Our Thanksgiving 2009

Our Thanksgiving got off to a rocky start as Nicholas got a stomach bug on Wednesday morning as we were packing up the car to head to Grandad and Kaki's house. So we stuck around and tended to him on Wednesday praying that our Thanksgiving wasn't ruined. Thankfully, God answered our prayers and amazingly Nick was better on Thursday morning and Graham and I never got sick! So we packed things up (dog and all) 24 hours behind schedule and headed up to the cabin. We had Thanksgiving dinner at the Newman's home and it was wonderful as always. The kids, Nicholas, Trip and Mady, had a great time playing with each other. They spent the majority of the time playing outside. The boys played tackle football with their daddy's and they went on walks to see the tractor and the neighbor's horses. Nicholas did not want to come inside at all. Of course the food was delicious and the company even better! Afterwards, we all came back to Grandad and Kaki's to stay the night. The kids loved joining in on some of the Garrison holiday traditions as Grandad put in the tape of Lauren and Graham's favorite Christmas songs and the whole family danced like crazy. That night, Trip and Nicholas got to have a slumber party and did really well sleeping in the same room. Baxter did not behave as well as the kids and got into the chocolate chip cookies and ran into Lauren, TJ, and Mady's room at 4 am, creating lots of chaos. On Friday, Lauren and I had a great time doing some shopping while everyone else stayed back home and played or helped out around the house.

We came home Friday night and managed to have a date night! Mimi and PopPop got some quality time with Nick while Graham and I got to go see New Moon--woohoo! It was great to get out with just my hubby. I know soon we won't get these opportunities for a long time.

On Saturday I was able to join Ashley and Mom shopping for a wedding dress! Ashley got the most beautiful dress and she will be absolutely stunning on her day! I still cannot believe we are planning her wedding :) Then of course Saturday night we watched the wonderful Georgia win over Tech. Graham is still on a high from the game! We finished everything off on Sunday with church and then a family advent service Sunday night to start the Christmas season off in a wonderful way. Nicholas loved the music and was dancing in the aisles. He wanted to badly to join the children's choir up on the stage and did not understand why he couldn't go be with the other kids. We are so excited for this wonderful season of Christmas to begin. How extra special this December will be!

My camera was having problems so I wasn't able to take any pictures, however my Flip camera was working well and I took lots of video of our Thanksgiving. I tried to upload a few and it was taking forever so I will try again tomorrow hopefully.

Just an update

Thought I'd give an update on our household before Thanksgiving begins. Recently, we've been seeing some changes in Nicholas--both good and very bad. It's almost as if he's turned up the dial on all aspects of his personality (if that makes any sense). His vocabulary and understanding seem to have skyrocketed and he is speaking in full sentences all the time now. He's so much more a part of the conversation all the time now, which is funny. And with this his humor seems to be really developing too. He also has been really showing us that he is all boy and has had times of being very hyper everyday--literally jumping off the walls and climbing on everything. With all of this "increased personality" has come major defiance and disobedience. The number of tantrums and need for discipline have increased like crazy. I can't tell you how much I do not enjoy being 8 1/2 months pregnant and chasing down a tantruming 2 year old in a parking lot and carrying him kicking, screaming, and hitting me to the car. Just this week there have been numerous public episodes like this. I've decided to never take him out in public again! And I've also decided that I won't feel so bad when he's a teenager and I become an embarrassment to him because of all these times that he's embarrassing me now with public tantrums. I am hoping to get through this phase quickly but preparing myself that it may last a while.
On Saturday we went up to Grandad and Kaki's to play and celebrate Butch being finished with his treatments in Nashville! Lauren, TJ, Trip and Mady were there too and it was wonderful having everyone together. The best part was watching the three cousins having so much fun together. Nicholas just loves everything about going up to Grandad and Kaki's house (except for the coming home part).
On Monday I had my doctor's appointment and everything looked good! I'm 34 weeks now. I have not progressed any further from 2 weeks ago and I can now stop taking the medicine to stop me from going into labor and I'm very thankful about this as it made me very ill. Nolan's heartbeat sounded great like always. I go back in 2 weeks and get to have an ultrasound!
Well today is Wednesday and we should be in Fairmount at Grandad and Kaki's to start our Thanksgiving vacation. Unfortunately as we were finishing up packing this morning to get on the road, Nicholas started with an awful stomach bug. We are hoping and praying that this will go away and we can maybe still make it up tomorrow for the big meal! I also pray that Graham and I don't get it too. That would be my worst nightmare--8 1/2 months pregnant with a stomach virus on Thanksgiving!!!! Please pray that won't happen!!

Thanksgiving Feast

On Wednesday, Nick's 2 year old class had their Thanksgiving Feast. It was so cute and such a treat to get to come visit him at school and have lunch with him. When the class first came into the room where the parents were waiting, they had a song/prayer to perform. I thought for sure Nicholas would not stay with the class but would come running to me when he saw me. He has been having serious separation issues when I drop him off at school. But I was so proud of him, he stayed right with his class and said the whole prayer! He was so proud of himself! I have no idea when he learned it because he hasn't been at school but I guess he catches on quickly. Then Aunt Ashley was even able to come and join us for the feast as her office is now up in Alpharetta. Nicholas had made a Fruit Loops necklace that he proceeded to eat in 2.5 seconds. When he finished with the necklace, he tried to eat the candle they had made out of rice and beans!! Guess he was really hungry!

Here is the video of the prayer. Sorry it is so far away, we were across the room and my Flip video doesn't have zoom. Nicholas is one of the last to enter the room, right before the teacher. He's wearing a grey shirt with his Fruit Loop necklace and is doing all of the hand motions.

(Check out my last post too as I'm adding pictures of the festival)

One sick month

It's been a while since I've posted anything and that's because Nicholas and I have been sick with various things since the end of October and I therefore haven't had time to update the blog. Also, my computer broke as well so that put a kink in things as I'm now sharing Graham's computer. Poor Nicholas has missed so much school at the end of October and all of November due to either tummy issues, the croup, or a cold. I am hoping that we are getting through all of this yuckiness before Nolan comes. As for me, I've got this cough that I can't seem to get rid of. I'll probably walk around with it until I deliver--just can't seem to kick it. Thankfully Graham has manage to avoid the germs so far and I hope that continues! With the pregnancy, I've been pretty uncomfortable these days. I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions most days for a couple weeks now. On Monday (a week ago) when I went to the doctor and told my midwife about my pain and contractions, she discovered that I was already dialated to 1 cm. She said that Nolan is also head down and very low, in position to come! She ran some tests and determined that thankfully I was not in preterm labor. But she did put me on some medication to relax my cervix and I'm supposed to be resting as much as I can. I am so ready to not be pregnant anymore and not feel all of these aches and pains all the time. I also can't wait to hold Nolan in my arms, see his precious face, and get to know this gift from God. But at the same time, I'm still so nervous about my world being turned upside down by adding a newborn to our family. And of course I want him to be healthy and fully developed. So I am just praying for God's perfect timing for Nolan's arrival and that he will prepare our hearts and our home for him as well!

We had a pretty fun weekend to share about. On Saturday, Nicholas and I met Mimi and Aunt Ashley at a Holiday Festival at Dunwoody UMC. This is our 3rd year of going to the festival and we always enjoy ourselves. Nicholas has gotten his pictures taken with Santa the past two Christmases and I was looking forward to that again. Unfortunately, Nicholas was not and he became hysterically afraid of Santa and would not go near him. So we probably won't get pictures with Santa this year--so sad! But he did enjoy the pony ride, the moon bounce, the playground, and of course all of the holiday music and decorations.
On Sunday, my family all met up down in Peachtree City at Aunt Sue and Uncle Dick's house for a Thanksgiving dinner! It was so wonderful having everyone together--Ashley, Jay, Mom, Dad, Matt, Mark, and even Papa! Nicholas had the best time playing with toys and just having everyone's attention. The food was delicious too! Thanksgiving is my favorite so I was so excited that we get to have 2 Thanksgiving dinners!

Life with boys

I just have to share 2 funny stories from the past two days of my "boys". Yesterday I was vacuuming the house. Like always, I moved the kitchen chairs into the kitchen to vacuum under the table. Nicholas spent a while "helping" me and following me around like he normally does. After a while though, I realized that I hadn't seen Nicholas or Baxter for awhile and went to investigate. As I turned the corner of the kitchen, I found Nicholas standing on one of the chairs by the counter. His arms were holding Baxter, who was standing on top of the kitchen counter finishing off a pan of brownies that were on top of the microwave!! It was straight out of one of Nick's books, "Bad Dog Marley!" While Nicholas could have been trying to get Baxter off of the counter, it looked a lot like he was holding him up there and helping him get a snack!

Then today, I was cooking myself some much needed (and craved) homemade chicken soup in order to soothe my cold. Nicholas and Baxter were playing throughout the house while I was chopping veggies. I was pouring the chopped veggies into the large soup pot when all of a sudden Baxter's ball comes flying and lands right in the pot on top of the veggies! I was stunned, and couldn't believe my eyes. Of course the one time that Nicholas has perfect aim is straight into my soup that I had worked so hard on! Thankfully there was no broth in the pot yet and I claimed the 1 second rule ;) And I have to say, the soup was delicious.

I can only imagine that these are just a few of the numerous stories I am going to be collecting over the years with my THREE boys--and for those of you that know Baxter, you know that he very much counts as a third boy!

Trunk or Treating

Before I update about other things, I am so excited and can't contain myself! I have to share the exciting news that my baby sister is ENGAGED! Jay proposed to Ashley last night and we are SO happy for them! I can't believe she's going to get married! AND, my wonderful friend Nadine also got engaged on Saturday! Congratulations to Nadine and Michael too! Very exciting times around here. I cannot wait to see these beautiful brides and share in their very special days :)

As for our family, this has been a challenging week for us. Nicholas got very sick with croup this weekend. It was very scary as he had difficulty breathing, a barking cough, and a high fever. He's been pretty pitiful. At the same time, Graham left to be with his dad in Nashville for the week as he gets his cancer treatments. And of course, I became sick on Tuesday. I've been very thankful that Nolan is still inside my belly and I didn't have to worry about taking care of him as well on top of all of this load by myself!

But yesterday Nicholas woke up from a long nap and for the first time in many days his energy level was back up and my happy boy had returned to me. So I decided we needed to get out of the house and have some fun! A local church was having a Trunk or Treating, where people decorate the trunks of their cars with different themes and the kids go trick or treating in the parking lot. Mimi was even able to join us too! It was so cute and so much fun! Our little Buzz Lightyear had so much fun and caught on quickly to the trick or treating. Last year Nicholas got a stomach virus on Halloween and didn't get to go trick or treating (notice a pattern here?) so this was all new to him. It was so fun and festive. They had a hay ride, great music, games, balloon animals, a model Halloween train, and of course tons of candy and great costumes.

Can't wait for Daddy to get home this weekend and join us for more Trick or Treating! Hopefully we will all be healthy by then too!

I've included some pictures of last night, as well as some pictures of Nick in his Big Boy room :)

Our Bouncing Big Boy and his baby brother too!

The past couple days, I've had a lot to report on our blog, however no time to do it. I overworked myself last week doing things around the house and getting Nick's room ready and I really paid for it. I found myself exhausted and aching a lot. When I went to see my midwife on Wednesday she was concerned and said that I really needed to rest and slow down. Therefore, I've been taking her advice and napping when Nick naps and going to bed early--so I've had no time to blog! Another thing my midwife discussed with me was the option to induce delivery at 39 weeks if we choose. Because Nicholas was such a large baby for my frame, they want to avoid that with Nolan. I will get an ultrasound at 36 weeks to check his weight and then we will most likely induce on Monday 12/28. While I hope inducing won't make my delivery more difficult, we feel like having Nolan the last week in December is best for both of our families and hope that both sets of grandparents may get to visit that week and meet our new addition. 10 weeks to go, I can't believe it!

Friday evening, we decided to take Nicholas to Monkey Joes (a bouncy, jumpy place). We've taken him there one other time a long time ago and I don't think he remembered it. It took him a while to warm up and he spent at least the first 20 minutes just walking around staring in amazement and would not go into the jumpers. Finally after some encouragement, he finally agreed and caught on quickly and had a great time. If there was a bigger kid in the same jumper he would copy everything they did, it was very cute. Sweet Graham got a great workout himself going through all the different jumpy things and slides to help Nick as he was too small to do a lot of them on his own. What a great Daddy!

That night, Nicholas moved into his new room for the first time! The transition has been so easy, it's incredible. He did not even make a peep that night and when I checked on him hours later he hadn't moved an inch from where I had left him. He's done fabulously with naps too! He has always been a wonderful sleeper but it seems he's doing even better in his bed! He sleeps later, until after 8 am now, and has been taking 3 and 4 hour naps!! And he tells me that he really likes his Big Boy Bed.

On Sunday my sweet friend and neighbor, Kim, through me a wonderful baby shower. It was small, with only 8 of us, but it was perfect. It was wonderful to have some time to focus on Nolan and to get some special new things for him. Everything always seems to be about Nicholas these days so I really enjoyed the chance to celebrate our sweet baby. We played a few fun baby shower games, had some yummy food, had good conversation, and opened presents. :)

Lastly, today Nicholas and I went to the library to return books, get new ones, and sit for story time. He's been very much into the library these days and loves to check out movies and books at the library! And he loved the sing along and story time! It was one of those moments where I so enjoyed watching his face light up as he sang the songs and did the hand motions. It's days like these that I am so thankful that I am so blessed to be home with him and experience him growing and learning.