Nicholas-isms

So tonight we went out to dinner. I asked Nicholas to draw me a picture and he drew a stick person. He told us he drew a "big woman". It that isn't humerous enough, he named it "Eyepatch" and carefully wrote out all the letters.
I had steak for dinner and asked Nicholas if he would like a bite. Of course he did! After taking a bite he said, "Yum, yum. It takes like chicken!"
Side note: he's never heard that expression before!
Anyway, he was super-funny. Right now he's running around the house singing "One-eyed, one-horned flying purple people eater". Too funny.

Phone-a-friend Wednesday

So I always call my friend Nicole on Wednesdays. She is notorious for not returning phone calls, but I love her anyway!!! :) Every Wednesday, on my way home from church, I call Nicole. In fact, I look forward to talking to her all day on Wednesdays! She's an awesome girl and I am so lucky to have her as a friend! Jason, Nicholas, & I were fortunate enough to be able to attend her wedding June 14, 2008. I was worried I wouldn't be able to attend - and wanted SO BADLY to be a bridesmaid when she asked. Matthew stayed inside two extra days so we could go to that wedding. It was such a special day & I was so glad to see my friend. Love you Nicole!

Coco Key

Today Nicholas & I invited our friends Ryan & Julie to Coco Key Waterpark to celebrate Nicholas' 4th birthday! It started out a little shaky... Nicholas didn't want to even get in the zero-entry pool! Ryan is a little fish & just took off running! Eventually Nicholas warmed up to the kiddie area and had a blast. One of his favorite parts was the lazy river. He sat with me in an intertube and we floated around at least 9 times! He just loved it! He also enjoyed going down the "blue waterslide". To anyone who KNOWS my child and his crazy fear of getting his head wet, this was a huge accomplishment! To get to the "blue waterslide", he had to climb up a rope ladder thing (ouch, feet!), walk where water splashed on his head & up from the ground, more rope ladder, and then wait patiently in line & hope the big huge bucket didn't dump water on him in the meantime. Seriously a big accomplishment. We stayed four super-fun hours and had a great time. On a side note, Julie made me go on a fast, scary, pitch-black waterslide on a tube. Scary!

To be so blessed...

Matthew gives the absolute cutest kisses! I am so blessed to have received more than I can count, each and every day. This is a super-sweet, lovable boy. He loves being around his Mommy, Daddy, and big brother and he laughs at the silliest things. He squeezes and hugs and then kisses you more.

Enjoy these pictures of Matthew givin' some love to Nicholas. Notice the matching outfits (colors, at least). Nicholas checks each and every day to see what little bro is wearing before deciding on an outfit! What awesome little boys!

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

Matthew did it!!! He finally rolled from his back to his tummy yesterday, 6 times! Strangely enough, he was reaching for his wipes container. Hey, whatever makes him want to move! Yesterday was (slightly) warm enough for us to take a walk. Nicholas enjoyed riding his bike and Matthew love the view from the stroller! It is nice to just BE OUTSIDE! We also went to the park (briefly) and Burr Oaks Nature Center yesterday. The boys had a terrific day! A quick shout-out to our Uncle Jon & Aunt Shannon - they are the Northpark University alums that gave my boys the sweatshirt pictured. Unfortunately, it was never the right season for Nicholas to wear it, and Matthew is quickly growing out of it!

Per Tatiana's Request

Here are three pictures of Nicholas head-on at 7 months old!

7 months old - a comparison

Here are pics of both boys at 7 months old. I don't think they look so much alike anymore, except for them both being babies and brothers! Maybe others see differently. When I look at the profile pics of both boys examining their signs, they look SO different. Anyway, weigh in and let me know what you think!

SEVEN MONTHS OLD!

Can it be? My little guy is 7 months old today! We think he's really been chunking up lately, weighing nearly 20 pounds! He's such a lovable guy - he loves his Mommy, Daddy, & brother so much! His favorite things are eating (especially table food: chicken, bread, egg yolk), sitting up & playing, being with Mommy, watching big brother, going for a walk outside, and putting everything in his mouth! At seven months he is an expert at sitting up, learning to feed himself, grunts to let us know he's unhappy (usually in the car seat of highchair without food!), and smiles at everyone. He is starting to babble and enjoys eating his feet (don't worry, we keep them clean!). Matthew likes to scoot on the ground, rotating his body to reach toys. We all love our little guy so much and can't wait to experience all the changes ahead!

Girl Time!

So I got my butt kicked last night! For the second week in a row, I went to a "body blast" exercise class at my church. Julie joined me last night!!! Aaaahhhh, the good old days! Julie & I used to take exercise classes together before kids - I'll never forget her "low-impact" days when she didn't want to reveal she was preggo with Ryan! We had fun together way back when, and it was fun last night. There is bonding in the pain!!! Even though I see her at least once a week, it's usually with up to five children & two husbands around. It was good to have some time with just the girls! Don't I feel sore today!

