asknednickerson - Tumblr blog

[asknednickerson]

December 9, 2018

Happy December! I hope everyone has fully recovered from Thanksgiving and the following shopping days. I'd say I can't believe it's already December, but that snow storm we had recently made it clear that winter is well on its way.

Thanksgiving was our first major holiday in our new house, so we offered to host. Mom and Hannah helped a lot, of course. But @nancydrewnickerson did an incredible amount of work, and I was once again reminded of how amazing she is.

Henry, our normally sweet and mild-mannered little boy, had a couple really bad weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. His second molars were coming in, and it seemed like they were more painful than all of the other teeth combined. He had a low-grade fever and was super cranky and irritable. And with that came a heightened sense of attachment to Nancy.

It's incredibly hard to watch your child in pain, and even harder when he won't even let you try to comfort him. And poor Nancy; I can't even begin to imagine how hard it was when she couldn't be with him, knowing he only wanted her. So it's an understatement to say that we were both--Nancy especially--tired once Thanksgiving rolled around.

Thankfully, (yes, this is one of the things we both said we were thankful for when we went around the table) he was starting to get back to his normal self. Nancy and I got up way earlier than either of us liked on Thanksgiving morning and started some of the prep work. Once Henry woke up, I made pancakes and then distracted Henry until our family started to arrive.

Nancy's Aunt Eloise flew in for Thanksgiving this year, and, of course, my parents, Carson, and Hannah came. Henry loved having everyone over. It's not like he doesn't see them often; quite the opposite, actually. But he doesn't often see everyone together. And because he's still the baby of the family, all eyes are usually on him. He eats the attention up. I think it helped resolve any lingering need to be attached to Nancy's side all day long.

We've been excited about the house since we first toured it. Every day since has been great, and it has felt like home since we moved in. But having everyone over for Thanksgiving felt even more special.

Getting to take Henry out to play in our yard reminded me of all the Thanksgivings when I was little and would run around the yard with my dad. And seeing everyone around our dining room table was awesome. We even got to finally use the fancy china we got from our wedding registry.

All of the food was amazing, not surprisingly. And we had crazy leftovers for awhile. Except for dessert. I may have polished the rest of that off pretty quickly.

My birthday was a week after Thanksgiving. I'm in the middle of a big project at work, so Nancy didn't have any luck convincing me to take the day off. But she did surprise me in the afternoon, and we went out for lunch.

We want to replace some of our older furniture, so between that and the expense of the house, we agreed to take it easy on presents for each other for now. But after we spent Saturday decorating the house, inside and out, (which Henry loved) Nancy surprised me by dropping off Henry with my parents so we could have an adults-only night.

Christmas and our anniversary are both right around the corner. The season gets more exciting every year as Henry gets older and starts to enjoy our traditions more. His favorite part of this time of year has always been the lights. Even when he was a baby, he would always reach out to grab them. So we've already extended our drive home a couple times so he could look at the lights around the neighborhood. It's hard to resist it when we know that his smile will be huge.

As if it's any surprise that he's spoiled. Nancy and I went shopping for some more of his presents today. Between our family and Santa, we know he'll have plenty of new toys, so we stocked up on some clothes (although, I wouldn't be surprised if Bess’ gift is a full new wardrobe, ha) and books. We also sorted through his toys for things he doesn't play with much and clothes he no longer fits into to donate.

A productive, but tiring day, so I am going to go find my wife and see if she's up for some cuddling on the couch!

[asknednickerson]

Halloween 2018

Happy Halloween! I hope everyone had a fun and safe night.

@nancydrewnickerson and I are getting ready for bed, but Henry was so adorable that I couldn't resist posting.

Henry is very much his mother's son. He is so curious about everything, which more often than not means he wants to touch everything. I jokingly said he should be an octopus for Halloween--I swear sometimes when we're trying to keep him from reaching for something, it's like he has 8 hands.

That's when Nancy got the idea for not 8 hands, but one special hand- Thing from the Addams Family! We wanted to make use of more than just his hand, though, so we opted to turn him into Pubert and sewed a plastic hand to his shoulder. (We weren't sure how he'd take that, but he quickly learned that if he shook his shoulder, he could "scare" all of us. It took a lot of convincing to get him to take it off at the end of the night.)

