Neevosh & Boo

2 Years old!

2012-01-11T20:04:00.001-08:00

Nico is TWO!! We had some friends over for dinner and cupcakes on her birthday. That Sunday we went to Grandma and Grandpa Grandy's house to celebrate with Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. Nico is getting to be more and more fun. She's putting together sentences, can count things, and is learning to pretend with her toys. Our favorite pretend playing has been with her tin box and finger puppets that she got from a friend. She will pretend that the puppet is crying because it can't get into the box with its friends. Then she opens the box and cheers and put the puppet inside. No idea where she gets this stuff from.

Here is the tutorial for the Tipi, it was really easy to make and requires a twin sheet and some PVC pipes, super inexpensive fun project.

Christmas!

2012-01-05T12:58:00.000-08:00

Christmas came and went and we had a wonderful holiday.

This was the best part of the morning, Nico was SO excited to find an orange at the bottom of her stocking. I wish her reaction to the new bike we got her had been as good.

We drove to Idaho the day after Christmas to see my sister and her family. We went to Tamarack and Mike and all the rest went skiing/snowboarding, I hung out with the babies and watched the Muppet's Christmas Carol. On the drive home Mike and Nico were struck by the stomach virus my sister, her husband, a few of her kids and I had earlier in the week. We had about 4 roadside stops before we decided to call it a day and check into a gross motel 2 1/2 hours from home. All in all we had a good time, but we could have done without the barf and runny poop.

Happy Winter Solstice

2011-12-22T18:08:00.000-08:00

Today is the shortest day of the year, the sunset at 4:54 PM today! Good thing though, the days will start getting longer now. I've been thinking a lot about Winter Solstice lately, especially after Nico's (three hour) nap. When Nico wakes up it is usually almost dark and I really struggle with being motivated to go out and do some fun activity, I just want to stay inside and be cozy. I call the time between Nico's nap and Mike coming home from work the dead time. We both are a little bored and crazy. Just curious is there a dead time of your day? What do you do to shake things up? Anyhow, happy longer days to come!

PS if you need to feel extra cozy you can stream a fireplace blaze from netflix, who knew?

Coming this May

2011-12-12T22:08:00.000-08:00

Baby girl number two. We are very happy.

This one was taken a few weeks before the first picture, she is sucking her thumb and using the placenta as a pillow, at least that is what my OB said.

23 Months

2011-12-08T09:29:00.000-08:00

Santa, and other things

2011-12-05T21:46:00.001-08:00

In an attempt to beat the Holiday rush that usually surrounds Union Square, and a visit to Santa, we decided to pay the jolly old fat man a visit today. I have to say that we were not surprised by Nico's reaction to Santa. I mean who really wants to be placed on a stranger's knee anyway? I wish the pictures were a little better, but Mike was taking them on the sly (Nico did not sit still long enough for the lady taking pictures to get one). Apparently you are not allowed to take pictures with your own camera at the North Pole, news to me!

We rounded out the evening by buying our Christmas tree, and then running out of gas on the way home, oops! Later, on inspection of our storage unit I discovered that our Christmas decorations were nowhere to be found! Could they be at my parent's house? Looks like I am going to find out tomorrow. All in all kind of a funny day.

Introductions

safely out of Santa's clutches

Good Hair

2011-11-17T23:38:00.000-08:00

How many of you are jealous of your baby's hair?

Halloween

2011-11-17T23:27:00.001-08:00

Nico was a bunny for Halloween. Trick or treating got mixed reviews from Nico, she was really into the candy part but not so much into the in between stuff. We went out kind of late so she was both excited and tired and there were lots of stairs. All in all we have a fun night.

20, 21, 22

2011-11-17T16:22:00.000-08:00

I've been taking these pictures every month as usual, I just never post them.

Film

2011-11-16T21:06:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the blog neglect. Getting pictures from the camera to the blog always seems like a hassle, so we never do it.

Here are pictures from a film camera Mike has been using lately.

Picking apples at Gizdich Ranch.

Awesome wedding in New Orleans.

Camping!

2011-08-18T19:06:00.001-07:00

We went to Yosemite last last weekend with our friends the Elliots. We had such a great time, the weather was perfect, and the park was green and lovely. The kids had so much fun balancing on fallen trees, roasting marshmallows, playing cards, taking bike rides, and playing in the dirt. Hands down my favorite part of the trip was riding bikes through the valley. We brought Mike's bike and a seat for Nico and I rented a cruiser. Lessons learned from our trip: pack less food, bring a port-a-crib (does anyone have suggestions for sleeping arraignments with a toddler), bring bathing suits.

Mission Doloris

2011-08-18T18:39:00.000-07:00

I finally went to Mission Doloris when my old friend Sara was in town. The ceilings were the best part, that and the lady we flabbergasted when we told her we were not going to participate in the optional donation fee, ha!

I love a good diorama.

Crazy Hair

2011-08-18T18:36:00.001-07:00

I put Nico's hair in a bun, and then took it out. Wild. Please note all the teething drool, poor thing.

19 months

2011-08-18T18:11:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast this Summer has gone by! Nico is turing more and more into a little girl. She is still as independent as ever, I think she really wants to be a little girl, she gets upset when we try and help her out with eating, or dressing, and even changing her diaper. While her insistence on being independent can be a little frustrating at times, like when she tries to take the wipes from us while we are changing her, I am so proud of all the things she can do all by herself.

Nico is getting her eye teeth, canines, whatever they are called, and she has been in a foul mood more often than usual the past few weeks. She did not seem to be as uncomfortable with any her other teeth, and I keep hearing from different people, "Oh yes, those are the worst for babies". Was that a surprise to anyone else? One of the many new parent things you hear nothing about until you are in the thick of it. On the plus side of her teething, she has been taking more three hour naps (like in the old days) and when she is down for the night she is down.

Nico definitely prefers Mike right now. It kind of hurts my heart, and my pride, to admit that, but she certainly does prefer him to me at this point. I keep saying, mike does too, that she sees so much more of me than him and he is by far the more novel of the two of us. I do love seeing those two together, she adores him, almost as much as he adores her.

Happy

2011-08-16T01:01:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd throw this one up here.

