Mini Graham

These days, Nicholas seems to get more and more fun with each day. His language is growing so much and it's just so amazing watching him learn and process new words and ideas. He can now count to 10 and sing or say his ABC's (it's definitely not perfect but he's saying it). He also loves to sing, despite his not so wonderful voice--hopefully that improves as his language does. But one of the cutest things that I enjoy witnessing is the little "mini-me" that Graham seems to be creating. It is adorable watching the two of them together. Of course long ago Graham taught Nick to say "Go Dawgs, Sic 'Em!" which Nick will instinctively say when he sees any football game, baseball game, UGA paraphernalia, or hears any song from Graham's Red Coat cd. But now, Graham has been able to "mold" him in many other ways. He's taught him the "knuckle tap." He taught him to play with Transformers and make the noise that Transformers make when they transform. To answer the question "What do Gators say?" with a loud "BOOOO!" When Graham puts on his Game Day or workout music and does some bootie shaking in the living room, Nicholas is right there beside him copying all of Daddy's moves. The past few evenings after dinner, the boys have taken to playing basketball and golf in the living room (it's quite hot outside these days) and Nick just can't get enough of this guy time. It's so sweet to see the bond that they have. Maybe someday I'll have a little mini-me as well? Hmm, I wonder what sort of things could I teach her to do.....

A Father's Day Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend honoring Graham for Father's Day by spreading it out over three days! When asked what he wanted to do during the weekend, Graham of course wanted to go to the movies. So Friday night we took Nicholas over to play at Mimi and PopPop's house while Mommy and Daddy got to have a date and went for dinner and to see the new Terminator movie. It was so nice to get out just the two of us! We were planning on picking him up after the movie but when we called, Mom said that he was sleeping so well that he could stay the night. So Nicholas ended up having a fun slumber party! He was so good and had a great time--great practice for his weekend with Grandad and Kaki next weekend :) We picked him up in the morning on Saturday and decided to treat Nicholas to his first movie at the theaters (to avoid the heat) and saw Disney Pixar's Up! He did so well throughout the entire movie and never got scared or was disruptive. There were a few times when he decided to comment on the movie during quiet times but that was all. He seemed like such a big boy and it's so fun to be able to do these sort of things with him now. After the movie we enjoyed some Mexican food. It was a great day for our family of three! I know it's silly and my due date is still a long ways off, but as the three of us walked hand in hand and enjoyed our time together, I couldn't help but get sentimental about how our time with Nicholas as an only child will come to a close soon. But what a blessing another sweet baby will be. :) On Sunday, Graham got to sleep in and open his present and relax around the house. Then we went over to my parents house to celebrate the day with Dad and Papa. We had a wonderful dinner and some great time relaxing there as well! We wish we could have visited with Butch as well but we'll look forward to seeing them next weekend. Happy Father's Day to all you wonderful dads!

Like Father, Like Son

Today was Nick's 2 year check up.  Nicholas has a fear of the doctor, much like his daddy used to when he was little.  I spent the day before preparing him by talking a lot about the doctor and reminding him to not be scared but telling him what would happen at the doctor.  He did a little better than past visits and didn't start crying until the nurse called us to come back to the room.  He hasn't gained any weight over the last 6 months and is still at 28.8 pounds but the doctor wasn't concerned as he's at 51%.  His height was at 67% and his big old head was 93%.  The real excitement came when it was time for his shots.  He was hysterical of course and managed to get one hand free and GRABBED THE NEEDLE AND PULLED IT OUT OF HIS LEG!  I could not believe my eyes and felt so bad that I managed to let that happen.  Unfortunately, that meant he had to get the shot a second time.  As soon as it was all over, he was ready to go and kept saying "Ok, all done!  Bye-bye!" and waving to the doctor and nurse as if he hadn't just disrupted the entire doctor's office with his hysterics.  Oh how I love taking him to the doctor!  

After this, Mimi and I took him to the pool to play (yes, it was a bribe for him to be good at the doctor).  This was just his second time to the pool this summer and he no longer was grasping onto me for dear life like last time.  He suddenly was a little fish in the water, "swimming" from me to the stairs and back, over and over and over.  I kept having flashes of that wonderful picture of Graham at the pool not much older than Nicholas, diving off the diving board all on his own.  I have a feeling that my little dare devil may pull some stunts much like his daddy did.  

Unfortunately, right before heading out to the pool, I managed to stub my toe and break it!  It hurts quite a bit and I'm hobbling around as best I can.  This is going to make chasing around my 2 year old even more fun (as well as "running" to the bathroom with morning sickness).  At least it was my left foot and I can still drive.  :)

Happy Birthday Nicholas!

Saturday was Nicholas's 2nd birthday!  He definitely had a fabulous day and caught on to the whole birthday thing very quickly.  The day started with Mommy and Daddy greeting him in his crib with the Happy Birthday song and right away he was beaming and so excited.  He then walked out to find a new train table waiting for him in the living room.  He ran right over to it exclaiming "Oh, Wow!"  and hasn't stopped playing with it since then.  Later that afternoon, it was party time!  Nicholas was so excited to have everyone that he loves here at the house at one time.  When each family would arrive, he would get so excited and do laps around the living room just like Baxter does when he's excited!  We had a train theme for the birthday party of course and the table was a big hit.  We also lots of other "stations" for the kids to play at like coloring train pictures, reading train books, playing golf and bean bag toss outside and playing with bubbles and other toys.  Nicholas got so many special gifts too--lots of trains, a basketball goal, a golf set, a tricycle, and lots of other fun toys.  It is a good thing that he's got a sibling on the way because he sure is spoiled.  Good thing birthdays only come once a year too!  Nicholas loved his Thomas the train cake and even joined in on the birthday song to himself!  I don't think that he could have had a better time at his party.  Thank you to all of our wonderful family and friends for all of your help with the party, for coming to celebrate, and for the special gifts!   I know I couldn't have gotten through it with out you! 

Fun at the Pool

Nicholas and I went to the pool today for the first time this year.  Nicholas had a great time!  First we played in the baby pool.  It was very cold so he never really got real far into the pool but he had a blast playing with his toys in the shallow part and then soon 2 other little girls joined him and in no time the 3 were having so much fun splashing and squealing with delight over and over.  It was so cute to watch.  Then we put his new floaties on and hit the big pool.  It was much warmer than the baby pool (thank goodness) so he wasn't as hesitant about the temperature but he was very nervous at first being in so much water and he held on to me for dear life.  He started to have fun and warm up to this whole pool thing as long as he was holding on tightly to me.  Then I found the key to his delight.  I set him up on the side of the pool for him to jump into my arms and he just loved this!  He would scream "Ready, Set, GO!" and jump into my arms (mostly from a seated position).  Before he was even hitting the water, he was saying he wanted to go again.  It's so wonderful watching how happy he was and seeing those smiles and giggles!  How did I get to be so blessed to be this sweet boy's mommy?  He didn't even get upset when it was time to come home and take a nap!  

New to the world of Nicholas:  These days, Nicholas is suddenly into climbing!  Oh joy.  Actually he mainly chooses to climb all over Mommy and Daddy and we usually spend the evening after dinner with him climbing all over us, all while he says "I kimbing (climbing)".  He climbs all over the furniture and now has to climb into the car and car seat and booster seat at the table all on his own and does not want any help from Mommy or Daddy.  Thankfully, his new sport hasn't been too dangerous yet (except for the multiple times that he falls while trying to climb up us) so hopefully he doesn't try to turn this to trees or bookshelves or something crazy.   

Dr. Bergman is our friend

Both Nicholas and I have been kinda sick the past few days.  Nicholas woke up Tuesday morning "acting sick" and running a low fever that has stayed with him for the last few days.  He really hasn't had many other symptoms except for the fever and not napping well.  I also came down with a cold on Wednesday and have been trying to rest that away since I cannot take meds due to the pregnancy.  

I am so blessed to have such wonderful Moms (Mimi and Kaki) to support us and help take care of us.  Yesterday, Kaki came for a visit and we all went and met Graham for lunch and then took Nick to Barnes & Noble to play at the train table, which he loves.  It was so much fun to have even that short time with her during the day.  Nicholas loved it of course and when he woke from his nap to discover that she had gone home, he was very sad :(  

Then my sweet Mommy came over today and made us lunch and let me take a nap while she played with Nicholas and put him down for his nap.  He loves his cuddle time with Mimi as she loves to rock him before going down for his nap.  He wasn't asleep for long though when he woke up obviously in a lot of pain and not feeling well.  I decided to take him to the doctor to have his ears checked as I was concerned that he had an ear infection.  Well, Nicholas has developed a strong fear of the doctor's office and he became very upset when we pulled into the parking lot (we haven't been there since January but he has a great memory).  So yes, I was that mom with the hysterical screaming kid in the doctor's office.  It is so heartbreaking though to watch him and see how scared he is.  My mom was very sweet too and met us at the doctor to help to ease his fears.  He held onto me or Mimi for dear life and just wailed.  When we asked him where it hurt he would say "I sorry Mommy!"  Oh it just broke my heart!  We had to bribe him with treats and lollipops if he's a good boy and we talked over and over about how Dr. Bergman was our friend and we wanted to come say hi to him and that he was going to make him all better.  When he finally came in, Nicholas actually did fairly well and let the doc check out his ears and only cried minimally.  Of course in the end (like always it seems), his ears were fine which I was glad for but I leave feeling like the stupid mom for putting us all through that and wasting another $20 copay.  At least I know he's fine and just have to wait out this mystery fever.  Sure hope we're feeling better soon as I can't wait to get to the pool this summer!

Nick's Secret

Nicholas is so excited to announce that he's going to be a big brother!  We are expecting baby #2 January 3rd, 2010!  I am 9 weeks along currently.  I went to the doctor today and was able to hear a faint heartbeat (it was early to hear it)!  We had an ultrasound 3 weeks ago and saw the tiny dot (heartbeat and all).  However based on how small the baby was they determined that my due date was wrong (originally December 20th) and measured the baby at 6 weeks instead of 8 weeks that we thought we were at.  But my midwives are already saying that I will be induced 1-2 weeks early because of how big Nicholas was!  Of course I am pretty sick yet again this go around so that makes things interesting taking care of Nick while I continue to run to the bathroom!  I'll be sure to keep everyone updated on my growing belly and our growing family.  

As for Nicholas, his vocabulary is growing everyday and he's frequently speaking in sentences now.  He wants to know what the name for everything is and is always pointing and asking "What's that?"  He also loves to sing and it is hilarious listening to him belt out a song.  I can't believe he will be two in just two weeks.  Can't wait for the party!