8 Years Ago

I don't recall off the top of my head if I've shared much about my pregnancy here before.  I'm remembering one post but not much else.  Anyway, my pregnancy wasn't great.  It wasn't awful and I didn't have major complications but it wasn't the glorious walk in the park we all hope it will be.

It was stressful.  So very, very stressful.  What made it the most stressful was that I was not sure if I would be handed a child with Down Syndrome or not.  I refused the amniocentesis which left me with two positive screening tests and contradictory ultrasounds.

But on this day, 8 years ago, I met my little shrimp for the first time.  I saw him squirming on the screen and heard his tiny heart beat.  I was told he wasn't quite right and more tests would be needed.  The words "markers" and "trisomy 21" were uttered for the first time or many yet to come.  And on this day, 8 years ago, I looked at that weird looking thing on the screen and told him he was a keeper, regardless of what he had in store for us.

NOV07 7.0 - "Nicholas"

WOW!  He is SEVEN years old and I am in disbelief!  It just doesn't feel like it has really been that many years.  He is now more than half my size and that still amazes me every time I notice.  Granted, I'm short so that's not very tall and he is still the shortest first grader in his school.  But still, DUDE!  Pretty soon he'll be my size, and that's not an exaggeration.  I am happy I have a growing child, my wallet is begging him to slow his growing.

On his birthday we went to Disneyland and we stayed late so that he could watch the fireworks.  He is now tall enough for a lot of the larger rides and he enjoys those.  On Sunday we had cake and pizza with grandma and parents.  This coming Saturday he will have his birthday party at his aunt's and finish off his birthday month celebration with Thanksgiving.

His 6th year was packed with all sorts of experiences and new things and changes.  Not all were good.  We have learned a lot this past year and grown a lot:

The Story of Nicholas

Like most stories that are only told orally, there are many details that get left out in order to get the point across before the listener falls asleep.  But sometimes those details hold the most meaning, the most impact.

The story of Nicholas, how he came about, is not one of years of trying to conceive, there was no tragic event, nothing inspiring.  His story isn't about my pregnancy, though that's quite a story all on it's own, or even him specifically.  It's about something a doctor felt the need to mention.  And an outfit.

Trip To The Aquarium

A couple of weeks ago the Aquarium was having a special promotion for spring break: opened late and arrivals after 5PM were $15.  Since I work until 5, and walking distance from the Aquarium, this was a perfect opportunity for us to go.  Nicholas seems to really like it and has been asking to go back since.  We may consider annual passes in the future.

A lorikeet (there must be a reason for these birds at the aquarium,
I have just yet to figure it out)

Pictures of Nicholas

When Nicholas was born we used to take him to Kiddie Kandids every month to get monthly, professional pictures of him.  Our goal was to get yearly pictures after that.  Well, things didn't quite work out and my next experience at a photo studio (Target) was a pretty bad one.  It has always been really hard for him to focus and follow directions and look where you are trying to get him to look.  We now know why but at the time it just felt like studio pictures were out of the question.  Ever since then I have wanted to hire a professional photographer to take pictures of him outdoors, where he is the most comfortable and the most himself.  With the wedding in December we hired a photographer to do some engagement/family photos as well as the ceremony.  They got some amazing pictures of him!  Here are some of my favourites:

A Year Later...

*dusts off dust and cobwebs... watches spiders run*

It has been a little over a year since the last post and there are various reasons for that.  Mostly, I was convinced my last post was around potty training time and that 'catching up' would be too monuments.  Turns out last post was about destruction.  So let me start by updating that.

Going Out With a Bang

Tomorrow is the first day of November.  Tomorrow Nicholas will be 5 years old.  As October closes (finally!) I sit back and look at the events of this month.

Destruction.

Nicholas has always been a well behaved child (for his age) and never really been destructive.  He has broken and destroyed things before but mostly in play or not knowing that he was causing damage.  This month has had more destruction than any other time in his life.

Pictures were edited to highlight damage

Ripped the screen.  For no reason and continued to inflict damage after being told not to.

