Last weekend was my 10 year high school reunion. It was raining Friday night, so we opted out of the football game. The school tour was interesting, but certainly not the highlight of the weekend. The best part of the reunion was seeing the group of girls I spent most of my childhood with! We met for Mexican food with our spouses, significant others, or just ourselves. Let me introduce you to these great ladies!
Left to Right:
Jen, Allison, Laura, Rebecca, Melissa, Jenny, me
Jen and I got to know each other best while in high school. She's really funny and certainly knows how to have a good time! She's a fiery red head and a great friend. I love to hear her laugh too!
Allison and I were inseparable through middle school and high school. You may remember that Chad and I visited her a few times in the last few months for her wedding shower and reception! Allison was my only friend during my school years who could spend the night on a school night... she was a good example for my "studies" since she was so smart! She was also a good influence on my "fun having" abilities because this girl knows how to "play" with the best of them! Best part... she's coming to my house in a few weeks!!! Here's a pic from way back...
Laura and I were also inseperable during middle and high school. We lived really close together and spent hours jumping on trampolines, playing truth or dare and flash light tag, and walking through life together. Laura is one of those people whose loyalties run deep. I've always loved that about her! Pic from the last day of 8th grade...
From last weekend...
Rebecca and i lived about a block from one another and had some crazy silly fun having slumber parties on her trampoline (doesn't it stink that you wake up drenched from the dew?). She and her sister were loads of fun to be around, and I'm sure still are. Would you believe that she and her little sis live together now! Awesome!
Melissa moved to town during high school and we ate lunch together with a group of others everyday out in the courtyard our sophomore year i think. Lots of funny memories from those lunch days! Melissa was one of the kindest people I went to high school with.
Jenny and I have known each other since the beginning of time, but really since about 3rd grade. We went to church together too. We were notorious for fighting like cats and dogs one week and then loving one another to death the next! Jenny has a deep love for the Lord and Jesus just oozes out of her! She's such a sweet heart! We did a dance in third grade to "wild thing"... she has it on video but has never black mailed me with it! :) (at least until now).
Here are the senior girls from my youth group the weekend we graduated from high school (well, not all of them, but those who were there for senior sunday)... Allison, Heather, me, Julie, Chrssy, and Jenny! 
I can't believe it's been 10 years. You know what I learned last weekend... over a 10 year span, some things change drastically, and others barely at all! Would you believe that out of the bunch that met for lunch, Chad and I have been married the longest (by a few years) and are the only ones with a baby? Who would have guessed? We all look pretty much the same as we did as seniors. We all came to lunch in our best casual clothes with little makeup on, and we laughed and talked like no time had elapsed. We live all over the east coast, and our interests and passions have changed a bit, but not so much that we didn't all jump right into the rhythm of each others lives like we'd been hanging out all this time.
So that lunch was the high light of my reunion. I'm so glad that I went and I hope to see these girls before another 10 years go by!
I have lots of pictures to share this week! No surprise there. This past weekend was my class reunion (pictures in another post will follow soon). We stayed with my childhood friend/college roommate's parents and LOVED IT. We were able to relax and soak up their pampering and loving all over us. Faye and Nathan hit it off very well and Nathan enjoyed hanging out with her. He loved the stuffed animals she brought out. They are close to 30 years old as they were Heather's when she was a baby. :)
Then, between school activities, we surprised my college friend, Autumn, with a visit. She came to visit us back in June, and Nathan was enamored with her. That didn't change at all over the weekend. He was very interested in her glasses and laughed when she would put them on him! So much fun to see a good friend I'd not seen in a while.
(Autumn's visit in June)
We have a few new things to report! Nathan is officially weaned from a bottle! He drinks from only sippy cups now and although I'm so proud of him for making the transition, I think that the real "weaning" will come when we switch him to a regular cup, but we've got plenty of time before that step is taken! Another big milestone, Nathan can stand alone without any support. Kristin and I noticed he would do it for a couple seconds yesterday, but this morning, he stood for 9 seconds in the middle of a room with a toy in each hand. Way to go! Also this morning, he learned the sign for "eat" and signed a 2 sign phrase... "more eat". I was beaming from ear to ear. That's a pretty tricky thing to do, but he did it without prompting from me! What a smart boy. He can also identify a duck in his books. We're hearing more sounds as well, mama, gaga, googoo, caaa, pa, and lots of grunting and squealing! He's also "singing" to music when he hears it. I can't believe he's growing so fast. I smile often at my baby boy who's getting so big and doing so many things! I'll try to get some pictures of these things in the weeks to come!
Nathan has had several play dates over the past few days and it's great to see him interacting with other little ones! On Wednesday, we went to my other friend, Kristin's house to play with her and her little guy. Baby Z and Nathan are 2 weeks apart (Z is older). Z would crawl off and look at Nathan and grin and Nathan would chase him. TOO CUTE!!
Here are some more cute pictures from their play date.
We tried to get them both to look at the camera at the same time... here's how that went
Then on Thursday, we visited Kristin and Colton. These two have been playmates all of their lives and it was amazing to see how Nathan recognized Colton, Kristin, and their house after not seeing them since September 12th. The boys are of similar abilities and have very similar interests these days. They both crawl around well, pull to stand, and enjoy the same things. Of course Nathan looks like a giant up next to Colton, but it's good to have bigger friends to protect you, right? :) Colton turned 8 months old yesterday and Nathan is almost 10.5 months. Wow, how time flies!
Their first playdate back in April
More fun pics of the boys playing.
We're trying to teach Nathan a few body parts and he quickly found Colton's eye...
and head (too bad he didn't find them as a result of us asking him, he just pointed them out to us)
Colton was a good sport about it though.
Chasing each other through a tunnel
I was reminded by my friend Kristin (Z's mom), the importance of praying that our children would be "iron sharpening iron in each other's lives" as they grow up together. That really encouraged me to be praying not only for Nathan, but also for his buddies, that as they grow and learn about the love of Jesus, that they would pass that knowledge along to their friends, not only in their words, but most importantly to a child, in their actions. Thanks Kristin for that important reminder to pray without ceasing!
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