The New Site:

Here is the address for the new blog :  http://khfamily.wordpress.com  .

I'm still trying to work on it, when I have the time (which is rare).  So, please check it out.  : )  I will be posting new stuff there rather than here because keeping up with three blogs is too much!  If you want to leave a comment, it is pretty easy to do on a word press blog.  Just click on the line underneath the post that reads "Comments", you then submit your comment and I think it has to be approved so that spam comments are not left on the blog.  

Nicholas is now sick, too. Which, obviously scares me a little because he's still so little.  I am taking him to see his doctor this afternoon, just to make sure that he doesn't have pneumonia or bronchitis. (I KNOW--Poor, Baby!!)   He does not have a fever, though, which is good.  His breathing is labored and he has this awful sounding cough, which scares me.  Michael did not get sick this young, so I'm a little nervous.  : ( Isn't breast feeding supposed to prevent all of this?  Guess you can throw that out the window when you have a sick Mom and sibling kissing all over you, right?  

Anyway.  There's so much to get done in the next few days, so I should get started on something productive.  All I want to do is hold the baby, though.  : ( Maybe an update this evening on the khfamily blog about Mr. Nick's status and the wrapping status!

They said "heaven!"

 After a whale of a day with Michael and Nicholas, we headed a half an hour away from home to the groomer's to pick up Duncan.  That's always quite the ordeal for some reason: picking up the dog.  I can never seem to make it out the door in time to pick him up, it must be my subconscious working or something.  (Just kidding, of course!)  We managed to get to Duncan with ten minutes to spare.  

On the way home, I played a Christmas CD with the song "Silent Night".  Michael was listening intently and said, "MOM!  They just said HEAVEN, MOM! Baby Jesus lives in heaven, MOM!"  I got a little teary and answered back with a," Yes, he does, Michael!"  We talked a bit more about baby Jesus and why we celebrate Christmas, which was just so incredibly sweet.  

He then thought a bit more about the conversation and in an excited voice said, "

MOM!!  What do you think they do there?!  Who's with baby Jesus, MOM?!"  

The past few weeks have been really interesting with Michael and all this Christmas business.  He is completely intrigued by God and Jesus, and not so much by Santa.  The other night while saying a goodnight prayer, we asked God to help Michael B feel better since he has been so sick.  I explained to Michael that when we are sick, God can help make us better.  He really thought about what I was saying and asked, "Will He come see me tonight, Mom?"  I told him that God is with us all the time, when we are awake AND when we are sleeping.  Totally intrigued again

, he stated, "But, I can't see Him, Mom."  

I'm bracing myself for the Christmas Eve getting dressed in fancy clothes fight that will likely ensue.  So, we are going to explain to Michael over and over in the time being that we are dressing up for Jesus and his birthday party.  If it's for Jesus, I think he'll comply.  

Check out Mr. Nick--he's quite a flirt, isn't he???  : ) He is now ELEVEN weeks!!  And, the little rascal is sleeping through the night, which translates to uninterrupted sleep from 10:45pm to 6:00 am.  He refuses to sleep in his crib, so I'm giving him just a few more weeks in the bouncy seat.  Then it's to the crib he goes!!  Nicholas also rubs his eyes when he is tired,  those chubby wrists melt my heart.  

He Plays Now, Too!

A certain little someone is fussing now, so just the photos will have to do for now.  He loves "playtime" these days.  The mobile is almost a pain in the crib because he gets so excited to see it that he forgets he's tired.  (Until we leave the room, of course!)  

There a few really sweet Michael stories to share, but they're going to be kinda long so hang in there for more!

In the Blink of an Eye.

Nine weeks seems like an eternity when you're pregnant. Nine weeks goes by in the blink of an eye when you are the mother of an infant. The time is just going too quickly. The holidays and Josh's basketball season are adding to the craziness around our house, but we're really happy.

Someone is ready to eat, and someone's mother still hasn't had time for lunch herself yet... Gotta go! Stay tuned. Now that the pictures are finally uploaded, there are lots of stories to tell and pictures to share.

Nothing Classier

First things first:  look who's smiling!!  Nicholas has been smiling for awhile now, as well as cooing.  He also follows our voices by turning his head.  All three of us love to make him smile and "talk".  Sometimes he even smiles while he is nursing, which just kills me!  : ) No wonder I haven't let Josh introduce the bottle yet.  I'm still not ready to share that time.

 Today I decided to begin the arduous process of Christmas shopping.  Yuck! Jos A Banks is supposedly having this fantastic "corporate" sale, or something.  Josh is in need of some new clothes for work, so he sent me a half an hour away from home with his wish list.  I loaded up the boys for a "quick" shopping trip.  Ha!  There is nothing "quick" about taking two kids out for Christmas shopping, or any kind of shopping, for that matter.  While I was happy to get some of the shopping out of the way, I really wanted to spend my time at Michael's, the craft store. 

We maxed out at Jos. A Banks, and lost a lot of steam after shopping for Josh.  Nicholas was a dream, and Michael enjoyed pulling sweaters off of the neatly folded stacks.  He also enjoyed playing pretend games, while slamming the racks of pants together.  It was such a fun trip!  Who knows what I bought.  I certainly wasn't paying attention to the "sale" prices because my eyes popped out of my head when the clerk finished ringing up the new clothes. 

Being the stubborn individual that I am, I decided that the boys could totally handle Michael's.  Nicholas seemed so content, you know?  Well.  We arrive at Michael's and our son, Michael, was a complete dream.  And, his brother?  He screamed the whole time!  Lovely.  I had to pee as soon as we got to the store, so I rushed the three of us to the back of the store.  Nicholas didn't calm down the whole time we were in the restroom because it was feeding time.  Of course! We left Michael's directly after the restroom break.

 I hatched up this plan to feed him quickly at Borders while Michael checked out the books.  What a sweet idea, right?  We made it down to borders and Nicholas was WAILING at this point, with his "MAAA" cry.  Naturally, I unstrapped him from the Bjorn as fast as I could.  I sat down in the middle of the kid's section and nursed him without a blanket.  Eventually Michael took off his coat, which I used to cover us as much as I could.  It was hysterical, though.  We were quite a sight to behold.  Michael was yanking one Thomas book off the shelf after the other, and Nicholas was not content with his stressed out mother.  When he wasn't nursing, he was screaming.  I'm pretty sure that the customers could see my belly lopping over my too tight jeans, which is so classy!  The postpartum belly is not fun!  The kid's section cleared quickly, except for a Grandmother who was shopping for a three year old boy.  When she asked for help, I tried to stand up to offer assistance and in a bossy tone told me, "just sit down and finish what you're doing." 

The funny part of this story is that I STILL wanted to go to Michael's after this whole episode!  We didn't, though. Nicholas fell asleep after nursing (and screaming), which meant that it was Michael's turn to throw a temper tantrum.  He couldn't possibly understand why I refused to purchase twenty Thomas the Tank Engine books!  At this point, I knew that Michael's was out and nap time was in.  

Oh well.  We probably won't get around to decorating this evening anyway!  Thank goodness we're home now.  I hope the boys nap for a long, long time this afternoon.

Let's Hope it's a Growth Spurt!

Mommy says that I've been awfully fussy over the past 24 hours. The whole family, especially my Mom, is hoping that I'm going through a growth spurt. Thank goodness for my dad, he got less sleep than my mom last night! Mom was used to the four hour stretches of sleep, I've decided that two and a half to three hour stretches are much better because I get to eat more. Tomorrow I will be six weeks, which is a classic spurt age, according to the baby books.

While I've been on the challenging side for my parents, my big brother has been a dream kid! Check out the turkey that he made yesterday in the above post. We are all ready for the Thanksgiving holiday!!

Weekend Getaway.

We headed back to our alma mater this weekend.  Josh and I figured that it was time to introduce Nicholas to one of our favorite vacationing spots.  It's funny to refer to W&M as a vacation spot, considering it felt nothing like a vacation the entire four years we were there.  (It actually felt more like a pressure cooker.)  :)  Michael and Mary Jane also joined in the fun, and humored us by staying at the indoor water park.  This post is going to take a few weeks to wrap up with the way things are going!  So! Stick around....

A Week of Firsts for Nicholas...

1. First bball game- went to watch the boys' hero, Jacob, play ball against Josh's kids.
2. First trip to the library to play with the awesome Bartlett girls.
3. First time sleeping for FIVE hours straight.  Mom was SO, SO, SO happy.
4. First trip to mom and dad's alma mater, with Granddad and Mango.
5. First stay at an indoor water park, maybe that's why he slept so well last night...
6. First time pooping on mom.  Such a sweet moment...

We're extending the weekend by hanging out at the water park until late afternoon.  I wish we could stay another night, or two!

Baby Shoes! Give Peace a Chance!

