Nicolas' Halloween Costume

I was determined that Nicolas would be something fluffy for Halloween! I got him this dog costume which he looks so cute in. We went to one of my Mom's clubs Halloween parties where Nicolas was just one of many cute children.

We get to go trick or treating with Jaden and Kirsten this year which I'm really looking forward to. We've only managed to take them the year that we first met. Last year we just went to a Halloween festival, which wasn't the same as going door to door. Leo will be wearing his angel costume again and Jaden has decided that he's too old for trick or treating, so he's just going to come with us. I have a feeling that the thought of candy may make him reconsider!

Nicolas got a bit hot in his costume at the end so he became a mini Elvis with his chest exposed!!

More of Nicolas at 91/2 Months

Nicolas used to lie on the bath mat and wait for his massage while I ran his bath, but now he loves to look over the side and watch his bath fill up. He bangs his toys on the side of the bath and then drops them in to watch them float around. It's getting harder to keep him still for is massage so I may stop doing that soon.


He loves playing with the shower curtain too and when he's in the bath he'll bend right over and drink the water! It goes up his nose, but he doesn't seem to care.



He also likes to come in the bathroom when I'm getting ready and it only took a couple of "no"s before he realized that he can't pull himself up on the loo (yuk!) or on the trash can. He is really easy to train not to do things, but I'm sure all of that will change.
Nicolas is obsessed with gadgets. He doesn't care if it's the remote control, a phone or a camera. He holds them, looks at them really hard and then of course chews them! He also loves the little white dog my friend gave me years ago because it barks and walks. I think he thinks it's his own little dog. It's certainly less annoying than Leo. Vacuuming used to take me about 10 minutes a day but now it takes at least 20 mins because both Nicolas and Leo sit on the cord, try to chew it or manage to pull the cord out of the wall. If it wasn't so funny it would drive me crazy.
Nicolas has his top left tooth coming through and it doesn't see to be bothering him too much. The bottom two are properly through. He had a check up with his plastic surgeon today who said he looks great and he won't need to see him for another year. He also said that as Nicolas is quite big he will probably have his next surgery when he's 3 or 4. The great thing is I can stop doing the massage on his lip that I've done every night for the last 5 months!! I feel free at last!

Nicolas is learning all his farm animals with his Fisher Price farm. I got almost all of it on Ebay for less than $40 so I felt I'd done well. There are also loads of other zoo animals but I'm not introducing him to those yet. He is finally starting to be interested in books again, especially ones with flaps to lift up. I was worried he'd have no concentration span as he couldn't sit still, but hopefully he'll get better once I can read to him more.

Nicolas at 91/2 Months

It seems ages since I wrote about Nicolas last. I honestly can't descibe how much I love him and how much he makes me laugh. Every day with him is fun. I turned off the baby monitor when I came back from England and now he sleeps from 7 or 8pm until about 6am. I feel like a new woman with a full night's sleep! He still takes a 2 hour lunch time nap anywhere between 12pm and 2pm, and depending on what time he gets up, he may have a 1/2 hour morning nap too. This is the face that greets me after he wakes up from his nap.

Nicolas pulls up on everything and cruises from one piece of furniture to the next. He pulled up on one of the kitchen stools and pulled it over on himself. He got a cut on his eye lid and a little bruise, but was OK otherwise. He crawls really fast now but he really slaps his left hand down when he crawls. Adam calls him his little 'stickybot' after a robot he saw on the Discovery Channel that crawled just like Nicolas. If you say his name when he's crawling, he has to stop and sit down to look at you.

