Last Days of Summer...

We have been enjoying the last few weeks of summer. School starts in 2 weeks. I am sad that I won't be spending each day with little man, but am excited for what cooler weather and a schedule bring. I'll let the captions explain all we've been doing!

Nico and Eli enjoying a movie on their "boys only" beach trip.

The 3 Amigos!

Any weekend morning, this is the view from our kitchen window. Nico will sit out there for hours playing with Moon Sand. He makes roads and mountains with his little construction trucks. His favorite playmate? His papa.

Last week we tagged along on David's business trip to Knoxville to squeeze in a visit with my dad and Tammy. We visited Parrot Mountain in Pigeon Forge. I highly recommend it if you've never been. There are tons of parrots that you can touch, feed and talk to. Above I am trying to get Nico to sit still for a picture.

This is what happened when I told him I would just take a picture of Babbo and Tammy.

No naps is NO fun! He is desperately trying to drop them. I'm not having any of it ;)

This little guy magically appeared from a pack of gum. Nico was thoroughly impressed with the guide's tricks.

Aye, aye, captain!

Tammy was holding the blue parrot and the red one just jumped on my dad's back. It was quite startling...and hilarious!

We have taken advantage of some slightly cooler temperatures and lower humidity by hitting a local park with soccer ball in tow. This park is a hidden treasure. Pssst...it's behind a local elementary school.

My little man!

His silly attempt at smiling.

We've been to a handful of birthday parties this month. Great time with great friends!

In a bounce house.

Nico took a cooking class with some of his buds. This was a great class that he really enjoyed. We'll be posting more pictures of further adventures I'm sure!

Yummy...cinnamon swirl muffins!

Sweet boy!

Swim Lessons...

Nico just completed two weeks of swim lessons at the YMCA. He took lessons when he was barely 2, but they really just got him comfortable in the water. This time he was a little more coordinated and could actually doggy paddle for about 10 feet and go to the bottom of the shallow end (3ft) to get a toy. These won't be the last swim lesson he takes, but we are one step closer to putting away the floaties. We'll definitely be working on his technique for the remainder of the summer.

My sweet little pisces.

No floaty!!!

Weekend Trip to Chattanooga...

A friend and I were excited to learn that a reality TV star and entrepreneur would be coming to TN to speak at a women's expo. Last minute, we decided to make plans for a multi-family mini vacation to Chattanooga. We drove over early Saturday morning and hung out until it was time for the mommies to go to their "meeting". We met the guys and kids for dinner afterward and played at the hotel (including a surprise fireworks display curtesy of the nearby baseball stadium) until bedtime. The next day we rode the free electric shuttle to the Choo Choo, rode the trolley there, walked to lunch on the bluff and played at the children's museum. It was a long, but fun weekend! Looking forward to doing it again soon!

Skinny Girl's Bethenny Frankel! I guess I don't have a future as one of the paparazzi!?

It is such a crazy, small world! David was swimming with the boys at the hotel while we were at the expo. He came up for a breath facing the hallway into the lobby when he saw our longtime friends, Trevor and Mary, walking by. They all did a double take. Trevor and Mary happened to stop in Chattanooga on their way back home to NC. They just happened to choose to stay at the same hotel where we were staying. And they just happened to walk by that tiny window at the exact same time David came up for a breath! WOW! They were able to join us for dinner and we had a great time catching up.

Sweet Finley! She was such a trooper...she didn't miss a beat even though she was fighting a cold. She has such a cute personality...so independent, it's cute!

The boys riding the free shuttle to the Choo Choo.

Nico posing outside the trolley.

Keenan and Nico waiting for the conductor so we can start the ride.

All the kids on board got to take turns ringing the bell.

Family shot :)

Playing with the water at the museum. Fun times!

And this was what happened on the ride home. Zonked!

Sweet Boy...

Nico has been trying hard to drop his naps lately. Mommy needs his naps. It's a time for me to do some work and to have a little quiet time. If this is the attitude I get when he doesn't nap I am OK with him dropping his naps. I'm not saying I'm not going to try though!

4th of July and S'mores...

These 2 things seem to go hand in hand, so I thought I would combine the posts. David had to work on July 4th, so our day wasn't too different than any other week day. Nico and I visited the gym, ate lunch at home and then rested (he is desperately trying to drop his naps so I have to take what I can get) before Giggy and Wampus came over for a cookout. When David got home we stuffed our faces and then headed to an awesome fireworks display in Mt. Juliet (neighboring town). The show lasted about 30 minutes. It took us about 45 minutes to get out of the parking lot. Needless to say, next year will will strategically park near the exit. I bought stuff for us to make s'mores on the 4th, but we were too stuffed to make them. So later that week we attempted s'mores on the grill. Pretty successful!

Bigfoot waiting for the fireworks to start.

Giggy and Nico

(yes we were sitting in a parking lot)

Wow, we look sweaty! It was pretty humid...

Nico's first s'more. He wasn't a fan of the marshmallow, so I made him a peanut butter, chocolate and graham cracker s'more. Yum!

Sweet boy!

Look at his thumb...he has the weirdest thumbs. It's like they are double jointed...it makes for hard hand holding :)

Lane Motor Museum...

Last Sunday we visited a local car museum. I was pleasantly surprised at this little museum. There were lots of old and unique cars. I think it was one man's private collection. This is a place that I see us visiting for years to come and each year Nico will become increasingly more interested in the cars instead of just playing in the play area. He thought they were pretty cool this time, so I am excited to take him next time.

Papa and Nico in front of an old fire engine. Thumbs up!

Even though this car looks old, it was actually built in like 2008. Pretty cool!

This was the only car you could get in (or touch). We just had to take the opportunity! It's a "beetle car" as Nico would say :)

Music Camp Program...

Nico attended a mini music camp at his school the last week of June. It was 3 days filled with fun, friends and music. The last day the school treated the parents and grandparents to a sweet program and lunch from Chik-fil-a. It was a cute little program where the kids (ranging from 3 to 5) lined up in the gym and sang along with their music teacher. I'd say maybe a third of the kids were actually singing though!

Nico had fallen out of bed earlier in the week and had a scab on his lip that he picked at for the first 3 minutes. It looked like he was picking his nose...ha!

As soon as the program was over the hat and the bandana were off. I was actually surprised he wore it AND kept it on during the show.