Christmas & Nicholas

It's a little bit late for my Christmas post, but I'm finding my time to be a little limited these days! Christmas was great. Santa came to our house early in the night (thank goodness) because a little boy (Nolan) was ready for his presents in the middle of the night. At 1:45 a.m., I was fast asleep on the couch, when I heard a little voice say, "It's everything I wanted!" I turned my head, and saw Nolan looking in awe at the presents under the tree. I told him to go back to bed, and he did....for a little bit. He made a couple more trips downstairs before I convinced him that it was still time to sleep!

The rest of the bunch woke up around 8 or so in the morning, and we actually had to get Nathan out of bed for the big event. The kids were happy with their presents, and boy did they get a lot of stuff after all was said and done. We finally wrapped up our Christmas activities on Saturday after all of our company had given the kids their gifts. And Sunday, I was so ready for my house to be "normal" again, that we put all of our Christmas decor away....it's nice to get rid of some of the clutter!

Here are a few Christmas pics and a couple of pics I took of Nicholas yesterday! He's growing more and more each day.

Nolan with his race track.

Natalie with her Polly Pockets.

Nathan got a Big Wheel. He'll have a blast this summer keeping up with his big brother and sister!

Wide-eyed!

Starting to smile!!!

Pre-K Christmas Party

Yesterday was Nolan's Christmas party at school. Our whole family made it to the party, and I'm so thankful I had Matt's help this time. Miss Aimee took Nicholas immediately, and then when she was finished holding him, another mother held him and kept him for the entire party....so it was nice to have free hands!

The kids were all great. Nathan was excited about all the treats there. I had to keep a close eye on him because he was grabbing at other kids' plates and drinks, but I think I kept him from snatching anyone else's stuff. Natalie was a little disappointed that she didn't get to participate in the songs they sang, but she didn't throw a fit about it....she just had a pouty look on her face. She was as good as gold at the table for refreshments, and even told me that they shouldn't have the TV on because everyone was eating (that's one of our house rules).

I got to meet Nolan's girlfriend at this party. He has told me about her, and she frequently puts drawings in his backpack, but I had never really seen her before. I was surprised when she came right up to me as soon as we walked in the class. She said, "Hey Nolan's mom." I said hi to her as well. She then proceeded to tell me that Nolan was really cute. I just laughed and thought back to my elementary school days when I always had my little "boyfriends" She was about twice Nolan's size.....she towered over him....it reminded me of the movie Sixteen Candles with the foreign exchange student and his girlfriend. But it was really cute to see how much she liked Nolan. Another mother told Matt that her daughter came home from school one day and said, "I got my first kiss today." When her mother asked from whom....she replied, "Nolan." We asked Nolan if he had kissed any of the girls in his class, but he denies it....so it's hard to tell what's the truth, unless we ever get to ask Miss Aimee.

Here are a few pics from the party.

Nolan and Emily (his girlfriend). Some other kid took this picture...Nolan thought it was a good idea to share my camera with his classmates.

Nolan eating some snacks.

Natalie took a moment to smile for the camera.

Nathan was loving all the food. I didn't give him a snowman cupcake at first. But he starting pointing to them, and saying "snowman" so I had to give in.

Natalie and Nathan's Birthday Party

We celebrated Natalie and Nathan's birthdays yesterday. It was actually Natalie's birthday, but instead of having everyone drive up to our house again next weekend, we went ahead and celebrated Nathan's big day as well. The kids had a ton of fun opening their presents and eating their cakes. We messed up and let Natalie skip a nap before her party, so she wasn't exactly pleasant for most of the day.....but when it came to opening her gifts, she was good as gold. Everything she opened, she would say, "Oh!!! A new (whatever toy it was)" It was so cute when she tore off the wrapping paper of one present that was then in a decorative snowman box... she assumed that the snowman box was her present...since the wrapping was off. She then exclaimed, "Oh!!!! A new snowman!" But she then realized she had to open the box as well.

Here are some birthday pics.

The pretty birthday girl!

She got a great big baby doll.

Nathan was proud of the mess he made with his cake!!!

