May daze

Sunny days... sweeping the clouds away - on my way to where the air is clear....

Another picture post. I just love all of these and couldnt bear to choose between them... Hopefully you will enjoy them as much as I do!

Park days with Nick, Mia, Grace and Addie - oh how we love spending time in the warm fresh air with our best friends!

The "wee ones" enjoying the breezy swings...

Mr Nick and Ms Grace - the old married couple!

Beautiful rainbow picture (one of the few dusk rains) David took this one!

Nick's sweetheart Morgan, walking hand in hand to the park...

Smiley Miss Mia enjoying the warmth on her cheeks...

Mia is now able to catch herself when she starts to tip over! That's our girl!

Morg and Nick swinging at the park by Angel's house!

Mia's favorite way to spend the afternoon... I swear she would swing for hours if we would let her!

"Uncle" Geoff spending some time with Mia - at lunch with the 'gang' at the Blue Door Pub in St Paul. We were honoring our friend Josh's dad. (his dad passed away suddenly a little over a year ago - and yesterday was his birthday.)

Nick with his first ever face painting -- A BIG HUGE rocket ship! We were at a birthday party for Julia and Maria (my friend Jenny's daughters!) The theme was Pirates and Princesses... What a wonderful morning!

Nick is so protective of his baby sister...


Daddy and Nick taking a break from running through the yard playing!

Princess and Pirate Party... Nick was taking a break from jumping in the big inflatable castle to read Mia a book!

Ahoy Matey!
My Pirate and Princess!

Nick and his water toys - we have loved this awesome weather!

Running through the sprinkler for the first time this season!

Mia laughing at Nick as he runs through the sprinkler! She is really into pointing at things lately - so funny!
Mia story for the week - On Saturday morning she really wanted us to wake up -- David walked up to her crib to lift her out and she squealed and said "Da Da Da"!!! Precious!

A fantastic playdate at the park with some old friends Megan and Molly... Have I mentioned that I love facebook? I attribute most of my fun mommy friends to being connected to facebook. It is the best way to reconnect and find those other special stay at home mama's. Anyway - we 'parked' it on friday, then walked up to Wendy's for lunch. The kids got along famously and I really enjoyed the company of Molly and Megan. Here is Riley (Molly's daughter) pushing Mia in the swing while Nick waits "his turn" to push his sis.

Here is the group (minus me and mia, of course - I am getting pretty good at taking photos one handed!) Molly giving Nick an underdog (or as cutie pie Riley and now Nick call it - "a hundred dog"), Riley, and to the right, Megan and her adorable daughter Adrienne.

Nick LOVES playing at the park - and so do I. I did get my first sun burn on Saturday at the pirate/princess birthday party - but I learned my lesson. I burn. No matter what time of the day it is... Sunscreen 100%.

We are flying right into June... and tomorrow my nephew/god son Keaten turns 3. Oh - how they grow up so fast. We are celebrating tomorrow night with a pizza party and then this Saturday we have a double party for Nick and Keaten with my side of the family. Looking forward to that!

Hope you all are enjoying the evening with your windows open and winding down from the weekend!

xo,
caris

all smiles!

notice anything new??


I HAVE A TOOTH!! (and 4 more on the way!) youch! bring on the tylenol!

whirl wind

Sunshine + friends + family = Happy Mommy

So - since we have had a lot of activity around here the last 2 weeks - I am going to keep the writing short and show a bunch of pictures. Enjoy!

Mia and her boyfriend Rylan outside enjoying this sunny weather!

Nick and Gabriel on a wagon ride to the park...


Grammie and Mia - Mia is watching the boys with their fishing poles and new tackle boxes!

Keaten and his new fishing gear from Great Uncle Ed!

Nick's new tackle box...
Mia's 9 month picture - such a little cutie...

All dressed up for Nick's birthday party at the Eagles Nest... Nick picked out this dress for her to wear! Good job, Nick!
Nick and Gabriel taking a break from playing at Nick's party -

Nick's birthday party gang - Nick, Grace, Daniel, Alya, Anya, Gus, Levi and Jordyn... Gabriel came a bit later and Julia had to leave before the picture! We missed you Morgan and Ava! (But, we get to see you both on Thursday!)