I know, I know - kind of cheating to jump ahead to the last Addams child. But we don't have a Wednesday yet and Pubert was pretty darn cute. (Sorry, Pugsley!) Nancy and I were, of course, Morticia and Gomez.

After Henry showed off his costume to his grandparents, we walked around our neighborhood for a little bit. We got to meet some of our new neighbors for the first time, and Henry scored a ton of candy he can't have. I'll gladly take that off his hands lol

I'm biased, but I think our lawn was definitely the best decorated. Henry has always loved the decorations my parents put out on their lawn, and now that we have our own lawn this year, I knew we had to go all out for him.

That's right... we finally bought a house! (Just in time to fill up all the extra rooms with Henry's Christmas presents, I'm sure.) It's in a great neighborhood, and a lot of our neighbors have young kids, too.

When we got home, Henry helped hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters. He named all of the costumes he could recognize. A lot were easy--characters from shows and movies he watches or animals--but others were harder so he'd ask one of us. Even we were stumped on a few. I don't know if that's a sign that we're getting old...

Henry's starting to string together sentences. I'm torn between being proud and excited for him that he's hitting another milestone and being a little bit sad that my baby is quickly becoming not a baby.

Before you know it, it'll be Christmas and the new year. I'm getting really excited to celebrate in our new home.

[asknednickerson]

July 31, 2018

Happy anniversary, sweetheart!

@nancydrewnickerson and I have been together for 10 years! In some ways it feels like we've always been together, but it also somehow feels like just yesterday I was trying to work up the nerve to ask her out.

Thank you for an incredible decade full of love, happiness, laughter...and adventure and intrigue. ;)

[asknednickerson]

Happy birthday, Henry!

It's hard to believe, but our sweet baby boy turned 2 today!

He, @nancydrewnickerson, and I had a wonderful day together, doing all of the things that make him happy, from his current favorite breakfast (pancakes with berries on the side) to a trip to the aquarium to racing his cars around the living room.

His birthday party is this weekend, so we're not done celebrating yet. He has so many people who love him; I can only imagine how much he'll get spoiled between attention and presents.

Right now, Nancy and I are waiting for midnight, when it'll officially be the anniversary of when we started dating. (10 years!!!) Two years ago, we were doing the same thing, except we were holding our newborn son.

If I'm not too busy romancing my amazing wife, I'll try to remember to post a little something tomorrow.

[asknednickerson]

Happy Father's Day!

I hope everyone was able to spend today with their loved ones. Happy Father's Day to all the fathers, grandfathers, father figures, single mothers, etc.!

Thank you, Dad, for being an incredible role model and setting a high bar for me as a father. I always knew you put a lot of effort into everything, but I didn't realize just how much until Henry came along. I definitely don't say it enough, but I appreciate you always being there, whether it's with advice or just your time.

Thank you, Carson, for raising such an incredible daughter. Any step Henry takes towards independence terrifies me, but then I have to remind myself that you didn't let those fears hold @nancydrewnickerson back. And thanks to you, I get to spend the rest of my life with a woman who is as fearless and adventurous as she is loving and compassionate.

And thank you both for all the help you've given Nancy, Henry, and me. Henry is lucky to have such great grandfathers who will love and protect him no matter what. And Nancy and I are lucky to have you both as part of our support system.

Nancy... thank you for making me a father, for being on this journey with me and making parenthood less scary, for making today (and every day) special. I know I've said it before, but there is no one else I would want to do this with.

Most importantly, thank you, Henry. You make me smile every day. Every time you laugh or discover something new, my heart warms and I'm reminded that I was so very, very wrong when I used to think that I could never love anyone as much as I love your mother.

[asknednickerson]

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers and mother figures out there, especially @nancydrewnickerson.

Sweetheart, you are such an incredible mother. Henry is lucky to have you, and I can't imagine going through parenthood with anyone else. I've been in awe of you since the day we met, but watching you with Henry has taken that to a whole different level.

I always knew you'd make a great mom, and the past (nearly) two years have proven it. Thank you for everything you do- from being being a wonderful role model for our son to always trying to make the world a better place to raise him in.

Fatherhood is the best gift you've ever given me, and I hope you know how much I truly appreciate you and the life we've created together.

I love you!

