100th Post - Celebrate Good Times, Come On...

This is my 100th post! I'm sure many of you have reached this "milestone" already, but I thought I'd celebrate at any rate. So, yay! Alright, I don't have any Easter stuff to update you w/... yet. I will try to get to that this week.

First, we want to say congratulations to our friends, Thao and Alan. On April 9th, they welcomed into the world, Joshua Alan. He is just the cutest little thing. Although I'm a little disappointed at the picture of Thao below. She hardly looks like someone who just gave birth. I, on the other hand, looked like a water balloon after I delivered (not that I'm bitter or anything). Congratulations again, we are so happy and excited for you guys and cannot wait to meet your little man!

Since we're talking about babies and all that, we have some wonderful news to share ourselves. We are expecting our second child. My due date is Oct. 21. I'm almost out of the 1st trimester. Woo hoo. We are ecstatic. We've kicked the idea around w/ Nick to get his reaction. It really depends on his mood. It changes from one minute to the next. Sometimes, he says yes to mommy having a baby, and other times, he says he's the baby. I guess he won't actually get it until #2 comes along and rocks his world. We know it'll be the best thing in the world for him. We have a picture of an early ultrasound we had, but unfortunately it is not in a format that I can post. If I can get it converted, I'll add it. That's it for now. Have a great rest of the week!

Dear Diary

Time outs. They're a frequent occurrence in our house lately. The other day after Nick had been in time out, he was sitting quietly playing w/ his magnadoodle. I could hear him saying something over and over. I finally stopped to listen. He was saying something about me. Curious, I went over there to see what he was doing. He had written a bunch of "words" on his magnadoodle. When I asked him what it said, he replied, "mommy, put you in time out." I had to give him a big kiss after that.

un-Pleasantville

I think the title says it all. Our little man is sick, so I'm hoping all the crankiness and surliness is temporary. We are so sad we couldn't make it to sweet Jacob's 2nd birthday party yesterday. But trust me when I say that it was really in everyone's best interest that we stayed home. I've been taking the brunt of it. It was nice letting Scott take a few shots this weekend while I listened in the other room. We've been told that the 3's are worse than the terrible 2's. Two wasn't too bad, so maybe we're paying for now.

Me: You don't feel good?
Nick: Yes.
Me: Bless your little heart...
Nick: No little. NO LITTLE!!!

Me: (Yawning)
Nick: Ok, no yawning.
Me: Well that's not very nice.
Nick: No nice. No yawning!

Let's hope your week is going better than ours.

Has It Been That Long??

Now that's what I call a break. As it is officially Spring, I thought it would be appropriate to end my hibernation and spring forth onto the blogging scene once again. Was that too much? I didn't say my posting was going to be better. I'll try to be more diligent about posting. It's just that it had started feeling a bit like an obligation, and really, who needs that? Anyway, you know how it goes sometimes. Scott was out of town, my folks were in town, warmer weather, unbelievable laziness, etc... I'll try to catch you up by starting w/ a birthday party adventure. I'll add more when I get the chance. Baby steps.

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Kale's Super Party

Nick's little friend, Kale, turned 3 this month and we were there to help celebrate it, superhero style. It was at the Jump Zone. I can not tell you how much Nick loved this place. I was a bit stunned initially by the swarm of shrieking kids around us. Nick was not fazed by this, even after he had his poor fingers stomped on by a brute 8 year old girl. All the slides there were like 2 stories high, and I am not prone to exaggeration. Of course those were the ones Nick wanted to go down, so guess who had to climb up those monoliths while pushing his sorry butt up there? Let me tell you, those thing are no joke. The first slide I went down, it took my breath away. I know, I'm a wuss. Anyway, after what seemed like 13 hours of nonstop fun, we finally made our way to the party room for some cake and punch. It was at this point, I realized 2 things. All those shrieking kids, well, they were also part of the birthday party. Secondly, Shannon, Kale's mama, is a superhero herself. As party favors, she made for each kid a cape and a mask. How stinking cool is that? Did I mention there were a ton of kids? Who knew she was so crafty? Check out her tooth fairy pillows here.

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Child Labor

Nike's got nothing on me. Nick likes to "cook", so I let him do it w/ some dry pinto beans sometimes. Apparently, he got bored after a while and decided it would be more fun to sprinkle them on the floor. After dumping two handfuls of pinto beans on the floor, he (very seriously, btw) came over and ordered "mommy, pick it up". You can imagine what my expression was. After a couple of "you pick it up" "no, mommy do it", I thought now would be a good time to teach him the fine art of using a dustbuster.

