Nicholas had a fun 14 month old day!

Nicholas is 14 months old today! He's such a big boy and I describe him as sweet and sour. He can be such a sweet, lovable little boy and can be OH SO ROTTEN too.

I forgot to post about him last month during my blog lacking month, so I'll try to catch up to include his up to date stuff.

He's just about 26 pounds - loves to eat which helped to get him that way. We sometimes have to say no to crackers or else he'd eat them all day! It was funny the other morning, he went downstairs and then was climbing up the stairs with a box of Cheese-Its in one hand and a box of Vanilla Wafers in the other! Too funny! Wish I had my camera for that one!

He has all of his first year molars now. They came in on the top first and the last one came in while we were on vacation. He's now cutting the eye teeth on the bottom, so right now, he's got 12 teeth.

He has perfected his walking and running and now is jumping - he can get a little bit of air under his feet! He LOVES to dance, like seriously loves music - he hears music and gets his groove on!!! It's awesome!

He is saying a few more words, waves hi and bye, does about 5 animal sounds and nods yes and no in usually appropriate responses.

He is really great - and then comes his rotten side........oh, this boy can be nasty! He can throw a fit like no one else I know and has a mean streak when he's mad. I'm not sure what gets into him sometimes, but I'm quickly realizing that I'm going to have to parent him differently than I have with Hannah. Such a challenge raising a boy, but such a joy too!

I fear that we'll take our first trip to the ER this summer with something broken or lots of blood - he likes to play rough! We'll try our best to keep him safe and in one piece.

Here's a few pictures from today

Check out those teeth!

So I stayed home with him today, not for his birthday, but because he has had this cough for over 2 months and it seems to be getting bad again. Last month, I took him to the doctor after his cold lasted 2-3 weeks and he had a double ear infection. I took him back just before vacation because he was still coughing and I wanted to make sure his ear infection cleared up. It did, but now, two weeks home from vacation, and he's still coughing. He had a bit of a fever this weekend, so I figured something isn't quite right and I wanted to take him for another doctor visit. So we got there today and his ears looked fine and his lungs sounded OK, but the doctor said there was something that sounded a little off in his cough and wheezing. He suggested sending him for a chest x-ray.

Do you know how they take a chest x-ray of a 14 month old? They use this barbaric looking contraption called a Pigg-O-Stat. The child sits on this little seat and his legs go into the holes of the bottom and then they (3 adults) strap these plastic things around his little body with his arms up over his head and only his red, screaming (scared) little face sticks out from the opening at the top. All the while the mother stands on the outside of the room with tears streaming down her face. And then they finish, release the scared screaming child. As I calm him down and reassure him he's fine, they come in and say the films weren't clear because his legs were kicking so hard and we had to do it again. Oh, poor Nicholas! This time, I help to get him in quickly and stay next to him with a lead apron and one lady holds his legs, I stay at his face and we finish quickly.

I guess this thing was a good idea, but it was awful! I wonder what kind of kid they used for this picture? Surely not a 14 month old kid that needs a chest x-ray!

So even with not-so great films, our Doctor didn't think there was anything worrisome about them, and decided to try a steroid medicine for 5 days to see if we can clear up the cough. Hopefully it works out well.

Another thing about our day together today, Nicholas was watching the Wiggles as I did some work at the kitchen table. Here he is dancing to the music.

So then after a few minutes, I looked over at him and see this

I guess he was tired and decided it was time for a nap!

I took Hannah to gymnastics tonight. It was sure easier without taking Nicholas. We got home and he was playing in Hannah's room like he loves to do. This is one of the things he likes to do with Hannah's dolls and their crib.

I guess he is still a baby after all! Despite him getting so big, so fast, he's still my baby!

Alive and Well.....vacationed and refreshed!

So the old blog was totally neglected last month - sorry!!! I guess it was a combination of being too busy and not really having much to blog about. I also realized that I didn't take a picture almost the entire month - awful, I know!

