Easter 2013

Easter was the same weekend as Nicholas' birthday party, so we had lots of family in town! Nicholas got to go on his first Easter Egg Hunt with cousins Natalia and William. Here are some fun shots from the day!

The Easter Baskets

Natalia & her basket

Nicholas & his basket

More baskets from Grandma and Grandpa Busso!

Here comes Peter Cottontail...

Hoppin down the Bunny Trail!

Caroline & Nicholas

First Easter Egg Hunt!

Look, Mom! I found one!

Natalia and Nico hugs

Nicholas loves his big cousin William!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Nicholas!

A Mickey Mouse Birthday Party!

We celebrated Nicholas' second birthday on March 30th with a house full of family from out-of-town and a big Mickey Mouse birthday party with family and friends alike.  Nicholas was a natural star of the show and loved all the attention. He also enjoyed pointing out all the Mickey's everywhere.  He's really going to go crazy when we take him to Disney for the first time! Nonnie, Natalia, Uncle Rick, Aunt Valerie and Cousin William came down from Connecticut. And Grandma and Grandpa Busso, Uncle Pat and Aunt Donna traveled from New York for the big day.  It was chaotic, but fun and with an early Easter this year, we had twice the reason to celebrate. (more Easter pics on the next blog post).

Preparing for the party!

Mommy had big plans to make a Mickey Mouse cake and Nonnie, Nicholas and Daddy helped too!

Here is the finished product - not perfect, but nothing is! If you don't compare it to the amazingly annoying works of art on Pinterest, it really doesn't look half bad :-) And at least it tasted yummy!

We supplemented with some Mickey cupcakes too!

And check out the "Mickey Party Ears" that Mommy made - pretty snazzy, eh? Take that, Pinterest!

Nicholas greeted Uncle Ricky with a big smile and hug!

And he snuggled right in with cousins Natalia and Will! Just one of the gang!

Nicholas and Natalia  swiping away on "their" phones. It's amazing that he learned to use a smartphones before turning two!

Get Ready to Party!

And here comes the birthday boy - fresh from his nap, and ready to party!!

Nicholas loves this Take-Along Thomas set from Uncle Rick and Aunt Valerie! Thanks, guys!

Uh-oh here comes trouble - two of the Kammerer siblings smiling and wearing Mickey party hats in broad daylight - must be Happy Hour!

(inside joke alert: don't those silverware rolled in napkins look marvelously displayed?)

Hey party people! Let's get this party started!

Natalia and Alexander

 Bazinga! Where's my cake?!

The party wouldn't be complete without LoLo and family!

Auntie Annie imparts great life wisdoms and deep thoughts:

"Be a horsey, Grandma - c'mon, more bouncing, less chatting!"

"That's a great story, Aunt Donna, but what I really need is someone to help me get that balloon up there!"

Finally, a little peace and quiet for Caroline and Nicholas and their phones:

"What is that, the iPhone 5? I have the new Galaxy"

Time for cake & presents!

"My bunny rabbit face - in preparation for Easter the next day!"

Mommy and Nicholas

Mommy, Nicholas and Natalia

Random Cuteness in March

March was a busy, busy month!

First, we had some fun with Laurel at the Nordic Lego Exhibit at the Kennedy Center:

Then we got a haircut and chilled on the couch with our mice friends, Mickey and Mickey Jr. (Nico set them up like that and the climbed up for the photo shoot!) :

And then he had second thoughts about his artistic direction . . .

. . . switched sides and reset the mice!

Then we got busy playing and learning -  the stats are staggering! (and perhaps exaggerated, although only slightly :-)

Nicholas hammered 1,035 pegs:

Sorted 2,345 shapes of varying colors:

And cleaned up 3,204 cars! All in a day's work :-)

(Yes, the birthday crown is foreshadowing things to come . . .  check out the next blog post!)

And then Nicholas took a little break - in the cupboard! He's just the right size!

Melinda & Kent's Wedding Cruise

Starring: Ring Bearer Nicholas!

Nicholas was invited to be the Ring Bearer for our good friends, Melinda & Kent. But this was no ordinary wedding - this was a wedding on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship on a 4 night caribbean cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale, FL! Nicholas got his sea legs and performed his ring bearer duties wonderfully! We weren't really sure of how an almost two-year-old would do on a cruise ship, but he was quite the little trooper and an excellent traveler! Due to the travel schedule and fun wedding festivities, there were a few days where he didn't get a nap at all - and he would take a 20 minute power nap on Mommy or Daddy's shoulder and then power on through.  During the rehearsal dinner he skipped a course, took a nap on Dad, but perked right up when the entrees arrived. (Clearly he gets his napping skills from Daddy, but his eating skills from Mommy.) We had a few rough bedtimes due to his overtired state, but at that point we were back in the room - so who cares? Mommy and Daddy are no strangers to a little crying.  Overall, we all had a ball and were so happy to be able to share in Melinda and Kent's big day. They certainly know how to throw a 4-day party!

**Note to the eager family members out there (you know who you are!): The professional wedding photos are still to come, so stayed tuned for an update with extra pictures of our extra cute little guy in his wedding tuxedo. Mommy and Daddy were so busy making sure he would walk down the aisle, we didn't get to take to many ourselves.**

Pre-wedding Pre-cruise:

Melinda and Kent really thought of EVERYTHING for this event -  an adorable Ring Security t-shirt arrived in the mail a few months before the big day.

We picked up a snazzy pint sized tuxedo for Nicholas to wear on the big day:

All-aboard Liberty of the Seas:

Nicholas boarded the ship and headed straight to the Ledo Deck for the sail-away party! Ring Security is on deck! Go ahead, just try to steal those rings - I'll give you a time-out like you've never seen . . .

Surveying the joint - playing it cool

Ring Security - who wants to know?

Ladies - I have arrived!

Peace out!

Rehearsal Dinner:

For the rehearsal dinner, Nicholas donned his Captain's attire - courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Busso! He was looking quite dapper and the crew totally thought he was in charge! Aye Aye Cap'n!

Steppin' out in style!

Where's my room? Why does the hallway keep moving?

Already making his move on the flower girl, Madeline!

The Wedding Day:

Nicholas scanned the audience, looking nervously for Mommy, pillow clutched tightly to his chest - but as soon as he saw her, he marched down with his signature little smile and pillow held out in front of him! Such a little performer. He even went back to look for those adorable flower girls, who got a little distracted with all the pretty petals they were dispersing.

Melinda was a beautiful bride and her Daddy was one proud Pappa!

Melinda and Kent's vows were beautiful, but very unique - I can't even explain it, let's just say these two never do anything by the book - they are over-achievers in every way!

Nicholas managed to hold still for at least one family shot:

Let the cocktail hour begin! We're ready - someone get us a drink!

Nicholas & Madeline - fast friends!

"Mom, would you do me the honor of dancing with me?"

"Please??? C'mon, Mom, let's go!"

Nicholas loved the live music - Melinda and Kent had a unique cocktail "hour" - it was at least 3 hours long, with a live band, and full of heavy delicious appetizers! We all got our dancing shoes out - especially Nicholas.

Nicholas made sure to make time for some photo ops! Doesn't he look like a tiny James Bond? By the end of cocktail party with no nap, he was staggering around with his shirttails out and shoes off, kind of reminiscent of the morning after prom!

Mommy, Melinda, Nicholas & Daddy

 And so begins the after-party! Things got wild and crazy!

Excursion Day to Isla Passion:

It was a beautiful day at the beach! Nicholas loved digging in the sand and even relaxed a bit in the lounge chairs.

Our ship was the one on the right - so big even from afar!

Beach bum alert!

"This is the life! I  re-lax"

Into the deep blue sea . . .

our little waterbug!

After a long day in the sun, and a quick nap on the ferry, it's time to get back on board for dinner:

Out and about on the Liberty of the Seas:

Nicholas poses for a pre-dinner photo with Daddy - and his loveys!

"I'm here - where are my girlfriends? Didn't we say 5:30pm? Hmmm running late, just like Mommy, must be a girl-thing"

"Here comes one - flower girl Juliana!"

"And here's the other one - flower girl Madeline!"

"Ok we're all here - now take our picture . . . on three. One . . . Two . . .  Three! Go!"

Nicholas got pretty snuggly with Mommy, after a late night of samba dancing!

Melinda and Kent treated us to breakfast with the Dreamworks movie, Madagascar. Nicholas was a little shy (read: petrified) of the giant lion - although he liked him from afar and shouted out "lion" as soon as he saw him!

Nicholas loved the toddler pool - he even shared his beach toys with some of the other kids.

Melinda and Kent arranged to celebrate Nicholas' 2nd birthday a few days early with his very own cake! Luckily, he shared with everyone very nicely. He got a kick out of everyone singing to him in the  big formal dining room, and he blew out the candle with gusto! Everyone applauded and overall he was quite pleased with himself.

Back to the room and time for bed!

"Hey, this shower is Nicholas sized!"

Thanks for a great excuse to take an amazing trip, Melinda & Kent! We had a great time and are already dreaming of the next cruise with our little matey!