See that form in the last picture? That is what's known as the "asian squat", so it's genetic. My Asian brethren will know what I'm talking about. Also, please ignore the fact that my child is still in his pjs. It was only early afternoon. I usually manage to change him into regular clothes before his father gets home. Wouldn't want him to think I don't do anything.

Triple Check

I took Nick to the doctor on Friday for his 3 year check up. He did well considering he hates being poked and prodded. The first thing Nick said to the doctor when he arrived was, "no looking at wee wee". I was a bit mortified, but seeing how it didn't faze the man (he just chuckled), I didn't dwell on it. According to the doctor, we have a perfectly healthy, normal little boy. He weighs 32lbs and is almost 38in tall. Both in the 50th percentile, so right on average.

I figured I also take this opportunity to record some of the things Nick is currently doing and saying.

**Pick a Number, Any Number**
N: Mommy. I got a boo boo on a fingah.
Me: You do? Where?
N: Wight here. (Pointing at his right ring finger) Number nine.

He counts to ten on his fingers starting w/ his left pinkie and working his way over to his right pinkie, which is number ten. So each digit has it's own number. Duh.


**Feet Fetish**
He thinks anything w/ the word feet added to it is the funniest thing in the world. Orange juice feet? HI-larious. Brush your teethfeet? Pee in your pants funny! This has gone on for a few weeks now. Oh, well. It could be worse I suppose.

Another thing he just started doing is smelling his feet. He thinks it's hysterical, especially when I give him a strange look.


**Daddy Taught Me**
Nick and I were writing letters together on the Magnadoodle today when ...

N: That sucks!
Me: What did you say?
N: That sucks!
Me: We don't say that, it's not a nice word. Who taught you that?
N: Daddy
Me: Daddy, huh?
N: Mommy.
Me: I don't think so.


**Cry Me a River**
Lately when I get onto him or tell him not to do something, he clenches his eyes shut and opens his mouth wide and forces himself to "cry". It's really pathetic. There's really no sound as the tries to muster up some semblance of a cry. He'll come over all pitiful and try to hug me. I've thought about ignoring him a couple of times, but it's awful hard to do. Even when I know he's full of crap. After I give him a hug, he'll woefully ask me to wipe his nose and then his eyes. You know, the eyes that are brimming w/ non existent tears.

Oh Baby!

Hope everyone had a great weekend. We had a good one. Weather was so-so, but we got to spend time w/ my best friend, Thao, and her husband, Alan. They are expecting their first child. Yay! Scott and I threw them a couples baby shower on Saturday. Congratulations, you guys! We are just so happy and excited for you. You should see her. She's due in April and looks just adorable pregnant. In fact, she barely looks pregnant. I've looked bigger after a normal meal, but I'll leave you to visualize that on your own.

We had the shower at Buffalo Wild Wings since guys were involved. Much easier to coax them to a shower if it's at a sports bar. The restaurant did a really good job and was super helpful. The turnout was good and I think everyone enjoyed themselves.

I do want to give a couple of shout outs. Thank you, Heidi, for helping me make the diaper cake. I got tons of compliments on it and Thao loved it. And Nick always loves the chance to play w/ Hanna. Check out Heidi's post on our little adventure. Thanks to my brother, Steve, for "babysitting" Nick. I quote b/c Nick apparently fell asleep on the couch w/ my brother for 2 1/2 hours, approximately the length of time we were gone. He never naps like that for us. We are still appreciative.

Couple of the hour

Excited father-to-be

They're thinking about wings
They got a lot of really cute Razorback stuff

Belly? What belly?!
Take a look at the "delicate" baby's feet on the cake. More like caveman feet. Oh well. At least it tasted good!

Lunch Date

Today, Nicholas and I went over to the Pittmans for lunch. Beth made us her famous chicken salad. It was de-lish! They got Nick an awesome kite for his birthday, which I know Scott is stoked about playing with. With Nick, of course. Thanks, guys. I always love the chance to sit and gab w/ Beth. She is highly entertaining. It was also fun to watch Luke crawl around. Little fella can move now. Nick loves going over there and is quite comfortable. When we got there, he said a cursory hello and headed straight for the playroom. I think he and Kate make good little buddies. Thanks for having us over and for feeding my child!

Don't you just want to squeeze him?

This is the best picture I could get. She's trying to corral the kids. Sorry I cut off your head, Beth, but I got both eyes. That's good, right?

What A Man!

Let me tell you what a good man I've got. On Thursday night, he took me on an early Valentine's date at James at the Mill. It was a sweet, romantic dinner. Saturday, he sent me these gorgeous flowers. I love them.


