The Nichols Family: Dustin, Emily & Dylan (and Jack & Zoe too!)

Our new home!

2011-07-01T08:09:00.000-07:00

House for sale!

2011-06-05T08:03:00.000-07:00

After 7 years in our first home, we've finally outgrown it with a little boy, 2 dogs & another little one on the way. It's for sure bittersweet, but we're so excited for this next chapter in our lives!

Announcing....

2011-05-22T07:56:00.000-07:00

Our newest addition!

ETA: 11/11/11

We are so thrilled & Dylan is excited about becoming a big brother!

Here fishey, fishey!

2011-05-20T07:49:00.000-07:00

Dylan is a natural fisherman! I wonder where he gets it from? :)

Gobble, Gobble!

2011-04-28T07:43:00.000-07:00

Happy 2nd Birthday to Penny!

2011-04-23T07:40:00.000-07:00

Penny had a super fun ice cream cone party! Dylan & Penny just adore each other so it's always fun when they get together!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-15T07:31:00.000-07:00

Our little bunny

We're all ready to start dyeing our eggs!

Kisses for the photographer :)

The wascally wabbit!

Big boy bed!

2011-04-10T07:42:00.000-07:00

Hoppy Froggy

2011-03-20T08:06:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st Birthday, Zoe!!!

2011-03-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

Dylan's 3rd Birthday!

2011-03-11T07:45:00.000-08:00

We had all our family over to celebrate Dylan's 3rd Birthday!!! He wanted red cake & tacos and there was a lot of Toy Story stuff from the cake decorations to most of his presents! Dylan had been patiently waiting for his big day & is always curious about whose birthday is next!

His red velvet cake from Nana Nichols

Of course Jack & Zoe celebrated too!!!

Mommy & Daddy with our big boy with the big personality!

Sleeping in the tub?

2011-03-01T07:29:00.000-08:00

I guess it would be cool on his belly for Jack to sleep in the tub! More than likely he got tired waiting for us to come give him a drink!

Like father, like son!

2011-02-20T07:56:00.000-08:00

Could Dustin & Dylan's feet look anymore alike??? (apart from Dyl not being so hairy?)

Bff's

2011-02-15T10:10:00.000-08:00

Chicago

2011-02-12T10:03:00.000-08:00

Dustin and I took a trip to Chicago for Valentine's weekend and we had fun just the two of us! The only pictures we took were while we were goofing off at the Bean!

Backyard Fun!

2011-02-06T09:51:00.000-08:00

Oreo Face

2011-02-04T09:44:00.000-08:00

Rub A Dub Dub!

2011-01-29T09:32:00.000-08:00

Two crazy cousins in the tub!!!

Sledding!

2011-01-18T09:24:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure who had more fun..the dogs or us!

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T17:36:00.000-08:00

Dustin and I got dressed up and went to Usual Suspects in Broad Ripple for New Years! We had so much fun and part of the $$ from the night went to the Ronald McDonald House!

Christmas Day

2010-12-25T16:48:00.000-08:00

Santa Claus brought Dylan his very own Woody from Toy Story!

He LOVES him!

He also got to work with his new tools and tool bench while the dogs enjoyed their bones on their new bed!

Christmas at mom & dad's--Dylan got a big doggie (that he named BooBoo Doo Doo?) and his other favorite gift next to Woody--a vacuum (that really works!!)

Merry Christmas Eve!

2010-12-24T16:41:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve is always fun at my Grandma Murray's then off to church and the Nichols!

Great-Grandma & Grandpa Murray got Dylan lots of loud cars that he loves!

Chaos and opening presents!

This pretty much sums it up--crazy dogs!

Penny...this is just too much cuteness!

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party!

2010-12-03T16:33:00.000-08:00

The Caldwell's hosted an Ugly Christmas party, which was super fun! Dustin and I invaded our parents' closet and found some great outfits!

The Landers--they look very sweet.

The boys (they love turtlenecks)

And Dustin the deer...

Christmas Pics Take 1, 2, 3, 4....

2010-12-01T16:22:00.000-08:00

Take 1

Take 2

Take 3...there we go!

Indy State Museum

2010-11-29T16:19:00.000-08:00

We took our annual trip to the Indiana State Museum to ride the train and visit Santa Claus!

Daddy & Dyl in front of the retired choo-choo!

Snow Days!

2010-11-29T16:15:00.000-08:00

Our dogs LOVE snow! Hunter even came over to play!

Our Zoe Girl

Jack catching snowflakes on his tongue!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-29T16:13:00.000-08:00

Well, we didn't get too many pictures at Thanksgiving--I think this one of Dyl walking Uncle Tim's new puppy was the only we actually took.