Three

2011-07-24T22:14:00.000-07:00

My dad on his birthday and Nico, many months ago.

Outside

2011-07-24T22:13:00.001-07:00

GG Park with and without pants

Train at the zoo. Me having more fun than Nico.

Ginats game

Inside

2011-07-24T22:03:00.000-07:00

Treats

2011-07-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

This lot of pictures is of Nico enjoying eating.

First burger and fries

Hot chocolate

Breakfast at La Boulange

Shakes at Fenton's

Pomelo

Brentwood

2011-07-24T21:21:00.000-07:00

We went cherry and apricot picking in Brentwood a little while back. We ended up going a little crazy and came home with 20 pounds of fruit. The whole experience felt perfectly like Summer, lots of juicy ripe fruit, a skinned knee or two, rosy red cheeks, sweaty faces and sunscreen greased hair.

Portland

2011-07-24T20:53:00.000-07:00

We went to Portland last month to discover the city and reconnect with some good friends from Hawaii and San Francisco. We were so hopeful for our much needed vacation, and things were going swimmingly till Mike got the flu. A killer, passed out on the bathroom floor, moaning about the nearness of death, stomach churning, body aching flu. He was a pitiable site. Mike had been working so hard up until our little trip that when he finally took a moment to relax the bug pounced and was ready to ravage his body.

By the end of the trip Mike had rallied considerably, at which point Nico and myself succumbed to the bug, albeit to a much lesser degree. As awful as being sick is, it is a truth that begin sick while not in your own home is undeniably much worse. Thanks to the Kanes and the Kessies for letting us sick up your homes and test the fortitude of your plumbing!

We went to Sauvie Island to pick strawberries and look at the animals.

Andy and Emily doing some sort of chicken voodoo on Nico.

Delmer was so good about sharing his toys with Nico

Film

2011-07-23T23:42:00.000-07:00

Some pictures from the most recent roll we had developed.

Construction

2011-07-23T23:13:00.000-07:00

Our street is a particularly busy one (we see at least one fire truck go by a day, and many times they are stopping right in our block to do their business), and now that we live on the first floor of our building we get to see things happening up close and personal. The kids, Nico and the Pilling clan, were mesmerized by the work crew outside laying down new asphalt. They watched for a good 20 minutes engrossed by the goings on outside our window.

Fireworks

2011-07-23T23:08:00.001-07:00

The biggest successes of the night were, no crying and lots of clapping.

Two birthdays and an anniversary

2011-07-23T22:44:00.000-07:00

Mike's birthday and mine are five days apart, and then 12 days later we celebrate our anniversary. So, this year I turned 30, Mike 31, and we celebrated 5 years of being married. Mike threw together a little surprise party for me. True to form I was late to my own party, but in my defense I had not idea there were people waiting at our house, and was I really going to skip out on dessert on my birthday?

That weekend for Mike's birthday we went camping at Sunset beach down around Santa Cruz. It was a slow (hot) relaxing weekend filled with s'mores, sand, hotdogs, strawberries and popcorn.

17 and 18 months

2011-07-21T15:56:00.001-07:00

Wow this blog has been woefully neglected! We have been having lots of fun, going places, seeing things and doing new stuff. I did take Nico's 17 and 18 month pictures, so I guess I better put them up before she turns 19 months!

I did Nico's 18 month pictures right after she woke up from a nap. I guess she was not all the way awake.

Outside of church. I think this was one of the last Sundays before Nico went into nursery. Hooray for nursery!

16 Months

2011-05-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

Nico is really at a great age. It's fun to she what she picks up and the new things that she tries. Her personality is showing more and more. If I had to sum her up in 3 words, they would be independent, fearless, and sassy. But I don't have to, so I would also say that she is very sweet and good at listening.

Some of the new things she does are:
- Jumping. Can only get both feet off the ground at the same time for a split second but she tries.

- Climbing. She loves climbing on anything and everything. Couches, chairs, ottomans, bookshelfs, and even boxes. She will climb on the ottoman and run off into our arms.

- Talking. She is a little chatterbox. Most what she is saying is still indistinguishable, but she is always pointing at stuff and I think asking what it is. She also make car and animal sounds, like a dog, cat, and cow.

- Reading. She loves reading books. She even has her favorites. Sometimes she'll just sit there with a book and pretend that she is reading.

- Listening. She'll bring us things when we ask for them (if she wants to) and will put things in places when we ask.

- Making friends. She loves to be out and about. She always climbs into her stroller hoping we'll take her out. When we are out, she likes to make eye contact with people and say hello.

- Eating. She eats whatever we eat in most cases. She isn't afraid to try new foods. She also has developed a preference of wanting to feed herself with a spoon or fork instead of letting us do it which always turns into a mess.

- Being funny. I think that Nico thinks she is funny. She's always trying to get us to laugh or smile at her and she's not afraid to ham it up. My favorite is when she will pretend to eat. She will take her food, put it in her mouth, and then pull it out really quick while closing her mouth and making a biting noise. She has a smile on her while she does this.

If this post hasn't already established it, we are very proud parents. Nico really is wonderful and we are grateful to have her in our lives.

Crissy Field

2011-05-21T20:52:00.000-07:00

We had some great weather last month, and one afternoon we took a drive over to Crissy Field and just strolled around. I love how close everything is in San Francisco and how beautiful it can be.

Easter

2011-05-21T20:29:00.000-07:00

This year Nico was old enough to actually be able to participate in Easter. On that Saturday before Easter, we went to Golden Gate Park with some friends and did an Easter egg hunt. And by hunt I mean place eggs on the ground and watch the kids find them. Nico didn't quite understand the concept, so she would walk around, pick up an egg, and then put it back down on the ground. In the end only one egg went into her basket.

On Sunday morning we gave Nico her Easter basket. I think that her favorite toy was the paper grass that was used for filling. That afternoon we went down to my parents' house for Easter dinner, and our good friends the Thomas came along. We tried another egg hunt in the backyard with better results. We used chocolate eggs, and Nico would pick them up and take a big bite out of them, foil and all. I had to chase her around to make sure she didn't swallow all of it.

The Art of Throwing a Fit

2011-04-24T22:39:00.001-07:00

I think Nico has it down.

