Hoppy Easter

I have been on spring break for the last two weeks!!! My mornings have been spent drinking my java as Reaves is now waking up at 6:00 am. My alarm is now him babbling mama mama mama! Best alarm clock EVER! The first week off was spent working on the never ending to-do list and spring cleaning! I have cleaned out closets, planned his first birthday, organized our pantry, worked in his baby book, etc. etc.! It was so nice to have time to get stuff done!!!

Our second week of vaca was spent at Granny and Grandpa's! Joe's sister Bridget came down from Pennsylvania with her three kids Joey, Kelly, and Abby. Joe's brother John came down with his wife Sara and their three month old Tatum! The week was spent eating everything in sight, playing mahjong, holding babies, boating, shopping, catching some rays, reading The Hunger Games books and watching the movie, and of course hunting for Easter eggs!!! It was much needed! I can't believe this time last year we were just a few short weeks of meeting our sweet baby boy!

cutest bunny I know!

Abby, Joey, and Kelly ready for the egg hunt!

My niece Tatum sleeping away!

Reaves with his girl cousins!

Easter Sunday!

Christ the Lord is Risen Today!

Hoppy Easter from the Cataliotti Family!

 

Thankful at 30 with my 10 Month Tot!

On February 18th I turned the big 3-0! I had a wonderful time clebrating 30 years with family and friends! I hear your thirties are the best years yet, I'm at a good place and am looking forward to sharing the years to come with the loves in my life!

On Wednesday we did a little celebrating at the Bistro with the girls! It was so much fun!!!!

mom and me

a few of the girls!

pretty tulips from Joe!

On Saturday we took a cowboy limo to Raleigh for dinner at 18 Seaboard and then out to the Oxford to dance the night away with a fun 80's band!!!! We rode in the "tailgater" aka the back of a truck with a top! It was adorned with strobe lights and all! Thanks Lee Lee for getting the ride for us! It was too much fun! Dinner was delicious! Thanks for all of you who came to share the night with me!

A few of the girls!

Cowboy Limo (tailgater style)

Smithfield's Finest!

my love!

On Sunday (yes I am one of those who likes to celebrate my birthday all week! ha ha) we had lunch at mom's house! The Cataliotti's came and made an amazing Italian lunch! It was a great way to cap off a great week!

Aunt Car Car and her babes!

The best birthday gift ever is of course Baby Reaves! He is 10 months old already!!!!!! He is Mr. Chatterbox and says mama the most! YAY! Sorry Joe! He continually scrambles out of sight to the toilet to the wine bottles you name it! He now has four teeth up top and one on the bottom with one on the way! He loves to be tickled, to eat, to chew on his shoes, to climb on everything, to play with the remote, and to shake his head no. He still only weighs 18 lbs because he is sooooo active he burns off all of his calories! The doctor says not to worry, but he has weighed that since he was 7 months old! He's in the 22nd percentile for weight! His head however is in the 85th percentile! ha ha

He tries to rip it off every time!

wild man!

mommy and daddy's bubba!!!

This 10 month old has made this 30 year old one happy girl!

LOVE BUG

Our love bug is 9 months old already! When I saw this plastic plate at Michael's for a dollar I thought it would make a cute picture as I call Reaves my little love bug from time to time!

Don't you just love the hair sticking up on both sides and the one pearly white? When I think of Reaves at this age I think that's what I will remember most. His wild hair like mine and that one tooth! However he is cutting four  more up top and surprisingly enough it does not seem to phase him a bit! Knock on wood!

Joe and reaves sent me the prettiest tulips at school and the note read I can't wait to get home to you and Buddy! How sweet is that? I love my boys and feel so blessed to have them both sharing this journey with me! This video was taken Valentine's day night at dinner. We still had the fancy valentine's dinner with steaks and red wine! This time it just included a laughing 9 month old eating potatoes and shaking his head no :) I know just wait until he can actually say no!!!! I have 11 nieces and nephews I know that day is coming! ha ha

Enjoy!

Reaves is Mobile

Reaves turned eight months old on January 2nd that's when I realized while taking this picture that his new found mobility would no longer allow him to sit still while mommy snaps away!

Mobility took on a whole new meaning with the army crawl turned into the real crawl on January 14th! We were so proud of him! I really don't need to go to the gym these days he keeps me running right here in our living room and all over the house!



I love watching him explore his surroundings! I swear he has TONS of toys but he is fascinated by shoes, cords, remote controls, buttons on the tv, and paper all of which he can't have!!! He grabs for anything interesting including my earrings!!!!

Bypassing the toys straight for the lamp cord!

He does say mama and dada but from what I've read it is just indiscriminate babbling, however the real thing should come soon!

mama

He has one tooth! It's the cutest thing when he smiles which he does quite often to see that one pearly white!





This is such a fun age! He is more attached to us than ever, laughs all the time, and smiles the sweetest smile with that one tooth! He looks like Joe more than ever but babbles constantly like me! I can't wait to get to know him more everyday! It really is the little things in life that makes us the happiest!

A babe in the house is a well-spring of pleasure, a messenger of peace and love, a resting place for innocence on earth, a link between angels and men.

