Our Weekend Recap

It's finally fall in Austin! After a record breaking summer (hottest on record and 1 day away from most 100 + days since 1929 (68)) we are thrilled to enjoy the change in season. This past weekend we had crisp cool mornings, sunny afternoons and warm evenings. We enjoy sitting on our front patio watching the sunset over Lake Travis (not that we can see the lake, but still, we know its there)

Friday night, I spent a couple hours packing away the summer shorts, the tank tops, and rotating in the winter clothes for the boys. Brandon has a lot of "new" stuff that Nicky never wore because it was too hot when Nicky was size 3-6 months. I pulled out some puffy vests and sweat suits for the boys to wear this past weekend. Even though its not that cold, its still fun to dress them up like little sausages.

We had a lazy Saturday morning and had breakfast at Panera Bread followed by a stop at the new Nordstrom Rack that opened here in Austin.  On the way home we stopped at the park and watched some of the local boys (and girls) play flag football! Brandon hung out with daddy on the sidelines, while mommy pushed Nicky in the swing and  chased him around the park. Nicky is getting so big,  he can even go down the slide all by himself!

Saturday afternoon, Dan watched both boys while I went to my friend April's baby shower for her baby girl McKenna. She arrives in late December and we can't wait to meet her. (Speaking of new arrivals, I have 9 friends pregnant right now! Holy Cow!)

When I came home, we all went to Tara and Aaron's daughter Hayley's 1st Birthday party. Nicky's friend from school Kylie Jo and her mom Stacie were there. Nicky had a great time sharing his shoes with Kylie, looking at some 1 week old bulldog puppies, and hanging out with the rest of the kids. Lori came over around 6:30 to babysit while we went to dinner and a movie. Dan and I never made it to the movie, but we enjoyed a nice dinner at Rocco's and had some after dinner drinks at Fion while we caught the end of the Longhorn game. We were home by 9pm, but enjoyed winding down to catch up on our shows: Heroes, Desperate Housewives, Flashforward, and The Next Iron Chef.

Sunday we had plans to visit the Sweet Berry Farm Pumpkin Patch, but decided against the hour and a half drive and spent the morning hanging out at Starbucks and grocery shopping at the HEB. After naptime, we headed over to Lifetime Fitness just to LOOK. We signed on the dotted line after we discovered they provide 2 hours of free babysitting each day!! BEST MONEY SPENT EVER!!

We are excited to belong to another club, like Pacific Athletic Club and can't wait to start working out again (haha right). They even have a heated indoor pool equipped with water slides! I have a feeling we will be spending a lot of time at the new club. You can check out the club here!

This is an exciting week because Brandon started at Primrose and Grandma Booba comes to visit. This upcoming weekend is Halloween and the boys have the CUTEST costumes. You'll have to wait and see!

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New Pictures and Videos Posted

Both my cameras are broken but I managed to take more pictures! I have over 13,000 pictures posted on Flickr and 138 videos. Go figure.

I Posted these sets to Flickr:

Brandon -week 15
(Updated) Nicholas - 17 months
Hayley's 1st Birthday
April's Baby Shower

New Videos on YouTube!
Playing in the Rain boots
Nicky and Brandon!
Brandon in his Bumbo...
Brandon rolls over
Brandon and his Lion

Enjoy!

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Brandon's First Day at Primrose

Brandon started his first day at Primrose today. Its a raining day in Austin, so I took advantage of the weather and dressed the boys in matching sweat suits. Yay!

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Caught! Brandon Rolls over!

Brandon has been very elusive about his new milestone, but I finally got him on camera rolling over like a big boy last night!

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Piggies and Babies

I love pigs. And they are alot like babies. Pigs and babies are cute. and soft and squishy. and pink and dirty. Mine even snort.

Babe the pig once said, "If I had words to make a day for you. I'd give you a morning... golden and true. I would make this day last... for all time. And fill the night...with moon shine." 

Moms will do anything for their babies, including keeping them safe and healthy. But its not fun when they get the swine flu.  Nicky is all recovered now.  No signs of any symptoms for Brandon...or me. I have Tamilfu just in case. And that's kinda like Moon Shine. And that deserves a  La La La!

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My Letter to Nicholas - 17 months

Dear Nicholas,

Happy 17 month birthday, my angel. I've decided to write you a letter each month to document your accomplishments and try to capture what life is like for you at this time. Needless to say, you (and your brother) have become what I live for. I love watching you develop into my little man. I wont say that these past months are easy - you are a handful! You're daddy and I never know what will come next with you. Nicky, you are wild, completely unpredictable, non-stop chaos and delight, willful and adorable, smart and playful, curious and stubborn. You test us each day, mostly Daddy...Mommy has more patience :).

