Three For One

We're going to go ahead and do Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas all in one post because I'm so efficient....or a slacker....one of the two.

Here we have a Secret Service Agent, a Baby, and folks, he's back again for another year in a row...Mike Wazowski.

A little Thanksgiving fun in a pumpkin patch....

"Skipping Hippo" at his preschool Thanksgiving Feast. (Of course it would be my kid who would come up with "Skipping Hippo.")

Here's Carter at his Thanksgiving Pie Taste Testing Party at school. (Our chocolate creme pie with graham cracker crust won by the way...hoo hoo ha ha ha!)

Finally, a little bit of Christmas...we have a family tradition of making gingerbread houses every year.

Here's Taylor playing "Jingle Bells" on our $78.00 piano that I LOVE. (You heard me right...$78.00!)

Taylor set up a nice little registration table for Santa with a tissue paper table cloth, letters, cookies & a centerpiece.

Below are a few pictures of Christmas morning. I have no idea why I have no pictures of Carter. Perhaps he wasn't there? I will have to put a fake one in because once again I am a slacker.

And the best Christmas present of all....a visit from Great Grandma Reel from Dallas, Texas! The kids adore her.

Our yearly four-generation picture...

And that's all folks. Hopefully in 2010 I can become a better blogger. :)

Too Bad for Joseph!

Here's a conversation Tate's pwhetty pwheschool teacher shared with me.

Teacher: ....and then Mary and Joseph had to travel all the way to Bethlehem! It was a really long journey. Mary rode on the donkey and Joseph walked....

Tate: Too bad for Joseph!

Yeah...too bad he wasn't 9 months pregnant riding a donkey.

Merry Christmas 2009

2009 Nikolaus Family Top Ten

10. Over-scheduling: baseball, soccer, gymnastics, Scouts, piano, preschool, church activities, softball, races and occasional sleep.

9. Taylor’s Thoroughness: Don’t forget if you visit her room to sign-in on her color-coded white board attached to her door. You can also read her word of the week and her insightful “Taylor Tip of the Month.” (i.e. October’s Tip: Never super-glue your hand to the phone.)

8. Carter’s Loyalty to His Clothing: He wears the same black suit EVERY SUNDAY, the same gray Underarmour shirt twice a week, and the same Show Low Cougars baseball hat at every outing...and yes he does have other clothes.

7. Casanova Tate: He had a thing for his “pwhetty” swim teacher and his “pwhetty pwheschool” teacher. He also says that when he marries his friend Madelynn, he’ll get them a limo, and she’ll make him Eggos for breakfast.

6. Park City Vacation: visited family & friends, temple square, saw the Mormon Tab perform, hiked Timpanogas cave, did the Alpine slide, and took some amazing pictures for life-long memories...then I accidentally erased all of them. Uh-oh.

5. Cultural Arts Appreciation: We went to Wicked as a family. (Note to Self: Should have brought Kleenex for our high-elevation nose bleeds. )

4. Endurance: Our 2000 Isuzu Rodeo WILL...NOT... DIE! Will somebody pleeeeeease make it die?!?

3. Perspective: Being 30-something is completely underrated. The muffin-top and spare-tire have seriously never looked so good.

2. Milestone: Carter was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We are so proud of our handsome, sweet boy.

1. Knowledge: With the loss of our sweet baby Crew in August, we can testify to all that the Lord is with us in all of our hardships, and that because of Him, we will have the opportunity to be reunited as a family for all eternity.

Each year we become more grateful in our hearts for our dear friends and family. Thank you for touching our lives in 2009. Merry Christmas!

Willy, Leslie, Taylor (9), Carter (8) and Tate (4) Nikolaus

Brief Moments

There has not been a day that has gone by since August 6th that my heart hasn't ached for our Baby Crew. Yes, with each passing day the memory stings a little less, but the hole is still there and will always be. He was my child, and I miss him every single day. I am forever changed in many aspects...the good and the bad.

I would be having little Crew this month and pictured him with us at Christmas. I've been dreading this month for the fear of the unknown.

Perspective is a powerful thing. The day before Thanksgiving I was walking out of Carter's school party and an overwhelming feeling of gratitude filled me. As I was walking to my car, tears filled my eyes as I felt so blessed....blessed to have had the opportunity to carry Crew for that 19 weeks. I felt him move inside of me. I saw a glimpse of his personality on several ultra sounds. I held him. I talked to him. I kissed his forehead. I told him that I loved him and that I'd see him again. It was a gift to be able to say good-bye and to know that he was my child. It was the purest gratitude, and I'm thankful to have felt it for that brief moment.

I wish I could always have that feeling. I wish I was a big fatso with back labor and swollen ankles. I wish I could hold him again right now. I wish I could watch him grow. I wish a lot of things.

But I know that this pain is necessary, and as much as I hurt, I know Heavenly Father knows what He is doing. This pain has helped me understand the Savior more. He endured my pain along with everyone else's. He is an example in every way. When He was in the Garden, He called out to His Father for help. I believe another reason for this was to show us where to go when we are broken and in need of help only God can give.

Perspective is key. I will try to hold onto those brief moments of clarity and recognize the source. As I look at attributes of the Savior...courage, humility, charity...I know that through His example, He can guide us to peace.

Going Private

In Jan. 2010 I will be going private. Email me at wlnikolaus@msn.com if you want an invite or just leave a comment.

Me and the Naked Lady

Lately I've been enjoying the sauna at my gym. After my workout, I will spend 10-20 minutes in the sauna...thinking, relaxing, excreting the toxins from my body. It's very nice, and I feel great afterwards.

Today in the sauna it was me and the naked lady. She was stark-naked...nadda...in the raw...except for her flip-flops. HUH? Here's what I don't get...the North and South were fully exposed, yet she felt the need for flip-flops. Why? Don't get it.

Here's another thing I don't get. Why do people think they can walk around the locker room au natural? If you have to change your clothes or take a shower, that's a different story. That's what locker rooms are for. But why prance around the locker room naked? USE A TOWEL! Even worse is the sauna.

Back to naked lady...so I walk in the sauna and just gasped. It's not like I haven't seen the upstairs and downstairs of a naked lady before. Afterall, I, myself, am a lady. Heck, I see naked ladies all the time in the locker room. The weird thing was that it was just she and I in the sauna. Yep, just me and the naked lady. It's a first for me...sitting next to a naked lady...so casually. It just kind of summons an awkward moment.

Do I look at her? If I don't, it will be obvious that I'm feeling weird. However, if I do acknowledge her, is she going to think I'm staring at her, checking her out? Is that what she wants? I guess I could have just left, but I wanted to relax! So, I sat huddled in a fetal position in the corner realizing that there would be no possible way to relax with a naked lady lying down right in front of me! I decided to just close my eyes and go to that "special place."

I know you are wondering 2 things.
1) Did I look at her? Of course I did. Curiosity always kills the cat.
2) Was she a hot girl? No. She should never have been naked.

Tate's Worst Nightmare

Yep. That's her...Tate's worst nightmare. You may recognize Yzma from The Emperor's New Groove. It just cracks me up that Tate is so scared of her. How can he be scared of this cartoon purple, skinny lady? He's even turned to a Higher Power in his prayers and asked for help to not dream of Yzma. He doesn't blink an eye at Darth Vader, Darth Maul, or the dude on Indiana Jones who rips a man's heart out. I don't get it. Yzma???