1. Mad

2. Madder

3. Maddest

15 months

2011-04-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

Nico spent most of the weekend at my parents' house, her first overnight without us. I love my parents' place in Spring, everything is so lush and green. I was feeling sort of sad that Nico does not have a big grassy yard to roam around in, but we do have a park right up the hill, and we do have the beach not too far away, so I guess I can't complain too much. She climbs, dances, spins, hops, and is saying all sorts of new things.

I sewed some new pillows and got that apple one from one of my favorite consignment shops. Nico is thrilled to still be taking these monthly pictures.

Balloons from a party last weekend.

She loves to squeeze behind the sofa and look out the window. Sometimes she goes back there and rests her chin on the windowsill.

At my parents' house.

Spring!

2011-04-01T17:23:00.000-07:00

The weather has been amazing the past few days, so warm and wonderful, the kind of weather that you hate to be indoors for. I discovered along with the calla lilies growing in the back yard we also have freesia. We took a walk with Tracy up to Huntington park and over to the cable car museum. Here's to wonderful spring weather and blossoms all around.

2011-03-30T21:31:00.000-07:00

I've decided that I need to bone up on my grammar/punctuation/rules of usage. If you read any of my post you will have to agree with me. Lucky for me I've got a copy of, The Elements of Style.

Laundry list

2011-03-30T21:00:00.000-07:00

Just a few things from around here lately. Last week Nico climbed out of her crib, the big bump she made on the way down and her escalated crying made me leap out of bed. I almost stepped on her when I entered her room, "Nico! What are you doing on the floor?". She has not tried to get out of her crib since the incident, but now I know she can and it makes me a little worried.

Nico likes music, and she likes to dance to it, tap her hands, and nod her head to the beat. We love this new-ish trick. Nico makes her toys growl. She says whoa and has a good surprised face when something happens that she particularly likes. Nico has started to throw really good fits, I'm talking leg kicking, head thrown back, big tear fits. It is kind of funny, but not really.

Last night we brought Nico into bed with us because she would not stop crying (she is getting her year molars, ouch!) so Mike started making this whooshing/whistling noise and she took one look at him, raised her leg back as far as it would go and kicked him right square in the mouth. She did that a few times to get Mike to stop making that noise. Guess she's not a big fan of whistling.

Her hair is now long enough to put into pigtails. This is quite an accomplishment, and quite cute. Nico still likes dogs very much. She is not scared of them and is very gentle when she pets them. With smaller dogs she will sort of cradle their faces in her hand to get a good look at them. We have a new stroller, Nico thinks it is a jungle-gym. Nico likes to feed herself with her spoon, and no she does not want our help.

So there is a laundry list of some things I've been noticing and thinking about. And now the pictures.

Something random: I've always been pretty intimidated of cooking large cuts of red meat. I decided to take the plunge and I bought a 12 pound prime rib. We had some friends over to share the feast, and I will say that the meat was delicious.

Best toy ever

2011-03-08T23:18:00.001-08:00

I forgot to add this one. When Mike says "Nico, go in your box" she does.

Have you missed us?

2011-03-07T12:27:00.000-08:00

I know some of you have missed us, read: Grandmas/siblings, so here we are again. I've been a real slacker in the monthly picture of Nico department. I never posted an official 12 month photo of Nico, and I never took an official 13 month photo of her at all. Whoops! So here you go, lots and lots of pictures to fill in for the last few months.

14 months

We will call this one 13 months.

12 months. Bam!

14 months, and a boogery cold

She really likes her books

Bieber fever

See, I told you she loves her books.

These are all from the park that is a few blocks up from our apartment. Nico loves the swings, the fountains and all the dogs.

I could not resist adding this one.

More books.

We've been to the academy of sciences a few times over the last month and Nico loves it. There is so much to see and do. Nico will run around babbling and pointing at everything. We've really enjoyed our trips there.

Penguin

Living roof + Mike being sassy.

This is a few seconds after the "snow" was turned on.

Check out her foot.

Eating something really messy, and yelling for more.

Sunday best.

We went to the Chinese New Year parade. This was right after, we were still all bundled up. Check out her shoes, bought just for the evening.

creepy

These kids looked soooo bored.

During the parade.

Winter break

2011-01-10T12:02:00.000-08:00

It has been so cold here the past few weeks! Here is a little something to give you a break from all this winter.

Cake take two

2011-01-10T11:44:00.000-08:00

Last night we had a family party for Nico's birthday. It was fun to see everyone again so soon after the holidays. Nico had another little cake and this time she showed us a new trick.

Banner

2011-01-07T20:23:00.000-08:00

I made a happy birthday banner for Nico's birthday with the help of Stephanie and Sheila. I got the felt here. The felt was reasonably priced (compared to others I've seen), true to color, felt really nice and soft, and is super easy to work with. Thanks Sheila for giving me your source.

I got 4 squares out of one 12 x 18 piece of felt, and I was able to get all the letters out of one pice of white felt. Stephanie told me to pick a font, blow it up, cut it out and use it as a template. I sewed bias tape along the top to string all the letters together. Thanks for letting me make a girl version of your birthday banner Stephanie!

Birthday Cake

2011-01-07T20:20:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of Nico eating her cake. It is 4 minutes long. I love it. If I had more self control I would edit it down... but I don't so here it is. As usual please excuse all the screeching and what not.

Happy Birthday Nico!

2011-01-04T21:55:00.001-08:00

I can't believe that our sweet little baby is one! The year has gone by so fast. Not a day goes by where we aren't thankful to have her in our lives. More pictures to come.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T22:39:00.000-08:00

We are truly grateful this Christmas season for our families, good friends, health, employment and the gospel of Jesus Christ. We hope your Christmas if full of peace, love, family, and thoughts of our precious Savior.

Hawaii!

2010-12-20T12:08:00.000-08:00

We were in Hawaii for two glorious weeks. Mike's job has an office in Honolulu so he worked the first week and played the second week. Nico and I played the whole two weeks :). The trip to Hawaii was okay. Nico slept for exactly 60 minutes and then was awake the rest of the time squirming around and just begin restless in general. We were all thrilled to finally land and get out of the plane.