But the sweetest thing he did for me wasn't for Vday. I was recovering from sinus infection. He was suppose to have Monday off for President's day, but he had to work, so he took his holiday yesterday. On his day off, he got Nick up and ready for MDO and dropped him off. After that, he went grocery shopping for me. I sent a list w/ him and he didn't miss a thing. After he picked Nick up from school, he took Nick out to the mall for the rest of the afternoon so I could rest. They rode the escalator, threw pennies in the water fountain, got jellybeans at the candy store, went to the bookstore AND he changed Nick's poopy pull-up. All this on his day off and w/out complaint. I know he enjoyed his time w/ Nick, but he certainly didn't have to do any of it. So thank you to my wonderful hubby. I love you!

We Heart Haley

My friend Heidi's little girl, Haley, turned ONE over the weekend. We were invited to help her celebrate the big event on Saturday. I can't tell you how much I adore her (and her sister). She is the biggest mess, in a totally good and funny way. My nickname for her is "animal", and I think it's quite apropos.

Heidi always does a good job for parties and this was no exception. The theme was what else? Hearts. We had a fun time, especially Nick. He always has a good time when cake is involved. Thanks to the Kaisers for including us in your celebration. We look forward to seeing Haley tear up your place.

Weekend Update

Where to start? I haven't posted in a while, mostly out of sheer laziness. Lots of things going on and when I had a free moment, I couldn't find the motivation. Anyway...

Nick's MDO had a valentine's day party on Thursday. The teacher had two plates of cookies she was offering. Of course she started on the opposite end of where Nick was sitting. He had to sit there and wait for her to ask each child if they wanted a heart or a smiley face. And he would answer each time, "heart. heart. yes?" He did this about 8 times and couldn't understand why she didn't give him a heart cookie. When she finally got to him she said, "Nicholas, do you want a heart or a smiley face?" He answered, "smiley face." That made me laugh out loud. Nobody else caught it but me.

He was just so excited about the cookies

Here he is anxiously awaiting his cookie.

With his favorite teacher, Miss Trish

He also got another sweet treat on Friday when his Magi and Grandad came for a visit. They couldn't make it to his birthday last week b/c she was sick. They got him this really cool keyboard that has a mic and you can record yourself. He has been playing w/ it all weekend. Nothing like hearing Old McDonald w/ a techno beat. Really gets you moving. He loves spending time w/ Magi and Grandad. It was a nice, relaxing weekend. Thank you so much for coming!

He couldn't wait for his grandparents to see him in his Indiana Jones hat.

I'm hoping the batteries will die in this thing sooner rather than later, but he loves it.

3 Years Old!

Our little boy is now 3 years old! I wanted to post sooner, but I could not get all the pictures loaded. This will be kind of a long post, but there are so many things to post.

I'll start off w/ Thursday, where Scott and I brought cupcakes to his MDO. He was so excited to see Scott there. He ran over and unleashed a torrent of words, most of which we did not understand. We did catch the words "play", "slide", "outside" and "friends". We got the general picture.

He had birthday pancakes on his special day. It was basically his normal breakfast w/ a candle. He loved it though. We let him open a couple of presents from us. We figured we would pace ourselves since we knew he'd have more coming. Next his Uncle Huy, Aunt Shannon and Uncle Steve stopped by bearing gifts. Huy and Shannon got him some much needed play clothes. Steve got him a cool bicycle complete with helmet and pads. Thank you for your generous gifts! We headed out for a celebratory lunch afterwards. We had a great time. We're sorry they couldn't stay for the party, but appreciate the time we had w/ them.

It's off to the Little Gym for his party! He's been there once for Zach's birthday and had a great time. Today was no exception. His theme was Mickey Mouse. We received a catalog in the mail a few weeks back from the party store and they had Mickey Mouse stuff in it. He would look at that page everyday telling me he wanted a Mickey Mouse cake. It was a done deal. I don't have a picture of the cake. Doh! Fortunately, Christina does and I'll add those when she posts her pictures. Thanks, Chris. I think my favorite part of the whole day was when he was "blowing" out his candle. He had trouble blowing it out b/c it was further away from him and he wouldn't lean in. I don't know why I didn't think to turn the cake around and push it closer to him, but it was fun watching anyway. During one attempt, it came out as more of a big sigh. He also tried to wave it out w/ his hands. I loved it. In the end, he had a little help from me. On a side note, I did want to say to both our parents and the rest of my family that we missed them. Scott's mom has been sick for over two weeks now and my mom has shingles. We wish them a very speedy recovery and Nicholas is looking forward to seeing you soon.