But....Dylan decided to take portraits of everyone!

Silly Boy....

Dylan's Songs Remix

2010-11-16T09:07:00.000-08:00

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

T-R-O-U-B-L-E!

2010-11-16T06:59:00.000-08:00

Washable...thank goodness!

Dylan's Potty Train!

2010-11-16T06:58:00.000-08:00

Dylan has done great with potty training, but not so good with #2 training. We decided to try to make a potty train with stickers...he's so good at going pee-pee on the potty he filled his train up very quickly with stickers...still working on #2 though!

Dylan's contributions to the potty train (the deer were his idea!)

All done & hanging in his bathroom! (It's FULL of stickers now!)

And one more for fun...he can now ride Zoe! This girl loves him sooo much!

Dylan & Mommy Date at the park!

2010-11-16T06:55:00.000-08:00

Dyl insisted on wearing a hat & vest just like mommy! :)

He's almost too big for these swings now!

Monkey.

My big boy. ♥

Dylan...the photographer

2010-11-16T06:52:00.000-08:00

Dylan LOVES to take pictures with our camera...he's pretty artistic if you ask me...his composition is always varied and interesting! Ha!

"Happy Daddy" by DBN

"Best friend" by DBN

"Cold Noses" by DBN

"Daddy's Deer" by DBN

Rawr! Trick or Treat!

2010-11-16T06:48:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween from our little tiger and lions! Rawr!

Trick or Treat!

He was more interested in his books than taking pictures!

Dyl & his two best buddies/lions!

Pumpkin Carving 2010

2010-11-16T06:40:00.000-08:00

Dyl decided he wanted a Mickey Mouse (hot dog!) pumpkin this year, so daddy got to work!

His new thing...closing his eyes for pics b/c the flash is too bright!

Hot dog!

Mommy's pumpkin...not as creative, but not too shabby!

All lit up!

Pumpkin Patch 2010

2010-11-16T06:37:00.000-08:00

We headed to Beasley's for our annual apple orchard and pumpkin patch visit! Dylan had fun and loved eating some apples and picking out a pumpkin!

He's too busy to even look at the camera!

Daddy and his best buddy...right after Dyl fell in the dirt!

LOVED the tractor and the hayride!

I know...it's blurry...but too cute not to post :)

Start! Heart Walk

2010-10-19T11:42:00.000-07:00

Team Dylan Blake participated in the Start! Heart Walk again this year! Our team was one of the top community team fundraisers again and we had a lot of fun as usual the day of the event! Thanks to the American Heart Association for putting on such a great event and for involving our family's story along the way to help raise awareness about congenital heart defects!

Survivor.

Dylan's Daddy & Dylan's Momma

Team Dylan Blake!

Thanks to all our team members! We're looking forward to next year already!

Happy 30th Birthday, Dustin!

2010-10-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

Dustin is now officially 30! We started his birthday week at Joe's Crab Shack...he had to wear a cowboy hat and ride around on a horse while we sang to him & we ended dinner with dessert from the Flying Cupcake!

Brothers...they both got crabs (to eat).

That weekend, we had some friends and family over to celebrate!

Nana Nichols and her two grandbabies (crazy-eyed Dylan!)

Dylan loved taking Penny for a ride on his 4 wheeler...maybe she needs a pink one of her own? :)

We had a fire outside, sink the biz inside a lot of moustache fun!

Happy 30th Birthday, Dustin! Hope you get a giant buck on your trip in November!

We love you!

Gotcha!

2010-10-19T11:32:00.000-07:00

He.

Cannot.

Resist.

Posing for the camera. ♥♥♥

Walk like Uncle Andy!

2010-10-19T11:30:00.001-07:00

Dylan and Uncle Andy have a pretty cool relationship! It's so cool to see them interact with each other! One of Dyl's favorite things to do is "walk like Uncle Andy!" Too cute :)

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Busy September!

2010-10-19T11:26:00.000-07:00

We've been pretty busy this past September!

Dylan has been playing soccer on Saturdays (it's been fun...especially when he decides 1/2 way thru class to just lay down). He's really good at running & kicking the ball without tripping over it and the parachute is one of his favorite games!

Celebrating Great Grandma Murray's birthday (here's a pic of Dyl holding Uncle Andy's hand while to dinner!) So sweet!

Singing Happy Birthday to Grandma! He even helped her blow out the candles! He was singing happy birthday to nana the rest of the week!

And finally...he loves these rain boots...and I love him in them (and that cheesy smile) ♥

ABC's-Twinkle Remix

2010-10-01T07:13:00.001-07:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Dog Swim!

2010-09-13T09:07:00.000-07:00

This has to be one of the most fun outings we've done with the dogs! Plainfield Aquatic Center opens up their outdoor water park to dogs at the end of their season. Jack & Zoe were two VERY happy dogs and VERY tired doggies afterwards!

Jack waiting for his ball to be thrown!

Sweet Zoe...wasn't confident about jumping in!

These pics show Zoe & Jack's personalities perfectly! Zoe is crazy, free-spirited gal and Jack is so laid back!

We'll be back again next year!

Summer Recap (Part 1)

2010-09-13T08:58:00.000-07:00

We've been SUPER busy this summer, so the blog has had to take a back seat. Here's a recap on what we've been up to!

Potty training (more like poo-poo training)...this boy refuses to go #2 on the potty. He will wear undies and go pee-pee on his own, but no #2! Here he is in his undies, and his two puppies wearing undies too (by his request, of course!)

Lots of giggles and silly faces!

Lots of playing with trucks, cars, trains, etc...birthday parties (smashing his face in cupcakes), silly bands & overall general cuteness!

Sharing milkshakes with mommy, naptime and playtime with my doggies, more silly faces & picking tomatoes!

Summer Recap (Part 2)

2010-09-13T08:57:00.000-07:00

Being silly with mommy!

Hunter stayed with us and Zoe really like playing with him (and showing him who's boss!)

We took Papaw Nichols' car to a car show for him (Dyl LOVES Papaw's white car and loves to pretend to drive fast!)

And a cute close-up of naptime...sweet boy!

Buzz & Shelley's Wedding in B-Town!

2010-09-13T08:31:00.000-07:00

Our friends, Buzz & Shelley got married last month in one of our fav towns...Bloomington! We had to make a stop at Nick's before the wedding festivities began (and ended back there later on in the night!)

Yum!

♥♥♥

Josh & Dustin, Emily & Kristin...great friends!!!

Oh boy....poor Kristin getting "Night at the Roxberried" by Dustin & Josh...The girls!: Andreah, me, Kristin & Brandi...Dave & me dancing--we rocked...Us with the bride enjoying some Jimmy John's and AMF's from Upstairs!!!

Congrats, Buzz & Shelley!

Florida (Part 1)

2010-09-13T07:59:00.000-07:00

We went to Florida with my parents the first week of July and had a blast! Dylan absolutely LOVES the beach.

First plane ride! He loved watching the planes land while we were waiting for our flight!

Various pics of playtime: walking with Nana, silly faces, a sand-Jack that Dustin built, enjoying a snack under his tent, & a crab Dustin caught!

Vacation = Awesome naps! He's about too big for his pack & play!

Dad & Dustin went fishing on one of the days!

Florida (Part 2)

2010-09-13T07:58:00.000-07:00

Dustin and Dylan (outfits not planned!)

More playing on the beach and finding shells!

Sunset walks, kisses & smiles!

Our last night!

Beach Baby

2010-09-13T07:54:00.000-07:00

Some of our fav pics of Dylan from our Florida vacation!

His sweet little smirk :)

This has to be the happiest little boy in the world!

On the move!

Showing us his shell (one of many) he found...he called every single one a sand dollar!

Start! Heart Walk

2010-08-17T11:38:00.001-07:00

Just a reminder...the Start! Heart Walk is just a month away! We have currently raised around $800 on a $3000 goal so we still have a way to go to meet this goal!

Please visit my fundraising page to make a donation to Team Dylan Blake: http://heartwalk.kintera.org/indy/dylansmom

Thank you for your support! Your donation is going towards life-saving research for the #1 cause of death of children under the age of one--congenital heart defects and also toward the #1 killer of men & women--heart disease. Unfortunately, most of you probably know someone who has been effected by heart disease so make a donation in honor of your loved one!

Our family walking across the finish line at last year's heart walk!

WTHR Interview

2010-08-17T11:33:00.000-07:00

Dylan made his TV debut with me this week on the 12:00 news on our local TV station, WTHR. We were there to talk about our participation in the Start! Heart Walk.

Follow this link to check it out:

http://www.wthr.com/Global/category.asp?C=136236&clipId=5031046&topVideoCatNo=103348&autoStart=true

He did a great job! He really liked watching himself on the monitors in front of him, and he thought it was hilarious watching it after it aired on the computer. Crazy boy! :)

4th of July

2010-07-20T08:50:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July! (He looks so big in this picture!)

We started our morning at the parade in Brownsburg. We took the dogs, and Jack decided he wanted to join the marching band. Our awesome neighbors joined us and Dyl & Eli enjoyed hanging out in the wagon!

The next day, we spent the day boating with the Landers and Caldwell and their boys (minus Kaden, who we missed!) Dyl enjoying swimming in the lake and honking the horn on the boat!

