Our Little Stander

Nico's preferred position? Standing or walking. He feels like such a big boy when standing up tall and proud. He is still a little wobbly and unsure of himself, but is getting more independent everyday. Practice makes perfect!

Bathtime is Not for Babies Anymore

Nico sure has grown into a big boy and some of our baby routines have had to change with him. The Little Man has been sitting in the big bathtub at bath time now. He knows when it is that time of night...once we enter the bathroom and he sees the tub filling up with water, there are lots of giggles and "bas, mas, ahs..." Nico really enjoys his bath time toys now as well. He chases down the squirt toys and the cups he can pour water out of, by scooting on his bottom around in the tub; he splashes all round, and even climbs the tub walls. Before I know it, he will be jumping out of the tub!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is Daddy's birthday! We started the day out with an early lunch at Mac's. The twins joined Ed, Nico and myself and we had ourselves a nice little family outing together. The afternoon consisted of Daddy and Nico doing what they do best: napping! In the evening Nico stayed with our newly found sitter, Stefanie, who has come into our lives just at the right time. Ed and I were then able to go out for a night on the town. We had a nice dinner downtown, made a trip to Starbucks and then headed over the Four Day Weekend comedy club, which was a terrific improv show. If you are ever in Fort Worth and need something to do, I would highly recommend going to see these guys. They were absolutely hilarious!

Recent Pictures Of Nico

There is not a whole lot to report on. Nico is still scooting around the house/chasing the dogs in his walker. He has become quite an expert in his little car and can round corners, go through doorways and yes...he can now walk forwards! However, it does look like he may start crawling soon. When reaching for things Nico now pulls himself all the up onto his knees and has landed on all fours. Nico is also striving to be more independent when pulling himself up. He has to be motivated to pull himself up from the floor and usually it is when wanting to get closer or climb into Mommy's lap, but he can do it. In addition, Nico has discovered a new favorite place to hang out: Daddy' shoulders. He just giggles, laughs, and smiles whenever sitting on Daddy's shoulders.

Here are some cute recent pictures of the little man and what he has been up to.

Nico got disciplined for the first time. :( He kept trying(and still keeps trying) to pull the edging off of his play mats...and yes, then tries to eat them.

Nico and Daddy napping in Daddy's new chair. This chair marks the one year anniversary of Daddy quitting smoking.

Nico and Matthew in their double stroller out for a walk.

Nico chillin on Matthew's bench.

Nico's getting geared up for the Bear's season to start.

Mmm Mmm good

Nico loves the swings!

Nico loves the laptop!

Since Daddy, and now Mommy too, teach online, Nico has seen us using laptops from day one. He is very intrigued by them and is constantly trying to make his way over to the keyboard. We finally gave in and now Nico is able to play on "his own laptop."

Nine Months Old!

Our baby is 9 months old today! It seems like just a few weeks ago that Nico was born, he has now been here, in our lives as long as I carried our little guy. Some days I have a hard time believing he is actually here and is ours. Every morning now I wake up from hearing baby babbling coming in over the monitor. I roll out of bed, head into Nico's room where I pick up my 22 lbs baby boy who wraps his arms around me and nuzzles his face into my neck. As I hug my precious boy, every worry and stress just melts away. Nico has such a wonderful nature about him. He is such a happy and loving boy who is so much fun to be around. I always knew that someday I would like being a mommy, but this is better than I had ever imagined. God has truly blessed us with this sweet, sweet angel.

What's Up With Nico?

It has been longer than usual between blogging. Life has just kept Nico and Mommy busy, starting with Mommy having to start back to work two weeks ago. The positive thing is that I am only working part time and Nico does not have to go to daycare anymore. Luckily, Nico is spending two days with Ms. Rebecca and his friend Matthew and half a day with Daddy!

Updates on Nico...well, our little man has five teeth now! His Nico kisses, which are actually nose bites, now hurt, but are still as sweet as ever. Our soon to be 9 month old is as big as a one year old, which is so amazing to me! He is weighing in at almost 22 lbs and is as strong as an ox. Nico is working at pulling himself up and can stand on his own for up to five minutes or so without any help from Mommy or Daddy. As you can see from the video posted on the last blog, Nico has become quite an expert in his walker. He loves following Mommy around the house and you have to watch out, because the little driver will run right over your feet! Nico is such a talker now too. He says da-da, ba, ya and ma..all great sounds for the start of his language development. Nico's clapping has come along as well. He now claps with his hands open and does so whenever he gets excited about something.

Our little man is growing up so fast. It hard to believe that I have to start thinking about his first birthday already.

Here are some recent pictures. Enjoy!

Nico stayed with his auntie Lisa and was able to play with Dawson some.

Nico with his big brother who was gone for two months this summer!

Introducing....Dr. Dad!

Daddy is now officially Dr. Ed! This past weekend we flew up to Minneapolis, MN to watch Daddy walk across the stage and obtain the diploma he has worked so hard to earn, and to celebrate such a wonderful achievement. Friday was filled with various activities for the graduates and their families, including the hooding ceremony and the President's reception. It was Saturday morning which Nico and I were able to watch with pride as Daddy became Dr. Daddy. After watching Ed journey down what seemed at the time, an almost impossible path, I couldn't have been any prouder of him than I was at that very moment when his name was called to walk across that stage. I hope that someday when Nico looks back on the pictures of this trip he will appreciate what his father accomplished, be glad he was there to witness the ceremony, and have an understanding of how important education is to one's future.

Staying in downtown Minneapolis we did lots of walking and were able to enjoy the cooler weather and city sights. Although, the twin cities which was going through a drought, actually got some rain, we stayed dry by being able to travel through the city skywalks. In addition, to all of the graduation activities, we were also able to take a trip to Mall of America, which was not quite as impressive as we thought it would be.

Capella University will always hold a dear place in both mine and Ed's hearts. It is through Capella that we met, later married and now have our incredible little boy. While in Minneapolis we had the chance to take a tour of Capella University, and since neither of us had ever been to our alum school, we jumped on this chance.

The hooding ceremony.

Mommy and Daddy just returning from the President's reception.

The graduation ceremony is about to begin!

And a long ceremony it was...at least for Nico.

Daddy is now Dr. Dad!

Mommy and Daddy in front of the Capella seal.

8 Months!

Yes, that's right, Nico is 8 months old today! Amazing! He is growing up so fast already. Although, he is still not crawling yet, Nico is starting to pull himself up, and can even stand on his own feet for a little bit. Nico has developed a sense of separation anxiety and HAS to be with his Mommy at all times...or else there is lots of crying. The little man has also developed a sense of humor! He finds quite a few things, like Daddy, funny, and just laughs and laughs.

Here are some pictures of Nico being 8 months old!