Cheesy Smiler

I've been trying to get some good pictures of Nick, but he now goes over-the-top with his smile and squinting to avoid the flash, so I have to catch him off guard. In the following movie, he sees the camera and thinks it's time for a cheesy smile. It cracks me up.


Grandma got some good pictures of him when she was here last week, so maybe she'll share...

Halloween Already?

Nick gave me quite a scare last weekend when he woke up with the most disgusting looking eye. It was gone in 36 hours, but man... it looked very nasty. He's going to hate me for posting this some day. At least I didn't post pictures of him playing with the box of feminine products he dug out of the bathroom cabinet.

First Hair Cut

I have no idea why I waited so long--Nick's hair was out of control for months, but I loved his baby curls, so I was worried they would be gone if we cut his hair. Well, his hair is the same, just better looking, though I have to admit I did shed a few tears over what a big boy he looks like, as well as how well he did sitting in the salon chair. Many thanks to Auntie Kristina for the great new 'do!

Before: His very long hair

During: The first snips

After: The big boy...

Happy 2009 & More

Greetings...

It has been a while since my last post because boy, oh boy, we have been busy. The holidays and the rest of January were a blur.

Christmas for Nicholas was much more "fun," this year, though he almost got more excited about some of the boxes and tissue paper than the toys, but he's set to play for the rest of the year. I try to rotate the toys every couple of days so that he can play with something new.

He's also just walking everywhere these days--crawling is so 2008. He got moved up to the big boy room at daycare, so he's been having fun sitting in chairs (and not highchairs) and using utensils to (try to) eat his food. I'm also hoping to transition him off the bottle soon--he seems to like it after he wakes up and before he goes to bed, but the rest of the time he uses sippy cups--though he actually likes regular cups the best (I just don't like him drenching himself 10 times a day).

Merry Christmas!

Nicholas will celebrate his second Christmas with his family--we are looking forward to watching him try to open presents and play with all his new toys.


Up next for Nicholas? Lots of time with mom over winter break. Baby's first haircut will probably be within the next week. He also has 3 more teeth coming in right now (for a total of 8).

One Year Old

It's hard to believe that our little boy is one year old already! We feel so blessed to have him in our lives, and have enjoyed every minute of this last year.

Events: This was a tough month for our family emotionally (see post below), so Nicholas did us the favor of bringing all of us happiness and joy every day--he's helping us make it through losing Isla one smile and hug at a time. He enjoyed his first Thanksgiving feast by throwing all pieces of turkey on the floor and gobbling up the homemade mashed potatoes. He also seemed to enjoy the sweet potatoes, rolls, and green bean casserole.

Milestones: Well, he took his first steps this month, but he's not quite confidant enough to do more than 5 or so from person to person yet. He's now mostly eating table food and is drinking whole milk (no more formula! whoo hoo!). At his 12-month check up he clocked in at the 90th percentile for height and 25th percentile for weight, so he seems to be sticking to the same long, lean trend so far. We celebrated his first birthday with our family and lots of presents--he was very excited about all the new toys. He also got his first bites of cake and ice cream--both of which he seemed to like--he especially liked that Snoopy was on his cake.

Surprises: We are going to be taking Nicholas to an ENT to check on his ears--as you may have read on the blog, he's had quite a few infections that don't seems to clear up from antibiotics, so we'll see what they say and try to make the best decision for him. We are looking forward to introducing him to Santa Claus and watching him open up more presents in a few short weeks.

Saying Goodbye to Isla

I'm not sure I have the right words to honor the memory of Nicholas' cousin Isla, but I'm going to try.

We are so sorry that this horrible accident befell our perfect little niece. All I know is that we're all going to miss her so much for the rest of our lives. I'm especially sad for Nicholas, because I know how close they would have been; I wanted so much for them to share so many things. I know Isla is watching over him, and all of us, and that he'll know her some day. Isla, we'll miss you and love you always.