Brother Love

Lots of love at my house between the two boys! Nicholas loves being with Matthew whenever he can. That works out pretty well as Matthew loves his big brother!

Beautiful Day!

Oh my goodness! Is it really January? We took a trip to the park today to enjoy the BEAUTIFUL weather! Nicholas was so excited to play OUTSIDE for a change. Matthew enjoyed the new surroundings, but seemed indifferent when swinging (as usual). Enjoy some of my favorite pics from today. The funniest thing was when we were asked if Maren & Matthew were twins (notice they are wearing the same jackets - one pink, one blue). Hee hee! Maren is obviously older & bigger (to me), but whatever! Nicholas had a great time running around with Jack, even pushing him on the swing! It amazes me how gentle he can be when the situation calls for it. Guess he's growing up!

All Is Well

Nicholas had a hearing test today, and it appears all is just fine. He does have an incredible wax build-up in the ear in question, but some drops should take care of that. Apparently it is very difficult to get an accurate reading if the acoustics are not just right - making it not so accurate a reading at our pediatrician's office.
Matthew got his allergy test results back, and everything was negative! No allergies! We restarted the prevacid about a week and a half ago & he's hardly spitting up anymore! (now if only the TEETHING would get better!!!)
The news at our house is that both boys are in excellent health!

Preschool Party Pics

Here are three pictures from today's party. Nicholas eating his adorable dino cookie, a picture of all the cookies, & a picture of Miss Tammy & Nicholas.

Some Mommy Time

Today was a slightly crazy day. Nicholas had his first day back at preschool and was totally ready to go by 8am! Even though he knows what time school starts, he wanted to leave early "just in case". After dropping Nicholas & his present for his teacher's birthday off at school, Matthew & I headed to the eye doctor for my check-up. He was pretty agreeable in his stroller for the first 40 or so minutes, then just wanted to be held! After the appointment, we spent some quality time playing together before heading back to preschool for Nicholas' birthday treats! Our friend Tatiana made the cutest dinosaur cookies for Nicholas' party! The kids enjoyed them so much - some ate the cookies, some played like they were toys!
Then for the Mommy time. Some moms shop during their free time, some moms go to the spa. Not me! I spent an afternoon at the DENTIST!!!! I'm sure you are all so jealous! Now, I don't normally mind the dentist - I view it as a necessary evil. I WANT clean, healthy teeth, so this is how I get them! Today was another story. My visit today was to remove sealants placed on my teeth during childhood & also to remove several fillings from way-back-when that had a piece missing & replace them. So it was a LOT of drilling & holding my mouth open. Fun times, right? At the end, she told me to go home and immediately take 4 ibuprofen. Unfortunately, I can't take that. :( So I'm not feeling so great tonight! Luckily for me, my wonderful family will take great care of me!

My Big 4-year-old Boy!

Nicholas turned four years old on Saturday. I was emotional leading up to the day - how can my baby possibly be 4??? Fortunately for all involved, I have regained control and am excited to see what this new number will bring! Nicholas is thrilled to be four (almost 5!), although he told us early Saturday morning that he wasn't REALLY four until he ate some birthday cake (did you know that rule?). At the last minute, we found out his cousins could not attend the party. He was disappointed, so I scrambled to call some of our friends! Thanks to Bryce & Merrick for making Nicholas' 4th birthday special! He loved having other kiddos to play with! We had a great time celebrating with our family & of course LOVED the new toys (Nicholas says "they're SO COOL, Mom!). Tomorrow will also be a fun day as we're celebrating at preschool with cookies made by Tatiana (they are pretty awesome!).
Today Nicholas had his 4 year check-up. I promised him earlier today that there would be NO SHOTS this year. Dr. Mc mentioned that he needs 4 shots before he starts Kindergarten, so we could split that up and have some now. I opted for the MMR & DTP shot today - Nicholas was none too thrilled. His height and weight are, again, practically off the charts. That child has always been on the big side of things, even from his pre-term birth! The nurse didn't check his vision, as I pointed out that he sees an Opthamologist regularly (this week, in fact). He did, however, fail the hearing test in his left ear despite repeated attempts. I put a call in to our ENT this morning - we'll see what she says about this! Hopefully it was faulty equipment or a bad test or something along those lines! More on this later!

Nicholas' 4th Birthday

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Our Christmas Fun

Here is a sampling of some of our favorite Christmas memories: Nicholas making a Christmas frosted Christmas tree, Nicholas' new baseball glove, Matthew playing with tissue paper (the best gift, really), fun times at Great Grandma's House, Christmas morning with the family (Santa Hat Matthew), Christmas with the Harris family (Cubs shirts, picture of Shannon & Jon), and the Baby Summit - a gathering of college friends & all the new babies (sorry, Nicholas, you're not so new!). Time spent with family & friends made this such a wonderful Christmas! Happy New Year to everyone!