Happenings ons lately....

FUN TIMES IN MAY

We have had so many things going on this past month and I don't have all of the pictures for it yet, but in my lack of time I am just going to say a brief description of the picture and call it good ;-)

Mothers day Nate and Gabe woke up early (or let me sleep in) and they made the most delicious french toast I think I have ever had!

WHERE IS GABE?

Gabe has a new game he likes to play. Whenever I do the laundry he likes to lay on the floor and I dump all of the clothes on top of him! He LOVES IT!

here he is!

Another thing he likes to do is take his little squirt gun and run around the house chasing us! We get soaked!

FUN TIME WITH FRIENDS

We are starting the "good-bye" stage. It is so sad to say good-bye to all of our good friends! I am hoping that it is just a "see you soon!" instead of a "good-bye!"

This makes me happy to see Gabe being so sweet to babies. He is trying to give her the binkey! I know he will be a great big brother!

This next series of pictures I think is so funny! It was kind of windy and Bryan (janel's husband) was taking pictures of us, and for the life of us we couldn't get everyone to look and smile at the camera!

This one is hilarious!

Yep, windy...

This one we were at least looking at the camera....

I am going to miss these girls! Maria, janel, me, and then venna. We have been friends for the past 5 years and I am hoping that we can remain friends forever!

THE BOYS

THE REASON FOR NOT BLOGGING LATELY.....

Nate and I have been really crazy lately. 4 years ago Nate started his own business called Mangia Technologies and it has been such a fun time seeing his vision come to reality, with the help of a lot of friends! But now that chapter in our life has come to an end. It was a really good run and we are sad to see it go, but when one door closes another door opens.

I am so proud of Nate! He was working on a project and an old friend came up to him and told him that he wanted Nate to apply for this job and thought he was the perfect fit. Intrigued, Nate decided "well, it wouldn't hurt". Well, it turns out that he got it!!!! Are you ready to hear what job it is?

WORKING WITH THE NFL AS 'MANAGER OF SALES AND SPONSORSHIPS!'

So, as quick and crazy as this is, we are moving to......

The city that never sleeps! NEW YORK!

Although his job will be in new york, I was thinking we might live in the suburbs and actually live here...

Connecticut. Isn't it beautiful!

That way we aren't too far from the city but I will have a little more room for my little kiddos to run around. Also, nate's parent and sister live in connecticut so we will be close to them, which will be nice for when the baby is born.

So, don't hate me for not blogging, we have had a lot going on lately! We would LOVE visitors so come to new york!

The High's And Low's

We were out in Connecticut last weekend for our MIRACLE nephew Charlie's baby blessing (pictures to follow soon!). While we were out there Gabe was playing with his two cousins Abby and Molly whom he ADORES! Abby is 6 and molly is 3. Gabe couldn't be in better company then he is with these two cousins. I am finally at the point where I don't have to watch him all the time and he can just go and play with them on the swing set outside or in the toy room and he is perfectly content not having me there with him. (finally!)

So, a little background to this story. I have been introducing gabe to the toilet for the past two months casually here and there to get him interested in potty training. We have had some success where he would see Nate or I head to the bathroom and he would come running ahead of us and take the toilet first.

So as we were out in connecticut I was trying to have gabe see that Molly was going on the potty and that she was a big girl doing it all by herself. He started to get the idea of it when one night he didn't want to get in the tub and I couldn't figure out why, until he started to pee all over the floor, that he wanted me to put him on the potty! (language is still an issue in our house with him!)

After we flew home I just decided while his mind was fresh with Molly and Abby, I thought I would start cold turkey and put him in big boy underwear then set a timer for every 15-20 min.

The first day was AMAZING! No accidents, no complaints, only enthusiasm and joy. It was going so well!!!! YIPEE! I couldn't believe it! But then he woke up the next day grumpy......and all went down hill from there. He screamed when we mentioned the potty, he had 3 accidents in his pants that morning and 2 more that afternoon. We had to do all that we could to get him to sit on the potty but he didn't want to go. I know this isn't how we should do it and we were trying desperately to make it fun and exciting for him and not complaining when he peed his pants, but when I am 20 weeks pregnant, patience is something that comes in a limited supply!

