Our Little Family: Up to Speed

Not that anyone missed us, but we are back! You probably didn't even notice we were gone. During the trial for my auto vs. ped excitement, I was not allowed to post publicly (maybe because I was doing so AWESOME that my lawyers didn't think the Powers That Be would believe I was the one laying bleeding in the street). But the case is closed and we want to be sure you can stalk us if you want to.

So let's begin with a brief photo recap of the past nearly two years.

I started cutting Danny's hair thanks to a set of clippers we received

for Christmas. It is the gift that keeps on giving.

Nathan had recently joined in the fun, though he is far less trusting of me

since I clipped a bit of his ear. Oops.

We spend a lot of time on home improvements

(replacing a faucet, tiling the master bath, etc.) to get ready for our...

MOVE TO WASHINGTON, D.C.

Old news to most, I know, but last summer we accepted a fellowship position in Washington, D.C. so Danny could complete his 10 year-post-grad training (barf). House went on the market and we waited...and waited...and waited. More on that later.

We went to Universal with the Linns. We might as well have taken Nathan

to a car dealership because that is all he was really interested in.

Literally half of our pictures of him were in front of some kind of automobile.

We finally made it to the Masters! It was more beautiful than I could have imagined!

The grass (is it called grass there...seems like just a common term)

was like walking on clouds, $2 beer, pimento cheese sandwiches

and the most crowded Pro Shops in the Northern hemisphere

made for an amazing afternoon.

We spent some time in Memphis with the Linns where Nathan modeled

his first Speedo. Now he is officially a Linn.

Nathan transitioned to a Big Boy Bed. I say transitioned,

but I really mean jumped wholeheartedly into and never once looked back.

He was so proud, only fell out a few times and didn't even realize

for at least 6 months that he could get out by himself. Cool.

We spent a week on Cape Cod with the Macmanus' where we celebrated

Nathan turning TWO. He was pretty adamant about having a

Dump Truck and Front End Loader with a Back Hoe Cake,

so that is what Mommy did. He's so good to his Mommy;

he still talks about that cake.

This is a crazy story that deserves it's own post. But there you go.

We tried to make the most of our last year in Georgia by doing

as many local things as possible. This included a trip to Kackleberry Farms.

Nathan ran from one end of the property to the other grabbing single

kernels of corn to feed this goat. Way to care for the livestock, Baby!

I went to a Notre Dame game with my Dad at Wake Forest.

That weekend we told to my parents that they would be having

another grandchild in May or June. Nathan wore a "big brothers rock" shirt

to announce the good news. They were pretty excited.

We had some family pics taken of the *four* of us.

They were supposed to be Nathan's 2 years but were taken in

October instead of August so whatever.

Are you a Cheeseburger? He loved going to Halloween's house

and getting lots and lots of lollipops.

He only chose one Reese's Peanutbutter Cup.

Major disappointment.

We decided that next time we needed to spend more time coaching.

Disney Cruise with Gigi and Papa Bear Macmanus.

It's a GIRL! This is how I told my friends at work--50 gingerbread girls!

20 week ultrasound. That is one excited big brother.

Another Georgia special: a day at the lake!

Nathan on his pink float boat.

A challenging Palm Sunday game of field hockey in Gigi's backyard.

Nathan came out of the bathroom like this. So Papa Bear joined in.

Or maybe it was the other way around.

After weather in the 80s, it snowed on our last day in Denver! Nathan finally believed that the white stuff on top of the mountains wasn't sand, and we had time for a quick snowman before heading to the airport.