Nick, on the move!

Nicholas is 19 months. He hardly sits still these days! It makes it hard to get a non-blurry picture of him!

Nicholas:

1. Is my only green eyed child.

2. stands up in his high chair no matter how faithfully we train him.

3. Just started eating meat without complaint!

4. Calls his paci "Fwa-see go!"

5. Loves his b.

6. Won't let his brother and sister push him around.

7. Laughs at just about everything.

8. Keeps us VERY VERY busy.

9. Is average in height and weight.

10. Takes 4 hour naps - hallellujah.

11. Lights up this home with laughter and craziness.

12. Has shaggy, poorly cut hair.

13. Cries more than he needs to.

14. Calls bananas manas.

15. Warms my heart.

my baby's last days as the baby

As little Greyson's arrival draws closer and closer I'm increasingly aware that these are Nicholas' last days as the baby. He's known no other life but everything he knows as normal is about to "flip turn upside down" - as the Fresh Prince would say. :) I thought I'd take a moment and reflect on what he's like right now. :) 

Nicholas is... a self proclaimed vegetarian. :( I don't know how he's going to make it in this house of meat lovers but this kid does NOT like meat. Every once in a while he eats it, oblivious to the fact that he's eating meat but for the most part he shoves it away and screams like a banchee if I force him to have a bite. :) 

He's also lactose intolerant. He's never done well with dairy and its just getting worse. He's not as sensitive as some kids I've heard of but he absolutely can't handle yogurts, milk, lots of cheese, and without a doubt NO ICE CREAM. I'm tellin' you, it ain't pretty!

As many issues as he may have with food though - this kid is a definite Hamstra/Worthington. He LOVES to eat. He'll eat... and eat... and eat... and eat! Whenever people how much he eats - especially for breakfast - they are always shocked. This morning he ate 2 clementines, 3 pieces of French Toast and some cheerios. 

He's really starting to talk. His favorite things to say are: "Peease" "Up" "Where'd it go?" "B" "Paci" "Daddy!!" "Bampa" "Oooeeooohs" (Cheerios) & "Goggy" (Doggy).  When he's not speaking English he's jibber jabbering in baby talk which is such a joy to listen to. :)

He barks at all animals - birds, dogs, cows, pigs, cats, fish. You name it, he barks. :)

He just moved into a new bed upstairs with Adeline & John Michael and he's loving it. He sleeps less at night because John Michael and him are always playing and yelling and being silly but that means he's also taking longer naps. 

He's a tried and true daddy's boy.

He's a man boy at that. He prefers uncles to aunts and grandpas to grandmas. This kid loves him some testosterone.

He loves to jump on my bed and fall down and say boom.

John Michael's antics always make him laugh. 

He eats a banana every morning and few things get him as excited.

He's my baby... at least for the next few days... and I adore him.

Poor Baby.

My poor baby was sick today. Or at least I think he was... He was really fussy last night at dinner - refusing to eat, etc. He finally went to bed around 8:00 pm and slept until..... ONE in the AFTERNOON!! I finally woke him up (after checking on him several times of course)

Once I woke him up he was lethargic and clingy which is NOTHING like him. He ate fine and drank tons of water and fell asleep in my arms a couple hours later... again, not like him.

He was pretty much zoned out all day long until Johnny came home... and you wouldn't have guessed anything was wrong with him. He yanked his pacifier out and yelled "Daddy!" running to him as fast as his little waddle could carry him.

It was precious. And I wasn't the least bit jealous. Just glad that he enjoys his Daddy so much. :)

And while I felt bad for him that he was out of sorts today I have to admit... I enjoyed slowing down my day to sit and snuggle.

Here's my precious guy staring out the window looking for his Daddy to come home.

A Boy & His Bath

This little man LOVES his bath! He especially loves it if he can take a bath with his brother and sister. :) If he has to be the first one out everyone on the block hears about it. :)

Here's a little "snapshot" of bath time with little Nick-O.

See that?

Its amazing to me that we are days away from Thanksgiving! We are so incredibly excited to have all of Johnny's family in town. The Maples are actually staying with us so the kids are literally beside themselves ready to have a crazy party with their cousins. :)

I have to admit though, I have some mixed emotions! This is the first ever Thanksgiving I won't be spending with my family. My parents & my brother are in Atlanta waiting patiently for my sister's baby to be born. He/She is scheduled to come meet us tomorrow! I'm predicting a boy but I know my mom's hoping for another girl. :)

I'm not 100% sure what Nicholas' first words were... but I'm almost positive it was "See that?" I love the 2nd picture in this series because its just after he said, "See that?" Every time he wakes up he points to his toys and asks me if he's seen them... It makes me wonder if he sits in his crib and stares at them while he waits for me to come get him. :)

Houston, we have a walker!

Although he hasn't made the switch to exclusively walking Nicholas has definitely passed the first stages of learning to walk! He now regularly chooses to walk instead of crawl and can take 15 or so steps at a time! I can't believe my baby is old enough to walk. It seemed like it happened fast this time too. He went from having absolutely no interest in walking to full blown walking in about 6 weeks.

In my book, that makes him a walker. :)

When I need a little smile...

...I just peek at this picture.

Nicholas "Doonka" - our little monkey!

For those of you who don't already know, Nicholas' was affectionately nicknamed "Doonka" by Adeline when he was just weeks old. The nickname, unfortunately for him, has not only stuck but in true Hamstra-Kotynski clan form has morphed into a variety of names: Doonks, Doonkster bottoms, Doonky boy, etc.

