Bittersweet

My Nicholas is a very strong independent little boy. He likes to do everything all by himself. He can take his clothes on and off by himself, including shoes and coat (though he does still need a little help with the zipper sometimes). He's even potty trained himself and very rarely has accidents. Don't try to help him unless he asks for it because he has no problems telling you "I do it myself!". He's proud of what a big boy he's become. As he's gotten older he wants to do things big people do like sleep in a big boy bed. The crib hasn't been a crib for a long time now, we took the side off when he learned how to climb out of it. That was fine for almost a year. Lately though Nick has been trying to go to bed in Collin's room and getting up to sleep in our room in the middle of the night. When you put him in his bed he's says "I'm not a baby, I want a big boy bed". So tonight we went out and bought him big boy furniture. He's getting a nice bed with bookcase headboard and a chest of drawers but you'd think he was getting a million dollars. As soon as we got home he said he wanted to sleep in his big boy bed tonight. Unfortunately we have to wait up to 6 weeks for it to be delivered. In the meantime I think Nick and I are going to make a date and go shopping for the decor of his new room. I'm happy about this for the most part. My little boy very definitely isn't a baby anymore and he needs a big boy room. But I'm also rather sad because it means that its time to part with the crib and dresser that he and Collin had as babies. The reality is we won't be needing it anymore. The thought is very bittersweet to me. I have so many wonderful memories of folding all their tiny little clothes and putting them away in the dresser and of gently laying them down to sleep in their crib. Those memories won't go because the furniture has but none the less its a little hard to say good-bye.

I sure hope it gets easier to let go of things as they grow up because at some point I'm going to have to send them off to college and really let go so they can live their own lives. I suppose that's why we start with the little things like diapers (which weren't nearly so hard to say good-bye to) and cribs, so we'll have those experiences to build upon when the really big milestones start coming, like school for Collin in the fall. I suspect that will be much harder for me than for him. And it will be harder still when Nick goes because I will be doing it for the last time.

So my little Nicholas, you keep growing and learning and exerting your independence and I will do my very best to cheer you on and only cry about it when you can't see me. I am so proud of the amazing little boy you've become. Every day you make me laugh with your quirky sense of humor and they way you insert the word underwear or underpants into everything you talk about, like tonight when you said "Happy Underpants!" to Grammy and Grampa instead of Happy New Year. I also marvel at your strength. The other night you picked up an entire case of Capri Suns because that was what you wanted me to buy. Those things are heavy but you were determined and made it happen. You have an exuberance for life that makes me smile even on the worst of days. It is such a joy to be your mom.

The Big Blizzard of 2009

SNOW ANGEL!

It is really snowing good right now! We cleared at least 8 inches off the deck at 9:45 and there is probably another 3 inches out there now. It's only been 2 hours! Nick's fever is down to 99.7 but he was up a good portion of the night so I finally went upstairs and woke him up at 11:45. He never sleeps this long. At least he seems to be in good spirits and he's eating a little bit. Collin has already been out in the snow but his boots must be too big because they keep falling off his feet. Needless to say his romp in the snow didn't last too long. We'll try again later. I'm going to raid the shoe bin and see if there are any boots a size smaller in it. In the mean time, it is beautiful outside. There are no signs of the snow stopping anytime soon. Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!This is Collin and his best buddies Tommy and Jimmy who live "in our backyard" They actually live in the house behind us.

Weekend Update

They are calling for a minimum of 12 inches of snow tomorrow. Some estimates are upwards of 2 feet! I'm really thrilled that if we're going to have this kind of storm its coming on a weekend. The boys are really excited and I can't wait to take them out and enjoy the snow again. Look for pictures to follow.

Update on the 4 legged children

My poor Sadie girl has always been our angel. She is always so well behaved and with the exception of once when she was in heat (before she was spayed) and when she's been sick she's never had accidents in the house. Recently that all changed. Both of our dogs were having issues and this week it got really bad. Yesterday, I cleaned up no fewer than 3 puddles of pee, 2 of which I witnessed personally. That was my breaking point. Poor Sadie hasn't been able to hold it very long all week and I decided since I was off we were going to the vet to find out what was going on. It turns out that she is diabetic. We'll know more when we get the results of the blood work tomorrow. Diabetes is treatable and I'm glad that she has a legitimate reason for peeing on the carpet and that its not something she's just decided to do because she's mad or unhappy. Morey on the other hand seems to be peeing in the spots where Sadie already peed. Hopefully if she stops peeing in the house he will too.

Kids say the funniest things...

I was standing in line at the Deli with Collin deciding what kind of lunch meat to get for the week. I asked him if he would eat turkey. He said no, not now. I'll eat it when I'm older and have nose hair. Apparently all old people have nose hair.

This morning I woke Nicholas up gently rubbing his back and talking softly to him saying its morning, time to get up. His first word? Crap! He is definitely my son.

Crazy Maryland Weather

On Thursday it was nearly 60 degrees. Today it is snowing. I think we have a couple of inches accumulated already and there are no signs of stopping. The boys were so excited to see the snow. Its the good kind that's a little wet so it sticks together perfectly for making snowballs and snow men. I bundled the boys up in 3 layers of shirts plus a jacket and 2 layers of pants and socks and took them out to play for a bit. I probably shouldn't have let Nick go out but how do you say no to a little boy who started putting his shoes and coat on the minute he saw the snowflakes? Its the first snowfall of the year and I knew we wouldn't be out too long. The boys made snow angels and then a snowman which they promptly destroyed. We even had a little snowball fight. I had to make most of the snowballs because it was hard for them to do it with their mittens on. I took quite a few pictures. I posted some on facebook already. I will post some here later as they are on the other computer and apparently our network connection is not hooked up. I normally hate the snow but when it falls on a weekend and my boys are so excited about it, how could I not enjoy it? It's beautiful outside.

Waiting Room Star

When I picked Nick up on Friday Ms. Ro said that he had a little bit of a deep cough. As the night wore on it got progressively worse and I could hear junk in his chest when he took a breath so I took him to Nighttime Peds. By the time we got there his fever was over 101. Nick was so good while they checked him out. He didn't even cry when they did the throat culture, although he certainly didn't like it. He doesn't' have strep so they think its just a virus. They gave him some Motrin while we were there so by the time we were back in the waiting room waiting to check out he was feeling pretty good again. He started singing the ABC's which was fine but he was singing the abcd underwear version. I asked him if he could sing the real version and he did, all the way to the letter Z which he then replaced with underwear. The waiting room cracked up. He was a total hit. Today his fever is gone but the croupy cough remains so we're staying home from the cookie exchange and enjoying a Mommy and Nicholas day while Daddy and Collin are at the party. I should probably also mention that potty training is a smashing success. We've had very few accidents. This is the very best Christmas present ever!