Whoa...big boy alert.. After a long nap...we enjoyed some sparklers then went to the Brownsburg fireworks. What a fun and exhausting weekend!

Family Reunion Time!

2010-07-20T08:49:00.000-07:00

In June, we had two family reunions in one weekend! It was great seeing everyone and we got a lot of great pictures (mainly of Dylan & Penny because they're just too cute!)

Dyl really clobbers Penny when he hugs her and he even pulled some wrestling moves with her on the floor! They had a lot of fun playing in grandma's wheelchair & looking out the window!

The great grandkids!

The Scott Family (a few were not able to make it and they were missed!)

And...another new fav pic...frameworthy! Papaw & his two grandbabies!

Mommy's Little Helper!

2010-07-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

Dylan loves to help me pull weeds and water my flowers!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Summer Fun!

2010-07-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

We've been super busy this summer and the blog has had to take a backseat! We're going to Florida in a couple of weeks with my parents and Dylan is so excited to go to the beach! We're also both looking for new jobs and starting to look into property that is rural and city enough to build a house (weird combo, huh?) We're also gearing up for the heart walk in September (more details forthcoming) and I've been very busy volunteering for the American Heart Association by going around to different organizations and sharing Dylan's story...he's become quite popular within the heart community! Mainly, we've been outside all summer so far!

Cute boy :) We've been growing his hair out longer & it's become even more blond since he's outside all the time!

Dylan has been swimming a lot over at Nana & Papaw Nichols and on the deck in the baby/doggie pool!

Dustin found his first cecropia moth of the summer to start Dylan's collection (it's now mounted and framed in Dylan's room). We have a collection of butterflies & moths that Dustin collected as a kid in our office.

New fav picture of my boys! They've been fishing in the backyard a lot & Dylan is quite the natural! He knows how to reel a fish in and claps every time he catches and fish and ask for more after daddy throws it back in!

Fast Friends!

2010-07-20T08:42:00.000-07:00

Jack wasn't sure what to think of Zoe when we first brought her home...he pretty much didn't even act like she existed the for the first week! Now, he really likes having a playmate and they get rowdy with each other every day!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

More Zoe!

2010-07-20T08:22:00.000-07:00

Zoe has really adapted well to her new home! She's a great addition to our family! Zoe's going to be a big girl! I can't believe how small she looks in these pictures compared to how big she is now! Hopefully, she won't be as big as Jack!

One of her favorite spots...Dyl's chair! (Dylan is making his silly face...it's super silly!)

She loves to lounge!

She has fun playing with Jack and Hunter! (Notice Jack is the only one looking at the camera...he loves to have his picture taken!)

Best buddies!

Zoe!

2010-06-11T06:37:00.000-07:00

We decided to add another member to our family....meet Zoe! Dyl and her are already best friends and fight like brother and sister! It's so nice to have another girl in the house! She's adjusted quickly to our family and has quickly become my girl! :) Some think we're crazy (and maybe we are!) for getting a puppy while Dyl is so young, but when you love your doggies like we do, it's all worth it!

On the way to her new home...Dylan had his arm around her the whole way!

Jack is warming up to her & I think he secretly likes having a little sister :)

Our three "babies!"

Blog4CHD

2010-04-30T09:55:00.000-07:00

I'm now a contributing blogger over at: Blog4CHD.com This is a great forum for CHD families to share their stories, information and learn more about the CHD world. Just posted my first contribution...go check it out: http://blog4chd.com/2010/04/30/dylans-story/

Bad Romance by Dylan Blake

2010-04-26T07:09:00.001-07:00

So...Dylan and I love to dance together! He's got some pretty sweet moves...and he loves him some Lady Gaga!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy 1st Birthday, Penny!!!

2010-04-26T06:45:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st Birthday, Penny! We love you!

She had a lot of fun opening her presents and she had a custom cake from her Great Grandma Scott!

I absolutely LOVE buying girly stuff for Penny and she really loves being girly! We got her this headband and tutu and she was so excited to wear them! She is so stinkin' cute!

Dyl gave Penny's tutu his stamp of approval!

Spring time with the Nichols!

2010-04-26T06:39:00.000-07:00

Long time, no post! We've been super busy (mainly playing outside!) Here's a little update on what the Nichols family has been up to!

Penny came over to play! Yeah! She liked playing at Dyl's train table and he did a pretty good job sharing with her!

Dyl has been taking swim lessons and let's just say he's the bravest fish in the bunch!

Daddy has been busy mushroom hunting, and he mounted two deer--that look awesome! He and Dylan have also been very busy being artists!

And we can't forget Jack! He's been loving being able to be outside so he can jump in the pond and eat sticks!

Swim Lessons!