So after 3 days of begging and pleeding......we decided to put the diapers back on and see if we can still ask him to go potty on the toilet, but not make it as overwhelming as we did before. It seems to work, he is still going 3-5 times a day on the toilet so we are progressing. Just not in the method I thought!

But it truly helps when I do this:

Gabe can't be "one-upped" by woody! So he always gets on the potty after I give woody all of my praise and adoration for going potty! Hey you do what you have to do right!

So for you mom's out there. Do you have any tidbits on what I can do to help gabe get potty trained? I have 4 months until this baby comes so I wanted to give him a good head start on this so he doesn't regress! Any input would be great!

EASTER

I am a little bit behind on pictures so this week I am going to try to update some fun times we have had this past month! I will start with Easter.

I was a little unsure how gabe would like dying easter eggs but he loved it! Well, he loved sticking his hands in the dye and turning the egg around and around! Thank goodness for plastic table cloths!

As you can see we have already dyed a few eggs at this point and gabe was still going!

Look at those hands! I think more got on him then the eggs!

Easter morning we were able to go up to my in-law's cabin to spend time with them while they were in town. This isn't the best picture of gabe but he had so much fun trying to find the eggs! We mostly have video of easter morning so I might add a fun clip later on this week, but he mostly just picked an egg, sat down to eat it, and then went to find another one. But he was starting to get the concept so that was great!

K stay tuned for some more fun times in the Checketts House hold! Sorry I have been a slacker!

IS HAVING A.......

I completely forgot to post on my blog what I am having! I put it on facebook.....

So, without further adu I am having a.....

girl, no boy, no girl, no boy......

A BOY!

So Gabe will have a little friend to play with!

MODIFICATION

I have been informed that in my last blog post everyone thought that the "person with the most talent" I was referring too was Paul. NOPE! It was PIA! I think I even mentioned in my post that I was watching it on my DVR so I was a week late in watching it and completely forgot that people in the "world" have already seen this next weeks results! OOPS! So I just wanted to make it clear that I was referring to PIA ;-)

OF COURSE!

So, when I lived in Florida I was introduced to American Idol. I instantly fell in love with the show because I love music and I love seeing america showcase their talent! (and I secretly wanted to be on the show....as do so many other americans!) So I have been a religious watcher of that show....until 2 years ago. I stopped, COLD TURKEY. I just didn't feel the vibe of it anymore and so I stopped.

Well, my sister in law and mother in law said that the new judges this year were great and it was really fun to watch...so I have been. It actually hasn't been too bad and I have enjoyed it.

UNTIL LAST WEEK!

Seriously, the only good singer in the competition was eliminated! I am sure people disagree with me, and I would love to hear if you are watching this show and who you do like....but honestly

I am trying to watch it again since I have been recording it and I can't!

Tell me who you like so maybe I can become a fan because as of now I don't like anyone!

Is there some fun shows out there that you guys like to watch because I don't have any! (besides modern family ;-)

WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS.....

Or in other words

"When life gives you snow....

make snowmen!"

It snowed here off an on all weekend, and so Nate and I decided to make a family of snowmen! As you can see, we used up most of the snow that was there, but it was fun! Can you tell who is who?

As sick as I am of the snow, we thought we would make the best of it and have some fun!

10 THINGS I AM GRATEFUL FOR...

This month has been one crazy month for our little family. One night Nate told me that I was looking at all of the negative things that were happening and not focusing on the positive. So I decided to think of one thing I am grateful for a day for this past week to keep my perspective on life! And you know what, it really helped!!! I thought I would share all of the random things that I am grateful for from 10-1.

#10 gabe's toy room

The reason I say this is because there have been numerous occasions that I have put gabe in his toy room while I do "this" or "that" and it truly has been such a life saver! I don't feel guilty for leaving him in there because......well look at it! There are a ton of things for him to do!

#9 Thanksgiving Point

I ABSOLUTELY love living next to thanksgiving point now that I have Gabe! It has been such a fun place for us to go numerous times a week! We love it so much! Every time I put gabe in his car seat he says "MOOOOOOOOO!" and when I pass the street where we would turn to go to the petting zoo he freaks out because he wants to see the cows!

#8 A Great Home

There are so many times over this past almost 2 years that I have been so grateful that we own this amazing home!

#7 Great Neighbors

I don't have pictures of all my neighbors but they are truly amazing! They are always looking out for each other, worried when things are going bad, helpful in watching gabe, and when I go outside it is so much fun to just sit and talk to all of them! You guys are amazing!

