Joyeux Noel

Two brothers, dressed in red, early Christmas morning, ready to open presents. Nico, as you can see, is already chomping on his monkey castanet.

Spencer loved having his Aunt Bobbi there to share the special day with him. He wanted to open the majority of his presents sitting in her lap.

Speaking of unwrapping, that was Nico's favorite part of the day. He seemed so pleased with himself whenever he succeeded in tearing off some paper. What a satisfying noise, the sound of ripping paper!

Spencer for his part thoroughly enjoyed popping the bubble wrap, almost as much as he liked his etch-a-sketch and Bruder trucks. Now the question is where to stash all this Christmas booty!

As you can see, all of Nico's gifts must pass the taste test. I think this book is going to pass with flying colors! Merry Christmas to all!

Santa Claus Comes to Town

Santa rode his sleigh through our neighborhood escorted by the Culver City Police Department. Spencer told Santa he was still thinking about what he wants for Christmas. I hope he decides soon so that Santa has time to prepare his gift. Ho! Ho! Ho!

Spencer's 4th Birthday

Spencer's 4th birthday began with one of his favorite breakfasts: chocolate-filled croissants (in case you're wondering, THIS is where the chocolate is in the croissant).

After breakfast, Spencer was chomping at the bit for the party to start. He was given permission to open one present ahead of time. Grandpa graciously agreed to assemble the 100+ piece marble run. The marbles were already running when it was time to head over to Sophia's house -- the new location for the party because our backyard was rained out.

Spencer and Sophia get ready to take a whack at their birthday pinata bravely held by Sophia's dad, Damien.

Spencer's cake, keeping with the royal birthday theme, had towers of ice cream cones on all sides. Hats off to Anna and Damien for their cake-decorating prowess!

The birthday boy and birthday girl get ready to blow out their candles as all their family and friends sing "Happy Birthday." Everyone got their choice of either yellow cake (birthday boy) or chocolate cake (birthday girl) and some sampled both.

Spencer told Grandpa that this was the best birthday cake ever.

While the kids all had a great time, there's no denying that changing the venue at the last minute was a tough decision. Sophia's parents, Anna and Damien, opened their home to almost twenty kids, their parents, and all our family and friends. We can't thank them enough for doing so much in so little time to make Sophia and Spencer's birthday so wonderful. They are good friends, great artists, and know how to (kid's birthday) party! And thanks to everyone for checking email and finding the new venue on the day of the party. The bouncy house will have to wait till next year!

Boink, Boink, Boink

Grandpa found a new way to make Nico laugh. Enjoy!

Holiday Elves

This December we were very fortunate to have a special visit from some magical holiday elves. The boys refer to them as Grandma and Grandpa. While they were here, our house was filled with the delicious smell of sugar cookies baking. Spencer and Grandma decorated each cookie with love. Spencer even volunteered to taste a few for quality control. Now that's the Christmas spirit!

The elves helped decorate our Christmas tree. It looked especially beautiful at night when the lights sparkled.

Spencer clearly had a marvelous time with Grandma reading, baking and telling the story of the unreadable ticket every morning.

Nico loved spending one on one time with Grandma and Grandpa every chance he got.

The holiday elves with Spencer and Nico. We can't wait for their next visit in spring.

Toothy Grins

Look who's happy to have four teeth! He's using them these days to devour teething biscuits, table food and fingers.

Trip the Holiday Lights

Unfortunately, this was the holiday tree lighting that got away. Rather than singing carols and speeches at the opening, the ceremony began with the tree lighting itself...and we were walking up just as the tree came to life. Spencer may not have seen the lights turn on but he definitely enjoyed the complimentary popcorn provided by the nearby movie theater. Spencer took a break from eating popcorn to pose with Nico in front of the 2009 Culver City Christmas tree.

Baby Mozart

Nico plays an original composition, the first of many to come we hope.

The First Swing

Nico recently had a grand time being pushed by his big brother in a swing for the first time. Although Spencer may just be learning the gentle art of "swing-pushing," he clearly enjoyed the responsibility of pushing Nico and the fun of hearing his baby brother laugh and squeal.

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving 2009 was a grand feast at Nana's house with Mike (behind the camera) and (from the left) Lydia, Bobbi, Marvin, Lisette, Mrs. Kugler (a long-time neighbor and family friend) and her daughter and Spencer.

Aunt Bobbi holds Nico after he napped all through Thanksgiving dinner (thanks Nico!).

The Roadrunner and the Baby

One morning at music class, I captured this video of Spencer speeding past his little brother.

Eight Babylicious Months

Nico celebrated his 8-month birthday on November 18th. He crawls very well now, easily moving from crawling to sitting as the mood strikes. Nico also pulls himself to standing at every opportunity before slowly lowering himself back to a sitting position. His newfound mobility enables him to explore the world around him. More often than not, that means he puts everything he can reach into his mouth.

Speaking of his mouth, Nico now has four teeth, two on top and two on the bottom. He continues to eat Earth's Best Organic pureed fruits and vegies but we've also given him puffs and teething biscuits in the last few days. His pincher grasp improves by the day. Soon we'll be serving him table food. We've been signing "more" to him during meals for a while. While a couple of times, he has put his hands together, we're not yet sure if he equates it with more food or he's merely clapping. Nico loves to pat his tray, the coffee table, etc. almost as much as he loves playing peek-a-boo. The thing he loves most of all though is watching his older brother do almost anything. He lights up whenever he sees Spencer. We can't wait to see what changes the next month will bring.

