Nolan's first holiday season!!

  We have been keeping busy in the Hicks' household! Between Halloween, Nolan's 6 month milestone, travelling for Thanksgiving, and Christmas around the corner, we seem to be continually on the go! Nolan is growing like crazy, and I cannot believe he will be 7 months old tomorrow! He weighed 19lb 12 oz (85th percentile) and was 28 1/4 inches tall (95th percentile) at his 6 month check up. It's amazing how much he has changed over 6 months! He is very close to crawling which means it is baby proofing time for our house!!
  Nolan went as a Referee this year for Halloween. He didn't do any trick-or-treating, but did help mommy pass out candy to the other trick-or-treaters. He loved seeing the different costumes that came to the door and said he was excited for next year when he will be able to partake in the fun!
  We went down to Iowa to see Nana and Papa Payne the week before Thanksgiving. It is always so nice to get some away time and just relax for a few days! Nolan had a great time playing and being spoiled by Nana and Papa. Bromley also loves to go down there as he has gets a huge yard to run around in and play frisbee. We came back from Iowa and spent Thanksgiving Day with Grandma and Grandpa Anderson. Nolan celebrated Thanksgiving by having his first two teeth break through (bottom two teeth)! He knew we would be having a delicious meal at Grandma and Grandpa's so wanted to make sure he had his teeth out in time for dinner! :) I would say his first Thanksgiving was a success and it was great to be surrounded by those we love!
  We are now getting in the spirit for the Christmas holiday. We've got the house all decorated and most of the presents purchased. We are even getting an insane amount of snow as I write this! Nolan built his first snowman today, and I must say that he has pretty impressive 'snowman building' skills for only being 7 months old! ;) We plan on taking Nolan to see Santa Claus next weekend while we are in Duluth. So the Christmas spirit is definitely in the air and in the Hicks' household!
  Here are some pictures of the past couple months:

 

 Our Little Referee!

 

 

6 Months old!!

 

 

Following are photos from his 6 month photo session:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nolan opening his first Christmas present (The Solie's gave it to him early!)

 

 

The boys and I with Nolan's creation

 

 



Nolan and the final product!

 

 

 

We hope everyone has a blessed Christmas and a good New Year! Safe travels to everyone and we love you all!

 

Love- The Hicks Family

4 months and GROWING!

Sorry it has been a while since the last post, but life has been busy!! Nolan is now 4 and a half months old and is getting big. He had his 4 month check up a couple weeks ago and he was 26 and 1/2 inches long (90%), and 17 lb 0.2 oz (85%). So, needless to say, he is a pretty healthy boy! Along with growing, he is becoming much more social. It is fun to hear him babble and gab and we will sometimes wake up in the morning to him just having a conversation with himself in his crib! :) He is pretty much over his colic so that makes for much happier parents as well.

Over the past couple months we have done a lot. Nolan was able to visit some of his extended family when we made a trip down through Illinois to Indianapolis. It was great to see everyone and we are looking forward to our next trip down there! Nolan was also able to meet all of his great grandparents over the past couple of months, so that is a blessing. Mommy has returned to the working world, so that has been quite a change. He goes to a learning center/daycare 4 days a week and seems to be adjusting well (much better than mommy is adjusting ;-) ). Along with daycare, comes the illnesses. He had an ear infection in both ears, and is currently on antibiotics to get him back to normal. He seems to be feeling fine, so this is good! As summer is coming to a close, Nolan got to enjoy a few days at Grandma and Grandpa Anderson's new pool. He is excited to start swimming lessons there next summer! Lastly, we will be going to Iowa to see Grandma and Grandpa Payne this next weekend and Nolan will be going to his first college football game (Iowa vs. Minnesota)! Should be a fun first game :)

Here are some pictures of our little man over the past couple of months:

Ready for church with Great-Grandma Payne

 

 

Hanging out with cousin Brooke

 

 

Great Uncle Stan with his newest great nephews

 

 

Sleeping for Great Uncle Randy and Aunt Patty

 

 

Excited for a visit from Great Grandpa and Grandma Iverson

 

 

Iverson/Anderson/Hicks side of the family :)

 

 

3 month picture

 

 

Family night out for a high school football game

 

 

Nolan attempting to eat rice cereal (most of it ended up on his face!)

 

 

Nolan loves his jumper swing

 

 

4 month picture

 

 

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the last of the nice weather!

 

God bless and love y'all - The Hicks Family

Two months old!!

  Sorry for not posting more often, but turns out an infant can really keep a person busy!! :) Nolan is doing great and growing like crazy! He had his 2 month check up today. He was 23.5 inches long (85% on charts) and 13 lb 14 oz (90% on charts). So, needless to say, he is bulking right up!! He also got his first set of shots today. I think mommy got more upset than Nolan, as he handled them very well! He has also been sleeping for a good stretch at night, so this is great news too! :)
  The rest of the family is also doing well. Bromley has adjusted nicely to having his new brother around. He was bummed to have to share his attention, but has come to terms with it ;-) Aaron is working hard as always. His hydraulic pump that he has been working on over the past couple years is finally getting close to being released for production, so that is very exciting! So, along with being the most amazing father to Nolan, he is keeping very busy. I am almost done with my maternity leave, so that is a bummer! I go back to work in a few weeks, and then my mom is coming up to watch Nolan for a couple weeks until daycare is ready to take him. I'm thankful for this as that will hopefully be an easier adjustment to me going back to work.
Here are some pictures over the past two months:

Here is a photo from his portrait session when he was 2-weeks old.

More from the session....

Family photo with our 2-week old!

Daddy and Nolan on Father's Day! (along with some friends of ours and their 9 month old Brooklyn)

Nolan at 1 month (not very happy)

Family photo for Nolan's first 4th of July

Grandpa Anderson has the magic touch on calming Nolan down!

Nolan's 2 month pictures!



So, everything is going great in the Hick's Household. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying this summer. God bless and we love you all!
-Aaron, Stacey, Nolan, and Bromley

Nolan Curtis has arrived!!

 As most of you have heard, we were blessed with our little angel on May 10th at 1:02pm. Nolan Curtis Hicks was 8.6 oz and 21 inches long. He is absolutely perfect and Daddy and I are very proud parents! It has definitely been a lifestyle change having our son, but we are loving every minute of it (except maybe for the sleepless nights) :)

 He had his 2 week check up today, and everything is going great. He has gained half a pound and is in the 55% for weight and 95% for height. We won't have another appointment until his 2 month check up, so hopefully things continue to go well!

  I still need to download the pictures off of our camera, but here are a few that were taken from my cell phone in the meantime. We are also getting portraits taken tomorrow, so if those turn out okay, I will hopefully have more to post in the near future.

On his way to his first peds appointment - 5 days old

One of the first shots I could get with his eyes open! - 7 days old

Taking a nap with Daddy!!

11 days old :)

The hairstyle is the result of Daddy giving him a bath!

I will try to update this once we get some more pictures. Hope everyone is doing well and thanks for all the well wishes! We are doing great! Love you and God Bless!

Nursery updates and final month!

We are now 36 weeks, so only 4 more weeks to go!! Estimates guess that baby Hicks is about 6 lbs and 20 inches long. We are finishing up some last minute things, but for the most part, we are ready for his arrival! The following are some pictures of the nursery as it is in it's final stages. We still have some things to hang on the wall, but the furniture is all set. We plan on hanging his name above the crib.... but the name has yet to be determined! :-)

Here is a picture of the beautiful bassinet/cradle my parents made for us. Can't wait to fill it with our little guy!!





I am still doing pretty good. My energy level is definitely going down, but for the most part I can't complain! I just keep telling myself "4 more weeks, you can do this!" :) Aaron has also been such a great support- from backrubs to getting me ice cream, he has been wonderful!! Our dog, Bromley, is ready for his little brother to come as well. You can tell he is getting anxious and knows what is about to happen. He is within reach of Aaron and I at all times, just patiently awaiting the arrival.

Well, those are the only updates I can really think of! My next post may be after our bundle of joy arrives! I'll be sure to include lots of pictures. I hope everyone is doing well and we love you all!

Baby shower and a few maternity pictures

   Well, 33 weeks down and only 7 more to go! Estimates are that he is a little over 4.5 lbs now, so he is plumping right up! :-) He is definitely getting stronger as my rib cage has taken a couple good blows! Aside from his strength and some allergies, I have been feeling really good.
  Since the last time I've posted, we've had a baby shower and some maternity pictures taken. The shower was hosted by my friend, Becca, and it was such a good time. I definitely feel more prepared for the little one now, and am working on finishing up the nursery. My best friend flew up from Tennessee to attend the shower, and she took some pictures while she was up here. She is quite the photographer, as we are very pleased with the pictures we've seen so far!!
  I've attached some pictures from the baby shower and some of the maternity pictures I've gotten so far:

Group picture with my closest girlfriends who were at the shower!

Me with the Grandmas!!!

Our car was completely packed with gifts- we are so blessed and grateful!

Here are a few maternity pictures! I am thrilled with how talented Andrea is with a camera!!



I will try to get a couple more posts in before our little guy arrives. Love you all and hope everyone is doing well!
-The Hicks Family

Nursery Progress & Updates

  We are now about 30 weeks along and things are going great! Based on our dr's appointment this last week, the baby seems to be right on track. Estimates perdict that he is currently about 3 lbs and 17 inches long. He should only grow a few more inches but will fatten up these last 10 weeks. I can't believe we only have 10 weeks left to go!!

  My parents were in town this past week and we were so blessed to have them here. We have been slowly updating our basement, and can now say it is complete! In addition to the basement, we were able to get a start on the nursery. We still have a ways to go, but the following are some pictures of the progress so far:



Crib all ready to go for our sweet baby!

Bubba & Bea relaxing in our new rocker - (Grandma Payne made these teddy bears and outfits!)

Welcome to the Jungle! - (Grandma Payne also made all of these animals to go with our 'jungle' themed nursery)



HUGE thanks to my parents and husband for all the help and hardwork!

Finally, it looks like our son will have a big choice to make... Big 10 (Minnesota Gophers) or Big 12 (Kansas Jayhawks)?!? If he wants to be a winner, it is an obvious choice that he will choose the Big 12! (although mom may be biased because that's where she went to college):

(The onsies were a gift from my best friend, Andrea)

I will try to update this again in a few weeks! God bless and hope everyone is doing well!!