Nick and Levi - his transformer playing buddy!

Nick and cousin Daniel - wow - Daniel sure has grown taller!!

Nick and best bud Grace...

Nick chose to have Construction/John Deere themed party -- He is such a boy!

Nick fishing on the dock with Grammie at the lake for Memorial weekend -

Daddy and Nick getting ready to go to the lake for some fishing (too bad, we didnt catch one single fish!) -- and Nick's quote of the weekend "Did I catch a fish yet? Nope."

Mia and I striking a pose in the dandelion "garden" -

Hanging on the deck -

Mia had her first push-up treat - SHE LOVED IT!

Nick's 4 year well child visit -

Nick weighed 43 lbs (90%) and was 42 inches long (95%)! He has 20/20 vision in his right eye and 20/25 vision in his left eye! He passed his hearing test and all his 4 year mile stones! Tomorrow he goes to the pediatric endocrinologist - more to come on that!

Hope everyone has enjoyed the long weekend!

Happy 4th Birthday Nick!

Happy 4th Birthday Nick! (his birthday is tomorrow -- but I know we will be too busy for me to write a sappy, gooey, mushy birthday post...)

When Nick turned one, I wrote him a letter... it sums up all my emotions today as well. I am so happy to see him growing up into a big strong boy - but wow. I still wish I could hold him on my lap and snuggle him like I did when he was a little baby!

Anyway - we have a great day planned tomorrow... Nick's "friend" party is tomorrow along with a special lunch out and lots of other fun surprises. I will be sure to post those pictures along with the birthday boy's wishes this weekend.

Love,
Nostalgic Mommy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5-16-2006

Dear Nicholas,

It’s me, your mom! Or as you like to say “ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-mom”. (nothing makes me smile bigger!)

I wanted to write you a letter in celebration of your first birthday. Happy birthday, punky!

This past year,(well really year and a half if we count pregnancy), has been pretty amazing. I didn’t know what being a mom would feel like, and I was pretty scared to say the least. All I knew was that I loved this little being inside my tummy more than words could describe. Your dad and I would sit and watch you move across my belly, laughing our heads off. I feel pretty lucky because we were able to spend so much time together even before you were born. I will tell you all about that when you are bigger – but for now all you need to know is that I got out of work earlier than I thought I would – and doc’s orders were to REST REST REST… so you and I hung out, watched DVD’s, did crossword puzzles, took naps and ate lots of good food that your Gramie Patty prepared for us. I was a lady of leisure for 6 whole weeks!!

The day you were born is and will always be the single most important day of my life. At 1:09 PM on Monday May 16, 2005 – my heart grew. I was so full of emotion. Because you were a bit earlier than planned, you and your proud daddy went right over to Children’s Hospital. But, not before they placed you in my arms for just a brief and awesome moment. Looking at you in that moment, tears streaming down my face, I knew my life would never be the same. Thankfully, your dad took a picture of my first glimpse of you! I still cant believe he had the camera ready. Wow! I cherish that picture. You were so small, just over 6 pounds. I was wheeled back to my hospital room – where Gramie and Gampa were waiting for the news of your arrival. I bragged that I only had to push for 20 minutes, and there you were – perfect.

The first few days of your life, you proved to be full of strength and character. You had some trouble breathing, so your doctors put you on a ventilator to make you more comfortable. You showed us you were ready to breathe on your own just after 36 hours on the vent. Again, you amazed us. You had many visitors during the 10 days that you stayed in the hospital. Both sides of grandparents, your Aunt Heather and cousins, Kevin and Justin came when you were only 3 days old! Your Uncle John and Aunt Jill came and visited you when you were only 4 days old! And every day that you were there you dad and I would come up and talk to you, cuddle you, change your diaper, take your temperature, feed you. Those were some of the most bittersweet moments we have ever felt… we were so happy you were doing so well, but so sad that we couldn’t take you home with us. We learned a lot during your stay at the hospital. Daddy and I joke that we had a “Newborns 101” crash course. We learned how to bathe you, (oh did you hate it! You would rant and rave, and wiggle around!!) we learned how to swaddle you nice and cozy, we learned how to take your temperature and convert it from Celsius into Fahrenheit, (still a joke for us…) and we learned how to change a diaper!! Thank goodness for that!