Our good Friends Sheila and Keoni let us crash in their brand new home for the first week. Our first night in their house was their first night too! Talk about generous hosts! While we were there we went to the Honolulu zoo, walked down the street to the beach, lounged at Turtle Bay, went to the petting zoo, ate at Haleiwa Joe's where Keoni had the BIGGEST piece of prime rib I had ever seen, it looked like caveman meat it was so huge! We saw Christmas lights in town, ate malasadas, mochi, coco puffs, giant burgers, and lots more. Nico loved running around on the grass, playing with Kailani, stealing toys from and climbing on Makana. And she Loved Shelia, she instantly took to her, no crying or fussing when she held her, which for those of you know Nico know that is pretty special. It was so good to see our friends!

Our second week in Hawaii we stayed with our friends Stephanie and Thomas, and this time we displaced their two darling boys by taking over their room. Thanks Asher and Ambrose! While at the Robertson's we went to the Bishop museum and commanded the elements, wrestled with a giant squid, ate kalua pork, more malasadas, surf tacos, lots of candy, all of the Robertson's Christmas treats brought over by their neighbors. We played on playgrounds, wen to the temple visitor's center, stayed up late into the night talking and laughing, hiked to the Makapuu lighthouse, swam, played in the sand, ate the sand (Nico), got Ted's bakery, went to the Billabong triple crown surf competition, gathered our courage to see Miss JGR herself (thanks Steph for helping me not be scared), and graduated from college (me!). Nico also really liked Stephanie, she must have a thing for brunettes.

We had an excellent time and when we it was time to go we felt very home sick for Hawaii and our dear friends who live there. Apparently we were okay house guests because we've been extended open invitations to come back and visit whenever, to which we are very grateful and will definitely do in the future. I wish we could figure out some way of getting those islands closer to California.

And now for the barrage of pictures and maybe a video or two.

Laie Temple

Abby road

Sister wives

I stole those last pictures off Stephanie's blog, thanks Thomas for taking them.

Makapuu lighthouse hike/lookout.

Now for the phone pictures.

On our way to the Oakland airport. It was something like 35 degrees in San Francisco when we left.

Sleeping babies, just the way we like them.

I had two of these hamburgers while we were there. Those sweet potato fries were wonderful.

This is a coco puff, a cream puff with chocolate pudding inside and Chantilly cream on top. They sell between 4 and 7 THOUSAND of these a day at this small bakery. Thanks for introducing us Sheila.

Nico juicing a star fruit.

MALADADAS!!!

Attack if the giant squid at the Bishop museum.

This gal's suit was killing me. At the triple crown.

The sad remains of Keoni's prime rib. It was as tender as butter.

11 months

2010-12-20T10:43:00.000-08:00

Nico is 11 months old! Mike and I keep saying that over the past few months her personality has really begun to take shape and she seems more like a little person every day. She is so much fun!

Nico is now a walker and almost a runner. She says baby and boo when we play peek-a-boo. In general she just babbles on and on and makes all sorts of new sounds. She has begun to mimic us by nodding her head yes and no, and making different hand motions like waving, and pointing. She loves to greet Mike when he comes home from work, she will hear the door open and run into the hall squealing and ready to give Mike a giant smile and tackle his legs. She is learning how to kiss us, which sort of looks like she wants to bite our faces off. She has 6 teeth and is teething again (boo). She is a pretty good eater, and will readily try new things. Nico loves to play with other babies and kids, I think being in Hawaii with our friends and playing with their kids everyday was really great for Nico, and it was really entertaining to watch her playing with and get excited to see other kids. I'm sure I am leaving stuff out, but suffice it to say Nico is doing well, learning lots and delighting us every day.

Sitting

2010-12-15T11:54:00.000-08:00

This has nothing to do with anything other than I was moving videos to the external hard-drive and came across this. I don't expect anyone to watch all 3 minutes of this video unless they are one of Nico's grandparents. I just thought she was so sweet in this clip, and the difference in her mobility back in July to now, amazing!

On Vacation

2010-12-09T00:59:00.001-08:00

So if you are wondering where we are I will tell you, we are in Hawaii on a much needed (and appreciated) vacation. We will be here till the 14th. See you when we get back.

Nativity

2010-11-08T10:00:00.001-08:00

I was looking around for a Nativity set since we don't have one and found this:

I love it! so simple and small. You can find it here, or you can buy the blank set and paint your own, which is what I am doing.

10 months

2010-11-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

We have officially entered the realm of the double digits. I guess that the biggest news for this post is that Nico can walk. Yes Nico can walk alright, but so far she only does it if we are holding something over her head that she wants. It is kind of funny to see such a little person tottering about, but it makes our hearts swell with paternal joy. She is very talkative, babbling all the time and she also likes to mimic the noises we make.

The primary part of Nico's diet right now is paper and book bindings. No, not really but she sure does shred up any paper, magazine, book, or anything made of tree pulp that she can get her hands on. She has entered into the stage where she picks up everything on the floor and pops it into her mouth. This new trick has brought to light my lousy vacuuming, sweeping, and general housekeeping skills. I never knew that there were so many fuzz balls and dust bunnies around, but Nico spots them and puts them in her mouth for safe keeping. Speaking of vacuuming, Nico has this strange fascination with vacuum. The vacuum is obviously a little scary to her, but I think she gets a little excited whenever I bring it out (excited I'm doing some cleaning no doubt). She crawls after the roaring beast as I vacuum, but then she will come over to my leg and climb up it and sort of bounce around and make little noises indicating that she is a little scared and would like me to pick her up. I don't know what it all means but it is pretty funny.

Whenever we are out people always comment on Nico's eyes, and they always mistake her for a boy. She is working on her upper teeth, the two front ones for sure and perhaps a third on the side. I will blame teething for the less than stellar sleep we are getting around here. I hope that things will return to normal once those teeth are out.

Nico is enjoying more solid foods, she especially likes sharp cheddar cheese and cheerios (what baby does not thought).

Her hair is getting long and a little shaggy.

Really shaggy.

I love how she is all rumpled and a little loopy after she wakes up from a nap. She is super cuddly and puffy eyed.