We want to say how much we appreciate everyone that help make this day so so special for our little man. Thank you for the thoughtful gifts. But most of all, thank you for being there, not just on his birthday, but every day with your love and support. He is blessed to have all of you in his life.

Bittersweet

Well, our baby boy turns 3 tomorrow. I can't believe how quickly it has gone by. And there's not a dang thing I can do about it. We were waiting at Rick's bakery this afternoon (to pick up his cake) and I almost started crying like a fool. He was sitting next to me, swinging his little legs, singing a sweet song he learned in school. He would occasionally glance at me and Scott, give us a little smile and continue singing. He looked so content (he did just have a choc. chip muffin). I did lose it this evening. Scott usually reads to him and sits with him in the dark for a while at bedtime. Tonight, I stayed after Scott left. We talked awhile about what we were going to do tomorrow, then he sang Amazing Grace, Rainbow Connection, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, Folsom Prison and Hush Little Baby. What can I say, he loves to sing. I cried listening to him sing that last song. He's got the sweetest little voice in the world.

Our little man is a true blessing in our lives. We thank God everyday for him. Happy Birthday! We love you, Nichol-hiney.

Background Check

My friend Kim recently blogged about her top 5 addictions. So I thought I'd share my latest addiction, but not top 5, I'll save that for another day.

If you read my blog regularly, you've probably noticed I love to change my background. Often. In fact, I'm a little obssessed with it. I love being a SAHM, but it provides me w/ very little mental stimulation. Since I started blogging, I've been learning html and photoshop in my spare time. I wanted to learn how to make my own backgrounds. There are tons of sites out there that offer them up for free, but it's much more fun to do it yourself. This is a creative outlet for me, and we all know I'm not the least bit creative. Well, after learning html, I'm finally working on photoshop and recently made my first background. woo hoo. You're looking at it right now. What do you think? I know kinda of simple, but I love the colors.

Anyway, I thought I'd share my favorite websites I use to get free backgrounds. These ladies do some amazing work. Once this post drops off, I'll put it in my sidebar. Your one stop shop for free backgrounds. If you know of some other sites, let me know and I'll add it to my list. Enjoy!


Allison Brown's Layouts

Bling on the Blog

Knottymoose Designs

LeeLou Blogs

The Cutest Blog on the Block

Paisley Cat Scraps

Scrap-E-Blog

Simply Chic Blogs

Shel Scraps

Aqua Poppy Designs

The Blog Fairy

Bloggers Pond

That's Gonna Leave A Mark

The other day I left Nick to color at his easel. I'm in my bathroom changing when he comes in and says...

Nick: No coloring on the wall. Only on paper.
Me: That's right, only on paper. No coloring on the wall.

Pause.

Me: Did you color on the wall, Nicholas?
Nick: Yes.

He scribbled on the hall wall w/ a black crayon. It wasn't huge, but you can see it. Worst thing is, it's not a washable crayon. I know, I know, but he has never done this before. I cannot get it off. He got a stern warning from me that if he ever did that again, I'd spank his little hiney. Anyone have any suggestions other than painting over it?

Let's Catch Up

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. We did, thanks to the nice weather. Just a quick post to catch up and respond to one of my adoring and loyal readers.

** Kim, you didn't know we lived on the oceanfront? Actually, the pictures in my last post were of Lake Geneva, Switzerland. They're pretty crazy looking, but they are in fact real. Heidi verified this on Snopes. Nice detective work. Unlike me, she doesn't believe everything she reads on the internet.

** Saturday we ran errands in Fayetteville, one of those stops being Rick's bakery. Nick had his face pressed up against the display glass the whole time, mumbling something to himself or to the cookies. We were there to order his b-day cake. That's right, my baby is turning 3. Let's not talk about it, I get verklempt thinking about it. Later that evening, we had a lovely dinner w/ some friends.

** I went to see The Reader at the theater Sunday afternoon w/ some girlfriends. My review?... Huh. That's what I thought when it was over. I'm not going to put it up there w/ The English Patient, but, man, did it come close. And in case you don't get my drift, it's not a good thing. But I'm glad I went. It had been ages since I'd been to the movies.

** We went to a Super bowl bash at the Pittmans on Sunday. We had a great time, especially Nick. He wasted no time tearing up their recently cleaned playroom. The food was fantastic and the company even better. Thanks for having us over. Glad the Steelers pulled it off.

I'll leave you w/ some action shots taken over the weekend...

Not really an action shot, but the calm before the storm