Want to know the latest on, 'The Boy'?
Stop by this page for an update on all the milestones, happenings and general
gossip.
November 2007:
Nico is growing up so fast. He says some really funny things. Auntie Lynn asked him if he wanted some more sandwich and he said, “No, but I’d be delighted to have some more chips.” No one else in our family is that polite! He can tell the difference between parallel, perpendicular and co-linear lines. This is very handy information for any three and a half year old. He’s very good with numbers, but doesn’t much care for the alphabet, unless he’s singing the ABC’s using only made-up words. Singing and fart noises are a constant comfort to Nico’s sister.
Before it got to chilly to swim, Nico could make it from the bubble seat to the steps in the pool all by himself. He’s getting very confident with his swimming ability, but still uses the water wings to go off the diving board. If he had any body fat whatsoever, he’d be able to float and could swim a lot better. As it is, he sinks like a stone. I’m wondering what we’ll do all winter, now that it’s too cold to swim!
Nico recently got to go to a wedding and asked a girl to dance with him. Then he danced with the bride and all the bridesmaids and asked another girl, too. He’s not shy and he likes the pretty ladies! Nico’s Auntie Lynn looked after him for a whole week at the farm over Thanksgiving. It’s never boring when you get to help feed the pigeons, pick up eggs, and crawl around under the house trying to catch mice. How can we compete with that? It’s awfully nice to have him home again though.Love Rebecca
November 2006:
Nico is now offically a big Brother, he is doing just famously in his new role and is constantly making us so very proud. The main comment that we get about Nico is that he is very polite and has an extemely large vocabulary, which doesn't really come as a surprise because from the moment he wakes in the morning till bedtime at night he is constantly talking wispering or making up little songs! The boy is never quiet, when he runs out of words he just starts making up new ones and when asked what 'zuzrsessy zup dorty flup' means the answer is usually stated as "its in Spanish!", very very cute indeed.
I know that my comments are probably either rather biased or maybe nieve but We think that Nico is incredibly smart, for example he comes up with extremly inventive ways of getting out of taking a, or the delaying as long as possible of, a nap. One day it was "I have to go potty" when this failed to gain more than the few minutes of extra awake time the next day it was "I have to poop, but it is hard" (as in I'm constipated or something) and proceded to sit on the pot for 15 minutes with no evidence of a BM what so ever! Hehehe Nico certianly keeps us thinking that is for sure.
To sum it all up in as few words as possible: we are a very happy family of 4 now and all is just perfect.
May 2005:
Nico's Opa (Grand Pa) flew all the way from New Zealand for Nico's 1st birthday and brought along a suitcase stuffed full of prerzzies for him and now Nico is absolutly offically spoiled rotten! We all had a wonderfull time while he was here and made sure to visit the all you can eat buffet at Golden Corral, more than once, it was a real blast and we were sure to eat all that we could! Summer is here in Texas and boy is it hot! We have already had 100 degree days and it is only the beginning of July! Just in case you are wondering the pool has been put to very good use by all, Nico loves the water and looks to be a budding swimmer, holding his breath and dunking his head under.
2005 is going to be a great year filled with watching our Son grow, he is such a good wee man and we know that this year will be a lot of fun, we look forward to sharing it with you!
Five Month update: By Rebecca.
Nico, Hank and I went up to Waxahachie for the 2nd Annual Bow Wow Howl-O-Ween Hustle. Lynn and I went to it last year with Hank and Zoey and we had alot of fun, so we decided that Nico would enjoy it too. It was a mile long walk for people and their dogs with a Halloween theme. Alot of the dogs were wearing costumes, as well as their owners. They had contests and gave out prizes for Fastest Tail, Best Trick for a Treat, and Most Expressive Eyes. Nico and Hank entered the Pet/Owner Look-Alike contest. They both had little black shirts that Lynn got them with little skull and crossbones in studs on them. Nico had a tan, furry hat with a black snout and ears to look like Hank, but he didn't want to wear it! They didn't win, but they were a hit because Hank had to ride on the top of the stroller so as not to get wet feet! Then, after the walk when Nico wanted out of the stroller, Hank got in!
Nico is getting his first teeth, 2 on the bottom, they don't seem to be bothering him at all, he likes to have his finger in there constantly so he can check on them and make sure they are still in there. He can also just about crawl and is getting around quite well already. He can get up on hands and knees and rocks back and forth and then lunges forward, sometimes falling onto his face, but mostly scooting along and rolling. He is pretty quick at getting to what he wants, which is Flobee's tail or paw but generally is something nasty to put in his mouth, like a dog toy! Speaking of dog toys, Flobee and hank have a hard time distinguishing dog toys from Nico's toys!!
