Families Are Forever

IT'S A GIRL!

2009-12-17T23:07:00.002-05:00

We went for our ultra sound yesterday and found out we are having a baby girl! We are so excited to add her to our little family. Nate still doesn't understand that we're having a baby, but we are excited b/c of how much he loves babies and know he will be a wonderful big brother. Everything looked good w/ the baby and she seems to be growing fairly well, although a little on the small side. Nate was really small though, so I am not worried. Other than that we are just waiting for Christmas. Sorry no pictures, I am in a hurry tonight. I'll try to update w/ some pictures later.

We're alive

2009-11-06T11:23:00.006-05:00

So things have just been busy lately. We moved into our new house! We love it. The only thing is that Nate didn't adjust well. He is finally starting to sleep better for us, but it has been a challenge since the move. We are finally getting settled in though. A couple weeks after we moved in, Rice came to stay for a week. We really enjoyed her and all the things she did for us. If Nate woke up in the middle of the night, grandma got him and let us rest. Also she made dinner, did laundry, unpacked boxes. A HUGE thanks to Grandma Rice!

Nate is loving day care, he has a best friend there named Jacob who is about 6 months younger than him and Nate asked "where's Jacob" ALL THE TIME! Even when he is with Jacob. Nate is really starting to be quite the Chatty Kathy if you will. Sometimes that boy never stops talking. He loves animals and can make quite a few of the noises they make, he loves Handy Manny and Mickey Mouse too. I've decided that I can't take him shopping for presants anymore b/c we went and got Charlie a hat for his birthday and Nate tried to tell Daddy what it was. It's a good thing daddy doesn't know Nate language too well b/c he thought he was saying "hot" not "hat". So the surprise didn't get ruined after all! So the picture of the shoes is b/c I have apparently taught my son well, He puts his sock inside his shoes and then took them to his room and this is where they were "put away". I didn't tell him to put them away, he just did. Nate has a shoe fetish, he LOVES shoes. If they are off, he wants them on, if they are on, he wants them off. He wants to take your shoes off too. Also the pinata was something that my sister Vicky had, so when we went to my mom and dad's for a visit, we got the kids together and did the pinata, at first Nate didn't know what to do w/ it, but after he saw the other kids hit it, he was a little better at it. Luckily nobody got hurt either.

Charlie turned 30 last month. Happy belated B-day honey! I used to think 30 was so old, but I guess it really isn't. He is doing great at his job and already got the MVP award, amongst many others. In fact, they went to a little "award ceremony" for lack of better term, I can't remember what it really was, but anyway, Charlie went to it and when he walked back into work that day he had won/received like 4 prizes! The other bank assoc. that were with him said it was the "Chuck show". I am very proud of Charlie and the hard we he puts in for us.

So most of you should know by now that I am pregnant. About 15 weeks, I thought I was further along, but the Dr. moved my due date back to May 1, I thought I was due on April 20. Oh well, the baby will come when it comes. I haven't been too sick this time. I did get nausous, but not too bad. As long as I eat, I am okay. I feel like all I do is eat, and the weird thing is that last Friday at my appt. I had lost a pound! What? How did that happen, I am growing out of my clothes, I eat all the time....Nate does keep me running though. Anyway, we should find out what we're having in Dec sometime. It is really exciting b/c Charlie's sister Shoady is expecting their first child and is due around April 17th, I think is her due date. So these 2 will be really close in age and G&G Rice are just tickled pink about the babies.

New House!

2009-08-27T07:44:00.006-04:00

Front of house
Master
Master Bath
Living room/ dining in back
Main Bath
Kitchen
Dining to living room
Kids room
Kids room

Back yard
Back yard

So we are buying a house! We signed the offer yesterday and if everything goes well we will close on Sept 25. It is 3 bed 2 bath 2 car garage and all brick. It has a beautiful yard that is privacy fenced and has a nice shed out back for all my junk! We are so excited!

Visitors

2009-07-22T22:22:00.005-04:00

I don't know what is up with the pictures not moving, sorry. Enjoy them how they are, I guess...

So we have had quite a busy couple of weeks. Rodger, Charlie's dad, came to visit for a week. We had lots of fun with him. I got Charlie and Rodger to play Bananagrams with me. I love that game, it is kind of like scrabble, and Charlie doesn't care for it all that much, so it was a real treat to get to play for a few nights while he was here. Also Rodger took care of Nate most of the week while Charlie and I worked. They had lots of fun. Nate got a new chair from G&G Rice. Thanks! Nate loves it and we love watching him play and sit in it. He is just getting so big. Dad also spoiled Charlie and me by taking us out to dinner, buying Charlie a new DVD player, ours broke, and he got me a new skillet which I SO needed. Thanks for spoiling. We are glad you came to visit.

So I got a new job with Arvest Mortgage Company and I love it. I started on the 14 so I am almost done 2 weeks and I think it is going well. I am at a call center where people call in about their mortgages and I answer the questions. It has been a great learning experience since Charlie and I want to buy our first home soon. Now I understand a whole lot more than I did even last week. I like the people and the drive is only 7 minutes. Nate had to switch babysitters b/c our last one would be way out of the way. We were sad b/c we loved her so much, but the new girl seems good too. A great thing about the new daycare is it is right across the street from my work. So it takes no time to get him and get home.

Charlie is doing great at his job and he is really loving it. He has a customer base that only wants to see him and is making great strides in his sales. He was number 1 in sales last month and he is the newest one there! We are so proud of you Charlie.

Nate is doing great. He is now 20 months old! I can't believe how time flies. He is starting to make "sentances" with 2-3 words alot more often now. His favorite word right now is "look". He even got a lady to "look" when there was nothing to look at. It was really funny. His favorite thing lately is taking baths. Pretty much every night, unless we get home late. He loves bubbles in the bath and requests them every time. I now need to take up stock in bubble bath.

The Happenings of Life

2009-06-28T17:05:00.008-04:00

So lately things have been a little stressful and hectic around here. As some of you know I have been doing temp work for Walmart since last July, well now my assignments are up and I have been looking for full time work for about 2 months now. I have had probably 8 interviews, and no job offers. It is stressful and depressing. This coming week, I do have a second job interview with Arvest Mortgage company. Charlie works for Arvest in a bank, he is a deposit counselor and he loves Arvest. So hopefully they will love me and I can have a job. I only have 2 weeks left of mine, so we are praying that I will get a job before then. Also I have a job interview for a teller position at Arvest this coming week, so please pray for me to get a full time job, time is running out FAST. I've been at this for over 10 weeks now. Finding a job is one of the hardest things to do, especially now days. So that is what I've been up to.

Charlie is doing great at his job, he told me he has opened cd's for people with thousands, I think like $100,000 or more and a couple this week. Arvest gives incentive pay and those accounts really bring in the money! We like that. Also, we get to see Charlie earlier in the evenings most evenings now that he has this job and not a teller, so we love that too!

Nate is getting so big! Some of his favorite new words are: No (who would have thought) I love, (he doesn't know how to say "you" yet, that puppy and alot more. He is now telling Tangent, the dog, "no" if he doesn't like him doing something. He also does this to mommy and daddy if they touch the ottoman, Nate has claimed that as his seat. In the pictures, you will see Nate eating. We have discovered that he LOVES sour cream. So he is eating Empanadas and sour cream in the one pictures. I tried to get him with a hat on, but he hates hats. It has been over 90 degrees for 2 weeks here, today it is only 84 degrees and we are thankful. Nate has been mad because I won't let him go outside, but it is just TOO HOT! I thought I moved out of the Sunshine State, maybe I took it with me.

Memorial Weekend

2009-06-07T21:17:00.007-04:00

Grandpa and Nate

Nate at the zoo
G&G with Nate, Charlie, Alexis, and Spencer in the background

So as you can tell, I am not very good at blogging anymore. I just hate making time for it b/c I feel there isn't much time for making time. Anyway...For Memorial weekend we went to St. Louis with my parents and my sister Vicky's family. It was a fun weekend. We went to the temple, zoo, science center and an art museum that the kids didn't like b/c you couldn't touch anything. Nate loved the zoo. He liked the hippo's, there was a big hippo that liked the attention so he would go into the water and put his HUGE face against the glass where the kids were. I thought it was pretty awesome too. Then we went to the penguin house, which stunk really bad so I walked really fast through it and waited on the outside. Charlie and Nate stayed in there, it was FREEZING in there by the way, and Nate loved it. They watch the penguins jump and splash and swim and have a great time. We also watched some bears wrestling, that was pretty neat too. I am not very good at remembering to take pictures, sorry. So here is what I have. Below are the bears wrestling and the girls were trying to see the hippo in the tank. You can't see the hippo very well in the picture, but it was big.