~Martin Fraquhar Tupper

Christmas Blessings

I have been in the Christmas spirit more this year than ever! I know a big part of that is due to the gift of Reaves and knowing that we were going to be able to begin to make memories and start traditions for the years to come.  He will get an ornament each year for our tree, we will leave cookies for Santa and carrots for his reindeer, and we will read him the Christmas story from the chapter of Luke! Below I am posting several pictures of Reaves celebrating his first Christmas throughout the month of December. He has been such a blessing to us!

This year we were also blessed with the birth of our niece on Christmas Eve! Tatum Oliva Cataliotti joined the world at 3:03 am early Christmas Eve morning. We are so proud of John and Sara they are going to make the best parents! What a special Christmas gift! We can't wait to hold her and kiss her sweet face!

(Pictures to come)

However the best Christmas gift this year and every year is FREE and will last FOREVER! The birth of Jesus Christ is the greatest gift you will ever receive. I've known this my whole life but the story of Hallie Lynn Green made that gift seem more real to me this year more than ever. Hallie left this world to be with Jesus early Christmas Eve morning. Although I've cried and cried reading her story it has strengthened my relationship with Christ as he has worked on my heart more than ever over the last few weeks.You can read about her story http://thelittlegreenfamily.blogspot.com/ I'm not sharing this story to make you cry because you definitely will cry, but I wanted to share her story this Christmas to encourage you have hope as Hallie's dad Chris says  "Our "Hope for Hallie" is that people would see life as a gift, and draw near to God." Thank you Hallie Lynn Green because of you I see the life of my seven month old son Reaves, my niece Tatum who was born yesterday on Christmas Eve, and all those we know and love as not just a gift but a precious gift, and have drawn closer to God over the last few weeks than I have in a long time!

Hallie Lynn Green (picture from their blog)

A Christmas Blessing

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

November in a Nutshell!

WOW!!!! November has been a super super busy month! Reaves turned 6 months old on November 2nd. He is now weighing in at 16 lbs 12 oz!!!! Where did my 7lbs 6oz baby go? He is Mr. Personality!!!!!!!! He laughs and smiles like crazy and loves looking in the mirror! He is eating bananas, pears, apples, sweet potatoes, and green beans!!!! This boy likes to eat! He loves everything we've given him so far! Joe's parents just gave us the Baby Bullet so we can't wait to start making foods for him! His eyes have definitely turned brown just like his Daddy's, but believe it or not some people are saying he looks a little like me! I'll take it! I do think he has my nose! He is also starting to cut his first tooth and puts EVERYTHING in his mouth! Needless to say we are loving every minute with out little man!

We went down to Wilmington the second weekend in November to celebrate our good friends Will and Claire at their engagement party! They got engaged in New Orleans at Pat O'Briens so we tried to recreate the magic downtown Wilmington with a Pat O'Briens theme! We had a great time! Claire and Will actually introduced Joe and I in college! We will forever be grateful!

I PASSED my National Boards!!!! I am now a National Board Certified Teacher! National Board Certification is achieved upon successful completion of a voluntary assessment program designed to recognize effective and accomplished teachers who meet high standards based on what teachers should know and be able to do. I've spent the last two years along with my good friend Christy working torwards this accomplishment! The word Congratulations has never looked so good! I was a nervous wreck until I checked it the Sunday before Thanksgiving, because the year before I didn't pass. I feel that I am a better teacher for having gone through this process and am looking forward to the 12% pay raise! Yay for teachers and for our students!!!!!

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.  ~Henry Adams

A few teachers decorated my door!

Turkey day was celebrated twice this year! We had lunch at mom's the Sunday before Thanksgiving and then we went down to celebrate with Joe's family in Havelock! We ate and ate and ate and had so much fun with family! We feel especially thankful this year thanks to a sweet baby boy who has blessed our life beyond measure!

Abby, Joey, Reaves, and Kelly

Cousins

The weekend after Thanksgiving was spent up in Woodbridge Virginia to celebrate the Eakes Family Reunion and my great uncle Bob's 80th birthday! We had a blast catching up with all of the relatives! Mom's cousin Sandra and her husband Steve hosted us for a brunch on Saturday and then we enjoyed dinner and dancing later that night at the Country Club! Reaves did really really well and got lots of attention!!!!! I am so thankful to have such a fun and loving extended family! I hope this family tradition goes on indefinitley!

Uncle Bob is 80!

Aunt Mary Lou, Cousin Ashley, Mom, Aunt Kathy, Sister Carla

Mom and Me

Reavsy Boy!

Reavesy Boy is 6 months old!

My granddaddy Hesley used to say "Time waits for no man!" Now I know what he meant!!!! The last 6 months have flown faster than ever before and rank as the best 6 months of my life to date. Sometimes I get a little sad at how fast he is growing.....that he doesn't fit into his little elephant pj's anymore and that we need to put his infant seat up in the attic because he has outgrown it with his 26 1/2 inches long self.

But then I'm quickly reminded of all the stages and ages to come! I really love this age his personality is really starting to shine!!!!! He yells for my attention....sometimes so long that his face turns red! He laughs out loud.....I mean really laughs the belly laugh!

These last 6 months have also taught me a lot about life. I find myself trying to sweat the small stuff a little less. I mean when I walk in the door and I see Reaves grin ear to ear just at the sight of me his unconditional love reminds me of what life is really all about!

are we about done here?

not until I get a few pictures with the Mohawk!

Happy 1/2 birthday Reaves Makinson Cataliotti!