Nicholas is the baby everyone says looks like me. He's got the dark hair and his eyes aren't as crystal blue as Adeline's or John Michael's. In fact sometimes I think they look green!

He's a ghetto crawler. He usually crawls with one knee and one set of toes. If he's not using that method he'll resort to hands and toes and on a rare occasion (though more often these days) he'll actually crawl properly. I'm sad to admit that the hands and toes thing might have originated from his unwillingness to touch my dirty floors. :)

Getting pictures of him is tricky. He doesn't really like to look at the camera and he's constantly moving - though I guess most moms of 1 year old boys don't expect much more. :) Here he is trying to catch the little dusties you can see in the window light. It made me laugh.

And my very favorite physical attribute about Nicholas right now is his hair. :) I've never been able to grow John Michael's hair out - its too course or frizzy or something... but Nicholas' just looks so cute I can't bring myself to cut it!

With the exception of a short time in John Michael's life, none of our kids have shown a strong preference for Mommy or Daddy. They seem to love us equally and prefer us equally. Some nights its all Mommy and others its all Daddy... but Doonka ADORES his Daddy. He looks for him outside (until he gets distracted by the barking dogs and starts barking back) and gets SO excited when he gets home.

He's going through a rough stage right now... not sure what things are upsetting him but he's definitely crabbier than normal. I keep thinking teeth are the culprit but he's 1 year old and still only has the two teeth on the bottom! He also has some food "issues" that I can't quite figure out - some slight excema and some bad diapers but nothing seems to be the reason for it. Part of me is pretending that if I ignore it he'll outgrow it... is that silly?

Anyway, we love the little guy. I can't believe he's going to be a big brother in a few months! He's still such a baby. But, I'm sure he'll love it and adapt to it the way he adapts to most everything else, with a smile. :)

Like Father Like Sons

Adeline is not the girliest girl to walk the planet. She would trade her Barbies in for a good adventure any day. But, while she'd rather be a dog than a Barbie she's never been that into sports.

John Michael & Nicholas however. share their daddy's love for basketball. From a young age John Michael and Nicholas were obsessed with balls. They love playing with them, pushing them, chewing on them, throwing them, etc. And while John Michael's fascination with balls is maturing and developing, Nicholas' is just beginning.

Woo-hoo! I've joined the ranks of basketball lovers!



Hmm... What else could I do with this thing?



Eating it is always an option.



Yah! These things are good for so many forms of entertainment!

My baby is a peanut

I took Nicholas to the doctor today for his 6 month checkup. He was so much smaller than my other two babies were at 6 months! He weighed in at 17 pounds 4 ounces (39th percentile) and was 27 1/2" long. (76th percentile)

Compared to Adeline at 6 months:

21 pounds (GREATER than the growth chart, 27 1/2" (92nd percentile)
Compared to John Michael at 6 months:

20 pounds 10 ounces (97th percentile) and 291/4" long (GREATER than the charts)

His eyes are most definitely getting brown flecks in them too. We may have a Mexican baby on our hands after all!! Well, Mexican or not he's happy to be alive. Its a rarity to see this baby unhappy... unless you're not holding him that is. :)

While we were there Addy & John Michael were weighed and measured too.

Adeline - 4 years old.

Weighs 44 pounds (93rd percentile) & is 3 feet 6 inches (89th percentile)

John Michael - 2 years and 8 months

Weighs 36 pounds (92nd percentile) and is 3 feet 3 1/2" tall (97th percentile)

n6m

My baby is six months old.

He's the joy of our family.
He loves his pacifier, but he also loves his thumb.
He loved his sister's pink blanket until we bought him a blue one.
He loves being held more than life itself.
He lives on a schedule.

He still has his hair.

His eyes are changing colors.

I think Beth said it well when she said, "Nicholas smiles at everyone he engages with."

Its true. He's a smiler and he brings joy to all who know him.
He's Doonka.
He's Snicker.
He's Nicholas.
And he's growing up too fast.

Me Again

Shocked to see me again? Well, I'd like to make blogging more of a priority so hopefully you'll see me around more and more!

My precious, smiley, squishy, "sNICKerdoodle" is three months old! Wow... when Adeline was first born the first three months went slowly, like savoring a fine wine, and then they were over before we wanted them to be. With John Michael they were a bit more of a blur because Addy was still only 7 months old at the time... and with Nicholas they have been shockingly fast. While I definitely feel like he's always been a part of my family I also feel like he's my little newborn... and yet, looking at him smiling and kicking, playing in his exersaucer and his Graco jumping toy I'm realizing that my little newborn is turning into a full-fledged "baby." And I'm determined to savor it.

Today I set out to take some "3 months pictures" a couple of weeks late. :) And while I was attempting some belly shots Nicholas turned over! He doesn't get much belly time so I was kind of surprised but I made such a big deal out of it that I got all sorts of snap-worthy smiles out of him. :)

Enjoy:

IMMEDIATELY after he rolled over.



I couldn't decide color or bw... ::sheepish grin::





"Nick-a-boo"



Nicholas loves to hold hands.... his own that is.





again, a bit indecisive.





Attempt # 2 at belly shots... he didn't roll over again, nor did he find it amusing that I was still taking pictures!



Attempt # 879 at a kid picture... hehe, one day we'll get it!



This is one WELL loved little guy. Addy talks to him all day long, John Michael adores him and tries to give him toys and blankets and pacifiers non-stop... and I'd sit and cuddle with him endlessly if we had a maid and a cook. :)



We love you Nicholas!