2010-04-26T06:32:00.000-07:00

Dylan has been taking swim lessons and he's doing a great job! He gets up out of the pool all by himself and loves to jump in and dunk his face under the water! Some of the other moms have said to me that he is very, very brave!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Easter!

2010-04-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

Happy belated Easter to everyone from our little bunny!

Dylan really enjoyed putting stickers on his Easter eggs!

He and his best buddy Jack also enjoyed wearing their bunny ears!

Best. day. ever.

2010-03-17T07:30:00.000-07:00

This dog does not know cold. I shiver just looking at these pictures, but smile too because he's having the best time!

Dylan's Birthday Party!

2010-03-14T07:01:00.000-07:00

We had such a great turnout for Dylan's birthday party! We really appreciate all that came...Dylan is loved by so many! I think the kids had fun at the art stations in the garage and Dylan did such a great job all day. We're still trying to put our house back together, but we loved having everyone over!

The art stations, the food and Dyl & Locke coloring together!

You can tell he's concentrating when he sticks his tongue out like that (just like his daddy!)

He had the biggest smile on his face when everyone sang Happy Birthday to him and he did a great job trying to blow out his candle! (and I did not cry this year!)

Love this pic...Dyl smiling at his Nana :)

Locke's Birthday Party!

2010-03-13T06:56:00.000-08:00

Happy 2nd Birthday to Dylan's buddy, Locke! Locke had his birthday party at Monkey Joes and as you can tell from all the smiley pics of Dylan (and us!)--he had a blast! He was so brave going down a lot of the slides by himself and passed out on the way home!

Happy Birthday, Locke & thanks for the fun party!

Dylan & Locke! They are just 4 days apart!

Checking out Locke's truck!

High-five, buddy!

(I love how they both have suckers in their mouths for like every picture!)

Good morning, birthday boy!

2010-03-11T07:30:00.000-08:00

Here is Dylan on the morning of his 2nd birthday (it's very dark, but you can hear his sweet little voice!)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy 2nd Birthday Meltdown!

2010-03-11T07:29:00.001-08:00

Oh Dylan...we hope this isn't the start of the terrible two's! Dylan woke up very happy on the day of his birthday and then later in the afternoon had a complete meltdown (and of course, we took pics and video of it!) He soon got over it and was his happy self again!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Dylan! Your mommy & daddy love you soooo much!

Just waking up!

That evening...meltdown drama.

Okay now! Playing with daddy and his new train table he got for his birthday!

Happy boy! (I love Jack's face in the background!)

Happy Birthday, Dylan!

2010-03-11T07:28:00.000-08:00

Oh boy...Dylan was having a meltdown the night of his birthday! He really wanted those candles & didn't realize they were hot! It's too cute not to share.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Birthday Suit!

2010-03-11T07:27:00.000-08:00

Dylan got over his meltdown and decided he was going to spend some time in his birthday suit!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Jack!

2010-03-03T07:09:00.000-08:00

Have you ever seen a more happy dog?

Get it! at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-03-03T07:02:00.001-08:00

Daddy, Dyl & Jack playing with a laser pointer! (I love when you first see Dyl b/c he is turning on my iPod and dancing!)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Almost 2!!!

2010-03-03T06:39:00.000-08:00

In 8 days...our baby boy is going to be 2!!! He's such a silly, loving little boy!

Yes, still making the cheese face for pictures!

We call this his Grandpa Nichols face :) (See his cute choo choo slippers!)

Dancing and climbing!

Loves showers and got caught trying to get in with his clothes on...he even went and got himself a washcloth!

We have been so extremely busy lately so I will just do a big update in a couple weeks including what he's been up to, and his birthday party!

Go Red Day

2010-02-05T06:20:00.000-08:00

I'm wearing my red today to support the American Heart Association...are you? Here is a video I recently made for the AHA for them to use for their Jump Rope for Heart Fundraisers they do in schools. Dylan's story's has touched so many hearts, and we hope through his story that we can raise more CHD awareness!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

22 months (a little late!)

2010-01-28T06:42:00.000-08:00

This little boy has been keeping us so busy and I just realized I never posted anything for his 22 month post! I'll keep it short and sweet (just like him). ♥

Have you noticed you can barely see in scar in pics now? We have noticed it looks a little longer due to his torso lenghtening out....cool battle wounds to show the ladies some day :)

He's getting big boy haircuts with the clippers now just like Papaw & Uncle Seth do....he does a great job!

