Celebration

I'm thankful God gives us reasons to celebrate. Friends. Weddings. Happiness. What blessings!

April, Andrea, and April with me at my personal shower in late 2000.

April, April, and I at Adub's personal shower in Summer 2005.

April's wedding last week.

So happy for you and Bret, April!

Paci Baby

After three kids, I'm discovering how unique each one of them is.  H is especially different from the boys. For instance, neither of the boys took a pacifier. This ended up being a good thing later on - I never had to break the. of a paci. 

H though liked her newborn paci during her first weeks. Then she didn't want it anymore. I was okay with this. It'll be easier later on I told myself.

One afternoon, when she was cutting her first tooth, H was pretty fussy. I had to put her down to take care of something, and the boys, the best big brothers ever, tried to entertain her. It wasn't working. C went and got out a package of two pacifiers I had been given at a baby shower. It told him it was okay, that she didn't have to have a pacifier. He insisted that it would help her, and I let him give it to her. 

Yep, she loved it. She chews on her paci sometimes even. 

On our flight last week, I lost one pacifier on each leg of the journey. The next morning, I ran to Wal-Mart and bought two more and a pacifier- clip. Definitely worth it.

I might regret the paci in a year, but for now, it helps her out and...well...she is just so cute with it!

My Little Elves

Helping me with the stamps.

5 Months

Where is the time going? As much as I love parts of this age (and parts of all of them after), I sometimes wish I could rewind or at least push pause. Our little Button is a joy.

 

 
She can roll from tummy to back and is close to sitting up on her own. Button is still pretty easy-going. Her bottom two front teeth came in about a week apart - she was a bit fussy, but not as much as the boys were (and they weren't really that difficult compared to other babies).

H likes to squeal and babble. She seems like an extrovert already. If someone isn't talking to her, or at least smiling (and by someone, I mean anybody - even strangers), she will stare at them until they notice her. If she sees someone she really likes, she yells at them and smiles. She did this a lot on the plane to the babies and kids around her.

She is eating solid food and is always willing to try new things. She had some of my gyro today - and seemed to like it! She kept leaning towards me with her mouth open waiting for more.

Finally, she is getting a little clingy with me. It could be due to us traveling together for 5 days. Whatever the reason, I don't mind. I'm soaking up my little Button as much as I can!

Wild Shopping Trip

I always say that after Halloween, my kids will be extra wild until after the New Year. Candy. Excitement. Anticipation. Extra family and friends time. I understand they are hyped to the max. One particular day right before finals, I had to take the kids to the grocery store after work. I knew it was going to be wild so I brought my camera to Wally World.

I was right.

Yeah, that's right. My kid wore his pajamas to Wal-Mart in the afternoon.

And he wore his hat like this for most of the shopping.

I also decided to throw the towel in and let C push the cart with little to no supervision. 

Yes, the items are blurry because they were moving. Fast.

Finally, this little angel fell asleep during the hooligans' antics. Yay, Snuggybaby sling!

Conversations

C and L Child were "working out" on Friday (translate: they are lifting my weights on my yoga mat). I overheard this conversation:

C: You know, Liam, if you work out every day, you'll grow big and old.

L: Really?

(They work out a bit. Casen has them stand next to each other to see who is taller.)

L: Casen, am I still three?

C: Uh, yes.

L: How old are you now, Casen?

C: 49.

L: No you aren't.

C: Yes, yes, I am, Liam.

 

I had the boys come into Button's room at bedtime and told them they could sing her a song (she was fussy due to teething; I was waiting for the Tylenol to kick in for the poor girl).

Casen's song choice? Patty cake.
Good choice.

Liam's?

L (in his sing-song voice): Trick or Treat. Smell my feet. Give me something good to eat. If you - ....

Me: You aren't gonna finish it?

L: No. 

Me: Why?

L (whispering): Because it says, "I'll pull down your underwear."

Me: Guess that's inappropriate for her?

