Moving

So some of you know, but I thought I'd share anyway. We are going to be leaving the great HOT state of Florida at the end of June. Just in time for the Hurricane's! We are moving the Arkansas about 4 miles from Vicky if we get the place we want. Charlie is going to finish school up there and I am going to go back to work full time while he does it. We are excited to get up there so that he can get into school and get it done with. He has about 2 years left, maybe a little more. I am excited to be back near my family. We'll miss Charlie's family here in Florida, but we'll visit. Now I have to start getting boxes and packing a little bit at a time so that I don't have to do it all at once! Just thought we'd let everyone know.

Visit from Mom & Dad

This week my parents came for a short, but very nice visit. They were here Wed. and left early Sat. morning. Wednesday we had a BBQ and played some games and with Nate of course. We had him smiling and laughing really good, Mom & Dad loved it. Then on Thursday Mom, Dad, and I decided we'd go to Aquatica a new water park in Orlando. So we took Nate to a babysitter and Charlie applied for more jobs. He didn't want to go to the water park because it hurts his feel. (Long story) It was really fun, but some of the rides are just so scary because the tubes go up really high on the sides and feel like they're going to throw you out of the tube. I got sunburned on my neck, arms, and head. I am going bald, so my head got it the worst! I need Rogain for women! Anyway, Friday we went to the beach for a little while. This was Nate's first time at the ocean. I took some pictures with him and me, and with him and mom, but Charlie and Dad were to wet to hold him. Nate and I didn't get in because the water was too cold for him and I was already so sunburned. So we just sat on the beach and Nate ended up falling asleep. We also tried, again, to go see the Manatee's, but like the last 3 times we tried, we didn't get to see any. So I guess Mom & Dad won't get to see any in FL since we move in only 2 months. It was so fun having Mom & Dad come and visit. Oh, also the first night they were here Dad sat on the couch with Nate and they both fell asleep. Check out the pics. on the slide show!

Hawaiian style

Last week, Mom and Dad Rice and Shoady took Nate for a while. He had worn this cute blue shirt to church, so this is what they did to him...

He has been eating a huge bowl of cereal at night, plus a bottle! When we weighed him on our scale Sunday, he was 15 pounds (or somewhere close to that). What a big boy. Yesterday he had the pleasure of accompanying Aunt Angie on a shopping spree. She said he was a good little boy. Thank you Aunt Angie for taking me with you. Angie and Isabella have been visiting for a few days. Angie and I played Scrabble about 7 times. Some of our games were terrible because I would get all the consonants and she would get all the vowels. But we enjoyed ourselves since neither of our husbands like that game.

My parents are coming tomorrow and I am very excited! We are going to go to the beach! They are only here for 3 days, but that's okay. Today, since Angie will be gone when I get home from work, I will have the joy of cleaning my house up for my parents. I have been a busy lady this week and I am getting worn out.

Brownie cupcakes

Okay, so Charlie really likes to watch the Food Network channel. I only like to watch Paula Deen on that channel. So we were watching her the other day and she made these...


They are brownie cupcakes with peanut butter chips in the middle. So you make a brownie mix like it says, and put it into cupcake holders, but only 1/2 way full, then you put some peanut butter chips in them, then more brownie mix, then bake. I topped it with chocolate syrup and more peanut butter chips. SO GOOD! For those of you who love brownies (Becca) I think you would enjoy them. You could also use regular choc. chips or butterscotch chips. Yummy! If you try them, let me know how you like them. We LOVE them, probably not a good thing, since we have been walking and trying to loose weight. Oh, they make 1 dozen cupcakes.

Nate's first haircut!

So as most of you know, Nate has a ton of hair and was born with all of it. We waited for it to fall out, but it just kept growing and growing. His Grandpa Smith thought that he was looking like a "hippie" so we finally gave in and cut it. Mainly because it was beginning to get into his eyes and curl into his ears. So my friend Barb, who does my hair too, cut it yesterday. So here are the pictures. At first I was a little sad, I wasn't expecting to have to cut my 4 1/2 month babies hair. He looks so cute though. I also included some pictures of him in the bathtub, he just started sitting in his chair in the bathtub. Yea! I am so glad that I don't have to bathe with him anymore! He loves bath time. There is also a picture of Nate in his crib in the morning being his happy little self. What a great little boy we have. Oh, another thing, Barb and I decided that she probably cut more hair off of Nate than when she trims my hair, how pathetic is that?! Hopefully my girls will get their hair from their Daddy too. (That is where Nate gets all his hair from, his Daddy.)

Stroller baby

This week Charlie and I have been trying to make a better effort and taking walks in the evenings. I was doing really well before I went back to work b/c I would go in the mornings with a friend down the street, but she can't go in the evenings. So we decided we'd start walking together at night. We put Nate in his stroller with out using his car seat, for the first time this week. I kind of hate it b/c I feel like if I do that then he'll just keep getting bigger and grow up way too fast. But I guess he's going to do that anyway. Lately I have just felt a little sad b/c he is already almost 5 months old. That just doesn't seem fair to me. While I love seeing the new things he can do, it also makes me a little sad to know that he won't be a baby for too much longer. So now I think I should have like 6-8 kids, right? Well maybe not that many, but definitely more. Anyway, here are some cute pictures of Nate in his stroller. Oh, and he always falls asleep on the walks. It is so funny b/c he can just have taken a nap and then he'll go right back to sleep. What a cutie!

Other things he's done this week is fall asleep holding his favorite toy we call Trey. He also has been eying us when we drink out of a cup, so I thought I'd show him what it was, so there are pictures of him drinking out of a cup. He liked it, but most of it just went onto his shirt. In the mornings instead of him just crying when he wakes up, we get to wake up to him talking and playing in his crib. It is the best sound in the world to wake up to, at least we think so. He is just so happy. Then when I put him on the changing table to get a new diaper, he just kicks and kicks. It is so fun to see him so happy in the morning.