Memorial Day Weekend

Happy Memorial Day!! We decided to take advantage of the extended weekend and put up a swing set for the boys :) Sorry for all of the pictures and details, but Daddy and PaPa put in some LONG exhausting hours and I had to do some justice with the progress!! We hope everyone enjoyed the holiday weekend and were able to spend some time outside!!

Day One

This is the start of the building of the boys' new play yard. There were hundreds of pieces of wood and even more hardware to go with it. We did a good job of getting everything organized to save some time, but what a project we have ahead of us!!


Some of the wood all labeled.


Slide and more wood.

Telescope, steering wheel and more pieces.

And more pieces...

And all of the hardware - there were too many bags to even separate it all.

The base is being transported to the back yard.

It's up and now being leveled.

Two of the platforms are in and Andrew is inspecting the first day's worth of work.

All seems to be sturdy!!

We were able to get the third platform in place and some of the roof...tomorrow's another day.

Day Two

Another full day of PaPa and Daddy working on the boys' play yard. Andrew was excited to see it coming together!! Uncle Todd even got pulled into help with some of the finishing touches. I think all of the boys were glad to be finally finished!!



One roof up, second one in progress.


Andrew on the first of three landings.

Now, Andrew is watching from inside the house. He wasn't a big fan of the power drill they had to use to bolt everything together.

Fort is completed (minus the slide) and working on the swing platform.

Just a close-up.

Slide is ready to go and swings are just about there...

Nathan swinging away!! (Andrew was still napping)

Daddy showing Andrew his new play yard :)

So excited for everything he can play with outside!!

Andrew LOVING his very OWN swing!!

Nathan just giggling away watching his older brother while swinging :)

Two peas in a pod.

I think the FULL two days of intense labor for Daddy and PaPa was well worth it!! The boys absolutely LOVE their new swing set and use it numerous times a day. THANKS Daddy and PaPa for all of your hard work - we have a great time swinging and playing on our swing set you built for us!!

Andrew, the Teacher

Andrew is constantly showing his "Baby Nate" how different toys work and is ALWAYS taking an interest in whatever it is Nathan is doing. Most mornings after breakfast as I am cleaning up, Andrew pulls a chair up to play with Nathan...


Playing with lots of toys!!

Longview Farm Park

Longview is Andrew's favorite park!! Although we started the morning headed to the St. Louis Zoo, we ended up at Longview after an hour and a half of trying to actually get to the Zoo. We can't wait until all of the construction is finished and there is NO TRAFFIC!! We know Andrew will love the Children's Zoo and train rides this year. Even though we ended up at the park we regularly visit, as long as we are outside, Andrew doesn't really care where he plays :)


Andrew enjoying the fountains.


He could have stayed here all day watching the water.


Still taking it all in :)

Loving it Outside

Andrew loves spending time outside. Here are some pics from an evening helping Daddy.


Showing Daddy where he still needs to cut - such the helper :)


Picked Mommy a flower...


I have a feeling it's the first of many weeds to come - ha!!

Catching Up!!

It has almost been a month since I have last posted anything to our blog. This nice weather and our busy schedule has kept me away from the computer!! Don't worry, there is lots to catch up on now...I have added posts for both April and May - Enjoy!!

Nathan's 1st Birthday Party (2 of 2)

We celebrated Nathan's 1st Birthday back in February with just a small group of family, keeping his exposure limited during cold and flu season. Today though, we are celebrating Nathan's Homecoming and 1st Birthday with lots of family and friends!! What a busy 15 months Nathan has had!! The birthday boy had a blast with all of his family and watching all of his cousins and friends run around :) Thanks to everyone who made this day so special for Nathan!!


Nathan did a great job with his ice cream cake - he was more interested in playing with it!!


Opening presents.

Nathan reading one of his birthday cards.

Nathan's Homecoming Anniversary

One year ago today, we finally were able to bring Nathan home from the NICU. We never thought the day would come and now it has already been a year!! The time has flown by and Nathan is getting stronger everyday. It's amazing to think of everything our little guy has been through. We are celebrating this HUGE accomplishment along with his 1st Birthday tomorrow with a big party :)

15 Month Check-Up

Nathan had his check-up with the Pediatrician this morning and WOW is he growing!! Nathan is 31 and 3/4 inches tall, which puts him in the 70th percentile and just 20 lbs, which puts him in less than the 5th percentile for weight. I didn't know we would have such a tall, skinny boy on our hands!! We are trying to get that weight up a bit, but Nathan is eating and sleeping well so there is no worry at this point. Hopefully, he'll start to catch up weight wise.

Nathan also got two shots, but was a trooper through them. We don't have another check-up until his two-year appointment - gosh that seems so far away. Let's keep our fingers crossed we don't have to visit the Pediatrician until then!!

Goofing Around

Nathan and Andrew are able to interact a bit more as Nathan is getting bigger. Pretty soon, Nathan may just pass his big brother up in size!!


Hey, what do you think you are doing, Andrew? This is MY chair!!


Andrew with Nathan's hearing aid - we don't know why both boys are taking such an interest in them these days!! It is a constant battle keeping hands away from Nathan's ears!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful Moms out there!! I had a fantastic Mother's Day with BOTH of my boys this year. Last year Nathan was still in the NICU - one of the hardest places to be as a Mom!! We had quite an eventful day with both sides of the family starting with brunch and ending with dinner and dessert :)

I want to THANK my Mom for everything she has done for me and especially my family. Mom, we love you so much and wouldn't be where we are today without all of your support. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful Mom and Gigi!!


Daddy with his boys while Mom is trying to catch a few more z's :)

Gigi, Me and the boys.

Me and my Mom!!

Celebrating the Thach's

This evening we headed over to our friends, the Thach's house to celebrate Nic's MBA graduation and Addison's 1st Birthday!! We had a great time with everyone and LOVED watching Miss Addison dig into her cake and presents!!

The whole clan posing for a group pic :)

Bye, Bye Apnea Monitor!!

The medical supplies company that we have been renting Nathan's Apnea Monitor from came this morning and took it away for good!! We can't believe that we are finally through with it. We brought Nathan home from the hospital on this monitor and never took it off of him except for baths basically for over nine months!! This monitor was a saving grace for us - it would alarm anytime Nathan dropped his heart rate or wasn't breathing and if for some reason his leads came loose from his body and the monitor couldn't pick up a reading. We became quite used to it and had a hard time weaning Nathan from wearing it. The last couple of months we just used it at night while Nathan was sleeping. Then, we finally took it off of him for good!! And now it is gone - whew!!

Always into Something

Andrew was helping me clean up some boxes and packaging materials - or so I thought. Here's what I walked into...

Styrofoam everywhere!!

Dinner at Uncle Todd's

We headed over to Uncle Todd's and Aunt Laura's this evening to check out their new house with all of their stuff moved in!! They are slowly but surely getting settled and Andrew just loved running around and tearing into all of the boxes and packaging. We had a great bbq and relaxing evening outside on their deck :)


Andrew helping out PaPa and Uncle Todd with dinner.


Andrew telling PaPa to put things in the sink once he is finished with them :)


Nathan jamming away with his music cube :)