Ice cubes

"This is where they get the ice cubes for the ice machine, I surprised the water isn't frozen over," said Poppie! But Grammie was right both Nicholas and Konstantina LOVED the water......a bit chilly for both Mommies. My parents are staying down here for 5 weeks in a condo on the beach. It is great. I invited Voula and Dina over for the afternoon. We let the kids play in the pool. They ate some sweet potatoes and played in the pack in play while we got to visit. A wonderful playdate with our favorite baby girl and her Mommy.

Behind Bars

We lowered Nicholas' mattress about 6 weeks ago, anticipating the day he will be able to stand against the railing. For now he sits and peeks at me through the 'bars' of his bed. I sit him in his crib when I put his clothes away or am restocking the diaper area, etc. Yesterday he started playing peek a boo with me through the railing. I played a while with him knowing that as soon as I got up to get the camera he would stop.
I was right, but he was a good sport and gave me some cute shots! He is such a fun baby and is easily entertained with the simplest things, a Kleenex box or a water bottle, and of course saying p-a-b over and over again with mama. I just love him.

Date Night

We finally went out to dinner with my friend Voula and her family. Voula and Konstantina and Nicholas and I have been 'playdating' for almost 5 months. Our husbands have heard all about each other's baby, but never met. So in a spur of the moment decision we all met at Outback....kids and husbands too. We had a great time and the kids love hanging out together. They recognize each other and talked away. Nicholas even ate a container of sweet potatoes AND squash. A good time was had by all.

Who is this BABY???

Who is this baby? He would be Nicholas. My how he has changed, huh? He is about 2 weeks old in the picture and full of chubby cheeks. My sis bought him the onesie from Old Navy.....I love Surfer Girls. He out grew that too fast. Just look at his adorable face (I know there is a chin under those cheeks somewhere!) and the hair.....I miss my 2 weeks old baby!

Blue eyes

I know that Matt and I both have blue eyes, but Nicholas' eyes are such a dark blue. My dad has really dark blue eyes...maybe he got them from Poppie. I hope that they stay the color they are now...mama's blue eyed baby boy!

Little Family

I love taking pictures of the three of us, our little family. It is amazing how quickly time passes. This May Matt and I will celebrate three years of marriage. Where did the time go? We now have this precious little boy that we can't imagine how we ever lived without. We have love and smiles, what could be better? We are so blessed and thank God every day.

My Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day. Little man Nicholas is 7 mos old and growing fast. We didn't have a Drs apt this month so I am relying on our 'methods' of measurement, so according to those he is 29 1/4 in long and 18 and 1/2 lbs! What a little butterball turkey! He is eating good, on most days, and is still nursing like a mad man. He is a roller, able to cross an entire room in a few seconds flat. If he sees something he wants ~ look out there he goes. I am looking forward to some sleep, sooner rather than later, when his 2nd tooth makes its debut. He is a fussy little guy cutting teeth. Here are some Valentine cutie's pictures to celebrate our very special day.

Growing Up FAST

My little man is getting so big. The other day he was just sitting under his play gym entertaining himself. I set the video camera up and he just kept playing. I got the camera out and he fell over rolling to his belly and started cheesing it up for me. It was really, really cute.
It seems like everyday he is becoming more and more of a little boy instead of a baby. He has certain toys that he likes, he enjoys watching me make the bed and wash dishes. He LOVES Giles and we can get Nicholas to locate Giles anywhere in the room, giving us the biggest grin ever. He is sleeping better at night AND during the day. Every time Matt walks through the door Nicholas lights up and giggles. They play and read stories together every night.
He still likes to snuggle when he is tired and is nursing well, something I am not ready to have him outgrow yet. He 'jabbers' when he wakes up in the morning and from his naps. When I go into his room to get him he laughs and raises his arms for me to pick him up. What a sweet little man. I thought I knew what love was before I had Nicholas, but now I realize I was missing something. He is so wonderful and a miracle from God.

Talents

Being a mom I have many talents, including reading my son's mind. Today we had green beans. I know that on a previous blog I said that peas were next.....maybe that would have been a better choice. Lunch went something like this.

Mommy, "Yummy Nicholas open wide."
He opened with some persuasion.
Nicholas, "You have got to be kidding."

Maybe peas will go over a little better.