At 17 months, you have become very vocal and make sure we all know. I tried making a list of all your words, but now I can't keep up. This month, you started shaking your head Yes and No. You can repeat almost any word we say. You will often throw your hands up and say "I don't know". Right now we are working on "Trick or Treat", but it's still a tongue twister. I have no doubt you will have it down pat in time for Halloween.

You can say the names of your friends at school, especially Kylee Jo. It comes out...Kaiyee. Speaking of school, I love watching you through the window before we pick you up. I can't describe the rush of emotion I feel every time I see you so independent - playing with your friends, dancing to the music, covered in paint, or even sitting by your self reading a book. I am so proud of you.

Nicholas, you must get this from me - you love books. I think most kids do, but I hope this love stays with you. It will open up a whole new world for you one day. I can't wait to read you the Harry Potter series. Mostly because I can't wait to read them again!

Right now you sit in the "book closet" before bedtime and we read all your books. We try to finish off with Good Night Moon - it seems to calm you down - if that's possible. Then we say "Good Night Daddy, Mommy, Brandon (baby), Roxy, Zeus, Grandmas and Grandpas, Alex, Val, Frank, and Amy." and then we go to your room, turn on your lullaby music, give you your nini, your blankets, and you grab all the tags and put them to your ear.

I kiss you good night and *hope* that you will lay down and go to sleep. If we are lucky you do, if not, its about 10 - 30 minutes of you crying out for us. It breaks our hearts, and many times Daddy gives in and goes up there to sing you softly to sleep. He sings "Good Night Nicky, Good Night Nicky, Good Night Nicky, goodnight, goodnight, goodnight." it works. You adore your Daddy.

At 17 months you can eat with a fork and spoon. You love to drink out of a water bottle and can even put the cap back on. At dinner time like to play with your food, and usually throw it all on the floor for the doggies to pick up. You say "Ca" for Chocolate because Daddy gives you Hershey Kisses. You tell us when you want juice or milk or water. Your favorite foods are still fruit and crackers, but you also like hot dogs, fish, chicken, pasta, anything Mexican or Thai or Chinese. Usually the best way to get you to eat EVERYTHING is to feed you on our laps. This is like a treat for you!

Nicky, you are so loving. You will kiss us and hug us. Sometimes bite us. That's fun.

Every morning when you wake up you climb up on our bed and hug the doggies. Roxy and Zeus usually respond by licking you all over. This makes you laugh. You are so ticklish and we love to rough house with you. You usually say MORE! MORE! and we have to flip you upside down until you are dizzy and we are exhausted.

I love to hear you say Mommy, to watch you sweep the floor, to hear you say Ra for Roxy. I love watching you run around the couch and wait for us to catch you. I love watching you fall asleep, and I can't wait to feel your arms around me. I love it when you smile and when you say a new word. I love your little tail, and the color of your eyes. I love it when you clap after you have accomplished something. I love when you hold my hand. I love when you draw on the new floors and when you run away from dead bugs. I love dressing you in cute clothes and watching you run around naked. I love when you kiss your brother, and when you fall asleep with Daddy. I love YOU and love being your Mommy. I am so lucky you are mine.

I love you always,

Mommy

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Poopoo in the Potty.

Yesterday marked a new chapter in Potty Training at the Abelings. It has started. We don't have an agenda. And we don't have a time line. We got a potty only because Nicky showed so much interest in the "activity" and he likes to say pee pee and poo poo. It was most likely a fluke, but for me it was a step. a BIG baby step. Yesterday Nicholas told me he had to poo poo. so we ran to the potty. and then it went in the potty. and he got a potty cookie (aka. Chocolate chips) and there was jumping and clapping and all sorts of happiness. And yes, here is a picture.Of Nicky, not the poop.

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Roxy and her Boys

Roxy loves babies. Especially Brandon and Nicky. She is watchful, attentive, and their fierce protector. She loves to snuggle with them and french kiss them. She goes on walks with them. She eats their toys and food...and they eat hers (well Nicky, not Brandon. YET). She also take memorable pictures with the boys. Here was my favorite picture of Nicky and Roxy at 14 weeks and I re-created it with Brandon last night. I also had to get that outfit on Brandon before it got too cold.

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Daily Cuteness of Nicholas

because I ADORE him...

 

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Brandon is 3 months!