[asknednickerson]

Nancy's birthday 2018

Hi, everyone!

Nancy's birthday was last month, and at first she wanted to have a quiet celebration with just the three of us. We're still looking for our next home, which has started to become quite exhaustive, even with my dad's help.

It doesn't seem like that long ago that we were looking for our current apartment. Even though it was technically just for me to live in it at the time, we knew it'd be where we'd start our marriage, and potentially our family. Now we're looking for somewhere to raise our family. There's a lot more to consider now… if there are other families in the neighborhood, ratings on the local school districts, and how many rooms we think we'll need.

But how tiring the hunt has been is exactly why I convinced Nancy we needed a night off. Nancy's birthday was on a Thursday, so we took it and the next day off from work. After sleeping in (Henry joined us for cuddles when he woke up), we went out to brunch on her birthday. Of course, Henry had the waitress wrapped around his little finger. Nancy says it's the Nickerson smile, but I think he's also inherited Nancy's people skills. I haven't met many people who can say no to her, and it looks like Henry is following in her footsteps.

It was a nice day out, so we went for a walk after and ended up at a park near our apartment. Henry recently found a love for the swings, so Nancy and I took turns gently pushing him in the toddler swing and taking videos.

The rest of the day went pretty much as Nancy had requested. We relaxed at home, playing with Henry. For dinner, we tried a creamy garlic penne recipe Nancy found on Pinterest. It was really good, and Henry enjoyed some of the penne cut up without the sauce, with his usual assortment of finger foods: blueberries, some baked chicken, and his favorite goldfish crackers. We made lemon cupcakes for dessert, and then Nancy opened her presents.

After we put Henry to bed, Nancy and I caught up on our Netflix queue. It was a pretty indulgent day--getting to sleep in (as much as we ever can sleep in with Henry) and stay up late.

I planned a night out with our friends Friday night. We were supposed to drop Henry off with Hannah, but Carson ended up picking Henry up in the afternoon. He didn't think he was going to be back from his business trip until the weekend, so he was excited to have some extra time with Henry.

Henry's already almost two--his birthday is this summer--but Nancy and I both still have a bit of a hard time leaving him. He's always with someone we trust, so that's not an issue. But we don't want to miss anything. One of my co-workers joked that we won't feel that way once the terrible twos hit. But Henry has been so good so far that we're both pretty convinced that even if he does hit a rebellious stage it won't be as bad as some of the horror stories we've heard.

I almost didn't want to leave that night after Nancy came out all dressed up; she was modeling one of my gifts, a bracelet with our three birthstones and room to add more, and she told me that she, ahem, was wearing one of my other gifts for later.

We ended up being only a little late to dinner with Bess, George, and their dates at a restaurant downtown that Bess recommended. We met up with some more friends at a bar afterwards; I didn't realize it was karaoke night, but Nancy got a real kick out of Mike and a couple of the other guys going up to sing "Private Eyes" in her honor.

Bess and George came way too early on Saturday morning to pick up Nancy for a girls’ day. Bess was somehow the only one to survive Friday night without feeling dead tired in the morning. George's lack of enthusiasm might've been more about the fact that Bess planned the day, though. I heard her mumbling under her breath about manicures when they left.

I can't say exactly what Henry and I got up to after I picked him up (other than getting spoiled with Hannah's cooking) because it involved some planning for Mother's Day. I probably shouldn't pique Nancy's interest by mentioning it, but she only has a week left to wait ; )

[asknednickerson]

December 31, 2017

Happy New Year's Eve, Tumblr! I hope you've all been enjoying the holiday season.

Around this time 4 years ago, I was probably rehearsing what I was going to say that night when I proposed to @nancydrewnickerson... And coming up with a couple contingency plans in case we suddenly found ourselves on a case.

It's been a busy time for us here between the holiday season and celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary. Yes, it's already been 3 amazing years.

The Yule Ball was the weekend before our anniversary. We took Hannah up on her offer to watch Henry for the night so we could have the night out to celebrate.

Carson wasn't able to attend this year, so Nancy did have to work the room a bit and represent the Drew name. We still got in plenty of dancing, though.

It'd been a bit since we danced without Henry. Some nights when we're trying to get Henry to fall asleep, we'll put some music on softly and sway slowly with him between us until he starts to settle down.

