Happy Golden Birthday Nicholas

My little linebacker is 1!  I can't believe a year has gone by since my little guy was born!  I can't imagine our lives without him.  He is such a happy baby.  Our days are filled with smiles, laughter, kisses and cuddles.  Samantha loves you so much and loves playing with you and making you laugh.  You look up to her and want to do everything she is doing.  You are such a monkey and will climb up on anything. 

1 yr stats:
Height: 31.5 inches
Weight: 23lbs

Here are just a few of your accomplishments over the last year
smile
roll over
crawl
took your first step in October 2012
shake your head no
putting your arms up when we say touchdown
you eat anything & everything I give you
you love the park & the swing

You are such a good boy and a joy in our lives.  I can't see what God has in store for you in your life and I'm glad I will get to see each step of the way.  Nicholas we love you so much!  Happy birthday buddy!

Happy Halloween

Another Halloween has come and gone.  This year Samantha was Rapunzel and Nicholas was Tigger.  It was pretty chilly out this year, but layering helped.  Papa, Mimi and Daddy took both kids out while my mom and I stayed back to hand out candy to all the kids.  Samantha walked almost the entire time and Nicholas we strapped into the wagon and he was just as happy as could be being outside and looking around at everything.
Trick or treating is so nice here in Livonia.  Kids are always pleasant as are the parents.  Each kid always says "thank you" after you give them candy and they are happy with whatever you give them.  I even heard them talk about someone giving them a pencil & paper.  They thought it was so cool!
This year for me I was nervous.  Now that we know that Nicholas has a severe peanut/tree nut allergy, all the candy made me nervous becuase almost all of it either has peanuts in it or was processed in a nut facility.  Big sister Samantha was so cute.  She asked people if it had peanuts in it before she put it in Nicholas' bag and if it did she just put it in hers.  She's going to be a great big sister!
Trick or treating ended at just the right time.  It's starting raining pretty hard.  We came in changed had some chili and watched Charlie Brown Halloween!  Nicholas had already fallen asleep by then, but Samantha loved Charlie Brown so much! 
It was another great Halloween and I can't wait for next year!
 

Happy 4th birthday Princess

Samantha I can't believe you are 4 already!  It feels like yesterday that I found out I was pregnant with you! 
You are becoming quite the little young lady.  You have a great personality.  You are loving, caring, helpful, and a little bit sassy. 

You had another great birthday this year!  It was a Tangled themed birthday.  This year your daddy and I made your cake.  You requested a strawberry and chocolate layered cake with pink frosting and Rapunzel on top.  That is what you got!  Your daddy and I had so much fun making it.  The weekend before your birthday, Oma, Papa, Auntie JuJu & Uncle Matt came in and we celebrated.  You got some wonderful gifts again!  Oma & Papa had bought you and your brother a Power Wheels dune buggy.  You love riding it outside in the grass and around the park!  Auntie JuJu & Uncle Matt bought you a plasma car and you are starting to get the hang of it.  Uncle Awesome got you a stage, ballerina bar and a balance beam game.  Again you were very spoiled but you were very thankful for everything you received. 

Year 4 fun facts:
Weight: 40lbs
Height: 40.5 inches

School/Vocabulary

You have been in preschool now for a month and you LOVE it!  You can spell your name and write it now without anyone telling you what letter comes next.  Next month you will be starting the 4 yr preschool 1 day a week along with the 2 days of 3 yr preschool.  You are a little Ms. chatterbox.  You will talk to anyone about anything. 
Eating
You are getting MUCH better!  Although we still fight about what you eat at dinner it is becoming much easier and you are more willing to try new things.  Breakfast is still by far the best meal of the day.

Current Favorites:
Cartoon: Calliou
Toy: dress up & book
Movie: Lion King & Wizard of Oz
Food: cereal & grapes

Other Misc
awesome big sister
potty trained for 1 year
can swing on the big swings by herself
love playing dress up & being a ballerina
you took your 1st ballet class and loved it
we have started story time at the Livonia library
this past summer you went to 2 VBS
love to help me bake
love to help me clean
love reading your books, especially your Disney princess books

I'm sure there are many things that I'm forgetting.  Samantha you are such a big girl and we have so much fun together!  Thank you for being a great big sister to Nicholas.  He looks up to you and you love playing with him.  Your daddy and I are so proud of the little girl you are becoming.  Can't wait to see what God has in store for you over the next year!

