Pumpkins, Jan, and Gaga!

 

We had a full week last week with a visit from Jan, Lady Gaga's Jazz and piano concert, and pumpkin carving!

Niko was impressed with how we clean up

It was an incredible show.  We caught her first night back on stage since COVID, and Gaga was so candid.  She broke songs to laugh with the audience, she was funny, real, and just so talented.  I can't say I know a lot of jazz, but it felt like such a classic Vegas show!  My favorites were her jazz renditions of her hits while she played piano and sang.  She did Bad Romance, Poker Face, and Born This Way.  It was a really fun night!

The weather was gorgeous for most of Jan's visit!

Neighborhood cookie decorating with the Parkies

Daniel mastered the shark design Alexander requested

My Blippi pumpkin is a huge hit with Nikolai!

Game time at Bryan's taco night!

I pack Alexander's school snack in a paper bag.  Niko decided he wanted one, too....

Already drinking from a brown paper bag?! Uh oh!

Weare always sad to see Jan go, but are looking forward to Halloween!

Fall Fun

 

Cooler weather is upon us and we are loving it!

Daniel and Alexander flew to Colorado last week to see Illenium

Of course this guy was the hit of the crowd and Ahgo and Daniel had to make sure no one decided to take their new friend home with them

The stories and memories will last forever 

While the big guys were in CO and the little one stayed home with a sitter, Aly and I hit Fremont Street for a magic show followed by sushi.  We had a blast and even caught a couple missteps by the magicians!

On Saturday, Alexander and Daniel flew home and were joined by Adam and Emily!

Alexander and I had school but the rest of the crew took advantage of cooler weather for a Red Rock hike

I think Niko enjoyed himself!

We always love having the Heckmann's visit!

Playing Bros Doing Bro Things

Enjoying the strip

Perfect weather for a gondola ride!

Dr Niko says this weather is medicine for the soul!

Perfect Timing

 With Niko's class being shutdown due to an active COVID case, and then Niko getting very sick himself (not COVID), we were so blessed that Gammie was already scheduled to fly in for Niko's birthday!

Both boys had so much fun with extra Gammie time

Gammie got to be a special guest in Alexander's class for storytelling while I took the day off with Niko.  His teacher said Gammie is just like her late grandmother and wishes my mom could tell stories every day.  Be careful what you wish for! Gammie might make herself a permanent fixture!

He was looking so handsome i made him pause for some pictures. 

Our neighborhood 'parkies'

Niko wasn't feeling the best and found sleep any way he could

Gammie kept Alexander home one day and took the boys out on their bikes

His birthday helmet was a huge hit! Blippi colors made it even more special.

Even when I got home from work, Niko opted for Gammie snuggles.  They have a real bind.

Gammie kept Niko busy and happy for a whole week of quarantine.

Thank you, Gammie, for being there for us!!

Monkey See, Monkey Do: Our Little Monkey Just Turned TWO!

 Thankfully, Niko got over his nasty head cold just in time to celebrate his birthday!

With Niko copying everything big brother does, the theme for his second birthday wrote itself

The day was gorgeous for a backyard party!

I didn't snap a ton of pictures because we had Madison over for that job.  I can't wait to see the pictures she captured!

Our tradition continues with Alexander and my baking fun birthday treats.  This year Niko had a hand in helping us.  While our cupcakes were cute, the star of the party food were the cookies we got from The Redheads Bakery!  My dear friend, Ashley, went beyond my expectations with her Monkey See Monkey Do cookies.

Milestones

Niko is fast on his scooter!  He flies down hills and knows how to fall back on his bottom even if he doesn't know how to break just yet.  He is great at pushing off with his right foot.

His language is soaring.  He has just recently started to string two and three words together and has new words every day.

He loves to count and tries to hold up his fingers to show the numbers.

He knows a lot of his colors, and always gets yellow, blue, and green right.  He seems to like blue the most.

He has a serious obsession with Blippi and will not watch anything else for more than a few short minutes....I am trying to steer him towards Blues Clues for obvious similarities but a bit more plot, but he is not fooled!

His brother is his best friend.  He follows Alexander in every action, word, and gesture.  His brother is kind, giving, and patient with him.  We are so blessed by their relationship.

His heart is BIG.  He loves his family and his friends, and while he is still a mama's boy, he has many people who help to fill his life!

He still loves farm animals!  He knows so many animals and their sounds.  We look for turtles and owl statues around the neighborhood every morning on our walk, and learn about Google's Animal of the Day every evening as part of bedtime.

He enjoys praying and adds people to our prayers every night.  His 'Amen' sounds an awful lot like ABC, which he also really enjoys saying with me!

I am trying so hard to hold onto every moment!

Meet Your Teacher

Alexander is so sad to leave his beloved Ms Melissa from Accelerated PreK but also super excited to officially start kindergarten!

He quickly found his seat and loaded his desk with supplies at Meet Your Teacher

Ms Mourra was very busy answering lots of first time parents, but we snagged an introduction and moved on to explore the rest of the school 

The playground was a necessary stop!

I know our big guy is going to excel this year!

Niko will miss seeing big brother in the halls at Creme, but he's so happy there i know he will be just fine!

 

Sleepytime Sleepover

All smiles after his second sleepover! 

On Friday evening, our house started to feel HOT! The vents were blowing, but the fan on the outside unit wasn't even trying.  As we figured out what to do until we could get someone out early on Saturday,  Aly jumped to the rescue and offered Alexander to have a sleepover with Andy.

After missing the photo opp from their first sleepover, I was so grateful to have these sweet pictures from sleepover number two

Daniel was my hero, taking a flashlight and discovering in the dark that some wires had become disconnected.  There was a mysterious clump of course black hair tangled in said wires....

My handy boo was able to reconnect even without proper color coding on the wires and we had cool air for the night.  We didn't tell Alexander until after his special pancake breakfast the next day!