretty much potty trained. Minus the times when he drops his underware and pees where he wants. I have seriously gone through wayyyy too many carpet cleaners (yes I have kept count-5 bottles so far!) in this time. It has been gross...I don't know any other kiddo that drops his drawers and pees where he wants...LOL oh wait...his older brother did that a few times in PUBLIC when he was little! Where do they get this from? I have NO clue, they DO NOT learn it at home. Those of you reading this are probably laughing, but ugh, its gross! Other than the potty training excitement, he is doing so many more fun things now days. He talks wayyy too much and really has an opinion about EVERYTHING. Its so funny. He also throws tantrums from time to time which are awesome. I laugh because I wish we had a video recorder to get these recorded. They are ridiculously funny! He is also auditioning for a Gap commercial and a modeling agency wants to see him on Friday, which is kinda cool.

Zachy....
A lot has been going on with Zachy. My sweet baby started 1st grade. I LOVE LOVE LOVE his new school. I have enjoyed talking to the other moms when I drop off Zachy at school. He isn't so huge this year compared to last year in the height department. He still is the tallest in the class but not by much. I don't know if it is the demographics of where we moved to or what, but he isnt the huge, stand out kid anymore which is nice. Zachy is still in karate and doing well. He has 5 stripes on his belt, which is so cool. We decided to not let him test for the next belt because we don't think he is ready. They test every so often and we are considering putting Natey in karate as well, so holding him back might allow the boys to be together in the class. Zachy also soo wants to start swimming. He asks me like once or twice a month if he could take a swimming or diving class. Ever since he saw the swimming and diving events (I LOVE TO WATCH THOSE and remember they days when I competed) from the Olympics he has wanted to do both.

Eric and I are both still actively seeking employment. I have been very forunate to keep busy with my jewelry and photography which has helped. I had an interview yesterday for a wonderful job with Edison. Which would be so cool if I got it. I have to wait about 2 weeks until I hear, so please pray for me. I have always wanted to be a stay at home mom, but for some reason God keeps opening doors for me to be working. I would sooo love to work for a company like Edison because its stable and I know several people who work there and LOVE It. So we will see what happens.

10K, potty and job updates.....

Well gosh, remember how much I said I hated running? Well, that hasn't changed, but it is proving to be a great workout. Right now my legs feel like jello....I am doing a lot of wall squats as well, so I am sure that is adding to it. I am still having a tough time running distances...when I say distances, 1/2 a mile is hard for me. I am up to about 1/3 of a mile without stopping. But I am trying hard. I am going to extend this week for another week because I am not confident for next week. Next week you have to be able to run 2 miles without stopping. Kinda tough in my opinion because that just seems like a major jump. I am not doing this to run in any race, so I am ok with taking my time and getting there when I get there.

Week 2- Days 10, 11, 12
Day 10 was a rest day and Day 11 & 12 were run days. Today (D12) I felt more ready to run....not sure if the taking the day off makes a difference, but my legs didn't feel so heavy and I felt more like i could run. I am still not seeing a difference in my body yet. I know its only day 12, but a girl can dream right?? I am excited its almost week 2. I think me blogging about it and talking about it with friends is really making me stick with it!

Oh the potty training. We are doing OK. Natey has had an average of one to two accidents a day but actually telling us when he has to pee. Pooping is another story and that will take a while I think. Today Eric noticed that he had to poop cause he was standing still and straining. He hurried him to the potty and sat there with him for about 25 minutes. He never pooped. Grrr. He has been waking up from naps and in the morning with poopy diapers...so I just feel like it will take a while with the poop. But we have come a long way and I am proud of him! Potty training is such hard work!

I am super excited about an opportunity that has presented itself for Eric. About a year and a half ago his best friend was talking to him about looking into the construction industry. He thought, it was worth a shot and went down to the union office and it had just so turned out that they were having an open testing in a few days so the lady urged him to fill the paperwork out and get it right back because they were about to close everything. So after looking over all the paperwork he decided to test for the building inspector position. He tested and made one of the top spots! We were thrilled. Well, all the letters they sent us stated that he did a great job testing and when the next class opened up he would be one of the people invited to join. The downside? Yeah there are a few. One being that the training is unpaid, but once you complete everything you will be working. At the time they told us it was 4-6 months of training before you would be working.