We really admire that delicious double chin.

And that plump little mouth.

And her chubby caterpillar legs.

Here is her latest trick. Notice if you will what we are using as an incentive to get her going. Paper!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T21:21:00.001-07:00

pillow

2010-10-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

Either Nico is teething or she has some serious issues with our throw pillows.

A post that has nothing to do with Nico

2010-10-18T16:05:00.001-07:00

After a few mix-ups (on my optometrist's end) I finally got my Warby Parker glasses today. Nothing too dramatic, but a welcome change. I was really, really impressed with their customer service. They offer free shipping and returns, they send you frames to try on (also free shipping), no extra charge for anti-reflective coating, they give a pair of glasses to someone in need when you buy a pair, and at 95 bucks a pop you really can't go wrong. I will definitely be using them again.

old glasses, new glasses

I got the Zagg in striped chestnut.

Halloween

2010-10-18T15:59:00.000-07:00

I am glad I remembered that Nico has some spooky Halloween jammies.

9 months

2010-10-06T16:01:00.001-07:00

It's official, Nico has been in the world as long as she was in the womb. Quite an accomplishment! She continues to charm us with her little personality. Some of the highlights include:

- clapping her hands when she is excited, and upset

- babbling all the time

- learning to eat solids. Her favorite foods so far are nectarines and sweet potato baby food. Most other food she can take it or leave it.

- learning to walk. She's getting pretty good at standing by herself. So far she has taken a total of two steps, but she seems to be trying more to actually move her legs without holding on to anything.

- biting everything she can get a hold of with her 3 teeth. We call her tritoothasaurus.

Overall, she is a happy baby and a lot of fun to be around. We're still trying to get this sleeping thing in order. She still likes to wake up once or twice a night.

We love her very much and thankful that she is ours.

It's almost impossible to get her to sit still.

This is her first real encounter with grass. She wasn't too sure of it at first. We put her on her back and she just scrunched up and wouldn't roll over or even touch the grass. But she eventually got over it and was crawling around, albeit a bit cautiously.

Most food ends up on her face or on the floor.

8 months

2010-09-13T12:17:00.000-07:00

I know I am late posting this, oh well. This month Nico really was not in the mood to take her obligatory picture on the couch. All she wanted to do was get off the couch an stuff the number badge in her mouth. At least she did not face plant on the ground this time. This baby is super mobile, she crawls all over the place and pulls herself up onto everything, and she has been trying to balance on her own after she pulls herself up onto things. There is nothing she likes better than chewing on books and flipping their pages. She is a great clapper and loves to splash in the tub (I've been waiting for her to figure that one out). Her neck rash is FINALLY getting better! She can click her tongue and she makes all sort of sounds and does lots of whispering to herself and her toys, we really love that little wet whispery voice.

Almost immediately after I wrote that stuff about how regular her naps were last month, she completely threw me for a loop and switched everything up. I still don't know what is going on with her naps except that Mike is the best at getting her to take them and she does not want to nap in her crib, only on our bed (this is a problem since we don't want her ending up on the floor after she wakes up form said nap). Nico is doing much better sleeping through the night, she will usually get up once and sometimes she will sleep the whole night through, I really thought that would never happen! I am glad she finally likes sleeping in her crib, at night anyway.

Nico always liked Mike but now she is completely in love with him, I guess all you have to do it get her to fall asleep on you and she will love you ever after. Or maybe it was that dancing they did. She pretty much still only likes me and Mike, at least when it comes to holding her, hopefully we can persuade her to branch out a bit in the future. I know her grandmas would appreciate that. I know there are things I am forgetting but that is all I can think of for now. We love, love, love Nico!!!

Oh I remembered something! Nico has a great laugh and she thinks dogs and cats are SUPER funny. Just watch.

Camping at Kirby Cove

2010-09-10T00:17:00.000-07:00

The other week we went on a mini camping trip. The first for Nico. It was just for one night. It was a lot of fun and the weather ended up being gorgeous the next day. Kirby Cove is a small camp sight right next to the Golden Gate Bridge. Really pretty location. The only downside is that there are LOTS of raccoons at night. When it got dark you could see their eyes in the flashlight when they were making a mass exodus from the hills. We kept our food in the car, which was a few hundred yards away, so they weren't too much of a bother.

Our friends Abe and Klarissa came and hung out that evening. When they were leaving that night, these two raccoons scampered up a tree when we came close to them and the car. They ended up on a branch directly overhanging the car. Abe and Klarissa had rented a ZipCar, so to unlock the car you had to hold a key card up to the windshield. Every time Abe came close to them, they would move a bit and bump into ach other, which in turn caused them to start fighting. They sounded like rabid dogs. Scary. Abe manned up and opened the car doors, and Mike and I bolted back to the camp site.

Nico did really well except for waking up every 1-2 hours that night.

Campfire start by yours truly. Mike doubted my fire making skills but I proved him wrong.

We found a baby bear cub in the woods not too far away from our camp site. It looks so helpless and lonely that we had to take it back to our tent. Moments later the bear cub panicked and tried to attack Mike.

dancing

2010-09-01T10:03:00.000-07:00

And what does your family do when you are out at the grocery store?

Monterey

2010-09-01T08:52:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago we went with Mike's mom to Monterey and Carmel. Nico enjoyed herself thoroughly, and we enjoyed the sun and beautiful water in Carmel.

Patiently waiting for lunch.

Nico has discovered her tongue.

Cooling off in front of the fan.

2:00 AM

2010-08-14T02:06:00.001-07:00

I just realized why I am still awake. Coffee ice cream.

7 months (and six days)

2010-08-10T20:06:00.001-07:00

Nico has lot's of new tricks for me to tell you about. She has two teeth, says baba, blah, and dada, blows raspberries and she can now crawl. All these new things just happened about a week and a half ago pretty much all at the same time. Nico is now trying her hand at pulling herself up onto things, and I swear she is going to be walking before we know it. She is indifferent as far as solid food is concerned, unless we are feeding her something sweet.