So anyway, we just got back from our annual spring break vacation to Hilton Head. The weather was terrific, the trip was relaxing and enjoyable, but of course went way too fast.

First, we celebrated Tony's birthday the day before we left - March 31st (his actual birthday). We went to Red Lobster for dinner with Laura, Aaron and the girls since he always gripes about not being allowed to go there. Unfortunately, Nicholas ended up with a tummy ache and cut the dinner a bit short. It was actually OK though because once again, it wasn't that great of a dinner. Tony finally agreed with me that Red Lobster really isn't all that great. He opened a few gifts when we got home and then the kids went to bed and we finished packing for vacation.

We worked on Friday, April 1. I got out around 3 and got gas and finished packing the car. Tony got the kids and we dressed them in jammies and packed everyone up and headed south. We drove just over 7 hours into Jonesville, NC and stayed the night at a hotel. The kids did really great. Hannah watched movies and Nicholas just hung out. He only got fussy when he tried to go to sleep because he couldn't get comfortable. We unloaded for the night and of course by then, the kids were wide awake. Hannah went to sleep easily, but Nicholas was different story. I think we finally fell asleep around 2 am.

We got up, showered, changed and had breakfast and finished the drive for another 5 hours or so to get to the vacation house. We stayed in a unit we stayed in a couple years ago. Mom and Randy were already there and so they helped us unload and we just hung out in the condo that night and made pizza for dinner. We took a quick trip to the beach. I had hoped Nicholas would be a little intimidated by the ocean, but no such luck....he headed right for it! I wondered if that would be a sign for how my week would be!

Sunday morning, we got ready and went out to breakfast and then Mom, Hannah and I went to the beach for the afternoon.

Hannah spent her time at the condo watching TV, playing with her barbies and playing on the computer. She's getting quite good at computer solitare!

Nicholas played with his toys, the stroller, the box and shoes - he is so interested now in trying to put on his shoes! It's funny!

We went to Lands End Tavern for dinner Sunday night.

Monday, the guys golfed and we took the kids to the pool. It was pretty cold in the water. I tried to get Nicholas to go in, but it was just too cold. Hannah had no problem getting in though! She splashed around the baby pool and even got Grandma to go into the big pool with her for a while to swim around.

Nicholas was quite content playing with beach toys on the side of the pool

and then decided to take a snooze in the stroller for a while in the shade.

We grilled burgers for dinner in on Monday night and then just hung out in the condo.

Tuesday's weather wasn't the greatest earlier in the day. Tony and I took Hannah to lunch at Sante Fe

Then we took both of the kids to the playground at Harbour Town. Hannah can finally pump her legs right on a swing.

Nicholas wasn't quite sure if he liked the swing or not.

He LOVED the slide though!

They had fun racing down together.

And for the record, that blue thing on him is a dog leash! I forgot the child harness thing at home and I looked all over for one down there, and the only thing I could come up with was an actual dog leash that velcroed around him and had a leash on his back - it worked!!!

We grilled out for dinner again and then had some Hilton Head friends over for some drinks that evening. Here is an attempt at a picture of me and the kids, however, Nicholas isn't so into picture taking these days!

Wednesday the guys golfed again and we took the kids to the beach. It was warm down there, but a bit windy and unfortunately the sand kept blowing in Nicholas' face. So I let him walk around a while and then he finally figured out that playing in the sand was fun - it felt neat on his hand alas!

So then I got him seated with Hannah and they played for quite a while together.

We laid down for naps and when Hannah woke up, she was running a 101 degree fever. I was so worried she'd be sick the rest of the time, but luckily she was doing better after some Advil. Tony and I went to dinner together that evening to our Japanese place. I was ready to go out after, but surprisingly, he just wanted to go back to the condo and hang out, so we did. Hannah's fever broke that night around 1:30, so luckily, she was fine in the morning.

Thursday morning, we got up and took the kids to Lawton Stables to see the horses and other animals. They enjoyed the animals for sure -the horses and there was a deer that was wandering about to pet.

