Cousins and Cuteness

We've had a nice un-eventful past couple of weeks! Nash turned 6 mos old last week! His 6 month check up isn't until next week, though, so I'll keep you updated about his official stats at a later date. A brief summary is this: he's a CHUNK (approximately 20 lbs - which is the same size as my cousin Katie's little girl, Kennedy, who is 11 months), he's still working on those 2 bottom teeth, he's starting to commando crawl, and he grabs my face and gives open-mouth kisses (the best thing EVER!). We are getting ready to meet Ty and Amy and kids at Caddo Lake this weekend, so we're excited about that! Jill, our friend and Nash's babysitter, is going on vacation the next 2 weeks and I know Nash will miss her (b/c she spoils him rotten!) but Amy and my Mom are each coming a week to keep him for me while I'm at work, so we're also looking forward to that! Here are some pictures from recent visits with family. Also, there is a CUTE video at the bottom.

My cousin Katie and her kids (Kennedy and Landon), Kenzie (my cousin Klint's little girl), me and Nash

Mark and Catherine playing with Nash

Chloe and Nash

It is so cute to watch them b/c Chloe always want to hold him, but then he would drool on her and she would say "Eww - yuck. I done now."

This is Nash eating cereal. I have been cueing him to say "Ahhh" to open his mouth for the spoon, and this is what it has evolved into - CRACKS me up!!!

Luckiest Girl in the World

Let me just say - I am the luckiest girl in the world! (Is it weird that I still think of myself as a"girl" - I AM 29 yrs old, married for 7 yrs., and a mother now. You'd think at some point I would refer to myself as a woman, but I just don't want to yet! Anyways, back to why I'm so lucky...) I am married to a sweet man (and incredibly manly man, might I add - don't mean to skew your image, Hon. ) who works his hiney off so I can stay home most of time with our precious son. This same man brought me flowers for no reason this week, changes diarrhea diapers, AND comes home after an 11 hr work day and lets me have a bath/break every night without complaining. I really feel sorry for everyone not married to Mark! (J/K!) I also am totally in love with my son - he seriously has made life better with his chubby little cheeks and grabby hands! ALSO, we have wonderful friends and family! (Speaking of family - my nephew, Jake is doing awesome after heart surgery 3 weeks ago - thanks for all your prayers!) Most of all, we have a GREAT and good God, who is still great and good when we aren't so lucky in life. So, I thank Him for all my blessings, knowing that all good things come from Him, and knowing He can make good come from all the bad things - He's a win-win, folks.

As for an update on Nash - he's kinda had a rough week. He had just recovered from jet lag and then, he started hardcore teething (diarrhea and all). But, even at his worst - he's not bad at all! Just needed some extra cuddling - and LOTS of Boudreaux's Butt Paste! He is doing lots of new stuff! He will now reach out for you to hold him, he will roll consecutively across the room, he started rice cereal, and he can roll his d's so that it sounds like a machine gun. He's steady getting bigger ( in the 19 lb range, I think) and his eyes are getting darker brown, and his hair is getting blonder. Here are some pics from this past week:

He has this brief period before all Hades breaks loose when he's tired where he is delirious and will laugh at anything! Here, he is cracking up at Mark for absolutely no reason, but notice how tired he is from the red/puffy eyes.

I laid him on the quilt to play while I was loading the car to go and when I came back in to get him, I had a brief moment of panic b/c I couldn't find him - oh wait! There he is - under the coffee table laughing and having a good ole time scaring me to death! Did I mention he can roll consecutively???

This was our first attempt at rice cereal - he was none too fond, as you can see! However, the next time I mixed it with breast milk instead of formula & Presto! - he loves it! A man of refined taste, I guess.

World Travellers

Well, we are back!!! We got back Sunday from a WONDERFUL trip to Heidelberg, Germany and Paris, France. We went with a group from church, then we also brought my mom along to help with Nash. I have to say - we were a little nervous about taking a 5 month old on a cross-continent trip, but he did AWESOME! We are learning just how laid back and easy Nash is! On the 10.5 hr plane trip he cried maybe a total of 30 minutes. We drug him around by plane, train, boat, bus, taxi, subway, stroller, and backpack and he rarely complained! He even changed time zones without much hesitation. As long as Mom and Dad are close by, he will go anywhere. Boy, do we have it easy! I think he's got it pretty good, too - I mean what 5 month old can say he has eaten German gelato in Heidelberg, made friends with Parisians on the subway, screamed bloody murder in the same Paris subway, put his feet in the fountain at the Louvre, had a picnic under the Eiffel tower, had a poopy blowout at a German palace, taken a boat ride on the Seine, or napped through the Musee d'Orsay???

Mark's favorite part of the whole trip was sitting at his corner table on the square in Heidelberg, drinking Hefeweizen and watching people. My favorite part was singing at the German church - they were so appreciative of us and it was really special to praise God together when you don't even speak the same language. Paris was fun too and there was so much to see, but in our opinion, it could not compare to the beauty and serenity of Germany. The thing I'll miss most about Europe, however, is: the CHEESE!!! It MADE the food.

Here are some of my favorite pics from the trip:

Mark and Nash on the Old Bridge in Heidelberg overlooking the Neckar River

Mark's previously mentioned corner table in Heidelberg

"Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" The boys being silly at the palace gardens!

The family at the German palace gardens

Mama cannot go any further - lugging around 19 lbs for 3 hrs is exhausting!

Time to wake up and play!

His first taste of real food - gelato! He loved it - a boy after my own heart (I had it twice a day in Germany)!

The quaint streets of Heidelberg

A happy boy on the bus back to the hotel

Eiffel Tower on a beautiful day

JoJo, Mark and a sleepy baby on a boat cruise on the Seine River in Paris

Nash putting his feet in the fountain at the Louvre. The Louvre is a HUGE and overwhelming art museum (Mona Lisa and the Venus statue are housed there). They said if you spent 1 minute looking at every piece of art there, it would take you 4 months.

The Arc de Triomphe - Napoleon used to march his troops through here after each battle victory. Pretty stinking cool!

A nap at the Arc - thank goodness Nash's stroller lays flat b/c he had many a nap on his tummy this way

Lunch at a cafe in Paris

Our friends and trip buddies at the next table - that's Cary, Andria, Valisa, and Aaron

My favorite place in Paris - Sacre Coeur. The only way up is thousands of steps, which Mark, Cary, and Aaron carried the stroller all the way up ( with Nash sleeping in it) -whew!

The Brannon Family! This is after our park picnic at the base of the Eiffel Tower

This is my favorite picture from the whole trip! It almost makes me tear up! How blessed am I to be walking the streets of Paris with my precious sleeping son in my arms?!!

All of the French women pose like models for their everyday snapshots, so we thought we'd try our hands at it!

The inside of Notre Dame Cathedral during mass - a priceless experience. Pictures could never do it justice.