I love those moments, but every time it's just the two of us, it takes me back to that first slow dance, when I was afraid I'd step on her feet and then elated when she politely declined anyone who tried to cut in.

We went to a hotel afterwards, and ordered dessert from room service. And let's just leave it at, we really enjoyed the night.

Our anniversary was the next Wednesday. We didn't take the day off from work; my office closes the week between Christmas and the new year so that's always a busy time. But Nancy made sure to send sweet notes to my robot, and I personally delivered flowers before we took an extra long lunch together.

I'm sure we've said this before, but our families take turns watching Henry while we're at work. He was with my parents that day, and Mom surprised us by having a delicious lasagna waiting at home for us.

We watched our wedding video after dinner. Henry was more interested in getting us to build towers with his blocks than letting us watch it, though.

We considered pausing the video and waiting until he was asleep to finish it, but there was just something that felt really right about hearing our vows recited while we were playing with our son.

Presents waited until after his bedtime. With Christmas less than a week after our anniversary, we always say we won't go extravagant and instead focus on more sentimental anniversary presents.

When I read that pearls are the gemstones that represent third anniversaries, it reminded me of Nancy's mother's necklace, which Nancy wore on our wedding day. I found a bracelet that isn't a perfect match to the necklace, but complements it nicely.

Nancy went with the traditional--leather--and modern--crystal--gifts for third anniversaries. She gave me a leather wallet that was engraved on the inside with our initials and wedding date. And I'm going to have to find room on my desk at work for her other gift, a crystal frame with a picture we took with Henry on our last anniversary.

It's such a sweet photo, and it's almost hard to believe how much Henry has grown since then.

Our anniversary wasn't the only thing keeping us busy this month. We have a lot of family traditions we like to keep, and new ones we've started together.

Last year, Henry loved all the lights. Because he's mobile this year, we were concerned about him touching the tree and getting hurt, so we put up a baby gate a safe distance around it to make sure he wouldn't get too close. Space was an issue, so it's not really a big tree, but better safe than sorry.

Nancy found a really cool craft idea online so that Henry could have his own tree. We--by which I mean mainly Nancy while I kept Henry entertained--cut a tree pattern about Henry's height out of felt, which we stuck against a wall.

And then we--really we this time--cut out little ornament shapes from other colors of felt. And then we stuck velcro pieces on them so Henry would be able to stick them on the felt tree, pull them off, and stick them back on.

Henry really enjoyed playing with it, and he wanted everyone who visited to play too.

I think Henry's favorite part of this month was visiting his great-grandparents' farmhouse and getting to see the horses. We let him pet my grandparents' gentlest horse, Peaches. He's not old enough to ride, of course, but Nancy and I went for a little ride ourselves.

We spent Christmas Eve at Carson's house. Eloise was there, and my parents came too, and we all exchanged presents then.

We made everyone salt dough ornaments from Henry. Both of our families' trees still have ornaments we made when we were younger, so it was pretty cool seeing his hanging up beside our own. (We made extra for ours, of course.)

Mom gave us some presents to put under our tree from Henry.

For our joint present, Mom painted Merry Christmas in cursive on a canvas and then had Henry press multicolored fingerprints along the words so it looks like a string of Christmas lights.

Dad filmed the whole thing, thinking Henry's reaction might be hilarious to rewatch. It was actually a lot more sweet than funny, though. For the most part, Henry was happy to let his Grandma do whatever she wanted. But he did reach for Mom a lot, so she ended up with his fingerprints all over her too.

(Dad took a picture of the two of them once the project was over, and he put it in a frame for her for Christmas.)

Mom also had him help make individual presents for both of us. For mine, Mom gave him a blank piece of paper to scribble on with crayons. (He loves 'coloring.' When he sees me or Nancy writing, he always wants to try it too, so we'll give him some crayons and paper.) And then she put it in a frame alongside a picture I had drawn at a young age too.

I was, of course, partial to my gift, but Nancy's was great too. Mom gave her pot holders with Henry's handprints and "Mommy's helping hands" on it. She has them hanging near the oven as decoration  only. I don't think them getting ruined is quite a risk with her, but me on the other hand...

