Our Little Terror

After a nap the other day, Nick got his long promised chocolate cupcake. I snapped several quick pictures. One in particular made us laugh. For some reason, the other image came to mind.

Natural Alarm Clock

We taught Nicholas a while back how to tell time on the digital clock. I regret it almost every morning. He will come in and announce that it's time to wake up.

Nick: "Mommy, what time is it? Time to get up."
Me: "It's not time to get up yet. Mommy's not getting up until 7."
Nick: (after looking at the clock) "You have 16 more minutes."
Nick: (after a minute) "You have 15 more minutes."
Nick: (after another minute) "You have 14 more minutes."

This goes on until I can't take any more and get up, which is usually before 7.

Night, Night...

No real update here. I'm trying to figure out the scanner right now. I'll have an update in a couple of days.

Just a few pictures we took before bed tonight.

Our Favorite Pastime

If you know my husband, you know that he is a baseball nut. And that's a bit of an understatement. Since we've had Nick, Scott has been anxiously awaiting the moment he could take Nick to his first baseball game. We got a new minor league team last year, the Naturals. So Scott thought he'd take Nick to his first official ballgame last July. They lasted only a couple of innings, w/ very little baseball watching to be had. Nicholas did get his first taste of cotton candy. I was so very happy I was not there to clean up the mess.

First baseball game last July

All decked out courtesy of daddy after the first game this year

Well, we tried again this year, and Nick loves going to the games. It's such a beautiful ballpark, super family friendly, and kids get in free. There are big bouncy things and a playground for the kids. My favorite night is Monday night with dollar dogs, a light crowd and great seating. Throw a few friends in the mix and it doesn't get any better than that. Scott loves the giveaways. We've managed to hit a couple of them. A particular favorite was the mini bat giveaway. Much to Scott's chagrin we were only able to snag 2 of these highly desirable objects. The versatility of these bats, decoratively speaking, is mind boggling. That's why it's still sitting in a corner of our office.

We are undecided on a place of honor for this wonderful work of art.

One of our favorite moments from the games this year included Scott snagging a foul ball. He only had to knock over a couple of kids and an old man, all that while holding Nick. To be fair though, that old guy was pretty agile. But our favorite moment has been Nick running the bases. Every Sunday after the game, they allow the kids to run the bases. He absolutely loves this. The first time he ran the bases, he ran the opposite direction. It was so awesome to watch. Although he's gotten hang of it, we still get a kick out of watching him do it. It's just one of the best things ever.

Dog Days of Summer

Nick has been out of MDO since mid-May. I jokingly complain about it, but this summer is really special b/c it's our last one together before Biscuit arrives. Here are a few things we've done to pass the time this summer... playing on his new swing set, doing arts and crafts, swimming, casting a few spells, helping daddy do manly stuff, drinking cream soda for the first time and running around naked. I won't post a picture of him in the buff, but let me assure you, this last one is a particular favorite of his. Notice that a lot of the pictures are taken inside. He gets outside, but it's too hot for my pregnant self to go chasing him around w/ a camera. Sit and shoot (in the A/C) is more my style. I have noticed after looking at these pictures that there are no pictures of me and Nick. I'm gonna have to remedy that.

Playing on his new swing set ...

He's waiting patiently while his swingset is being put together

Doing arts and crafts...

Swimming...

With his little buddies, Eli and Uriah

Casting a few spells...

Seriously, how cute his he?

Doing manly stuff around the house like helping daddy and chugging cream soda...

He got tired of helping w/ the toolbox, so decided to draw instead

Seven Dollar City

Scott took a day off work to take Nicholas to Seven Dollar City aka Silver Dollar City in Branson. They took off early in the morning w/out me. Normally, I would have joined in their adventure, but it was one of the hottest days so far. There was no way I was even going to attempt it. So I was able to run some errands and then relax at home. Although based on what Scott told me about Nick's reaction to everything, I wish I had been there to witness it myself.

When they arrived in Branson, Nick could hardly contain his excitement. Branson has often been described as Las Vegas w/out the gambling. That's what I've heard anyway. Scott did manage to make a wrong turn and was reminded of that the entire day. Looks like Mommy was there in spirit after all.

Here's a picture of Nick as they pulled into Branson...

Majority of the kiddie rides were pretty tame, so Nick was able to ride them by himself. Although he did go on the "big swing", "giant boat" and roller coaster w/ his daddy. Since they went during the middle of the week, it wasn't as crowded and they often had their pick of rides. They also had a huge indoor area w/ several large tables set up with all the crafts a child could want. Nick enjoyed the crafts, Scott enjoyed the a/c.

I think this moment best described how much fun he had spending time w/ his daddy. They were sitting down sharing a sno cone and out of the blue he looks at Scott and says, "daddy's the best daddy in world!" It was so sweet, though I'm sure the sugar rush might have had a little to do with it. All in all a fantastic day. He played so hard that he passed out in his car seat before they even pulled out of the parking lot.

Did You Miss Me???

Hi! I can't believe I haven't blogged in over a month. I thought about it, but it was not meant to be. Let me just say you never know what you've got till it's gone. In this case it was our computer. How in the world did we manage before the internet came along? I actually had use a regular phonebook a few times. I know, bless my little heart. I've lots of posts to catch up on, and I'll be putting them in chronological order. So you'll have to scroll down from time to time to see if I've added anything new. Sorry about that, but that's the way it's got to be. I'm off to organize my thoughts and photos, but will leave you with this nifty graph I created during my "free" time. Toodles.

