18 Months Old

Nick has reached another milestone: 1 & 1/2 years of age!


His checkup at the Dr. was no big surprise: 99th percentile for height (at 34") and 25th for weight (at just under 25 pounds). We were wondering why it was taking so long for him to need another haircut and found out that his head grew several centimeters in circumference. It's great that he is growing and developing well.


The biggest relief is that after many "back and forth" discussions about ear tube surgery, Nick's ears are healthy, and we avoided having to put him through surgery for now. We hope he will make it through the next few months without an ear infection!


Also correlating with the lack of ear infections is lots of words! It is so fun to hear him talk, and it's funny which words he decides to pick up on. He's probably up to about 20 words or so... the most recent ones being "bubbles" and "buckle." Without a doubt, he loves "b" words--bird, ball, bye-bye, blue... He also seems to understand so many words he cannot say, so it is nice that there is more communication taking place. And he has found that he can tell us things, too. He will bring us his shoes when he wants to go outside; he will ask for naps and tell us when he has made a "pee eww"; and he likes to bring over the remote when he wants to watch his "Wheels on the Bus" Baby Einstein video.


Really, we just continue to cherish our time with him.

Memorial Day Weekend 2009

Despite being what seemed like the earliest Memorial Day ever, we had four days of perfect weather up north at the cottage. Nicholas had way too much fun being spoiled by Grandma Gail, Granddad, and his Great-Grandparents, Rosie and Earl.

He played in the sand, went for boatrides, and generally had a blast. By far his favorite thing was chasing Molly around and giving her treats. She still wouldn't let him get away with snuggling her (for long), but he kept trying.

A Sister for Nicholas

On May 12th, we discovered that we are having a daughter in September. I had an inkling she was a girl because my pregnancy has been very different than the previous one. However, I never really believed that we'd have a daughter for some reason, so it was still a total shock. We feel very excited that we have been blessed with the opportunity to raise a girl, too.

Mother's Day 2009

Mother's Day was a fun family day. After church and a visit to the Memorial Park to visit and remember Isla, the weather cleared up and we had some nice outdoor fun.

I think I need to start getting out from behind the camera. No pictures of Nick's mom on Mother's Day! Ha ha!

President in Training

Over Easter we got to spend time with the Jordan family in LaCrosse, which included a trip to Granddad's office. Nicholas enjoyed sitting in on a conference call, sending a few emails, flirting with administrative assistants, and generally being the center of attention at Reinhart for an hour.

Almost 17 Months Old...

Nicholas has been growing and developing by leaps and bounds. Every day it seems like he does something new. I'm looking forward to the end of the semester and lots of free time to spend with my bud over the summer, especially since his little brother or sister will be here in the fall.

Even more than playing, I'd venture that his favorite thing is "figuring stuff out." He loves to copy whatever you are doing... and he thinks he is a much bigger boy than he really is. Whether it is loading the dishwasher (he puts his breakfast dishes in for me), watering the flowers (or his feet), or folding the laundry (or unfolding), he just loves to copy whatever Scott and I do.

I think what I love the most about him is how sweet and happy he is all the time--he always has a smile or hug for you, and he loves to play one on one. He's just such a joy. His newest heart-melting talent is blowing kisses.

The pictures from Easter have been delayed for quite a while... but I finally got them!

Spring Break, Spring Cleaning, and 15-month-old Stats

Nicholas had his 15-month check up and he's currently weighing in at 23 pounds (25th percentile) and measuring 33 inches in height (90th percentile). So, he's still a tall little guy, which is probably why he is now in 24-month size clothes.

He was a big help during the spring cleaning I tackled over break--he likes to copy whatever Mommy does.







But, cleaning is hard work, so sometimes we need to take a snuggle break.







We have been enjoying the warm-ish weather by taking walks to the park and playing on the swings and slides, and by running around the yard with the neighborhood kids. He even figured out out to blow bubbles.

We just feel so lucky to have a happy and healthy son. He's added so much joy to our lives.