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!

Gigi's Birthday

Nico and I were blessed last weekend to have Gigi come visit us and stay over her birthday! We had a nice time celebrating, but I do think Nico was the most excited out of all us about Gigi spending her birthday with us! He woke the morning of Gigi's birthday and immediately asked, "where's Gigi's how-do cake?" My little man is so precious!


That morning Gigi and I took Nico for a little fun at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. Nico played around in the children's areas, was in awe of everything dinosaur related and then we went to see his first IMAX film. Although the film was about "big fish" and the ocean, Nico did not make it through and fell asleep before it was over.





Luckily, although rain had been predicted, the weather was beautiful and later that day we headed down to the relatively new and chic area of town near the Montgomery Plaza for a birthday dinner. Nico and I treated Gigi to The Brownstone for scrumptious dinner. It was a fabulous and succulent meal, and thanks to the weather we were able to sit outside and enjoy the atmosphere.

Potty Time

There has been potty talk in this house for quite some time now; however Nico has not been under any pressure to use the potty. Luckily he enjoys talking and reading about sitting on using the potty. Many kids are often afraid to sit on or flush the potty, but not Nico. He finds it entertaining to sit down, flush toilet paper and then excitedly tell us, "Mommy, Daddy, I did it!" Nico even has a pottying schedule at school and whenever it is time to change his diaper, the little man sits on the potty and participates in the whole pottying routine.


A couple of months ago I splurged and bought Nico some Toy Story undies. He was very excited about the idea of the them and some days he even wears them over his diaper to school. This way he can get used to pulling them up and down. Then other days I let Nico wear just the undies and run around in the backyard or downstairs. In the last week or so, our growing boy, on his own, ran to his potty chair and peed! Needless to say we are very proud of him and he is so incredibly proud of himself. I am learning that with little boys, most of the pee goes outside of the potty even if that is not the goal!

As you can see, Nico completely missed the potty, but he was sitting on it, so according to Mommy, it counts!

The next try some pee-pee actually landed in the potty! Woo Hoo!

We still have a ways to go, but the important thing is for Nico to start using the potty regularly when he is ready to do so.

Happy Mother's Day to me!

Warning this will be a long post!

Today is the third Mother's Day in which I have been able to celebrate as a mother. Being a mother....well, there really are not enough words to express how much being a mother means to me. After tremendous heartache and pain, Nico came into our lives to gives us hope, renew our faith, and teach us what love really is. He saved me in so many ways and I am proud and honored to be called Nico's Mommy. It is the most important role I have in life.


While I now am able to relish in the fact that I am now a mom to be most wonderful little boy in the world, my heart still breaks for those ladies who are still waiting for the day they will be called "mommy" and those who have lost precious little ones.

Although Nico made me a mommy, it is my own mother who has made me become the mommy I am for Nico. She has been an amazing role model for me as a mom, a woman and is even my best friend. My mom has been there for me through thick and thin, listened to all my problems, is always there as a shoulder for me to cry on, she hurts when I hurt and celebrates when I do. I thank you Mom with all my heart for helping be become the person, the woman and the mom I am today.

Now...on to the good stuff. We started this Mother's Day weekend by going to May Fest. An annual Fort Worth festival, May Fest has pony rides, playgrounds, petting zoos, jump/bounce houses, shows and performances, bands, arts and craft, vendors selling all kind of thngs, carnival rides, and lots of fair food. It was hot, but still fun to walk around see the sights and ride some of the rides.









On Sunday my Mother's Day began with my sweet and wonderful husband making breakfast for me. Nico was supposed to help Daddy cook, but he got a little distracted! After breakfast we took a nice family walk up to the park for Nico to play, play, play. After some good nap time, my little family took me to the mall and I actually got to shop for myself! During my shopping spree, Nico and Daddy rode the train, the carousel, and played in the kids area at the mall. Overall, it was a great day and weekend spent with my two favorite boys, while also getting in my "me time."