Braces & New Baby

We started off our morning with a trip to Shriner's Children's Hospital so Nicholas could be fitted in his new Knee Ankle Foot Orthopedics (KAFO's).
Adam marked off the parts to trim so that they would fit Nicholas perfectly...first time standing up with a little help from mom
After we left Shriner's, we had a yummy lunch at Gustav's. Who doesn't love a little cheese fondue for lunch?
After we arrived home Nicholas and I walked over to our neighbor Erin Darling's house to visit her, Mason, and their new baby, Bella. She is quite the cutie and Nicholas just kept saying "hi" to her over and over again. Mason is such a proud big brother!


After we got back from the Darling's house, Nicholas was so exhausted from the long day that he promptly fell asleep.


I so enjoy all these wonderful days with my little man!

Independence Day

Nicholas wanted to wish everyone a happy & safe 4th of July!!

Fun With Nick & Vic

Yesterday morning my good friend, Holly, stopped by for a quick visit with her 10-month-old son, Victor. Victor and Nicholas had fun playing office together. Nicholas was the excutive sitting at his desk doing very important work (mostly sorting), while Victor spent some time on the computer and took a few calls. It was a very productive morning.

So great to see you both! Thanks for visiting!

Pool Time

Mom, I just want these sunglasses off!
Ahh, finally!
Cute lil' feet


Nicholas from mommy's point of view

Nicholas and I had the most relaxing day...after slathering on a lot of sunscreen, we headed to the backyard to enjoy some water time in the 3 ft. swimming pool Nicholas's Aunt Jami & Uncle Kris gave him for his first birthday. While the sun's rays have warmed up the temperature of the water in the last few days, Nicholas still thought it was a wee bit too cold for him and enjoyed relaxing on mommy's air mattress instead of sitting in his floaty toy. I brought out some of his bath toys and he enjoyed throwing them in the holes of the air mattress and pulling them back out again. We stayed outside together for about 45 minutes until I noticed the sun had taken it's toll on baby and he was ready for a nap. Then mama went back outside to enjoy some more of the 95+ degree weather!

Cheers to beautiful, sunny summer days!

Grandpa's New Car

Gramme, Grandpa & Nicholas in front of dad's 1937 Ford Coupe
Look at all the trunk space...Nicholas is thinking about stowing away, he would fit perfectly in there!

Have fun, Mom & Dad!

Back to Wonderland

I was just reading about Tim Burton's new version of Alice In Wonderland and I am very excited to see it when it comes out! I remember being a young girl and watching Through the Looking Glass on television. There was a a special made for TV movie that aired back in 1985 with that super scary Jaberwocky. I also adored the Disney cartoon version when I was little, but I really love Tim Burton's movies for their dark, edgy flair. He definitely has an eye for the eccentric and I think he is the perfect director to re-make this classic tale. It is also chalk full of my favorite actors/actresses: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway. The cinematography looks amazingly stunning...to read more on this movie click this link: http://blogs.laweekly.com/style_council/fashion/alice-in-wonderland-fashion-co/.

New Friends

Kayla's cousin, Livy, feeding Nicholas some cheerios

Nicholas=13 months

Livy=13 months (6 days older than Nick)

Kayla=14 months (3 weeks older than Nick)

Nicholas is letting Kayla tug his binkie...he's a push over for a cute girl!

Laughing and playing

Kayla says, "Oh, Nicholas, you are too funny!"

Nicholas says, "Kayla, you are so nice and you make me giggle, do you want to be my friend?"

Today Nicholas and I got to finally go and visit our new friends, Kayla, and her mommy, Shawna. Kayla is only 3 weeks older than Nicholas and she also has SMA. We met at a very cute baby boutique called Segal's and had fun looking around at all the baby gear. Then we went over to Shawna's sister's house and played for another hour or so. It was so nice to meet them...we both had a wonderful time. Kayla is just adorable and it was so nice for Nicholas to have a friend that is developmentally the same as him. The two kiddos were fast friends and had a lot of fun talking and playing together. We would love to get together for another play date very soon...maybe we will include our workaholic hubbys next time, too!

Thanks for the fun day Shawna & Kayla!

Disneyland Here We Come!

I am so fortunate to work with such an amazing staff. One of my co-workers heard me talking about the fact that Jeff and I want to take Nicholas to Disneyland sooner rather than later because of his SMA and told her husband about it. Her wonderful husband organized a Fund-a-Ride event for families to donate money for Nicholas to ride on various attractions at Disneyland. He also found a family who is willing to donate air miles for two seats on a plane for us! So this November we will be heading to Disneyland with our park passes and air fare completely paid for! Thank you to Matt and Jamie Kohler for organizing this for us. I truly means a lot to both Jeff and myself.

I am so excited to spend several days at the "Happiest Place on Earth" with the two people I love the most!

The Power of Prayer

I came across this amazing article today and wanted to share it with everyone:
http://www.kansas.com/196/story/861812.html.

Jeff and I truly believe that Nicholas's continued good health and strength comes straight from God. There are hundreds of people who pray for Nicholas daily and we believe that God hears each and every prayer and it is He who keeps our little boy so happy and healthy.

Look at Him Go!

First time in the stander

A power chair that is just his size!

Nicholas loves it!

A video of him driving the power chair with a little help from Molly, his physical therapist.