His People

His people....while trying to comfort Nicholas one day I noticed that he was staring at the kleenex box......I could get him to fall asleep by telling him to look at his people and hold it in my hand while rocking him. The box has come in handy on several occasions. Crazy little guy. Matt threw the first box away because it was empty. Silly daddy, he doesn't want the tissue. I have used this to give medicine and now to try to get those lips to part. If we would have known just how much he would like the box, we could have saved a lot of money on toys. Take a good look....Auntie Christie label a few of the faces.
Nana ~ Great Grandma Lottie
Grammy ~ Grandma Diane
Poppy ~ Grandpa Neil
Mommy
Daddy
But where is Auntie????

First bites

We started cereal on January 8th. He did okay the first time....then decided he didn't like eating from a spoon, or a finger. He didn't like it warm, cold, runny or think. I bet he wouldn't even eat it with a stick! I have tried rice cereal, squash (because I like it and think it is sweet) and I gave in and tried bananas. Apparently I am the monkey here....jumping all over, singing and dancing. It is quite the show. Little man has even learned how to cry with his mouth closed so I can't 'sneak attack' a spoonful of food. I finally found the trick....his people! More about that in the next blog. Nicholas is content nursing about 6 - 7 times a day. Peas are next and I am sure it will be a fun treat for me.

Sitting anyone?

Nicholas is sitting up! He started to sit up with the boppi in WV and when we got back he could sit there for a few minutes and got better every day! He sat up just before his 6 mo birthday. For his 6 month Dr visit he got more shots, but no fever this time. He is 28 and 1/4 inches and 17 lb and 8 oz. Nicholas is about 100% for his length and right about 50% for his weight. What a sweetheart. He is getting bigger and stronger by the minute! He also got another haircut (his 2nd) and it is short. I am hoping that his hair will grow in a little more even. People are saying he has a crew cut.

Jenna Bean

This is Jenna. We met a little over 3 years ago and have been best friends ever since. She is Matt's cousin Bryan's little girl. I am not sure why we hit is off so well, but we did. I affectionately gave her the name Jenna Bean because she was always jumping all over when she was younger....she's a young lady of 4 and a half now. We went out to dinner a a local Mexican restaurant while in WV and she sat by me and ate salsa and chips. What a girl. We love her so much and really miss seeing and playing with her. I hope she gets to come visit soon and go see Cinderella's castle at Disney!

Mommy's friends

Here are my friends April and Kathleen. In the first picture we are with Kathleen, her daughter Emma (4 1/2) and 3 week old son Sam. In the second picture we are with April, Hubby Dan, and son Shephard. She is pregnant with Alana "Lanie" and due in the next few weeks. It was so wonderful to visit with them. It is hard to believe that it has been almost 3 years since I lived in Columbus and taught with them! I loved watching our kids interact and play together. I really wish that we didn't live so far away so we could have play dates and they could grow up together! The last two picture are of Shep....he is so sweet and was great with Nicholas. He will be almost 14 months old when Lanie makes her debut!

Dinner with the BOYS

While in Columbus we ate dinner with Uncle Tim and Scott (last picture) and their friend Chad (second picture), who drove from WV, at Red Robin's. Nicholas had fun going from lap to lap. He is such a great baby. He just hangs out and is a treat to take out to eat!

Grandma's House

Nicholas just had a ball staying at Grandma's house. From bathtime to playtime he was happy to visit with Grandma. He loved the ball that Uncle Duane and Aunt Sue got him. He will roll it over to Daddy and giggle and them pick it up and flash that grin. Doesn't Grandma look happy with baby boy Nicholas?

Meeting my family

Nicholas made his first trip to West Virginia over the holidays. We stayed with Grandma and got to meet a lot of family. On Christmas day he got to meet Uncle Tim (3rd picture) Matt's Brother. It was hard to get him to look at the camera.. too much else going on at Uncle Randy's house. (2nd picture) Randy is Mike's brother. (Matt's dad) It was great to see him holding Nicholas and checking out his 'great' nephew. On the day after Christmas we traveled up to Paden City to see Grandma June and John. (1st picture) The whole Nichols crew joined us to visit and celebrate Christmas. The last picture is Uncle Duane, Rosemary's brother. A great time was had by all!