#6 My Dayna Time

I am so grateful when I get a second to sit and do something that I want to do! These are some of my most recent frames that I have created...nothing too fancy but still fun! I love to have my time to be creative!

#5 GOOD FOOD!!!!

How can you not put food on your list of favorite things! Especially lately with being pregnant there are just certain foods that hit the spot....and this is one of them! SO YUMMY!

#4 Sunshine and the Outdoors

We were blessed to have a couple days of warm weather this past week and I am so grateful for that! It really helps to get outdoors and have the sun shining on you! I feel like that instantly boosts your spirits and makes anyone feel better!

#3 FAMILY

I am not going to put pictures of my family on here because that would take way too long to get them all (I don't have recent full family shots!) but I am so grateful for the love and support from both sides of my family. They are truly amazing and would do anything and everything for nate and I, and I am so grateful for them!

#2 My Little Buster Brown

We have so much fun together! He truly is such a happy baby (when he has had enough sleep!) and I am so grateful for the smiles and laughter he brings into our home. I have no idea what I would do without my little buster brown! He truly helps me get through those long days when nate is out of town! LOVE YOU BUDDY!

#1 My Best Friend and Hero

I took this picture the other day when Nate was asleep. He told me to wake him up after 45 minutes because he had so much to do....but how can you wake him up like this! Nate is the hardest worker I have ever seen, and he does it with a smile. He is the most positive person I have ever met and he truly is and always will be my better half. He has so many things going on in his life right now but he still takes the time to love me and also be the best father I could ever have imagined. There is no way I can make ANY list of things I am grateful for without him being on the top! I LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART NATE!

I am so grateful for this opportunity I have set for myself to think of positive things daily. You should do it! It is fun!

I am also thankful for all of you for reading my blog. ;-)

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO....

WE HAVE GABE'S 2 YEAR PICTURES!

So not much has to be said about these other then...

our child is a ham!

I swear he was trying to pose, we would try to get him to smile but he would get this 'serious' face and....well you will see for yourself!

We were able to get a few family shots in...

Thank you Brooke for these amazing pictures! You are the best!

ITS OFFICIAL!

Last week was my first dr. appointment for our new little baby. I was very nervous to go to this meeting because I wasn't able to keep any food down and I had a temperature of 101 for 4 days straight the week before because of the swine flu, so I had no idea what would happen to my little baby.

At first I was nervous, very nervous, because they couldn't find the heartbeat with the little monitor so the nurse wheeled in the ultra sound machine so the Dr. could check.

At this point Nate was able to join me and we just sat in anticipation for the Dr. to come in to see if everything was ok with our baby.

After about 15 agonizing minutes he came in and I went onto the table. He dabbed that gel on my tummy and we were about to see if all was well.

The Dr. took a minute to find the baby, but then once he did he said

"oh, it looks like this baby is going to be a mover!!!"

At first I have to admit I was like "oh no, not another mover! Gabe is a mover enough!!" but then the reality hit me that the baby was moving, and it was REALLY moving so that means that everything was ok!

Relief washed over nate and I as we took the next couple minutes looking at the baby and watched it move.

Nate and I walked out of the Dr. hand in hand happy that everything was ok with our little mover and our due date is the end of september! Also, a positive is, if this baby is a little mover then he/she can definitely keep gabe entertained when they are older!! PHEW then I don't have to do it! This could end up being a good thing......I hope!

So I am currently 13 weeks and all is well!

SWINE FLU

I have the swine Flu

Don't ask me where it came from and how I got it, because I have absolutely no idea.

But on top of having Swine Flu, I am 12 weeks pregnant. Yes, this isn't how I was planning on announcing it to everyone, but nonetheless, I am.

So you can only imagine how I can feel at this precise moment feeling both nausia accompanied with fevers, aches, chills and everything else that comes with Swine flu and you have me.

I would curl up in a ball if I could but my belly won't allow me to do that.

I am stuck.

When I was younger and I was sick I would always go into my parents basement, get a milk shake or a smoothie and then turn on the most comforting movie anyone has ever seen.