Nico very consistently takes two two hour naps a day, the first one two hours after she wakes up and the second two hours after her first nap. She smiles lots and loves to see Mike when he gets home from work. She still likes being out and riding around in the bjorn meeting new people and seeing new things. She likes to be read to, or at least she tolerates it if we give her her own book to chew on. She is still very petite, weighing just over 15 pounds, but even though she is little she still has deliciously chubby legs, arms and cheeks. We are still completely in love with Nico, and are constantly delighted by her sweet little personality and curiosity.

Reading

You can see her teeth and the neck rash that the pediatrician said will most likely stay till she, "grows a neck".

This one was really blown out, but she just looked so cute I had to try and salvage it.

Avacado

Sad story, about 20 seconds after taking these pictures Nico took a nose dive off the couch. Then we both had a good cry.

slippers

2010-08-05T19:38:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago at the park I saw a little girl in ballet slippers. They were so sweet and I can't stop thinking about them.

These are perfect.

But realistically Nico will probably be sporting something more along the lines of these, which are also darling.

it has been cold

2010-08-01T22:29:00.000-07:00

The good thing about it being cold here is that I can dress Nico up like a snow elf. And I get to wear my new fancy slippers.

Here we are at Fort Point last Saturday. The wind it was a blowin'!

No matter the weather in San Francisco it is always warm at mom and dad's house.

a shot of color

2010-07-31T23:48:00.000-07:00

Here is Nico being cute in some really ugly baby thing.

newbie niece

2010-07-29T11:44:00.000-07:00

Hello baby Gwen! I can't wait to meet you in person. Congratulations Elizabeth and Wade, you are getting closer and closer to total world domination.

cereal

2010-07-18T23:14:00.000-07:00

This video is of the first time we fed Nico rice cereal, and the most recent feeding (tonight). I think she was so excited about eating the first time because we were putting something new in her mouth, the next time however she was not going for it and spit most of the cereal out. Once again please excuse my shrieking. Watching this kinda makes my heart melt. We love her.

6 Months

2010-07-09T01:13:00.000-07:00

Holla! Six months y'all!

The last six months have literally flown by. It is a little alarming to think that Nico is already half a year old. When I look back on what Nico was like and what she could do when she was just born, and compare her to now it really is amazing.We are endlessly entertained by this little dab.

Nico took her first road trip last month. We drove all the way to Boise with my sister and her four kids. Nico did remarkably well, and slept most of the way. While we were there she had her first boat ride. There was a little crying at first, but the heat of the day and being smushed into an infant lifejacket helped her to fall asleep pretty quickly.

On the drive back to California, this time just me Mike and Nico, we only stopped three times (and once was just to get gas) pretty good for almost 12 hours. We did take a longer stretch in Truckee, ate and headed over to a park so Nico could move around, and show us her newest trick of being able to sit up on her own.

Nico is an expert roller, and pretty tenacious when it comes to getting something she want, even if it is across the room. I am not sure how much Nico weighs or how long she is (her six month checkup is next week) but she certainly is getting chubby and has the most delicious thighs.

Sleeping. I don't even want to talk about it. Let's just say that the little lady prefers to sleep on a down comforter over almost anything else. And every once and a while she likes to wake up at around 3:30 am and hang out for two hours, refusing to go back to sleep. Charming.

Nico is happy to be out and about, she would much prefer being out than in the apartment any day. So we take lots of walks and she is a great little shopping companion. She is very curious and is interested in anything that we are holding or eating (more on that later). Nico likes to flail her arms and leg around when she is excited. She smiles lots and is ticklish on her sides (just like her dad) and if you get her really laughing she will sometimes snort. We are really enjoying this stage. Nico is so responsive and fun. We love her so much!

How about another yell?

Peonies

2010-06-09T23:16:00.001-07:00

Just because they are so pretty.

Must stop biting my nails.

5 months

2010-06-08T09:20:00.000-07:00

I should have posted this four days ago, but you know how things get. Has it really been five months already? Time has been flying by.

So, what is new with Nico? Nico usually wakes up at 6:30 or 7:00. She is on a pretty solid nap schedule, taking at least two sometimes three naps a day, one at nine and one at one in the afternoon (please note, all these boring details are mostly for me and any Grandmas that are interested). She eats about every four hours, and is very interested in participating when we are eating at the table. We are about to finish her first book James and the Giant Peach, she has been pretty attentive as I read it to her which came as a big surprise to me.

Nico has discovered that she can get around by rolling, and often gets stuck on her baby gym or on a couch leg. She puts anything and everything in her mouth. Her favorite thing to put in her mouth is a finger or two, usually mine, and my hair. If my hand, or hair is not available Nico will suck on her feet or gnaw on her thumb.

We were putting Nico to bed around 7 or 7:30, and for a while that worked out fine. She would cry for a bit and then go to sleep. After a few weeks of putting her to bed early she started to cry longer and longer in the evening, like she was fighting her early bed time. We finally figured out that she really was not ready for bed that early and so now we put her down at 8:30 or 9:00. She goes right to sleep, and everyone feels way less frazzled when bedtime rolls around. We also discovered that she really likes to sleep on our down comforter. She nuzzles her face into the duvet and falls asleep.

Nico has yet to sleep through the night. She wakes up at one and four in the morning to have a snack. I am not sure how we are going to cut out theses little late night snacks, since my efforts to do so have been met with loud protests. So for now I am just happy to cuddle my sleepy baby.

She has started to make all sorts of different sounds and different faces. She drools lots and blows bubbles. She is very happy and talkative right when she wakes up. I have been trying to go to bed earlier so that I can be as bright eyed and happy as she is in the morning. I can't adequately express how much we like her and how much we really, really love her.

Yelling

Meltdown

4 month checkup

2010-05-19T12:48:00.001-07:00

Nico had her four month checkup yesterday, along with another round of immunizations. She is 12 pounds 9.5 ounces, and in the 18th percentile for weight. 24.25 inches long and in the 46th percentile for height (that is hair over two feet tall). Last Friday Nico discovered her feet, and I don't think there is anything cuter than seeing her sucking on her toes.

Today she rolled over from her back to her tummy for the first time, and I almost missed seeing it! I got roll #2 on video. Last week we let Nico "cry it out" for the first time. She went on for an hour and twenty minutes. That was awful. We decided it was time try letting her cry herself to sleep because she was starting to only want to fall asleep on me, and after feeding her at night she would only go back to sleep of I let her sleep on me.

