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Colorado

Our trip to Colorado for Ryan and Winnie's wedding and a family vacation couldn't have been more perfect!  So many memories were made and Nicholas proved once again what an incredible little traveler he is.  Here are some pictures!

Sitting in the pilots seat with the captain!

My first plane ride...a window seat!!!

Admiring the Broncos Stadium!  In his words, "WOW!"

A beautiful hike!

Nap Time had to be flexible this week! 

A beautiful, long waterfall ended where this picture was taken.

Red Rocks Hiking

Getting crazy on the dance floor at the wedding!

Meeting the train conductor before his first train ride!

While mommy, bumpa and ama enjoyed the train ride, daddy, uncle Brandon & Travis, Aunt Dawn, Uncle John and Brianna went white water rafting.  We could see them during our train ride!

Another amazing hike!

The Denver Zoo!

That time of year!

It is so hard to believe that summer is coming to a quick end and another school year is about to start.  Harder yet to believe, this will be my 9th year of teaching!  That doesn't seem possible!  While I am treasuring every moment with Nicholas and the last few beach days, I still get that excited/anxious feeling about another year starting.  I've been in my room several times and even discovered that if I bring a stroller and a "farm" or "Elmo" movie, I can work for about 30-45 minutes without distraction!  Nicholas doesn't get a lot of TV time, so he has been asking daily if we can go to mommy's classroom!  I think he loves the big screen and special snacks!  While it's always hard to say goodbye to summer, I'm always excited for what a new year will bring.  I'm trying a few new ideas out this year and even getting a little creative thanks to Pinterest.  Below is a picture of my two VERY big helpers one day!

Blue or Pink???

On Monday, August 13, we had our 20 week ultra sound! I could have sat in the room all day watching our precious baby on that screen! Our doctor's office has a new machine since Nicholas was born and the pictures we saw of the baby were amazing! Throughout the ultrasound, the baby stayed nestled up against the wall of my uterus and kept putting its little hand and arm near it's face. We decided to wait to find out what the baby is again but my mom and Rob did everything in their power to sneak a peek! I had warned the technician ahead of time and she turned the screen when doing the pictures of the legs! They claim they didn't really want to know, but to just see if they could figure it out! I had my work cut out for me keeping their eyes away from that area! I am still feeling very strongly that the baby is a little boy but for now we have to wait! I'm excited to meet our newest addition in 20 weeks!

NO MORE...

DIAPERS...ONLY UNDIES!!!

 Yes!  It is true!  Nicholas is totally potty trained!!!  YAHOO!  His favorite line is now "no more diapers, only undies"!  While we do keep a diaper on at night, he has been staying dry almost always then too!  We are so proud of him.  I started on Monday morning, July 16 and after 9 accidents before noon, I was ready to cry and give up!  But I persisted, he took a 3 1/2 hour nap (probably from the trauma of the  morning) and woke up ready to go!  Since 4:00 on Monday, July 16, he has had only two "1/2" accidents!  He started going before he made it to the toilet-so I only count that as a half accident, not a true accident!!!  Now that it has been a couple of weeks, he is getting so much better at recognizing when he has to go ahead of time.  We have started venturing out and he has to experience the toilet nearly every store, restaurant and location we visit.  That has made the experience quite interesting for mama!  I have to tote along the potty seat topper because his little buns slip in too easily yet!  So if you see me out and about with a plastic bag instead of a diaper bag, you know what I'm carrying around!  Totally worth it!  We are so proud of our little boy!

No More...HEALTHY lunches for mama!  

Thank goodness I have pregnancy as an excuse for the types of lunches I have been eating lately!  Don't worry, most of the time I wait until Nicholas is napping to eat and I still feed him healthy choices :)!  

Wow!  

Nicholas caught his first fish!  He was totally shocked when daddy and him reeled in his line and this was hanging at the end of it! 

Zoom in for a peek at Nicholas' 2nd Birthday!

With his recent obsession with the CARS movie, there was no question what this year's theme would be for Nicholas' 2nd birthday! Sit back and enjoy the ride! 

Dinner at the kids table!

Nicholas almost had his lips on the candles trying to blow them out!

He had no problem diving into the cake this year!

He thinks he is sweet stuff driving this around the neighborhood!

Trying out his new REAL golf clubs, sized just for him from Bumpa and Ama!  With the lessons Bumpa will be giving him, he should be going pro by 13 years old :)

Nicholas managed to drive his car through the yard to his new play-set that daddy built for him for his 2nd birthday!  He is one lucky little boy!

It is hard to believe our little boy is two years old.  I remember when he was so little and I would hold him in my arms (all day long) and think how it couldn't possibly get any better.  But with each passing moment we just love this little boy more and more (hard to believe).  I promised myself many months ago, as I reflected on how quickly time was going, that I would not let myself sit around thinking I wish I could freeze time, or I wish I could keep him this age forever.  Instead, I made a promise to cherish each and every moment of each and every stage and praise God that he is growing, he is healthy and he is becoming his own little person!  I remind myself often (as I find myself think how much I love this stage of life; well let me be honest, there have been a few temper-tantrum filled moments recently that I could do without) that I am blessed to be watching him grow up!  With his independent ("I DO") fun loving, energetic and outgoing personality, he is truly our little blessing!  Happy Birthday little love bug!

We are so happy to announce that Nicholas is going to be a big brother sometime around January 3, 2013!  He can't wait for the "present" in mommy's tummy to arrive and has informed us that baby's name should be McQueen (as in Lightning McQueen) or Tow Mater (from the Cars movie).  Nicholas brings us more joy than we ever thought possible and we are beyond thrilled to welcome another baby into our family!