***Update***
So I've decided to add to my sidebar when I have a "new" post, since most are backdated. That way you'll know where to find it.

July 4th Weekend

It was nice having the 4th fall on a Saturday this year, Scott was able to have a long 3 day weekend. My family came up to celebrate w/ us. We hung out at my brother Steve's house Friday evening. We took Nick to the fireworks stand and bought a few things, just to see if he had any interest in them. He loved the little snaps that you throw on the ground. Those kept him entertained for at least 45 mins. Then my family took turns playing chase w/ Nick. Yet another good reason having my family around. Scott and I can just sit back while they entertain Nick. He especially loved the all the colorful fountains. It was funny, every time we set one off, he'd make a fist and point it in that direction. Not really sure what that was all about, but it was amusing. He also got to hold his first sparkler. Nothing says good parenting like handing your child a flaming stick, right?

We left Nick to stay the night over there and caught a late movie, "The Hangover". We didn't get home until almost midnight! The movie was hilarious, btw. Sleeping in with no middle of the night shenanigans from our little man... yet another plus having my family visit. We got a pleasant treat that afternoon when our good friends, the Dormans, stopped by for a visit. Their little 3 mo old son, Joshua, is just the cutest little fellow. He has chunked up since the last time we saw him. I just love him, he's so squeezable. He loves to eat and doesn't like to be interrupted when doing so. A man after my own heart!

Later that afternoon, we stopped by our neighborhood block party to check out the festivities. We didn't stay long as it was hotter than hades. It was neat though, got to meet a few of our neighbors and Nick got to play in the bouncy house. We pulled Nick out there in his wagon. On the way back, my sweet hubby told me to hop in and pulled both of us back. I got a few stares, and a chuckle from another pregnant lady, but it was worth it.

We cooked out that evening w/ my family and then watched the fireworks show our neighborhood put on from our backyard. Nick was not too enthused this time around. It was late and he was tired. About 10 mins into the show he said, "I'm tired of watching fireworks." I don't blame the kid. After a while, it all looks the same, especially after a long couple of days.

Isn't Joshua the cutest little booger?

Open Up!

Nick had his first visit to the dentist. Should I have scheduled it sooner? Sure. But I had it in my head it was going to be a nightmare. Well guess what... he did fantastic! I am so proud of how well he did because I could tell he was really apprehensive. He's getting to be such a big boy now. Let me tell you, it is a far cry from my first visit to the dentist. I swear the man came at me w/ pliers from a toolbox out back. At least that's how I remembered it anyway.

He took Doggy w/ him to help keep him company

A picture w/ his dentist, Dr. Rhodes

Quick Update

We have been without internet access since Thursday. The only access I have is through Scott's phone and it's pretty limited. But once we're back up and running, I'll have a few entries to post. I did want to add that Nick has picked out a name for his baby sister... Biscuit. It's got a nice ring to it. More on this later. Until then...

And Verdict Is...

We wanted to share our good news with everyone. Even though I had a feeling it was a girl, it's still a little bit shocking. We would have been equally happy if it was a boy, but can't help feeling a bit giddy that we'll now have one of each. Nicholas took the news well. His response? How he typically responds to most things... Meh. His preference for a baby brother or sister changes from day to day anyway.

Eli's 3rd Birthday Party

Nicholas' sweet friend, Eli, turned 3 and had a super fun birthday bash. His mama is my good friend, Laya. It was a firemen themed party and she did a wonderful job. We started the party w/ a tour of the Bentonville fire station. FYI, the Roger's FD won't bring their trucks out to your house, but the Bentonville FD will. Only problem, Laya doesn't live in Bentonville, thus the tour at the station. Let me tell you, that place was cush. I've only ever seen fire stations on TV, and none of them looked like this. They did a really nice job w/ the tour, you could tell they did it often. Nicholas really enjoyed it. After the tour around the living quarters, the kids got to climb on the fire trucks and ring the bell. Apparently not wanting one fireman to feel neglected, Scott peppered him with tons of questions. Most of them about meth labs and meth lab explosions. That guy looked pretty sure he'd be hearing about Scott on the local news soon.

After the tour, it was back to Eli's house for some pizza and cake. The kids all played outside, even though it was sizzling. After the cake came the pinata, and each kid took a turn. It was funny, when the pinata was cracked open (courtesy of Del) and all the candy came pouring out, Nicholas ran over there and picked up one piece of candy. That's it. Just one. We told him he could have some more, look at all the other kids grabbing candy. He came back with 3 pieces. He was very selective. It made me and Scott laugh. Nicholas had such a good time, he asked to go back to Eli's house the next day. Thanks for having us, Eli!

Memorial Day Weekend

We made our annual Memorial day trek to Texas last week to see Nick's Magi and Grandad. Though the drive seemed a bit longer for me this time around, it went relatively smooth. We only had one 15 min bout of kicking and screaming, followed by peaceful slumber and not one potty accident the entire trip. Nicholas did really well, too!

Nick was so excited he could talk of nothing else the week leading up to it. He would ask everyday when we were going. He was so pumped the night before, he had a hard time going to sleep, thus the tantrum the next day. Scott and I also look forward to this trip every year. It was a nice relaxing weekend, w/ the weather mostly cooperating. There was plenty of good food, an early birthday celebration for Scott and lots of entertainment by Nicholas. Thanks for having us, we had a wonderful time. Looking forward to seeing you up here in a couple of weeks!

He's cooking baked beans w/ his Magi. They were delicious, btw!

He's worn out from wearing his grandparents out.