Nicky is 10 months old!

Okay, I think this time I'm only a week behind on my 10 month post...not bad!!  :) 

2011 is here, and so much has happened already..on New Years Day, Dan and his cousin Michael went to watch their beloved Badgers in the Rose Bowl - although they didn't come home with a win, Dan says it was still an amazing experience! 

View from their seats

We think Nicky has moved on from the stuffed animals (or at least he's taking a break), and now he's loving toys that he can take balls or shapes and put it in the right spot.  Thank you Grandma and Poppa for the cookie jar, and to his gal Sadie for the TaDoodle!

Being silly!

One of Nicky's favorite places to be is under the table.  He will start to crawl that way, and then he sits up and looks for you, because he KNOWS he shouldn't be going to the table..as soon as he sees you coming after him, he screams with delight! He doesn't really know what "no" means just yet, but as soon as we say it (and we really do try to say it without smiling) he starts to laugh! Here is he under the table and dreaming:

Well. Hello there.

Nicky is such an active boy, it's hard to keep up with him! 

Ahhhh!  You found me!

One of our neighbors gave us tickets to the Barrett Jackson car auction show - I still don't understand why people would spend so much money for a car that would just sit somewhere, but I'm glad to say that we went!   Nicky was a trooper - we went on Friday night and I was worried that because it would be after 8pm by the time we would get home, that we would be dealing with a cranky baby.  I really need to set higher expectations!  He is so curious these days, he was taking it all in:

This ticket is tasty.

We don't have anything in the drawers he can reach, other than swim goggles and a remote control for the TV outside, but he hopes there is something different every time he checks a drawer:

Hmmm.  I don't see anything.  Maybe tomorrow.

I love this picture because you can see his curls.  Right now, he has a curl de sac:

Here we are on one of his afternoon wagon rides

Future's so bright, I gotta wear shades.

Mommy and Me

On January 9th, Nicky started walking!  He has been standing on his own for a while now and walking when holding on to the furniture, so we knew it was going to happen any day...Dan and I were sitting with him on the floor one evening and he was standing, then all of a sudden, started taking steps!  He probably took 5 steps that day before he decided that crawling gets him where he needs to get to a little faster, but what a HUGE accomplishment!  He still crawls, but he's been walking more and more...so proud of our little Nickerdoodle!  I was able to take some pictures the other day of him walking..

His two top teeth are in, now we are up to 4...it seems like Nicky has been teething FOREVER! 

Taking growth pictures are getting more and more difficult - now we just try to snap the picture as quickly as we can before he tries to get up:

10 months old

And last but not least, Nicky will soon see his first Super Bowl in a couple of weeks...and even better, the Packers are in..I overheard Dan telling a friend "First Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, now the Packers in the Super Bowl...can this get any better?"  Um, yeah, if they win!!  Go Pack Go!!



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!