Wow!
I knew it would happen, but I never really knew it would happen... if you know what I mean. It always felt so far away until suddenly it wasn't. I don't know how I got here with these big kids, these eye wrinkles, and this deteriorating adult body. Seriously, where has the time gone? I just birthed the kid, and now he's as tall as his dad (a daily debate in our house... who is taller? I think they're pretty even right now, but I might need to do their weekly back-to-back, shoes-off measuring session to confirm).
To celebrate Nicky's Sixteenth, here are sixteen facts about him:
Fact #1: Nicky didn't want to be born
Evidence:
- It took me two years to get pregnant with him. Scotty got tested. I got tested. I did four months of fertility treatments. What finally may have helped was that I had an HSG which increases chances of getting pregnant by about 27% during the three months following the procedure. I got pregnant during that window, so it's possible that the HSG flushed out a blockage in my fallopian tubes.
- When I was finally pregnant, the test I took was defective, so I thought it was negative (I looked at it later and realized the line was going the opposite way of the picture on the box).
- I went to the doctor for a pregnancy test, and they told me it was positive, but they circled negative on my paperwork, so I still wasn't sure if I was pregnant until I had an ultrasound a few weeks later and saw an actual fetus.
- He was due on December 20. On December 27, I was induced while having ZERO signs of ever going into labor.
- I could not push him out! It came to the point where I needed to choose between a c-section, a vacuum extraction, or forceps. After counseling with my doctor, I chose vacuum extraction, and we forced him out by his head! (He ended up with a birth injury, and I regretted that choice, but it's done and over with now, and he's fine).
- After he was born, he cried for hours and hours.
I always say he did not want to come to earth! (And I kind of don't blame him!)
Nicky on earth against his will
Fact #2: Nicky was a naughty toddler
When I watch old home videos of Nicky, I don't miss those days. I am grateful they're over. He was adorable, yes, but so hard! I remember being pregnant with Daisy and laying on the couch while Nicky stood next to me hitting me with a bat, and I just let him because I was so sick and fatigued I couldn't do anything to stop him. He also peed on everything. He would pee in his toys, on the couch, in the garbage can, and even in my muffin tin.
Don't let that sweet face fool you!
Fact #3: Something changed when he turned four
I don't know what happened, but when Nicky turned four, he suddenly gained logic. I could simply explain to him the reasons he should or shouldn't do something, and he would get it. Not with perfection, of course, but with so much improvement from just weeks prior.
(I hoped this would happen to my girls, too. It didn't).
Fact #4: He's not into sports
Nicky likes to play sports for fun, but he's never been interested in competing. It's just not in his nature. We put him in soccer, tee-ball, and basketball as a young child, and he really wasn't interested in any of it. One of my favorite stories to tell about Nicky is when he was twelve, he played church basketball, and he stole the ball from the other team, then apologized and gave it back.
I love this about him!
Fact #5: He has a big scar on his face
People often wonder about the scar on Nicky's face, but they aren't sure if it's okay to ask. The scar is from a slap bracelet. He and Daisy were fighting over it, and some of the fabric came loose, and it sliced through his cheek like butter! It was such a freak accident!
A few years later, Zoe's toe got sliced open by a slap bracelet. So beware of slap bracelets!
Sorry for the graphic image, but I need you to see this!
The weapon (from the treasure box at the dentist)
Fact #6: He cries at the end of vacations
Nicky has really loved all of our family vacations, and he is always devastated when they come to an end.
Outside our hotel in Anaheim
Doesn't that just break your heart?
Fact #7: He used to be scared to death to talk to people
Nicky was incredibly shy and had pretty bad anxiety as a child. When he was nine years old, it was so bad, I didn't know what to do anymore. He wouldn't talk to people. He didn't really have any friends. He was often overlooked (he was always the kid that got missed when someone passed out birthday treats and stuff like that). He wouldn't sleep in his room alone (we had to move Daisy into his room).
It makes me so emotional to even think about it. I'm not sure what helped him through, but I put him in Tae Kwon Do for a year, and I prayed my guts out for him to have a teacher who could "see" him (and we were blessed with a few teachers who provided that). Maybe he just grew out of it, who knows! But the defining moment, when I saw him come out of his shell, was when we were eating ice cream at a fast food restaurant one night, and he broke his spoon and said, "I'll go ask for a new one!" I almost bawled my eyes out when my son went to the counter by himself and asked for a spoon.
Fact #8: He is named after my brother and Scotty's grandpa
Nicky's middle name is Brock which is my brother's first name and Scotty's grandpa's last name. I've always liked that we could name him after both sides of the family. It also works well because when I was young, my little brother went everywhere with me (it made dating complicated), so I often accidentally call Nicky "Brock."
Fact #9: He has never cared about fashion or trends
I've never had to deal with any fads with Nicky, and I'm quite grateful for that. He and I laugh because, for this school year, he told me he wanted to try and dress better, and when I asked, "Like how?" he said, "I have no idea!" and we went around shopping for school clothes having no idea what's in style right now.
He wore Hawaiian shirts and gym shorts for about three years straight. He ditched the gym shorts a couple of years ago (he still wears Hawaiian shirts but not exclusively). Then last year, for the first time since first grade (other than for church on Sundays) he wore pants. Now he says, "I kind of like pants. I'm not sure why I went so long without them!"
Lately he's become somewhat interested in funky shoes, but not to excess. It started with a pair of vintage Adidas that used to be his great-grandpa's. He's starting to become known for his shoes.
Great-Grandpa's Adidas
Fact #10: He hates reading
I've never been able to get him to read anything other than Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
Fact #11: He is surprisingly self-disciplined
When Nicky was six, he played a lot of Mario on the Wii, and he started noticing that video games made him angry. It was fascinating to witness such a young child make this connection. He came up to me one day and said, "Nintendo makes me feel angry, so I'm not going to play it as much." And because of that, I've never had to regulate video games for him (my girls are another story...)
There are a lot of other examples of Nicky doing similar things. For example, once he decided he wasn't going to drink soda for a year, so he didn't. Last year, he decided he wanted to do push-ups everyday, so he did. He's quite inspiring (and he doesn't get this trait from Scotty and me).
Fact #12: He's also frugal
Nicky is very good with saving his money. Sometimes annoyingly so. I used to have to get after him for chastising his grandparents about spending money.
Fact #13: He's very clever
Nicky has always been very inventive. He has made some pretty creative contraptions, like a hockey game controlled by magnets, a pinball machine, and a drinking hat.
He's also really funny.
Fact #14: He is an Eagle Scout
I just throw this fact out there because not very many young men earn their Eagle anymore. I didn't care whether he did it or not. I was willing to support him, but I wasn't going to make him do it. He finished his Eagle during COVID and after the Church discontinued the scouting program, so that just shows the extra diligence it took to attain this milestone.
Eagle Scout
Fact #15: He still has an essence of childhood
One thing I really love about Nicky is that he hasn't completely abandoned the joy of childhood yet, but he also isn't immature. He still enjoys "playing," but he's also responsible.
Nicky having fun for "meme day" at school
(He would want you to notice his Hoka shoes that he bought on clearance from Scheel’s with gift cards he earned from applying for scholarships (See? Frugal!))
Fact #16: Ladies, he's single!
But for now he just wants to be friends.
I tried to convince him to kiss some girls since he has his braces off, but for now, he's just kissing fish.
Smoochin'
I haven't told him yet, but I already have his wife picked out (the less I say to him about it, the better the odds it will work out).
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