Now Nico falls asleep after 15 or 20 minutes of crying, and goes right back to sleep after I feed her at night. She still has not slept an entire night in her "room" because I bring her back into our room and in into her bassinet to sleep until she wakes up for the morning. I am not quite ready to have her completely out of our room yet.

all smiles

2010-05-16T23:41:00.000-07:00

Just a warning, I am going to overload you with pictures of Nico.

Silly green PJs and a silly hat. She was so happy until we put her to bed.

Nico's eyes are always puffy in the morning, which is my favorite.

Chillin on the couch.

She loves Sophie. Loves to chew on her face that is.

crying

2010-05-11T10:48:00.001-07:00

Just because she looks so cute.

4 months

2010-05-06T12:01:00.000-07:00

Well here we are four months old, I can hardly believe how fast time is flying by. Nico looks a wee bit underwhelmed in the obligatory couch and pillow shot.

It is really hard to get a picture of her smiling because when we pull out the camera she stops what she is doing, giggling, smiling, and just stares very soberly at the black box obliterating the photographers face. What can I say, she really likes looking at people's faces.

A few days ago she started to reach out straight in front of her. Now she can actually grab the dangly things on the baby gym when she is under it, no more staring at those little toys just out of reach. She has begun to stretch her arms out to us now, so that she can grab at our hand, face, whatever, and suck on it. Nico smiles very easily, but it takes a bit more effort to get her to laugh. When she does laugh it is usually a loud squawk, or a high squeal. We love it when she favors us with a laugh, we feel so privileged.

Nico is still sleeping in a bassinet in our room. She wakes up a few times at night to eat and usually goes right back to sleep. However, in the early hours of the morning she gets a little restless and noisy, and she ends up in bed with us so we can all sleep a little longer.

We are still just as smitten with her as ever.

rollin', rollin', rollin'

2010-04-27T13:20:00.000-07:00

For the past few weeks every time we put Nico on the floor for tummy time we get out the flip just in case she decides she is going to roll over. Consequently we have lots of videos of her drooling on the floor and getting really mad, she does not like tummy time. Last Tuesday she decided to roll over. Now she is able to roll from her back to her side and I am sure she will roll all the way over any time now. Please excuse my screechy voice.

*Edit - Better quality video

bonnet

2010-04-27T10:03:00.000-07:00

I can't get enough of her sweet face.

satchels and batchels

2010-04-06T10:09:00.000-07:00

I keep going back to look at these darling handmade, leather satchels and batchels (a satchel with an additional handle on top) so I figured I might as well post them. Find them here in all sorts of colors like purple and yellow as well as more traditional black and brown.

3 months

2010-04-05T12:38:00.000-07:00

Sunday Marked three months that we've had Nico. As you can see Nico is getting rounder, and squishier. She is an expert at holding her head up and swiveling it all over to look everywhere. I mentioned in a previous post that Nico found her hands and loves to suck and slurp on them. She has also become quite talkative, and likes to chirp, squeal, and coo. We of course are delighted to hold long dribbly conversations with her.

As far as sleeping goes she is still waking up a few times at night to eat, but she is much quicker about going right back to sleep. She loves to have a soft blanket put up to her face when she is falling asleep in her swing or car seat. We discovered this calms her down pretty quickly when she is tired and fussy, she just snuggles into her blanket and dozes off. We've taken to calling her Burka baby because many times all you can see are her eyes when we wrap her up. Don't worry we are not going to smother her, and we don't do this at night :).

She still likes to be swaddled at night and for some of her naps, but she is getting to be quite strong and can break out of a swaddle if we don't do it nice and tight. Her legs are getting to be pretty strong too. She loves to kick them, and she can stand without too much help from us. This next bit may be too much information for you, but it is a very real part of life with Nico. Nico is a really gassy baby. I'd say she has pretty average burps for a baby (without much spitting up) but as far as other things go, she could rival a grown man. I guess she really is our daughter. We are so glad we've got Nico, and I feel so and lucky to be able to stay at home with her and watch over her.

film

2010-04-02T18:44:00.000-07:00

We recently started using an old Bronica S2 medium format camera that used to be my dad's. It's all manual so we will use our Nikon to check the exposures beforehand. Very slow process, and there is an anxiousness waiting to see how it turned out. Mike would say that film IS dead but this camera has turned him around.

Sorry about the quality, our scanner sucks. They look much better printed.

key fob

2010-03-31T11:34:00.000-07:00

Dear Mike,

I promise not to leave the house without my keys if they are attached to this:

take a second look

2010-03-30T12:03:00.000-07:00

Who knew that L.L. Bean (signature) and Talbots were going to have some really cute pieces? I love it when places you've long since written off as being out of date and frumpy come back and surprise you with fresh ideas.

Talbots

L.L. Bean

She looks bit sea sick in this picture.

boot

2010-03-29T17:29:00.000-07:00

I just signed up for boot camp. I am scared.

stripes, suits, chambray

2010-03-29T14:16:00.000-07:00

Right now I am loving (along with everyone else) stripes and chambray. These pictures, most of which I grabbed from The Satorialist, have been on my desktop for months just floating around making me happy. Oh and I love all these dapper Italian men in their suits. Enjoy the picture overload!

Hi

2010-03-27T21:16:00.000-07:00

Why do I always blog on the weekends? Because I am not a real blogger.

Sorry can't get enough of these leg/bum pictures.

We took a trip to anthropologie to see some things in person and find out how they fit (sob, sob). One of my former co-workers noticed that I had painted my nails, and said that things must be going pretty well if I had time to get them done (she has two kids). I was thinking the same thing last night as I was doing them, something I would never have understood before having Nico. After shopping we grabbed sandwiches and dessert from La Boulange and headed over to the Legion of Honor. Oh chocolate eclairs I love you.

When we finished our gluttonous meal we went for a very little hike. We figured that Nico would fall asleep in the Bjorn, but she was wide eyed and very alert the whole time.

It is so fun to do all these "firsts" with her. True, most of the time she sleeps right through whatever it is we are doing (walking across Golden Gate Bridge for instance) but it still seems exciting to get to do them with her her first time around. She is so new! Here she is wide awake at the end of the hike.

