Nicholas Jr.

These past few weeks have been rather crazy.  Several weeks ago, we were excited to spend the weekend in New Orleans celebrating Mumbles and Jen's wedding.  We dropped Nicholas off with Gigi and PawPaw and then headed over the next day.  The wedding was AWESOME!  Everything was gorgeous, the food was delicious and the most exciting part (for us at least) was the Second Line that went through the streets of the French Quarter.  The bride and groom led the way with their umbrellas, followed by the band and then every guest had their hankie waving in the air, while locals and vacationers stopped and watched, cheering us on and taking pictures/videos.  Only in New Orleans could something as cool as that happen.  We won't forget it as long as we live.  We are so happy for Mumbles and Jen and wish them a lifetime of happiness. 

Then a week after that, a bomb was dropped on me regarding my work.  Our parent company sold us off to one of our biggest competitors.  Not only was this a shock that it happened at all, but everyone was immediately afraid of being laid off.  At this point I still don't know if my job is secure or not and probably won't know for another week or more.  I have worked for the same company for over 9 years, so this whole scenario still doesn't seem real to me.  I love my job, my company and my coworkers, so losing it all would be a huge loss to me.  What I love most is being part-time, while working from home.  I couldn't have picked a better set-up and just pray that the new company realizes they can't live without me. 

Today, however, I was given a nice distraction from work (which I desperately needed).  This doctor's visit was the big 20 week ultrasound.  Recently we asked Nicholas about what he thinks we should name the baby.  He came up with the name Nicholas, Jr.  Well this morning we found out that baby #2 is a boy, but I doubt we will be using his suggestion.  Needless to say we are both super excited and very happy that all of his measurements and stats look great.  I am measuring right on, so my due date will remain December 28.  I don't think Nicholas had too much of a reaction when he found out, he was more concerned about mama.  He even asked the ultrasound technician, "What are you doing to my mama?"  She sweetly told him taking pictures of your baby brother.

As of now, we don't have any names picked out.  I'm excited to start thinking about names, the nursery and going through all of Nicholas' baby items that we haven't seen in a few years.  I can only imagine what mischief the Davenport Boys will get into.  

Back to back doctor visits

This week both Nicholas and I had doctors appointments. 

Nicholas went Wednesday for his four-year annual checkup.  He did really well and his stats haven't really changed (statistically speaking).  Nicholas weighs 39.5 lbs (75th percentile) and is 3 ft 6 in (90-95th percentile).  The nurses also performed a vision and hearing test, both of which he passed with flying colors.  Last, but certainly not least, he had to get caught up on some shots.  We technically didn't have to do it at this visit, but Dr. Whitaker said that most people like to knock them out now.  He received 5 shots.  The first two went in and he didn't do anything, but the third shot started the crying.  Then of course 4 and 5 didn't help anything.  The good news is that his next shot will not be until he is in the 6th grade.  I have a feeling though that Nicholas won't let me forget about this visit for a LONG time. 

The next day was my 12 week check-up with Dr. Gregory.  I scheduled it for 8am hoping to get out as quickly as possible.  Since Nicholas starts MDO at 9, I decided to bring him along.  And thankfully daddy joined us as well.   As expected it was a very quick visit.  Dr. Gregory did monitor the baby's heart rate, which she said sounded good.  I think Nicholas liked hearing it.  She said there were two heartbeats, but luckily that other slower heartbeat was mine.  No twins for this family.  We arrived at 7:45 and were headed home around 8:15.  My kind of appointment.  My next appointment will be in a month and then in two months is the BIG appointment - when we find out what we are having and also when Dr. Gregory will better pinpoint a due date. 

Since I'm due between Christmas and New Years I asked Dr. Gregory if they had any policy around the holidays and she said they could induce up to a week early.  Since I would prefer not to do that, I told her I will just plan on letting the baby determine when he or she wants to come.  She did say she is on call for New Years and Dr. Brown is on call for Christmas.  I would not be surprised if neither one of my children are delivered by my actual doctor (Nicholas was born Friday evening, so about halfway through my labor Dr. Gregory left and Dr. Favor was on call for that night). 

At this point I'm still feeling great, with no real signs of pregnancy.  I haven't gained any weight and can still fit into my clothes for now.  We'll see how long that lasts... 

4th Birthday Party and Exciting News!

For Nicholas' 4th birthday party, we decided to celebrate it at the house.  Nicholas is crazy about dinosaurs, so we naturally had a dinosaur birthday party (Dinosaur Train to be exact). 

