Princess Nina

Miss Nina has hit a new phase...the princess phase. Everything revolves around princesses. She even started calling daddy a princess, but he was quick to teach her that he is the 'king'.

Here she is reading Snow White in her Snow White dress. She loves to climb into the chair and read the books all by herself...always asking mommy and daddy to leave the room. You can hear her reading all the way downstairs.

She still loves to dance, dance, dance...usually holding one of her friends. Today it was lion.

For Halloween, Nina dressed up as a black cat. The ears and tail didn't last long, and she was a little scared of the kids showing up at the door in costume, so we decided to stay in.

Daddy and Nina raked a big leaf pile outside this fall and Nina had fun jumping in it.



Finally, Chef Nina shows off her apron from Mama Jeanne and Papa Wayne. She likes to go 'shopping' and buy pizza, cake, and green beans.

Hopefully for the next post Nina will be introducing her little sister, but for now, we'll have to keep waiting.

Happy Birthday 2 years!!

Nina has been busy growing and talking and expressing herself as she approached two years. We have been having a fun, busy summer. Nina loves swimming in the pool, walking to the 'baby tree', talking, talking, talking, dancing, ABCs, counting, singing songs, and the penguin movie.
Nina enjoys picking blackberries in the backyard with daddy EVERY evening. Then they eat them all!!

Nina is now in a big girl bed!! We have such a good sleeper!! Every morning she gets up and sits in bed and tells mommy and daddy stories--especially ones about what she is scared of that day (skeletons, ice, monsters, dinosaurs, etc...).

Nina loves to sing the 'Happy Birthday' song. This is Nina at her family birthday party, showing her reaction as she opens another dress.

Nina shows off a beautiful balloon flower as poses for a picture at her Uncle Adam and Aunt Gretchen's rehersal dinner. She LOVES to dance and constantly asks for 'more songs to dance to, PLEASE!!' Her favorite band right now is They Might Be Giants.

Nina got all dressed up for the wedding!! Uncle Adam and Aunt Gretchen had a beautiful day for their wedding.

Greetings from May

Summer's in full swing now, as we hit 90 this weekend for the first time this year. But we had such a good time in May, it's time to pass along some of those pictures as well! Niccolina is pushing 21 months old in less than 10 days! She has a great little personality and keeps us busy all day...

Here's Nina testing out the goods at Albany's Tulip Fest on Mother's Day.


And posing next to Mom's balloon to celebrate the occasion.


At the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, Nina checked out the news about the new baby elephant!


And what would a summer BBQ be without some watermelon?


Here Nina stretches out the legs after a beautiful evening picnic.

Spring is in the air!

The weather has finally turned the corner this week (we hope) and we've seen a few days in the 60s! This was only a dream just last week. Nina has grown since the last post - we are all looking forward to a great spring/summer - Nina's first opportunity to run around outside (she didn't really care for snow all that much)

First, a pitstop at our easel for some art...



Not much growing yet...



"I know there are snacks in here..."



Let her eat cake...
(and celebrate a Happy Birthday for Grandpa, Great Grandma and Dale)

Baby Niccolina?

Well, the address of this blog seems outdated now, with Nina walking and exploring all over creation. She knows where we keep her snacks and bangs on the pantry door, and she definitely enjoys bouncing all over our couches and chairs.
I thought it would be fun to post a picture from last February, and then one taken this past Sunday as Nina romped around at the Albany Pine Bush Discovery Center. The exhibits were all interactive, and she even got to hold a snake skin!

Gearing Up for Xmas #2

Hard to believe that Nina's SECOND Christmas is just around the corner, and it's been amazing to see her transformation over the past year. Now she's a little girl with her own personality, attitude and style. She just started eating at the table instead of in a high chair, which has been fun to see. Nina is also getting closer to walking on her own, but still hanging on to her walker toy or the hand of Mommy or Daddy to guide her along. Pretty soon we'll be chasing her all over the house. Hope everyone has a happy holiday and a great new year!

Little Miss Energy

It's been a while since the last post. Busy times, as always. Niccolina is moving around pretty quickly now and it's only a matter of time before she takes her first unassisted steps. She is able to climb a full flight of stairs. But we have to be careful, because she thinks its funny to fall back intentionally, so we have to be right behind her. For some reason she gets a big kick out of falling...as long as she's caught. Maybe she'll be a future thrill-seeker - skydiving, parasailing, etc.

We've had some unusually warm days recently, and we're making sure to hit the parks as often as possible before winter sets in. Nina wore some Red Socks last night as she wished good luck to the team for World Series Game 2. Hopefully they'll keep it up!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We can't believe it has been a year. Scroll down and take a look at how far she has come in 12 months! The next year will be filled with lots of new skills, discoveries, and of course, keeping Mom and Dad on their toes...

Here's a few pictures from the big day. Nina would like to thank everyone who came over and all of the great gifts!

A cool morning in the 40's to start out, but Nina was ready to go...



She doesn't go a few minutes before pulling herself up to stand next to the couch...



Nina showed great skill in tearing open her gifts, and even took the time to read the cards - can you believe it??




Mom's awesome birthday carrot cake was a hit, but Nina had to call it quits after a while...



And of course, balloons all around. A great 1st birthday party, with many many more to come!