It was funny other day I was speaking on the phone and said , "I have to take Nico to the vet. I mean, I have to take Hank to the vet! No, I mean, I have to take Nico to the doctor!!" I've only got the two of them and I'm having trouble. It's because they are both the little cute boys!!
Nico has started to eat solid foods and is having some cereal, he is doing great with it. He had rice cereal for about 4 days then moved on to barley which he didn't care too much for. He's just tried some oatmeal and thinks that it is fine. He wants to have the spoon and the bowl and wants both hands in his mouth in order to help. We manage to get most of it down him and the rest of it gets in his hair, in his ears and covers him head to toe! It is very exciting and fun and messy. Damian will get some movies onto the website soon.
Tomorrow is Halloween and Nico has bumble bee costume for Trick or Treating. We'll take more pictures. Luckily, he is such a photogenic boy!
Love, Rebecca.
Three Month update: By Rebecca.
I'm just sitting here at the computer with Nico in his bouncy chair next to me and he is just talking his little head off! He's having an entire conversation with himself. He's very chatty. He's just starting to try to imitate sounds back and I swear he said "hello" to Damian the other day. He's holding his head up very nicely now. When he starts to get tired, it wobbles a little bit and he looks like he's drunk! When he is on his stomach, which he doesn't really care for, he can hold his head up off the floor and look from side to side.
I've been trying to get him to hold onto things and the day before yesterday he got a good grip on a little stuffed lamb Damian got for him and Nico got it's nose into his mouth for a good chew. He's just been chewing his hands like crazy. We think he might be left handed because he prefers to eat the left hand , maybe it just tastes better ! He's just started to chew on his fingers as well. I had to have a talk with him about not sticking his fingers down his throat , he keeps gagging on them , I also had to lecture him about only rubbing his eyes when they're closed!
He's just so incredibly smiley and is happy almost all the time. Even when he gets irritable, we can always settle him down with no troubles and we're getting a schedule going now too. He usually goes to sleep about 8 or 9 in the evening without any trouble. The last few nights he's woken up once during the night around 1 or 2am to eat and then goes right back to sleep. At about 5, he wakes up again to eat and is ready to go! Damian has been getting up with him and putting him in the front pack carrier and they go out and walk around the neighborhood while it's still cool and Flobee goes along to help. They usually go for about 3 or 4 miles. When they get home, Nico goes into the baby bubble and hangs out by the pool and Damian has his coffee and breakfast in the pool. While all this is going on, Hank and I are blissfully still asleep! I get up when Damian goes to work and Nico and I have breakfast while he's in his swing. He likes to have a decent mid-morning nap and another one in the afternoon.
We've been going out and doing lots of stuff during the day. We try to go do at least one thing every day so we have to leave the house and it makes the day go by alot faster. We've been trying to go for a walk early in the morning in the stroller or we go to Highland mall later in the day for a good long walk in the air conditioning! We've gone to see a few movies. There is a theatre right down the street from us that has Baby Day on Tuesdays. The first show of each movie is for Moms and babies. Sometimes there are as many as 30 babies there. Most of the time there isn't too much crying, but it's nice to know that no one is going to glare at us if Nico wants to yell a little bit! I met a nice woman on our street who has a little girl who is 4 1/2 months and we've been going together.
Yesterday, we went back to the doctor again. He is being very careful about Nico's slight anemia. At three months, his hematocrit number is supposed to be 33. I'm not sure what it is, but I think it measures the iron level in the blood. Well, it was 30, 27, 25, 31, 30, then yesterday it was 32 which was really close! He weighed 13 pounds and 11 ounces. He's gaining weight like crazy. It's so cool to count the new fat rolls that appear on his little thighs and arms! And he's definitely got the Buddha belly going on!
Damian had to go to Dallas for work last week. He called me from work at 8am and by 8:45 we were all packed and on the road together. Nico really likes riding in the car seat and usually falls asleep. He slept the whole way up there and Damian dropped us off at Lynn's house in Waxahachie before continuing on to his job. Lynn and I went shopping and we all went out to dinner. We only stayed overnight for a whirlwind visit, but it was a nice little trip. That's when Lynn bought Nico his first real shoes! They look so great on him. I had to agree to let Lynn have one of the shoes when he outgrows them. They'll still be perfect; it's not like they're going to get dirty or anything! He only gets to wear them when we're going out. Otherwise he keeps kicking me with them! He's got to work out those little chubby legs and arms all the time. He looks so grown up with shoes on!
Well, I was just going to write you a short update, but I turned it into a novel! Love to everybody, Rebecca
The Very Beginning: By Damian
:: Nico Lazarus ::
Born 4:05am May 18 2004.
