Going to be a record snow - first signs!

We just woke up to a huge blanket of snow. May be the biggest snow in DC in years!

09 Bigsnow frontyard.jpg

09 Bigsnow frontyard.jpg, originally uploaded by mouttethome.

Our view out the front of our house this morning!

Watching Momma Run

Samuel is learning that Momma loves to run and today she got to run in a local 10K. The race literally came by our house Sam got to cheer for Mom.

Here is the race course:

Great time in Arkansas pt1 - Matt & Beth

We had a great time seeing Matt, Beth and little Nate.

Uncle Paul and Uncle Mike

Before we left for our summer vacation to Arkansas Kristi has a chance to catch up with Uncle Paul while he was visiting Phil and Sue and also Uncle Mike as he was visiting Grandma C.

Sam loves water!

Kristi and I had a blast taking Samuel to the pool the first weekend in July. We weren't sure if he would enjoy the cold water - he loves his baths but we didn't know until we put him in the water that he would love it.

First food - Mmm brown rice!

It was supposed to be a very special occasion but Nate (that's me) had the brilliant idea to quickly introduce food before dinner one night and we almost didn't record it. So we are just glad to have this footage.

Nate feeding:


Kristi feeding:

Videoes that haven't been seen!

Wow, I've been posting videos to YouTube but forgetting to post them on the Blog so I'm going to catch up today.

Sam loves the Johnny Jump Up

Matt, Beth and Nate have loaned us a favorite play item - the Johnny Jump Up. And Samuel has just started playing in it and he Loves it!

It has been fun to see him try to use his legs and see how well he's holding his head up.

More photos from Memorial Day

Some favorites from today:

Memorial Day with Noni & Papa

Now that Noni & Papa (Sue & Phil) are close enough to drive to visit we have seen them for several holidays. Today we caught up in Hagerstown, MD, the halfway point between our homes.

Samuel is getting a kick (literally and figuratively) out of spending time with his grandparents so here are some great scenes into his day with them (video and 3 photos follow).

Glimpses of graduation

This is a way to give our family and friends a taste of Kristi's graduation from Regent University where she earned her Ph.D in Counselor Education & Supervision.

The day was beautiful and the processional was exciting to see.

Her graduating class was a combination of graduates from students in her cohort and in the cohorts before and after hers (she was in the 05 cohort).

As she crossed the stage we became Dr. and Mr. Mouttet. Nearly 4 years ago she was preparing for her first residency at Regent and this day seemed so far away.

It was a memorable day and Phil & Sue were with us to celebrate. Phil took some wonderful photos of Kristi to commemorate the day.

I'm very proud of her.

Sam is really trying to talk!

Sam is really trying to talk now. Probably since his 3 month birthday he has been trying to talk and it is fun to hear!

Dr. Kristin L. Russell Mouttet

So it is official - we are now Mr. and Dr. Mouttet! And I couldn't be more proud!

With graduation it was official that Kristi is now a Ph.D but actually her dissertation committee called her doctor after she successfully defended her dissertation.

But there is nothing like walking across the stage and shaking hands to validate all the work and thought poured into this degree.

Shared interest

Kristi took the time to narrate a little video clip with Samuel and Nate.

So many pictures to post and so little time

The are so many videos and pictures to post and so little time to get it all done. This is a post that is over a month overdue.

Here are some video clips the beginning of March:

Resting with his Papa:



Noni dancing:

Milo’s Adventure - Nicholas Mouttet’s story for his cousin, Sam Nathan Mouttet

Once upon a time, in a hospital in Virginia on a Thursday afternoon, a little boy named Sam Mouttet was born. Sam had curly blonde hair when he was born. Sam's father was Nathan but Sam called him Daddy. Sam’s mother was named Kristi but Sam called her Mommy. Sam couldn't talk when he was born, but that’s what he called them in his head. Daddy took Mommy to the hospital on Wednesday night. Mommy and Daddy stayed at the hospital with Sam for three days. Sam had to stay in the hospital for a few days to rest. Sam rode home in a car with Daddy and Mommy from the hospital on Saturday.

Daddy, Mommy and Sam had a dog named Milo. Milo had long reddish hair, a black nose, and a pink tongue. Milo lived with Daddy and Mommy for a long time before Sam was born. Milo, Daddy, and Mommy had two old cats. The cats liked to stay home and sleep. Milo liked to go for walks in the park. He also liked to go on secret adventures.

While Daddy and Mommy stayed at the hospital for Sam to be born, Milo had to stay by himself for a few days, so he decided to go on a trip to Hawaii. On Thursday morning, Milo dialed the phone and called a taxi. While Milo was waiting for the taxi, he packed his suitcase. He packed his chew toys, some books, some dog food, and some pictures of his family in his suitcase. When the taxi arrived, he jumped in. The taxi took him to the airport. The taxi driver knew to go to the airport because he saw Milo’s suitcase. When he got to the airport, Milo paid the taxi driver, checked his suitcase and bought a one-way ticket with the money he had been saving in his secret hiding place.

