Nathan's WALKING!!!

The moment we've been waiting for has arrived (actually, it arrived almost a week ago)!  Last Wednesday, July 21st,  Nathan started walking!  Here's how it went down...Grandma Krestel was spending the day with us and Nathan had just gotten up from his afternoon nap.  I brought him out to the living room and stood him up at the couch next to Grandma.  I went back to his room and grabbed his big bag of wooden blocks, walked back into the living room, sat down across from the couch and put the bag down.  Well, Nathan saw what I had and he wanted it so he turned from the couch and just walked over to me.  Grandma's and my jaw just dropped to the floor and we were stumbling over our words, 'Oh my goodness...did he just...did you see...did he just walk...he walked!' Then we started screaming with excitment and scared Nathan half to death, the poor little guy.  After we got him calmed down we wondered...should we wait to have him do it again until Daddy gets home from work or should we give him a chance to practice?  We decided we should let him practice.  When Daddy got home from work, Mommy was waiting at the door with the video camera and Grandma put Nathan down and he walked to meet Daddy at the front door.  Daddy was shocked to see his little guy walking!  It was so fun to catch on video.  It's been an absolute blast to see this little guy walk!  He's still so tiny and it just looks hilarious to see him tottering all around.  He's getting better with each passing day and I'm sure he'll be running before we know it.  Here are some pictures of him in motion...

Our First Family Vacation To The Beach

On July 3rd we took off for a family vacation to Siesta Key, FL to celebrate Kevan's Dad's 60th birthday.  We flew down and met up with Grandma and Grandpa Krestel, Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jenny and Uncle Steve and Aunt Hanna.  Here we are at the St. Louis airport bright and early, ready to head down to warm, sunny Florida...

We weren't sure how Nathan would do on the plane but he was a great little traveler!  We gave him some puffs for the take off and landing so his ears would pop and it did the trick wonderfully.  He sat in Daddy's lap for the most part and either slept, looked through his books or played with his toys.  Here he is shortly after we got in the air, fast alseep on Daddy's lap...

A little while later...awake and happy (wearing a very fitting onesie that Pap Pap and Carole got him for his birthday which says "I need a vacation")...

Taking another cat nap in Daddy's arms...

Did I mention that we had layovers on the way down and back?  Who knew airports could be so entertaining...

4th of July - Nathan's first visit to the beach.  I think he was in awe as he took it all in...

He wasn't quite sure what to think about the sand at first.  When we first put his hands in it, he pulled them up, looked at them and shrieked as if to say "get this stuff off of me!"  But, by the end of the week, he was digging up piles of sand and trying his best to shove them into his mouth (oh yes, he succeeded a few times)...

He was an instant fan of the ocean...

What fun to see the wonder in your baby's face as he experiences something like this for the first time...

Oh, and the water was truly like bath water - the warmest ocean water I've ever put my tootsies in - simply delightful...

The excitement of it all wore him out and he fell soundly asleep on Grandma's chest...

Fireworks on the beach...definitely worth keeping Nathan up past his bedtime...

Family photo...

On Monday we had a fun time visiting some of Mommy's family in Lakeland.  We met up with everyone at Tom and Jacki's house (Great Aunt Kevie's brother and his wife) and finally got to meet Skyler who is about 1 month older than Nathan and quite the little cutie...

Nathan and Skyler had a fun time playing and he chauffered her around the house for a bit...

What joy these little ones bring us!  Jacki's face says it all...

Nathan got to visit with Great Lee who recently moved down to Florida and boy oh boy, he could not get enough of her...

Nathan also got to meet cousin Jodi and her bo Dustin...

Along with cousin Jared and his femme Jordan (who has a gift for tickling Nathan and making him laugh hysterically)...

Here's Nathan with the crew including Great Uncle Larry and Great Aunt Kevie...

Nathan REALLY took to Great Uncle Larry and I just love this picture of them looking up at the wind chimes...

However, Nathan did shy away when Uncle Larry dissed the beloved Krestel team (and Jacki's), the Pittsburgh Steelers...

On Tuesday we threw Grandpa Krestel a surprise birthday party...

And sang him a fun little ditty complete with kazoos...

Wednesday's highlight was a trip to Big Olaf's (another event worth keeping Nathan up past his bed time for).  He was a bit hesitant about taking a bite of Daddy's blueberry cheesecake ice cream cone...

But quickly decided he wanted that cone back!

Mommy tried sharing her mint oreo ice cream cone with him but he wasn't interested...

Content and covered in ice cream!

On the way back to the condo that night we stopped off at the beach to take in the beautiful sunset...

Thursday was another fun day at the beach with another gorgeous sunset to end the day.  Does this look like a post card or what!?!?

Simply breathtaking...

What a treat from God sunsets are...

Our last day on the beach...

What a FUN trip and a wonderful memory this week was...

Grandma and Nathan taking in the ocean air one last time...

If you've never been to Siesta Key, we highly recommend it!  The beaches are like powdered sugar and the water was so clean and clear...

We couldn't leave Siesta Key without a trip to one of Mommy's favorite places, Sonny's BBQ...

What an advertisement for Sonny's (minus the sushi bib I guess)...

Ah yes, while in Florida, Nathan learned to give Aunt Hanna kisses on demand!  He was always willing and happy to oblige...

And last but not least, the view from our condo...

1 Year Photo Shoot

Hi everyone!  Just wanted to let you know that Nathan's professional 1 year photo shoot is online!  Feel free to check it out at http://www.drurystudio.com/ and click on the client log-in button at the top of the page. Once you enter the client viewing area, click on Nathan's gallery and enter our last name in all lower case letters, "krestel" for the password.

ENJOY!

So much to look at!

Ok, so now that our big boy has turned 1, I think we'll be updating the blog on a monthly basis and on special occasions!  So, here's our first monthly update... 

Nathan has taken to pushing our vacuum cleaner around the house; now we just need to try turning it on and see if we can get him started early on his house chores!

While MaMoo was getting packed up and ready to head back to Philly, she had her dog's (Gidget) travel crate out in our living room.  Nathan was very interested in it and decided to crawl into it and hang out for a bit - what a Kodak moment...

Nathan then grabbed Gidget's pink faux diamond studded collar and tried to put it on Baxter but he would have none of that girlie stuff...

MaMoo and Nathan...

June 24th was a big day for Nathan.  Not only did he have his 1 year pediatrician's appointment where he weighed in at 18 pounds, 15.6 ounces (4th percentile) and measured 29.5 inches tall (39th percentile) but Daddy put in his new forward facing car seat...

At first he didn't know what to think of this change...

But he quickly warmed up to it...

And has been enjoying it ever since!  He just loves looking around at all the trees, cars, stores, etc. instead of staring at the seat back and his reflection in the mirror.  This is definitely MUCH MORE FUN and you can tell he feels like such a big boy...

Checking out his twin...

Well folks, we're headed off on our first official family vacation tomorrow to Siesta Key, FL to celebrate Grandpa Krestel's 60th birthday so stay tuned for an update in mid July!  Happy 4th everyone!