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!