He has been working on potty training...goes #1 quite often at home and at school...went #2 for the first time!
Is a tease...he's always been pretty generous with hugs and kisses, but lately he won't give daddy any (but he'll pucker up and pretend he's going to, then quickly turn his head away!)
Is doing a great job with his colors (although sometimes he says cookie for blue, bird for yellow, etc.) :)
We're working on counting, but he only wants to say the number 2!
When you ask him what a firetruck says, he'll go, "woooooooo....Seth." So cute! He even points to his toy firetruck and calls it Seth (Uncle Seth is a firefighter).
Jack still is his best buddy (and the feeling is mutual!)
Loves play-doh, finger painting, coloring, etc. A LOT!
Is using his imagination more and more everyday

We love you silly Dyl-ee...you are quite the comedian and sweetheart! Can't believe you're going to be 2 so soon!

Hi....Bye! at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-01-19T07:39:00.001-08:00

One of Dylan's fav things right now...opening & closing doors (over and over and over again!)

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Pretend time with Play-Doh! at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-01-19T07:19:00.001-08:00

Dylan really likes using his imagination...especially with doh-doh (play-doh!)

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Cheese!

2010-01-11T11:45:00.000-08:00

Seriously. Ridiculously. Cute.

Christmas Morning 2009 at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-01-11T11:43:00.001-08:00

Um, yeah...please excuse my horrible morning hair...this video was too cute not to share! Dylan has become a pro now at riding his bike!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Christmas Morning!

2010-01-11T10:48:00.000-08:00

We woke up Christmas morning pretty tired (well, Dustin barely slept like usual, but more on that another day) and took our time opening presents and having omelets before heading down south for Dustin's extended family Christmas (and no, we didn't get any pictures!)

Out little monkey "riding" his new Tonka truck (it's now always fully loaded with blocks that he constantly dumps!)

Modeling his new backpack!

Loves going through his tunnel!

Christmas Eve

2010-01-11T10:47:00.000-08:00

We always start Christmas Eve at my Grandma's house then head over to church to meet Dustin's parents for the Christmas Eve service then on to their house for our family Christmas! This is always a busy, but really fun day!

Dylan just woke up from a nap so he was still out of it while opening presents...he loves the tent/tunnel his Great Grandma and Grandpa got him!

We didn't get very many pics, but here's the Nichols boys with their cute kids in their Christmas jammies ready to open presents!

Christmas with the Moody's!

2010-01-11T10:36:00.000-08:00

We did Christmas with my parents the weekend before Christmas since most of us would be out of town for the actual day! Dylan was too cute and loved all of the Thomas the Train stuff that he got! He kept yelling, "choo choo!" everytime he opened a gift and insisted on daddy getting each toy out of even the parent-proof packages! Now we're just trying to figure out what to do with all of his choos choos and all of their accessories!

Of course, Jack gets presents too! Dyl blowing in his train whistle, loving on Elmo & Auntie Ang & modeling his new goggles that came with his tool kit from Auntie Ang & Uncle Derek!

Dylan loves all of his family!

Love this pic of Dylan and Uncle Andy! Dylan is always says hi to Uncle Andy and gives him lots of hugs and tries to sit on his lap! Andy loves it!

My parents wanted to get a shot of them with Andy and their dogs, so Dustin decided to hop in there with our dog! Ha!

Oh, Christmas Tree!

2009-12-16T07:22:00.000-08:00

Dylan has done so well with the Christmas tree! I thought he would be all over it and imagined it falling over on him, but he actually goes up to the tree...points at it...and says, "no, no!" Such a good boy! He's always saying, "pretty tree," and claps and says, "yeaaaaah," when we plug in the lights! He made an ornament at school, and it is by far my favorite ornament that we have! Both of our parents still have some ornaments that Dustin and I made when we were kids, so it's neat to think of us now collecting our son's homemade ornaments and thinking of them as fine art (well, at least I do)!

His famous, "oh" face!

Dyl's first handmade ornament! ♥♥♥

It's the only ornament he's allowed to touch...he knows it's his!

Dylan's visit to Santa & the Choo Choo!

2009-12-16T07:14:00.000-08:00

I would definitely recommend going to the Indiana State Museum to see Santa and ride the choo choo! My parents always took us to the old LS Ayers downtown to ride the train and see Santa when we were kids. They have a newer version of it for kids to ride now, but they did have the original on display! It was such a fun day! You could use your own camera to take as many pics as you wanted with Santa and the kids could ride the train as many times as they wanted! Dylan wasn't too sure about Santa and wouldn't smile, but he did give him a five and Santa said he did better than most kids his age!

Dylan's saying, "I'm not too sure about you old man!"

On the choo choo! He kept pointing out the stuffed deer and teddy bears as he rode! It was hard to get a good picture of him b/c he was all over the place making sure he wouldn't miss anything!

With is fav guy...da-eeee!

