Happy Birthday, Nicholas!

Nicholas' 5th Birthday was last week. Wow! Where does the time go?? He celebrated with a party at Chuck E Cheese last weekend then Paul and I took him to lunch on his actual birthday. When I told him he could go wherever he wanted, he chose McDonalds (but with the stipulation that we eat in the play area!). He is such a sweetheart! Of all my kids, he is definitely the most laid back - which is ironic since he was the most difficult pregnancy and delivery. While at lunch, Paul and I reminincsed about what was going on at that exact time five years ago (Nicholas was born at 1:17pm). The main thing I remember was thinking the pain was unbearable and that he either needed to come out or I needed to die! My epidural did not work and he came out at lightning speed (17 minutes and one push)! But it was all so worth it. Nicholas came along at a time in my life that was the pit of darkness. I found out I was unexpectantly pregnant with him just three months after my mom died. God knew what he was doing when he gave me this ray of sunshine. Because of the physical effects of the grief I was going through, I had a really rough pregnancy. I had no immune system the first half of my pregnancy and ended up hospitalized a week before Christmas with dehydration and contractions. I finally past a milestone around 25 weeks and began to feel better. However, at 32 weeks I went into pre-term labor and was put on bedrest while in and out of the hospital the rest of my pregnancy. Finally, at 39 weeks I developed preeclampsia and had to be induced to avoid a stroke. I think one of the most memorable moments from that time was one night when I was 34 or 35 weeks. Former Dallas Cowboy Randy White was at our house picking up some business cards that Paul had done for him. They were in his office chatting and I knew Paul was in heaven as he is such a big fan. Meanwhile, I'm in the family room having big time contractions 5-6 minutes apart! I called my dad and asked him to come up and stay with the older two. As soon as Randy left, my dad shows up to Paul's surprise. I told him to hurry and get in the car because we were headed to the hospital again. Luckily, each time they were able to stop my contractions and stabilize me so that I could go home and remain on bedrest there.

Now for a little about Nicholas these days. He had a Star Wars party (which is his newest craze). When we went to pick out his cake, he chose a Scooby Doo cake. I tried to explain that all his decorations were Star Wars that he had picked out, but he insisted on the Scooby Doo. His newest thing is to give me a thumbs up and for me to do it back to him. He loves doing this especially during his soccer games. The problem is he often does it to me after he's just pushed another kid down or kicked the ball the wrong direction! His other thing is to tell me he "very, very, very, very,.... loves me. I then say it back to him and it turns into a game to see who can say the most "very's". We have always called him our Campbell soup kid, because he has the face of the Campbell soup boy. He is the epitome of childhood innocense. He almost always has a smile on his face and just wants to make us happy. More than anything he just wants to be near us. Everyone needs a Nicholas in their lives!!

Happy Birthday, my Nicho-licko-lous!!