A few weeks ago he got a call from the recuriter for the position to see if he was still interested int he position. OF COURSE he was! The recuriter told him that he has to go for a drug test and once that is completed the training will start in August. We kinda held our breath because this came out of NO WHERE....1 1/2 years later? WOW! Could this really be happening? We kinda kept it on the downlow because we weren't sure if we should be excited or not. Well, when Eric went for the drug test there was a mini orientation for him and the other peeps. The recuriter went through the pay and basically explained how everything worked. This guy told him that after this class he would be working in the start of the new year. We were thrilled. BEYOND thrilled. FINALLY! Something was working out in our favor! So he got his schedule and he started the training today.

I could tell he was excited about training because his alarm went off and he was right out of bed. If you know Eric he NEVER does this!!! He went to the training and the instructor kinda dropped a bomb...the bomb was that this training will take a year to complete and there is no pay until this is all done. He has to pass a bunch of certification tests to be able to walk on most job sites. A WHOLE YEAR? He texted me and was very discouraged. I tried to be positive and asked him to talk to the instructor on break to get clarification. So he talked to the instructor and he told Eric that it was in fact a year but if he could suck it up and maybe get something small until all this was over he would have a great future with this job. This job has been very solid and good even in this recession. Not to mention the benefits are awesome. So he will still continue to look but we will just pray that this next year goes by incredibly fast!!! I am excited but afraid to breathe a little too because it seems like such a fit for him.

Whew...that was tough! x2

Ok...so I have to post a funny from yesterday because I don't want to forget this and I want to share this with Natey when he is raising his own kiddos! Last night I went out with some girlfriends for girls night out and it was a blast. I truly am blessed with the women in my life! Anyhow, I digress...Eric was home with the kids and his brother Taylor was over hanging out. Well, Zachy has karate on Tuesday nights and its hard to take Nathan because he is an animal wanting to go in the studio with the karate kids AND he is potty training right now, so Eric asked Taylor if he would stay with him for 45 minutes or so while he took Z to karate. No problem....WAIT...yes a problem....remember I said Natey is POTTY TRAINING....accidents DO happen when you PT! Apparently he took Natey potty and he had a success....he peed. He did fantastic yesterday. Well the second time Taylor went to take him he pulled his underware down to put him on the potty and he didn't notice until Nathan's underware was off that he pooped! Taylor is 23 and has NO CLUE about changing poop or anything like that. LOL, Well, he tried to clean him with toliet paper (sounds logical since there was a bathtub right next to the toliet, right?). That didn't go over well and kept sticking to Nathan....oh man I am laughing as I am writing this. So, Taylor cleans up Nathan best he can (um he really didn't for fear it would get on his hands) and then just put a diaper on him. LOL So when Eric got home he had to do damage control....which Eric cleaning up poop is just about as funny as Taylor except Eric knows to use wipes or the bathtub!

Day 9- Week 2 Day 2
Whew...the whole time I just didnt want to do it today. I was tired...I hardly slept last night and had a crazy day this morning and well I was just wiped out. After all the encouragement on my FB page and from my friends and especially my husband, I felt I couldn't NOT do it. So I put one foot in front of the other dispite my attitude and started. Today, I stopped 7 times (which is one less than yesterday) and I finished in 28 minutes and 35 seconds....that is because I ran a little further today. Go me. I also did some wall squats, planks and push ups afterwards...not a lot but some and now, my body is shaking and I am D.O.N.E. BUT, I got through it and I am so glad I did it and didn't stop.

I have been pondering this whole plan and talking it over a lot with one of my friends who is also doing this with me and I am not sure if I will finish this plan or do a combination of a different plan. I am leaning towards finishing what I started regardless of how I do. I am not trying to get a fast time at all...I am doing this to finish. I am going to repeat weeks if I have to if I don't feel I can really finish the current week...meaning...if I can't run the entire time I am susposed to, then I think repeating the week will be in the cards. I feel if I can't finish without stopping in the running sessions, then how will I move on? So, I am highly considering this and will see how I progress towards the end of this week before I make my decision. If I stick with this program I don't want to alter it too much because its a proven method. I am not seeing the benefits yet, only feeling the pain. I am sore and I know it takes a few weeks before you see your reward, so I will be patient. Just a little hard to understand why its so hard to take off weight when its so easy to gain! But anything that is worth something in this life is usually not easy. That road is usually tough! Just look at Jesus' life and all he did!