Hannah had her pony ride again this year. She loves it!

I took Hannah to the pool for a little while that afternoon while Nicholas napped. Then we all got ready for dinner at the Old Oyster Factory.

Today was proof to me that it can be fun dressing a little boy ! Isn't he adorable???

And the big boy with his favorite big sister - they're awesome!

Here we are at dinner

And Hannah with a clam shell!

Tony and I went to the Salty Dog that night for a few drinks after the kids went to bed. It was so nice to be outside on a warm evening!

Mom and I took the kids to breakfast on Friday morning while the guys golfed one more time. After that, we headed to the pool again. The water was much warmer and Nicholas enjoyed splashing around the baby pool this time and didn't mind his life jacket at all.

After that last day in the sun, we all cleaned up and did our family photo session....brief this time since Nicholas was even more uncooperative than Tony!! We were able to get a few good ones.

And then we had one last dinner out at the Salty Dog. We ate outside and listened to the one-man-band guy singing. After dinner, Nicholas was in awe of the singer guy and just danced and danced by him. It was awesome! The guy sure got a kick out of him!

Then we had to head back and pack up for home. We left just before 9:00 Saturday morning and drove straight through, stopping for lunch, a couple pit stops for gas and potty and then again for dinner. The kids did so great in the car all day. We hit some really bad fog in Virginia and horrible rain through West Virginia, but made it home easily by 11:00.

It was a great week - so nice to not think about work and have a taste of summer. It was even more enjoyable to come home to an 80 degree Sunday! We did a bunch of spring cleaning yesterday and the kids played outside. We're so glad it's finally spring here and so enjoyed our spring break vacation again.

Back to reality now and hopefully not so neglecting of the blog....it's hard to write such long posts!

Who needs a handyman?

Not us!!

I'm proud to report that we've made some additional home improvements on our own and without blood or marriage counseling!

We (mostly Tony) installed a new dishwasher this weekend. Long story is that our old was on it's last leg, so we ordered a new one from Best Buy last weekend. We were told it would be in this past Saturday, and maybe even by Friday night. So I called Friday, it wasn't in. No big deal because our Friday night took a different turn anyway when I picked the kids up and Hannah was in tears. She didn't feel well and from her reaction, I knew she probaby had an ear infection. We've been lucky to not have had to deal with too many sicknesses, but when she is honestly not feeling well, I know right away what's going on. She asked to go to CVS that evening instead of waiting until the morning to go to the doctor. I'm glad we did because we got her some amoxicillin and within a couple hours of taking that and motrin, she was feeling much better.

So anyway, I called Best Buy around 1:00 Saturday afternoon and they said the dishwasher still wasn't in. I was so mad because we had wanted to install it while Nicholas napped so we were missing that opportunity for Saturday. So we all napped instead, so it wasn't that bad! We went to dinner and to the mall Saturday night.

Sunday, we got up and ate breakfast and I made a grocery list and Hannah and I went grocery shopping. I got home and called Best Buy again, this was around 1:30 Sunday and they told me it still wasn't in. OK, got a little angry at this point and demanded to talk to someone. Sort of fibbed a little and said I had someone there to install yesterday when it was supposed to be in and now I have a hole in my cabinets and that this was unacceptable. Magically as I waited for a manager to come on the phone, they came back on and said it actually was in....not sure how that happened, but I ran to pick it up. I wasn't a totall "b" at the store and got home with it while the kids were napping. We uninstalled the new one and worked together to put the new one in. Had two separate trips to Lowes (thank goodness it's right down the street) and we had it done by around 5:00. No blood, no yelling, no accidents! And we have a working dishwasher. It seems to run a long time, but it works and it's done!

I was off work today to finish working in the bedroom. I'm proud to say, we're almost finished finally! A few weeks ago, I installed the new closet shelving and new blind for the windows. Today, I got the closet completed by installing the new closet doors. It's been so long that we've been without closet doors, that it's a nice change. They turned out OK, but I installed the track a little too far out, so they stick out a bit further than they should, but I think it's OK. I still need to get a drill bit to cut the holes for the handles.

