Nico's First Christmas...

After leaving Granny's on Christmas Eve we headed back to Nashville. Needless to say we were all very tired. We had a very long day and got back home pretty late. Luckily we were able to get to bed before Santa came by. Christmas morning Giggy and Cat came over (in their PJ's) to open presents. After opening ALL of our presents (we must have been really good this year) we all pitched in to make a delicious lunch. Gabby, Paw and Aunt Julie came up to spend the afternoon with us and enjoy some yummy food. After stuffing ourselves once again, we took Nico on his first wagon ride. He loved it!

Getting ready for some more Christmas festivities. He's wearing the cute hat his Aunt Sarah made him.
The Monger Family

In his Radio Flyer wagon. Thanks Giggy!

Papa pulling Nico.

Mommy and Nico.

Christmas Eve at Granny's...

After opening presents at Gabby and Paw's we headed to Granny's. It's been a tradition in our family since I was born (maybe even before). Granny made a wonderful Italian dinner for us all (It was Nico, David and I, Ashley, my Uncle John, Aunt Debbie and cousin Patrick). We ate lasagna, meatballs, garlic bread and the list goes on. After eating way too much we sat down to open presents. Granny got a ton of presents, as usual ;) That's OK, she deserves it! We all got a ton of presents, too. After opening presents we had a bit of dessert. Nico had a GREAT Christmas Eve.

Granny showing Nico all of her presents.
Nico being curious about all of the gifts.
Nico playing with his puppy.

Nico playing with everyone's presents.

Merry Christmas!!! Nico is the best gift of all!

Christmas Eve at The Monger's...

Christmas Eve was a very busy day for us. Earlier in afternoon we opened presents at Gabby and Paw's house. Thank you everyone for all of the wonderful gifts! After opening presents we had a delicious traditional meal, complete with turkey, dressing and all the fixin's. Yummy! Nico was overwhelmed with all of the chaos...it was a blast, though. He loved playing with the bows, boxes and paper. He wasn't too interested in actually opening the presents. Maybe next year!

Opening his first present...well sort of. He managed to accidentally open a couple of other people's presents.
A picture of some of the mess. It was a present opening free for all!

MeeMaw playing "This Little Piggy" with Nico. He loves him some MeeMaw!!!

Robbie, Nico, Paige and Emma

Gabby got all of the grand kids coordinating Christmas PJ's. We tried to get a picture of all of

them in front of the tree; This is the best I got!

Robbie and Nico

Picture Tag...

Tracy tagged me, so here it goes...The rules: Go to your picture files. Pick the 4th file, and the 4th picture in it. Tell a little about the picture. Tag 4 friends.

This is Adam and Emma and David and Nico outside the parakeet exhibit at the Nashville Zoo. It was taken back in October. I tag Halie, Blair, Kristine and Sarah.

He's discovered stairs...

Nico has gotten quite good at climbing stairs. Here he is climbing the stairs and Gabby and Paw's. He is not walking, yet. He is pulling up on EVERYTHING and has taken several steps on his own many times.

Giggy's 50th Birthday...

We had a BIG time celebrating my mom's 5oth birthday over the weekend. Friday night we went to her house for pizza, cake and ice cream. On Saturday (her actual birthday) we went to The Opryland Hotel to see al of their decorations...beautiful! Saturday evening we surprised her with dinner at Buca di Beppo (a yummy Italian restaurant here in Nashville). Happy Birthday, Giggy!

Mommy and Nico in front of Opryland Hotel's HUGE Christmas tree.
Giggy showing Nico the ornaments.

Giggy and Nico

Nico playing peek-a-boo with the tablecloth at Buca di Beppo.

Nico playing with Giggy's balloons.

Picture with Santa Claus...

Me, Ashley, mom and Cat went Tuesday evening to get Nico's picture made with Santa. He did so good! He wasn't sure what to think. I sat him down and he looked up at Santa, then he'd look at the camera and then he'd look back up at Santa. They got a couple of good shots, but I ended up choosing the one where he and Santa are looking at each other. I figured it really captured his true reaction.

Mommy and Nico waiting in line to visit Santa.
After he had his picture made he got some reindeer antlers to wear. Such a good sport!

Visiting with Family...

David's Aunt Shirley's family came to Madison on Friday to visit. It was so great seeing everyone! Nico had fun playing with Chris and Angel's kids.

Nico had his first bubble bath Friday night.
Nico and his second cousin, Christin.

Nico found his old bouncy toy. He's a little big for it now, don't you think?!?

Nico and is second cousin, Ty. Nico is 2 weeks older than Ty.

Being mischievous :)

Happy First Turkey Day...

We headed to Madison, AL for Thanksgiving. We had a great time visiting with everyone. Not surprisingly, Nico LOVED Thanksgiving. He had the usual fare...turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, pumpkin pie and banana pudding! YUMMY! We are so thankful for everything life has given us. We are most thankful for our family and friends. Love you all!

Nico and Emma riding in the push-car at Gabby's.
"Baby's First Thanksgiving"

Enjoying Thanksgiving dinner.

Nico trying to give Emma a kiss. She wasn't too sure about it.

The Mongers posing with Sarah and Adam's beautiful turkey.

Couple of New Things...

It seems that Nico is doing something new every day. He clapped his hands for real today at lunch. They even made a sound. He's been sort of clapping for a while. I guess he did it at lunch because I always clap when he's done eating.

Also, when we say "so big" he'll raise both his arms over his head. It is so cute!

He gives kisses.

David kept him this weekend (I had a girls weekend) and said he ate bacon...BACON!!! He also said Nico managed to climb up two stairs. He likes to pull up on stuff and let go. It makes me a nervous wreck!

He tries to say "uh-oh", but only says "uh".

I can't believe he is almost 9 months old! I am loving every minute of being Nico's mommy!

Boo Boo's First Boo Boo...

It's kind of ironic that the day we got the baby gate (see post below) was the same day Nico got his first real boo boo (his left eyebrow). He pulled up on the TV cabinet and when he decided to let go his bum went back while his head went forward...right into the corner of the TV stand. I saw it happen and went and scooped him up before the crying started. He had one of those cries where he didn't breathe for a sec and then he started shaking his arms. Poor thing! It just broke my heart!

He cried for about 30 seconds and then he started laughing at Mattie. Such a big boy!

Baby Jail...

We broke down and got a baby gate. He was just so quick with his crawling (he is crawling on all fours all the time now) that I couldn't keep up with him! As you can see in the picture, 2 of his blocks made it to the other side pretty quickly!

Cute PJ's...

Nico is teary-eyed in this picture because I put him down to take a picture of his pajamas. He got upset because he knew it was time for his bottle. He is one smart cookie!

So pitiful in his polar bear PJ's!

Toy Box...

I decided to clean out Nico's toy box the other day. I just wanted to make sure we weren't missing any parts and that sort of thing. I thought he looked so cute with his toys piled around him. I went to get the camera and he got up. I'm just not quick enough!

"What is my mom doing?"
I think he liked playing with the empty toy box better than playing with his toys. I am glad it's almost Christmas...he's bored with most of his toys.

About 2 seconds after I took this picture he fell head-first into the toy box. He thought it was hilarious!

Robbie's Birthday Party...

We went to Madison a couple of weeks ago for Robbie's surprise birthday party. Gabby and Paw rented a moon bounce for the kids and the kids-at-heart! The kids decorated cupcakes and had ice cream. Nico even had some cake and ice cream. He has to practice for his birthday!

Playing with a toy at Gabby's house.
Playing with Gabby.

He wasn't too sure about the moon bounce.

David loved it, though!

New "Toy"...

Nico loves banging on this box with his hands or his blocks. He also pushes it around the living room. David came home and asked why we were letting him play with trash?!?!

Nico Loves Thai Food...

As you can tell from past posts, Nico is a GREAT eater. We haven't given him much that he doesn't like...including Thai food.

Giving Aunt Ashley a kiss. His kisses are so sweet. He leans his forehead him and touches yours. It melts my heart!
Putting rice in his hair!

Laying in the rice! He likes to do this when he is sitting in his highchair. He probably does it because it gets a good laugh every time :)

Yummy!

So excited about his dinner!