After we opened presents, we headed to my parents' house. Carson, Hannah, Eloise, and a lot of my extended family were there too. Henry got plenty of attention and even more gifts. Everyone was really generous--so generous in fact that I think Henry officially takes up 99% of the apartment.

I can't believe we're almost going to ring in 2018. I'm excited for what the new year will bring for my family. I know 2017 hasn't been a good year for a lot of people around the world, but hopefully some of those problems won't carry into 2018.

I hope everyone says safe tonight, whether you're going out or staying in like us. Happy new year!

[asknednickerson]

Thank you, sweetheart. I have to give you some credit for the man I am today. The day I met you I wanted to capture your attention, and since then I've been determined to be worthy of being a part of your life. Because, @nancydrewnickerson, getting to be a part of your life--and everything that has come with it--has been the greatest gift possible. I love you and Henry so much.

I had a wonderful birthday with you and our sweet boy. I enjoyed the celebrating we got to do with our family and friends too, but nothing could ever top the time the three of us spend together. Well, maybe...

You know, if you love the suits so much, I'll just have to wait a little bit longer to change when I get home from work. ;)

Ned’s birthday 2017

It’s hard to believe that we’re so close to Christmas. The apartment is decorated, and everywhere in the city is all twinkling lights and trees and garland, but still. Five more days, and I still feel like I have so much to do.

Keep reading

[asknednickerson]

Halloween 2017

Hello, Tumblr! It feels like forever since @nancydrewnickerson or I posted. That's probably because our little guy is quickly becoming not so little. But with Halloween around the corner, it seems like a good time for an update.

It's not Henry's first Halloween, but he was too small to enjoy it last year. We dressed him up as a football player and stayed in, handing out candy.

It was hard to narrow down costume ideas for this year, but once we started talking about superheros, it seemed fitting for him to be The Flash. He's walking on his own now, and it feels like if you blink or turn away for a second, he's at the other side of the room. (He's definitely Nancy's son, always trying to snoop in things. Good thing Carson shared some “baby Nancy-proofing” tips.)

Last year, Nancy and I dressed up to match Henry (cheerleader and coach), and we’re going to go with the same superhero theme this year and be Clark Kent and Lois Lane. It wasn’t hard to pull together the costumes from clothes we have in our closet, and Nancy created Daily Planet badges for us to wear.

My work is co-sponsoring a kids’ Halloween party at a local rec center this weekend, so we're planning on stopping by for a little bit and checking out what they have planned for the smaller kids.

At the very least, Henry will love all the decorations. When we went to brunch at my parents’ house last weekend, I walked him around the front yard so he could look at their decorations. It was a little tough keeping his hands from pulling on the fake spiderwebs, but the light-up pumpkins ended up catching his attention.

On Tuesday, we'll take him to see our family, but he's still too young for trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. I can't wait for that, although I'm more than happy to delay the sugar rushes that come with Halloween.

Candy is off-limits this year, but Mom has already mentioned stocking up on treats to fill up his little pumpkin bucket, and she said she coordinated with Hannah to make sure they're picking up different things. I'd say Henry doesn't know how lucky he is to have the two of them, but he gets really excited to see them.

I think that's one of my favorite parts of watching Henry grow--seeing his excitement to everything. Whether it's how happy he is to see Nancy when she walks through the door or how excited he is every time he puts one of his toy blocks in the right shaped hole. I don't think I could ever get tired of the amazement he has when he encounters something new.

I know, I ended up getting gushy and off-topic, but can you can blame me?

[asknednickerson]

July 30, 2017

I can't believe our little boy is one. We had a great day with family and friends, but now that it's just the three of us, I'm getting pretty sentimental (or sappy as @nancydrewnickerson keeps teasing).

In some ways, it feels like any time has passed since we brought him home from the hospital. But he's already grown so much that it's impossible to deny. His little personality is starting to shine through. Thankfully, he seems to have inherited most of Nancy's best qualities like her determination and curiosity. That might mean that we have to watch him even more closely, but it also means that when he grows up, he'll be eager to explore and take on the world.

And here comes the sentimental, sappy part. Thinking about him growing up makes me think about everything I want for him. I figured the best thing to do is to write it all down, so here goes...

Henry,

I hope you realize how extremely lucky you are to have your mother. You already look at her like she's your whole world—a look your Aunt Bess says you got from me—but one day you're going to realize what sets her apart from all your friends' moms. Never let her forget it, either. She deserves to know every day that she's appreciated.