11 months

I can't believe you are almost a year!  Not too much has changed over the last couple of months.  You know have 8 teeth with your molars on their way in.  With the teeth coming in, you haven't been sleeping the best and eating the best but you are still a great baby.  You are becoming more steady on your feet but not walking yet.  You will try to climb up on anything.  You have climbed up on the end tables, your jumparoo, and the tv stand!  You continue to amaze us everyday.  Your sister is still in love with you as much if not more than the day you were born.  You love playing with cars & trucks and my cell phone. Let's see what this next month has in store for you.  I can't believe you are going to be 1 in just a few short weeks!

9 months

Already!  9 months I can't believe it!  Where has the time gone?  Nicholas is such a good boy!  He's getting big and just loves everything!  He's sleeping pretty well.  Still needs to eat in the middle of the night, but he goes right back to sleep.  He is eating everything we are eating.  Still mashing his fruits and veggies and he loves everything!  He now has 5 teeth.

9 month stats
Height: 30 inches
Weight: 22 lbs 12 oz

Every once in a while we hear mama.  He is walking along furniture and I know walking isn't too far away. 

On another note, Jim has started his 2nd year of residency.  Last month he was in the ER and this month he is doing MICU.  This month is going to be a very busy month for all of us.  He will be working a ton of hours which means he won't be home much which in turn makes long, busy days for the kids and I.  Things have been going well so far.  The kids & I will be heading to Chicago in a couple of weeks to see my brother graduate from the Police Academy.  It will be a welcomed break after this month.  Also, getting samantha ready for preschool.  She starts in September and she is getting really excited.  She will be starting at a Lutheran church right around the corner from our house and she will be going Tues/Thurs from 830-1100. 
That's it for now.  I will make a seperate post for everything we did this summer!

8 months

He's crawling!!!  Yes he is on the go!  He is also now pulling himself up on whatever he can.  He is going to be walking before i know it.  We now have baby gates up and his crib needed to be lowered because he could flip himself out of his crib.  Evey once in a while I think I hear mama.  I just say he does and pick him up!  He is eating so many different things now.  I don't think there is anything this boy doesn't like.  We were in Chicago for the last 6 weeks and Nicholas had so much fun with family.  We took him to the pool, park, church, and many family parties.  I can't believe how big he is getting.  He's such a good boy and love him so much!

Samantha's Words

There are some words that Samantha says that are just too cute that I don't want to forget

Parade = harade
mosquito bite = a basquito bite
Police car = po po car
bathing suit - babing suit
If you don't listen, you don't learn


I know there are a few more and I will just have to update when she says them.

1 down 3 more to go!

I can't believe intern year of residency is OVER!!!!  I also can't believe we have lived in Michigan now for a year!  This past year has been CRAZY, but I wouldn't have changed anything.  Jim put in a ton of hours and learned a lot.  Hopefully in this next year we will be able to see him more!  This next year he will have more ED shifts which will be nice and there will be no studying for any big board exams.  Botsford has been a great hosptial for Jim and hopefully this year, the kids and I can get to more events to meet other wives & kids. 

7 months

Time is sure flying!  I can't believe Nicholas is 7 months old already!  He is on the move!  He is crawling around like crazy now!  I really need to baby proof the house and Samantha's toys.  He keeps finding all of the little toys that Samantha plays with.  He is eating well and has 2 teeth with a couple more on their way!  His sleeping patterns are on and off with him teething.  Samantha is still in love with him and likes showing him how all of his toys work.
love you buddy!!!

