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.

This Weekend

As the weather's been getting cooler, Nickolas is getting more exercise indoors. We had a good weekend straightening out the apartment and Nickolas complied by taking a few good naps thanks to all of the energy he exerts from pulling himself up. Here are a couple of pictures from the weekend: of him - yet again - standing, with his sweater and hat before going for a walk, and gnawing on Dan's nose (still teething...).

Flashback: Nickolas's First Day at DOI

These photos were taken back in March when Nickolas was about one month old. It was his first time visiting the Interior Department and all of our wonderful co-workers. Nickolas had an eventful day being passed around (in order are Chanelle, Ashley, Holly, Dawn, David, and Monica) and finished the day in a little ball in Monica's arms. He even got suspended over the Secretary's chair and I couldn't resist a photo of him in front of our former Secretary's portrait with Pat. It's hard to believe that was eight months ago. Nickolas has come a long way and he's so lucky to have so many kind and generous DOI Aunties.

Two Wee Feet

Nickolas's latest thing is that he loves being on his very own two feet. He just loves to stand; he can't get enough of it. He does scoot along in a semi-crawling position and he's moving a lot faster; however, more times than not, when we plop him down to play with a toy, he straightens his legs and would rather stand versus sitting. Our leather ottoman is coming in handy for him to lean against. I have a feeling he'll be one of those wee ones that goes straight from creeping around to walking.

Happy Halloween!

Nickolas had an eventful and fun first Halloween. He dressed up as one of his favorite toys: a big stuffed chicken. Surprisingly, he did not mind wearing the costume and apparently, its quite a warm one, too. When he first saw the costume, he hugged it - thinking it was a big stuffed toy for him, I'm guessing. Later in the evening, Aimee's friend Leah and her husband Peter invited us over for some of Leah's Ghoul-lash. Their daughter, Greta, was dressed as a sweet little fairy. Both the little fairy and the big stuffed chicken had a fun time together -- even without sugar. All of us grown-ups, however, stuffed ourselves silly with a buttercream cake topped with toffee pieces from CakeLove. Happy Halloween!

Cheesehead

I bought Nickolas this Cheesehead when he was 2 months old. It was so cute as it was, I never actually put it on him to wear until tonight in honor of the big Monday Night Football game. The Packers had a thrilling 19-13 victory in overtime thanks to an 82-yard touchdown run against the Colorado Broncos.

For our family overseas, this piece of foam, shaped like a wedge of cheddar cheese, is something people from the great state of Wisconsin and who are Green Bay Packer American football fans, affectionately wear on their heads, hence the term "Cheesehead". We're a proud and strange breed. This past weekend, the NFL sent the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins to play in London, England for the first time. What did they show in the crowd? Someone wearing a Cheesehead.

So close...

Nickolas is so very close to crawling. He's kind of like an inch worm wiggling his whole body along to advance forward. Sometimes, he gets stuck and his belly acts as a turntable that pivots him in a circle. Any day now, we'll no longer have the luxury of his immobility and will need to complete our childproofing tasks around the apartment. Nickolas is one strong and determined wee one.