He hasn't had a passifier since we came back from England, but he loves chewing on one of Jaden's toy arrows. He will walk around for hours with it in his mouth and he can find it where ever you hide it!
Nicolas has not learned the difference between his toys and Leo's toys. If Leo has something, Nicolas wants it and if Nicolas has something, Leo wants it. Leo is so gentle if Nicolas tries to take something he is chewing on. The most disgusting things was when I gave Leo an old sausage from the fridge and the next minute Nicolas had it in his mouth and was chewing on it!! I'm a lot more careful now when I give the dog treats!
Nicolas has full run of the house to explore, but most of the time the kids doors are closed so Leo doesn't sneak in and take their toys. If the doors are open Nicolas' favorite thing is to go and play with their toys. They have both been so good about keeping little toys off the floor and keeping their rooms tidy so there is nothing for Nicolas to choke on. He will spend ages standing by their toy boxes pulling things out. It makes him look so grown up.

At the Pumkin Patch

For all the non-Americans who read my blog, it's traditional to go to the pumkin patch and get your pumkins to carve. We went to the one at our church, which is quite small. We have yet to carve our pumkin, but the kids have decorated theirs. Nicolas is still too small to know what Halloween is, so I'm just doing the basic decorations for Jaden and Kirsten this year, as they will be with Lisa for the week of Halloween. I can't wait until Nicolas is bigger and can appreciate everything. We are going to an old people's home on Wednesday with one of my Mom's groups, so I have to get him a costume for that. I want him to be a little animal - but a cheap one! Some of the costumes are about $30 and a one time outfit is not worth that!!

Back in the USA!!

Nicolas was as good as he could have been on a 9 hour flight, but I was still dead by the time we got home. Leo was extatic to see me and I was glad to be back. I loved my trip but having Nicolas made me realize how much I love my life here. I spent the first week back unpacking everything I'd brought home, cleaning (although Adam had done a great job for the 2 weeks I was gone), and trying to get Nicolas to adjust to the jet lag.

On the Sunday Jaden and Kirsten came for their Fall Break and we had such a good week. Adam made me turn the baby monitor off, so I got a week of 7-9 hour nights of sleep! We went to the park everyday with Leo and we went to Luke's T-ball game on Tuesday. T-ball is like baseball but the little kids hit the ball off a giant T rather than being pitched to. The kids didn't watch any of the game, they were too busy playing with their cousins, but I loved it as I'd never been to a T-ball game before.

I had to make ice tea and lemonade at church on Wednesday so the kids got to hang out and then we met up with one of the Mom's groups I've joined for lunch. Then in the evening it was back to church for Wednesday night supper and the kids got to see their friends from Sunday school and do the Wednesday nights kids program.

We had a relaxing day on Thursday and I made a sand box for the kids in the old paddling pool and we played in it all afternoon. I love it when we can do something like that because we really get to talk and I find out what they think about different things.

On Friday we went to Tribble Mill Park and I ran the 3 mile trail around the park and the kids went on their bikes. It was a bit wet so there was no one else there. We let Leo off the leash and the kids taught him how to go down the slides. I was amazed, but he loved it!!

On Saturday we went back to Tribble Mill and Adam fished with the kids and I went for a run without the stroller, to see just how far I could make it. I made it the whole 3 miles, but by the end I couldn't move my right ankle!! I just thought it was my achilles tendon, but after not being able to put weight on it all last week, I finally went to the Dr, who says it's badly sprained. I never realized how much I love going to the park, or how much Leo needs to walk 3-4 miles a day. I've done nothing for the last week except write letters, tidying in the house and set up our new computer, as I can't stand for very long. It does seem to be getting better and I can almost get my heel on the floor. I think it was just a warning to tell me that walking is fine, but I don't need to be running!

Leo has driven me crazy though because he's made friends with the nastiest, mangy stray dog. He's dug his way under the fence and forced his way through the gate several times, but luckily I've always managed to find him in the neighborhood. He may drive me crazy, but I don't know what I'd do without him!