Speaking of your mom, I hope you find someone special who makes you as happy as she has made me. Maybe you'll be really lucky and that'll happen when you're young like I was, or maybe you'll have to wait a little longer. It won't matter if you get to spend decades or just a few years together, though, because every day you'll spend together will make up for all the time that you didn't.

My favorite memories with your Grandpa Nickerson are the games of catch we played in the yard. I can't wait to have moments like that with you, so whatever you're into—sports, comics, music, cooking—whatever that is, I hope you want to share it with me.

It's okay to make mistakes; the important thing is that you learn from them. You have a lot of great people in your life who will be great role models for you, and Mom and I will always be there for you. I hope you know that there is nothing you could do that would change that. You can always come to me if you need help or advice or if you just want to talk.

I hope you take risks. (Nothing too crazy, please. Your mom has already scared me enough for this lifetime.) Explore. Go on adventures. I've been lucky enough to go on plenty of them—many thanks to your mom—and I want that for you too.

There are so many things I want for you, but I'm going to stop here. Right now you're playing on the floor beside me, and from the way you're looking back and forth between me and your blocks, I know I probably only have another minute or two before you start handing them to me to play too. 

So I'll summarize the rest of my wishes for you as this: I hope you're happy. In just a year, you've already made me and your mom so incredibly happy. I hope we can make you just as happy.

Love,Dad

[asknednickerson]

Happy birthday, Henry!

The end of July has always been a good time for me. It’s when @nancydrewnickerson and I began dating (9 years tomorrow!), and now it’s when we get to celebrate our precious son.

There’s no doubt that the birthday boy is going to be spoiled today, although it’ll be a toss up on who will be doing the most spoiling.

[asknednickerson]

We love you too, @nancydrewnickerson. And there's no reason to worry. I think between you, Mom & Hannah, there's no way anything can go wrong. But even if something doesn't go exactly as planned, I know Henry will still be happy because all his favorite people will be there.

July 29, 2017

I’m so excited for tomorrow, although I can hardly believe it. Our little boy is turning one year old! @asknednickerson and I have the sweetest baby in the world, and we’ll be celebrating his birthday tomorrow afternoon with our families and a few friends. I know he won’t know if anything goes wrong, but I still want everything to be great.

I love both my boys so much.

[asknednickerson]

I'm going to make this quick, because I want to spend as much time as possible enjoying today...

I've been incredibly blessed this year with Henry and getting to watch him grow. Thank you, Nancy, for making me a father. There's no one I'd rather share this with either.

Henry is the sweetest baby and he makes it pretty darn easy to want to be the best possible father to him. I only hope that I'll do half as good a job raising him as our fathers did raising us.

I love every second we have with Henry, from playing with him to changing his diaper to watching him learn something new to calming him down when he's crying. Every moment is a blessing.

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads and father figures out there, and to any moms who have to play both roles!

Ned’s first Father’s Day (June 2017)!

I was able to celebrate my first Mother’s Day before @asknednickerson​  had his first Father’s Day, but Henry and I are definitely planning to spoil all the fathers in our lives today, especially Ned. We’re starting off with breakfast in bed, and I have to make sure that I make plenty because Henry is going to try to taste everything. He has a super strong grip and he’s very curious. Ned says we both know exactly where that came from. ;)

Edith hosted our Mother’s Day gathering, so Hannah decided she was going to handle Father’s Day lunch. Ned already put in his request for Hannah’s incredible chocolate cake, so I have no doubt we’ll be enjoying that. For our very manly meal, Dad will be grilling steaks while Hannah handles loaded twice-baked potatoes and salads. I’m bringing cheesy bacon crescent rolls, although to be more accurate, I’ll bring the ingredients and do the prep at Dad’s so they’ll be warm for serving. Edith will bring something spectacular, I’m sure.