Mother's Day 2012

This was the 1st Mother's Day that we have all been together as a family.  With me working and with medical something has always come up so we were never all together.  This year I figured the same thing would happen, but Jim had an unexpected day off!  It was wonderful.  Jim let me sleep in which was wonderful!  While I was sleeping he had both kids downstairs making me a card.  Samantha was so proud of it.  Samantha traced all the letters on the card and help Jim cut out the hands & feet.  She was so excited!  I was very impressed with Jim's creativity in this.  We had a very relaxing day and got a lot of little things done around the house.  I love my kids to death!  There are days they drive me crazy, but I wouldn't change anything for the world!  I love that fact that I can be a stay at home mom and share moments with Samantha & Nicholas.  Thank you Jim for allowing me to be home with the kids and enjoying all of these moments with the kids!

Nicholas' Baptism

A couple of weeks ago, we had scheduled a weekend off for Jim so that we could get Nicholas' baptized.  It was very important for us to do this for a couple of reasons.  One, we wanted to show family & friends that we are committed to raising Nicholas in a Christian home. Secondly, the Pastor at our church was retiring and we really wanted him to baptize Nicholas.  Pastor Howard has been a mentor to Jim for years. Jim grew up at Calvary his entire life.  Pastor Howard was there when Jim made Profession of Faith and I reaffirmed my Profession of Faith.  Pastor Howard married us and Samantha was baptized at Calvary.  So it was only fitting that Nicholas was baptized at Calvary with Pastor Howard.  We had a wonderful service and all of our family was able to be there.  Samantha did a great job up in front of church as well.  I was kind of nervous, because she always wants to go up there and do her ballerina moves, so I was nervous she was going to start dancing across stage while Nicholas was being baptized.  She did great she stood right next to me and watched the whole thing.  She did manage to get a couple of twirls in during prayer!  She was wearing her big pink polka dot dress that twirled very nicely!  She was excited she was able to do that and yes I did hear a few chuckles from the congregation during her twirls.  Oh well, she is 3 1/2 and she is allowed to do that :)
After church we all went back to my in-laws from lunch, coffee & cake.  It was nice to be able to spend time with extended family and friends.  Nicholas did very well the entire day and he looked so handsome.  His baptism outfit will be his 6 month pictures and I can't wait for Jim to take those!
Thank you to all of our family for the continued love & support through everything and for helping us raise both Samantha & Nicholas with Christian values and morals.

6 months

Stats:
Weight - 20 lbs - 90%
Height - 27.5 inches - 90%

This last month has been such a fun month!  He is rolling all over the place and is sitting up.  I still have to put pillows around him so he doesn't hit his head when he tries moving and falls over!  He is now getting cereal at all 3 meals and is eating many different foods.  Apples, pears, avacados, bananas, sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, and peas.  So far everything has been good and no reactions to anything. He is wearing 9-12 month clothes and sleeping well at night with an occasional wake up for a little feeding but then goes right back down.  He is asleep by 8pm and usually up and ready to go for the day around 730am and will have 2-3 naps a day.  He is always smiling and has such a great personality.  Very rarely will you hear him cry.  He now has 1 tooth and a couple more are right there ready to pop through! Overall Nicholas you are a great baby and your sister loves you to pieces!  Every once in a while Samantha will say to me, "Mommy when Nicholas breaks can we get a baby sister?"  Nicholas you will never break!  I promise you that!  Your sister is having fun with you and showing you how to use your new toys.
Mommy & Daddy love you!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Most days Samantha just cracks me up. She does the funniest things and says the craziest things. Right now she is going through a phase and repeating everything I say...which could be good but could be really bad. The other day Jim and I were talking and Samantha was in her room playing with her baby dolls and I don't remember what the context of the conversation was, but I said FML. Well needless to say Samantha was walking in the room and she repeated FML about 100 times. It was funny at first, but I had to tell her that it wasn't nice to say that and that I should not have said it. Luckily, she hasn't said it since. I would be so embarassed if she said it while we were around other people. Needless to say a lesson learned on my part. Be careful what I say when I'm around her!