New hope and the start of week 2...

Day 7....I took off cause I was just tired and didn't feel up to it....The program recommends 4-6 days and I successfully completed 5 so I was happy.

Week 2 plan:

(4-6 times)=2 miles

Jog 1/4 mile (one lap) then

walk 1/8 mile (half lap)

Jog 1/2 mile (2 laps)

Walk 1/4 mile

Jog 1/4 mile

Walk 1/8 mile

Jog 1/2 mile then go home

W2 D1=week 2 day 1
*Wow...it kicked my butt, but I finished it....I did it in 29 minutes and 10 seconds...it would have been a faster time but I had to take it down to a walk the last 1/8 of the last 1/2 mile...i just couldn't do it...maybe tomorrow! I am proud of myself!!!

Hope for Natey....today we have had 5...count it...1...2....3....4....5 successes on the potty! Can you believe it? Seriously, I can not believe I am writing it, but he did pee every time we took him and the look on his face was priceless and will forever be etched in my heart...he is so proud of himself each and every time....Now...if we can only get him to tell us when he has to go pee!!

I have other news to share, but I need to run for now....God is amazing and I honestly can not believe i got through today on the tredmill! Go me!

About ready to throw in the towel and Day 6....

Day 6....this was the same as all the other days...got my but kicked and I am feeling discouraged about next week. It jumps up to 2 miles....Wowie...I have been considering the fact that instead of ten weeks, it might take me 20. I might do each week twice just to give myself time. I dunno...I am going to give next week a chance, but we shall see. My body is starting to feel better...I am sore but only from the stuff I have been doing afterwards not the running. I guess it makes me sad that I am THAT out of shape. One day at a time I know....at least that is what I am telling myself anyhow.

Potty training....I just don't understand why he won't go on the potty....seriously countless pee accidents and only one success. Somehow I thought the first time he actually went and he got to see how excited we were about the fact he went on the big boy potty he would get excited enough to keep going...Um, not so much. We will keep trying but I counted the undies in the wash and there was 10 pairs from yesterday and today (and we were not home all day today, so he wore pull ups!). I want to see the light at the end of the tunnel....

Day 5 and pooping on thomas.....

Ok, so today was day 5 of my Couch to 10K. i was reminded today how much I hate running! LOL. I don't know if it was because I did it later in the day or if it was because I skipped a day. Whatever the case, ugh! I am glad i did it, but was hating it while I did it! I did better and only stopped once. Time was still the same but I added more stuff after the run/walk. Feeling good but so wanting to feel better about this!!! I keep repeating the verse...I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH! LOL Yes, I am really that out of shape!

Potty training...yes, we had a success today, but we pooped in our pants twice today :-(. It was not fun...but we did have one success today....weeeeee...hopefully tomorrow will be a better day! It was funny case the pee grosses Nathan out. He does not like the wet underware and always comes to tell me he peed. Well today we were out in the back yard re-filling his water table when I was overwhelmed with the smell of poop....I asked him if he pooped on thomas and percy and he said no but then I just in case looked and was thinking...oh man, how do I clean this? LOL I haven't done this in a few years, so it was like a fish out of water with the poop. Ewwww!!! Changing a poopy diaper is one thing, but poopy underware??!!! YUCK!

I was reminded how awesome my mom is today from the experience I went through. She didn't even know I thought of her and thanked Jesus once again for her, but today made me think about her even more and what she goes through on a daily basis. My younger sister (for those of you who don't know) has cerbreal palsy. My mom has raised her and taken care of her ever since she was orn. She never has put her in a home or had anyone else come and do it. The reason this reminded me of my mom today is that my mom cleans up after my sister in this manner every single day....4-6 times (sometimes even more) daily. She does it without complaining and has the best attitude about it. If only I can be that type of mom to never complain and embrace every accident and never be grossed out! I am BEYOND blessed with my mom and her example every single day. I look up to her in so many ways and mom if you are reading this, know that you are amazing!! What you do for both Kelly and Sarah is a gift!! I love you!

I am so looking forward to church tomorrow....we are learning abou Generation 1 and one of the things is we are having church in homes tomorrow...so our small group is hosting one of the locations and I am so looking forward to it. Our small group was out for July and we are going to get back into the swing of things starting this week. Yay! Small groups are really awesome and I am feeling so blessed to be a part of ours!