Bad pic of Nolan (my fault)....but he wanted me to show off his blue teeth and lips.

This was a few days ago....

I just love this pic.....Natalie loves her new baby brother.

Christmas Pictures and a Snow Day

I'm updating today just because I know I've fallen a bit behind on my blog since Nicholas has arrived.

Everything is going well with the kids. Nolan is still spitting out all the states and capitals, and he has recently learned nearly every state bird and flower thanks to the book that Aunt Pam sent.....he absolutely loves it!

Natalie is so excited for Christmas, or at least looking forward to the toys she will get. Anytime a commercial comes on the tv that shows a girl playing with a toy, she shouts, "I want that for Christmas!" And, of course you have to acknowledge her everytime...."Okay, Natalie. You want that for Christmas." That's why I love the channel Noggin....they don't have any commercials! It's even gotten so bad that she says she wants raisens for Christmas because of the Sunmaid Raisen girl!

Nathan is as rotten as ever. He's becoming quite the talker as well. He repeats EVERYTHING he hears. I'm sure that if he sat with Nolan for a bit, he would probably run around here saying the names of states too! I was so impressed with him the other morning. After he burped, he said "Excuse me."....and it's not even something I've been working with him to say.....he's just picked it up from his siblings!!!

Finally, little Nicholas is great as well. He's such a good baby...which I must say all of my babies have been good as babies too. He's waking up only twice during the night for feedings, but it's not so bad. Though, I must admit that one full night of sleep for myself would be fantastic!!! I haven't had a full night's sleep in months.....and I'm still sleeping on the couch so I don't disturb anyone during the night. I've slept on the couch since June, so I'm really looking forward to Nicholas sleeping all night so that I can get myself back in a bed!

I don't have many pics this time, but here are the one's I do have (and no pics of Nicholas.....this is what happens when you're number 4!)

I was trying to get a super-cute Christmas picture of Nathan to send to a radio contest....but he's not been very cooperative thus far. The deadline is Saturday!

Natalie was participating for a Christmas shot too, but she's over the age limit. Isn't she cute....ketchup face and tangled hair...she's still a beautiful girl!

Natalie and Matt having fun in the snow.

Nolan loves the snow....look how huge his gloves are....we couldn't find his, so these are adult-sized.

Survival

Matt left for Charleston yesterday, and had to stay the night there for a meeting today. He's still not home yet, but I feel like the bulk of my work is over! I actually survived a night on my own with 4 kids! I never thought he would have to be out of town so much, but now I know I can get by for a night on my own.

I only gave 2 baths last night, even though Nicholas was due for one, I figured he could skip another night. Nathan and Natalie, though, were pretty dirty since I didn't catch Nathan in time to prevent him from dipping toys in a pee-filled potty with Natalie by his side! I thought Nathan had gotten over his toilet obsession, but I was wrong, as he was dipping more things in the toilet this morning.

Matt probably won't be home in time for dinner this evening, but another one of my wonderful neighbors offered to bring dinner to our house tonight....and I didn't even attempt to refuse the offer!!! I'll take any help I can get these days.

Last night's sleeping arrangements were pretty undesirable. I had gone to bed with Nolan and as soon as he fell asleep, Nicholas woke up. So I headed down to the couch for a diaper change and feeding. I fell asleep on the couch with Nicholas beside me (yes, this is a no-no....but it works for me). At around 2 a.m. or so, Nolan made his way down to the couch as well, and curled up on the end opposite me. Then, at 15 til 5a.m., Natalie came down to tell me that she didn't pee the bed, but that her pants were wet (and, yes, she DID pee the bed). So Natalie spent the remainder of her sleep in the rocking chair. Nathan was the only one who slept where he was supposed to!!! I'm glad Nolan was there on the couch this morning, because he woke me up at 7:20. Otherwise, I probably would have overslept and missed his bus!

I'm looking forward to having Matt with me this evening....even if he's late getting home, at least I'll have some adult conversation!

One final note: Nolan brought home his "art" from school yesterday. He drew a picture of New Mexico and wrote it as well. I just wonder what his teacher thought about a 4 year old drawing a picture of a state....and quite well too!