Nicholas Maravillas’ Blog

Nicholas is 5 months old today! Matthew and I can hardly believe the time has gone by so fast. Nicholas has changed and grown up so much already. Some of his recent accomplishments include becoming a tummy time champ! He wasn’t such a fan just a month ago, but now every time we lay him on his back he flips on over to his tummy. Making diaper changes a challenge! He can hold his head up for so long now and he lifts it higher than ever. He really enjoys to watch and listen to his puppy dog toy that sings to him. I think he really wants to crawl too as when he is on his tummy he is moving his legs and arms, getting his little bottom up in the air.  We still have a few months to worry about that though.

And perhaps the best milestone of all is that he sleeps through the night! It was like someone flipped a switch one night. We went to Richmond a couple of weeks ago and he slept from 7pm-5am, but we figured it was a fluke. The next night he slept 9:30pm-5am and went back down till 7am. Again, we thought a fluke. But he kept it up at home too! He goes down at 7pm and sleeps through till 5-6am. The past few nights he has been waking up a lot but goes back down fairly quickly. We are starting to wonder if we should rethink starting cereal sooner. A few things we’ve read say that frequent waking at night can be a sign they are ready. We may give it a try and see how it goes.

On a related note, we got him a sippy cup. It is really cool and has a soft spout that is more like a bottle nipple than hard plastic. He has had it 3 times and it didn’t take long for him to learn how to get the milk out. He puts everything in his mouth, enjoys sucking on his feet, is working really hard on sitting up independently, is wearing 9 month clothes, ‘talks’ and laughs all the time and is just a joy! He rode in a playground swing for the first time this month and will go to the pool very soon. He is growing up so fast!!!

And of course, here are some recent pictures.

We took Nicholas to the playground for the first time today. It was part 3 of my Mothers’ Day. Gotta love stretching it out for 2 weeks! As part of my gift, Matthew gave me a ‘coupon’ for a picnic in the park with my two favorite guys and this was the first weekend we were able to go. We got yummy sandwiches and off we went to have some fun!

Nicholas rode on the swings all by himself, then with me and then he went down the slide. He definitely enjoyed the swing the most. He wasn’t such a fan of the slide, but maybe when he is older and can do it by himself he’ll like it more. Plus it was pretty hot from the sunshine. All in all it was a lovely day!

Here are some pictures and a video of him swinging. Please excuse my squeaky voice!

We bought Nicholas a highchair today! We are waiting until he is 6 months old to start solids (including rice cereal) but we decided to go ahead and get the highchair. I figured it would be good for him to sit there while I make dinner at night so he is up higher and can see more, verses his bouncy seat where he usually is. But he is so much more interested in the world around him so he needs a better view! Anyways, here are some completely adorable pictures from his first time in the highchair.

I am just so blown away by what happened to us today, I have to share!  Nicholas and I were shopping at a department store today.  He was being pretty fussy so I was carrying him with one arm then pushing the stroller with the other.  We went to the cashier and I laid him down in the stroller so I could pay for the clothes.  He of course started to scream.  I had his binky attached to his bib laying next to him in the crib, along with a toy.  He had been in there maybe 1-2 minutes while the girl was ringing up my purchases. I had just finished signing for the credit card when this crazy woman walks up and proceeds to reach into the stroller, grab his binky and attempt to put it in his mouth.  Oh yeah, you read that right!  Crazy was reaching into MY child’s stroller, was touching his stuff and had her grubby hands near his mouth!  I am sure there are a number of more than appropriately sarcastic and rude things to say or do at this moment but I was in shock.  So I simply snatched the binky from her hand and very firmly said ‘he’s fine’ and we left.  What the heck?!  I mean the thought of giving a stranger’s baby their pacifier would have never entered my mind.  Who does that?  Why do babies seem to be public property?  Albeit she was well-intentioned (at least that is what I am telling myself), as were the other people staring at me with my beet-red faced screaming child I am sure, but oh my gosh.

We went up to Richmond for Aunt Jen’s graduation and to celebrate a belated Mother’s day with Grandma and Oma. Mommy said I was such a good boy. I hardly fussed and slept great. Better than at home! She is hoping that I keep that up- we’ll see. We went to the graudation ceremony Saturday afternoon, and then mom and dad took me to Maymont.  Mommy said that is where Daddy gave her a pretty sparkley ring.  We took some pictures there and then went out to dinner to celebrate with Aunt Jen.

Congratulations Aunt Jen!!

Love,

Matthew, Laurie and Nicholas

Here are some more pictures from the last week. He is getting so big!

What a great day! I never realized how cool Mother’s Day was until I was a mommy. I found myself feeling a little prouder yesterday knowing that I was a mother being honored that day too.

We had such a lovely day. My mom, dad and brother came down and spent the weekend with us. Mom and I drove about an hour to an outlet mall on Saturday. Nicholas went with us and he was sooooooo good. He hardly fussed at all, napped a few times, smiled, giggled and was just such a good baby. He got a few toys for his good behavior! He would have gotten them anyways, but still. Yesterday we went to a yummy brunch then hung out in the afternoon. Nicholas got me a super cute card (my first Mommy card!) and with his dad’s help made his footprint and handprint in clay and attached them to picture frames. I LOVE them and will treasure them forever! Matthew also surprised me with a dozen roses which are so pretty. My mom got me a necklace with Sammom’s birthstone. It is special because we both still miss her so much. My brother even surprised me with some really nice shower gel! All in all, it was a great day!

I got some good shots of Nicholas today and wanted to share.   He is doing alright.  He had a bit of a fever tonight, a side effect of the vaccinations, but after some tylenol I am sure he will be fine.  He was all giggles with his daddy at bedtime so he can’t be feeling too bad!