Nate is 3!

UPDATE: More pics loaded in the photo album to the right...

Nate's birthday weekend has come and gone and it was a lot of fun...

Friday was his actual Birthday so he got to play hooky from school...he woke up to waffles on his birthday plate wearing his birthday hat, as is tradition (except this year he actually liked his birthday hat).In a state of newborn sleepiness, I scheduled his 3 yr check up on his birthday again this year (I also combined that with Matthew's 2 mo check up - clearly I wasn't thinking)...but I didn't think he would need shots this year so I didn't think it would be a big deal. Well, come to find out that there was one shot he didn't get last year due to a shortage and he needed to catch up. So, after a pleasant check up where he insisted on wearing his birthday hat and fully cooperated with both a vision and hearing exam and even peed in a cup, we ended it with a poke and tears. But a Birthday Smoothie (and extra bandaids) afterward made it all better.

Saturday was party day...we had it an kids activity center near our house and it was really great...we had our own private gym that included:

Foam Pit
Ball Pit
Bounce House

and trampoline, slides and other organized activities. It was a great place for a party...the kids ran from one thing to the next (despite the activity leaders trying to organize activities for them). Nate surprised me...he is typically a pretty cautious kid but he was more fearless at his party...he let the girls leading the party throw him in the pit (and he kept coming back for more) and would lay on the trampoline and let them bounce him up and catch him...I really think he had a lot of fun so it was all worth it!

Nate, of course, requested a Thomas themed party so I threw Thomas in where I could:

Cupcake Toppers

Goody Bags

That was only part of the weekend and only a few pictures...so this will have to be a two part post (and I will create a photo album). There is lots more to catch up on including Matthew's 2 mo stats and Matthew's first day of school (tomorrow is my first day getting back in to work)...lots going on around here, as usual!

Happy Birthday Buddy!

The First Week in June...

...is one of our busiest and most eventful weeks of the year.

Occasion #1 - Our Wedding Anniversary

Saturday marked our 6th year as being "The Cox's" and (again, thanks to Neena and Fred) we were able to have a nice dinner out by ourselves. No rushing to the potty, no "time outs", and no wasted Kids Meals...just us. Hard to believe that it has been 6 years since I left Michael standing at the alter in the blazing Key West heat (wearing a wool tuxedo - sorry babe) in front of our friends and family wondering where I was...while my mom and sisters frantically tried to clean coffee off of my wedding dress right before I walked down the aisle. But I guess that marked the beginning of the story of our lives...life gets messy sometimes and you just gotta keep moving forward! And boy am I glad we did...I married my best friend and partner in this hectic life and I am so grateful to have him. :)


Occasion #2 - Michael's Birthday

Today is Michael's birthday...and unfortunately for him it always seems to get lost in between our anniversary and now Occasion #3...but we are going out to a yummy hibachi dinner tonight to celebrate his big day!

Occasion #3 - Nate's Birthday

Friday is Nate's 3rd Birthday...I am sure this won't be the last you hear of this event. He is already counting down the days until his party and is already telling people he is 3. I think he's kind of excited.

And last but not least...this year we have a 4th occasion...Matthew is 2 months old! I am scared that I am going to blink and he is going to be 2. I just love this little munchkin...last night, after his bottle, he dozed off in my arms and I was just staring at him while we rocked...he peeped his little eyes open a bit and I smiled down at him and he gave me the biggest grin back and closed his little eyes again. It made me laugh and warmed my heart at the same time. I am trying to hang on to every second of his babyhood, even the late night feedings, because I know how fast it goes by....

All Smiles

Matthew gave us his first official smile on Sunday...and I spent the next 3 days trying to capture it in a picture, with little success. I think the big black camera in his face made him a little leary so that was never when he would flash his adorable gummy smile. But here are a few shots where I came close to catching it...(This is a bib he is wearing...not a sweater...)

Sorry, this one is out of focus and not a great pic but I was trying to get him laughing at the little bear mobile on his pack & play.

He loves his swing and has even gotten used to Nate constantly being in his face when he is in it. I love this picture...it looks like he is meditating and completely peaceful.

He is still an incredibly sweet and mellow baby (I hope I get to continue to say that). His little personality is emerging now that he stays awake more during the day...he smiles a lot and has started making those adorable "cooing" and "ah goo" sounds, they just melt me. I am very sad that my maternity leave is drawing to an end now that we are starting to play and interact more. But I will save that sorrow for another post closer to time!

(Most of my pics are out of focus these days...I have this great camera and am still figuring out how to use it...so I am now trying to figure out natural light pics (i.e. no flash) and I clearly don't have it on the right settings to capture his movements in focus. I admit I need training!)

While his days are pretty routine, his nights have gotten more sporadic and I can't figure out why. I thought he was on course to start dropping a nighttime feeding (and had done it a couple of times) but now he is back to waking at random hours during the night - sometimes he sleeps 3 sometimes 4...and now has taken to only sleeping 2 after his "late late" bottle, so he is up at 6 every morning and our goal is 7 am. So, we still have some kinks to work out and hopefully we can achieve the right nighttime schedule before I go back to work!

Matthew and I have been getting out more and more often lately...mostly to run errands. He does well the majority of the time and snoozes while I shop...the only issue I have had was the one trip I made to Wal-Mart instead of Target...he cried the whole time so that trip was cut short. I guess he prefers Target to Wal-Mart...but I do too...

He has outgrown all of his Newborn clothes and is starting to wear some of his 3 mo outfits, so he seems to be growing pretty rapidly...he is turning in to my little chunk and I love it! Him and Nate might be wearing the same clothes pretty soon! :)