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!