Henry and I made a special little present for Ned, to commemorate his first Father’s Day, and I can’t wait to give it to him—so much that I might end up showing it to Ned while he’s still enjoying breakfast and feeding Henry well-curated bites of it. In the past few months I’ve managed to get some great shots of Henry with each of his grandfathers, so that’s part of our presents to both of them. They’ve both joked that their favorite part of today will be seeing all three of us, and being able to hold Henry. Henry’s my—no, our son, and I know that I’m a bit biased, but he is seriously the most adorable baby. Even spending so much time taking care of him, I still adore holding him. When both Ned’s parents and Dad and Hannah are around, though, the only time I’m allowed to hold him seems to be when he’s crying, because everyone else assumes immediately that he must want me to feed or change him.

It’s incredible that Henry’s first birthday is going to be soon. Just thinking about it makes me tear up a little. Feels like just yesterday I was holding him in my arms for the first time.

And Henry is an incredibly blessed little boy, to have Ned as a father. James Nickerson certainly taught him well, but Ned is such an amazing father. He and I have spent much of the past year stumbling around sleep-deprived, terrified that we were forgetting something, that we were the worst parents in the world… but I’ve watched Ned rock Henry to sleep so many nights. Sometimes Ned will just hold Henry and talk to him for hours, playing with him, reading to him, carrying him around, telling him the names of things. We’ve laughed (and sometimes cried) over all the dirty diapers we’ve changed, all the outfits we’ve changed and washed, but Ned has never begrudged it. He’s stumbled out of our bed half-dead with exhaustion, but he’s never complained about being the one to bring Henry to me when Henry’s crying and begging for one of us. Henry so clearly adores his daddy, and the love I see in Ned’s eyes when he looks at Henry takes my breath away. Today we’ll relax with the people we love, and tonight I’ll be home with my two favorite boys. With any luck Henry will sleep soundly for at least a little while, so we can get in some much-needed bonding time.

I love you, Ned. I’m so happy and so glad that we met, that you somehow fell in love with me, and that our love for each other helped us create a tiny, perfect human. There could be no better father for Henry on this earth than you. Seeing Henry learn and grow, his sweet blue eyes so big while he seems to really listen to everything you say… just imagine how it will be when he’s actually talking, toddling around, joining us on adventures in the park or on the playground. There’s no one else I would rather share this with than you, sweetheart.

[asknednickerson]

Mother's Day 2017

Happy Mother's Day, @nancydrewnickerson! Henry is incredibly lucky to have you. It's obvious how much he loves you now, but I can't wait until he's older and is able to realize and truly appreciate how much you do. Thank you for being my partner. There is no one else I would want to experience parenthood with. Henry and I love you, and we can't wait to spoil you today. And happy mother's day to my mom and Hannah, who have always been more than happy to help out with Henry in any way we need. And even before we were blessed with him, they were always ready to help us with anything we needed, before we even had to ask. Nancy and I (and Henry!) are really lucky to have these two incredible women in our lives.

[asknednickerson]

Oh, Nan. You put your heart into everything you do, and that's why so many people care about you.

As for spoiling me, I seem to recall you saying you'd enjoy your birthday no matter what we do, as long as the night ended with you in my arms. I think we should start there...

April 26, 2017

Happy birthday to an incredible wife, mother, friend & detective and an all-around amazing person!

@nancydrewnickerson, Henry and I are so lucky to have you. It’s clear by the way Henry looks at you that he’s just as in awe of you as I am.

From the teenage girl who captured my heart to my beautiful bride to the woman I’ve created a family with, you have brought so much joy into my life. I just hope I was able to do at least a fraction of that for you today. Because if there’s anyone who deserves to be celebrated, it’s you.

I can’t wait for the rest of the birthdays we get to share with each other. And I won’t settle for less than 80, so be extra careful the next time you decide to do something brave like jump out a plane while defusing a bomb ; )

Happy birthday, sweetheart. I love you.

[asknednickerson]

April 26, 2017

Happy birthday to an incredible wife, mother, friend & detective and an all-around amazing person! @nancydrewnickerson, Henry and I are so lucky to have you. It's clear by the way Henry looks at you that he's just as in awe of you as I am. From the teenage girl who captured my heart to my beautiful bride to the woman I've created a family with, you have brought so much joy into my life. I just hope I was able to do at least a fraction of that for you today. Because if there's anyone who deserves to be celebrated, it's you. I can't wait for the rest of the birthdays we get to share with each other. And I won't settle for less than 80, so be extra careful the next time you decide to do something brave like jump out a plane while defusing a bomb ; ) Happy birthday, sweetheart. I love you.