Christmas Card Attempts

So, I thought - how hard could it be to take the picture for our first Christmas Card featuring Nicholas? I bought a black sheet and a white sheet, and with my fancy pants camera and our cute kid, it'd be a piece of cake. Wrong! I won't spoil the actual card photo, but here are the fun attempts at taking the babe's picture for his first card ever.

(A little note, Nick got Nicholas to smile for the picture on the card by singing Sponge Bob Square Pants, apparently it's now his favorite show...and by his favorite show I mean Nick's)

Happy Turkey Day

I am thankful for so many things, most importantly my wonderful family and the fact that we are all healthy and happy. Nick and I have been truly blessed with an amazing little boy and I can't believe this time last year he was in my belly! We went over to Nick's cousin Sam and his wife Aisling's house for Thanksgiving and had a wonderful visit. I hope all of you enjoyed your Thanksgiving!

Being a Parent

Just a sweet little saying I saw on FB and had to steal:

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There comes a point in life when fun no longer means clubbing, drinking, or being out till 4am, or thinking about yourself. Fun means Disney movies, family dinners, bedtime stories, long cuddles, a messy house, sleeping by 10pm and hearing little voices say “I love you.” Becoming a parent doesn’t change you, it makes you realize that the little people that YOU created deserve the very best of your time.
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I absolutely love this statement. I am surprised at the type of parent I am. I was always a very neat, organized, ok, obsessive person. I get anxious in parking lots. I get anxious ordering a pizza over the phone (I just don't do it). I get anxious when I'm driving when I don't know where I'm going.

With Nicholas, my world is just different. Better. The best. I come home from work. I sit/lay/ crawl around on the floor with him until it is time for him to go to bed. I don't touch my phone, the tv, the computer. I just don't care about those things. He and Nick are my world, and honestly I forget about everyone and everything else.

I don't care that my house isn't clean, that there are handprints on the glass door, on the fridge. That there is dust and dog hair in the corner. It just doesn't matter.

What matters is that my healthy, chunkamunka, baby boy is happy. Because I take being a parent very seriously. Because I don't want to miss a single second of him growing up. Because he is growing so fast and he does something new every day.

Because friends that don't keep in touch, that don't care to ask how I am, that aren't there when I go through something difficult, just do not matter anymore.

That is all!

xoxo

Bye Bye Brookie

Brooke and I met a little over 4 years ago in May of 2008 when she came to work on the claims team at the company I work for. My first thought was – wow, this girl is tiny.:) We went out to dinner soon after she started and I could tell for sure we were going to be good friends. One of our first outings was for her 25th birthday at The Amber Room in Nashua.

Over the last 4 years, she and I have become incredibly close and I think of her as the sister I never had. I was the Matron of Honor in her wedding and was so thrilled to be a part of her special day.

She has been there for me through some really great and some really not so great times. We can tell each other anything and everything, and laugh over the dumbest things. I am so lucky and thankful to have her in my life and to call her my friend.

Girls night

I don't know about that arm either.

Brooke's bridal shower - that flower is RIDIC!

Someone had a drink or 12 - but hey it was her Bachelorette! And I was sober, had that silly little baby in my belly :)

Probably Brooke's least favorite picture on the planet. After my 31st birthday, at her and John's house. I'm pretty sure she was sober too - hahaha!

Don't we look good?

Company Outing, August 2012

In the summer she and her husband John started looking at moving to South Carolina, and the transition is complete this week. Her last day at Fred C. was Friday and she is on her way down to SC now to close on their beautiful new home. Work is going to be so difficult without her there. I've already found myself walking over to tell her something and having to stop myself when I'm halfway there. Although I will miss her terribly, I am so happy for her and John and the new life they are going to have together. I know she will love the change and be happy as soon as she is able to settle in. I wish nothing but the best for her and I know she's so excited about the change. I can't wait to visit her next year.

Love you Brookie, and can’t wait to come visit you (but please don’t take on a southern accent or I may just have to slap you)... and just so you know:

xoxo

Nicholas is 8 Months Old!

