Nile's First Kiss

Here is a video from a couple days ago. We were upstairs visiting our neighbors Natalie and her little girl Taelin, who is just a few weeks older than Nile. I had Nile laying back on my legs and Taelin came over and started giving him kisses! It was so adorable. Natalie grabbed her camera and caught this video of the itty bitty lovebirds.

Birthday Pictures

Sorry for the delay. Here are the pictures from Nile's birthday! This first picture is Nile prepping for his Birthday Breakfast. He had to eat before we let him at his presents. He got Oatmeal and Applesauce for breakfast. Here is a shot of Nile's present before he got them. I ran out of wrapping paper before I could wrap the bigger gift, so that one just went without. Here he is looking at the box. After he fiddled with it for a minute he looked up at us as if to ask how on Earth one gets it out of the box. With a little help from Daddy, Nile got into his other gift. Once it was open enough to get at the parts Nile really didn't care if the rest of the wrapping paper was off or if the toy even got taken out of the box. He just wanted to play. Nile really had fun playing with his toys. It was hard to get him to go down for a Nap. Later that night, after dinner, it was time for Cake!! Nile did really well until he had almost finished eating/playing with his little cake. Nile decided to rub his cake covered hand all over his eyes and face. Luckily for him we had a bath ready!

Friday Fill-In (a little late)

1. Holidays in the summer are hot and fun.

2. Steaks are my favorite things to grill.

3. My thoughts are so garbled lately.

4. The Scottish festival is what I'm most looking forward to this weekend!

5. My favorite book so far this summer is haven't got one yet.

6. Getting Nile out of bed is the best way to begin a day.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to Watching a movie, tomorrow my plans include the scottish festival and Sunday, I want to take a break!

Look for birthday recap photos and post coming soon!

Happy 1st Birthday Nile!!

I'm really not quite sure how we got here so quickly. It doesn't feel like it's been a year but I know it has to have been. Time stops for no man, let alone my idle wishing. Nile has come so far in the past year. It's amazing how quickly our little ones change and progress into toddlers, children, teens and adults.
It has been such a fascinating and wonderful year. I was in no way prepared for Nile when he arrived but through trial and error I have discovered in myself a love that I had no idea could exist. Nile is my perfect foil. He pushes me where I need to grow, he compliments my strengths and tests my knowledge. He is creating my complete personality. Nile is so smart and excels where his contemporaries may not. Nile has always been a few months slow on his physical accomplishments but I think this is because he is so content to sit and study. He is happy to only sit or only crawl until he has explored everything available on that level as completely as he can. Mentally, though, Nile is a star. Nile has a three word vocabulary. He knows his Dada, his Mama and he's all too happy to shout No no no no no no when something doesn't meet his needs.

Nile is such an intense soul. His eyes study the deepest parts of your eyes. He is so expressive and talkative. His babbling serves him some purpose as he is always so confident in the gibberish. He loves to explore, test, experiment and socialize. He is so happy to sit with a toy and learn all its parts and ins and outs. He likes to study how tires spin and how toys move and operate.Nile is the ultimate Mama's boy and I couldn't love it more. While there are a few things he'll only do with Daddy, like "lounging" (Nile likes to lay very casually in the nook of Greg's arms, something he's never done with me), Nile definitely loves his Mommy. I love the special time I share with him every night before bed. I cuddle with him until he lays his head on my shoulder or rubs his eyes and then I get the pleasure of tucking him into bed each night. It is my special time and I wouldn't trade it for the world. It is my ultimate goal in this life to always be there for my little man. I'm confident that we've started a nighttime routine that will stick forever.
As I sit at my computer in tears, I say a quiet goodbye to my infant son and joyfully embrace my growing toddler. I will never be able to truly comprehend just how dramatically Nile has altered my life for the better. Happy 1st Birthday Nile, many happy returns. I love you!