Milo rode on the airplane until it reached Hawaii. When the plane landed, Milo got off the plane, got his suitcase, and found a coconut on a palm tree. Milo found a nice hotel. Milo checked in and headed off to a nice room. The room had a doggy bed and doggy treats. Milo called home to check on the cats. They were okay. They were busy robbing the refrigerator and drinking all of the whipped cream.


Milo ran to the beach and went surfing. He visited the inside of a volcano. He chased a hula girl through a coconut field. He chased cars on the busy streets in Honolulu. He ate his coconut and some macadamia nuts. He washed it all down with pineapple juice. He also ate some of his dog food mixed with the pineapple and coconut. After his meal, he started to miss his family, even the old cats.



Milo built a raft and an emergency submarine to get home. Milo got home on Saturday, just a few minutes before Daddy and Mommy got home. When they opened the door, Milo saw Sam for the first time. Milo liked Sam, but he was very small. Milo knew that Sam would grow fast. He looked forward to taking him on his next adventure.


Nicholas the Great!

A night and morning in the life of Sam

Okay so it largely consists of the 3 essential baby actions: eating, sleeping and pooping.

We are saving you from the specifics of those events but some of the pre and post moments are the cutest (at least in our book)...take a look.

Pre-sleeping:


To see the post-eating and post-diaper change vignettes click on our YouTube account and look for "more on Mouttethome" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1bZ_OI1Vbc

Some new photos

Here are some new photos for the family to see.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62275471@N00/

It is clear now that Milo is Sam's guardian. Basically any time that he is in his Bouncey Milo comes to sit near him. But Milo has no solution for the crying.


Last night we put on a onesie from our good friends the Rudys and it ended up being very fitting. He slept most of the night (so we are wearing this every night to come ;-) and he made it clear when he was ready to get up!








This photo is just to much fun...he was scrunched into his bouncey and started to pose.

A little footage of Sam

Here is a little video clip from the hospital. We want our family and friends to be able to see Sam in more than just photos.



This was recorded on Friday, February 6th, 09.

Introducing Samuel "Sam" Nathan Mouttet

To all our dear friends and family that have called, sent texts, emails and simply prayed for us...Thank you!

We are excited beyond words to introduce our joy - Samuel Mouttet.

He was born at 12:19 p.m. Thursday, February 5th, 2009 at Loudon Co. Hospital, Virginia.
* To my dear sister, Marie "Missy" Mouttet - Happy Birthday! The 5th of February is now doubly important to us ;-)

Sam was 7.5 lbs and 20 3/4 inches long at birth. He spent some time in the nursery and there are more photos on our flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/62275471@N00/

Sam is healthy and is growing quickly (it is amazing to watch the daily transformation!). Kristi is doing amazingly well too. She had a safe delivery and is having as quick a recovery as we could have hoped for.


Any doubts that hide in the recesses of your mind about how will you react to the birth of your child quickly melt when you see your baby and you looks at you (right now Kristi has an overwhelming smile while she is holding him for the first time).

This will be the first of many photos and blog updates over the coming days, weeks and months. So I'll continue to post photos on our flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/62275471@N00/ and on Facebook and give updates here on this blog.


So many people have said, "having a baby will change your world." That may be the understatement of a lifetime because it doesn't account for the depth it adds to your life. We have prayed and wondered about this moment for over nine months and more importantly we have prayed for years about whether this is what we should do and now with tears of joy we are certain that God has blessed us.


With love to our family and friends

Great Christmas in Pennsylvania

We had a great Christmas with Kristi's family in Pennsylvania.

We left our house on Christmas morning to spend the Christmas weekend at the Russell's house (Phil and Sue), Grandma C. and with the Moore family (Chris, Kara and Christopher). Before we celebrated with our family we celebrated our own Christmas at our house and Kristi did an incredible job of decorating every corner of our home! (photo left).




Phil & Sue's house was beautiful and gave us all a break from our work and everyday lives to simply be together and enjoy family.








You'll see a theme around Phil's apparel throughout the holiday as the t-Shirt "Grandpas Rule" seemed to make a few appearances. And based on little Christopher's reaction ... Grandpa's do rule!





Even Milo (Nate and Kristi's dog) got in on the gift giving and receiving (primarily the receiving side of things). Christopher and Milo have been great together and this was a good test for how Milo will be like with his own little boy to take care of.






Phil and Sue had a great time with Christopher!






We all got to see a beautiful sunset at the Gettysburg Battlefield and Kara, Chris and Christopher huddled together in cold night breeze to pose for one last shot before we ended our time together.