Easter Week

This past week Jim was on vacation (I think I hear the choir singing)! It was a much needed break for all of us. This past month Jim was on Trauma and working a ton of hours. We all needed this break! We headed up to Chicago for the week. We had a ton of fun. Jim was able to spend time with family. On Monday, my mom, Samantha, Nicholas and myself went to look for Nicholas' baptism outfit. I found one and love it so much! Wednesday, Julie, Samantha, my mom and myself we went out to dinner at Red Robin and then all went for pedicures! It was so much fun to have a girls night and hang out with my sister. The weekend was busy getting ready for Easter. Thursday night, I helped my MIL stuff eggs for the big hunt on Sunday. Friday we relaxed during the day and attended Good Friday Service. As always it was a beautiful service. Saturday morning, Samantha and I headed to my mom and dad's to make desserts for Easter. We made rice krispie treats with peeps and M&M's, we made bird nests and we made cupcakes. Samantha always has fun baking. Saturday night, my FIL & MIL took the kids for the night and Jim and I went out with my family to Hollywood Casino. We had a ton of fun. I won $125 that night, but the big winner was my brother who won $1,000! After the casino we all went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner! It was a fun night! Easter morning, Samantha opened up the gifts in her Easter basket...she was so happy with all of them. We then got ready for church. It was a wonderful service again. It was nice to have all family there. After church everyone went to my in-laws house for Easter dinner and the big Easter egg hunt! It was such a fun week and had so much fun being back home with everyone. We will be back there in a couple of weeks for Nicholas' baptism.

4 month almost 5 month checkup

Stats:
Weight: 18lbs 6 oz
Height: 27 inches

Nicholas is getting big quick! He's not a little infant anymore :( I started Nicholas on cereal a couple of weeks ago. He was getting it once a day, usually in the mornings. I'm now giving it to him 2 or 3 times a day. He is growing so fast and needing more food. Luckily the peditrican gave me the green light to start giving him solids :) Samantha was so excited because now we get to use the Baby Bullet. I'm super excited to start making him his food! He even ate some bananas this afternoon.
Nicholas is such an easy baby. He is on such a good schedule and such a good sleeper. With Samantha, I rocked her all the time. Nicholas I just lay down and 95% of the time he falls asleep on his own. Nicholas in this last month has started rolling from stomach to back and he almost has back to stomach. He smiles and laughs all the time at Samantha. Samantha loves playing with him and she is the first one in his room in the morning when she hears him "talking" in his crib. He is holding objects really well and loves his excersaucer.
I can't believe he is almost 5 months! He is such a little love!

Crazy things from Samantha

Driving home from Champps last night this was a conversation Samantha and I had

Samantha: Mommy did you bring my paci?
Mommy: No hunny, I told you that if you want your paci with, you need to bring it
S: Mommy your only kidding you did bring it.
M: No Samantha I didn't bring it.
S: but I'm tired and I can't twirl my hair
M: Samantha your hair twirls with out your paci
S: My hair doesn't twirl without my paci. I just want it. It makes me happy when I sleep.

Needless to say within 2 mintues of this conversation she was passed out in the car!
We are working on getting rid of the paci. She only gets it when laying in her bed or when she takes it in the car.

Out to dinner and out of the blue Samantha goes

Daddy, I think Nicholas should wear a racecar tutu for his baptism.
Not sure where that came from, but all we could do is laugh!

Samantha Update 3.5 years

I haven't posted much about Samantha lately. She is so busy all the time and just loves life! Samanta comes up with some of the craizest things, but she is totally me all the way around! Here are some updates

Vocabulary
Samantha will talk to almost anyone who will listening to you. We are starting to teach you how to read. It's coming along, but very slow. You just have a hunger to learn and want to know what each word is. You are learning how to draw letters and spell your name.
Samantha also repeats everything we say. I have to be careful what I say around her.

Eating
Samantha is still a picky eater, but is starting to try new things. Much to her surprise they are good! I told her I would never give her anything I don't like. She has been eating much better at meals and eats much better when sitting at a table with everyone else. She always says her prayers before and after she eats.

Sleeping
She has been sleeping much better in her own bed. She is not napping anymore. Every once in a while I will get a nap from her but very rarely. My mom bought her a calandar and I got her some stickers. When she gets 7 stickers in a row she gets a special prize. Needless to say we haven't gotten 7 in a row yet, but close a few times!

Other
She LOVES dancing. She dances from the time she wakes up until the time she goes to sleep. She also LOVES to sing! She loves Nicholas too. She is always playing with him and helping me get diapers, bottles, blankets. She loves cooking and baking too. We try to make something together each week. I'm sure there are lots of things I'm forgetting, but this is it for now!