On his birthday, I decided to ask Nicholas some questions and my goal is to record them over the years and see how the answers change.  So here they are:

1. How old are you?  4
2. What is your favorite color?  Green
3. What is your favorite toy?  Dinosaurs - go figure
4. What is your favorite food?  Chicken
5. Who is your best friend?  Nathan - a boy in his MDO class
6. What is your favorite thing to do outside?  Play with his bubble machine
7. What is your favorite drink?  Lemonade
8. What is your favorite TV show?  Mickey - this is completely not true, but this was his answer.  He can't get enough of Dinosaur Train on PBS.
9. What is your favorite animal?  Dinosaurs
10. What makes you happy?  Going home - loved this answer
11. What is your favorite movie?  Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs - just received this for his b'day - thanks Cary and Judy!
12. What is your favorite place to go?  Mimi's house - thought this was SO sweet
13. What is your favorite book?  How do Dinosaurs Say Happy Birthday - again just got this for his b'day
14. What do you want to be when you grow up?  4
15. What is your favorite song?  Dinosaur Stomp - this was performed at his school end of the year program

Nicholas is amazingly smart, especially when it comes to dinosaurs.  He can ramble off five-syllable dinosaur names like its nothing.    I'm amazed that he can work technology as well as we do.  After only looking at/playing with my Kindle a few times, he knows what buttons to push and how to navigate the whole thing.  He recognizes several letters and numbers and can trace them really well, but at this point doesn't write them on his own.  He can count up to thirty, which shocked me one night.  Nicholas will catch me off guard with some of the things he says.  Just today, I asked the common rhetorical question, "How many times do I have to ask you to ..."  and he replied "3."  It caught me so off guard that I couldn't be mad even though he wasn't obeying and I just laughed. 

He is growing like a weed, but we won't know his percentage stats until we go to his annual checkup in a few weeks.  I thank God that he has been such a healthy baby and little boy. The only time we see Dr. Whitaker is for annual checkups. We are truly blessed. He has adjusted very well to the new house and sleeps like a champ. He goes through spurts where he has bad dreams, but they don't happen often.  Some days he fights getting his nap and yet others we have to wake him up after a three hour nap.  I hope he doesn't give those up just yet, because everyone loves naptime.  Nicholas is such a sweetheart and melts my heart whenever he randomly tells us, "I love you."

Here are some highlights from the party:

Nicholas with his awesome dino cake from Mimi

 Lots of food and goodies for everyone

Nicholas wasn't hurting for presents

 Shout out to Uncle Brad for letting us borrow the church jumpy (or whatever they are called).  It was a HUGE hit with the kids!

Chowing down with Anna and Colin. 

Blowing out his candles

 Last but not least, he wasn't quite sure of his surprise gift from mom and dad.  I think others didn't really know how to react either.

To give a bit of back story to our news, we found out I was pregnant on April 27 and decided it would be fun to announce to everyone at the party.  So I enjoyed searching online for cute big brother shirts.  We went to the doctor a week before the party and had an ultrasound.  The heartbeat sounded good.  My due date is December 28, but the ultrasound had me measuring a week behind.  Dr. Gregory said that once I had my 20 week ultrasound, they would check measurements and pin point a due date at that point.  As of now, we left it as the 28th. 

Nicholas still isn't quite sure of what is going on.  When we asked him if he wanted a little brother or sister, he said he wanted nothing.  Later on, he said he wanted a brother like Nathan, his buddy from school.  It will be interesting to see how he reacts to everything over time.  

Heart of the Home

I've been a slacker when it comes to blogging, but anyone that has moved into a new home knows that there is always something on your to-do list.  We received a huge sigh of relief when we finally received all the paperwork from the bank and county stating that everything was finished.  We have already made our first mortgage payment and all the new bills have started rolling in as well.  For those that thought we would have major sticker shock when it came to our new power and gas bills, I am pleased to announce that we were quite happy with the results.  We really think our decision to have the foam insulation and investing in a "smart" programmable thermostat were well worth the cost. 

I have promised more pictures, so here are some of the main living areas.  These aren't the best because they were taken with my phone.  Our camera is on it's last leg and doesn't hold a charge either.   

As you walk in our door from the garage, we have a mudroom space that I love!  All our coats, bags, shoes etc get thrown here. 

The double doors in the mudroom are to a closet for cleaning supplies, etc and

also where the laundry chute drops into...

Right off the mudroom is our laundry room.  So far I'm a huge fan of the clothes rod and large sink. 

On the opposite side of the washer and dryer is a built in desk and space for laundry baskets.  Some day I'd like to put a shelf above where the baskets are in the picture to get more use out of the space.  This is also a catch all place for whatever...

 This picture turned out pretty dark, but this is the window in the laundry room.  Gigi and I made the roman shades based off a "simple" project found on pinterest of turning a cheap mini-blind into a roman shade.  As always the project took MUCH longer than anticipated, but I do love the end result.   

Right as you walk into the kitchen from the mudroom, we have our MASSIVE pantry.  I have received numerous comments of envy on this one.  I have to say one of my favorite parts of the house...

I really like that all our small appliances don't have to take up valuable kitchen cabinet space. 

 You probably can't tell, but in person you would realize that we do coupon/stockpile.  Love getting deals!

 I never realized how much I would love the layout of the kitchen until actually using it.  My favorite is that everything is within arms reach...

 Including a garbage cabinet to the left of the sink. 

Probably should have turned the dining room lights on for this one. 

