Getaway!

We spent the weekend in Texas visiting Uncle Ryan, Aunt Cindy, and the very awesome and beautiful Jilly Bean! We had so much fun hanging out together even though Nicholas was a little hard to handle at times. He is all about exploring anything he can get his hands on these days and isn't very happy when you tell him to stop. But, so is the life of a 1 year old who's learning all about his very cool world! Miss Jillian was precious, as usual, and full of smiles! She's such a big girl now, eating her cereal and practically sitting up on her own. But this trip was not just for pleasure, we had a purpose. Nicholas got his 1 year pictures taken by Annie at the Dallas Arboretum. I've seen this place in pictures but you can't imagine how beautiful it is until you're actually there. So gorgeous!! The only down side was the suffocating heat. We even tried to get there first thing in the morning and it was still sweltering. But we fought through it for the greater good. I think Annie got some really great pictures and I'm dying to see how they turned out. She really is amazing at what she does!

Nicholas and his homegirl! Exhausted on the ride home. Looks comfortable, doesn't it??

Happy Father's Day!

Greg had to work on Father's Day (Boo!!!) so we celebrated by cooking out fajitas and having some quality family time on Saturday night. He's such a wonderful daddy and Nicholas just loves him to pieces! We hope all you pops out there had a wonderful day full of all the things that daddies love!!

Look at my handsome boys! I'm one lucky girl!

1 year check-up

Today was Nicholas' 1 year check-up and it was slightly on the traumatic side! The doctor warned me at our last appointment that he would have to have blood drawn this time and I've dreaded it since. And for good reason! Of course they had to do it first thing since the lab tech was leaving for the day so the rest of the visit was a disaster! They don't do it any special way for babies. Nope, they stick a needle right in their arm and go to town. He cried, and cried, and cried some more. Then after stopping, he'd look down and see the big arm band they put on to cover it and he'd start crying again. If you don't know Nicholas that well, crying for him is really more of a blood curdling scream that could break glass. We finally just took the arm band off hoping he'd forget the event, but when he spotted it in the trash can he started up again!! Then he got weighed & measured - 22 pounds 10 ounces (50%) & 30 1/4 inches long (60%). I was expecting a lot more because we've all agreed he looks like a toddler in a 5 year old's body. Doctor said he looks fantastic (Of course. No surprises there.) and based on some of the information I gave her she said it appears he's entering the tantrum phase of a 15 month old a little early. Great news there. She said on the down side we'll have a battle of wills for awhile but the good news is we'll have a very well behaved 2 year old when he gets there. Hmmm, I'm not sure how I feel about this. Then we got to top off the day with a round of 3 shots in the legs. So, he had an all around painfully memorable visit and will probably beat the crap out of me the next time we try to take him there.

I love pancakes!

Pancake eating at the speed of light. Ready? Set? GO!!!!

Pool Time

First trip - not so great. Second trip - slightly better. I think the water is still a little too cool for that delicate baby skin but Nicholas is slowly coming around. Cousins Jake & Kami & Aunt Julie definitely helped things along by showing him just how much fun the pool can be. It was a great day and we all had a lot of fun. Jake & Kami are like little fish! We're really looking forward to Alli coming next time too so we can all play! She missed this trip because she's at camp for almost a whole month! What a brave girl!!
Baby swim trunks - quite possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen!!

Birthday Party!!

Well, the party has come and gone! It was so much fun having all of our family and friends there to celebrate Nicholas's first birthday with us. Some of them came a very long way to be there and it meant the world. Here are a few pics Nicholas wanted to share with everyone!

Here is his very awesome birthday cake!

Here we are with Pop. We were soooo happy he came!


Enjoying raisins with Uncle Ryan!!

Aunt Cindy and Cousin Jillian! She is such a doll!

Serving Uncle Jeff and Grandpa their beer! (Actually it was the ice he was after. I swear!)

Nicholas and his friend Kacee playing in the moon bounce. All the kids loved it!

And if you remember from an earlier post, Nicholas fell in love with the corn pit at another party so Grandma Jaggi had to get one for his very own. Who knew corn could be so fun??!!

And on to the birthday cake! Here we are in the beginning when I chickened out and tried feeding it to him all prim and proper.

Then Daddy took over and let him have a little fun! But Nicholas was the perfect little gentleman. He didn't get it in his hair or on his clothes. Glad to know he's got a little of his mother in him!

And opening presents! Everyone was so nice to bring such great gifts that he will love. This one was from Grandma & Grandpa Hawkins. It's colorful, you can push it, and it makes noise. So obviously that was a favorite!

After a few minutes of opening presents, Nicholas left me to it while he went off to play. Luckily I had Jake and Kami there to help me!

A mother's birthday sentiments

There really aren't any words adequate to convey what I'm feeling today. My boy is 1 year old and I have no idea where all the time has gone. I've obviously been very sentimental and emotional today, reliving all those memories of the best day of my life. I snuck in his bedroom this morning at 4:30 am as I was getting ready for work and whispered a little birthday wish to him. I immediately thought back to this day a year ago when he was so tiny and new and it just took my breath away to compare that to the toddler now laying in his crib. I can't wait to get home and gush over him some more, tears obviously included. I never in a million years could have dreamed of the love that would fill my heart once I became his mother. I am blessed, I am lucky, and I am endlessly thankful for the joy Nicholas has brought to my life. Greg and I are overhwelmed with how far we've come already in just the blink of an eye.

Pictures to come later....