Chick Chat: Happy Birthday Nicholas!

Friday, June 24, 2005

Happy Birthday Nicholas!

Today is Nicholas's 4th birthday! Happy Birthday!! His arrival in my life changed everything. He was born at 8:30am and weighed 9lbs, 1oz. I had a long-ass labor and delivery (26 hrs of labor, including 3 hrs of pushing which ended up requiring the use of the vacuum extractor thingy and an episiotomy to get his face-up self out. Stinker.) Thank God for pain-killing drugs is all I can say. He really wasn't the cutest baby, but he became cuter as he got older. I have eyes, I know this. Today I think he's one of the most attractive kids in the bunch, and one of the best-mannered (he's very good about remembering his "pleases", "thank you's" "may I's" and "excuse me's"). He was my affectionately-labelled "velcro baby" because he demanded to be held all the time, and he's still very cuddly today. He probably always will be, and I love that. He was dramatic from day one. I will someday appreciate this trait but it is still a trial for me. I'm thinking it will pay off when he's an adolescent and will still wear his emotions on his sleeve and therefore won't be able to hide anything from me. I'll be able to read him like a book. He started to suck his thumb around 5 mos old and continues today. He has a very special blankie and reminds me of the Peanuts character Linus when he cuddles up with it and sucks his thumb. It's adorable. Peer-pressure is what is going to have to get him to quit the thumb-sucking. It's an automatic reflex at this point and is tied to Blankie and being tired. It's like some people with cigarettes: they're not smokers unless they have a few cocktails and then they just GOTTA have a cigarette. Anyway, my boy is 4 and no longer a baby. Here are a few pictures of him from each year of his life:

Nicholas just a few days old.

Nicholas @ 2 weeks. This was the picture we used for his birth announcement. My big boy!

Nicholas @ 6 mos. A very happy, very bald, baby.

Nicholas is 1 year old! Still bald, still not walking.

Nicholas @ 18 mos. Hard to believe Lauren is older than this now.

Nicholas at 2 years old. Going to see Blue's Clues LIVE!

Nicholas @ 2 years old. He looks tan here - could he really be my child?? I'm as white and pink and freckled as they come. He got himself into that garbage can without tipping it over. Impressive!

Nicholas @ 3 years old. Not a baby anymore. He looks like a BOY now.

Nicholas @ 3.5 yrs old. Showing off his trademarked "smile for the camera" look - the slightly crooked grin. I think he'll grow to be a very handsome man.

Nicholas @ 4 yrs old (ok, 4 days shy of his actual birthday but trust me, he looks the same today). What a kid!

I love you, Nicholas. Happy Birthday!!

// posted by MP @ 1:16 PM

Comments:

Hi Mp,

Such a cute boy!!! Thanks for sharing your pics. I think I commented once on your iP diary back when you were pregnant with Lauren. I can't believe how much she's grown.

The housing market out west totally sucks. We are in So Cal and can't believe how crazy it is out here. We bought our home (basic track home with 1800 sq.ft.) 2.5 years ago for $272,000, now it is worth $500,000. The only problem is that to get a bigger home, which we want so badly, we would have to pay close to $600,000. Property taxes on a house that expensive would be ridiculous. My poor brother , who is 23 and a fresh college grad, had to shell out over $400,000 for a 1300 sq.ft. CONDO last year. That was, of course, in Orange County, but still. How can they expect people to buy homes without being millionaires? I keep hearing of a market crash, but so far, no such luck. Oh, and we live in a city that is 60 miles from dh's work, because to get closer to L.A. would mean paying even more for less.

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