Daddy and Dyl on the choo choo! at OneTrueMedia.com

2009-12-16T07:13:00.001-08:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Choo Choo! at OneTrueMedia.com

2009-12-16T06:59:00.001-08:00

Dustin lost his voice the day we went to the ISM and I thought he was trying to take a pic so I'm posing and trying to get Dyl to smile, but he was taping us! Ha! You can see I'm like, Huh? Can't hear you! Too funny...I look like such a dork!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Dylan is 21 months old!

2009-12-16T06:32:00.000-08:00

Wow! 3 more months until Dylan is 2!!! We were talking last night about how in a few months, we'll just be calling him 2 years old instead of his age by months! Such a big boy! Here's a little bit of what he's been up to:

Calls me mom-o and Dustin da-eeee ♥
Gives hugs and kisses frequently and even to his friends at school when he leaves at the end of the day (too cute!)
Loves to sing and dance
Says hi and bye to anyone and everyone--at the store coming & going from a restaurant...so friendly!
He's in the 2 year old room now at daycare...he looks smaller than most of the kids, but he's just as smart (if not smarter)
Does go pee-pee on the potty sometimes and asks to sit on it quite often...I'm off for a week after Christmas so we're going to work on it a little more aggressively since he's shown such a strong interest in it...they'll help potty-train him at school too! We'll see what happens!

Loves keys and my beach bag...he put his deer in my bag one day and went to the door with one of our sets of keys like he was going somewhere!

Still quite an outdoors guy no matter what the weather...he likes to go down slides backwards!

Likes to try and dress himself...sometimes he gets it right, sometimes he doesn't :)

Loves wearing hats...especially this Santa hat...he says, "ho, ho, ho" when he puts it on!

Thanksgiving!

2009-12-16T06:19:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving with my parents this year and Dylan had so much fun with his family! This boy sure does know who is who and loves everyone so much!

Playing some music...as always! (He sure has changed since last year)

Hanging out with Auntie Ang

His crazy cheeeese face!

Reading with Papaw!

20 months con't!

2009-11-19T06:29:00.000-08:00

Such a silly boy...

Putting a bib on Jack!

Getting into the pantry...so independent, but doesn't realize he doesn't need 3 juice boxes at once!

Loves to play on our night night (bed)

Loves anything art related-here he is finger painting...he decided to do some body art too...such a creative little boy (ha!)

20 months!

2009-11-19T06:28:00.000-08:00

4 months until you are 2, Dylan! Wow. I'm already thinking of party ideas! Here's a little glimpse of what he's been up to:

Very good at blowing kisses...he blows kisses to everyone at daycare (such a flirt!)
He has 16 teeth now!
Is doing VERY well at his new daycare...they think he's such a good natured, social little boy! I can't believe how much he's grown and learned in just the short month he's been there. They're starting to transition him to the 2's room, and will probably end up in there soon based on how he's been doing the couple of hours he's in there each day.
Identifying colors (his fav is yellow)
Is having issues with sippy cups and high chairs right now...he thinks he's too big for either one. He will sit in his highchair without the tray at the table though.
Loves to "jump" (we count to three and he bends down real low then staightens his legs on 3 and onto his tippy toes...close to real jumping soon, I'm sure)
Loves planes, choo choo's, cars (beep beep's or bye bye's)...he's such a boy
Can tell you pretty accurately what animals sound like (especially snakes, cats, dogs, ducks & deer!) For example, instead of quack quack, he makes a sound kind of like a real duck...we should really get this on video!
Is talking up a storm! We tried counting up all the words he says and it's well over 100.
Has FINALLY started to eat more meat...likes chicken the best.
Likes to stomp his feet really quick when he wants something really bad and can't have it.
Such a sweetheart...he's so generous with hugs and kisses :)

Decided his hair needed a yogurt conditioning treatment!

Sitting at the table...happy b/c he's not in his highchair

Likes to sit in the recliner with puppy and a blanket

In daddy's truck...one of his new obsessions!

Dylan's new trick! at OneTrueMedia.com

2009-11-19T06:21:00.001-08:00

Dustin taught Dylan how to blow bubbles in his milk and it's one of Dylan's fav new tricks...make sure you watch till the end to hear his awesome bye bye!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

11.11.08

2009-11-11T06:10:00.000-08:00

One year ago...this was our happy 8 month old baby right before he went into open heart surgery to fix his heart.

One year later...this is our 20 month old little boy who is as happy as can be cheesing for the camera.

Happy? Yes, he is...no matter what.

Toughest person we will ever know...from the bottom of our hearts, Dylan Blake, we love you SO much.

It's a bird...it's a plane...

2009-11-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

No, it's SUPER DYLAN!!!

A comparison...