It seems that Nicholas needs a little pair of baby shoes so that his sweet, itty-bitty socks will stay on.  Again, this whole having a newborn during the fall/winter months is throwing me off!  I've had my eye on these for quite some time.  How cute are these Robeez?  Something tells me that Josh would prefer the sporty Robeez, rather than the hippy Robeez.  (Check out the links.) Or, maybe he won't even notice? I highly doubt it!  : ) I can't get anything past Josh...  And, really I should just go to Walmart and buy Mr. Nick a knock-off brand for the time being.  The purpose of the shoes is really just to keep the socks on, right?  But my goodness!  They are soooo cute!!

Nicholas takes a bath!

Nicholas really enjoys bath time, as long as he is warm!!  Michael loves to help give Nicholas a bath, it's part of his big brother role.  We do bath time with Nicholas on the days Michael B is home with me.  It serves as great entertainment for both of us.  Michael shares all of his bath tub toys, and can't understand why Nicholas has no interest in playing with them!  

a few for fun...

Halloween pictures are on their way. Enjoy these of the little rascal in the meantime. When I have the opportunity to type with TWO hands, I'll write about this very special quilt that Michael and Mary Jane gave to Nicholas a week after his birthday.

Melts my heart...

This morning, while preparing breakfast, I peeked into the playroom to check on Michael and Nicholas.  The baby was strapped in the bouncy seat, trying to sleep.   And, Michael was playing with his cars, or so I thought.  When I stuck my head in the room, there was Michael sitting beside the bouncy seat, reading Nicholas the book "I'll Always Love You".  I quickly tried to find the camera, and couldn't find it quickly enough.  Nicholas started to cry.  And, I heard Michael say something like, "Well, if you're gonna cry, then I'm not going to read to you, Baby." Even though the moment was over,  I laughed to myself and continued to look for the camera.  When I finally walked in, there was Michael B.  trying to console his brother with a little kiss on the forehead.  We then played together, the three of us, by introducing Mr. Nicholas to tummy time and letting him stretch out on the floor .  

These pictures are not from this morning. Once the camera battery is charged, I will be sure to post them!  We're also going to a party on the mountain this afternoon, so I'm very hopeful that we will have a few family photos to share from the celebration!

WA-HOOOOO!!!!

Have I mentioned that I love, love, love my doctor?  He has delivered both of our sons, and I'm just so incredibly grateful for the care that he has given to our family.  

Went in for my two week c-section check up today, with Mr. Nicholas.  He slept the entire time and made my doctor grin from ear to ear.  (I think he enjoys seeing the babies that he has delivered.) The doctor needed to re-check my incision one last time before the six week appointment.  The incision is looking great, basically the scar is pretty dark and the incision line is numb.  However, the scabs are completely gone and it is healing quickly.  It looks like a happy face when I'm sitting on the couch.  

Before the doctor even had a chance to check the incision, I bombarded him with a question. I asked him as I was laying back onto the table, "SO...What are my restrictions now that I'm past the two week mark???"  He gave me the usual "no strenuous lifting", "no major abdominal exercises", etc, etc.  I noticed that he made no mention of running, so I just threw it out there, fully expecting to hear a six week restriction.  And, MUCH to my surprise, he said to take things easy for just one more week!!!!!!  I almost jumped off the table with joy.  He, of course, made sure to elaborate on his answer by adding that I need to take it easy, stop if anything hurts, etc, etc.  I nodded happily and promised to take things easy.  I fully intend to take running easy in the weeks to come, but just to be given the clearance and to know that I'm one step closer to running with my girlfriends again; makes me SO incredibly happy.  

It looks like the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot is not ruled out at this time! Heck, I might even be able to participate in another little race in just a few weeks.  (You can choose the distance-two, four, or six miles.  I'm just going for the 2 miles, at this time.)

Had to share the happy news! And it's also time for some more cute pictures of our sweet baby boy...

"Fluffy"

I love how fluffy Nicholas's hair is after his bath...

Just look at how incredibly cute he is... : )

He had this outfit on for like ten minutes because he urinated all over himself and the outfit shortly after I began a diaper change! The entire time I was taking these photos, he was making his sweet, little baby grunts and moving his little arms. (Don't you just love that baby grunting sound?!)

We're having a good week. Each day is a tad bit easier (except for dinner time), even though I'm tired. Really, though, I feel like the exhaustion this time around isn't nearly as bad as it was right after we had Michael. I think I'm just used to be constantly tired. All mothers can probably relate to that sentiment, right?

Nicholas had his first doctor's appointment today, which went very well. He now weighs 6 pounds and 9 ounces, and is 20 inches long. I'm glad to know that he has not shrunk! Because Nicholas is doing so well and nursing is going so well, he does not have to go back until December. Yay for our sweet, little Nicholas!!

(He's so cute, I could just eat him. I especially love his little neck and his itty, bitty arms.)