Nicky's first Christmas!

We have been anxiously awaiting this day, Nicky's first Christmas!  This was the first year Dan and I have hosted Christmas for friends and family...and it was a huge success!  Thank you to the Boncels, Herrons and Telles' for bringing fabulous food, and thank you to Dan for cooking delicious steak and potatoes for everyone! 

Given that I wanted to make sure Nicky still got his naps, and with so much going on that day, we didn't end up opening gifts until after Christmas dinner..although Nicky can't unwrap things just yet, he still had a great time!

Nicky the red-nosed Boncel 

Nicky w/Grandma and Poppa

Nicky's Uncle Steve, Aunt Sandy, and cousins Sarah, Tess, and Maya

Happy Howlidays!

I love wagon rides! - gift from Santa

Another gift from Santa - like father, like son!

Grrr...cause my lion says so!

What should I play with first?

Nicky and Crazy Auntie Zel (aka "CAZ")

The Boncels w/Uncle Vinny and Auntie Zel

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Nicky is 9 months old!

Can't believe 2010 has just flown by!  Nicky is having a great holiday season, spending it with his friends and family - visiting Austin in November, Thanksgiving in Tucson, celebrating his first St. Nick's, secret Santa at Playgroup, and now getting ready for Christmas!  He turned 9 months old on the 16th and had his check-up.  Here are some stats:
Height:  29 inches (75th-90th percentile)
Weight: 18 lbs 12 oz. (10-25th percentile)

Nicky is either crawling, standing, or walking along something, that it's rare that we get shots like this:

He is starting to eat different things outside of just pureed baby food - he's had scrambled eggs with mom and dad at breakfast, and has puffs before his meals (we call them his appetizers, and its a HUGE distraction for him so we can get his real food ready!), and more stage 3 foods including pasta and chicken!  I have him completely weened off of breastmilk (he hasn't had any since Thanksgiving weekend) and it was surprisingly a very easy experience, for the both of us.  I just have to think about I got him to 8.5 months, when I was ready to give up at 3 months!  I put away the boppy a couple of weeks ago, it had a good run.  Although he only has 2 teeth, it doesn't stop him from trying new things.  And he'll let you know when he's done eating - he will just blow raspberries at you and then smile - I've had to wipe my face a couple of times, and it's hard NOT to laugh with him!

Nicky is just all smiles these days - I wonder if his cheeks get tired - as you will see in these photos, he is always saying CHEESE!

Not walking yet, but he's been able to stand and hold on to the side of the couch and scoot all the way around. 

He loves his new bike, and because he loves to stand so much, it leads to things like this:

Future BMX rider

Taking his growth picture this month has proved to be difficult. Here is my first attempt:

Then we realized we just have to put him in his chair (but hold him still at the same time) in order for us to get a shot:

We put up the Christmas tree last weekend - can't wait for friends and family to see it in person! 

The tree is in the front living room, and Nicky usually doesn't crawl there, so far so good (we did get a baby fence just in case!)  Surprisingly, both Dodger and Bentley haven't given the tree much thought or attention either! 

Mommy and Me

Had to put this picture in the blog - this is Bentley's new favorite spot:

Enjoys the sand trap - just like his Dad!

Turkey for you, and a turkey for me...

We spent our Thanksgiving holiday in Tucson with Nicky's Grandma and Poppa, Uncle Steve and Auntie Sandy, and cousins Maya, Sarah and Tess.  We also got to see Bentley after 2 weeks - he's been hanging out in T-town since we went to Austin on November 13th!

Thanksgiving Eve I went to see Beauty and the Beast with the girls, Sandy, Grandma, and Steve's mom Loni, on our inaugural GNO (girls night out!).  It was awesome - loved hearing those songs again and seeing the smiles on the girls faces :)

We were very excited for Nicky's first Thanksgiving, as he had more than pureed sweet potatoes this time around.  We gave him little pieces of turkey (fried turkey of course!) and stuffing - although most of it ended up on the floor (and the doggies appreciated it!), it was so cute seeing him pick it up and just feel it through his fingers - gotta get him working on the hand eye coordination!  We are slowly working in table food into his diet, and now he absolutely loves cheerios!

Dan and his sister Sandy had a "brine" competition - Dan used an Alton Brown recipe, while Sandy used a Rachel Ray recipe - final results were that Dan's turkey was more flavorful, while Sandy's turkey was more moist.  We're all winners!

Nicky and Grandma

Guess who got me this shirt.

So much going on during Thanksgiving day (including 3 football games on TV), that Nicky was like "Naps? What are these things you call naps?".  He didn't sleep much that day because he was just so interested in the big party!  While he was hanging out with the family, he did work on his standing skills, even to the point where he was standing still without holding on to anything, for a good 5 seconds before falling to the ground - HUGE accomplishment!!

Friday night Dan's family threw our niece Maya a surprise birthday party, which was a lot of fun - I think there may have been 10+ kids there...and surprisingly enough Nicky didn't miss his bedtime, and slept through it all.  I think the weekend was finally catching up with him.

Poppa, Tess (holding Uncle Dan's beer), and Dan

Maya, the fabulous birthday girl

Saturday night Dan and I had a date night (thank you Grandma and Poppa!) and saw Due Date.  For those who haven't seen it, it's a good movie if you love Robert Downey Jr. and Zack Galifianakis, but it's a movie you can just wait to rent on netflix.  It was really nice to get out - as we were driving to the theatre, Dan said "can we just go somewhere and sleep?"