2009-11-03T06:59:00.000-08:00

October 2008--still our blue baby
(this was about one week before his surgery)

October 2009--pink baby for almost one year now :)

Roscoe the Shark! at OneTrueMedia.com

2009-11-03T06:57:00.001-08:00

Seth & Emily's dog, Roscoe, was a shark for Halloween! Haha...he sure was thrashing around like a shark!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-03T06:17:00.000-08:00

We started off trick or treating in our neighborhood. Dylan wasn't crazy about wearing his mask over his eyes, so it ended up on his forehead! Jack didn't mind wearing the mask at all though :) Poor dog...you can see he went as a hot dog again (or has Dylan says, "dog-dog!")Dylan loved knocking on our neighbor's doors and enjoying some of his candy!

The next stop was at Grandma and Grandpa Nichols! Penny made a very quick appearance in her pumpkin costume (she did NOT like it!) When it was time to leave, Dylan said, "bye bye Penny" all by himself with no prompting! Too cute! :) The next pics are our attempt to get a pic of Dylan kissing Penny :)

Dustin held Penny the majority of the time we were there. She's so pretty!

We made one more stop and Grandma and Papaw Moody's! Papaw had a silly mask and Dylan wasn't scared of it at all! He even "honked" the nose!

Then it was time to go back home, but Dylan was wound up from all the sugar he had so he decided to play and cheese it up for the camera before bed! His new thing is closing his eyes on purpose and saying cheeeeesseeee for the camera! Silly boy :)

Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Elmo pumpkin!

2009-11-03T06:02:00.000-08:00

Dylan loves Elmo (or "Melmo" or "Mo"). So Dustin, being the creative guy he is, decided to make Dylan an Elmo pumpkin this year! As you can see, he did an awesome job!

The sketch Dustin did by hand

There were many kisses involved in the pumpkin carving...one for the pumpkin...

...and one for daddy :)

The finished product! Dylan loved it!

Mended Little Hearts of Indianapolis

2009-10-29T07:55:00.000-07:00

A new friend and I have begun the process of starting an Indianapolis chapter of an organization called Mended Little Hearts! MLH is a support group made up of families who have a child with a congenital heart defect. I'm so very excited about this new adventure and hope it will be a true success! I had the honor of meeting other heart moms a few weeks ago and it was a very humbling experience to say the least. We have been so blessed that Dylan has been so textbook with all of his surgeries and recoveries. I have set up a blog and a group page on Facebook (just look at my groups on my profile to check it out).

The blog address is: http://www.mendedlittleheartsindy.blogspot.com/

If you know of anyone would be interested in getting involved, please pass them my way! They can email at: mlhindy@gmail.com

Beasley's Orchard

2009-10-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

We met our friends and their boys last weekend at Beasley's Orchard! It was the perfect Fall day--crisp, but sunny! We thought a lot about last year when Dylan was only 7 months old! Time sure is flying by! He got to run around this year and he had a blast hanging out with all the boys! Next year will be even more fun I'm sure!

On the hayride! It was bright out, so there's a lot of squinting!

Running through the pumpkin patch trying to find the perfect one!

He found a few that he liked...he petted them & gave them hugs like he does with Jack! Ha!

He got to throw some corn, eat a delish apple & cuddle up with daddy!

Dylan is 19 months old!

2009-10-16T09:52:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little boy loving on a pumpkin :)

Well, Dylan is now 19 months old! Wow! He is such a silly little boy and really smart too! Here's what he's been up to:

Talking A LOT! Sometimes he makes up his own words, like for popsicle he says "yo." Like I've said in his previous posts, he'll pretty much say anything we tell him to.
Loves pointing out body parts like: eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, head, hair, fingers, toes and heart!
Loves to march and dance
Can count, well...kinda--if you say one, he says two! :)
Is turning into quite the climber even more...if he isn't tall enough to get up onto something, he'll push a book or toy over to use it as a step. Smarty pants.
Is working on sharing. We practice sharing his toys with him every night.
Has been pottying on the potty! Just here and there...when he wakes up dry and before bath time. We're not really pushing potty training too much, but he's definitely interested in it. Whenever you flush the toilet, he says, "bye bye pee-pee" or "bye bye poo-poo." He has been going into the bathroom a lot and just sitting on his potty too. We'll see what happens.
Has been putting his leg up over his crib. Yikes! I think we can lower his bed one more level...I am NOT ready for him to be in a toddler bed yet.
Has been saying, "MINE!' Everything is mine...including our night night (bed). We're working on this.
Is also shaking his head and saying, no. Sometime sweetly, sometimes not so sweetly. We're working on this too.
Has 14 teeth now (and isn't using them to bite now that's he's out of his other daycare).

We love you so much, Dylan! You're such a sweet, affectionate little guy and we can't get enough of your hugs and kisses.