Saint Davids Hospital, Austin Texas.
7 Lb 7 OzMr Nico Lazarus was born at Saint David's Hospital in Austin Texas on a Tuesday morning, by caesarean section to his new and extremely proud parents.
Rebecca woke up at around 11:30pm on Monday night; "I think my water broke!?", well we had better call the Doctor, he did say to call as soon as it happened huh. Dr Jerry was then woken up at about 12:30; 'get yourselves into the Hospital, I will meet you there.'
Yea, it is finally happening, all that waiting is about to be over we had better collect all our pre packed stuff and head on off....... well so much for being prepared, while Rebecca was calmly assembling her night gowns and robes into a sports bag Damian was franticly looking for his shoes, car keys, wallet......brain. I couldn't believe it, I had lost the most basic forms of my personal attire, it was amazing where they turned up, in places where they normally reside like the CLOSET! Hey Mum wake up, Rebecca is in labour!
Into the car and accompanied by the 'soothing tones' of the Simpson's wrist watch "Are we there yet? - NO!" we head out into the night, at least I had filled the tank with gas...... Rebecca is getting very excited and nervously laughs at my lack of driving abilities as I get us trapped at the wrong garage entrance, which is one way, and I have to Austin Powers the car over multiple speed humps to get us turned around and back on track, it was good to see the hospital entrance at the next turn. Up to the 3rd floor and we are checking in at the maternity ward in no time flat.
Labour and delivery room # 16. We fill out a bunch of forms and the baby gets the first piece of paper, the admittance form, I am wondering who will sign it because the baby is still inside the belly. A quick check of the cell signal shows one bar, whew, and a call is placed to Don and Edie but no one answers, "Lynn will answer, give her a call".
Rebecca is hooked up to a baby monitor and we all listen to the heart beating at 120bpm, things are starting to happen quickly now and the contractions are coming on stronger, the heart beat of the baby increases to the around 160 mark during the contractions. It is really starting to sink in that this is it, you can feel the nervous energy in the room as the heart rate increases, Rebecca is looking a little scared. Dr Jerry arrives, his usual casual demeanor changed, he is far more serious and only has eyes and ears for his patient, he gives Rebecca the once over, she is coming along fine although the question of a natural child birth remains and the term 'Trial by Labour ' is uttered........The contractions are pretty much coming one on top of the next, woh the pain is incredible and there is no way of slowing things down, the baby's heart rate is up and down like a roller coaster 120 then 160, 120, 160, the sound of the machine is adding to the mixture of fear and excitement, Rebecca cries "what should I do?" it is her decision, Rebecca is about 5cm's.
"I want the C-section, while the baby is still OK, and not stressed out" Dr Jerry agrees with Rebecca's decision, it is the right choice.
A whirl wind of activity commences and she is wheeled out to the O.R. "I will see you in a minute" . I'm now dressed in a white bunny suit with booties, hair net and mask sitting on a cold aluminum chair outside listening to all the goings on, Rebecca is being prepped for the operation. I spend 15 minutes watching Dr Jerry scrub his hands and arms up to the elbow, my god how far is he going in? Still with only one bar reception I make a shaky and broken up voiced call to Don and Edie to leave the message, "Rebecca is in the O.R we are going to be parents very soon!"
She is laying there with one arm stretched out and a multitude of tubing snaking here and there, there are about 10 people in the room, a blue sheet has been strung across 2 poles at chest height, the heart beat is now Rebecca's, 65bpm, it must be the drugs because she looks like she wants to run....... The same cold aluminum chair is now at her head and I take station "everything will be just fine, you are doing great" I say it more for my own benefit than hers I think. She seems to relax a little.
Sucking is accompanied by the smell of the cauterize tool we are under way. "........there is the head, the cord is around the neck" Dr Jerry says it with an even tone but you can tell the urgency, lots of people move; then "Hey Damian, stand up and look...."
Hey check that out, there is a head sticking out of Rebecca's belly, whoa. A nurse pushes down on her and our baby is born "What's the plumbing, what's the plumbing!?!" Dr Jerry is holding a very slippery looking baby 2 feet in the air above her, a white cord extends down and into her belly, "IT'S A BOY!" I exclaim loudly.
A quick glance around the room shows wonderment in everyone attending.
It is amazing, the nurses must have seen hundreds of births but yet still find it wondrous; eyes big a saucers like a child looking at the greatest gift. I will never forget the look on their faces, I am sure it was a mirror to our own. I bend down and look at my wife she is smiling broadly, I wish she could hold him.
His first cry arrives shortly after, loud and raucous.
We have a son and name him
NICO LAZARUS.