Finally, a look at big brother Spencer at the same age. Enjoy!

Trick or Treat

Candy, kids in costumes, block parties. It must be Halloween!

I had a devil of a time getting this sweet pea outfit on Nico both because he was squirming and because I was laughing so hard. The elastic in the front kept slipping off the sides of Nico's head causing the sides to cover his face. His expression was priceless. He ended up only wearing the costume for a few moments, just long enough for us to take some photos.

Spencer dressed as a firefighter. He had a case of the sniffles but that didn't deter him from trick-or-treating. Mike took him around the neighborhood while I stayed home with Nico to give out candy.

Earlier in the evening, we stopped by our neighborhood block party/potluck. They went all out with special effects, a fog machine and even a DJ. We look forward to next year!

Treehouse Social Club

Since Nana is out of town this week, we decided to head over to the Treehouse Social Club for play time and lunch. It's a beautifully designed space where children can play in a safe environment with a variety of imaginative toys. There's even a separate room for toddlers adjacent to the main space perfect for Nico. The morning passed by in a flash with so much to explore although Spencer would have had even more fun had there been more kids there. He had the place to himself for most of the morning. We'll definitely return for an encore one of these days.

Nana Love

Nana comes for a visit every Monday so that I can take Nico to a Mommy & Me class at Emerson. It's a win-win situation for everyone: I gain some one-on-one time with Nico while Spencer gets his Nana all to himself. They have so much fun together playing play doh, reading stories and even doing laundry.

Between naps and our class, Nana usually doesn't get to spend much quality time with Nico but on this occasion, she was able to feed him his lunch.

Open wide Nico!

Sweet potatoes are one of his favorites!

Time for bed! Nana fed him a night time bottle before he drifted off to sleep. Now if only he would sleep through the night...

To Pumpkin City We Go!

Spencer had so much fun at Pumpkin City last year, we decided to make it an annual tradition and head down to Orange County for a visit.

We met up with Nana at the entrance. This year was Nico's first experience. He watched from the sidelines in his pumpkin hat as his big brother rode the rides.

Spencer started on the swings (note the hand raised in the air),

before moving on to the tractor. His driving skills have improved since last year but I'm not handing over the keys anytime soon.

The first of many run-ins on the tractor course. Those hay bales saved the day!

Spencer tends to drive with his eyes looking to the side instead of straight ahead where he's going, hence the importance of the hay bales.

A family portrait on a sunny October day!

Hey Diddle Diddle

I am over the moon because at long last our dishwasher, the one we purchased months ago in anticipation of this day, was installed. I so appreciate the simple pleasure of loading the dishes, pushing a button and listening to the quiet hum as our dishes are magically sudsed and dried.

A week or so after the dishwasher installation, the flooring installers came to lay down cork planks over our existing vinyl floor. We choose cork primarily because it is a sustainable, renewable resource but also for its comfort and warmth. The color not only integrates well with the wood floors in the rest of our house but it hides dirt as well, a plus with two young boys and two messy cooks.

We love the way it turned out!

Kangaroo Nico & Skyscraper Spencer

Nico has discovered the joys of bouncing in the jumper. Here he is in action!

As much as Nico enjoys being in the jumper, his favorite activity remains watching his older brother. On this afternoon, he experienced the best of both worlds. Spencer, for his part, engaged Nico in a game of peekaboo which he loved as much as Nico did.

When Spencer is not entertaining his younger brother, he also likes to build towers of blocks, towers higher than he is tall. Watch out for the crash!

The Next David Beckham?

If you're not an European soccer fan, you may not realize that there is a fine art to ripping one's shirt off and flying around the field after scoring a goal. Luckily, our good friend Stuart is schooling Spencer in this fine art and Spencer is quite an apt pupil.

A Day of Firsts

Spencer's interest in reading has blossomed to the point where he now listens to chapter books. We currently are making our way through the Ramona series by Beverly Cleary. It seemed time for Spencer to apply for his first library card which he proudly displays here.

Nico is also experiencing many firsts including tasting solid foods. We started with rice cereal and, as you can see in this photo, moved on to peas, a taste he has yet to acquire. On the contrary, he stuck out his tongue and tried to shake the peas off. When that didn't work, bobbing his head up and down couldn't shake those peas off either. Ewwww! Peas! I can't say I blame him. Pureed peas don't rank high on my list of favorite foods. We'll try again when he can eat peas whole.

Spencer embraces the role of feeding his little brother.

Everybody Knows He Loves His Toes

Nico loves to snack on his toes - morning, noon and night. I've been trying to capture a photo for weeks but until now, Nico has been too quick for me. At last, success!

Creeping Along

Nico gets around - rolling, creeping, scooting. Better finish baby proofing...

Bath time Hijinks

The ancient art of basket head-balancing was begun by an ancient Sumarian 3 year-old in 3,600 BC. Spencer carries on the tradition in the tub, delicately balancing one of his bath toys while smiling, singing Frere Jacques, and offering his generation's take on the health care debate (he's for the public option).

Swim, Swim, Swimming Along

What better way to spend Labor Day weekend than by taking a dip in the pool followed by sharing a picnic with friends? Here the boys pose with their hats on a perfect late summer morning.

Nico's grand introduction to the water was a big success. He loved his first dip in the water held securely in Daddy's arms.

Nico gives his seal of approval by pat, pat, patting the edge of the pool. It appears this little California boy has many years of water fun in his future.