Lunch with the ducks

My work has been a little slow lately, so we have tried to take advantage of our afternoons as a family! Today, we landed on the patio at Mi Cocina. 

 

After a few minutes of eating, we had 6 baby ducks wander over to our table from the nearby pond. It was such a nice surprise! By the time it was all said and done, a handful of adult ducks and birds were over by us as well. Nico was in heaven.

Even though we have gotten stricter on Nico not throwing food, we broke the rules today and let him do his thing. When else do you get the chance to have cute, little baby ducks walking over your feet and eating your chips?

It was a really fun afternoon! So happy that we have the opportunity to do things like this during the week!

A fun, busy week!

We have been on-the-go this past week and have done something fun just about every day!

Last weekend, Nico spent the night with Papa and Grandma. He always loves going over there to help with yardwork (Literally, he has his own "jobs" with his own little shovels and yard equipment. He can be pretty helpful at times!), play in the pool, go on morning walks, go out to good restaurants, and get spoiled!

 

In our usual baby-less fashion, we went to Top Golf for the afternoon. I just love that place. Uncle Neil and Amanda also had a going away party that night, since they are moving off to Alabama. Will be weird not having them around. Nico really liked playing with Caitlyn!

 

 

 

 

We have been spending a majority of our afternoons and nights outdoors. It's that time of the year where the weather is perfect- not too hot yet. Nico would live outdoors every minute of the day if we would let him! 

 

 

 

So I had to capture some of the less than perfect moments as well. Check out the reaction we get when we tell him that he has to go inside. Priceless...

 

 

 

It's hard to get mad at this cute face for dumping his buttered noodles over. This is a classic Nico look as well...

 

 

 

I took Nico to Willow Bend Mall on Tuesday. We hadn't been to their play area before, so I was trying to mix things up. He ran around and climbed for about an hour and was worn out. He threw another temper tantrum when it was time to go. So embarrassing! I am totally "that" parent during those moments, feeling like all eyes within a 100 yard radius are watching and judging. I went with the walking away approach while telling him "bye," and he got scared and came running. I felt bad but hey, whatever it takes, right?! We met another Nico there- not a name we have come across too often!

 

 

 

Thursday morning, Nico woke up repeatedly saying "pancakes," so he had an outing with his da da to IHOP. They are close buddies.

 

 

Our main family time for the week was Friday, and despite our busy week of doing a lot already, we took Nico to the jumphouse and then out to dinner! He has warmed up to it each time we have taken him. David has started taking him here every Thursday morning, when they reserve the place for toddlers 3 and under only, and Nico just looooves it. He has gotten enough confidence that he will say, "Slide, SELFS!" and then climb up the high slide, determined to do it without help. (And this would be another one of those times where I realize he is so NOT a baby anymore.)

 

 

We went to Ra for some sushi afterwards. Nico ate 2, I repeat 2, orders of potstickers as well as an entire order of edamame. What a pig! Mr. Independent was determined to use his chopstick like us, so he stabbed his food and ate it that way. He's been all about giving out high fives and knuckles lately. It's pretty much the cutest thing, especially when he catches strangers off guard.

 

 

This weekend, David had a baseball tournament just down the street, so Nico and I went to the Saturday morning game. He ran around the park like a wild man, and then I contained him for a few innings in his stroller, so I could watch a few innings.

 

 

 

As a sidenote... Later this morning, Nico put on his backpack, walked toward me, and said, "kisses." He gave me a kiss on the lips, and then he started walking towards the front door. When I asked where he was going, he sternly stated, "Work." He cracks me up. He's really been picking up on things lately! 

 

So David got done early with baseball on Saturday, so we took a family trip to Walmart. We went to get just finger paint (he has been painting some at Misty's house, so I wanted to make some effort to try different things at our house), and came out with a tball bat/tee, tons of bubbles, a crayon book with crayons, and a few food items. I stand by the statement that it is impossible to go into Walmart and only come out with what you intended to get!

 

 

 

 

And here come the bubbles.............. (Warning: picture overload. I can't help it- he is just so cute.)



 

 

 

 Here is his usual throwing balls/toys to try to hit the birds. He is slowly getting closer. Ha!...

He thinks he is cool that he is walking down the slide. He thinks he is testing his limits, based on his facial expression...

