August was a great month. When we weren't busy settling into the house and unpacking the last remaining boxes, we were enjoying the long, summer evenings outside and exploring the area around us! My work has been a smooth transition and is going well. And props to David for establishing a fun, new routine for Nico during the daytime!
Nico now sleeps in his own big boy bed, has various activities that he does throughout the week, and he even met a few new friends. His main new BFF/partner in crime is Derek. David ran into his mom, Emily, on a morning walk. We have hung out with them a handful of times already and have a good time together! The boys are so alike and get excited to hang out with each other.
We also met another family with kids that invited us to a big neighborhood party. We then invited both families over to hang at our place the following weekend, and David showed off his cooking. (We laugh because it's not our nature to be that social, but we figured we had no other choice!) It's nice to already have some friends!
David has taken Nico on a morning walk just about
every single morning! I have joined in a few times on the weekends! There's a nice little trail within our neighborhood. There are some really pretty views of the hill country too.
This park is in our neighborhood, just a 2 min walk down our street. It's the highlight at the end of his morning walks. On this day, he wanted to bring his helmet because he often talks about being careful!
Tuesday evenings were Nutty Brown Café nights. It's a cute restaurant/bar/amphitheater across the street from us. They had Kids Night on Tuesdays with a jumphouse, a balloon maker, sandbox, and a big area for him to run around with a lot of other kids. It became our tradition for 5 weeks in a row until school started, and he loved it! (And so did we, sitting out on the patio and having some drinks!)
One day a week, David took Nico to the jumphouse, just a few miles down the street. Nico calls it, "JUMPS." He goes crazy in there with trampolines, a few different bounce houses, air hockey, and some other toy areas.
We ventured down to the McDonald's in Dripping Springs for one of our first nights as a family in our home. We knew Nico would eat well since he loves their chicken nuggets happy meal, plus they have a playground.
We like to get Nico out of the house nearly every day. This kid stays busy. Here he is running around outside of some stores. One of my favorite pictures.
He enjoys riding the tractors at Home Depot. We barely can drive by a tractor without him pointing it out in excitement.
He eats his way through HEB! I'm sure the deli women are going to know this guy in no time. After they give him some cheese or meat, he repetitively tells them "thank youuuuuu" in a proud, loud voice.
Hard not to document this pleasant surprise. He actually fell asleep on my nap. Must have been worn out to do that. Definitely not like him. I was probably smiling the entire time.
Here he is in his new bed. Doesn't he look huge?! He talks often about how he sleeps in his
new bed in his
new house in Austin.
We have done some venturing into new bars and restaurants. One of the main bars in Dripping Springs is called the Barber Shop. It's a cute little hole-in-the-wall type place with an outdoor stage and picnic table seating.
When we aren't dragging him all over town, he does pretty good just playing by himself at home too! He is obsessed with "cooking mouse" as he calls it, which is the movie Ratatouille. He has been asking to watch that every single day (sometimes multiple times!) That's all he is really into now. He seems to like to be active rather than sitting still!
Here he is, proud of this tower. He also likes playing with cars/trucks, building things, and throwing things!
His typical tv watching pose. Thumb in mouth... check. Blanket in hand... check.
He spends a majority of his time outdoors. I've probably mentioned before that he would live outdoors if we would let him! He often throws fits when we tell him that we have to come inside. He is very interested when David does the lawn! He runs to each window to get a good view. Then when he goes outside again, he uses his little lawn mower "like Daddy". So cute.
He is really into this car. David and I have a love/hate relationship with it. While it keeps him entertained, he often asks us to push him. And pushing up our inclined backyard is not always easy!! (Poor Morgan had to have her ear drained due to suspected allergies, and then she wore this cone around her head for 2 full weeks. She drove us nuts, but I felt so bad for her.)
He's very into baseball still. (As if he had a choice!)
He hits the ball and runs as fast as he can to touch the fence. He smiles and laughs the whole way there, and then yells and signals, "SAFE!" Funny to watch! He also frequently starts running in the house after doing his baseball swing and says, "Nico run fast!" or "Homerun!"
And you can't forget about his continued love for hockey. He often shoots a puck in the garage with David. He takes it very seriously!
That about sums up our first month here in Austin! Life is good!
And here are a few extra pics of our goofball...
Here he is mimicking my sad face...
One cool dude...
He still is very much into his blanket. He's gotta know where it is at all times...
Love you, Nico...
