Block Party

Growing up, I always wanted to live in a neighborhood that had block parties. We lived on a busy street at the base of a hill so I didn't even learn how to ride a bike until I was 12, at a friend's house. She lived in a quiet area and I taught myself how to ride when I was a bit older. I love our neighborhood. There are tons and tons of kids, and even though the houses are a bit close together, everyone is super cool. I love that Nicholas will grow up here and get to be around so many wonderful people. Just yesterday our neighbor Jen brought over a bunch of her son's old toys for Nicholas to play with, and he had a blast! We also got to meet our new neighbors who have a 19 month old son and another on the way. Nicholas played so well with their son, Connor. Maybe he will be a new lifelong friend :)

We were around for once when they had their yearly block party. I didn't take too many pictures, but we had a great time.

Family Trip to Edaville

Yesterday we got together with most of Nick's family (minus Aaron and Morgan) for a trip to Edaville, a nearby amusement park in Carver, MA. It was a really great time and it's so nice to see the kids together and to be with family. Nicholas and Quinton were so excited to ride Thomas...but Nicholas was not so excited on any of the other rides. It was a bit of drive (hour and 30 minutes each way), but it was nice to see the kids have fun. A special thank you to Auntie Lexi for getting everyone together!

South Carolina Visit

Last weekend Nick and I took a trip sans Nicholas to visit my bestie Brooke down in South Carolina. We had the best time. I miss her a lot since she moved away but I'm so thankful we keep in touch and pretty much talk almost every day. Her daughter Reagan will be 1 this November and I always joke that they are going to make the best looking couple.

It was a great and relaxing long weekend and I really appreciate that my Mom was able to come and watch Nicholas so that Nick and I could have some grown up time.

It was Nick's first time to SC (my third) and he really enjoyed it. The first day we went to a craft beer place and he was pretty much in heaven the rest of the trip ;) We kept it low key, had delicious food and wine, and just enjoyed Brooke and John's company. Reagan is a beyond sweet, happy, smiley baby. I don't remember her crying at all, just those "irritated" baby noises when she was a bit sleepy. She has big beautiful blue eyes and light hair, and it's clear to see what wonderful parents Brooke and John are. She is one lucky little girl!

Nicholas June-August

I don't even know where to start with this kid.

He's the best.

A few months back we had Nicholas testing through early intervention as he wasn't talking too much (can't remember if I posted about this before). He didn't qualify and we were told he was right on track with where he should be. Nick would often get frustrated when he couldn't understand Nicholas, I didn't as much as I was normally with him all day so I could figure out what he is trying to say.

Well, one day it just clicked. He still isn't speaking in real "sentences" yet, but every day he seems to learn a new word, phrase, etc., and is slowly putting them together. He still drops his consonants (tacker instead of cracker, uck instead of duck, etc.) but it's a vast improvement over what was going on before. He comes up with the silliest sayings and just makes me smile approximately 1 million times per day.

He still prefers me over Nick, loves bath time, loves all things boy- trucks, boats, cars, balls, etc. He loves bath time and the park. He is also loving being with his cousins. For my short stint of work, Kingsley agreed to watch Nicholas for us. He gets so much wonderful time with his cousins and although I'm not sure how Kingsley keeps her sanity, I will be forever grateful to her for helping us out. He comes home now and babbles on about "QuintonTeddy" and "Ah" (Alice). I know he has so much fun over there and it's so nice that they are all so close in age and will be growing up together.

He's still a pretty picky eater, so I just keep trying new and random things to see what works. I'm ok with that, he's happy and as healthy as he can be and that's all I can ask for.

He does have him moments with some pretty epic meltdowns (oh hey I'm just going to cry from 4:30 until 8:30...no big deal) and although he really tests my patience sometimes, he's overall a pretty good kid. He most often gets time outs for terrorizing Dexter, who is a saint and just puts up with all of it (by hiding as best as he can).


My favorite pictures over the last few months: