Nicholas is 5!

I can hardly believe it... how on EARTH is my little guy 5 years old? Wasn't it just yesterday there were 30 or so people in the delivery room ready to wait on you hand and foot? Now here you are... nearly ready for Kindergarten!
A typical Nicholas day starts with you in bed... reading. You enjoy spending 30 minutes or so lounging around in bed with a good book (just like your Mom!). Around 7:30 or so, you get up, take a shower, and get dressed for the day. You come running down the stairs, searching for someone to help you make breakfast (favorites are oatmeal, yogurt, cereal - cheerios or Daddy's cereal, waffles, coffee cake or banana bread - if we have any).
You are in preschool from 9 - 2 three days a week. You LOVE school & your teacher is great with you. You are rarely in trouble, and love to help out (telling me all the time how much you pick up at school).
The two weekdays you aren't at preschool, you hang out with your Mom & Matthew. We like to go to the park, play with friends, or just hang out at home. You totally love your brother and teach him new things all the time. You entertain each other and we trust you guys to play alone - with only a few incidents.
You love to play with your superheroes (especially Batman or Spiderman) and you LOVE to read. Your favorite books are Magic School Bus Chapter Books, Magic Tree House, and A to Z Mysteries. You also LOVE to clean. When we have friends over, you spend LOTS of time helping Mommy clean and get ready for friends!
This year, we had several parties for you. Our first celebration was at Grandma & Grandpa Harris' house - Uncle Jon & Aunt Shannon were there too! We also celebrated with our Kansas City friends - a puzzle-themed party! Finally, we celebrated in Texas with our new friends - a Buzz Lightyear party! What a great birthday!

Our Christmas Adventure!

We left the warm, sunny Austin weather behind this Christmas and drove north to Missouri! Our adventure started in the middle of nowhere (a.k.a. my parents' house). We spent 5 days on the farm - playing with Uncle Jon & Aunt Shannon, riding the tractor with Grandpa, celebrating Christmas & Nicholas' birthday, cooking with Grandma, and doing many crafts. The boys had a great time and Jason enjoyed seeing the new house for the 1st time.
We left the farm to head to KC on Christmas Eve. We knew bad weather was coming, so we left the farm early... or at least we tried to. Jason drove the van into a ditch not 100 yards from my parents' house (still on their 1/4 mile long driveway). After many feeble attempts to get out of the ditch, we had to call a tow. The drive from that point was awful. Pouring down rain, thick fog, and strong winds. We made it to KC okay - before the SNOW! It snowed so much we were homebound on Christmas Day! In KC, we celebrated Christmas with Jason's family (including Great-Grandma & Aunts & Uncles), celebrated Nicholas' Birthday, and ate at some of our favorite and much-missed restaurants. Jason & I went out on a "date" with Tatiana & Craig - so wonderful! Nicholas had a birthday party with many of his KC friends (he LOVED seeing all the kiddos!).
Back in Austin, we had our family Christmas on December 30th (better late than never!). Santa even made an extra trip to our house on December 29th! We are so special, you see!
We had a wonderful Christmas & our children were spoiled beyond belief!

Just for fun...

I got a new camera (Christmas present from the boys) over the weekend. Here are some "test shots" with the new camera. You'll notice my FAVORITE subjects posed for me!!!

N riding his bike... it was 70-something degrees that mid-December day!






The boys at the park (another beautiful day). Matthew was chasing ducks - nearly into the lake - it was scary!!










Shake it, baby!







My future rock star. He wears this guitar with such a serious face and says "rock, rock". Gotta love that kiddo!

18 month stats

Today was Matthew's 18 month check-up! I LOVE hearing how "big" he is! For the record... his head circumference is 20 (above 95%ile), height is 33 1/4 (75 - 90%ile) and weight is 29 lb 7 oz (75-90%ile). Woo-hoo!
Here is our update on him:
He can run, knows over 10 body parts, is an awesome sleeper, feeds himself with a fork and spoon, throws a ball, and many other things.
Here are his "words" at 18 months: Dada, Nicholas, jacket, down, crackers, shoes, socks, hi, trash, dog, duck, rock, car, Dora, yes, Mama (JUST started, I debated whether or not to include it), and he USED to say bye-bye and night-night.

Christmas through the years...

Feeling all nostalgic today... so here are pictures of the kiddos at Christmastime through the years.

1st Christmas... Nicholas is almost 1!








2nd Christmas... Nicholas is nearly 2! Favorite memory: you whispered "presents... Santa" in bed every night! You loved Christmas trees... pointed them out everywhere... said "more lights" all the time! You played your piano-playing snowman and went CRAZY - dancing, running around the room while Jingle Bell Rock Played. You asked for more presents, even when Christmas was over. The night before your birthday (January 3) we tried to explain what your birthday was... you looked at us and said, "Santa Open Presents?" You were SO EXCITED to leave milk & cookies for Santa - we left it in the fridge to keep it fresh & had to check in the morning!



3rd Christmas... almost 3! You are telling crazy stories now... a memorable one is that you saw a princess who had a magic sword - then she had a bubble (she was floating on it) and it popped - then it came to you - the princess cried and you cried. (Odd story)
We also just told you about the new baby... "I LOVE BABIES" you say! Here are your names for the new baby: Curious George, Trash Truck, Trash, Tyrone, and Ashley (pronounced Ash - a - ley).






Nicholas' 4th Christmas (almost 4) and Matthew's 1st Christmas (6 months)
Now you know your birthday is nine days after Christmas, so December is full of birthday talk too! You started reading...
Our big news this year is your BROTHER - it is still exciting for you - you LOVE it when he smiles at you and you help out all the time. Matthew is a bundle of love!!!
Our favorite Nicholas joke:
Nicholas: What is a pirate's favorite letter?
Mom: "R"!!!!!
Nicholas: No, that's not it. My favorite pirate letter is "E"! (this letter changed frequently!)


Nicholas' 5th Christmas (almost 5!!!!) and Matthew's 2nd Christmas (18 months)
We have yet to see what wonderful memories you boys will create this year, but I have no doubt it will be memorable...

Here Comes Santa Claus!

Here are some adorable pics from the weekend. My boys lovin' on each other before church yesterday & our time at the neighborhood Holiday Party with Santa! (Matthew did not enjoy)

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Oh the Texas weather is frightful (can you hear me singing??)! Okay, so the weather isn't really that bad. It was "cold" last week (for Texas, not necessarily compared to MO) we had "snow" on Friday (debatable), and we had our first "hard freeze" of the season (brrr... 20 degrees!).
Nicholas is thrilled with the hat-wearing, snow-filled (ha!) weather and wants more! In fact, his prayers last night included a "thank-you" to God for the snow and a request for more! :)
Enjoy the pics - Nicholas in his Bears hat, patiently waiting for the snow (which came during naptime, for 15 minutes);Matthew trying on Nicholas' ONE glove (who knows where the other is), and SNOW in Texas!

Chuy's Parade

After a wonderful Thanksgiving with my parents, we decided to catch the Chuy's Christmas Parade in downtown Austin. I've seen my share of parades, but never with the "big balloons" like this one!!! Nicholas just loved it, but Matthew was pretty scared the whole time! Here are some pics of the parade. Enjoy!

Miss You Like Crazy!!!

Ahh... it's finally time for Thanksgiving. Hard to believe when it is 75 degrees down here in Texas! I've been thinking for the past few weeks about all I am thankful for... it doesn't take much searching to find out how fortunate my family & I are!
Today I am thankful for all the things from my past life that I "miss like crazy":
My Friends & the friends of my kiddos
Music with Mar
Storytime at the Library (with the GOOD librarian)
Tunnel Voyage
Kid's holiday parties at Tot's
Deanna Rose
N's old preschool & teacher
Jack Stack
La Fuente
WCCUMC
Any bounce place, free place, or water park with Becky
Crown Center (especially with the free kid's events)
Our favorite parks (Lowenstein! Fireman Park!)
did I mention my friends?
Although life in Texas is wonderful, I do get homesick. Just a shout out to KC & all its wonders.
Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving! I am hoping we get to enjoy our traditional dinner outside, if the weather holds!

Family Picture Preview

The family pics aren't edited yet, but here are some favorites.