Nicholas Maravillas’ Blog

Is it just me or does that sound really “old”?! 2 years will be here before we know it. Unfortunately, Nicholas is sick for his milestone month-day today. He has had the sniffles for a couple of weeks but seemed okay. But then he seemed to go downhill over the weekend and his cough got worse. Then his 102.4 temp this morning confirmed the decision to see the doctor. So we went this morning and he has bronchitis and lots of fluid in his ears from the nasal congestion. They aren’t infected and the fluid should drain on its own, which it has before. But in the meantime he can’t hear very well and is feeling pretty punky. He started a baby Z-Pak today and should be good as new in a couple of days.

As far as his development over the past 20 months, he is doing well. We think so anyways! He is saying more and more words although his comprehension seems to far exceed his expressed vocabulary. He continues to perfect jumping, running and climbing. He is helping more around the house by putting things in the trash, sweeping, getting dressed, cleaning up his toys and books, bringing us diapers and laying down for changes. Here are some pictures of our handsome, brilliant little guy! We visited Nana and Papa and saw Uncle Matt, Auntie Woohoo and Laura this past weekend. Then we stopped at Grandma and Grandpa’s house on the way home and saw Oma.  It was a fun weekend!

And cheerios, a nutrigrain bar, blueberries and ice cream for dinner tonight.

It is no surprise that Nicholas just adores Zoë. When she walks by, he squeals with delight and follows her. If he is throwing a fit, we can say “oh Hi Zoë!” and he snaps out of it to find her. She doesn’t exactly return the same warm fuzzies but I think they are slowly bonding. I will say that she is pretty fantastic with him though. She has never bitten him or tried to scratch him (knock on wood) and trust me, he has given her ample reason and opportunity. He loves to walk right up to her, quietly say “hi” then pet her. For some reason, he keeps trying to gently lay his head on her which she really doesn’t like but he keeps trying. Then when she runs away, he thinks she is playing chase and he giggles and runs after her.

To celebrate her birthday, Nicholas gave her some new treats. I opened the bag and let him have it… oops. He dumped about half of the bag before I stopped him! He was so funny watching her eat and even handed her a few. And she didn’t run away! It was an enjoyable time for everyone!

Six years ago today, you joined our family. We are so happy you did!

love,

your two-leggers

Nicholas has really been sticking his tongue out lately, which we just love because it shows that he is gaining control over it since his surgery. I know we can’t encourage razzleberries forever but for now it is great to see him be able to do it! The best part of the video we didn’t catch- I was watching it and he pointed to the screen saying “bubba! bubba!”. For the record, he styled his own hair with strawberry jelly at dinner and had just finished a chocolate chip cookie for dessert which was all over his face.

Now I know I am biased, but I don’t think you can watch this without smiling! He just makes Matthew and I so happy. No matter the stress of the day, even if the stress is caused by his own antics, he never fails to make us smile and be ever so grateful to have him in our lives.

We’ve decided Nicholas is pretty much fearless.  Or at the least, he doesn’t realize his size compared to the rest of the world and kids. I actually mentioned to the pediatrician at our last check up that I didn’t think Nicholas had fear or felt pain.  I described some of his antics like leaping head first off of the couch or bed and laughing about it after the “thud” landing.  Dr. Powell laughed to himself then reassured me that Nicholas does feel fear and pain, but just doesn’t have the time to stop and realize it or give in to it.  Thus is the life of a rambunctious toddler boy.

We spent the weekend being lazy and inside because it has been so hot and humid.  So we decided to venture out this afternoon to a place called Monkey Joe’s.  That place was insane!  A complete wonderland for Nicholas.  They have several very large bounce houses with slides and such.  One especially for toddlers under age 3.  But do you think Nicholas wanted to play in that?  No sirree.  He spent maybe 10 minutes total in there.  He spent the rest of his time running around the entire place, which is not small, and then warmed up to getting into the big kid bounces.  Ignoring the big kids trampling all over him of course with a ragged mommy or daddy following behind.  At one point he stood outside of one moonbounce and another dad said to me “it all must be so intimidating to a little guy his size”.  I replied “oh, I wish it was!”.  He obviously didn’t know our wild and crazy little man!

One thing that he just loved was the giant slide.  He seemed interested in it so I said “okay, mommy will go with you!”.  I did not realize what I had agreed to!  The stairs were so steep and he just couldn’t do it alone.  So we had to carry him and climb up all while dodging the eager kids trying to get ahead of us and trying not to fall backwards.   By the time we got up to the top, I’ll even admit to being a bit nervous.  It was really high and a steep slide!  But our brave boy didn’t seem phased one bit and loved zooming down!  It was all worth it to hear that squeal of delight and excitement as we went down though.  We are sure he will love roller coasters when he is big enough!  Oh, I can’t wait!

I enjoy some of his toys too!  After he goes to bed of course.  I could never let him see me so vulnerable.

Mommy and Daddy got me an awesome new table from IKEA.  It is just my size and I love it.  I eat breakfast and all of my snacks there.  It is also a great place to draw.  Plus I have a good view of the backyard and the neighbor’s dogs!

Daddy tested it out for me.  I think it is a little too small for him.

It didn’t take me long to figure out how to climb on top of it.  This was right after I stood up on it which made mommy super happy.   Sometimes we put a blanket on top to make a fort.  I love to push cars in and out of it!

Ms. Irene and her family are spending the week with Mickey Mouse so Nicholas’ Gamma was nice enough to stay a few extra days to watch him so we didn’t have to rearrange our work schedules.   I am not sure who had a better time, Nicholas or his Gamma!  He can’t quite say “Grandma” and it sounds more like “Gamma”.  Grandpa comes out “dampa” but occasionally he gets the “g” sound.  Anyway, they had an awesome time reading lots of books (well, the same 4 over and over I think!), playing with Daddy’s Brio train set, his new bus and making forts out of a blanket and his new table.  He also learned a lot of new words including drive, stuck, snack and he can “read” the word “gone” in his train book.  Thanks again for everything, Gamma!

Matthew and I say all the time how blessed Nicholas (and we) are to have such wonderful families.  His grandparents would fly to the stars and back for him and it is such a joy to us.  It just warms my heart to watch each of them with Nicholas.  And he adores each and every one of them too!  He knows each by name and can point them out in pictures.  When any of them come to visit, he runs to greet them with a big hug which I know just makes their day!  His new thing is running up the street as they drive away… completely breaks out hearts!  He just loves them and it is always hard when it is time to leave.  We love you all and thank you for all that you do for Nicholas and us!