Our little farm loving Nikolai is officially ONE!
Bryan and Anne came early to help; Bryan even ran out to grab ketchup from his house right after arriving! Anne was instrumental in playing Niko and helping to make sure Sherry was taken care of during the party.
Aly and Andy came early to help set up, too, after lending us lots of last minute supplies to make sure everything was just right.
We had an egg hunt and a miniature fun zone complete with a mini hayride, rocking pony ride, and fisher price tractor for the littlest guests. Alexander even set up a petting zoo inside of all our soft toys.
The showstopper, though, was the cake. Alexander and I have come along way since the first time we played Nailed It! Alexander planned and completed so much of our farmyard by himself. We had so much fun making this together. We also had a blast (with Aly's help) coming up with other farm inspired eats.
Nikolai was not shy with his haystack smash cake!
A huge thank you for our babysitter and friend Madison who took pictures at the party. She is an award winning photographer and A+ sitter. Having her take over photographs allowed me so much freedom to truly enjoy the day!
I think the party was a raging success
Milestones
Niko's love for the farm has gone beyond Old MacDonald. He now loves all things farm: the animals, the songs, the barn! When Alexander was doing a big activity book, as soon as he turned to a page with a farm, Nikolai leapt across to point and explore the page.
Nikolai's language has taken off! He signs milk, eat, all done, up, and points to everything to let us know what he wants.
*He also created his own sign.*
He began putting both hands on his head and making eye contact. We could tell he was trying to say something, but as we had not taught him this sign, we were at a loss. Well, one morning, he saw his daddy and put both hands on his head, and then launched himself out of my arms and into Daniel's, hugging him tightly. I said, "Oh! Do you want a hug?!' He smiled so big, put his hands on his head, and gave Daniel another giant hug. I don't know whether to be more impressed that he created a sign for something important to him, or more melted by the fact that what is important to him is being able to snuggle and show affection. I love this boy!
Since we have realized what he was saying, he just loves to use his newest sign. He points to his friends at the park, especially Emma, who always rushes to hug him. He points, puts his hands on his head, and then leans his head into the hug. He doesn't use his arms as much as he does his head, which must be how he created his personal sign. Oh my heart!
Niko also has a couple meaningful vocalizations! He says hi, sounding more like "Heh." We thought he was saying hi, but it was confirmed when Emma's sister Claire, arrived at the park one morning, and Niko turned to her, waved, and said, "Heh!" with a huge smile on his face. He also says, "Ah, Ah, Ah" whenever he wants to get Alexander's attention, and even if I am talking about Alexander in front of Niko when big brother is not around.
He took his first steps!!! Daniel definitely serves at motivation. Just four days after his birthday, we got home from a run to find that Daniel was awake. Niko reached for his daddy, and took two steps towards him unassisted! It was such a gift for us to both experience it. I don't know that either of us would believe it happened, because he has not attempted to take any other steps since.
He loves to eat. His favorites seem to be most fruits. He often eats more than Alexander!
He sleeps....sometimes. He usually takes two naps a day for a total of around three hours. Sometimes he will sleep through the night, and sometimes he wakes up every hour. He usually sleeps better if we stuff him with more than seems possible at dinner.
He is over the bottle, preferring a big boy cup with whole milk over formula, but still wants to be nursed to sleep for both naps and for the night.
Another big milestone happened this week that nearly broke my heart. Alexander has dropped maybe his last 'baby' pronunciation. While reading a Peek-A-Boo color book to Niko, he read the color 'yellow' as it should be, rather than as his usual 'lello.' He thought I was crazy when I asked him to say it again and got sad when he once again pronounced it with a Y. I am so glad Uncle Craig got a final round of Black and Lello out of him while we were in Michigan!
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