What a crazy last month

This last month, the kids and I spent in Chicago. I wasn't sure how long I was going to be there and Jim told me to stay as long as I needed to. I orginally went up there to get everyone taxes done and help out my family out. My mom had been in Florida for 6 weeks because my Oma needed help because papa had leukemia and Oma couldn't do everything herself. So I was helping out Julie making dinner at night. While I was there my grandpa was also in the hospital but later released and sent to a rehab facility and is now back home.
On February 20, 2012 around 4pm we got the phone call none of us every wanted to answer. My mom called and told us that Papa had passed. Papa is now home in Heaven with our Lord and Savior. Even though we all knew it was coming it was something none of us could really prepare for. I just never thought when I pulled out of my parents driveway in August, that was going to be a last time I was going to see papa. He was never able to meet Nicholas, but I was able to send many pictures to him while mom was down there and he was able to see them. I am very thankful that Samantha was able to spend time with him this past summer. As we were all crying that afternoon, Samantha asked me why I was crying. I told her that great papa is now in Heaven. Her response to me was, "Great Papa is now with Jesus and God and Mary and Joseph. He got his fairy wings and flew up in the sky." It's awesome the innonance of a 3 year old. If we all could be so happy during time of sorrow. Papa would be 83 on Sunday and Oma & Papa were married for 55 years. Papa I love you always! We have had many good times together! Love you always and forever!

3 months

I can't believe my not so little dude is already 3 months! He's such a good boy! He's sleeping 12 hours every night and takes a small morning nap, a 2-3 hours afternoon nap and a quick evening nap before eating at 8 and going down for the night. This month his movements are becoming more fluid and he LOVES his hands! He smiles all the time and laughs a lot too. Samantha can really get him laughing...it's so cute :) He also laughs everytime I change his diaper, especially the poopy ones! It's almost like he thinking, "ha ha mommy" he's too cute!
Nicholas, since we didn't have a doctor's appointment this month, we weighed & measured you. I can't believe how big you are! You are wearing 6 month clothes comfortably. You are very alert and you love sitting in your bouncy chair with the music watching the monkey and the frog go up & down. You also have learned that when you hit the bird or the monkey the music starts again and you smile so big! You are holding you head really steady now too. You do NOT like tummy time. The only time you like to be on your tummy is when you are sleeping. Your thrush is now gone! That was horrible and the medicine made your tummy not feel good at all. I think that is it for this month. Can't wait to see what you do this next month!
Weight - 17lbs
heights - 26 inches

Am I a good mom?

I wonder sometimes if I'm a good mom. I sit back at the end of the day and think "did I do everything to make each child feel like they are loved?" When I put Samantha to bed each night I always ask her if she had a good day and what her favorite part of the day was. Today she just melted my heart. Today was a bad day for me.
Jim has been working everyday and not getting home until 645p each day. So I'm busy from the time we get up until he gets home. Sometimes I wonder how many times I tell Samantha hold on, I have to feed Nicholas, change Nicholas, calm Nicholas down, put Nicholas to sleep. I wonder if she ever feels like mad or sad that I'm not taking care of her right at the second. Today though I know she doesn't feel that way. Nicholas cried all day today...he's not a cryer at all. I told Samantha hold on a thousand times today. After I had given Nichloas his bath tonight and I was holding him and he was quiet and asleep on me, I just started crying. Crying for no reason at all. Just tired and happy he was finally quiet. Samantha came up next to me with her nursery rhyme book and started telling me what some of them were and then asked me to ready some of them to her. As I was reading them to her, she could see that I was crying. She asked if she could wipe away my tears and told me it was ok. She told me she loved me and gave me a big hug and kiss. This totally melted my heart which in turn made me cry even more. At that point, I knew I was doing what I was supposed to be doing.
Tonight when I put her to sleep she gave me a big hug and kiss and told me the best part of today was making banana bread and me reading books to her. I love this little girl so much and I don't want her to ever lose her spunk or for me to ever crush her spirit. I want her to know everyday that I do the best that I can and make her feel special everyday!

