4th of July Weekend

The Friday before the 4th of July, Ed, his mother, Nico and I flew to Milwaukee, WI. Once arriving, we rented a car and drove three plus hours north to "The Farm." The farm has been in Ed's family for years and years. His grandmother, who recently turned 90 lives there and his family gathered to celebrate her birthday and the 4th of July. Nico and I got to meet lots of family members we never had before and Nico had a blast playing outside (since we certainly can't play outside in TX during the summer). We were actually in an area of the country in which going outside in July was very tolerable...with bug repellent.













Nico got to play with his 5th cousins, who were his age. They splashed around in the baby pool so much I thought the kids were going to turn into fish! Water fun did seem to be a trend for our little man. Nico and Ed, along with Uncle Louie and Kasey went swimming in a nearby lake. The water was so clear you could see the little fish swimming around.







Nico was able to have his first experience of fireworks while at the Farm! He got to stay up way past his bed time which was a rare treat for this little guy. Unfortunately, Nico was not a big fan of fireworks; however his experience was not a typical one. Being at the Farm, the fireworks were extra loud which scared Nico. He walked around all day saying, "oh no, boom boom!"






After the visit to the farm, we headed south to Chicago and stayed right outside the city for a night so Ed could run a race with a cousin of his. Then for the 4th of July, we traveled back north to Libertyville and spent the day and night with more family. Nico was able to squeeze in a lot more swimming and running around outside before heading back to Texas.




On the day of departure to return home, we decided to take a detour to Antich, IL, where Ed grew up. He showed his Nico the house he was raised in and they waded in the nearby lake. It was a nice was to end our trip up north.

Houston Summer Trip-Aquarium Trip!

Another exciting adventure for Nico when we were in Houston last week, was our trip to the Houston downtown Aquarium. I think Nico was expecting to be back at Sea World, and while this was not the case, he had so much fun and a few thrills seeing all the sites. In addition to the general aquariums with fish, snakes, and other sea life including a "petting zoo," there was also a shark voyager ride in conjunction with a train ride, as well as a beautiful white tiger to visit. We also tried out a few of the other rides and ended the day with having a great lunch. The only downfall to this adventure was that we apparently chose to visit the Aquarium when many other schools planned field trips! Needless to say it was pretty crowded, but we tried to keep away from the crowd and let Nico enjoy himself.

Houston Summer Trip-Beach Post

Last week Nico and I headed to Houston for some quality Gigi time. We were there for an entire week, and had lots of time to do quite a few fun things. Nico had been requesting to go to the beach for quite some time, so we got up and out early to beat the heat, but made it to the beach. Galveston certainly is not the prettiest beach. The water was very brown and there was quite a bit of seaweed out, but I guess that is what you get for being at a beach on the Gulf of Mexico and not on the ocean. Nico still had a BLAST! As soon as his little feet hit the sand, he made a straight bee line for the water. This little brave boy ran directly into the water, not caring if Mommy or Gigi were behind him. There was lots of wave jumping, sand castle building, float riding, and of course seagull feeding! We had a great morning in the sun!

Ready to face the possible jellyfish we may find!

It was a little windy when we got there! Looks like Gigi may blow away!

Little man made a beeline for the water. Someone got brave!

Building Spnge Bob's house with Gigi.

Someone is VERY dirty!

Taking a little boat-float ride!

The end of our fun morning: feeding the seagulls! They were very hungry and ate an entire loaf of bread.

Pop's Birthday!

Last weekend Pops and Mops came to visit us to celebrate Pop's birthday/Father's Day! Nico is really getting used to this birthday thing, but we discovered he is not a big fan of German Chocolate cake! There has been a birthday to celebrate every month for three months and we are not done yet! Nico is already looking forward to Ninny's birthday next month. We had a nice visit with Pops and Mops for the couple of days they were here. Nico did lots of performing by counting to 10, singing his ABCs, and naming the letters in his name...show off! The little guy is so smart and he now knows to "kiss his brain" when he does something worthy. Here are a few pictures from last weekend. We will see you next month Pops!

Amazing New School Pictures

Seriously!? Could this kid be any cuter? How did Ed and I get so lucky to have such a beautiful, adorable, hilarious and absolutely wonderful little boy! Thank you God! Enjoy Nico's new school pictures; they are amazing!