Tess, Maya, Nicky, and Sarah - the fab four!

We got the Christmas decorations up, and gotta get a tree this week.  Nicky will start his advent calendar tomorrow (thank you Saul and Tanya!), and then he has an activity this weekend working on his hand print ornament for the tree!  St. Nick has already delivered presents for our little Nickerdoodle to open on December 6th...this month is going to be filled with activities!

Nicky is 8 months old!

Sorry for the delay on this, Nicky is already 8.5 months old and thought I better put this together - it's now or never!

8 months old..wow.  Nicky is starting to look more and more like a toddler than a baby.  He is having so much fun with his buddy Mason.  Mason is kind enough to share his toys with Nicky, including his new favorites - a tunnel and the wagon.  Sometimes Nicky crawls in and just sits there, and Mattie's pug, Hula, will join him!

I love wagon rides with Mason!

Usually Nicky plays in his exersaucer in the mornings, but he gets tired of it and found a new place to play:

Yep - much better!

Nicky has given up on sucking his toes, and now loves to suck his thumb.  He even holds his thumb in his mouth with his other hand!

You're not going anywhere, thumb!

His two bottom front teeth have finally come in - I will miss those toothless smiles, but he is still just as adorable!  So you can hear him making sounds with his mouth, getting used to having teeth. We've also noticed that during baths, he will start rubbing his belly - as if for good luck!  The other night he was rubbing his belly, and he fell face foward, and he looked up with his face covered with soap - I didn't have my camera but trust me, it was hilarious!

He loves his new high chair, which is attached to the kitchen counter - he can see his toys and watch Dodger and Bentley from high:



He has been eating a lot these days, saving his sweet potatoes for later:

I love my sippy cup!

We took Nicky in for his flu shot last week and he weighed 19 lbs 10 oz! We're excited for his first Thanksgiving, and that he'll be eating stuffing and turkey with us!

I'm 8 months old, and towering over Cookie! 

Nicky's trip to Austin

Nicky had his bags packed for his trip to Austin to visit with his Lola and Lolo (my mom and dad).  I was so excited about it, I couldn't wait for him to not only see my parents again, but also meet the rest of the Rebugio clan, including Tito JonJon (my brother)!  We got there on Saturday afternoon and Lolo had a nice welcome for Nicky on the front door:

The first couple of nights Nicky wouldn't go to sleep so easily as he does at home, but we got through it!  Although I think I had to tell my dad "shhh!" at least 15 times when he was yelling at the TV during the Pacquaio fight - there was a sleeping baby upstairs!



Sunday was the big family get together- all of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and 2nd cousins were there, even my Lola!    Nicky had 10 second cousins there, and 8 third cousins!  It was a lot of fun!  And fabulous food of course!  Everyone was so excited to see him, he was being passed around like a game of hot potato!

Nicky and my Lola (does that make her Great-Lola? I say yes!)



Nicky and one of his many aunties!

Nicky and one of my aunties (so that makes her a Lola too? Yep!)

Nicky and one of his many cousins!

Nicky FINALLY met his Tito Jon Jon!  Overall, Jon Jon did good around Nicky - not sure how much he has been around babies, but he looked like a natural!

Nicky and his Tito Jon Jon!




Nicky has a baby toy piano at home, and he absolutely loved tickling the ivories at his Lola's house! 

I'll be here every Thursday, don't forget to tip your waitresses..

We went to Lola's work (TJ Maxx) on Monday and once we walked in, she said "Okay, go shopping, I'll take Nicky"..I think Nicky met everyone that worked at TJ Maxx that day - and some customers - I didn't see them for at least 30 minutes!  Nicky has a very proud Lola! 

 Came back home on Tuesday afternoon.  Nicky fell asleep as soon as we took off, and didn't wake up until our initial descent on each leg  - he is such a great passenger.  Coming back into Phoenix he just kept staring out the window - we had to take this picture:

Is that my house?

So when is our next trip?

Halloween 2010

This past weekend was Halloween and Nicky attended 3 parties!  I don't remember my social calendar being this full before he was born :)

First party was with some friends I grew up with in Hawaii, and I even dressed up for the festivities.  I had such a great time that I think we will dress up every year with Nicky!

Snooki and Nicky the Tiger

2nd party was with Nicky's playgroup.  When I was on maternity leave, Mattie invited me to join her and her friends every Wednesday for playtime with the kiddies; now that I'm back at work, I'm lucky to have Mattie watch Nicky during the week so he still goes to playgroup!  Most of the kids are in the 2year old range, so Nicky is in the "baby" group, as some of the mommies start having more babies! :)

Nicky and his best buddy, Mason

Playgroup party at Roadrunner Park

Third and final party was at our neighborhood block party - over 100 adults and 80 kids..it was insane!  I made pumpkin cake rolls for all 3 parties and am becoming an expert at it (will be bringing it to Thanksgiving dinner!).  It was a lot of fun, Nicky was crawling around on the grass, and he also took a little ride in a swing while taking it all in.  When the sun set, we put Nicky to bed and then sat outside and handed out candy.  It was a great Halloween weekend!

Get back here kitty!

I had to share this picture - Shrek was being circled by a bunch of kids, they were getting freaked out because he was coming at them as if he were Frankenstein...I told Dan "I don't think Shrek is supposed to scare people"... it was hilarious!

Then we had to take a couple of other pictures you would expect to see of a Tiger:

First Halloween in the books!