Happy Anniversary Grandma & Grandpa!

Happy 32nd anniversary Grandma and Grandpa! Wow - that sure is a long time!

Did you catch my kiss?

One Patient Dog!

Nicholas shares his love with sister Zoey!

Straw Expert

With bottles no longer in sight, Nicholas has perfected drinking through any other means...his favorite lately, the straw. At Ruby Tuesday's tonight, he insisted on sharing water with Mommy.

"Hey, I wasn't finished with that!"

"Ahhhh, how refreshing!"
With developing straw drinking skills, Nicholas seems to have reverted to stuffing his mouth full - like here with nearly a whole piece of bread in his mouth!
Nicholas sure has been one happy, playful boy today! He even peed on the potty again tonight. He's gone all but once since we started the potty a couple weeks ago. Mommy thinks this is a sign we need to dive into this potty training thing.

Yet another Christmas!

Today we spent the afternoon with my 5 cousins in Tully. Vincent was my best buddy - he helped me open my gift (an Elmo that's the size of me!) and even fed me lunch! I can't wait for him to come play with me!

Baby Johnny just loved Daddy's thumb...
...ooops, until this happened!

(Daddy still hasn't forgiven Mommy for taking the time to snap a picture before running to get a towel!)
Colby liked trying to pack up his Jam Pack Jam game from me.
I tired many times to figure out why the remote from my cousins didn't work their tv - hopefully it will operate mine at home!
Daddy, Vincent and Anthony tried forever to figure out Vincent's transformers. Anthony was the smart one and figured out his first....maybe following the directions does pay off!

Then we brought cousin Marissa to the High School Musical On Ice show!

I used the time to get in every nook & cranny of my new teeth - I take my dental hygiene very seriously these days!
Mommy and Marissa loved the show...
...but they didn't get up and dance like I did!

Flashback Friday - Special Edition!

This week last year, our family had a progressive dinner. At Aunt Sue's house, I practiced sitting up - which basically consisted of being propped at the chair.

Same chair - one year later. Only this time, I have other things on my agenda (of course involving not cooperating)...
This sitting here for a picture is NO fun! I've got to be on the go!
Maybe standing on this rocking chair is a good idea...
...naaa, I need to get down and explore...
...now this is more like what I had in mind. I'm outta here!

Snug As A Bug!

When checking on Nicholas last night before going to bed, I found him like this... definitely worth the risk of waking him!

A Day with Baby Dominic

Great Aunt Sue invited us for a visit so we could play with baby Dominic. We decided that Nicholas could share some of his 'baby' toys with his new cousin, so I brought up some that have been packed away for a while. You would have thought they were Nicholas' long lost best friends with how excited he was to see these toys...

...until I started to repeat that we were bringing them to baby Dominic - then he started to look a little disturbed.
While at Aunt Sue's, Nicholas saw the longest telephone cord ever...and developed a little game with it.

He was one tired boy on the way home - asleep even before we were out of Oswego! Thanks for having us Aunt Sue & Uncle Charlie. We loved seeing all of Dominic's rolls, but sad we never got a picture of the 2 boys together!

Mommy's Little Helper!

I've got a future dish boy! If only he was tall enough and didn't require close supervision to stand on the chair at the sink - I'd much rather be supervising from the couch!

"I think there's other interesting things over there that you're holding out on me, Mommy!"
"A little splashing never hurt anyone!"
"Oooh, this is neat..."
"...should I taste it?"
With Daddy off for MLK Day, we all went to Panera for lunch (and everyone else in Cicero had the same idea - the place was packed!). Nicholas was all giggles and even helped himself to my Greek olives right out of my salad! This boy sure has some mature taste buds!

Another Christmas Celebration!

This weekend, cousin Dillon, Aunt Angela and Uncle Jim came to town to celebrate Christmas! On Saturday, the whole family got together at Grandma & Grandpa's house and Sunday we had fun at our house. Thanks for coming guys - I can't wait to play with Dillon soon!



Nicholas invented a new game with Ciara's stacking cups. He had a blast with her!

Fridays are for flashbacks!

Looks who took his jumperoo for a test jump!

At 10 weeks old, Nicholas loved bouncing himself. Unfortunately, the only doorway with trim is the one to the basement - so this picture may scare some. He was sure happy!

Now this is delicious!

Nicholas has been loving raspberries these days. After sleeping through lunchtime at the sitter's, we were able to eat lunch together! He found the most efficient means of eating his waffle and raspberries!

"Peek-a-boo, I see you!"
"Ahhh, finger lickin' good!"

And, on an aside, we had a baby book event at the Relyea house tonight........drum roll please........Nicholas peed on the potty! There's 2 possibilities for this:

1. pure coincidence

2. Mommy's pee pee song really inspired him!

My vote is for #2!

Fun with cool gifts!

Miss Judy (Nicholas' sitter) just loved his new Elmo outfit from Great Aunt Anne (thanks Aunt Anne!). When Mommy was preparing dinner, Nicholas dragged in his remote control car from Godmother Rosanne. You can imagine how 'effortless' it was to cook with a toddler and a remote control car zipping around!

Nicholas kept a very close eye on the car at all times.
And found the remote's antenna a perfect teether for those new top teeth coming in!

Aunt Elaine came to play!

"This afternoon, Aunt Elaine stopped by for a play visit. Can you believe she got a clear picture of Mommy and I?"

"After I showed her all my toys, how I cruise back & forth on the couch and give kisses to my snowman, Aunt Elaine gave me a bottle. She's now my #1 for that baba - they are a rare occurrence around here lately!"

A New Step to the Nightly Routine

flying up the stairs

a sit on the potty

(yup, Santa brought Nicholas this shinny red potty)
Nicholas takes off his onesie
celebrates a little
and its into the bath.
(of course there's always room for a little peek-a-boo with the shower curtain)

Bundled up!

Yesterday we got in some fresh air with a walk and trip to the park. Of course, the tunnel was a big hit.

Nicholas kept scrunching his forehead and face between the bars - looks strange and perhaps painful, but he got a kick out of it!
He was all about exploring with the backwards crawl maneuver- including to get down off the slide and steps all by himself.

Flashback...this week last year

After listening to Nicholas babble all the way home from dinner tonight, it makes me think just how much he's changed over the past year.

We can never forget how happy the swing made him (truly, our best purchase for him!).

How much does he look like Daddy here!!!
Oh, he was so proud of himself when he'd sit in the Bumbo - showing off his (developing) head control!