I also hung the curtain rod and panels I bought. I'm still waiting on the valances to come in. I had a hard time getting a good picture with the lighting in the room.

Now all we have left to do is install the new baseboards, hang the new door and get new carpet. I'm please with how it turned out so far!

Another Trophy!

Hannah's second session of gymnastics ended last week with "show what you know" and the ribbon ceremony. We've noticed a lot of improvement in her the past few months and she's now tumbling around the house all the time, which shows interest and explains some of her improvment (more practicing).

The night started with her coach coming over to me to tell me that they were ready to move Hannah up and along to the next step. She said that meant two days a week @ 1-1/2 hrs each day and the classes were our Monday night and Saturday morning. Oh, and another $50 a month. As much as I was delighted that she felt Hannah was ready, I had to tell her that our family just isn't ready for that level of seriousness at this time. Hannah JUST turned 5 and we have all the time in the world to be super busy. I'm just not ready to spend 3 hours a week at the gym for a 5 year old (and with a one year old). I feel a little selfish with my spare time and weekends, but we're always just so busy trying to fit in what we don't do during the week into the weekends and evenings that I just can't see going this route just yet. I was a bit disappointed because she said if we didn't choose to move up, we'd have to switch to Saturdays to stay in this type of class, which I don't want to do either. She was going to maybe allow Hannah to stay on Monday nights depending on enrollment, but if not, she would have to move to a 50-minute rec class which is offered both Wednesday and Thursday evenings, so that's what we may end up doing. We'll re-evalulate in the summer I guess. I know Hannah likes it and has fun and is definitely getting better, but I'm also not convinced she LOVES it and therefore, I'm just not ready to be serious about it.

So anyway, about the night and the pictures.

Some exercises that are helping her get quite a tight little tummy! (maybe I need to work on this move!)

She's one of the only girls in her class that will actually do a handstand on the beam alone. She definitley feels more comfortable and does better on this double beam, but none of the other girls will actually kick up into a handstand, and Hannah does it pretty well!

Back walkovers off the mat have definitely improved (probably due to the extra practice in the living room off the ottoman!)

Lots of handstands against our living room wall have helped perfect this move! Need to work on pointed toes!

And bars is where she's really made improvements from her assessments. Last time, she got just a blue ribbon on bars (the bottom level). She has been working hard and now can attempt her cast-straddle on which we were trying to take a picture of here. She can do it probably 50% of the time. She has a hard time remembering to hold on to the bar!

So there's the "Show What You Know" portion..........and then we moved on to the ribbon ceremony.

She was so very excited (which I happily captured her expression) when she achieved level black on everything and got her Black Trophy this time!!!!! She was so proud of herself and I was of her too! She has been working hard so it was exciting!

And afterward with her treasured new trophy

And as for other happenings around our place, Nicholas loves the vaccuum which of course tickles me pink! He loves to help me sweep the kitchen floor and also chase around the regular vaccuum! Love seeing my kids like to clean (I know, I'm weird)!!!!

And his fine motor skills are really improving which is cool. He loves to play with his shape sorter and can get a few of the shapes in all by himself as with the coins in the piggy bank here.

We went to visit Great Grandma yesterday for a bit. She had a birthday gift for Nicholas and then we stayed for a while which was nice.

Our dishwasher took a dump on us, so we got to buy a new one - love spending money on stuff like that and continuing to put money into this house when we so badly want to keep working the plan to move up! We're working hard to make that happen, so I'll just keep thinking positively about it and it WILL happen!!!

Tony and I are going to start getting into shape again and eating better. I figured I'd blog about it to help make it more of a commitment! So you're in too my dear (since I know you're reading this)......no more junk food and get to the rec center!

Ok, I'm off to work on our taxes.........hopefully that's not going to ruin my day!!!