Happy Easter and a Happy Birthday

I'm going to combine two posts into one here for the sake of simplicity.  Things have definitely been a little busy lately, what with Karate, swim lessons, school, work, and all the 101 other things that make up a normal day.  But even though it feels like we're constantly on the go, deep down I love it.  I love keeping my child's schedule full with fun and exciting activities and I love watching him really blossom into a young boy instead of a toddler.  He's doing phenomenally well with everything we've taken on and I know that it's such a good thing for a boy with his level of energy.  But not only is he maturing physically, he's maturing in mentality as well.  He says some of the most grown-up things lately and they just leave me sitting there amazed.  The other night I was cleaning up all the toys in his closet, albeit hastily, and was probably mumbling and grumbling my irritation.  Okay, not probably, definitely.  Anyhow, he walks up behind me, gently places his hand on my back to grab my attention, and ever so calmly says to me, "Mama.  Mama, stop!  You've done enough cleaning.  Let me do the rest."  I about died at his very rational and very reassuring tone of voice.  It snapped me out of my attitude right away and immediately made me giggle with pride.  But for every sweet moment like that we've also got our share of head-butting and battles of will.  He's got a heart of gold but he's also a boy knows what he wants, when he wants it, and how he wants it.  Got to love his independence!  Sorry, I kind of ventured off topic there but I knew I'd want to remember it.

We just wrapped up a terrific 3-day weekend which included all of our spring flower planting, a birthday party for my dad, and a relaxing Easter holiday.  For my dad's birthday, I decided to check out the Meat House and purchase some special steaks to cook on the grill.  Well, they were special alright, and tasted amazing, but not the kind of thing you'd want to buy on a regular basis.  I'll just say that they are ridiculously proud of their meats.  But for a special occasion like a birthday, they truly hit the spot.  On Sunday morning, Nicholas woke up very excited to see the treats the Easter Bunny had left behind for him and then spent the morning dyeing and decorating eggs with Daddy.  In the evening, we joined Mimi and Papa for dinner at their house and a few rounds of egg hunting, because once just wasn't enough.  Great weekend all the way around and I have a million pictures to prove it.  Evidenced below:

Look at the size of these suckers!

Nicholas had his heart set on helicopter cupcakes, but we had some trouble finding

 any decorations.  So, I made my own.  Totally lame but he totally bought it.

Showing Mimi his egg stash.

 And my absolute favorite of the bunch:

Swim Lessons

Greg and I have wanted to get Nicholas in swim lessons for ages but we've never been able to find one that would work with our schedule or one that we were actually lucky enough to get into.  Who knew that swim lessons were in such high demand that it felt like you were camping out to get those awesome first row concert tickets you've been hoping for?  Seriously ridiculous.  But after doing some research I found an opening at a local gym and the classes finally started last week.  Even though he's been swimming a lot with all of our lake weekends, he was still pretty nervous on the first day.  So nervous in fact that he was trembling a little with an apprehensive look glued to his face. But, it didn't slow him down a bit and after just a couple of minutes in the water he relaxed and started having a ton of fun. 

  And more nailbiting, of course.

Fish Fry

Greg's cousin, Christopher, was in town for a visit this weekend so Saturday night was fish fry night at Mimi & Papa's house.  This is one family tradition I absolutely love, especially my mother-in-law's hush puppies.  Yes, they're kind of legendary around here.  So, I accomplished two things that night:  1.  An extremely full belly, 2.  Some cute pictures of Nicholas.  It was definitely a win, win night.

Cousin Eric was the biggest hit of the night.  Nicholas thought he was just about the

coolest guy ever and probably pestered poor Eric to the point of exhaustion. 

But hey, no one ever said being an idol was easy, now did they?

This 'n That

It's been business as usual around our house the last few weeks.  The weather's getting warmer and we're all starting to feel the pangs of spring fever.  We've been playing outside quite a bit and even managed to pull off a playdate the other day, which hadn't happened since before Christmas!  It just blows me away how fast time can get away from you.  Especially when you're stuck in the vacuum known as wintertime.  But it looks like long, warm, sunny days ahead and we couldn't be happier about it.  Bring. It.

Thunder Fan Appreciation Day

Another visit to the 45th Infantry Museum.

And a soldier is born.

Nicholas started going to his new babysitter this week who happens to my good friend, Abby. 

 It went great and she even sent me pictures of the boys playing together.  She definitely

 knows the way to my heart! 

 And his artistic creation:  Daddy on the left, Mommy on the right, a doggie on the top, and

a bag in the middle.  Impressive!  I've been noticing for some time that Nicholas still doesn't seem

to have a left or right hand preference, which has started me wondering if he might be

ambidextrous.  He apparently drew this picture in the same fashion which got Abby thinking

the very same thing.  We shall see.

P.S.  I really like that he gave me such long legs.  Ah, if only.

White Belt

Wednesday night was very exciting for us as Nicholas achieved his very first Karate milestone - the white belt.  I hope it's the first of many because the sense of pride and accomplishment it gave him was worth just about anything in the world.  I have loved this new adventure of ours and how excited we both get when Karate night rolls around each week.  Each lesson is 30 minutes, and while some parents catch up on work or play on their phones, I can't take my eyes off of him for one second.  He's reacting quicker to instructions now and you can physically see the confidence he's building each time. 

Mr. Cool on his way to his lesson...

And after....

I'm sure you could probably hear, but I started to whoop it up for him but stopped myself because everyone was being so quiet.  I resisted the urge to embarrass him this time but I'm fairly sure I'll get plenty of opportunities to make it up to him in the future!  Also, at the end of each class the coach gives the kids a stamp of different animals which Nicholas goes nuts for.  He always asks her to stamp the top of his foot and he stares at it continuously, which is what he's doing towards the end of the video.  Whatever floats your boat, son.

P.S.  I have to add just one more thing which has absolutely nothing to do with Karate.  From time to time, Nicholas says things that I know I'll never want to forget but get so busy and never write them down.  So, I thought I'd add his latest and greatest here because I know this blog will stand the test of time.  We were sitting in bed the other night, talking and singing before I tucked him in, and he turns to me and says "You're my Princess Mama".  Melt.  My.  Heart.  Seriously!  Well, I've been Princess Mama every since and it's a name I will proudly bear for the rest of my life.  This boy is learning at a very early age how to steal a woman's heart, let me tell ya!