This guy!!! Seriously, dude, stop growing up! I can't believe how much Nate has changed over the past few months, and honestly from day to day. He is constantly doing new things, learning new things, and expanding his vocabulary (proud speechie mama!). I feel like I could write a book about him, but I will show some self control here and just give a few highlights on my little man. First of all, he is obsessed with balls- basketballs in particular, but the boy does not turn a ball away. I can't even begin to tell you how many balls we have around our house right now. When he wakes up in the morning, one of the first words we hear from his room is "ball", he sleeps with a ball in his crib, has eaten lunch holding a ball, and I just heard him over the baby monitor sleeptalking about balls- no joke.
"Don't worry guys, I've got this!"
He also loves Elmo, ABCs, dancing, taking baths and splashing around like crazy, playing outside, going on walks in the stroller, being chased by Dada, and reading his favorite books over and over again. He LOVES fruit, gurgers (hamburgers), mac & cheese, and crackers. He is constantly on the move and keeps us on our toes, and boy does he keep us laughing every single day!
Like I said, I could write a book, but I will spare you for now. To sum things up, though, Nate's pretty awesome! And we just said goodbye to bottles for good, so bye bye baby :( Hello, big boy!
Now for my BIG news... I have two weeks left at my current job, and then I will be immediately starting up my latest position... Stay at home mom! I'm so excited, and I can't wait for this new journey to begin. This is what I have always wanted, so I feel incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to be home with him. I have had a pretty wild ride at work this year, filled with a million frustrations, BUT in the past few months some changes were made and things settled down a bit. When I attended our high school and transition students' prom a couple weeks ago and then sat through our 8th graders' graduation ceremony today, I realized how much I'm going to miss my job. I absolutely LOVE my students. I have some of the most challenging yet amazing students! They make me smile and laugh every day, and I know they have all changed me for the better. The staff I work with is phenomenal. Some of us have worked with one another since I started 6 years ago, and it is going to be pretty hard not seeing them every day, BUT I get to see Nate's sweet face every day and boy does that make up for it! I just never really thought about how much my job has defined me in many ways over these past 6 years. I'm proud of what I have accomplished with my students, grateful for the friendships I have made, and have been touched deeply by the experiences I have had with my students.
So with this big change, I decided that I still wanted something that was my own and that I could use to help contribute financially to our family, even if it's just a little bit here and there. So kind of on a whim, I became a Jamberry consultant. If you've never heard of Jamberry, the short version is that it's a direct sales company that sells nail wraps. Just reading that sentence... none of it sounds like me, which makes this leap of faith sound a bit crazy. BUT I am so glad I took that chance. Through this company, I am finding time to pamper myself a bit, having a lot of fun connecting with some amazing women, and making some extra cash for our family. I have found myself getting out of my comfort zone, and it has really paid off! I am finding myself feeling more confident and experiencing some pretty great success with my business so far. I don't want to turn this blog into a sales pitch, so don't worry. It's just another aspect of my adventure I want to share with you.
Good thing I have a solid business manager
So I think I better stop before I completely bore you. If you have gotten this far, I applaud you. I am hoping to take some time to blog a little more frequently. No promises, but I really want to try. Next weekend, Dan and I and Nate's birth mom are speaking to potential adoptive parents at the Cradle for one of their classes. I'm pretty excited to share our story! As I have shared before, we have a wonderful relationship with his birthmom, so I am excited to share that with other families. I know how scary it can be walking into the unknowns of adoption, especially with regards to openness. Please send up a prayer or two that things go smoothly! Maybe just maybe I'll have a post about it!
