Hairbows or Hand me downs?

HAND ME DOWNS IT IS!!!

Meet William Beckett Nichols

Today I am 16 weeks pregnant and Drew and I received the wonderful news that John Brady will be having a little BROTHER! We had an appointment to get the early gender ultrasound and we were both so antsy and tapping our feet in the waiting room. What a fun day!

How we are doing...

Cravings:

Here is my old list @ 12- breakfast foods, grilled sandwiches, red velvet donut, mozzarella sticks, veggie lo mein, pancakes, more donuts, more mozzarella sticks and orange juice!

New list @ 16 - ice cream, hot sauce(Texas Pete), cold drinks (juice, choc milk), cereal

 

What I miss most:

Not much...life is great!

Beckett:

Beckett is about the length of a tube of mascara(4-5 in) and weights only 3 oz. He is able to squint and yawn. His legs are much more developed and his and ears are closer to their final position.  Beckett is even growing little toenails! His heart is now pumping 25 quarts of blood each day and this will continue to increase!

We get to go back to the doctor in 4 weeks for an Anatomy scan....more pics and updates in 4 weeks!



Santa Clause is coming to town!!

It is here!! Christmas...Drew and I have anticipated this day since we learned we were having John Brady.

This was John Brady's second Christmas. Last year was of course a beautiful memory but John Brady was just teetering around the house since learning to walk last Novemeber. Of course Santa still took care of John Brady but this year he showered him because of his great behavior all year long!



We started the festivities at our house by baking Santa Christmas cookies and listening to plenty of Christmas music while wrapping gifts for friends and family. John Brady participated by dancing to the music and destroyed the wrapping paper and of course shaking all my beautiful wrapping masterpieces. Our family traditions are already being set even though he is young. On Christmas Eve we baked and spent time playing as a family by our roaring fire, compliments of Drew =) John Brady was running all over the house in his Christmas pajamas.

Testing out Santa's cookies...approved!

Getting ready for bed Christmas Eve

We read The Night Before Christmas to him out of a book handed down to me from my dad from his parents. The book is over 70 years old with brittle and stained pages. Tape holding the precious stories in the appropriate places and of course Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Clause taped inside the back cover. This book brings beautiful memories of my mom and dad tucking me in weeks and days leading up to Christmas reading me all the classic stories. My dad even wrote me a special poem to go with the book when he gave it to me last year on John Brady's first Christmas about keeping the family tradition...I hope to pass the same memories to my children.

Christmas morning John Brady woke happy and hungry. I made a breakfast wreath, thanks to Pinterest. Croissants arranged in shape of wreath with eggs, bacon and cheese inside rolled up and baked. Mom and dad arrived in time for breakfast and coffee. Once our bellies were full we showed John Brady into the family room where it was clear Santa visited our house. Watching the look on his face brought tears to my eyes when he smiled and did his jaw dropping face. He ran around checking out all his new things.

Gifts: 4 wheeler(battery operated - goes 2 mph), boxing bag and gloves, bowling set and balls, activity table and chairs, coloring books, crayons, bookbag, North Face boggin, Colombia fleece jacket, Jack in the Box, Mickey Mouse DVD's, bath tub basketball, Elmo bath fizzies, sippy cups, Elmo and Mickey silverware, stuffed animals, hats, puzzles, stickers, trucks and cars, books, etc.

Out of all of his gifts he chose to play with his reindeer hat first...of course it was adorable complete with walking around with boxing gloves. He had a blast learning how to use all of his toys, watching videos, and reading books. He played so hard nap time came sooner than normal and it was a perfect time to pack up his favorite toys and head to mom and dad's for a lovely meal and time with my brother and his family.

We enjoyed exchanging presents with my brother's family and they enjoyed seeing John Brady play with his new toys and the gifts he received from them as well. Thanks guys for his cute Mickey cup, book and farm truck with animals. He enjoys all of his gifts, especially his book.

After opening presents we ate a great dinner beef tenderloin on the green egg, Dad and Drew's masterpiece, Christmas potatoes(yummmm!) and green beans.  Mom also made a humingbird cake which we all loved...it had pineapple and banana in the cake batter and a yummy fruity cream cheese icing! Drew, JB and I spent the night with mom and dad and finished the night by watching a little Elf.

The following morning we did another Christmas where we exchanged gifts and John Brady got to open his gifts from Nanny and Poppi. He loved his cornhole toss that talks to him, Mickey Mouse blanket and pillow, coloring table, truck and more! We spent the whole day laying around...never left our pj's and ate...more! I spent plenty of time teaching mom how to use her new iphone! She was surprised and now can join the rest of the fam with our iphones! Christmas was so much fun and watching John Brady was an absolute joy. I will never forget all of his facial expressions...and luckily I have this post to remind me of the small details!

Callaway Garden - Festival in Lights

This year starts our first family trip to Callaway Gardens to see the lights. We left Rome after John Brady's nap on Thursday for the two hour car trip. John Brady did great and watched Elmo most of the way there.

Glad to be out of the car

We arrived in Pine Mountain and checked into our cabin, which was nice and spacious. Once we checked in and recharged our batteries we loaded back up to check out the Christmas Village.

LUCKILY, we arrived early and went ahead and got in line for the lights. We were the first car parked in line to see the lights. We visited the village which had the typical rinky dink souvenirs but enjoyed some fresh air at the pavillion and John Brady's first taste of funnel cake.

coloring with daddy @ the Village

Once the sun started to set we headed back to our car to wait for the go ahead to start driving through the lights. We only traveled 2 miles an hour so John Brady got to ride in my lap with the window down so he could see all the lights and hear the music during each display. He was frozen for the entire hour and even had a few jaw dropping facial expressions when seeing some lights. He recognized many animals and enjoyed seeing the lights and shaking his head to the music. The drive through the lights lasted about an hour and was beautiful. Not only did I enjoy the lights but seeing John Brady's face full of excitement was the best part!

Riding with mommy through the lights

We ended the night eating in the lodge. John Brady did awesome and sat in a big boy chair aka the normal dining chairs the entire wait and while eating. He colored while waiting and enjoyed pinapple and cantaloupe until his chicken and fries arrived. Once he was done the kids meal included a small ice cream which is a rare treat...he of course was all about that. Drew and I enjoyed an awesome southwest chicken wrap while my parents loved their burgers and fries. We called it a night and got little man clean, snuggled up and right to sleep.

The following day we enjoyed a breakfast buffet, which is one of John Brady's favorite things. He loves EVERYTHING breakfast. He ate everything offered fruit, grits, eggs, biscuit, bacon, bites of waffle and omelet. Once we finished we took him to see a birds of prey show before heading home.

He laughed the whole time and pointed to the birds. His favorite part was when the owls flew over our heads creating wind and only clearing our head by a few inches. He cooperated well and seemed to enjoy the entire trip. We hope to visit Callaway again next year and do it all over again! Merry Merry Christmas!

John Brady @ 20 months

Height

 37 (Over 3 ft. tall)

You are off the charts for your height - still over 100 percentile

Weight

33 lbs.

Favorite foods

cream of wheat. eggs. french toast. bananas. blueberries. okra.

 raisins. pot roast. chicken fingers. sweet potato fries. cheerios. yogurt. muffins.  strawberries.

peanut butter jelly sandwich. apple sauce.

New foods you like:

BBQ, sausage balls spinach and artichoke dip & omelet

 Some words

mama. dada. papa. nana. bell. bite. apple. banana. outside.

 deer "dee". blue. kitty. eggs. eyes. byebye. hey. Ashley "ash". sushi  cracker "cack-er"

good girl. cookie. oval. tan. purple. flower. girl. boy. airplane "air meh". puppy. pineapple "apple" off. pool. grape "pops". okra. fish "a fii"

fire. row row row. tide. tee tee. more. done.

Sounds

duck "quack quack" lion. sheep "baaaaa". cow. pig. horse. tiger. papa's truck. dog. train "choo choo"

Physical

forward rolls @ 19 months. jumps everywhere @ 17. goes down slides. hits t ball. shoots into hoop.

boxes with punching bag. can throw bean bags into corn hole. goes up stairs alone. down stairs with a little help holding on. gets in and out chairs alone. dances all the time. wave hey and bye. blows kisses. gives kisses. can put slip on shoes on. points  

Around the house

puts milk away and gets out of refridge.emptys drawers & puts back. colors.

 plays with toys. reads books. rides car.

gets food out of cabinet. hide and seek. brushes teeth. brushes your stuffed animals hair, teeth and feed them.

TV

mickey mouse clubhouse. the wiggles. good morning show on sprout. elmo's world

Sleep

wakes up between 7-8. naps between 12-3. goes to bed between 7-8

Books

100 animals. . brown bear.  first animals

Random Notes

Point at many items around the house and clothes that you recognize but can't say like TV, shoes, lights. socks, hair, etc.

Likes to carry something in both hands all the time (footballs ,basketballs, crayons, crackers, etc) always have to have one in each hand

Can put DVD in and turn on DVD player and hit play

Wear 2T clothing

Starting to be more clingy to people you know

Feed yourself with a fork and spoon although it it MESSY!

Wipe your mouth after you eat

12 weeks

12 weeks pregnant - 28 more to go

How I am doing:

So far I have been feeling pretty good. The biggest difference up to now is how sleepy I am, which makes taking care of a 20 month old a little difficult. Of course I would like to nap every time he naps but then nothing would get done around the house. I nap when I can or when my body can't take it any longer and I just crash. I have been a little naseous but never actually got sick. More naseous than I was with John Brady...I have had many moments where I thought I was going to be sick but luckily never got sick.

Cravings:

I have been keeping up with my cravings from 7 weeks until now on my Iphone because I didn't want to forget. I think cravings are so funny and while I think about these foods desperately I rarely act on them, especially if they are supper unhealthy, which most of them have been. This is also different from my first ... I craved pretty healthy things with John Brady, other than cheesecake with strawberries?

Here is my list so far - breakfast foods, grilled sandwiches, red velvet donut, mozzarella sticks, veggie lo mein, pancakes, more donuts, more mozzarella sticks and orange juice!

What I miss most:

I don't really miss that much about life before pregnant because not THAT much has changed yet...I would say if anything a relaxing glass of red wine while watching a movie?

The baby:

Baby #2 is roughly the size of a lemon or the length of a vienna sausage and is now able to swall which i think is cool. Also, even though the baby is only the size of a lemon with their tiny organs already in place they are forming finger and toe nails this week. I can't imagine how small they are. The most amazing part is even though the baby is so small it actually looks like a baby now and not a peanut.



Nichols Party of 4!!

Yes, you read right! Nichols will no longer be a party of 3...we will become a party of 4 around June 14, which is our expected due date.

Drew and I found out we were expecting in the last days of September and naturally kept it to ourselves for a few days to enjoy and savor the information. We shared it with our parents the first days of October. Once we did the math and realized I would be around 12 weeks and ending my first trimester on Thanksgiving we thought that would be a perfect time to announce!

I had my first doctors visit the second week of October where the Doctors confirmed my pregnancy, listened to the heart rate and did an ultrasound, the baby looked much like a tiny peanut and the cutest peanut of course! I found myself tearing up at the sound of the sweet heartbeat. I was more than thrilled when I was pregnant with John Brady but have found myself much more emotional with this one because I already have experienced it and see the beautiful outcome and the amazing miracle of how a life is made.

In upcoming weeks I will be keeping track of how I am growing, feeling, what I am craving, etc on my blog. This is mostly so I don't forget and I can always look back and remember what my experience was. I had a great experience with John Brady and loved every minute of being pregnant especially when I felt him kick and would see his feet push against my stomach , etc. If there was bad, you immediatly forget when you hold them and take joy in all the miracles that take place. I can't wait to meet baby number 2 and enjoy the ride for the next few months!



Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Drew and I have so much to be thankful for. We all do...no matter what you have going on in your life just think it could be worse. I guarantee someone out there is going through something worse. Of course we are thankful for the obvious things freedom, family, health, a home, forgiveness, friends and food. It is easy to say we are thankful for those things but what about the little things that we often take for granite.

Today we had a beautiful day with immediate family. We went to my parents house where my brother and his family joined. The day started off early with lots of cooking and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. John Brady isn't quite old enough to sit down and watch the whole thing but he did enjoy seeing the Mickey balloon, Seasame St. float, Santa, etc. Mom was in charge of the dressing and the sweet potato casserole. Dad and Drew manned the turkey, which we fried. I brought green bean casserole and caramel cake and Latonia brough mac and cheese and cupcakes.

John Brady napped through our Thanksgiving meal but when he woke up he had his own little Thanksgiving, which he got LOTS of attention. This was John Brady's first Thanksgiving where he actually ate all the food and he LOVED everything....for a few meals to follow too. I think his favorite was the dressing and sweet potato casserole. Nanny and Poppi spoiled him with caramel cake AND ice cream and a little taste of pumpkin pie too. Thank goodness Thanksgiving is not every day....he is not used to that much sugar.

