PLACE YOUR VOTE!!!!

Okay people....this is your time to tell us what you think baby #2 will be....boy or girl. So many of you are convinced I am having a girl....so we will see! We find out on Thursday! Nico has been a busy little boy...still scaring mommy to death and entertaining us. Really..who wouldn't want front row seats to a show where a little boy jumps off the couch, stands on the bottom handle of the stove and reaches the other handle of the oven....all while enjoying great take-out! Here are some pics of what our boy has been doing!

climbed in the toy box

hanging out with dad

playing with Ellis on her 1st birthday!

wearing his new monkey had we got for $.99

seriously cheap entertainment!

Our wonderful friend Calvin home from Nepal stopped

by on his way to moving to Nebraska to be with the love of his

life Liz! Nico adored him!

Mischief at 10 months

Nico turned 10 months on the 29th and we are tired parents of a dare devil! So let me list the week's events:

• I was in the kitchen for a second and had left the step stool in the family room because I was taking down some stuff......I find Nico on the top step of the stool with his hands in the air clapping! Thank goodness my mommy brain was working because I didn't scream..I went over quickly and at that time he backed down the ladder like he was a 10 year old!
• Nico's high chair was in the middle of the kitchen and I turned to put something in the fridge and found him standing up in his high chair.....clapping once again on his grand achievement!
• Strolling through Target, I buckled him in the cart and was quickly trying to make my way through the shoes when to my surprise this little monkey wiggled himself free of the safety belt and was trying to balance himself and stand up in the front of the cart!
• Last night we went to grab a bite to eat at Tokyo Joe's and we tightly secured him in the high chair......when yes, little McGuyver maneuvered himself free and was reaching for the hot sauce!
• Nico was fussing and wanted out of his high chair (we now fasten every safety belt) he started crying and saying da da da da...well, Charlie came and picked him up and he waved bye bye to his mama who was trying to make him eat his breakfast!
• We found Nico on top of the ottoman....looking around like he was the king of the jungle

So my friends, if any of you have any tips or tricks on how to keep a little boy safe while he is trying to scare his parents to death....please share

He loves the dog bed in the kitchen!

Playing with his best friend Carl

helping himself to a snack in the fridge

we have to hurry and close the door because

the minute he hears the fridge or pantry

door open, he is like speed racer and tries his

best to sneak attack!

Nico visits Nepal.......no not really

When Nico was born we received a package from our good friend Calvin who was living in Nepal. He sent a traditional outfit that babies wear in Nepal! Well, the other day, I was getting ready and I heard Nico crawling into our room......when he turned the corner I couldn't stop giggling because Charlie had dressed him up in the outfit! The funny part is that the outfit has about 20 ties instead of snaps or a zipper....so it took Charlie forever with Mr. wiggle worm to get him dressed! We think the pictures are hilarious! Hope you get a chuckle out of them! Thanks Calvin for sending such a treasure and for the laughs!

Nico found the little window by the front door

and loves to peek out!

SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE!

Yes, we have big news to share with anyone who might not already know, or who may actually read this blog.......Nico is going to be a big brother!!! We were quite surprised to find out in October that our family would be adding an addition around July 7th!

Christmas Memories

Whew, I feel so behind! Hey and by the way.....Thank you to the few that have left comments but it's getting pretty lonely in the blog world! The holidays were so much fun this year. We had our traditional lobster feast with Charlie's family and then we celebrated the Italian seven fish dinner on Christmas Eve with my family. It's amazing how having a child puts even more magic into the holiday season. Nico is such a happy little boy! He smiles at everyone and is so joyful (even without sleep!) My mom and I were at one of our favorite Italian stores up North, and I was taking Nico out of his carseat when this woman stopped her car and said "oh my gosh, I have seen my Christmas angel!" It was really sweet and made me appreciate the spirit of Christmas even more!

The holiday's have so much tradition behind them and Charlie and I are so happy to have our families here to share all of our traditions with Nico. I love that since Charlie grew up on the East coast that their special celebration is a big lobster dinner where we sit for a couple of hours and enjoy every bite! Now that we have Nico, we really have thought about what memories and traditions we want to help create for him. I think this is one of the biggest joys of parenthood. Making special moments for your child to look back on.

Christmas Eve with cousins
Christmas Eve with Mom and Dad

Christmas with Uncle Ed and cousin Grace

In the kitchen with Nanna cooking

the lobsters!

BFF

Nico gets and EEG

Due to our sweet boy not sleeping, the Dr's wanted to do an EEG......and as you can see,
it was a bit much for our little man! The tech did a fantastic job of getting him all hooked up
fairly quickly (he pulled the electrodes out on a couple of occasions) and she was quite quick
at wrapping his head up! He looked like a little baby mummy!

Great news, everything is normal and he just doesn't like to sleep all the time...which is fine
by me now that we have ruled out everything else!

When we came home, I gave him one of his favorite teething
biscuits....his hat was glued to his head from all the goop they put in his hair!

He was such a trooper! He had his check up on Dec 23rd and is doing really
fantastic....he is a such a ham! Thank you to all of our family and friends that sent
prayers our way for his eeg to be normal! It was truly a wonderful Christmas
gift!

Abundant Love

Life has certainly been in full swing! A couple of weeks ago my dad had a procedure done on his heart. He was in surgery for 10 hours and it seemed like the longest 10 hours ever! His heart was beating really fast and had a irregular heartbeat. He has to take it easy for awhile but is feeling much better. We would like to thank all of our friends for their support and prayers as it was a scary time and your love and well wishes delivered us through.

Nico is still on the move, climbing stairs and being a dare devil. He was really starting to show signs of good sleep habits and then.........he decided to go on a sleep strike! Nico, one day you are going to have to close those precious eyes and rest. Until then, mommy and daddy will try to keep up.

Mighty Moe turned 8 months on Nov 29th and we love hearing his sweet little voice chattering up a storm with the dogs....he learned how to growl and it really is hilarious. His favorite meal is breakfast. Lunch and dinner are missing something...we're just not quite sure what.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving together at our house with my parents, Kathy and Dorie, Uncle James, Kat, Erik, Bria, Grace and Nanna! We played the Wii (there were some injuries...people are still recovering) and watched Grace play house with Nico....(She dropped him off at school and didn't want to pick him up!) Great memories of Nico's first Thanksgiving.

I will try to post some pics soon. Nico, we love you so much and everyday is the best adventure with you. Thank you for your smile, your spunk and your laugh!