I feel like when I watch this movie I start to feel better almost instantly just because it is so dear to me. No matter how many times I have seen this movie I can always laugh at Anne Shirley's way of speaking. I watch Gilbert desperately seeking Anne's attention to only be pushed away again and again

until the last 20 minutes of the series

then you get what you waited the 8 hours to see

they kiss.....

and all is well.

But for some reason, this time I didn't want to watch my favorite movie of all time. I am a succor for those classics such as Anne of Green Gables, Pride and Prejudice or Emma, but this time I wanted something different.

I knew I wanted to watch a series because I knew I was going to be sitting on this couch for a very VERY long time

So I scrolled through all I could think of

Indiana Jones? Star wars? Bourne? None of them sounded good to me. But then I saw it, and for some reason it stuck out to me. Maybe because Nate and I have recently started watching LOST together and one of our favorite characters just died....Charlie.

So I started it.

I have to be honest, the movie itself was just ok, but there was one character that made the whole entire show worth watching.

His character is something that I wish I could be myself.

He is loyal, optimistic, light hearted and most of all....

he is probably one of the best characters in a book or a movie that has ever been written.

Now, if all of those leading clues didn't give it away then how about this picture

In this scene I literally started to cry. Call me sick and pregnant but he is truly an amazing character. Time and Time again Samwise Gamgee comes to the aid of Frodo Baggins and this time he not only helps him, he carries him into Mordor to finally be rid of that stupid ring.

He never gave up

He never uttered a negative word when everyone else around him was in despair

He is the true hero of the story

Thank you Samwise Gamgee for helping me get through the Swine Flu.

WHERE THE MAGIC BEGINS

"Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."

~From The Wonder Years~

In life we do not remember days; we remember moments. That is how I feel when I take a trip with my family. This past weekend we were able to escape for a few days and go to Disneyland just the 3 of us. Disney has always been a part of Nate and my lives and so we wanted to start sharing the "Magic" with Gabe as well.

As we were flying home yesterday I looked over to Nate and asked him what his favorite memories were from this trip. We talked about how excited gabe got when he saw Goofy for the first time and he surprised us both and just pointed and screamed "GOOFY!!!" as clear as day.

We loved his anticipation when we took him on the NEMO ride for the first time and so every time after that he was just so excited to get on the ride because he knew what was coming.

We loved how he just giggled when Nate took him on the teacups multiple times (bless his heart) and how he just couldn't spin fast enough

We loved how were were able to get the Magical Morning Pass 2 days in a row and there was absolutely no on in the park that early

We loved how we took gabe on his first roller-coaster and we were nervous how he was going to take it, but when we got off he ran around to the entrance and got back in line again

We loved how when we saw Mickey Mouse he was SO EXCITED, but the when we got close to take a picture he was so nervous, and then when we left he turned around and kept waving to mickey saying "bye bye! Bye bye Mouse!" (he can't say mickey)

So after all of the exhaustion it takes to bring a 2 year old to an amusement park, we are so grateful for these wonderful memories that we will take with us forever!

Here are a few pictures of our trip. Now, on a side note.....When you are at a Disney park there are certain fashion rules that you just have to throw out the window. I am not going to be running around the park in heels or even designer flats because by the end of the day my feet will be throbbing like you wouldn't believe. NO NO NO...at disney....you wear tennis shoes and loose fitting clothes, end of discussion. So don't mock the outfits ok!

We had to get a picture of MICKEY MOUSE!

Disney has a train that takes you around the entire park and Gabe would always hear it and say "CHOO-CHOO!" So we had to take him on it!

Thank goodness to Nate who is such a trooper, I would say the teacups were one of gabe's top 3 rides that he had to go on over and over. He loved them!

In California Adventure they had this fun playground place for kids to run around and this had a 3 story rope course and gabe thought it was fun to walk with daddy.

Who can resist waiting in a 30 minute line to get that smile?!? Nemo was by far his #1 favorite ride and we had to ride on it every day!

Gabe's first roller-coaster ride. He LOVED IT! At first he was wondering what was going on but he absolutely loved it!

I am nervous for this boy to be tall enough for the big rides because this boy can't get fast enough and high enough! He loved dumbo!

You can't go to a disney park without getting a turkey leg....and gabe just happens to be double fisting it with a churro. Rotten life isn't it!

The first ride we went on when we got to Disneyland. Can we cram anything else into the car? NOPE! My feet were so smashed!

We had a lot of fun and can't wait to go back someday!