Labor Day Fun In The Sun

Nina enjoyed the amazing weather on the 3-day weekend, taking lots of turns on the swings and also checking out all of the cool slides at a few different parks in the area. We got to see some dogs today too, which always makes Nina laugh. We think it will be tough this winter when we're suffering from cabin fever, especially since Nina will be running all over the place by then. So we'll continue to enjoy our outdoor fun until the snow starts flying. Less than 2 weeks now until the big 1ST BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!

Crawlin'

Here's Nina showing off her new skill to her buddies. After only 4 days of crawling (with several different techniques) she's getting pretty fast. And her number one target? You guessed it - the cat. Bella is not too happy about Nina's new-found mobility.

And here she is yelling/singing at the stereo, which is always a good time.

Beach Bum

It's been a while since the last post. Nina is now 9 1/2 months old and is doing very well. Showing signs that crawling may be near, and trying to pull herself up to stand all the time. She has a hearty appetite and loves to EAT!!



She also got her first beach exposure - it was not the warmest July day at Lake George, but Nina got some time to play in the sand and dipped her feet in the water. She didn't get to show off her swimsuit, but maybe next time...

Swing Away

Nina enjoyed swinging for the first time last weekend, and I think she's already gone 2 more times since. She's now up to 5 teeth, with a 6th on the way (we think).



And here she is enjoying some quality time with Bella, who is just trying to get some rest.

Tulip Festival

We enjoyed a beautiful day at Albany's Tulip Festival on Mother's Day. Nina got to relax in the park away from the crowds with Mom (her first!), Dad and both sets of grandparents. I think we even saw a few tulips as we were leaving the park...

Farmer Nina!!!

It's been a while since the last update! 2 weeks ago we headed over to Indian Ladder Farms, where there was a big gathering of baby animals to check out. Nina is seen here conversing with her newest friend. She especially enjoyed the horse-drawn carriage ride through the orchard. I think more visits with horses are in store later this summer, after seeing how excited she was.

Play Ball!

Nina has successfully cheered Boston's finest to a 7-4 start to the young season. Not sure who her favorite player is quite yet, but time will tell. And of course, today was Nina's 7 MONTH birthday!! One of her many new skills is multi-tasking with toys:

New Casa

We are mostly settled in to our new abode, and Nina has adjusted nicely - she had no trouble sleeping through the night the first day, even with all the new weird shadows in her room! She now weighs in over 16 pounds and can sit up without support for a long time. Here are a few pics of Nina relaxing in her new digs...

Springtime Sun

We headed out to Wickford harbor this Sunday to walk around, as it was in the 50s and sunny - looks like Spring is coming closer! Nina was still wrapped up because of the breeze coming off the water:

How 'Bout Them Chompers??

Sorry about the delay since the last post. This website has been difficult lately. Anyway, there are a few exciting developments around here:

1) Nina is now the proud owner of 2 (two) teeth! The bottom front teeth both poked through her gums last week and are slowly inching their way up.
2) She has now tried: apples, pears, bananas, sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, oat cereal and rice cereal. Everything was enjoyed except for the peas. She's just like her Dad
3) Nina can sit by herself without any support, at least for a few seconds. She's getting much stronger by the day
4) We are only 2 weeks away from the big HALF BIRTHDAY - yep, little Niccolina will be a whole SIX MONTHS OLD!!!
5) We're busy packing and preparing for our upcoming move to our new house at the end of March. We'll be very relieved when that's over with, and Nina will also get to enjoy the playroom we've been telling her about!

Movin' On Up

We've done some traveling the past few weeks searching for a new home, and Nina has been quite a trooper! Back at home on Tuesday she enjoyed some bonding time with Bella:



Nina will put anything and everything in her mouth. Though we've seen her fit 4 fingers in at once, 3 will have to do for this picture:

Food, Glorious Food!

Nina got the go-ahead to test out some new tasty treats this morning! First up was some good ol' rice cereal - everyone's favorite! We think about half of it ended up on her chin and bib, but it was a good introduction to the complicated process of eating. Hopefully within the next few weeks we can introduce a few fruits and veggies one at a time for Nina to try. Break out the mop!

Uno, anyone?

Nina shows off her serious card-playin' face.

Toys Toys Toys

Nina celebrated her first Christmas after another successful roadtrip to both sets of grandparents' houses. She slept the whole way - I guess the scenery on the Mass Pike is pretty bland.

Here's Nina with Mom, showing off her new dress for the holidays:



Some of her new toys are motivation for extra effort during tummy time:



And she is discovering her hands more and more each day. 2007 will be a year to remember with a lot of milestones for Nina. Have a happy new year!

Ho Ho Ho

Sometimes you can take an everyday household item and turn it into a crazy obsession for your baby. Take this Santa potholder, for instance, which Nina can't take her eyes off. She concentrates very well!





Coming next week...Niccolina's first Christmas! Can we at least get some of the white stuff on the ground or what???

Exercise

Nina is now sticking to a very structured exercise routine - sometimes. It looks like she is starting to get the hang of grabbing objects (she has a pretty strong grip):



And here she is holding her head up nicely during tummy time. She can sit up pretty well too - if you give her some lower back support. Her neck is getting stronger, and there is less of the bobblehead-effect:

Our Little Tofurkey

Well, Nina passed a big test last weekend after a long road trip to New York, where she visited with both sets of grandparents and hung out with 16 relatives in all! After getting back home to recuperate, we sat down to a nice family Thanksgiving meal, and Nina has the outfit to prove it...



After dinner, while relaxing on the couch, Nina shows off one of her most interesting facial expressions yet...