11 month update

 

11 months old already?! Every day continues to be a completely new day with Nico. He learns new things... we learn new things... and the fun continues!

The clothing: 12 and 18 month clothing. Still in size 3 diapers.

The schedule: Very consistent! About the same as last month. 4 bottles/day. 3 main meals. 2 naps. Wakes up around 7 a.m. and goes to bed around 7 p.m.

The appetite: This guy LOVES to eat. Avocado is the only food he has refused to eat, and spaghettios did not agree with his stomach. His favorite food is pancakes! We stick with simple, healthy meals- all of the basic meats, fruits, veggies, pasta noodles, and potatoes.

 

New fun things and what he's like:

• He took his first few steps a few weeks ago, and now he spends a majority of his waking hours waking alllllllll over the house with a big grin on his face, going from one thing to another. So guess what our day consists of now?... chasing him around, trying to keep him away from the stairs, doggy door, and every other thing he tries to get into that he's not supposed to! He's so cute. He will just walk down the hallways cracking himself up. He's still unsteady and plops down randomly. He's like a zombie.

• He also is really good at going from sitting to standing without any support. He probably stands up by himself 100x a day, literally. I don't know how he has so much energy.
• He gets a kick out of jumping on the bed. We will sing the "no more monkeys jumping on the bed" song and he gets those legs bouncin!
• He loves to imitate actions. 
• He seems to catch onto words every now and then, but it's on such an inconsistent basis. Sometimes if we keep saying a word, he will really focus on our mouth and say it too, almost by luck! He's said doggie and baby that way
• He waves bye bye! He'll do it before naps, when he's leaving, and when we say it to him. That's his best new trick.
• He's showing an interest in books and will bring us some of them. He actually sits down on our laps to read him an entire book! He loves books with textures, and specificially this 101 dalmations book we have.
• He does a lot better at actually playing with his toys, rather than just putting everything in his mouth! He will throw balls, roll trucks around, and somewhat use toys for what they're for. It's fun to just stare and watch him play on his own. However, if you put 100 toys + our 2 phones + 2 tv remote controls in a room, I can tell you what he'll go for. It's not the toys. I'm not sure why baby toys were even invented?! He can play with random objects for hours. 
• He has little temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way. He gets the biggest pouty lip ever sometimes when we tell him no.
• He is fascinated with the dogs. He loves to torture Miley by grabbing her toys and playing tug of war with her for them. He will get this longlasting, evil laugh as she struggles to get her toy back. He now also climbs all over Morgan, straddles her, and enjoys putting her tennis balls in her mouth. Poor dogs.
• He never slows down! It's like he uses up every ounce of energy he has. It is very obvious when he is ready for his naps or bedtime, not just because he will start scratching his eyes, but because he gets to the point that he can only take a few steps at at time before he falls over. We know he's a few minutes past sleepy time when he falls over, hits his head, and really begins whining/crying. That's about the time David and I look at eachother and go, "He's done!"
• He's into climbing now..... Fun for him. Not as much fun for us. He has 2 bruises on his head at the moment.

Speaking of climbing...

Favorite toys: He likes to push this cart thing around the house. He can get going pretty fast with those little legs!

Our favorite moments: David says... when he goes in to get Nico after he's been sleeping, and he is so happy and often says daddy right away.. and then he lets Nico grab the cord hanging down from the ceiling fan to turn on the light. Apparently that is their new "thing" and Nico loves to do that! Jessica says.... when we are in an unfamiliar place or around unfamiliar people, or if the dogs suddenly bark and scare him, and Nico walks over to me and grabs around my leg. I love being that safe place for him to go when he's unsure of things.

As I frequently say, I couldn't love him any more. It's the truth. This last month has been the best. We keep saying that every month! Only one more to go before our big guy turns ONE! Stay tuned!...

Elson Pool Party

This weekend was the Elson annual pool party. My parents plan a Saturday every summer when the pool reaches >83ish degrees to invite a handful of friends over. It's basically another excuse to hang out by the pool, listen to music, and have a few too many beers! Ryan came in town, and it was really nice to see him. Nico got to join in for his first pool party this summer and fit in well. I snapped a few shots of him enjoying the water.

A 60th Wedding Anniversary Surprise

For many months, we had been awaiting the day that we could all get together to surprise my grandparents on their 60th Wedding Anniversary. On Thursday, May 31, that magical moment came true! My grandparents had plans to go out to dinner with my Aunt Brenda and Uncle Kirk, and we were all there waiting. We then spent the entire weekend in a beachhouse in South Haven, just 45 minutes down the road. I know that my grandparents couldn't have asked for more than to have their family together like this. I am so thankful for the great memories that I made with them all weekend.

It was Nico's first flight and he flew like a champ, thanks to the distraction of grandma and grandpa! He slept on me for the other half of the flight.



 

The big surprise happened at Fieldstone Grill in Portage, Michigan. The look on their faces during our big reveal was priceless. You couldn't help but hold back a few tears when they entered the restaurant, much less when they saw all of us at one big table, hidden away in the back. It was definitely a moment that I will remember forever.