Love his laugh...

Not too bad of a golf swing...

Aaaaand... drumroll please. This was a big day in the Biagini household, as Nico got his 1st tee and started learning to hit a baseball! Like any stereotypical sports parent, I already think Nico has a great swing! :)

The finger painting ended up being minimally successful. After smearing it around for a minute or two, he threw a fit that I wouldn't let him hold the paint container. Typical. That concluded that activity!

 

Can't imagine life before Nico! What would we have done with all of this free time?!

First haircut

It's funny how something so routine and relatively insignificant can be a big deal to a mom. Today marks the day of Nico's first haircut! I had been procrastinating with getting it done. I just loved the way his hair curled behind his ears. It was time though, as the back was getting too long.

 

We had to wait a good 30 min before, so he ran around like a crazy man and played in all the cars...

 

And here he is, all ready to go!...

 

 

He stayed distracted with bubbles and toys for a little while...

 

 

He wasn't a fan of the coverup and after a few minutes, he started trying to take it off while dictating, "off!"

The process became fairly amusing with the amount of effort required to distract him. He doesn't like to sit still for very long!...

He was terrified of the trimmer at the end and rushed up into David's arms...

 

 

The before and after shots...

 

 

 

We went nextdoor to Chick-fil-A for some playtime and icecream afterwards...

 



He looks SO much older to me now, like such a boy and no longer a baby. I was sad to see those cute, little curls that would poke out behind his ears go. I looked at him differently the rest of the day...

 

 

Austin, part 3!

We made our third trip of the year down to Austin this past weekend. David had a baseball tournament about an hour south of there, so Nico and I spent the weekend with my parents and had a funfilled time!

On Friday, we went to a place called Doc's. It is the perfect kid-friendly bar. (That term seems so very contradicting. Ha!) It's a place to get some barfood and beer, and the key is... it has a huuuge outdoor playground area for kids. Nico got to run off some energy, climb around, and he wasn't just stuck in a highchair all dinner long. (Been fearing those highchairs after the lunch experience last week!) This place had that Austin feel to it with people throwing bags and washers, live music being set up for later, and an overall laid back atmosphere.

 

 

Saturday was our ZOO day!...

 

 

 

 

We packed a picnic lunch with sandwiches (chicken for Nico), fruit, and chips...

 

One of the highlights was the choo-choo train that Nico rode. He's really been into trains, trucks, and cars...

 

There was a nice variety of animals. A majority of them were smaller ones that we could get right up next to (and touch if you really wanted to.) Even the tiger and lion were only a handful of feet away with just a chain link fence separating us! As usual, I'd say that the turtles were his favorite...

We spent a few hours there, and just like at our other zoo/aquarium experiences, it was so fun to watch Nico point out all of the animals and the noises they made. He said hi and bye to some of them, and also said "kisses" to many of them. Such a sweet, loving guy.

We found a bluebonnet patch nearby the house and were inspired to take a pic after seeing some other people do the same. Here's my favorite one...

After a short nap, we went out to Homeslice Pizza for dinner. This is one of my favorite places in Austin so far- just a fun atmosphere and really good pizza. While we waited for our table, Nico was entertained by retrieving ping pong balls from a group of kids playing. He ate a huge dinner and only required a few, brief distractions to keep him from going crazy!...

We had such a busy weekend there and were able to do a lot in such a short time. When we were at the house, Nico was busy pointing out all of the GOLFERS that came by (he doesn't say his cute version, gawkers, anymore), opening and closing doors, trying to grab our hands and drag us all into bed, and playing the piano!...

 

 

David stopped by to get us on Sunday afternoon, after his baseball tournament was over, and we headed back to McKinney. We stopped for some blizzards at DQ, and Nico also requested french fries. (Such a healthy snack, huh!)

 

 

 

  



It was another really fun weekend down there!

Jump, jump.

I took Nico to a jump house this weekend, hoping he could get some of that energy out! I was surprised because he was very hesitant to jump and run around on his own. He stayed clingy, right up next to me for most of it. Not that I'm complaining. It was cute and sweet :)

 

We spent most of the time climbing up to the highest slide there, and then speeding down with him in my lap. Not gonna lie, this mama was sweaty and exhausted afterwards! But we will definitely be going back there again.