Everyone enjoyed playing with John Brady and watching him run around in the basement and play with his T ball set. He also threw the ball with Ashley some. Drew and Dad ended the day watching football on the back porch. Mom and I watched Home Alone and enjoyed some peppermint hot chocolate, a perfect way to kick off the Holiday Season! 

Yummy peppermint hot chocolate from William Sonoma!

Cousins! Ashley 9th grade - JB 19 months - Chandler 7th grade

Thanksgiving 2010 - John Brady was 7 months old

Thanksgiving 2011 - John Brady 19 months - 12 weeks pregnant

.salt dough ornaments.part I

Salt Dough Ornaments Part I

Today we made ornaments for our tree and gifts for the grandparents.

Mix - yields about 6 ornaments

2 cups of water

1/2 cup of salt

3/4 cup of water

Knead the dough

Roll out on a non-stick surface with rolling pin and cut into large circles

Press hands/feet in dough

Make a hole to hang the ornament

Bake for 25 min or until golden

Ornaments will harden more once cooled

John Brady loved sticking his hands in feet in the dough. The ornaments turned out well. They were super easy and we had fun making them.

The next step is to paint if desired and tie the ribbons on the ornaments. I can't wait to get a picture of the ornaments on our tree.

Pancakes with Poppi

My dad and I have had lots of father/daughter moments. There are just "those things" I have always done with Dad.

Some of the most famous would be:

 Six Flags in the Summer, riding Tower of Terror until mom was ready to do something else, drive swirving down our driveway to "Cheeseburger in Paradise",playing horse on our basketball goal until it got dark outside, buying tear jerkers at Blockbuster and seeing who could keep them in the longest the whole way home, funny faces in photo booths, arguing for fun even if we agree deep down and SO many more.

One that I haven't mentioned yet is the Pancake breakfast for the Optimist Club. Dad has been taking me since I was little and now he gets to take John Brady too! John Brady does not shy away from food, especially yummy pancakes and sausage. John Brady ate a whopping 2 1/2 pancakes AND a piece of sausage. Yes, you read that correct! He loved it so much and didn't eat another meal until 4:00 that evening. It was sweet for dad to get to take John Brady and continue our little tradition with him. I will never forget our tradition and will continue it with John Brady and many more.

We even made the paper! John Brady's first time in the paper...of course I had to make note of that.

I took a picture of my I phone screen after I pulled up the article on their website.

John Brady's visit with Santa : Year II

 

Today at Phipps Plaza with Santa...there wasn't anywhere else in the world I would have rather been....awesome day!  Aside from Christmas Day, and seeing the glow on John Brady's face when he sees all the new toys Santa brings him this year...today was pretty special. Drew and I have been talking about Santa around the house for a few weeks and John Brady knows Santa says "Ho Ho Ho". Other than that John Brady doesn't know Santa real well yet. I was so excited and nervous about how today would go. He is just old enough he doesn't want his mommy too far away.

I let John Bready walk up to Santa on his own. We talked to Santa for a few minutes as he read over John Brady's wist list. I should mentioned I was tearing up and getting choked up thinking that this moment is here and will be gone soon. Never again will my little man be 19 months old meeting Santa and the thought of that...got me going. Shocker! Meanwhile John Brady stood next to him examining his outfit and all the lights on the trees behind him...never loosing grip from my knee. John Brady did so well and I was proud of him for not running and screaming at the sight of Santa. He whimpered for a minute when I placed him on Santa's lap and walked away only long enough to snap some pictures.

Of course, like anything he wasn't sure about it when he was there but as soon as we were handed our candy cane(cue our time was up) he was pulling on my leg to go back. While I chose our photo package and reviewed the pictures on the screen John Brady never took his eyes off Santa.

Today was great and John Brady looked adorbale. I will never forget today and I am certain it was more meaningful to me than it was John Brady. Watching your child grow up and pass through stages of life is the most exciting and frightening feeling in the world.

 Lesson I am reminded of today and almost daily when I put my little angel to bed at night....

Today is over.

I will never get it back.

Don't take anything for granted.

We aren't guaranteed anything.

Cherish EVERY second with those you love...there are never enough.