Uncle Neil made a toast to them, and then revealed the big news about our beach house plans!...

Following dinner, we all went to the house to continue the festivities. It was a very beautiful home that was able to house the entire family of 20! It consisted of  3 stories plus a basement... 7 bedrooms... 5 bathrooms... and multiple living areas/decks.



Once we all were settled in, we celebrated with some cake and ice cream...

Just for fun, some current events from 1952, the year they got married, were put together. It's amazing to see how much the times have changed. The average cost of a new house was 9 thousand dollars?!?!?! A gallon of gas was 20 cents?!?!?!   Check it out...

We spent the rest of the night just catching up with everyone! Nico could feel the excitement too- he went to bed 2-3 hours later than normal!

On Friday, we spent most of the morning and early afternoon hanging around the house. It was a rainy, cold day so there wasn't much desire to get out and do anything. The softball college world series was on, so that was running in the background for a majority of the weekend. About the most excitement for the first part of the day was the wild goose chase to hunt down Uncle Neil and Amanda's lost luggage! It's a long story of frustrations with the airport and Fed Ex, and the end result was some of our guys aimlessly driving around South Haven, and actually finding the Fed Ex truck that had their luggage in it. Pretty funny chain of events. (Well, not funny for Uncle Neil and Amanda!)

By the time that early afternoon hit, it was time for a beer! A small group of us slipped out for a few hours and went down the street to Captain Lou's.

We came back to the house and ordered pizza for dinner. We then had another little surprise for grandma and grandpa. A video was put together of photos throughout their life, with all of their children and grandchildren! It was a nice reminder of how they have always been there for the big moments in our lives- graduations, weddings, sporting events, and so much more.

 

Saturday brought much better weather, so we were able to get out of the house for a majority of the day! Aunt Nancy and Uncle Scott took Caitlyn and Nico for a walk down to the park to start off the day. We also had family pictures taken early in the afternoon, courtesy of Chase, who is the professional photographer for the Chicago Blackhawks. Here is our gang.

Then we went down to Saugatuck, a cute little city with a few bars and shops. Our first stop was to sit out on the patio at The Butler.

Our next stop was to Coral Gables. They had a nice, big patio that overlooked the water. Towards the end of our stay, a live band started playing. The band members recognized grandma and grandpa's 60 years together, which drew a round of applause. When they asked my grandpa what his advice was, he pointed to grandma and said something like, "It's whatever she says." I guess after 60 years, he has been well trained.

A majority of the group went back home to get dinner going, and us 4 made a quick pit stop at the Saugatuck Brewery.

We returned home just in time to eat burgers with everyone, and shortly after dinner, my grandpa spoke a few words about how much the weekend has meant to him.

Some of us then walked down to the beach to watch the beautiful sunset over Lake Michigan as our last night drew to an end...


 

We woke up the last morning to find a sweet article in the local newspaper that congratulated the couple on their achievement of 60 years, and summarized our big family surprise.

It's not often that a couple celebrates 60 years together. It is so funny to watch them together. No matter how many times she yells at him for eating something he isn't supposed to, not paying attention, not doing something right or fast enough; or how many times he just rolls his eyes at her or gives it right back to her, there is still one thing to be said- they really love each other. When asked how she feels and if she has any advice, my grandmother replied, "Some times you love 'em, some times you hate 'em, and sometimes you just gotta kick 'em in the nuts." Well said.

I'm thankful for the quality time that we shared over the long weekend, and am so looking forward to hanging out with them again in a few short months!

Happy Father's Day!



 

This weekend, we celebrated David's first Father's Day! We went out to a Brazilian steakhouse last night with just us 2, while Nico had a sleepover with Dave and Cindy! It was really good food- 17 different meats going around the room, a salad bar that even had sushi, and cheesecake for dessert. Can you say food coma?! We walked across the street to a nearby patio to hang out a little more afterwards. It was a great date night for us two to have some quality time and to celebrate what a great dad David is.

Today, we mainly hung around the house. Nico got his dada some fun things for the grill and a Rangers t-shirt. For dinner, we met my parents at Campisi's. Then we came home and played with our sweet little boy!

Nico is so lucky to have David as his daddy. It's very obvious that he couldn't love that boy any more. From the little names he calls him, to cooking for him every single day, to their weekly walks to Walmart, and all of the quality bonding time in between, they couldn't be any cuter together.

I want to wish a Happy Father's Day to MY dad too! The older I get, the more I love and appreciate ya, dad. I take it as a compliment that people call me Jeff, Jr. Thank you for all that you have done for me and all that you continue to do!

His first few steps

Nico took 2 steps all by himself last Saturday... and today he took 5!!!

(Nico, please stop growing up so fast. Love, Mom)

My Italian boys

Ma ma

He said MA MA today!

My parents were over watching him this afternoon, and as I walked in the door, I heard them telling him, "Look who's home. It's mama".... and then I heard a loud and proud MA MA!

It just makes my heart melt.