Brandon turned 3 months old on Saturday! My baby is no longer considered a baby, but an infant! 3 months has many milestones for babies and Brandon seems to be on track. Click here to see what a 3 month old is up to!

Brandon is about 14 pounds now and is starting to fit into size 3-6. I am still trying to get through most of Nicky's 0-3 stuff before I pack it away for Valerie. (But Val's having girls, so i don't know why I bother! UPDATE: AMY or ALEX too! I don't care, I just want some NIECES!!!)

Brandon's hair is starting to grow and he is not losing it like Nicky did. Unfortunately there still seems to be no sign of the Abeling tail, and it makes me a little sad. I love Nickys. BUT, I do see a small widows peak, like his Uncle Frank, so maybe the Abeling's are know for peaks AND tails. :) aren't they lucky?

This past week he rolled over about 3 or 4 times, but its still a great effort and I have not been able to catch the actual event on video yet!  He is wasting no time, and has accomplished front to back and back to front. He can hold his upper body up for long periods at a time, and has even spent some time in his Bumbo chair, albeit a bit wobbly at first. You can see him working very hard to sit up. I went back and checked and at the same time (13 weeks) was when we first put Nicky in the Bumbo too. We have started some baby calestenics and working on our sit ups.

Brandon is "talking" a lot now. He will spend 10- 15 minutes chatting and singing about his day when he is hanging out in your lap. He loves to sit facing you so he can see you. He is a very smilely baby and loves to stick out his tounge. He is learning to grasp and bring things to his mouth, and I belive he has started to teethe. I can feel some sharp points in his lower gums and all the drooling is making a gorgeous rash around his lips. Nicky's first tooth was visible at week 20, but he started teething right around his Baptism between 3 -4 months.  

Brandon is a little bit easier baby because he will hang out in your arms, on the floor, in a chair, or swing and let you get some things done around the house. He also likes to be carried around in the baby carrier after he is done crying. :)

Brandon is still not sleeping through the night which has been very difficult. He goes about 4 hours and then tends to get up every 2/3 after that. He loves to be swaddled and it comforts him so i am hoping ecentually he will catch on and start sleeping or Mommy will go crazy. He is still sleeping in his Amby and in our room. Until he can sleep through the night, he will stay with us.

Here is a side by side comparison of Nicky and Brandon at 13 weeks:

          

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I hate this bolgging tool!

My edit HTML tool is all messed up. I can't seen to format these posts without making the pictures look at out of place and disjointed. UGH. bear with me as I learn how to do more sophisticated HTML. Maybe its not compatible with Modzilla??? lameo.

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Nicholas and Avery: Best Friends!

2 years ago I called one of my best friends Hilary to tell her I was pregnant. The call went something like this
Vicci: Hilary, Guess what?
Hilary: what?
Vicci: I am pregnant!
Hilary: Um, can I call you back?
Vicci: Sure...

so Hilary hung up and I tried to decided if i still liked her or not (jk!). Not 5 minutes later, she called me back with the news, "We're pregnant too!" So it turns out we were 1 week apart. May 10, 2008 Nicholas was born and 18 days later, Avery Elizabeth was welcomed. We try to see each other as much as we can and getting pictures of the 2 little ones together has been a highlight. Here are some of my favorites of their last 17
months!
They met for the first time in Aug 08. Here they are at 3 months at Nicholas' Baptism

Then they met again at Christmas for a baby play date! Both were sitting up by then!

 Hilary and Eric came to visit this weekend and they met again at 17 months! We had a great weekend in Austin. Both of them have grown up so much and enjoyed playing with each other. I hope they stay great friends for a long time!

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What color is that?

The flood gates have opened! I can no longer keep up with the vocabulary...over the last couple of weeks we added way too many words to keep up. We can ask him to say something and he will repeat the same word. He also can recognize that fire, steam, and  food is "HOT". Usually this is followed by him blowing to cool it down while he says hot, hot, hot.  And he also started to answer questions, like what color are the trees (gween) and where is your X? He said "I don't know" the other day when we asked him where his nini is. His pacifier. SO SMART. My little Einstein.
He said lots of new names at the baptism Alex, Amy, Bob, Donna, Ellen, and Vic. We successfully got him to say BOOBA, too!

Here he is answering some questions in the pool.

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Nicky wins first round!

Brandon hasn't rolled over yet...although Dan says it has happened. This is week 12.5. Until I see it, it can not be confirmed. Sibling competition has already started. Nicky first rolled at 11 and a half weeks. Let's go back and reminisce :)

Nicky Rolls Over

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