The Lomas Girls are Christened

My last day in England was spent at the christening of my 2nd cousin Rob's daughters, Elenor and Isobel. I had been over to visit Rob and his wife Vicky the week before and got to spend time with the children, who are adorable. The last time I saw them Isobel was a baby and now she was chatting away to me. I also got to see my two youngest 2nd cousins, Sally and Dan, who I haven't seen for years. We swapped email addresses, so we can stay in touch now. I also got to see my other 2nd cousin, Emma who I saw on my last visit when her little boy Abey was 3 months old. He is now walking and is just the cutest thing. So it was a wonderful end to a very relaxing, but very tiring trip to England.


Vicky, Isobel, Elenor, Joshua and Rob
The family with Rob's parents, my god mother Rosie and Dad's cousin John.

The Tastes of England

Everyday on our walk we would stop at this rose bush at the end of the road that smelt amazing. I'd always give Nicolas a rose to smell but of course they would always end up in his mouth!

We started to give him all kinds of finger food which proved extremely messy, but it would keep him occupied for at least 15 minutes, but then the clean up would be major afterwards!!

A plum fresh from Mom and Dad's garden
Nicolas' first taste of strawberries
His personal favorite - bananas!

University Friends Come to Visit

On my last Saturday my friends Faye, Lucy, Kate and Liz drove several hours to visit us. I haven't see Kate and Liz for years and I saw Lucy briefly at our wedding brunch. Lucy has the cutest little boy named also named Will who I hadn't met yet. We all went to the pub for lunch and then back to Mom and Dad's afterwards to catch up properly. It's crazy to think how different our lives are know from when we first met at the age of 18, yet we all still get on so well. I felt really sad saying bye because I have no idea how many years it will be until we all get together again.

Nicolas and Will Birch explore the pub
Nicolas and Liz
Nicolas and Faye

Will and Nicolas hang out in the travel cot
Kate entertains 'the boys'!

Our Last Week in England

Our last week was very relaxed. We did some shopping, Mom invited several of her friends around to meet Nicolas and we went to visit my great aunt and uncle.

Nicolas with Great, Great Uncle Bill!!

We went for a walk most days down the road with Jess and sometimes Nicole would come too.

Nicolas loved Nicole and little Will so much. Nicole would come over in the morning before she went to school to see Nicolas and would entertain him while Dad fed him breakfast. Little Will was so sweet too with Nicolas. He's so big and strong for his age, but he was really gentle with Nicolas and would let him chew on his toys.

Both of them loved being in the travel cot with Nicolas and would get in it with him whenever they could!

One of the things that makes me sad about living in the USA is that Nicolas won't grow up with Nicole, Will and Lillia. I hope that the time they spend together during holidays will be special enough to make up for the distance.

More Photos from the Girls Night Out

Shelley and Lianne
Gillian and me
Gayle and Shelley

Girls Nights Out!

I felt very old and VERY tired after Friday and Saturday nights out! Adam and I have had one night out without Nicolas since he was born, so to do two nights in a row was a big thing. I had a really good time, but realized that I'm quite happy with one night out every couple of months, and the rest of the time I love just having a nice meal and some wine at home.

We went to the dogs on Friday and I drove, so I was tired on Saturday, as Nicolas decided to wake up several times in the night, as usual. We had a great time but I lost all my money (all 5 pounds that I bet!) I could never be a gambler because I never win.

Gillian, Shelley, Lianne and Amanda
Lianne and Shelley
The blurr is the dogs as they ran past!!

Then on Saturday Gillian drove and we all went out in Didsbury. It's years since I went out there. The 'new' drink in England seems to be flavored cider and its great!! I was a bit spinny headed by the end of the night, but I knew Nicolas would be up several time in the night, so I didn't drink too much. I didn't like the idea of a hangover and a baby to look after!!

Gayle, Lianne, Shelley and me
Gayle, Lianne, Shelley, Gillian and me. We had to have the classic shot of Shelley with at least 4 bottles in her mouth at once!!

On Sunday morning Gillian looked after Nicolas for me for an hour so I could go back to bed, as I'd barely had 3 hours sleep - that is true friendship!!