Momma Vs Mom: No, It's Not The Same Person

I've mentioned Mom (aka Mommy #2 sometimes) before but I have never really explained how things work.  Mostly because no one has ever asked and it's too complicated for me to try to explain without any prompting.  However, it has been brought to my attention that people may be confused so here it is: Who is Mom, who is Momma, and how the heck does a child get this?

Teen Suicide: A Little Close to Home

It's been too long, a lot has happened, and the truth is I've been lazy.  Catch up may come later...

A little less than a year ago someone shared a video somewhere, I'm not really sure where, called "60 Days Later..." which was made by the parents of a teenager who committed suicide and how they were doing 60 days later.  Through this video I found their Facebook page and have been following them since. 

Yesterday, this page posted a link to a page recently created to keep people updated on a teenage girl who attempted suicide this past weekend.  Apparently she shot herself in the head and, as of this point, looks like she may recover (though with many problems).  As I was reading through the page and the comments I was overwhelmed by how many people were posting that they lost children to suicide.  I couldn't keep count!  I knew it was a problem and in recent years bullying has been highlighted as a major cause but I just hadn't been forced to see so many actual accounts.

3 Years, 12 Months!

I know, it's been 18 days and no big birthday post.  It's just not happening this year, much less than last year.  It's just too hard this year, I cannot accept it.  From his fitting into 4T pants, to him insisting he is 5, to this sudden expanded vocabulary and expressiveness.  It's just too much.  I need my baby!!!!!!!  Or get knocked up again... but that's a post for some other place.

Anywho, here is the synopsis of the celebrations:

Potty Training - Week 9

Days 57-63

8/23-8/29

This week was the first full week we used the new toilet/potty thing.  It works, when it gets used.  He still won't tell me though my sister says he tells her so there have been accidents.  Lots.  *sigh*

Ok, so lets talk about this contraption.  It is called Mommy's Helper - Padded Potty Seat with Step Stool.  I got it from Walmart.com and got shipped for free to the store that is a few minutes from where I live.  Assembling it was quite easy but you do need to pay attention and follow the very simple instructions.  Then it was time to put it on the toilet.

Trip to the Park

A trip to the park.  All pictures, no explanation needed.

Potty Training - First Two Weeks In Review

Tomorrow (today, I guess, judging by the time) will be the first day of the third week of potty training.  While I have been making regular posts on how we are doing (click 'Potty Training' under labels to the right for the play-by-play), they have been focused on the details of actual potty training and not on how this is affecting us overall.

The 'New' Playroom

It's 1:30am.  WTH am I doing up at this time??  Cleaning, that's what.  Hurricane Nicholas came through today will full force leaving behind a disaster zone that makes Katrina look mild.  These past couple of days have been rough, he's been acting way out of character for him and by the time he is in bed I have been too exhausted to attempt cleaning up.  Today I had a little extra energy, we had a surprisingly ok evening after his nap, so I went to work before FEMA has a chance to try and 'help.'  

Cleaning up, while it took almost an hour, was a breeze!!  All thanks to my new set up and system (yay!).  I didn't move too much of his things around but did take out my bookcases from the playroom (aka living room) which has left an incredibly nice space.  Moved a couple of things around and I have been incredibly satisfied with the result.  And since insomnia has kicked in, I shall tell you all about these changes.

Painting Fun!

The latest creations from my little artiste!  Don't look too hard, it's abstract art :P

This started as the Island of Sodor.  The green is the island

and the blue is the water.

Silly

So we have some recent silliness.

I brought home my goggles from my chemistry lab:

He was just in a very silly mood:

My boy, acting silly:

More silliness, this time with the harmonica.  Please ignore the Nutella moustache :P

A little silly concert:

National Train Day

Ok, almost a week later...

On Saturday, May 7, we took a trip to Union Station in Los Angeles for National Train Day 2011 and the 40th anniversary celebration for Amtrak.

Happy to be on the train, on our way to see the trains!

'Easter'

Here are our 'Easter'* pictures.

Picked a flower outside El Torito.  Goodies provided by loving aunties. 

(The box has a BIG bag of m&ms)

Sleep!

This is the post that got lost.

It seems Nicholas has always been an interesting sleeper and I have gotten some very interesting sleep pictures.  I wanted to compare them and this seemed like the best way to do it.  Enjoy!

Ten days old, momma is the BEST place to sleep!