Easter Festivities 2011...

Easter was so fun this year. Nico really got into coloring the eggs, hunting the eggs and the candy! He also tried to understand why we celebrate Easter, but that may be a year or two off. The weekend was a great one spent with family and friends (furry ones with lots of legs and slimy ones with no legs). We spent most of it outdoors which is always a plus! Check out what went on...

Friday night we dyed Easter eggs. I only boiled 8 for him to color because he wasn't that into it last year. I should have known...of course, he wanted to do more!

Check out that blue hand!

Ah the fun you can have with a hard boiled egg and a plunger. Don't worry, it was brand new!

We played with a caterpillar. It was so cute how Nico talked to it and called him his "little bud".

The Easter Bunny brought him a new train!

Nico even shared his jelly beans with Mattie.

The Easter Bunny hid the eggs a little too early. Shell-less snails had invaded a few of the plastic ones (thus the look of disgust on Cat's face)...I guess, looking for a home.

Looking for the eggs was a group effort.

David is so proud of his irises. They are gorgeous!

Smiling through a mouth full of jelly beans! Happy Easter!

Zoo Class...

I know, I know. I have been a horrible blogger. My apologies. I am trying to stay above water here, but am having issues lately. But alas, I am here to update you on all things Nico. We are taking a class at the zoo again this spring and we are loving it. Ms. Julie brings out real animals to demonstrate whatever it is we are talking about that week. Last week we learned about camouflage.

Nico is hiding/disguised as a fireman...sort of.

Nico looking at a tree frog changing colors because of the dark paper around his container. So cool!

Spring Break 2011...

Last week/weekend Nico and I went down to the beach with Sarah, Emma and Eli. The weather was perfect and so were the kids...most of the time ;) The first day we were there it was a little chilly so we opted to visit the Naval Aviation Museum. We watched an IMAX movie and explored a little before heading to the play area. After we got back and the kids napped we braved the beach...the very windy beach. From that point onward, we could be found in the pool or on the beach. Nico liked playing on the beach a lot more this year. It probably had a lot to do with his cousins being there to play, too. We had a great time and we are looking forward to Spring Break 2012. I wonder when the kids will start begging for those awesome airbrushed

t-shirts??? Or maybe a hermit crab to take home?

On our way into the museum.

The 3 Musketeers posing in front of a huge anchor.

Future Blue Angel?

The kids found throwing sand into the air fun. It was so windy that the sand was going everywhere. If you look closely you can even see some individual pieces of sand flying from Emma's shovel.

Coloring before dinner.

My little Pisces. He loved the pool and he loved the freedom of being able to float around on his own with his new floaty.

Snack time. Swimming makes you SO hungry!

Beach babies.

Courage was up at this point. All the kids were playing pretty close to the "crashing" waves.

Nico was throwing "mud" onto the beach and watching the waves wash it away.

Nothing like playing with sticks on the beach.

Our last trip down to the sand...we had to get a picture!

Love this!

Western Day...

Last Wednesday was Western Day at Nico's school. He was not into this at all. My mom found some cowboy boots...perfect...except Nico didn't want a thing to do with them. What little boy doesn't want to be a cowboy and wear cowboy boots!?! I had to bribe him (by promising he could take off his get up as soon as we got to his classroom) to wear this outfit. The main issue was that he only wants to wear "pulled up sleeves" (short sleeves) these days. I think he got this from David. Any of you that know David knows he seldom, if ever, wears long sleeves. The two pictures below were taken like 5 seconds apart. I have no idea how I got such extreme reactions for the camera!

This is how most of our pictures turn out: Nico looking cute, but looking away.

And then we have this! Makes me smile every time!

Big Boy at The Dentist...

Earlier this month (I know, I'm way behind on blogging!) we all went in for our dentist appointments. We have been bringing Nico with us for the past two years just to get him used to the ordeal. He did AWESOME...We really didn't have any doubt that he would do anything else.

Anxiously (not!) waiting for his turn in the chair. He's actually watching a little TV before he gets his teeth tickled.

"Show me your teeth." Still watching TV :)

Riding the chair!

4 Generations...

A couple of weeks ago my dad came to visit. We took a really quick trip to Huntsville to visit with Granny. We seized the opportunity to take a 4 generations photo. I hope this photo will be enjoyed and cherished by many generations to come, not just the ones photographed.

Robert Mayes, Marie Mayes, Lindsey (Mayes) Monger, Nico Monger

Birthday Party Part Deux...

On Saturday we had some family and friends over to our house for lunch and cake. David and I made homemade lasagna, salad, bread and, of course, a MONSTER TRUCK cake!!! Nico basically had a whole weekend of parties and celebrations...and he loved every minute of it! Needless to say, yesterday (his actual birthday) was pretty low key. I can't believe that he is 3! He is such a joy in our lives and the lives of many others. We are so lucky to be his parents! We love you, Nico!!!

Such a big boy!

Babbo and Tammy got to our house a little early and we were able to exchange Christmas presents. Better late than never. It was actually quite fun. I forgot some of the things that I got them and so it was a surprise for me, too!

I am pretty sure Robbie took this picture just to make Paige mad ;)

The birthday boy!!!

Hamming it up when it was time to open presents. Happy Birthday, sweet boy!