She had begun to be able to put her hands in her mouth and I love listening to her sucking and slurping on her them. Along with eating her hands she can now scratch herself with real gusto, thus the scratch on her nose, bad mom for not clipping her nails better.

And one last pictures of her smiling.

happy st. patty's

2010-03-17T21:58:00.000-07:00

And here is a leprechaun I caught.

Thanks Aunt Elizabeth for the silly little outfit!

2 months

2010-03-08T20:53:00.000-08:00

Nico is now the ripe old age of two months (and 4 days)! I intended to put these up on the 4th (when she turned two months) but I lag. But these were taken on the 4th so it still counts. I remembered this idea after she was one month so no official one month picture, I guess that is just true to my style though. I want to do something similar to what Nicole does on Making it Lovely every month. I have not decided if I am going to have the pictures in the same place every time though. Anyhow, I made a little badge Nico can wear, or I can pin on something near her to mark her age. The plan is to do it till she is 24 months. We will see how it goes, and how she grows.

country road

2010-03-08T19:59:00.000-08:00

Look at these darling clothes from country road.

blessing

2010-03-08T12:39:00.000-08:00

We had Nico's blessing yesterday. There were lots of people in attendance, parents, siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews and aunts. We were really grateful that people made the trek up here so early in the morning. Nico cried before and after the blessing but during she quietly looked around at everyone.

Per family tradition my mom made Nico's blessing gown. My mom used some of the leftover silk that my wedding dress was made out of to make Nico's dress. To fasten the closure in the back we used some little shell buttons that belonged to my grandmother. A nice little touch I think. I love the little pin tucks, the peter pan collar, and the crinkly sound that the dupioni silk makes.

Sharing a laugh with grandma Gniewosz.

Not sure what my dad is scowling at.

8 weeks

2010-03-02T00:06:00.000-08:00

Has it already been 8 weeks? I can't believe how big she is getting, her little face is getting chubby and so are her legs and bum. Her absolute favorite place is on the changing table. She coos and jabbers and is so happy there, we hope this is a good sign for when we move her into her "room". She has decided to finally acknowledge us by smiling at us, we are thrilled. I can't help get a little sad when i think about how fast she is growing. I think I can understand now why people have lots of babies.

naps

2010-03-01T20:48:00.000-08:00

We try to take at least one a day.

Mike stitched a bunch of pictures together to get this picture. Our couch really is not bowed like that.

sweet liberty

2010-02-20T00:07:00.000-08:00

I bet you've heard already but in case you haven't Target is teaming up with Liberty of London for their next Go International round. Yippee! Their fabrics are delicious, I can't wait to see all the goods in person. Here is a little video about it. Oprah has a little sneak peek too.

a toddler dress from the line

a lousy picture of some liberty fabric I picked up at the Britex sale Monday. Still deciding what I am going to do with it.

like

2010-02-20T00:03:00.001-08:00

I like her hair. Mine is almost this long, but short on style for sure. Hehe, you see what I did there? Ba, ha, ha.

she has a cold

2010-02-18T18:45:00.001-08:00

She looks so cozy and happy here right? Wrong. This was right before she started sneezing or coughing or something.

This somber look is a little closer to how this little dab is feeling today, only worse. Poor thing, she has a boogery cough and a froggy throat. And what can I do for my little pea? Not much, except love her and cuddle her and try to interest her in eating. Sick babies make me sad.

bag

2010-02-13T18:58:00.000-08:00

Mike got me this bag for V-Day. He thought the color was nice and springy, and would make a good baby bag. I am impressed he remembered me pining for it months ago.

two things

2010-02-13T18:33:00.000-08:00

First: This morning at around 3:30 after feeding le petite bebe I got two for real deal smiles. That made being up so early 100% worth it. Second: Nico had major gas this afternoon and when Mike opened up her diaper she sprayed the wall across from the changing table. Awesome. Wish I had a picture of the first event for you.

baby bear

2010-02-12T13:24:00.000-08:00

I bought this hat for Nico, I just couldn't resist! She hates it. I love it, and it is cold so she has to wear it when we go out.

naps

2010-02-09T21:03:00.000-08:00

She has been asleep for HOURS. What is tonight going to be like?

first outing

2010-02-09T15:23:00.000-08:00

This is the first time we went out with Nico, she was six days old. We started to go towards Union Square but I got paranoid about all the germs and we just went a few blocks. Nico slept the whole time.

5 weeks and one day

2010-02-09T14:11:00.001-08:00

I really can't believe that we've had Nico for five weeks already, the time has flown by. Here is what's new:

- I won't say that she has actually smiled at us yet but she is definitely working on those muscles while she is awake as opposed to only when she is sleeping. She started looking more "smiley" during her fourth week.

- She can hold her head up pretty well now and loves to look around and make eye contact.

- She hates tummy time.

- We've had mixed reviews about baths, she seems to like being in the shower with me best.

- She is eating really well and has a darling little double chin, and the rolls on her legs are getting more chubby.

- She likes to make cooing noises after being changed or when she is on her back under her baby gym.

- We were feeding her a bottle at night but that ended up confusing her so now I am only breast feeding her till she gets a bit older.

- We are all getting used to one another and the whole sleeping and night feeding thing is going pretty well.

- Her eyes started out that slate grey/blue but are quite a bit lighter now. I am curious to see what color they end up being.

- Nico's hair looks kind of red or auburn at times, and brown at others, also curious to see what color her hair is going to be.

Sorry if I you've called and I have not called back, I usually try and take a nap if Nico is napping. Or I am just being lazy.

gas smile

3 weeks

2010-01-25T14:35:00.000-08:00

Nico is three weeks old today. As you can see there is lots of staring and sleeping going on around here. We do the former, she does the latter.

the many faces of nico

2010-01-21T22:12:00.000-08:00

Here are some more pictures of Nico from the last 2 weeks. Oldest to newest.

a papal visit

2010-01-11T20:38:00.000-08:00

The Pope stopped by the other day to see how we were getting on. Very well your holiness.

I will get some more pictures up here tomorrow.