2 months

My sweet little boy is 2 months already! Where did the time go. I guess we have been so busy with Thanksgiving, decorating for Christmas, going to Chicago for Christmas and New Years! These last two months have flown by and you just fit right in! It's like you have always been here. You really are a good baby! Just like your sister you go with the flow! You have had 2 car trips back and forth from Michigan to Chicago and have done great with both of them! You slept the whole the way through.
Your sister is in love with you too! She loves helping me get diapers and when you wake up she brings her step stool close to the crib and tells you "it's ok buddy, mommy is here." Your sister also loves to give you hugs and kisses and snuggle nose.
This month you started sleeping through the night, which to mommy that means 10p-5a and then going right back to sleep until 9a or 10a. You are eating every 3 to 4 hours about 6oz of formula.
Stats:
Weight: 14lbs 5 oz 100 percentile
Heights: 24.5 in 100 percentile

You are getting so big, and love you so much! Can't wait to see what you start doing this next month!

New Year

It was a pretty uneventful New Years Eve in the Kowalczyk household. Samantha, Nicholas and myself drove back on NYE to Michigan so we could at least all be together to ring in the new year. Samantha was very excited to see Jim when he got home from the hospital. We just hung out and the kids were asleep before midnight. Jim and I watched the ball drop and then went to bed ourselves since Jim had to work the next day. I don't know what to expect this next year. In looking back at my past years posts, I see another year of medical school down, graduation, anticipation of a child, trying to sell the condo. I don't have any of these this year. This year it will be Jim finishing up intern year of residency, Samantha starting preschool (how can that be?) and the condo finally being gone, even though it's because of foreclosure :( Oh well at least it will be gone! This is going to be a good year!

Christmas

This is my absoulte favorite holiday! Christmas brings out the kid in me! I love the lights, decorations, innonance of children and the Christmas story. This Christmas was so much fun for me! Samantha is at such a fun age. she loved putting up the lights with me, putting ornaments on the Christmas tree and just asking about Jesus. Last year, Mimi ( jim's mom) bought her Little People Manager scene. I decided to only bring it out at Christmas time. It gives us the chance to talk about the Jesus and His amazing enterance into this world.
This year we also did Elf on the Shelf. Samantha was so confused in the beginning. Our Elf, which Samantha named Buddy, came to our house while Samantha was in the bath one night. I told her that Santa was here and dropped Buddy off to watch her during the day and that he would fly back to the North Pole to report to Santa to see if she was a good girl. In the beginning, she was very scared of Buddy, but as the days went on she got used to him and was excited every morning to see where Buddy was hiding. He had some good hiding spots, from the Christmas tree, to the clock to being locked in the latern. Buddy even rode in the front seat buckled in, of course, to Palos for Christmas.
The Christmas Samantha also LOVED watching the Christmas movies. We watched Rudolph, Frosty, Charlie Brown Christmas, The Grinch (which she was very afraid of The Grinch), Elf on the Shelf. We watched these every morning...I'm glad Christmas is over because they have been magicially erased from the DVR.
So this Christmas Samantha got a lot of wonderful toys. My parents got her clothes for her bitty baby, matching pj's with her bitty baby, some cute summer clothes, style kit which included a blow dryer, curling iron, straightener, brush, fake hair spray and perfume, and a ballet skirt and leotard and slippers. She also got a baby carrier for her babies from Auntie JuJu and Uncle Matt. Uncle Awesome (Jeff) and Auntie Allie got her a clock so she can learn how to tell time and a dog and carrier for her bitty baby. I'm probably forgetting something, but all the gifts were very much appreciated and she LOVES all of them. Nicholas got a rocking horse, Garbage truck just like Papa's, little tool box, clothes, race car steering wheeland Go GO baby crawl toy. I can't wait for him to play with these. Jim's parents got them some great gifts too. Samantha got a space station, LaLaLoopsy dolls and sets, coloring books, crayons, Lion King DVD and a chair & ottomen (so cute). Nicholas got some boy toys, he got Racing Zoomers, cars, clothes and books. Overall it was a great Christmas and we had a lot of fun with all our family in Chicago. Now back in Michigan putting away decorations and getting toys set up and organized. Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas!