14 months

August has been a Nicholas-centric month but we've had our hands full with Alexa. She's finally showing interest in walking and it's taken a long time to get here.

Nicholas loved to stand and started doing so even at 3 months (assisted of course). Alexa had no interest. Even at 6 months I'd pick her up hoping she'd put her feet down and she'd just lift up her feet until she was returned to her bottom.

Once she started to stand, her teeny tiny feet must have made it difficult to balance. She was very wobbly for a long period of time but working on furniture cruising.

I'm not sure if her feet have grown that much or if she feeling some peer pressure at school but once we moved she finally started showing interest in trying to walk. In these couple weeks you can already see her improvement in balance and strength. She's gone from taking just a couple wobbly steps to insisting that we help her walk everywhere. While I was trying to make dinner last night she was furious with me that I would not walk her around the house and up the stairs as much as she wanted. Can you say 'stubborn'?

The one good thing about this stage, all this walking makes her very tired and bedtime is a breeze.

Here she is practicing her walking.
Another of her loves is 'Danny'.

Walden Pond

Finally we've been enjoying some nice warm weather. Some would call it a an unbearable heat wave, but I've been waiting all summer for this weather.

To keep cool, Nicholas, Enzo, Eve, and I went to Walden Pond for the day. It was crowded, the beach area is pretty small, and Nicholas needed some encouragement to get into the water but it was perfect.

Here are the boys for snacktime.
Nicholas is finally in the water.

Playtime.

Enzo couldn't get enough of the water.

Just chillin.

After a full day in the sun there is nothing better than an ice cream cone, so Nicholas and I headed to Friendly's. Like most toddlers, he insisted on his own. The surprising part is he ate the entire cone. Well, some did end up on his face and shirt but it was worth it.

You'd think the day was complete but we made one more stop after this, the library. We picked up a Curious George and a Blue's Clues DVD for our upcoming vacation. Talk about a fun filled day.

Checking in after the check up

Nicholas is not a baby anymore. He most certainly is a "big boy" and was a very good boy for his 3 year check up at that.

When I warned him we were going, he wasn't thrilled with the idea. I said the Dr. needed to look at his eyes, ears, mouth and listen to his heart, take a little blood (like a mosquito bite) and that’s it. That way we can be sure he's not sick. Nothing a big boy can't handle.

He was a bit hesitant about getting on the “big boy” scale and standing up against the wall to get his height taken. It might have been because this was new or it might have been because of the scary nurse. We're unsure. Turns out Nicholas grew 3 inches and gained 5 lbs so he’s 29 lbs and 37 inches this year. Not bad at all.

While in the exam room, he seemed to look at everything as if he's never been there before. He wanted to know what the otoscope, blood tubes, and blood pressure cuff were for. He seemed receptive to my explanation and wanted to play with them. I said we'd have to wait to ask the Dr if he'd show them to him. We did look at the pictures of the Dr's dog and the "baby" scale. He seemed shocked that he used to be small enough to fit on that. He also found it extremely funny that he peed on that scale at one appointment. Seems so long ago.

Nicholas did great for the Dr. He answered all of the Drs questions. They chatted about who his friends were, what he ate for breakfast and lunch, and what he likes to do for fun. He showed the Dr how he can get himself undressed and walked around the room for him. The Dr was very impressed, especially with his language skills, and said we have a good boy on our hands.

Nicholas was even an absolute gentleman for the nurses and the blood collection (lead test). I was so amazed since last year's collection ended up with blood everywhere. It might have helped that I told him if he was good we’d go to the toy store and get him a new Matchbox car after the appt. Whatever the reason, I'll take it.

Just a quick photo of Nicholas playing with his new toy he got for his birthday. A Home Depot tool bench. He loves "fixing" things which usually involve various body parts. Orthopeadic surgeon tendancies? I hope it's that over the other options.

Phew!

This week has been hectic to say the least. As of August 1st we still had no place to live once we closed on our house August 7th. Just to give you a feel of what our last week was like here are a few highlights.

Saturday (Aug 1st) we looked at two homes. One was acceptable, one was gorgeous. It was a no brainer but after all we'd been through we persued both rentals.

Monday, Jim met with the landlord, signed the lease, handed over a check and got the keys. Hallelujah, we have a place to live! I quickly cancel our PODS and hire movers for Wednesday.

Tuesday, I take off from work to finish the packing I was hoping to do on Saturday but since we were looking at rentals still didn't have the opportunity to complete.

Wednesday, moving day. Despite not going to bed until midnight the night before I was up at 5 am packing. The movers arrived at 8:30 am and the move was over by 2:30 pm. That was quick for the amount of stuff we had. The rest of the day was spent getting the kids rooms somewhat livable.

Thursday, another day off of work and we spent the ENTIRE day cleaning the old house before the walk through at 7 pm. Two trips to the Swap Shop, one trip for recycling and trash, and one trip for the Salvation Army worth of junk.

Friday was the closing. You cannot imagine the relief I felt leaving there with a check in hand.

Here are a few pics of our rental. Don't worry, there are negatives. We have our own "hatch" in our non-existent backyard and one of our neighbors keep their "lawn" trimmed by riding their dirt bikes around their house for HOURS at a time. I kid you not.

Birthday Boy

Birthdays happen. Even amidst the chaos of moving. We were not able to have a Birthday party (yet) for Nicholas but we tried to make his day special. We started the day off with pancakes topped with a whipped cream face and strawberries. Yum.

Our midday hours were spent looking at more home rentals in near desperation to find a place to live once we closed on our house (Let's just say for now, we got very lucky.) and got a surprise visit from Grandma and Grandpa on their way to the Cape for some yummy cake.

That night my company had a family outing at Foxboro for a New England Revolution game. We were able to watch the first half of the game without too much fallout from the kids being up late. Nicholas really enjoyed watching how far the guys kicked the ball. All in all a good day.

This one was taken the morning after but I had to include it. He's already a "guy".

Three

Yesterday was Nicholas's third Birthday.
How can it be? Already?
Here he is... all brand new...


6 months old...
one year...

two...

three...

Nicholas, my pregnancy with you was hard. In the early days, before zofran, all I could do was curl up in a ball on the couch. My nickname for you was "A.Q" for the Alien Queen in the movie Aliens, as all I wanted to do was rip out my uterus.

The days leading up to your birth were HOT! We were experiencing a heat wave of 95+ degree weather, where my only comfort was found in the cold atlantic water, and my blood pressure kept rising along with it. After a week and a half of blood pressure checks, on July 31st (and 13 days before my due date) my Dr. said my time was up. I was not to go back to work, but I was directed to go straight to the hospital for an induction.

Not wanting a chemical induction, my Dr. agreed to rupture my membranes in the office to get things going. Daddy dropped me off at the hospital and went to tie things up at work, grab my hospital bag from home, and pick up some pizza as I hadn't had lunch before my appointment.

Contractions were slow to start and when they started they were painful... super painful. Funny because when I had watched all those birth shows and women complained of the pain, I thought they were weak. Ha! Cue the epidural.

It took some time but at 8:16 am, you were born.

You had the most perfect little face. I still remember those little white bumps across your cute round nose and how Daddy promised you a BMW for your 16th birthday. (You might want to get that in writing. ;) )

These three years have been wonderful. You are smart, independent, and funny. You talk like an adult! You're a little bit of a mama's boy. You love your cars and trucks, and the beach. You are slow to warm up, a little timid, but once you get the hang of it you're tough to slow down.

I can't wait to see what the next year will bring.