L: Yes it is.

And thus starts big brother's rules for his little sister. Rule #1: She can't sing or listen to inappropriate songs.

The Last Month or So

 
Before it got cold, we went for a walk/bike ride at the park.
 

  

Then the boys had their creation showcase at church...

And got to show friends and family their crafts they made.

 

Then we got to go to the Lighting of the Commons. The boys and Haddie got to sit on Santa's lap.

 

Haddie tried baby food for the first time...and really liked it!

 

Having her is such a different experience than the boys. The boys never liked baby food and just had table food around a year old. Not so for Button! She likes the bottle, but is very interested in food already.

Finally, we got some snow - enough to miss days of school and spend some extra time with our Oregon friends. 

Despite the stress of the end of the semester, it was a blessing to have them visit. It was good to catch up and laugh together. Hopefully, we don't have to wait another 5.5 years before we see them again!

Old Man Nichols

On a bike ride last month, my old soul had to stop to just sit on the bench and look around.

He also like Werthers and peppermints.

Liam's Blessings

My camera got broke last month so I finally got a new one and downloaded the pictures. 

Love L Child's honesty.
Oh, and just to clarify: that red blessing is of course "Spiderman."

"Dead Week"

I say "Dead Week" because we don't really have one at my school. Therefore, I'm preparing finals, finishing up lessons, and finishing up my grading all in the same week. 

This is how I look today during a lab practical:

While looking for a picture, I found this:

Funny enough, I am wearing a hoodie today. It was a long night of grading.

Is it bad that I'm hoping that it snows a ton tonight and classes are cancelled tomorrow? Maybe I could get my Christmas tree and decorations up then. Otherwise, sorry kids, you'll have to wait until finals are over!

Why I Love Winter

I grew up in Laredo, Texas. It was warm, hot, and really hot year-round with the occasional 65 degrees. Okay, maybe it got a bit cooler sometimes, but for the most part, it was hot and humid.
When I went to Oklahoma for school, I fully appreciated the winter weather. Even though we got ice storms, I loved the weather. It was especially a treat my first winter in Oklahoma when we got a whole bunch of snow and classes were cancelled for three days. Yep, three days!

I think the biggest reason I love winter was because I fell in love with Josh in the winter. I mailed (yes, prior to digital cameras) this picture to my parents my freshman year:

My parents weren't too surprised when we asked to get married over Spring Break. 

Even though we didn't have classes for three days, we got up early and went sledding in the snow. Josh met my friends and I instead of sleeping in like most students. Pretty sure he liked me a lot if he was willing to hang out with a bunch of girls early in the morning.

We got married the next December - in-between two big ice storms. Despite the bad weather, I'm reminded of why I love this time of year: Love and a Wedding.

Whispering Death

So this is what L Child decided to buy his friend for his birthday: Whispering Death.
Scary-looking isn't it? Apparently, it's from How To Train a Dragon, but we've never seen it. Pretty sure L Child just liked it because
1) it's scary-looking, like I'm-gonna-give-you-nightmares-scary.
2) it was a dragon
3) L Child is a boy.

I gave L Child options within the budget. This is what he picked. And it was on sale.

I went ahead and got a gift receipt and wrote a little note to his friend's mom explaining that if this toy was too scary, please exchange it.

Then this was the conversation relayed to me at the party by one mom and her daughter:
Mom: What should we buy your friend?
Thoughtful little girl: Hmm...well he likes Optimus Prime. Let's get him something with Optimus Prime.
Mom: Okay sounds good.

And what was the theme of the birthday party? Optimus Prime. Thoughtful little girl was right.

You would think L Child would have known that since he plays with the kid so much. And maybe he did know that.
But Whispering Death wins over Optimus Prime.

