U.S. Botanic Gardens

Sunday was Dan's birthday and we had a fun weekend celebrating it. We've been quite busy ever since wrapping up loose ends before we head out for the holidays. We spent Sunday morning at the U.S. Botanic Gardens on the Hill where these photos were taken. One of Dan's dearest friends Jeff, his wife Christine, and son Bryce joined us for a fun morning.

During the holiday season, the botanic garden is decorated festively and model trains are set up both inside and out. The weather wasn't cooperating when we arrived, so the outdoor trains were not running; however, we did get to see a few. Otherwise, Nickolas visited a jungle, a desert, rare species and the garden court where miniature models of various DC monuments could be found.

Mini Me

Our good friends from work threw us a baby shower back in January and Jen (one of the hostesses) had a great idea to ask our moms - who happily obliged without us knowing - for photographs of us as wee ones. I was going through some drawers today and found the ones of wee Dan circa 1970 and about fell over. Nickolas is a 'wee me' version of Dan! I need to go through more photos of Nickolas to find the perfect one that best resembles this photo, but I can't hold back and not share these of Dan! Let's see what you think...

Mr. Nickolas Goes to the White House

Nickolas went to the White House today for his first time! We had the privilege to take a tour of the White House holiday decorations with our co-workers. Making it even more special, the theme this year was "Holiday in the National Parks", the National Park Service being an agency with the Department of the Interior where Dan and Aimee work (and met - haha). So, we felt it fitting to take our little Buffalo (the bison being the mascot for Interior) for a tour. Unlike other years, our tour began at 5:30 so it was dark outside at the time. Overall, it was very pretty with all of the lights and various gold-leaf decoration that all had a nature theme and Nickolas had a great time looking around at every sparkly decoration.

Nickolas toured the East Wing Corridor with its pretty pine cone wreaths, the Vermeil Room (home to many First Lady's portraits) as well as the room where President Roosevelt had his fire-side chats. The East Room was beautiful and the echoes of a children's choir were heard throughout. He toured the Green Room, the Red Room, and gazed all the way to the top of the huge tree in the Blue Room. We never saw a tree so large and full in that room before. It was decorated with hand-painted ornaments from a majority of the nearly 400 National Park units. The State Dining room was very lovely. What was incredible was this year's White House gingerbread house was literally white -- coated with white chocolate! Apparently, the house was depicted with historical and architectural accuracy by the White House Executive Pastry Chef, according to the tour booklet. Finally, the tour led to the cross hall and entrance hall where Nickolas was eyeing up the Presidential Seal. We had to tell him not to bring the tape measure along for when that house becomes his. However, he did grab on to one of the trees in the cross hall, so that behavior may not get him to the Oval Office. We'll see...

More information on the holiday decorations at the White House can be found at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/holiday/2007/

Prime Time Bubbles

Nickolas has grown so much he's out-grown both his infant tub and the kitchen sink. The last soaking session ended with him practically crawling right out of the sink. He can be a quick and slippery wee one. I was nervous about putting him in the big tub since that, too, can be slippery - and hard - so we purchased an inflatable tub for him which we tried out this evening. I also purchased a rubber spout to spray the water out further and to protect his head. He LOVED the bathtub and was fascinated with the falling water. He wanted to stick his wee head right into the stream. Forget the bath toys, he just wanted to splash around!

Pasha Nickolas's Wee Throne

Here are two photos of Nickolas on his step stool. He was given this back when he was very wee from cousin Sue. He surprised me this morning - now that he's so mobile - by climbing right up into it! His little stool is even personalized with NICKOLAS that you can kind of see in the second photo with little trains on the seat.

Newsflash: First Tooth Appears!

At nine months and about one week, we noticed Nickolas's first tooth! Here's a shot that actually captures the little tiny pearl that has surfaced in the middle of his bottom gum. He's certainly been a trooper with this new development.

Nickolas also had his nine-month check-up this past week. He now weighs 17 pounds 9 ounces, which puts him in the first 10th percentile (out of 100) with a gain of a whopping 3 pounds since his 6 month appointment. He now stands 2 feet 3 1/4 (27 1/4") inches and still has that large noggin with a measurement that puts him in the 70th percentile. I will let Dan take a stab at the metrics conversion for our family overseas. In short, he is still a wee one, but a very healthy, happy, and thriving wee one.

Holiday Card Preview

We procrastinated today with doing our weekend chores and opted for a more fun activity - holiday photos! Today was a crisp day with a blue sky, which made for a nice opportunity to use a Christmas tree lot near our friend's house. Of particular help was the use of Peter and Leah's fancy camera. You can see I happily obliged to shoot their photos for the opportunity to play with such a fun toy.

Many Thanks

Dan and I have so many things to be thankful for - our parents, our siblings, their health, our health, their love, our love ... and of course, NICKOLAS! Nickolas spent his first Thanksgiving in Kentucky and took such good naps, Dan's mom and Aimee made two pies from scratch during the morning nap, and during the afternoon nap, Grant and Aimee watched the Green Bay Packer game while Dan did the rest of the cookin. Nickolas was an angel during the 1100 mile road trip and enjoyed the fresh Kentucky air. He even made a trip to Walmart and fed the geese with Grandfather Manoo. Nickolas loved all of the crawling space at the house and enjoyed roaming on top of the dining table and particularly loved rolling around the carpets. Nickolas is also a big fan of Marriott Courtyards and enjoyed the roaming space there, as well. And, from the photo below, it appears he's now counting down the days -- 15 years and 3 months -- until he gets his driver's license. We were truly spoiled by the Kentucky hospitality and had a great holiday that went by too fast.

Introducing: His Royal Highness

Here are some classic highchair shots I couldn't resist of Nickolas. He's been using this highchair now for about six weeks. Of course, this particular meal was a messy variety of garden vegetables that he wasn't wild about. Sometimes we wonder if any gets into his mouth, but for the most part, he takes each spoonful well. He does enjoy oatmeal and most fruits, pureed chicken and turkey, green beans, squash, and sweet potatoes. My general rule is that if it grosses me out, why force it on him as long as he's still getting what wee ones need? Before we know it, he'll be eating hot dogs and pizza and baloney sandwiches.



Also, on Sunday, Nickolas turned 9 months old! His next pediatrician appointment is in one week, so we're curious to see what his measurements are. He's certainly grown since his last weigh-in by Godmother Amy. On Saturday, we took a nice walk in Old Town Alexandria and all of the trees were lit with white lights up and down the main street. At first, we rushed to get our walk in before it got dark and colder, but it turned to be quite enjoyable with the lights and we knew Nickolas was warm in his down outfit. I think we have a future cold weather snow bunny on our hands like his mom!

New Kicks and Blocks

This past week, Nickolas received two new items -- new blocks in various shapes and colors and new shoes. Up until now, Nickolas would wear his socks outside, but now with the lower temperatures, he needed something more. Dan had the brilliant idea of drawing an outline of Nickolas's foot and I brought it into the store to be measured. The result? New brown leather casual size 3 Stride Rites from their Stage 2 collection for pre-walkers. Perfect for learning to walk and staying warm.

Also, Nickolas has been having a great time playing with his new bucket of blocks. He's learning that they can go quite far when thrown and that they taste good. Like most kids, he's also learning that the bucket they came is just as much, if not more, fun to play with. Another funny thing that he's getting a kick out of is talking into an empty bottle. Not that he's speaking words, he makes sounds into the bottle and laughs when he hears the funny sound. I was quite impressed. That, too, is apparently tasty.