Then, on May 25th you were discharged from the Special Care Nursery at Abbott. We were able to take you home! The real deal! We bundled you up and put you in your car seat and off we went. I sat in the back seat with you, as daddy drove us home – it felt surreal.

So, in a nut shell that is your birth story. Which brings us to the present – and the meaning of this letter.

I wanted to tell you that over the last 12 months, I have grown more as a person than I ever thought possible. Being your mom is the best, most rewarding experience I could ever have the privilege of knowing. Seeing you grow and develop has been truly a gift. You are a gift. The first time you… smiled at me, laughed, rolled over, “swam”, “Shook your Booty”, enjoyed playing in the bathtub, raised your arms up to be picked up, said your first word – “dada”, crawled, stood up in your crib, waved hi and bye-bye, played patty cake, did “so big”, danced, and said “mama” have all been moments I will treasure my whole life. I feel so much joy because you are in my life. Being a mother is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

When I first found out we were expecting you, I immediately thought about your future, what will you do when you grow up, what kind of person will you be? It’s ironic, because as soon as you were in my arms, all I could think about was that I wanted you to be a good person. I didn’t care if you were going to be a pro hockey player anymore! Haha! But, seriously what I want most for you is happiness. I want you to find love and to love what you do (no matter what it is) and to be joyful. I hope for you to treat people with kindness and to give the benefit of the doubt, to embrace forgiveness. Laugh. A lot. Don’t be afraid to take chances – or admit when you are wrong. Be yourself at all times. Let people love you. Be gracious and humble. And most importantly, speak YOUR truth.

I know it seems so big – and of course “motherly” but what can I say? I am a mother, with a whole year of practice. Advice just seems to roll off my tongue these days!

I have been wanting to write you a letter for a while now, and it felt like the right time now. I want you to know how wanted you were, are and always will be. You are the best part of me, and I feel lucky to be your “ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-mom.” And… those cheeks! I could honestly kiss them all day long! When we go out, we get stopped constantly by admirers… “Oh, his big brown eyes!!” You do have your dad’s eyes… you are handsome just like him! What a lucky gal I am to have 2 wonderful guys in my life! I just love my boys!

Here’s to another year of “firsts” and to health, happiness and family.

Happy 1st Birthday Nicholas!

I love you,
Mommy

"the" picture...

a couple of days old... flirting already with those "eyelashes!"

Nick's 4 year pictures... What a big boy!

Mum's the word

Happy Mother's Day!

I was curious what the dictionary definition for "mother" was... so I looked it up, and here is a combined general definition. I couldnt agree more...

1moth·er: noun

something that is an extreme or ultimate example of its kind; female parent, a woman in authority; something or someone that gives rise to or exercises protecting care over something else, to care for or protect, to offer love and tenderness, to watch over, nourish, and protect.

--and a couple of great quotes I thought all of you Mommy's would enjoy~

"A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie."~Tenneva Jordan

"Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs... since the payment is pure love." ~Mildred B. Vermont

"When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child." ~Sophia Loren

Today we had the opportunity to have a girls day - Mia, Grammie and I drove to Rochester to spend the day with my Grandma, Auntie Pammy, Aunt Stacy, and Susan. We had a great lunch and a nice visit. It is a blessing to have 4 generations all together celebrating Mother's Day together. Tomorrow we have brunch with Nicki, Kyle and Keaten and Grammie and Grandpa. I couldnt think of a better way to share the special day.

I posted a video of Mia - your cheeks will hurt from smiling so much. She is an angel.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Great Grandma Donna with Mia celebrating Mother's Day!