Here are some more DIY attempts that were actually easy and turned out well (in my opinion).  I had left over fabric and picture frames (inherited from the close of my company office in Bham several years ago), so I covered the glass with fabric and hot glued on some clips so that we could display Nicholas' artwork (or I should say footwork based on what's up there).  The cross was made from TP rolls that I cut, glued and spray painted.

We have had a few "picnics" on our screened in porch.  At some point we will purchase some patio furniture so we don't have to use our dining room chairs to do so...

 From the mudroom you can either go into the kitchen or living room.  On your way into the living room is a small powder room.  

 Also off the living room is the doorway to the basement.  You can tell what is to come, based off the floor mat.

Not much in the living room, but I love how spacious it is!  I'm sure we will get more furniture over time, just not in any rush right now. 

 Looking into the foyer from the living room.

 Incredibly tall foyer, which needed an incredibly tall foyer chandelier to match
(I think it's close to 4 feet tall itself)

Ever since we started building, I haven't devoted much of the blog to Nicholas.  He is always full of energy and so tender-hearted!  He says the funniest things and is a sponge, so you always have to be aware of what you say around him.  He will finish up his second year at Mother's Day Out in May, but is in for a change next year.  Nicholas will start preschool in the fall, which consists of 5 days a week from 9-1pm.  This will also be a change for me as well as I have already confirmed with my boss and will change my work schedule.  Right now I work 3 days a week all day long and will be switching to 5 days so that I can work while he is in school and be home with him when he is not.  I'm excited about this new school and know he will learn a lot and definitely be prepared for Kingergarten the following year.  I'm still in shock that my baby boy will be 4 in May.  

Nicholas is a HUGE fan of dinosaurs, so when they opened an exhibit at the zoo completely dedicated to dinosaurs, you can believe we were there within the first few days of being open (and went through it twice).  We have definitely gotten our money's worth out of our zoo membership over these past two years.  Nicholas loves going. 

Finally In!

After almost 6 years of dreaming and planning, we are finally in the house!  We received the CO (certificate of occupancy) and the bank's approval on January 31.  This was a Thursday and because we couldn't wait any longer, we decided to start moving that weekend.  Saturday (with the help Brad's truck and trailer) we were able to move the bedroom furniture, couch and recliner and the washer/dryer.  Thanks so much to Brad, Pop, Wonderful Uncle Robert, Mimi and the girls for helping us!  Then all throughout that next work week, Gabe would make several trips each night back and forth to the house, bringing boxes in the CRV.  It's amazing what he was able to fit in the car. 

Then this past weekend, Gigi and PawPaw came up to help with what was left of the big items.  Huge shout out to Zac and Michael for helping.  I enjoyed my view as director while the boys did the heavy lifting, and there were definitely some heavy pieces left to move.  

I've had several requests for pictures, so I just found the camera and figured I would share a little at a time.  Keep in mind that we aren't completely settled and boxes can basically be found in every room.  Here is a tour of the upstairs...

Hallway - straight ahead is Nicholas' bedroom

Nicholas' bedroom - HUGE shout-out to Gigi for making the bedskirt, pillow and pillowcases (as well as valances that are coming)

His MASSIVE closet

I love that there is enough room in his closet for his chest of drawers

Nicholas LOVES his playroom.  Mama LOVES all the storage with the built-ins

 We debated on keeping the couch or not since neither one of us likes it, so it ended up here.  Now we have some place to sit and watch him play.  And yes Uncle Ryan, that is your old papasan chair in the corner.

 Upstairs bathroom

 Laundry chute.  Had to figure out how to child-proof this because Nicholas could easily fit down the whole thing.  Luckily Gabe and PawPaw figured out a lock that would work.

 Spare bedroom (or as Nicholas says Gigi and PawPaw's room).  Shout out to Mumbles for kindly donating all his old furniture to the Davenport house!  Now guests have somewhere to sleep when they come.  In case anyone is curious the quilt on the bed was made by Gabe's grandmother and given to us at one of our wedding showers. 

Today we are set to have blinds installed pretty much everywhere.  That will look much better than the sheets I had hanging over the windows, which really made the joint extra classy!  I did test out my DIY skills for a few window treatments that I will show later.  One was easy and one took much more effort than anticipated (as Gigi can attest).  Stay tuned for more pics!

The Waiting Game

The house is basically finished except they haven't run our gas line or set up permanent power yet.  We are waiting on final approvals from the bank and Leeds.  It has been raining non-stop for the past two weeks, which means they couldn't do anything outside.  Finally today we receive snow instead of rain, which was so nice for a change of pace.  Fingers crossed that the beautiful sunny weather that is supposed to start tomorrow will continue for many days to come so that they can run the gas line and finish this sucker.  

Our first snow covered home

Somehow the palm trees have survived our cold weather

Because of all the rain, we had some water get in the basement.  Gabe has worked his butt off trying to save us a buck or two by keeping the house clean, spreading seed and straw throughout the entire yard and his final task (hopefully) is to fix the standing water so that it flows away from the house and we don't have any more get into the basement.  Our patience is wearing thin, but hopefully some sunny weather will lighten our spirits and the water/mud levels in the yard.