tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12128205364475484782011-07-28T06:46:21.187-05:00Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.comBlogger291100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-60792953603059478952009-10-13T22:45:00.014-05:002009-10-14T00:09:36.782-05:00

Okay... so it's been a few months. I warned you that I was really bad at keeping up with this whole blogging thing! Last week, we hit an important milestone... our first vacation as a family! Austin, Tyler, Jeff, and I (along with my mom) headed off to Aspen to enjoy the cool, crisp weather. While, overall, we had a fantastic time, a few lessons have also been learned through some unanticipated

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-39646870023942966132009-05-11T22:07:00.009-05:002009-05-11T23:04:27.073-05:00

Hey gang! Sorry... life apparently got in the way of my blog, and I fell a bit behind ("a bit" meaning a few months).Honestly, so much has happened that I don't even know where to begin (or where I left off, for that matter!) So, maybe this post will just be a bullet list of everything that's happened since we last "spoke".Let's see...We'll start with Tyler:Tyler is talking up a storm these days

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-9126499397539560872009-03-15T22:46:00.010-05:002009-03-15T23:50:17.575-05:00

Maybe about 4 months ago or so, I was starting to get a little concerned because Tyler didn't really have a lot to say. It wasn't that he didn't make any noise - because he certainly made plenty. But, not much that really indicated he was trying to actually say any real "words"!However, recently, my fears have been relieved a bit - because not only is he now attempting to say a whole slew of

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-57905857649598236402009-03-13T23:03:00.015-05:002009-03-13T23:48:43.773-05:00

Austin finally did it - he got his new set of tubes!He surgery WAS originally supposed to happen on February 20 (as noted in one of my previous posts), but Austin conveniently came down with a case of RSV around the 17th. This meant anesthesia would be risky, which in turn meant surgery (even one as quick as getting tubes) would have to wait.Side-note: just in case Jeff confused you by telling

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-44411765362270386032009-02-15T22:31:00.008-06:002009-02-15T23:54:35.582-06:00

After about 5 hours, 50 some-odd Snookies, one sore back, two sore arms, a few new blisters, one incredibly stuffy nose, a horrible headache, one stressed out passive-aggressive dog, and a huge pile of leftover fluff, I have successfully achieved one 75% mat-free dog!What about the other 25%? Well, I can safely say it just ain't gonna happen. You see, Loki hates being groomed. And by "hates", I

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-26717460471036808722009-02-12T14:56:00.002-06:002009-02-12T15:07:57.741-06:00

Since my last blogs were about poor little Austin's ear issues, I just thought I'd post a quick little update on where we are now. Austin has finally finished all his rounds of antibiotics, and we were able to get in pretty quickly with our lovely ear specialist - the same guy that did Tyler's tubes last year. After I explained little Austin's situation, I believe his exact words were, "This is

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-65271750076393487042009-01-25T00:17:00.002-06:002009-01-25T00:31:26.170-06:00

It looks like Austin's health is now headed in the right direction.After a few days with a rapidly rising fever, and daily visits to the pediatrician for checkups and antibiotic shots, it seems we hit the peak of the scare when Austin topped out with a fever of 106.5 the other night. Calling it "impressive for such a small baby" (and not meaning that in a positive way, of course), it appears the

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-53462236823304533252009-01-22T22:04:00.004-06:002009-01-22T22:19:54.161-06:00

Um... unfortunately, not talkin' about me with that title... Actually, it's a bit more literal in reference to our littlest one, Austin.Poor little guy got evicted from school yesterday with a slight fever. So, grabbing my laptop to work from home, I picked him up and we went to spend the afternoon at home. But, what began as a slight fever certainly didn't stay that way.By mid-afternoon, a

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-52475595262056219022009-01-20T09:56:00.005-06:002009-01-22T22:31:54.739-06:00

Tyler has suddenly hit that age of todderdom where they apparently start learning things really quickly...Here's a few of some of his latest surprises:When he has his nightly container of applesauce, deciding that "applesauce" was probably too complicated, I had been saying "apple" constantly as I feed it to him. Two nights ago, he finally started to say "apple" himself when pointing to it! Of

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-61207097604332294422009-01-18T21:15:00.014-06:002009-01-18T23:15:24.066-06:00