This guy:

I can't get enough!

No stats this month, but his next appointment is December 13th so we’ll see how much this “little” guy weighs.

Likes:

Mama. He is really attached to me lately. Cries if I leave the room, searches for me, and reaches for me when I’m close. It’s pretty awesome. I never saw myself as a kid person (I still don’t really care for other people’s kids, haha), but it is so true that when you have your own it is just different.

Moving. He has mastered going from his stomach to a seated position, reaching for toys, scooting around a lot. He is slowly take crawls forward, but only a little bit at a time and then he flattens out on his stomach and scoots around that way. He also pulls himself up to his knees, and once or twice has pulled himself all the way up at day care.

Food: Zucchini, carrots, apples, pears (all of which I make). I bought some pasta/broccoli/carrot blended purees that I plan on trying soon as well. The only thing he really doesn’t like still is bananas, and I haven’t tried them again because they made his bum red (not sure if it was just a coincidence, but I'm ok with him not liking bananas).

Dislikes: Having his diaper changed – he likes to roll around and try to get away from you, or just cry.

Sleep: This has been pretty good lately. He’s down by 7 and usually sleeps until at least 4:30. We’ll let him hang out in the crib a bit and one day he slept until about 5:45 (which was awesome). Sometimes he will wet through his diaper though and I hate the thought of leaving him in the crib if that has happened!

Noteable:

The most noteable thing is probably how mobile he has become. Bouncing , scooting, pulling, slowly moving forward. The other day in the morning I turned on the monitor and he had his hands on top of the crib, was on his knees, and was just bouncing up and down. It was hilarious.

He still says mostly “dada” and will give a “nana” now and then. He tries to “clap” when Baby Einstein’s is on, which is basically smacking and rolling his hands around each other and that is pretty cute.

This kid also has a bunch of teeth. Around 4-5 on top and I think 3 on the bottom (he tries to bite when I look so I haven’t gotten a good count without getting injured :)

My dad was here for an extended visit because of the hurricane, so it was nice that he got some extra time with the babe. My mom and Dad and then Erik & Joe will be back at Christmas time – which isn’t all that far away (yikes!).

xoxo

Happy Birthday Dexter!

Our furry little boy Dexter turned 3 on October 30th. Nick picked him up some big treats and a shiny new green Boston Celtics collar. He is the best pup we could ask for, so good with Nicholas (he loves him and Nicholas is obsessed!)and we couldn't imagine not having him as part of our family.

The day we brought him home

He liked cuddling on our necks when he was really little

His lovely sweater

Love this pic - think I'm about 4-5 months pregnant in it. He used to lay on my belly all the time and jump whenever the babe kicked hard enough for him to feel it. Now he just puts up with being grabbed and squeezed and poked.

I laugh at this because people say he is "protecting" the baby. I think it's more so that my friend Jenn had come over and he likes to lay on anyone that isn't Nick or I - when there's someone "new" in the house, it's like we don't exist.

Checking out the toes

So over it

Hanging out on my Dad

With one of his birthday treats

Halloween

Nicholas had a great first Halloween. My brother wanted to buy his costume and I picked what I think was a pretty cute one - a tree frog. It's from the website chasing-fireflies.com (my brother sent me the link), and although it was quite expensive, the costume was great quality and kept the little guy warm in the chilly night.

Trick or Treating in MA is interesting. I remember being a kid and we'd change into our costumes at school and my brother and I would Trick or Treat the whole way home and then all night (it felt like that anyway!) In our town, Dracut, it is from 6-8 pm. Last year it was changed to the following Saturday because of the random snow storm, but it is usually the day of Halloween. Other towns do it the Saturday before - it's a bit weird here :)

Here are some pics of the little guy- he loved his costume! We got the 12-18 month costume because of his size, it was a little big in parts and the feet kept falling off, but overall it fit really well.

Alexis stopped by with Quinton, who was the most adorable Jedi you've ever seen!