Catch-up Time

2009-05-17T08:18:00.009-04:00

Shoady and Juan

We have been busy here lately. We had Shoady & Juan come and visit at the end of April. (Charlie's sister and her husband). I have been busy trying to find a permanent job b/c I am temping at Walmart home office and that runs out in July. That will be here before I know it. So wish me luck on the job search. Charlie has been in training for his new position for the past 2 weeks and will have 1 more week with help and then be on his own, I think. Nate got last week and that was no fun at all. We did a good job of not spreading it around the house though. This week I got cold sores ALL over my lips. They looked like Angelina Jolie's lips, not exaggerating! They are still really sore, but are getting better. We too Nate's pacifier away exept for nap and night time, and church b/c he is SO LOUD! I don't know what to do about that. The picture right below this is from when he got Pink Eye. My poor baby!

Grandma's visit

2009-04-23T07:26:00.002-04:00

So, long time coming...Charlie's mom came to visit in March for 10 days. She was great. She watched Nate while Charlie and I had to work. They wore each other out. We went to a BBQ of some friends on the Sunday she was here. At the BBQ Charlie got to see Scott Jones and friend of his from Idaho and they were able to play guitar together. They had a dune buggy that Nate loved to sit in and "drive". Grandma helped Nate "ride" the 4 wheeler too. They never actually went for rides on them b/c they were both not working. But as you will see, Nate was in heaven! Grandma and Grandpa Rice (we were sad b/c Grandpa Rice could not come) got Nate a Little Tikes police car and he loves that too. Grandma taught Nate how to "put gas in the car" by putting your finger in the spout and making a sound with your mouth that sounds like running water. We are so glad that Grandma was able to come play with us for a while. Next time try to bring Grandpa too though!

Fireman Nate

2009-04-15T22:50:00.003-04:00

So on Friday Nate got to go to a birthday party for Bennett, a boy from church that turned 2. They got to go to a local fire dept. and play on the trucks. The fire dept. said they are the slowest in all of our town. Nate thought it was so neat. I didn't bring my camera because I didn't know about the party until that afternoon and I was already at work. So these pictures are curteousy of Miquilin, Bennett's mom. Nate got to go on top of the fire truck with one of the dad's. (no way was I climbing up there!) He thought that was great too, but I don't have a picture of it darn it! We then went to the church for pizza and Nate ate the whole slice by himself, higglety pigglety! It was a great day for Nate. FYI- I asked how much this certain fire truck cost b/c they were bragging about all the "bells and whistles" on it. They got a great "deal" at just over $650,000! Man those things are expensive!

Nate tried to jump off of this part of the truck, giving mommy a heart attack!

Charlie and I are doing well also, life is busy and hectic. A couple of weeks ago Linda, Charlie's mom came to visit and we (Nate especially) had a wonderful time. Nate wore grandma out and grandma wore Nate out. When I find my camera cord, I will post some pictures.

Did somebody say...PROMOTION!

2009-03-16T21:34:00.002-04:00

So we found out today that Charlie got a promotion to be a deposit counselor. While he did not get the Assistant Manager position, this is still great news! He will have a sit down job, which is great for his feet. (He has MAJOR feet issues) Now maybe we'll be able to go on family walks. He will work 8:45-5:45 which will put him home earlier, better incentive pay, and a raise! We are very excited and proud of him. He's only been with the company 8 months and things are going great! Good job Charlie, we love you!

Hide-n-seek

2009-03-15T15:29:00.003-04:00

Lately Nate has decided that hiding in/under/around things is so much fun. He is into everything. He empties out my cupboards so that he can play in them. Our cupboards don't have handles and are cheap, so child proofing has been hard. We had to get creative and we put velcro on them to keep Nate out. So far, so good. He pretty much went from crawling to running in a matter of days. He is at such a fun stage. We love to play with him. This week he has taken a big interest in playing with balls. He has 5 teeth and another one on the way. His doctor says he's too skinny and needs to be putting on the weight. He has been eating like a horse, but he never sits still long enough for any fat to stick. Who wants to carry around a little chub that makes your back hurt anyway.

Charlie is doing well with his job at Arvest Bank. He had the opportunity to interview for an assistant manager position on Friday, and we should know the results by this Wed. Also, he is interviewing for a deposit counselor position tomorrow. Hopefully he will at least get one of the jobs. I'll keep you posted. Also, we got a new desk for our office and now Charlie and I can both be on our computers at the same time. This is great, that way I can try (no promises) to blog more often than once a month. It is a bit overwhelming to work full time, keep a house, take care of Nate and find any "me" time. Charlie doesn't make it home until 7PM most nights and then I am so tired that I go to bed by 9. My job is going well too! I survived the 800+ layoffs that Walmart home office made, that was a nerve racking week. Life if good, but busy. If Charlie gets the assistant manager position, I might be able to quit my job and stay home with Nate. We don't know what the pay is, but hopefully it would be enough for that.

His & Hers

2009-02-12T21:27:00.002-05:00

HIS and HERS
This is just like 25 things about me,except there are pre-decided questions and it's about you AND your spouse!! And of course,tag people!!!

1. What are your middle names? Ann and William
2. How long have you been together? 7 years, married 6
3. How long did you know each other before you started dating? 6 months
4. Who asked who out? I asked him out for a double with my sister Rebecca.
5. How old are each of you? I will be 25 next month, he is 29
6. Whose siblings do you see the most? Mine. His sister is in Florida
7. Do you have any children together? Yes, Nate is 15 months.
8. What about pets? Yes, Black Lab mix names Tangent
9. Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Making time for us, he doesn't get home until close to 7:00.
10. Did you go to the same school? No, our schools were rivals!
11. Are you from the same town? No, me Republic MO, him Willard MO.
12. Who is the smartest? Charlie!
13. Who is the most sensitive? Definetely me.
14. Where do you eat out most as a couple? Applebee's, cheap and good!
15. Where is the farthest you have traveled as a couple? Bahamas
16. Who has the craziest exes? Neither
17. Who has the worst temper? I guess Carley
18. Who does the cooking? Carley, but when Charlie cooks it is really good
19. Who is more social? Carley
20. Who is the neat freak? Neither, we just do the best we can with the time we have.
21. Who is more stubborn? Carley, I have to get my way pretty much all the time.
22. Who hogs the bed? Charlie, I have to move him over sometimes
23. Who wakes up earlier? Carley, 6AM
24. Where was your first date? Movies, we saw "A Walk to Remember"
25. Who has the bigger family? Carley, 3 sisters, he has 1 sister
26. Do you get flowers often? No.
27. How do you spend the holidays? With family, sometime in MO/AR, sometimes in FL.
28. Who is more jealous? I don't think we are jealous people.
29. How long did it take to get serious? About 1 month, after that we hated being away from each other.
30. Who eats more? Charlie
31. Who does the laundry? Mostly me, but Charlie helps sometimes
32. Who is better with the computer? Charlie, no contest
33. Who drives when you are together? 99% of the time Carley, I get car sick way to easy.

I am tagging Heather and Shoady.

The weather outside was Frightful!

2009-02-12T21:01:00.002-05:00

So as many of you know, we had a huge ice storm a couple of weeks ago. These are the photos we took of the ice. You will need to pay attention to the details like the amount of ice sickles, the ice on the roofs of the cars, and tires. It was like 3 inches thick, some places on the cars were more than that. We had to take a hammer to get the ice off of our SUV. Who would have thought. We lost power for about 36 hours, luckily my sister Vicky had power and we stayed with her. We did have roof damage, but that has since been remedied. We have now thawed out and spend some wonderful days in the 60's and are waiting for Spring!

The busy life

2009-01-22T20:25:00.002-05:00

So, since moving to the great state of Arkansas, life has been busy. Charlie is doing well at the bank and loves his job. He will hopefully be able to enroll in school soon, and finish his degree. He is going to go into financing, which the bank will pay for some if not most of!

As for Carley, she was moved into a marketing position with Walmart and so far is liking it. I looks like the data entry is not going over as well as can be, but she is working on it. We'll keep you posted on that.

Nate has finally started walking!!! He is now 14 months old and has 4 teeth. He is a little ham around the camera, so I don't get the good action pictures that I really want. Nate loves the dog and the dog loves Nate, especially at dinner time when Tangent gets to "clean up" Nate's mess on the floor.

Christmas

2008-12-28T20:43:00.002-05:00

So, I have been really busy lately. It is really hard working full time and being a mom and wife. So blogging isn't very hi up there on the list. Sorry to all of you who love to look at them. A few weeks ago, Crystal, my cousin, was babysitting Nate and they went to a church party and Nate got to sit on Santa's lap. He didn't really give much reaction to this.

For Christmas we were able to go to my parents house for a couple of days. We didn't take real pictures b/c G&G Rice gave us a cam corder for Christmas. Thank you G&G Rice. So right now I need to figure out how to post little video's of Nate. All of my sister's and their families were also at my parents house. There were 21 of us all together! Yes, we all stayed under the same roof for about 3 days. It was fun, but I was glad to get home to some peace and quiet. Although, Nate is quite the chatter box these days. He loves to say 'hi daddy' and 'momma' and a few other words. He is finally showing signs of walking. 13 months and he can take about 6 steps on his own. He gets too excited and then falls over.

