Nick has had a rough few weeks, which has meant that Chase and I have had a few weeks of really rough nights. Nick doesn't handle teething pain very well and it takes his teeth forEVer to cut through. Finally, about a week ago, he woke up proudly donning two new pearly whites. He's got three teeth on the bottom and two up top. Chase calls him snaggle tooth. Poor little guy has also had to contend with hand, foot, and mouth disease, strep throat, and shots. We've gone through more ibuprophen in the last week or so than ever before in my life! His sleeping patterns are so irregular we don't know what to expect at night, some nights he's up every thirty minutes and some nights he sleeps all the way through. I was getting increasingly frustrated and wondering if I was doing something to prevent him from sleeping well each night so I spoke with his doctor about it last week and was given very kind, reassuring, and sound advice; now I feel a lot better. Nick is almost 20 pounds and 27 3/4 inches long, his check up went well and Dr. Jameson was shocked when I told him about Nick's recent achievements. Nick is learning to walk! He can stand up and push his walking toy around the house all by himself. It's hilarious to see such a little guy walking through the house and he really seems to enjoy the freedom of movement. Lately, he's been trying to stand up on his own without pulling up and has been balancing freely more and more. It won't be long before there's another biped in this house! Nick waves and says "bye bye", he claps and says "uh oh" only he sort of hums it, which is really precious. Nick is showing more and more cognitive understanding of certain things, for example: he loves to play the telephone game. I sit him on my lap and hand him the phone and say "ring ring", he then puts the phone to my ear; I pretend the phone call is for him and he laughs wildly. He's a very playful child and enjoys toys a lot more than Natalie did at this age. He's got a smile for everyone and the greatest laugh I think I've ever heard. In just the last day or so he's started to really interact with Natalie, he approaches her when she's on the floor and wants to join in whatever she's doing. Sometimes he even tackles her! Usually she's gracious enough to let him join her but there's still a bit of sibling rivalry. Nick is enjoying an expanded cuisine and will pretty much eat anything you put in front of him. All in all he's an incredibly lovable little boy and I am so grateful he's mine.
Natalie has had some awesome moments in the past few weeks too. She got her big girl bed last Saturday and has absolutely LOVED sleeping in it. The day the big girl bed was delivered Chase took the kids to a birthday party for one of his coworker's children, I stayed at home to get her room ready for the delivery. Piece by piece I started to disassemble her bed. I took the toys, pillow, and blankets out; I stripped the sheets and then I removed the mattress. I stood back at and looked at her crib, it was just an empty shell like it was the day it first arrived three years ago. I thought about the nights I sat in her nursery before she was born and how I would stare at her empty crib and yearn for its fullness, repeating her name in my head over and over. And full it did get. Suddenly I was reduced to a blubbering heap on her bedroom floor and I wondered if every milestone she will achieve and every piece of maturity she gains will bring my mommy heart as much mourning for her youth as it does pride, joy, and hope?
Natalie started her second year of school and gets great reports from her teachers each day when I pick her up. She potty trained last month (FINALLY) and is learning her alphabet. She's full of one liners that crack me up daily. She went with me and Nick to his appointment last week and as we were checking out she said to the receptionist "My brother got a shot. I need a lollipop." She's pushing boundaries and testing limits and I pray I can teach her how to use her tenacity to her advantage in life. I have a feeling she's going to be wildly successful in whatever path she takes.
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| Isn't Daddy beautiful in his princess crown? |
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| Believe it or not, this is Papa's first time holding Nick. |
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| "The Mist" exhibit and the Museum on Life and Science in Durham. |
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| Museum again. We had a fun day there with Kenley! |
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| During Nick's hand, foot, and mouth episode the doctor encouraged me to let him eat as many popsicles as he wanted. Nick didn't mind. |
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| Doing daddy's make up. |
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| Riding the saddle for his birthday! |
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| Way too cool. |
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| Last night in the crib. |
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| Natalie and Kenley again. |
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| Natalie has an absurd love for raspberries. |
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| So glad Jeanne (Kenley's mom) got this picture of their train ride! |
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| "Don't mind me, Mom. I'll just help myself." |
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| Last night in crib. |
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| Oh the sweetness. |
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| TACKLE! |
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| First day of the "2's" class. |
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| Nick's first Harris Teeter cookie. |
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| "Where to, Mom?" |
