IHOP...

David, Nico and I headed to IHOP the other day for a yummy, high-caloric breakfast. Many people have told me to record his voice: That you think you'll never forget it, but the memory will fade, eventually. So, I grabbed the camera on the way out the door. Wasn't sure if I'd get a good video-opp, but Nico never fails to do something entertaining...I should know this by now. By the time we all got dressed and out the door, Nico had been up for awhile. He is used to eating pretty much right when he gets up. Needless to say, he was starving by the time we got there. Every time a server would walk by he would look at them and say, "pancakes?!". It was a busy morning, so he said it quite often.

"Pancakes?!"

Happy Birthday Gabby...

Back before the craziness of the holidays invaded, we celebrated Gabby's birthday. We treated her to dinner at Olive Garden. Yes, we all saved room for dessert!

Nico couldn't wait to dig in!!!

Hurry Gabby, hurry!

Happy Birthday, Gabby!

Park Playdate...

Nico and I met some friends at a local park on Monday. I brought my camera along to see if I could get some good shots of the kids. The kids were more interested in playing than posing for photos...go figure!!!

Thanks for letting me play with your ball, Skye!

Cutie pie!!!

Nico and Keenan eying Skye's snack :)

Nashville's Veterans Day Parade...

Yesterday, Veterans Day, myself, Nico, mom and Cat went downtown to watch Nashville's Veterans Day parade. Nico wasn't feeling well (croup and an ear infection), so I bundled him up and came armed with lollipops and teddy grahams. He really enjoyed seeing all of the motorcycles, fire trucks, army tanks, bands, clowns and more. Since he wasn't feeling too hot, he sat on my lap most of the time. As most of you know, that is not like him!

Working on his lollipop! Too busy to smile!

Poor little guy didn't have a voice at all. Here he is trying to tell me something. What? I can't hear you.

This one cracked me up...look at all of those flags!!!

Sleepy Head...

I'm on a mission to get a great photo of Nico for our Christmas cards. I am going to start taking some pictures of him here and there doing things that he does every day. Here he is waking up from his nap.

Why do you have a camera mommy?

Oh, I see. You want me to smile!

Done. Now can I play with it?

Happy 80th Birthday...

This Saturday we surprised my grandmother with a birthday party/family gathering. She has been saying for months that she didn't want anyone to make a big deal out of it. Well, it was her 80th birthday and we were going to make a big deal out of it! My aunt and uncle hosted a huge lasagna dinner at their adorable house in Huntsville, AL. Our family, along with Ashley, mom and Cat drove down from Nashville. Dad and Tammy came down from Knoxville. My cousins came from SC and GA to help celebrate, too! We actually haven't seen my cousins in almost 10 years!!! It was so great seeing everyone and getting to celebrate granny's birthday!!!

I actually made her birthday cake. An Italian cream cake...yummy!

Tammy, Dad, Granny, Nico, Ashley

David, John, Debbie, Lindsey Patrick

Halloween Happenings...

Our Halloween festivities began on Thursday evening with carving our pumpkin. Nico is really into Elmo these days, so we decided to attempt an Elmo jack-o-lantern. I thought Nico would really get involved in digging the guts out of the pumpkin. Nope. Below is how he entertained himself while David emptied the pumpkin.

"Driving" mommy's car.

Coming to check on the progress.

Such a good papa!

Mommy drawing the outline.

Finished product. My husband is a pumpkin carving genius!!! Those power tools really came in handy!

Friday evening, we hosted a party for all of Nico's friends and their mommies and daddies. It turned out really well. The house was a little messy by the end of it, but it was totally worth it. I think Mattie really enjoyed being on crumb patrol :)

Trying to get a picture of Nico with the pumpkin.

Not the best picture of Nico, just wanted to show Mattie's costume...yes, she was a skunk!

Tried to get a group shot of all/most of the kids in their costumes. This was much easier last year when most of them couldn't walk :)

Saturday evening we took Nico on his very first Trick-or-Treating excursion. We hit about 7 or 8 houses in the neighborhood. He was a little hesitant at the first house, but he quickly got the hang of it. By he end of our journey, he was grabbing as many pieces of candy as he could get his little hands on. He got some yummy candy, too. Halloween candy: a bonus for being a mommy! I love me some candy!!!

Ever heard a giraffe say, "Cheese"?!?!

Mommy's sweet little giraffe.

Papa pulling Nico to our first confection destination!

Riding in style!

First Trip to the Dentist...

Since Nico has all of his teeth except his two-year molars, I thought I should call the pediatric dentist to set up an appointment. They were able to see us the very next day! So I rushed to the library to get a couple of books about going to the dentist to help familiarize him with the idea. Of course he wasn't interested in the books. Oh well, I tried. All in all, he did pretty well. He got to pick out a toothbrush (Diego) for them to use on his teeth. Then the hygienist took to his teeth. This is when he lost it. I don't blame him, I wouldn't like being restrained and having some stranger brushing my teeth. After she finished with that she brushed a fluoride treatment on his pearly whites. Then the dentist came in to take a peek. He started screaming all over again. They said it was actually good that he was crying...it was easier to see into his mouth that way. Maybe they were just saying that to make me feel better :) It looks like the little man is going to have my teeth...crowded! Braces, here we come!

Riding the pony. They had all sorts of fun things for the kids (and parents) to do in the waiting room. No, I did not ride the pony, but they did have Ms. Pacman :)

Playing with his cars while waiting for the dentist to visit.