Check out Tyler's new shiner....I'd like to tell you a great story about how Tyler got it... defending his little brother's dignity against the daycare bully - who Tyler then proceeded to beat to a pulp...I'd like to... but I can't. Because unfortunately, the truth isn't nearly that exciting. In reality, it all came down to Tyler versus the footboard of our bed. And, as you can see, the bed

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-56957219275522722412009-01-11T00:12:00.004-06:002009-01-11T00:20:26.880-06:00

When Tyler was Austin's age, that sweet gurgling and coo-ing was not really his forte.Tyler preferred, instead, to screech really loudly in an annoyingly-birdlike manner. Apparently, he picked that up at school from his friend, Enslow.Austin, however, has always been more baby-like and easier on the ears with his coos, gurgles, and baby dinosaur-like grunts.Until today.Tyler has decided to pass

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-20521038244741856452009-01-01T01:16:00.005-06:002009-01-01T01:32:41.726-06:00

To help celebrate the start of the new year, and my very first post of 2009, here are a few fun shots taken Christmas Day 2008.Austin & his new furry Grover (Mmmmm.... tasty, but could use a touch of applesauce!)Tyler takes his new Big Wheel out for a spin (Whatever happened to the handlebar tassles the kid in the car commercial has on his Big Wheel?)It's all fun and games till the dogs join the

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-89021279598209822592008-12-31T23:14:00.009-06:002009-01-01T01:15:28.394-06:00

As 2008 draws to a close, I thought I'd race the clock to try to get at least one more post up (so at least then I could say I got two new posts in for the month of December... which sounds only slightly less pathetic than just one!)Let me start off by saying that Jeff and I are pleased to announce that we are in fact just raising two healthy babies, and not, in fact, a family of black holes (as

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-78558339417951379392008-12-10T23:31:00.007-06:002008-12-11T00:12:49.875-06:00

Okay, so earlier today while clearing my head from lots of stuff I've been working on at my day job, I decided to take a peak at the much more frequently updated blog of Austin's second cousin, Henry (although you might know him better as Barnabas Monkeypants).In the blog, Henry's father laments the fact that Henry is a hoover - sucking up anywhere from 20-36 ounces of milk each day - and that

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-70680907401489287002008-11-30T22:48:00.003-06:002008-11-30T23:31:09.583-06:00

Lately, a lot of people I know have been having babies - mostly because the 10 or so other pregnant women I work with have all recently started to pop themselves. And since I create and send out the monthly electronic newsletter for my company's corporate services team, I get early dibs on seeing the photos of most of these new arrivals.However, what it's really made me realize is just how

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-35203466862093369092008-11-19T22:44:00.004-06:002008-11-19T23:29:18.922-06:00

I've recently realized just how different raising a puppy is from raising a baby.Okay... before you start to question my sanity... of course I realize that they really are nothing alike - after all, one is a furry animal, and the other is human. But, being that my only past frame of reference in raising something to become a "grown-up" was raising Max to become a bigger furry animal, a few things

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-57991069223372596742008-11-03T21:45:00.004-06:002008-11-03T22:02:06.752-06:00

Well, really, with Austin, we haven't got a clue what he's saying. But now that he's finally found his voice, we're one step closer to something!About a week ago, a faint babble from across the room let us know that Austin has finally decided he has some things to say, and is more than determined to say them.He also laughs a lot more now too - especially if you sing to him. Austin seems to have a

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-62778817506413253062008-11-01T22:23:00.002-05:002008-11-01T22:46:35.889-05:00

Legend has it, that if you open your door on Halloween to find a tiny, quiet chicken with big eyes staring up at you, you will suddenly find all your candy missing...Actually, Tyler did quite well with his first Halloween working the street.His busy day started with school. He was asked to bring his costume. So at 7:45am, if you happened to be in the lobby of the office building that houses his

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-51390919598057451042008-10-31T10:52:00.004-05:002008-10-31T11:10:40.035-05:00

To get to the candy on the other side!Well, craziness at work has left me with no time lately to update the blog... but since it is Halloween, I thought I'd take a quick moment just to give everyone a sneak preview at tonight's attire. Hopefully, I can find some time this weekend to provide a few good stories on Tyler's first Halloween. We do plan to try taking him to at least a few houses on the

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-91574131783351957862008-10-19T22:12:00.008-05:002008-10-19T22:40:21.320-05:00

