Out In the Snow

"Mommy, how dare you stop pulling me to take a picture!"

(seriously, that is exactly what happened on my first picture attempt!)

So once again, this one had to be taken while pulling him in the snow up to my knees. (Is this where I mention that my legs still hurt as much as they would after doing a "Legs of Steel" video.)
We also found out that his playset can be loads of fun in the winter too!

Did I Mention I'm Walking!

We're calling it official, since Mommy was able to run, find the camera (after looking in 3 places), get back and snap some pictures of me walking across the room.

Of course, its still really fun to find things to push around the house - like the winterware tote that I found in the closet.

action shot

Snowday (again!)

Nicholas was very upset on Monday when there was another snowday on a day Mommy doesn't work(or wait, maybe Mommy was the one who was most upset)...but what is for sure is that Nicholas LOVES to watch Daddy snowblow! He practically scales the window, bangs on the glass and yells for Daddy...

...until he's distracted by the little tree in the bay window on his way to look through yet another window.

"Hmmmm, so many choices...what should I grab today?"

Meeting the Big Man In Red!

We went to meet Santa at the zoo!

"Umm, excuse me, I'm Nicholas Relyea and I have a lunch date with Santa and Mrs. Claus."

While we were eating, Santa made his grand entrance - Nicholas spotted him right away.
The big man in red came over to greet our little man. Nicholas was quite impressed!
Wile waiting in line, Nicholas tried to get Santa's attention by waving to him (unfortunately, it didn't make the line move any faster, but was adorable to us!).Finally, our turn - the big man up close!
"Hi Santa! I like your fluffy beard and fancy hat with bells!"

"Yup, I'm the Big 1 - and I really want a cool car for Christmas. Are you going to work your magic for me? I've been a good boy!"
"Mommy, Mommy, he said yes!"
In all, Nicholas really enjoyed his lunch date. We also had his face painted as a reindeer, but didn't get any good shots of it. I can only imagine his excitement at this time next year!!!

Company!

Olivia came over today! Like the gentleman I am, I gave her my highchair and I sat on the very cold travel seat from the car.

Olivia was all over my boy toys. I showed her how to operate the dozer - and she jumped right on like an old pro.
Gee Livi, its hard to keep up with you on the dozer! I'll meet you at the Christmas tree - we can have loads of fun there!
With 2 babies all over the place, Zoey didn't know who to pay attention to!
From the dozer, Livs went straight to the mower - but of course kept a close eye on me!
Okay Livi, here's the good stuff...first you start with emptying the bottom drawer. All those dish towels will create a wide-spread obstacle area around you and Mommy will have a hard time seeing you.
Are you taking notes here - I'm sure you have something this fun at your place. Now, drawer #2 has the gum and other trinkets - they are fun, but...
...oh glory land - drawer #3! We have a funnel, the mini roller, the baster...hmmmm, what's this thing? Livi, Can you figure it out?
Oh Nicholas, its a sushi roller. But I'll have to ask Mommy if I can try raw fish and seaweed wrap first!

Pictures from Grandma

"Grandma sent us some pictures from last weekend. Check out this action shot she caught of me!"

Isn't this where you guys sing to me "Baby Its Cold Outside?"
"After tree hunting, I gave Grandma and Grandpa a fashion show of my Christmas outfit. Can you believe they changed me on Grandma's dinning room table? Good thing I cleaned-up all the evidence."
"Grandma thinks the pants are for an old fart - but I think the half-elastic waistband will come in handly for the holidays."
"At least I was able to check out her new singing sledders. I just loved that little penguin's bell ringing!"

Tree Hunting with Grandma & Grandpa

Since we're all artificial around here, Nicholas went to the tree farm with Grandma & Grandpa in search for the perfect tree for their house. He ended up getting an early Christmas gift - his Trail Rider Sled. He seemed to like it (score one for Mommy and Daddy!).

Grandpa found a potential tree and showed Nicholas how to do a tree examination. This is not 'the one' there's multiple trunks...
...so off for some more searching! Nicholas doesn't have a problem with that plan!
"Grandma, Grandpa, is this the one?"
That was sure fun! Are you serious that I have to wait a whole 'nother year to do this again!
"Onward Grandma - take me away in my chariot!"

Thanks for the fun afternoon Grandpa & Grandma. It was well worth the (long) drive to get there.

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

Can you believe I have a holiday named after me? It's a day all about eating - perfect for me (and all the other Nicholas' in my life)!!!

Yup, life is good!
Aunt Elaine called to wish me a happy St. Nicholas Day and to remind me to put my shoes by the door tonight for a special treat. Thanks for the heads up Aunt Elaine - maybe I'll get some Teddy Grahams for the special occasion!

So hard to wake up...

For the past 2 weeks, Nicholas has chosen Wednesday and Thursdays for his sleep-in days. It just so happens that those are also the mornings we need to be out of the house early for the sitter.

(Don't you just love the drool puddle and butt in the air...just like Daddy!)

PJ's at a restaurant??!!

Wednesday, Nicholas never changed out of his PJ's all day! The story goes something like this....after being woken to go to Miss Judy's house in the morning, we were running late and had no time to change. Well, we got home, Nicholas took a really long nap (still in jammies, he's sleeping, right?) and then we had to run out to get Mommy's car from the shop. At 6:00 already, and knowing he was going to have a bath later that night anyway, why not keep the already dirty jammies on. The problem arose when we decided to grab a quick dinner at Moe's...and of course ran into 3 people we know (embarrassingly, still in jammies!)

We saw our friends Michael and baby Elizabeth - who Nicholas kept a close eye on (sorry Olivia!).

He was very cuddly with Daddy all night.
"Can't a guy eat in peace in his jammies!"

But Mom, all the other kids are outside...

Nicholas was very distracted with watching all the neighborhood boys playing out on their snowday, so we decided to go out and check things out too.

I plopped him down...

...and he liked it (until trying to crawl - the snow was so high it was all in his face. He also attempted to stand-up, but it appears that the Dillon hand-me-down snowsuit is a touch restricting on him).

Nothing gets past this guy!

During each nap over the past 2 days, I've gotten a little Christmas decorating done. Nicholas then comes down stairs and notices every single added item - his first being the magnetic snowmen set on the fridge.

This kept him busy for a while - and was a refreshing change to see some smiles & giggles after being so sick. I can only imagine how much fun he'll have when he gets older and can use more of the small accessory pieces!

One Sick Baby

Nicholas is officially sick for the first time. After the worst night the Relyea's have ever experienced, we got him to the doctor this morning - and the verdict...one fire engine red ear infection! Mommy has learned that Nicholas inherited his Daddy's lack of tolerance for being sick. He won't even feed himself or hold his own bottle!

Let's cross our fingers that the antibiotic kicks in soon - for the sake of everyone here!

Our Little Shopper