Charlie and I are doing well. We both enjoy our jobs and the people we work with. Also we are enjoying our ward at church, the people there are so friendly. I will try to get more pictures of Nate up here soon. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Let's have a great 2009!

Nate's new outfit

2008-12-04T20:14:00.004-05:00

When G&G Rice came to visit a month ago, they got Nate this cute church outfit. I made sure to get him some black shoe's to match. We think he is just too cute. He is getting so big, we are going to have to get him a new car seat soon. We are excited for him to be able to face the front so we can see him and he can see us. He does pretty well in the car, but that will be nice to see each other.

As you can see, I got my hair cut off, again. I really like it and will have to post some better pictures. Today my hair was really cute, but then I got in the shower with Nate and that went away. This weekend is our EQ party at church on Friday, and then on Sat. is Charlie's work party. So I'll get gussied up and then we can take some good pictures.

Birthday Boy!

2008-11-21T17:45:00.009-05:00

So, Nate turned 1 on Thursday! I can't believe a whole year has gone by. We are so excited that we are blessed to have him in our lives. He had his checkup the other day and other than being on the small side, he is doing great. He is still crawling everywhere and is walking along the furniture as well. He knows how to say momma, dadda, baby, and hi. The other day I was saying I love you a bunch of times in a row and he was trying to mimic that. It was so cute.

Today we went over to my sister's house. We had Nate's birthday party over there with her 4 kids, Alexis (8), Spencer (6), Dallin (4), and Trista (2). They all love Nate very much and are so good with him. Nate dug into his birthday cake without too much help from mom and dad. We were lucky to be able to have G&G Smith there to celebrate.

His presents from G&G Smith were some cars. Then from G&G Rice he got some new PJ's a jungle toy and some maraca's. His Aunt Vicky got him a new outfit, and so did his Aunt Shoady. Thank you everyone for making Nate's birthday a good one.

Ward Halloween Party

2008-10-28T18:35:00.004-04:00

On Saturday we went to our Ward Halloween Party and we dressed Nate up as a monkey. The cutest monkey ever in my book! We had chili and got to show off Nate, it was really fun. We didn't do the trunk or treat b/c we don't need the candy and neither did Nate. So this is him in his monkey costume. We will be going trick or treating with Vicky and her kids on Friday. We are looking forward to that and will keep you posted.

It's Everywhere...

2008-10-13T21:06:00.008-04:00

What do I say is everywhere....NATE! Now that he is crawling quickly to anything and everything, most of which I don't want him to go to...I am very busy. He is very independent with the direction he wants to go. He'll just take off down the hall and into what ever room he wants. I feel like I get nothing done when I get home because I am too busy chasing Nate. He is pulling himself up to the couch or piano bench, then gets mad when he falls on his bum. It is a fun new stage, but a busy one.

This weekend Nate and I decided to go see my parents since Charlie had to work this weekend. We were able to ride on the 4 wheelers and Nate really enjoyed that. Also we think that Nate is finally teething. He is almost 11 months old and still NO teeth. Sometimes I wonder what I can and can't feed him because of this fact. Also he is not sleeping very well at this time,which is not fun when both parents have full time jobs.

I just got a calling in our church, I lead the music in Sacrament, and pick the songs. It should be fun. Charlie is the secretary in EQ in case we did not mention that. We are looking forward to our Trunk or treat this year, especially to be able to dress Nate in his costume. We'll keep ya posted, but if it takes a couple of weeks, it is all Nate's fault! Ha ha.

Look what I can do!

2008-09-28T13:54:00.002-04:00

10 Months!

2008-09-21T19:21:00.007-04:00

Nate is now 10 months old, and cute as ever! He is scooting everywhere and sometime will crawl, but prefers not to. Just this week he has started pulling up on things and gets about half way up and gets stuck, then slumps back down. He still has no teeth, but sure does have an appetite. Our only problem is that he seems to think that he doesn't need to drink much liquids. If anyone has a way of getting kids to drink, out of a bottle or a sippy cup, please let us know. The other day we went in to check on Nate in his crib and this is what we found. He is just so funny. He has also started to make a "sour" face that is really cute. I'll have to try to get that on camera sometime.

Cousins

2008-09-14T21:12:00.011-04:00

Lately we have been able to spend lots of time with family. Vicky and Jordan went to a baptism the other night so we babysat Spencer, Dallin, and Trista. Vicky's kids just love Nate and for the most part Nate loves them. Sometimes they play with him too hard for too long and Nate lets me know that he is tired of playing with them. Nate was playing with his blocks the other night when the kids came over and Dallin said, "Uncle Chuck, why does Nate Nate eat the blocks?" Uncle Chuck responded with, "until about 2 years ago, you just ate the blocks too." Dallin thought that to be interesting.

On Saturday Aunt Becca came over with cousin Jacob and Nate was kind enough to share his new toy that his G&G Rice sent for him. Thank you G&G Rice! Nate received a rather large package on our front door step the other day and it was the cutest thing...a catapillar that is a rocking horse type thing. It is so cute. So we put Nate on it and then Jacob behind it and they thought that was fun. I like the picture where Nate is looking back at Jacob, very cute. Nate is not big enough to play on it by himself, but he likes Mommy or Daddy to help him rock on it.

My boys

2008-09-01T09:19:00.007-04:00

Lately Nate has really loved to play with Tangent. Tangent is so good and patient with Nate. Tangent lets Nate pull his tail, play with his ears and slap his head. Tangent is good at laying next to Nate as close as possible with out sitting on him. It is so cute.

About 2 nights ago, Nate rolled over and slept on his tummy all night...so maybe there is hope that he won't have a flat head his whole life! I took a picture of Charlie and Nate after Nate got up that morning with his hair all messed up. It is so cute. Nate has decided to roll over and crawl backwards. I don't know why he doesn't go forward, but at least he's moving now.

Nate goes to Crystal's

2008-08-24T07:27:00.003-04:00

We don't have anything too exciting to report. Nate and I (Carley) have colds and haven't been feeling well for a few days now. I am tired of it because Nate isn't sleeping well and of course then we don't sleep well. Charlie was a huge help yesterday and took care of Nate quite a bit to let me sleep. I don't think I got out of bed till 2:00 in the afternoon. (for good anyway) Oh, kinda funny story...I went to Wal-Mart the other day to get some Day Quill medicine and the lady at the register was like "are you over 18?" I was like, "uh ya" then she carded me. I thought it was kinda funny. Do I look younger than 18?

Well Nate has been having quite a time at Crystal's house. For those of you who don't know who that is, Crystal is my cousin that babysits Nate while I work and she has a little girl that is 3 weeks older than Nate. I've included some pictures of their activities. Crystal wanted to take them for a walk, but doesn't have a double stroller, so she put Nate in first and Camerae in kind of beside/on top of him. It is so cute.

I've also included a picture of Angie, Vicky, and me when we went out for a girl's night before Angie went back to Costa Rica. We were sad that Becca wasn't there, but next summer we'll all have to have a girls day when she moves closer to us.

Our little girl??

2008-08-12T21:22:00.001-04:00

So if you'd like to see what our little girl's will look like, tune into postal6.blogspot.com

Busy, Busy, Busy

2008-08-12T07:59:00.002-04:00

Bet ya'll thought that I'd forgotten about you? (Like the hick slang?) Anyway, life has been hectic around here lately. I got a job working full time 8-5 Mon-Fri at Wal-Mart headquarters. I have been there for 2 weeks now, and am still trying to adjust to life as a full time working mother. Nate goes to my cousin Crystal's during the day, which is nice because she has a little girl only 3 weeks older than Nate. Also, our computer was in the shop for a week, and I couldn't blog because I didn't have any pictures saved to our other computer. So here I am.

Charlie is doing well at his job and really enjoys it. It sounds like the benifits both health and other kinds are great. I have a Wal-Mart discount card that gets 10% off, which tax here is 9%, so that just covers tax pretty much, but still helps.

Nate is as cute as ever...He loves swimming and we went to my parents house and he got to go skinny dipping...loved that especially b/c he could pretty much be a nudist if I let him. He gets so happy when you start undressing him.

When Angie was here we went out for a family (adults only except for Nate) dinner. Dustin had already gone home to Costa Rica though. Anyway, there is a picture of Jordan pinching Nate's cheeks! He loved it, and so did Nate, haha.

Nate loves jumping, so he loves the jonny jump up. Also I've included a picture of Nate with Grandpa Smith, sleeping at Grandpa's house. Also Nate slept with us a little in our bed a few time lately b/c he wasn't sleeping and that was the only way he would sleep...in our bed. He is now back in his bed, thank heavens for that! I just included some cute pictures. Enjoy.

Just an update

2008-07-22T14:19:00.007-04:00

So things are kinda crazy around here. Charlie got a job at a bank here and is already in his 3rd week being there. So far so good! Me on the other hand...I have had a couple of interviews, but so far no luck. I've been babysitting my sisters kids for her here and there. One sister has 4 kids 7,6,4,and 2 and I take them all day on Tuesday and Thursday, except for today. I also have babysat for another sister that has 5 kids, 12,10,9,6, and 2 and of course Nate! Keeps me pretty busy. This Thursday I might have them all except for the 12 year old. That should be fun, ha ha.

So Nate has adjusted well here. He has this new thing about when he sleeps he puts his hands behind his head. It is so cute. I took some pictures of what he looks like when I get him out of his bed in the mornings. What a ham!
We'll keep you posted on the home front. To all you Florida folks, we miss you guys.

July 4th

2008-07-14T09:18:00.002-04:00

This year for July 4th, we were able to go to my parents house. They even let us bring the dog. That is a BIG shock, for those of you who don't know my parents. We NEVER had pets growing up, except a couple of fish once. Anyway, Tangent (the dog) stayed on the back porch all night at was a pretty good boy. He loved playing with the kids and getting to run around w/out a leash or a fence. My parents have 10 acres, and Tangent was by us the whole time. He did get into the house a couple times b/c kids would leave the door open and in Tangent came.

Anyway, we had a BBQ and set off fireworks, got eaten by the bugs. What a day. We were also able to spend time on Saturday with our friends Adam and Marie and we had a cookout there too. That is when I really got eaten by bugs. I think I'll have to stay inside when I got visit them. They have more acres and are out in the boonies.

Swimming

2008-07-14T09:10:00.007-04:00

On July 1st, I took Nate swimming for the first time. Every other time we'd try and put him in a pool or the ocean, he didn't like it. My sisters Angie and Vicky were taking their kids swimming, so we tagged along. (Daddy was at a job interview) I got this baby floating device out and Nate LOVED it! As you can see by the pictures. He also got in at Grandma and Grandpa Smith's home on July 4th, but not for long because the water was kinda cold. I minded the water temp. more than he did. I love the water and Charlie is a fan too, so we are glad to have another water-rat in the family. Oh, on the way over to go swimming, Nate got his hat pulled down and somehow stuck behind his pacifier. What a kid.

We made it! Finally

2008-06-29T22:53:00.002-04:00

Well after a horribly long trip from Florida to the great state of Arkansas, we are finally back in the good ole mid-west. The trip took us about 28 hours, which wasn't fun at all. I am very proud to say the Nate did wonderful. Yes, he did cry and fuss a little, but who wouldn't, I sure did! We ended up being stuck in heavy traffic in Birmingham and then right after we crossed into Arkansas we were stopped on the highway for 2 hours b/c of a gas spill on the road. That sucked! I took Nate out of his seat and played with him for a little while then. Anyway, we unloaded the truck this morning and got a few things unpacked. We will just keep working on it. Charlie and I both have job interviews this Wed. so wish us luck. I'll keep ya posted on the new home front!

Chili's

2008-06-23T07:40:00.008-04:00

Yesterday after church, we drove down to meet Shoady at Chili's for dinner. This is the last time we'll be seeing her before we move :( It was so nice seeing her, although we missed Juan her hubby. He had to work. We rode with Mom & Dad Rice, thank you for letting us bum a ride! Dinner was great and Nate was a very good little boy. He got a little loud once or twice, but it was happy loud. Here are a few pictures we took at Chili's. We will miss you guys! Oh, and somehow Dad, Shoady, Charlie and I all wore green ~ weird huh? (O

Me me me

2008-06-17T17:03:00.006-04:00

I wanted people to see good pictures (or at least better) of my new hair cut. So here they are. I have some curled under and some straight, but the straight makes it curl out actually.

Day with Daddy

2008-06-17T16:53:00.006-04:00

I know this is a little late...

Charlie is such a great dad to our little Nate. He loves to play with him and make him laugh and now scream. It is a happy scream, but boy is that little man loud! I just wanted to tell Charlie how much I love him and what a great husband and wonderful father he is. Nate and I are so blessed to have him in our lives.

One of the things Charlie likes to do is put Nate in the crack of the couch in between him and the arm rest. Nate will stand there and play with Charlie forever. It is so cute. Also I made Charlie breakfast for Father's Day. We had Nate in his chair on the table and he up and picks up the whole jug of juice. It was only 1/2 full, but still...what a strong little guy. Thank you Charlie for being wonderful you! We love you!

New do's for Nate and Mommy

2008-06-10T20:29:00.002-04:00

So things have been busy around here lately. Shoady got married on Saturday, so the rehearsal dinner was on Friday. Also we had 2 of Charlie's aunts here this weekend, and one aunt, Fran, stayed with us. Also we have been trying to pack up the house for the move amidst the chaos and working more hours than we usually do. On Sat. May 31, Nate got his second hair cut, as you can see in the pictures below. I too got my hair cut, but the picture doesn't show it very well. When we get some of Shoady's wedding pics. I'll show you what it looks like, or if I get Charlie to take a good picture of me. The back is kind of like Alexis' haircut, but it is shorter in the front and blends a little better.

New things for Nate...he LOVES the keyboard. We have an extra one, so he plays on it and has a ball. He also likes sitting in his bumbo and playing with toys. I gave him a football the other day and he liked it, but it was hard for his little hands to hold on to. We just love the stages he goes through and finding new things. He has totally discovered faces and loves to explore ours. He love to give Eskimo kisses and tries to give your real one's too, but they are VERY wet! He also likes to suck on what ever part of your body that isn't covered, ranging from your neck to your knees, literally. He is such a funny boy.

Nate's new trick

2008-05-28T18:57:00.002-04:00

On Sunday, we were sitting in church and Nate decided he wanted to stand up. So he pulled himself up against the pew and held onto the back of it and stood there playing with the old people behind us. He stood by himself only holding on for about 15-20 minutes. I of course had my hand ready to catch him. I can't believe that. So on Monday, Charlie had to work so Nate and I were on our own, I took some cute picture of Nate standing holding on to our foot rest. He is also getting better at sitting up. I think he's doing well for being 6 months old. We sure do enjoy our time with him. He has become very lovey lately. He will give you hugs in the morning when he gets up and also when he gets sleepy. Enjoy the pictures.

The duplex

2008-05-26T13:33:00.002-04:00

I thought I'd post about our new duplex that we are going to be renting up in Rogers AR. It is a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom with 1 car garage. It is only 3 years old. We will be in Vicky's ward, so at least we'll know someone right off the bat. We are very excited to move and for Charlie to get into school. Here are some pictures of the new place. Thank you Crystal for taking 4 children to go look at the place. She had Spencer, Dallin, Trista and Camerae. Superwoman! Some of the kids are in the pictures. The pictures are a little funny, but you can at least see what they are.

6 Months already!

2008-05-22T20:18:00.004-04:00

Nate was 6 months old on Tuesday. He went for his check-up yesterday and he weighed in at 14 lbs 9 oz and 26 inches long. That put him at 10th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for height. He really shot up there this time. Anyway, he got his shots and hasn't been too crabby, but has been running a fever. My poor baby. I hate it when he doesn't feel good and I can't do much about it. He even cried in the shower today, that never happens. Also he is anemic. So now I have to give him iron drops. Oh my goodness, I tasted the drops, they taste exactly like when you get that throw up taste in your mouth. How sad that my baby has to take that. So I made sure to put it into his food/bottle. How gross, I almost threw up when I tasted it! Anyway, other than that he is developing very well. He has started sitting up some, but every time I try to take a picture, he looks up at me and falls over. So maybe we'll get one tomorrow. He's in bed for the night, hopefully. I am including some pictures of him in his bumbo seat. Lately he has been eating his toes alot and since he couldn't reach his toes in the bumbo, he decided to eat the bumbo itself. We would laugh at him and he would laugh back and then do it all over again just so we'd laugh at him. He is such a little ham.

So we found out today that we officially have a home in Arkansas to move to. It is a 3/2 duplex that has a privacy fenced yard for the dog. We got a great price. We are moving June 28.

Rice family pictures

2008-05-22T13:50:00.005-04:00

When we were down at Shoady and Juan's a couple weeks ago, we took these pictures. I thought they were pretty good.Isn't the sunset so pretty in the back ground? They live on the ocean on the 14th floor.

I guess life is good after all!

2008-05-14T17:57:00.003-04:00

So as many of you know, things haven't been the best around our house lately. In February, Charlie lost his job. This has been very hard on us, especially because I only work part time and they couldn't give me any extra hours. So Charlie searched for a job FOREVER! He finally got one today! Yay Charlie! It is at a berger place called Checkers. Fast food isn't the greatest job, but when you've been searching for almost 3 months, anything is better than nothing. Plus we're moving in about 6 weeks, so it isn't forever. That has mainly been the stress going on here. Then we decided to move and for Charlie to go back to school. Many different things going on adds up for mega stress. Then this past Sunday, some little Arsonist in our town decided to set it on fire! There are over 160 homes damaged or destroyed and over 6000 acres burnt. It is still going, but they say they have it in control and that is isn't threatening any homes right now. Lots of people are out of power as well. Our home never lost power and it never got too close to us, but if the winds had of shifted, well that would not have been good. So thanks to those who new about the fire and prayed for us. Now we still need some rain...

On Saturday we drove down to Shoady (Charlie's sister and her hubby) and Juan's house to meet his family and have a BBQ for Juan's B-day and Mother's Day. It was a bright hot sunny day and we had the BBQ on the beach. It was very nice outside. We took Nate down to the ocean and put his feet in, but I think the noise of the waves scared him. So we decided to go to the pool. He didn't like that either. So we took turns sitting out with him. There were lots of people there, Juan had some aunts and uncles and his sister and parent, then we had Mom and Dad Rice and us. It was a very tiring day. I could have gone home and slept for days! Too bad Nate won't let me do that. Juan and Shoady have this bean bag chair that turns into a queen sized bed. We put Nate in it and that is where he sat to feed him. He is just getting so big. He has his 6 month appointment next Wednesday. He also gets shots that day, yuk!

For Mother's Day, Charlie let me sleep in, since our church isn't till 1:00. He woke me up only for me to find a delicious breakfast. I was so exausted from Saturday that after I ate, I went back to bed for another hour. It was so nice. We had our friend Nikki and her kids come over for dinner because her husband is out of town. It was a very nice Mother's Day, thank you Charlie and Nate!

Last night we had gone for a walk, but apparently even if you can't smell or see the smoke in the air, from the fires, you can still have breathing problems. Well I don't know if Nate is teething, got a cold, has allergies, or was affected by the smokey air, but he didn't feel good last night. He didn't go to sleep until about 1:00 am and I kept having to get the snot out of his nose and he was caughing and had a fever. We gave him Tylenol and stuff, but he was just a mess. It is really hard to not sleep well when Nate has been sleeping about 11 hours at night for a few months now. He is such a good little sleeper when he isn't sick or has had shots. Guess next week ought to be fun! Also Nate has taken to loving the keyboard, so we let him "type" on it sometimes. He is just such a wonderful little miracle.

Oh, for you folks that wanted to know where in Arkansas we are going, we are going to the Rogers/Fayetteville area. We don't have a place yet because they won't hold them for that long. It is about 1 1/2- 2 hours from Springfield. Oh, and for Lori, there is a picture of the shirt you got him, we love it!

FHE

2008-05-06T19:49:00.006-04:00

Tonight Grandma and Grandpa Rice came over for Family Home Evening. Grandpa did the lesson, grandma the scripture, mommy the song, and daddy prayed. After the lesson we made home made pretzels. We dipped them in cinnamon and sugar, cheese, garlic butter, & salt. It was very yummy. We have included a picture of our pretzels and some family pictures that we took tonight. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for having Family Home Evening with us. We look forward to doing it again soon.

Nate

2008-05-04T16:05:00.003-04:00

This week Nate decided he really loves his walker and will play in it for up to an hour at a time. He'll sit in it while I cook or clean. He just has a ball. Today we set up his "Johnny jump up" but he is still way too little. It says for 4 months and up, but I guess he's just such a little guy he doesn't fit. By the way, Nate keep hitting the space bar and messing me up. So if I don't catch a space that is in the wrong place, you know why. Charlie just took a picture of Nate and me blogging. Also I started laying Nate down on the bathmat before baths, and if I need to use the restroom, he loves that too. Sometimes he is such a weird kid. I put Nate in bed w/ Charlie the other morning while I showered and Daddy was supposed to be waking up, but when I got out, they were asleep together. It was so cute. We don't really have much going on right now. We are just waiting till we move really. Enjoy!

Moving

2008-04-27T08:21:00.002-04:00

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

2008-04-27T07:52:00.002-04:00

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

2008-04-22T07:01:00.003-04:00

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

2008-04-13T20:42:00.003-04:00

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!

2008-04-13T20:28:00.003-04:00

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

2008-04-09T20:33:00.000-04:00

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.

He's getting too big too fast! HELP!

2008-03-30T21:31:00.003-04:00

So this week after Nate had his shots, he has been kind of a grump. Lucky Daddy got to stay home with him all week and take care of the grumpy kid. Thank you Charlie, you're the best. I think he is finally getting over his grumpiness, thank heavens for that. This week he has wanted to be held, played with or standing 24/7! So we decided to get out the walker and see if he liked that. He did, there are some cute pictures of him in it. Tangent (the dog) was so intrigued by the walker and Nate, that he just stood there and watched him play for a good while. Tangent loves Nate, but we have to be careful b/c Tangent doesn't realize how big he is and how little Nate is. But Tangent wants to play with him so bad, it is kinda funny. When Nate gets bigger they will be the best of friends. We need to find a saddle for Tangent so Nate can ride him. Also today Nate was so happy! So we took some pictures before church and they are so cute b/c of his big smiles. Here are some pictures, hope you enjoy the slide show.

Shots! Yuck! (and Easter)

2008-03-24T21:18:00.009-04:00

Nate sleeping after his shots

On Saturday, Charlie's mom brought over a cute little Easter outfit. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of him in it, so next Sunday we'll do that. Then on Sunday G&G Rice gave Nate a cute Easter basket filled with baby food, baby juice, rice cereal, and the best thing ever DIAPERS! You can never get enough free diapers. The basket was really cute, it is a frog. I was terrible and didn't take pictures of Easter. Also G&G Rice, Charlie and I decided to play an Easter game. We took raw eggs into the back yard teamed up with one person and got about 8 feet apart from each other. We then threw the eggs back and forth, taking steps back after we threw the egg to see who could throw the farthest without breaking their egg. Charlie and I won against G&G, then Dad Rice and I lost against Charlie and Mom Rice, and Mom Rice and I lost against Charlie. Mom Rice and I had an "iffy" egg, it had cracked lines in it and didn't look too good to begin with. I was the only one that didn't catch the egg and get it all over my hands. It was a fun little game. We really enjoyed it. While we did that Nate just layed in his porta-crib outside and watched his mobil. He is such a good baby. Daddy and Nate

So today we took Nate in for his 4 month check-up, and yup, shots:( He weighed in a at a whopping 12 pounds 10 ounces! He is 24 inches long, and she said he is developing very well. We gave him the Tylenol before his appointment today, hoping that would help him not be so cranky. It has helped, kind of...He wants to be held all day. I put him down for a nap and he stayed in bed for an hour and a half, but then he just wanted to be held again. Hopefully he will get some good sleep tonight. Luckily I am off work tomorrow, so if he doesn't sleep well, I at least have a day to recuperate. Other than that everything is going well. Here are some pictures of Nate today, and some close ups of his cute band-aids. Being a mom is the best!

Rodeo

2008-03-16T13:50:00.001-04:00

Last night we packed up Nate and went to the Deseret Ranch Rodeo. Our church has a big ranch about 30 minutes from here and they do a rodeo every year. We've never been, so we thought we should go. They had a BBQ, about 30 horses and riders that did a figure 8 show, pig chasing, mutten riding and more. They had about 8 sheep that these little kids between ages about 4-7 rode to see who could stay on the longest. It was so cute. Then when the riders were doing the figure 8 around the ring 2 collided and scared me, but they were okay. They also greased up the pigs and had all the kids under 8 go out and catch them. It was so cute. Boy were there alot of kids! It was a very fun even that Charlie, Nate and I enjoyed very much.

Today we fed Nate rice cereal for the first time. He did such a good job. After a few spoonfuls he knew that when the spoon came to him, it was time to open his mouth. See, lately he hasn't slept as well through the night b/c he is getting hungry too soon. So we decided it was time for cereal. He liked it and ate very well. Mommy and Daddy were proud. Also lately we have been fitting into some very cute outfits, so we took some good pictures of it. We also started putting little shoes on him when we go out. It is just so cute. I didn't think that dressing up a boy would be very fun b/c there are no bows or frilly dresses, but we enjoy it very much. Also you can notice how long his hair is getting. He never lost any of it and he still hasn't even gotten the thinning in the back. Everyone thinks he needs a haircut, but not for a good while.

WPM

2008-03-07T20:10:00.001-05:00

I did better than I thought I would!

73 words

Speed test

Slide show!

2008-03-05T22:05:00.000-05:00

This is my first slide show. I am so proud of my non-computer skilled self. So to explain a few photos...I got my hair permed last week...Nate is into pulling his blankets up and hiding himself...We got him a bumbo this week thank you Great Grandma Rice, and Nate now fits into his baseball all star outfit and we have a hat to match!

I'm a big boy now!

2008-02-25T21:19:00.006-05:00

This past week Nate turned 3 months old, already! I can't believe just how fast the time goes by. He is still such a happy boy. This week he started really talking to us. He will lay there and baby talk to us for 30 minutes at a time, multiple times a day. It is so cute and funny. Also we started propping him up on the couch and letting him sit up. As you can see he loves it. We are enjoying being parents so much. It is still hard to believe that he is ours. I look at him sometimes and just think, what did we do to deserve a wonderful and handsome boy? We are so luck to have him.

Work has been good so far. I had to work Saturday, which is a 5 hour shift instead of a 4 hour shift that I usually have. Charlie had him all day and did such a wonderful job with him. The reason I say this is because he is still hesitant to take him by his self for fear that if Nate cries he won't be able to sooth him. He is a great dad and I hope that he realizes that soon.

On Sunday we put Nate in his more "churchy" outfit. He looks so handsome and grown up in it. The pants were still way to big. If you stood him up at all his pants would start to slide down, so we had to keep pulling them up.

Junk food baby

2008-02-19T20:57:00.004-05:00

Last week we were over at Mom & Dad Rice's house, right? So Mom Rice had this Pepsi bottle in her lap and Charlie had some cookies out. So we decided that it would be cute to put them next to Nate (obviously since he can't eat or drink the stuff) and take some pictures. It was so cute b/c we put a cookie in Nate's hand and he held it. We love having fun with him.

So as most of you know I went back to working at the bank part time last Monday. It has gone pretty well so far. The first day back was boring b/c they couldn't get me on the system to run the transactions. They had 3 months to get this done and do you think they would be ready when I came back??? Of course not! Anyway, I am working an 8:00am-12:00pm schedule for the most part. I am enjoying too actually. Since it is only 4 hours it just gives me a nice little break from feeding, changing, burping, holding the baby. Hey did anyone else's shoulder blades muscles get really sore from holding your baby. Mine still hurts and he's almost 3 months old! When will it go away, and if anyone can tell me what can help it, I'm all ears! I have a friend at church, Verdella, who watches Nate while I am at work and she absolutely loves him. She hasn't had him since last Friday and is so excited to see him. I love that she loves him and he likes her pretty well too!

Gotta love sleep!

2008-02-08T20:34:00.000-05:00

Nate sleeping on the couch, looks like he's hiding from the camera

This week alot has been happening to us. First and formost...Nate has desided to sleep very well. He has slept about 8-9 hours the last couple of nights, then he eats and goes back down for about 2-3 more. It has been wonderful! Although I do admit the first night I went and checked on him twice to see if he was okay or not. He was of course. Hopefully he'll keep up this regiment since I go back to work on Monday. It is only part time from about 8-12 every day, so that isn't too bad. I'll let you know how the first day goes.

Another thing that happened this week was our decision for Charlie to go back to school in the fall. He wants to finish getting his degree and major in Education. He dream job is to be able to work for the Church Educational System. We'll see how that goes, it is kinda hard to get into that program we've been told. But he definately wants to teach. That will be a good job b/c then we can move any where we want to. (Missouri hopefully) The tough part isn't only on Charlie going back to school but that I'll have to go back to working full time most likely. But I am willing since he will be going year round so that he can finish as quickly as possible. Hopefully about 2-3 years depending on what credits will transfer for him. It will be a great opportunity and experience for us and we are looking forward to it! Unfortunatley that also mean staying in Florida until he finishes, but then we are out of here!

Also this week, we have really started to notice how big Nate is getting. The picture on the left is his "surprise" picture. The one on the right shows how big he is. He is fitting into his 3 month clothes perfectly. Yes he'll be 3 months in just 11 days! I can't believe it. He is so happy and smiles all the time. He is such a joy to have in our family. Some days it is hard to believe that Heavenly Father sent such a sweet little boy to us. Maybe that is for making us wait 2 years to get pregnant! I'd like to think so. But that doesn't mean that every time we want to have a baby we want to try for 2 years. That is a long time and it gets very stressful. Well I'll keep ya posted on the going back to work. Hopefully Nate will be a good boy for the lady who babysits him, she goes to our church and has 6 kids of her own, but they are all in school or grown.

Curly Q!

2008-01-30T15:25:00.000-05:00

This is Nate trying to roll over... This is Nate after he rolled over!

This week Nate has been pretty good. We had a rough night a couple nights ago, but we got through it. My patience is getting a lot better. He is so fun to play with now. Last night I had him laying on the mat that has a pillow that he props up on his tummy, and he rolled over off of it! I know it was with help, but if he gets used to doing that, then he will be able to roll over by himself sooner. Here are some before and after pictures of the roll. Also we went and put mousse in his hair and it is curly! It is so cute! Here is a result of that as well. Charlie usually gets up with Nate in the mornings and feeds him so that I can get a couple hours of sleep. Today Charlie brought Nate in and put him in bed with me and we dozed together. So cute.

Shots? Yuk!

2008-01-26T19:43:00.000-05:00

On Monday, Nate went in for his 2 month check-up. He weighed 9 pounds even! What a big boy. When the doctor stood him up to see if he would put pressure on his legs he did without any problems, even better, he did a trick. He stood on 1 leg! The doctor was very impressed and we got a good laugh. Then the shots came...Nate didn't move much so that was good, but he screamed the rest of the day. The poor little guy. Hopefully he'll do better next time around. As you can see, he is usually a pretty happy boy!

As for me, I am having mixed feelings about going back to work. I miss talking to adults every day so going back would be great for that, but I will miss my baby so much. It is only 20 hours a week, so that isn't too bad at all. Also my sister-in-law, Shoady, is getting married in May and I am happily helping her with the wedding plans. It is so much fun! I just need to keep loosing weight to be nice and thin, or thinner anyway, for the wedding. Also Nate is going to get a cute little outfit and be the best looking baby there!

Spike!

2008-01-19T20:34:00.000-05:00

So we had fun giving Nate (Spike) a bath tonight. He really enjoys his baths with his mommy. I get in the tub with him and he sits between my legs and we play together. Charlie decided to try a new hair do for Nate and this is the result. Isn't it just too cute?! Also he is really fun to play with in the mornings. He is really smiley so we took some pictures of him in our bed playing with us in the mornings. I love his hair in the picture with him and me. I just love my boy, as if you couldn't tell.

Oops!

2008-01-16T21:52:00.000-05:00

I accidentally posted that blog before I got all the pictures up. So here they are!

Cute Baby Nate

2008-01-16T21:39:00.000-05:00

Lately Nate has become quite the sleeper. He is sleeping about 4 hours in a row, followed by going back to sleep for about 3 hours, then for 2 hours. He is eating about 3-4 ounces each feeding too. Hopefully he will continue this regiment for his mommy and daddy's sake. I am really enjoying sleeping for more than 2 hours at a time. I say this and now he probably won't sleep tonight!

He is also smiling more and more. Charlie gets him to smile really well in the mornings. There are some pictures of him smiling. He is just so adorable! Also, when he is sleeping he laughs. It is the cutest thing ever. He must have some really good dreams. Charlie heard it for the first time today, but this has been going on for a little while now.

Nate and mommy are still doing pretty good with walking too. Hopefully I will continue to lose a little more weight, or alot would be nice too. Oh, we weight Nate today, with the help of mommy on the scale too, and he is between 8 and 9 pounds. He does go in for his 2 month appointment on Monday where we will get an accurate weight and hight. He is getting so big, I can't imagine people having babies this big to begin with. (Vicky) I have really enjoyed having a little baby, even if it mean getting up more for feedings.

Nate's blessing

2008-01-12T14:48:00.000-05:00

We blessing Nate last Sunday, January 6, 2008. (a blessing in our church is kind of like a christening) He was such a good boy during it. We had a few friends and Charlie and his dad in the blessing circle. Here are a few pictures that we took. I need to put him back in the outfit because I didn't get a good one of just him.This year for Christmas, Mom Rice wanted us to dress up and take a picture of the Nativity scene. I was Mary, Charlie was Joseph, Nate was Jesus, Shoady was the angel, Juan was a shepherd and Rodger was one of the kings. Kinda cheesy but it turned out really nice.

This week Nate is finally over his cold. He still gets a little snot in his nose, but we just suck that right out, which he hates. He is sleeping okay, only 2-3 hours at a time at night, but that is a HUGE improvement from when he was sick. He is right at 8 pounds now, he is an 8 week old new born. (ha ha) He has started smiling and laughing more. He is such a cute baby. We are so blessed to have him in our lives.

Also this week, my friend Nikki and I started to walk in the morning. She has 2 kids and lives about 4 houses down the street from me. We walk this loop that takes about 30 minutes. We aren't good about going every day yet, but hopefully we'll get there. Sometimes kids make it hard.

Christmas in Missouri

2007-12-30T11:10:00.001-05:00

Grandma and Grandpa Salmon, Mom and Dad Smith, Carley Charlie and Nate Rice

This year Charlie Nate and I were able to fly to Missouri for Christmas. Nate was very good on the plane, thank heavens! Although, while we were there, he got colic, yuk! Now he screams every night from about 12-2 AM. I am very exhausted! Christmas was fun, but very hectic since there was about 26 people at my parents home for about 4 days. My parents were great and helped out lots with Nate. We really appreciated that, they even took care of him for a whole night so that Charlie and I could get some much needed sleep. Thank you Mom and Dad. Charlie and I enjoyed visiting with everyone and showing off our little boy. Even though he can be a handful we are still very proud parents and love him so much more than we ever thought we could. Nate also got to meet his great grandparents too, so I posted a 4 generation picture on here.

Charlie and I unfortunately both got colds while we were in Missouri, and are trying not to get Nate sick. Hopefully we'll get over this soon. It was just too cold in Missouri for us, the high the day we left was 35, and when we got to Florida it was 82 degrees! What a change! Florida is so great in the winter.

Well we hope that your Christmas was great too, we really enjoyed ourselves and the chance to see our family. All of my sisters and there families were able to come too, that was a wonderful opportunity. We hope you all have a wonderful new year!

One month birthday

2007-12-20T15:46:00.000-05:00

I can't believe Nate is already a month old! Boy does time fly. We went for his check up today and he is 20 1/2 inches long, that is 2 inches in one month! He also now weighs 7 lbs. 3/4 ounces. So that is almost 2 pounds in one month! The doctor says he is doing great. The doctor also thinks that he has acid reflux, so she gave us some medicine to see if that will help his tummy feel better. Hopefully it works.

Lately we have been doing really well with sleeping at night. (knock on wood) He gets up every 2 1/2 to 3 hours and eats, then goes back to sleep till about 7:00 in the morning. If you lay him on your chest, he'll sleep longer with you.

We are very excited to go to Missouri for a week, we leave tomorrow. We are flying and are praying that Nate does well on the plane, it is a 2 1/2 hour flight, but no lay overs! Wish us luck. We hope you all have a very good Christmas! We'll up-date you after our trip and tell you how it went. Happy Holidays everyone!

Christmas Angels

2007-12-16T20:24:00.000-05:00

Today after Sacrament, my friend Jessica and I decided to take some pictures of our babies together. Her baby is Lillian and was born on Nov. 15, weighing 7 lbs 13 oz ( I think) so she is kinda bigger than Nate, but only 5 days older. So here are the pictures of the little angels. Everyone at church thought they were just so cute sitting there.

Also we went to Grandma and Grandpa Rice's today after church and got our picture taken with them too.

Visit from Aunt Angie

2007-12-12T17:39:00.000-05:00

So as many of you know, my sister Angie came to sunny Florida for a visit. While she was here she ran me ragged! We went shopping about every day, all day. Good thing Nate was such a wonderful little boy. He slept about the whole day while shopping, then he would be awake at night from 6-10 give or take, then sleep the night away, only waking up to get changed and eat in the 2 and 5:00 hours. Angie was great and took the 5:00 feeding to let me sleep a little more. That was wonderful. Of course the day Angie went home was the night I needed her. Nate got a tummy ache and wouldn't sleep very well at all. Also yesterday he was awake about the whole day. So I didn't get any sleep then either. Last night we gave him some gas medicine and he slept somewhat better, getting up every 2 hours or so. That was okay, but I am hoping that he gets back to his schedule tonight.

I took him to my old work today and showed him off. Everyone loved him and thought he was just so cute! They think he looks like me, so I guess I must be cute too! We are looking forward to flying to Missouri on the 21st. We will be there till the 28th and will get to see Aunt Vicky and her family, Aunt Becca and her family, Aunt Angie and her family, and of course Grandma and Grandpa Smith. They are all anxious to meet him, except Angie, since she already did.

Also this week...Nate took his first shower with mommy. After spitting up all over mommy and then messing his pants something awful, Charlie and I put him in the shower with me. Boy was he slippery, I think rubber gloves should be used for holding him next time. Also, Nate has about grown out of his premie onesies. He still fits into the pants, but the onesies are too short for him now. That about covers this week, here are a few pictures of Aunt Angie's visit! Oh, and I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight, but would still love to continue loosing!

Fatten 'em up!

2007-12-04T14:22:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! Today Nate got to go the the Dr. for his 2 week check-up. I can't believe it has already been 2 weeks! We are very pleased to say that Nate has fattened up in the last week. He gained a whopping 9 1/2 ounces and weighs in at 5 lbs 11 1/2 oz. The Dr. and Mommy and Daddy are very happy about that. He has started to sleep a little better at night, he can go 3-4 hours (if he wants to) but we still have hard nights sometimes too. Sat. night he was up from 12-4 am and that was terrible, but last night was a very good night.

Charlie and I took Nate for a walk today, it is about 73 degrees and sunny here. Nate slept the whole time, but Charlie and I sure enjoyed ourselves. Tomorrow Angie is coming and we are very excited! We will take some pictures of Nate and Aunt Angie and post them on the blog. Here are some pictures of the little cutie! The one in the blue top with white pants is from today, the rest were taken throughout the week.

Baby bath time

2007-11-28T12:22:00.000-05:00

Dr. Edwin Hayes who delivered Nate!
Daddy's first diaper change!

Hello everyone! We gave Nathaniel his first bath the other day. I was kind of scared to so his Grandma Rice helped us out with it. He cried, but not that much really. Here are a few pictures of bath time. Also we have a picture with my OBGYN Dr. Hayes, we really liked him. His office even sent us flowers in the hospital. Also there is Daddy's first diaper change, his is pretty good at it considering he hasn't been around babies much. This morning he took care of Nate while I slept. He fed him, changed a poopy diaper, and his clothes. What a great job daddy! Also Tangent, our dog, has made his claim on Nate. He comes to get us when Nate cries or fusses. Also he likes to sleep by his crib sometimes. He love Nate, but since Tangent is so big we have to be extra careful with him. He likes to try and lick Nate's toes.

Nate hasn't been wanting to sleep too well at night. He wants you to hold him all night. So last night he slept in the bed with me for a couple of hours and then we moved to the couch to feed him and he slept on the couch with me for another 4 hours! If that is what it takes to get some sleep, we'll do it! Hopefully he'll get better about sleeping in his bed! So Nate got another bath today and when I went to take off his diaper, his umbilical cord fell off! That was quick! We also showed him off at the bank where I work. Everyone thinks he is just such a cutie! We sure think so!
Tangent sleeping in Nate's room

Cutie Pie Nate
Nate's first bath

All clean after my bath! What a handsome boy!

Nathaniel's debut!

2007-11-21T18:00:00.000-05:00

Nathaniel Wade Rice was born Nov. 20, 07 at 4:22 am. He weighed 5 pounds 4 ounces and is 18.5 inches long. Check out the hair! He really is such a cute baby. He is pretty good too, doesn't fuss much, hopefully that will stay! Charlie and I couldn't be happier. Enjoy the pictures!

Induction Date!

2007-11-14T18:27:00.000-05:00

My doctor decided that since the baby is so small he wants to induce me. We go in at 6am on Tues. November 20! It is exciting but now I am nervous. I think reality has finally set in. I just thought that I'd post a few pictures of my tummy and also my ever expanding feet! My shoe size is normally around a 5 1/2 to 6 and I am into size 7 right now. Sometimes the skin is so tight that they hurt, I am looking forward to this ending for sure! I'll keep you posted on what is going on down here in sunny Florida! Oh, by the way, I am progressing pretty well and they say I may not make it till Tuesday, but we'll see. They told my cousin Crystal that she would go early and she was 5 days late! Wish us luck!

This is after I elevated them and had ice on them for about 30 minutes! They never go down and they have looked worse than this. Hope I don't have this with every pregnancy!

Pregnancy up-date

2007-11-08T15:41:00.000-05:00

So today we went to the doctors. I gained 8 pounds in the last 2 1/2 weeks, for a total of 28 pounds so far. I was doing really well, but something happened in the last couple weeks. Anyway, he confirmed that Nate has started to drop, yeah! Also we have an ultrasound tomorrow to see how big he is. My belly has been lop-sided for a few weeks now, so I was asking the doctor if the part that is sticking out more was Nate's butt, he confirmed that he thought it was. I guess he likes to stick his butt up all the time, b/c the right side of my belly always sticks out more than the left. Everything else is going well. I do still have swollen feet that are the size of bricks I feel like. By the way, this picture was just taken today, I feel huge!

On Monday Charlie and I went to the hospital for a tour. Our maternity ward is really new and very nice. Everyone has private rooms, which is a new law in Florida! They are nice and big too. They each have a glider rocker and a chair that reclines into a bed. We didn't get to see the actual delivery room b/c they were all full or still needed cleaned. We really liked what we saw. I will be there for 48 hours after the baby comes.

Trunk or Treat

2007-10-31T20:39:00.000-04:00

This year Charlie and I decided to go to our wards Trunk or Treat/Chili cookoff. Sorry we don't have any pictures, but Charlie made a chili that we took to the church. When we got there there was about 20 chili's. Guess who won...Charlie! We were so excited. When we go to the line, ours was already almost gone! Charlie hardly got any of his own chili. We had lots of people ask us for the recipe. It was very simple really. Anyway, we were kinda bummed when all we got was a thing of candy for the prize...like we need candy. I think we should go to Becca's ward next year, they give better prizes. Anyway, our family must be really good chili makers huh? Good job Brad and Charlie!

Nate's bed!

2007-10-21T20:03:00.000-04:00

This weekend we got the crib put together and put the bedding on...this is what it looks like so far. We are so excited! The more baby stuff we have, the more real it seems. We should be getting the dresser in the next couple of weeks, then we can take a picture of the whole nursery and show you what it looks like. Since we rent, we can't paint, but I say that is a blessing b/c I don't like painting anyway! The animals on the bedding have different kinds of materials like the lions mane and the giraffe and hippo. It is really a cute set.