At the daycare that Austin and Tyler attend, the caregivers fill out daily report cards for each child. Although they tend to be a bit more straightforward and generic in toddlerville, infants get personalized details about how their day went and a brief blurb about something they did that day.When Tyler was in the infant room, a majority of his reports would begin with "Great day!". If his day

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-90865740772253911632008-10-07T22:02:00.007-05:002008-10-07T22:32:26.092-05:00

It's amazing how much can happen in a week - or at least how much new stuff you can learn about your kids throughout the course of a week when they're babies!So, rather than waste time with the formalities, let's just get right to the good stuff!First, let's start with what we've learned about little Austin this week...1. Austin is still an angry baby.No, not joking... we actually have validation

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-54800680402926024052008-10-01T23:29:00.002-05:002008-10-01T23:51:08.719-05:00

I've only ever had two nightmares in my life that I can remember vividly... The most recent one happened in college when my nightmare centered on my getting stabbed and dying. Yes, it pretty much freaked me out. The first one, though, was much milder and happened when I was just a little kid. I imagined that someone had kidnapped all the characters from Sesame Street and had each one tied up

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-31079433646971440132008-09-26T22:13:00.004-05:002008-09-26T22:38:41.281-05:00

Tonight, Austin actually laughed! Except that no one else was around when he did it, and he wouldn't do it in front of Jeff. So even though I know it happened, I have no witnesses to the big event...However, assuming it really did happen, it was his first!In the process of changing his sleeper for a clean, non-milk covered one, I was singing him his "Austin's Full of Milk" song, and he was

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-62849752175853407012008-09-24T16:29:00.012-05:002008-09-24T18:27:31.545-05:00

This morning, Tyler went in for his eye surgery. He needed to have his unopened tear duct opened. Basically, they run a tiny tube (supposedly looks like fishing line), through his tear duct and inside his nose to open things up (or something like that...).Tyler is our little bionic kid. For a 16-month old, he's had more procedures done than I think I've had done my whole life. At 2 months old,

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-25396232875483249592008-09-23T15:15:00.009-05:002008-09-23T15:40:24.979-05:00

Yesterday, Austin had his 2-month check-up. It's so hard to believe he's already 2 months old!He was actually in a great mood - even smiled at the nurse - until he got his shots right before we left. He was most definitely not a fan of those (not that I can blame him).Although he was slightly shorter than his brother at birth, it seems that Austin has caught up quickly. In fact, he's grown 3 and

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-73051313664181975402008-09-21T22:04:00.003-05:002008-09-21T22:22:23.143-05:00

As I was feeding Austin one of his many bottles this morning, I noticed something that kind of creeped me out a little... he wasn't blinking. Nope. Not once. Just staring straight up at me as he chugged away with his eyes wide open.I also realized that it's probably the same thing that makes it a little creepy when peeking in on him late at night when he's swaddled in his bassinet and not yet

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-7397077623091962782008-09-19T21:23:00.004-05:002008-09-20T00:11:37.155-05:00

Have you ever gone out to dinner and been seated near a family with little kids? Your first thought was probably "%@!#%, why do I always get stuck next to the crazy families??"Well, tonight, we were that crazy family in the middle of the restaurant. And for future reference, just because you may have the same number of adults as babies at the table doesn't necessarily mean you are equally matched

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-24972157543344313352008-09-18T22:42:00.012-05:002008-09-18T23:26:48.196-05:00

When today began, the angry baby was actually not all that angry. In fact, he seemed downright content throughout the morning and most of the afternoon... but once evening came, the angry baby returned with a vengeance.So, how do you turn an angry baby into a happy one - or at least one that's willing to fall asleep? Well, in general, we've found the following are some of Austin's favorite things

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212820536447548478.post-10345324461240747602008-09-17T23:09:00.004-05:002008-09-17T23:29:19.807-05:00

Welcome to our new blog - where you can learn the latest about our crazy little lives...So, let's start by catching you up on what's happened so far. Jeff and I have 2 babies. One is now 16 months old (Tornado Tyler), and the other is 2 months old (Angry Austin). We also share our home with two bouncy, shaggy bearded collies (Max & Loki) who are both quite over the whole baby thing.Tyler is

Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08367174473184756751noreply@blogger.com0