Nathan's 1st Birthday - Trip to the farm

So Nate had a birthday a few weeks ago. Remember?? I've got so many pictures from all the activities, I'm just getting around to uploading them all. We had great weather on his birthday, so we loaded up the car and went to Bluebird Gap Farm in Hampton. It's a free City park/petting zoo. We had so much fun!

Happy St. Patty's Day

Now that Nate is a year old, we've reached the time where I can post comparative pictures from then and now. Yea!
Here's my little leprechaun last year at a mere 12 days old.

Here are a few pictures from today.

Playing Catch Up

Gosh! There's so much to talk about: Nate's birthday and birthday party, Alex's visit, The Chicken Game. I do plan to get around to all of the above very soon. Some may even be in progress as I type this (no they're not).

One Year Ago

Dear Nate,

I’m looking back at pictures of you on your birthday. Daddy called about 4:15 a.m. and said “It’s time. Nate’s on the way”. I was shocked. The first question I asked was “Is it March 5th?” Daddy said “Yep.”

About 3 or 4 weeks before you arrived, Mama had a dream and in it I saw your birthday on a billboard of sorts. I confided in a few people (Daddy, Michelle, Amanda) that I dreamt that you would be born on March 5, 2008. In my dream on the board it said 05/03/2008 – but I said that can’t be right. It must be written like the Europeans with the day first, then the month. I was absolutely convinced that you would be born on March 5th. As the day drew closer, I started telling everyone about my dream. It just felt right to me. I was so happy that I was right!

For days before you were born (your due date was March 8th), I started in on everything thinking “this could be the last time I do ________ without a baby”. The anticipation was so great!

I was a bit in shock when Daddy called that he had to tell me to go get showered and start packing. I was relieved at the advice because my head was in the clouds. Daddy was at the fire station, so he got ready, got his stuff together, and headed home to pick me up.

I had a brief moment in when I got into the bathroom…I looked in the mirror and started crying. I was so happy. I had to tell myself to get it together and focus! I had butterflies in my stomach for about the next 18 hours! I got myself ready. I threw some clothes together, and then I went to pack your bags. As a first time Mommy, I wasn’t quite sure how much of anything to bring. I packed all your newborn sleepers, along with some bigger sizes since we didn’t know how big you would be. I put wash clothes, burp rags, receiving blankets, sleeping blankets, diapers, wipes… and anything else I could stuff into your bag!

Before Daddy got home, I had a few minutes to send out a frantic email and post a blog that you were on the way and that we were hitting the road to come see you. This was the email:
From: amy
Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 5:39 AM
To:
Subject: Nate's on the way

Got the call. Rushing out. Will call with updates.

http://ant-amy.blogspot.com

love to all!!!

Amy

And here is the blog entry:

We got on the road and traffic was good. We started playing car games like naming all the 50 states and then let’s name all of the capitals of the states. We also went through the entire alphabet, letter by letter, calling out names for each letter. Then we did the same thing, but naming animals for each letter. I think I even wrote some of these down while Daddy was driving.

We kept getting phone calls that you were well on your way. We wished we could be there in the blink of an eye, but we had to be patient. We stopped in Charlottesville, VA to eat about 3 hours into the drive and we got the call and you were born. I cried and immediately started calling everyone I knew. It was magical. Truly magical. If only we didn’t still have 12 more hours to drive to meet you…

I’m looking at pictures of when we first got to the hospital and saw you for the first time. We look so tired after driving for 15 hours, but we also looked so happy that words can’t even describe it.

We’ve truly had an amazing year. You have brought so much joy into our lives. Every little thing you do makes us smile and we couldn’t be happier.

Happy birthday baby Nate. We love you.