My baby shower

2007-10-14T16:48:00.000-04:00

My old work had a baby shower for me on Friday. I still keep in touch with them, they are pretty nice people. So we went to Long Horns Steak House for lunch. I got a bouncy seat, the bottle set I asked for, a cart cover (what a great invention), clothes, diapers, pacifiers, and other odds and ends. It was very fun, but I forgot to bring my camera to that one so I didn't take any pictures.

On Saturday my mother-in law and sister-in law gave me a baby shower with people from church. There was about 20 people there and they all loved the party favor candy bar that I posted last time. I got some more outfits, (Nate will never go naked, at least not till about 2 years old!), a monitor set, blankets, a plastic book that you can put your own pictures in for baby to look at, a boppy, some hot green swim trunks that I love (they are bigger though), a johnny jump up, bowls, cups, spoon/forks, lots of good stuff off the registry. Charlie's wonderful parent got us a 3 drawer dresser that has a changing table on top. It is very nice. We still haven't put the nursery together, but when we do, which will be soon, I'll put some pictures up. There was like 3-4 church outfits for Nate which are soooo cute. I am going to love dressing him up for church! Also Charlie got a basket from his parents, b/c everything is for the mom and not the dad, and it had things to do together with Nate. There are nurf football, basketball, and soccer balls in it. Books, crayons, matching pajama pants that his mother made and a CD of children's songs. I thought it was a very cute idea. Thank you to Mom and Dad Rice and Shoady for a great baby shower and gifts.

The sign is to put in the yard when Nate is born. We thought that was a cute idea.
So I have run into a few people who think that I a about to "pop"! I didn't think that I was that big, what do you think? That is why I put the 2 pictures up top. I am feeling pretty good for the most part, I get heartburn here and there and really have to watch what I eat. Also my back gets tired, especially the 3 hours at church. Hopefully the next 7 weeks goes by quickly! You probably think I am a dreamer...I am!

Gotta love graphics!

2007-10-03T23:29:00.001-04:00

So, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law are planning a baby shower for me in a couple of weeks. They came up with the cutest idea for a party favor. The picture below is wrapped around a Hershey's candy bar. I think it is so cute. You may have to click on it to blow it up. A special thanks to Charlie, Shoady and Juan (Shoady's boyfriend) for making these! I can't wait for the shower for people to see them. Also below is Nate's first picture, at least where you can tell he's a baby. We are so excited to have him come into our family, you couldn't tell could you?! We are down to 59 days, not that anyone around here is counting. We are very excited to go home to Missouri for Christmas and show him off to all our family and friends. We are very proud parents and he isn't even here yet!

Check-up!

2007-09-23T15:19:00.000-04:00

So, we are down to 10 weeks left till baby Nate is here, or round about that! We are so excited, can you tell? I went for my check-up this week and it went something like this...AWESOME! See we had thought that I might have the gestational diabetes b/c my sugars have been high and last time my uterus measured at 29 weeks and I was only 27 1/2. But...this week he said that my sugars are still boarder line, which means that I still have to be careful what I eat, but that he won't make me take that 3 hour glucose test again, unless I have sugar in my urine tests. Which I was totally thrilled about since I got so sick from the last glucose test. I am now back to measuring at a normal rate but I am anemic so I have to take more iron pills. So all in all the Dr. gave me a great check up and we are thrilled! Here are some pictures that I had taken last night.

So Saturday Charlie and I got up and did some yard work, then worked around the house to get a few things done. I sure to get tuckered out after what I think isn't very much work. Sometimes this is annoying to me because I don't seem to get as much done in a day as I used to and think that I still should. But hey, whatever, my house doesn't get that dirty with just us and the dog. We haven't been up to much else around here. We are just waiting for the baby to come, then Angie will visit, then we'll go to Missouri to visit. I am very excited to see my family since I haven't seen them in a year, except Becca.

Temple day

2007-09-12T18:30:00.000-04:00

Today Charlie I and got up and drove the hour and a half to our glorious Orlando Temple. We decided to leave around 9ish that way we didn't run into as much traffic and things went well with that. We got there a little early and walked the grounds, then we were able to sit in the chapel for a while before the session started. It was very nice not to be rushed or anything. We really enjoyed our time and are going to try and go one more time before little Nate arrives. I sure do love to visit the temple, what a wonderful church to be a part of.

12 weeks left!

2007-09-10T17:18:00.000-04:00

So, I am now down to 12 weeks, hopefully Nate will be a good boy and come right close to his due date. The doctor said I was measuring about a week bigger than what I am. Also I failed my glucose test really bad and have to go do the 3 hour test tomorrow. Hopefully I won't fail that one! I want my sugars back! Here is an updated picture of me.

Charlie was called to be the first counselor in the Elders Quorem yesterday. He is very excited about that since he was stuck with the Deacons for so long. He wants to get to know more of the men in the ward. As for my calling I am loosing one of my favorite Activity Day girls, she is joining Becca near Louisville in LaGrange. Oh well, life goes on.

I am off of work till Thursday this week and am enjoying my time. It is nice not having to get up at 6:30am. I haven't done much, just some house work. I am trying to relax since I won't get to much when Nate comes. Although Angie is coming for a few days in Dec. and then we'll go back to Missouri for Christmas. I am very excited to show off my little boy! I am going to be one proud mommy!

Nothing new

2007-09-03T17:31:00.001-04:00

Just thought I'd let everyone know what is new, or that nothing is new really. We went to the church for a BBQ today, which was really fun and the turn out was awesome! Then we went swimming at some friends house, it was nice to be outside but still cool instead of sweating off my behind! I am now officially in my third trimester! The other day Charlie put his head on my tummy and Nate kicked him in the head. Charlie thought that was the greatest thing ever! So when I went to visit Becca in May I took some major cute pictures of Jacob. I just thought I'd post them b/c I don't have any pictures for this blog. He is a cutie pie too! Becca and I really enjoyed our time together, hope we can do that maybe on a yearly basis!

My expanding tummy!

2007-08-27T16:26:00.001-04:00

I finally found my camera! I don't like moving very much, but I love our new house. I don't feel so cluttered and messy and cleaning it is much funner if you have room to put things "away" and not just moving them around. So here are some pics of the new house.

First is our living room, the window goes out to the big back yard. Then is our family room that connects to our dining room. I love having a piano is the house!

Here is another picture of our dining room that faces the road in front of our house. We love the big winder, but it is on the East so it can let in alot of sun. I think we might put that plastic window tinting on there.

Below is our bedroom, it is so nice and big! Our bathroom would be hard to take a picture of because it is at a funny angle. But we have a huge shower and a nice size walk in closet.

Over here is our kitchen, it has a dishwasher which we are very excited about!

Then we'll go to the spare bathroom, it has a little too much wall paper going on, but hey we're renting right? They really like boarders and wall paper in this house.

One of our favorite things about this house is the screened in back patio. We can enjoy being outside without being eaten by the bugs! In the winter time I think I will live out here.

Last but not least, is the one you've all been waiting for...my expanding tummy! I just took this picture today, so that is exactly what my tummy looks like. I hope you enjoyed the house and me!

Our new home

2007-08-25T13:52:00.000-04:00

Okay, so we moved into a bigger home this past month and we absolutely love it! It is almost twice the size of our old one. Unfortunately I have misplaced our camera in the move and can't show you any pictures at the moment, but will hopefully find it soon.

We had our friends Travis and Valerie over last night for a BBQ, they also have 3 boys and a girl, all 5 and under. It was a little hectic, especially because the boys were afraid of our dog, but everything went well. We had a great time. They boys climbed into the dogs crate and we took a picture with my phone but I don't know how to get them off my phone. Charlie is going to help me do that later and I'll show you the picture.

I am 26 weeks pregnant today! Nate is still a very active little boy and Charlie has started to be able to feel him kick. It is so exciting! Other than that, not much is going on down in Florida, except we are still sweating to death, I can't wait for winter!

First Blog Ever!

2007-08-13T21:35:00.000-04:00

So, I sure hope I am doing this right. My sister Rebecca got me into this, it looks really fun! So a little about us. Charlie and I will have been married for 5 years on November 27! That is a long time! We are finally expecting our first child!!! We are naming him Nathaniel Wade Rice and he is due December 1! We are going to call him Nate for short, and he is a very active little boy inside my tummy! We have a dog named Tangent who is about 1 1/2 years old and is a big sweetheart, although very energetic. I am waiting for him to grow out of the puppy stage. We live in Palm Bay Florida which is in the middle of the state, but at the very east coast. We are about 20 minutes from the ocean, which is nice, but we really don't go as often as we should. Charlie is the Deacon's Advisor at church and I am both the Relief Society Pianist and the Activity Day leader. Here are a few pictures of our family. I need to take more updated pictures to show my expanding tummy. Let me know if I did alright on my first blog ever!