What's Important

The semester is wearing on me. I'm a tired mama who is ready for some break time with the kids and husband. Today was a crazy day with me doing the working thing then running to Walmart to buy a turkey for a donation at school, see C as a pilgrim at his school, and going back to work but taking a break to color with L on my office floor. And as crazy as my days are sometimes, and as tired as I am some nights, having kids is a blessing. One of my friends recently made the comment about how she things that the arrival of her baby will bring a reminder of what's important in life and not to stress so much about work. It reminded me of how I felt after C was born. Even though I had to finish writing a dissertation, defend it, and interview for jobs after C was born, my stress level was pretty low. All of a sudden, I realized that life happens. Sometimes it's hard. Sometimes it's not fun. But I want to enjoy my blessings. So even though I'm sometimes tired at night after talking about electrochemistry and hurricanes, I hug my babies. I'm reminded about what's important.

4-Month-Old-Button

Yoga Baby

   
   



Button is growing like a weed. She is still easy and happy most of the time. When Button has a rough day, it's noticeable. It's not like her to be out-of-sorts. This week she had a fussy day. I think several things were bothering her: allergies (drainage and stuffiness), gums, gas...typical baby stuff. Thankfully, after a good night's sleep, she was back to her happy self. Those rare fussy days make me realize how truly happy and easy she is. I can count on one hand how many fussy days she's had since she was born. For this tired mama, I'm thankful I don't have to stay up nights with her.

Despite her easygoing disposition, she does let it be known when she doesn't like something or wants something. She just doesn't voice her opinion all the time - only on things that matter. Like for say, if her brother has her in a head lock. Button's gonna balk. Ready to get out of her bumbo? She will let you know! You keep that attitude, girl!

As you can see, I'm still quite enjoying dressing her up in cute baby girl clothes. I love her eclectic style.

Her hair is lightening up. Her eyes are still blue. I'm thinking they probably will stay so since the boys' eyes stayed blue, too.

Finally, Button is strong and a mover. She can roll from tummy to back. She can scoot on her back around on the floor. Baby likes to sit up with support. She tries to lift herself out of the bumbo seat now.  Button watches her brothers run around counting down the weeks until her little legs figure out how to take her to them.

Casen's Christmas/Birthday List

That's right. Number one on his list is nunchuks.

Last? Turtle shell.

Lesson Learned

I decided to do something a little crazy and do major grocery shopping with three kids in tow. The kids were awesome. The boys are always pretty good. That grocery-store-induced-state-of-wild-karate-yelling that the boys typically experience wasn't at its peak this evening thank goodness.  Haddie was awake the whole time, but she didn't get fussy until we left the store.
My problem? How do you get a baby seat to fit inside the new Target carts along with all your groceries? They won't click on the front portion anymore. At least mine won't.
Poor Haddie was surrounded with towers of food around her. Every once in awhile, she would squawk when the towers fell into her space or a frozen part of the tower touched her.

My favorite was when I couldn't get all the bags in the cart after I checked out. I had them under the cart, in the cart around Haddie, even on the chairs the boys were sitting in. That's right, I had the big-mama-cart with the huge cart basket and two chairs so the boys could ride, too. I ended up pushing the big ol' cart, carrying 2 bags, reminding the boys to hold onto the cart while we walked to the car, and oohhing and awwing at Baby so she would stay calm.

As soon as I left the store, the box of diapers slipped off the bottom of the cart. I scooped it up and carried that somehow while yelling, "Nichols! Hold onto the cart!" Then seven Smart Ones decide to fall out of a sack one by one leaving a trail back to the store. C helped me pick those up.

Baby decided she had had enough when we finally got to the car. I texted a friend before leaving the parking lot, "Only one kid is crying. I count that as a win." And bonus: Baby fell asleep right away in the car because she was tired and ready for her evening nap.

After I got Baby down, I discovered spit up down inside my shirt. Who knows how long that had been there!

So I won't be doing major shopping with baby until she can sit in the cart by herself. Lesson learned!

A Glimpse of Liam

Is it wrong my kid thinks going to Target is fun?