Nicholas is 4 months old!

Don't worry New Yorkers - he's got the same outfit for the Mets!

Nicholas turned 4 months old on July 27th - and is trying out all sorts of new things like attempting to sit up, pushing up with his arms at tummy time, and teething! He is a little drool monster and blows some serious raspberries. He also graduated from the little infant sling in his tub and is learning to splash - fun times for mommy and daddy! Oh and in the last shot on this page, yes he sitting in a crockpot! Dad thought Nicholas was good enough to eat - and mommy agrees!

Chatty Nicholas

"Ahh-Goo!"

"I found my toes!"

Sitting up in the Bumbo

"Maybe this ring will fit over my big toe..."

Smiley pants!

Splishing and a splashing!

Good enough to eat!

Visiting with Ken and Melissa

Right after the 4th of July weekend, our good friends Ken and Melissa came to visit - all the way from San Francisco! Nicholas loved them, of course, and Ken even taught him how to play the guitar on his ipad app. It was ridiculously cute! See below...

fyi - his onesie says "really, I'm with the band..."

Nicholas listened intently while Ken strummed away...

then he caught on pretty quickly! what a rockstar!

Nicholas' First 4th of July!

We spent the Fourth of July with the Busso side of the family - first a small BBQ at our house then we joined Auntie Christina, Uncle Marshall and Cousin Alexander at the Air Force Memorial for a great view of the DC fireworks. It was a hot and sticky July night with no parking and a long walk back to the car, but Nicholas loved the bright colors and "oohed" and "ahhed" along with the rest of us!

3 Months Old - Rolling Over - Miscellaneous Cuteness!

Nicholas turned three months old on June 27, 2011 and a few days later started turning over. That's right folks, we have a rolling man. He first went from tummy to back on July 3 while under the watchful eye of Grandma. She reported that she blinked and bam! - he was on his back. Grandma and Grandpa Busso were babysitting (thank you!!!) while Mom and Dad attended Eric & Robyn's wedding in Philadelphia. So of course, we returned home and tried to recreate the action, but genius cannot be hurried. Then a few days later, while Ken & Melissa were visiting from San Francisco, Nicholas was laying on his mat when he started the side quarter role action and then after some hard work finally freed the left hand and drumroll, please...ended up on his tummy! His little arms were propping up his head as he gave us the classic 3 month old pose. He can even lift his little butt up into the air as if trying to crawl, but at the same time his head dives into the mat...baby steps, little man!

I don't have any rolling video yet - but stay tuned! In the meantime, here are some extra cute shots from the month of June:

First grab at fuzzy dice & rings!

How big is Nicholas? So big!

Sleepy time with lovey.

Cuddly time with lovey from Auntie Julie!

Visiting with Auntie Cindy.

First dinner at Uncle John & Uncle Fred's!

Mommy & Me!

Check out my snappy outfit from Auntie Colleen - yes those are mini loafers!

First "successful" tummy time - no crying!

He laughs and smiles all the time now!

First time sucking his thumb.

Kristen & Darren's Wedding Weekend - Banff, Canda

This past weekend, Frank and I traveled to beautiful Banff, Canada for Kristen and Darren's wedding! Nicholas got his own little vacation with Grandma and Grandpa Busso in lovely Staten Island, NY.  As first time parents we were a little apprehensive about leaving the little guy for five days, but we knew he was in good hands. The wedding was absolutely stunning and so much fun and it was nice for mom and dad to have a little R&R time on our own. We ate great food, visited the various breathtaking sites in the area, oh and most importantly - we slept! Little Nicholas has been a pretty great sleeper so far, but it was still nice to have five consecutive nights of continuous sleep. We definitely missed him a ton, but the thought of going home to him helped combat the standard blues of the vacation coming to a close.  And Grandma and Grandpa reported that our little guy was an angel and they had a great time with him. So it was a win-win all around!

Here are some shots from the weekend. Kristen was a beautiful bride and she and Darren were positively beaming throughout the weekend!

The Canadian Rockies on the drive from Calgary.

The Girls at the Welcome Dinner - The Bear Tavern

 

 

 

The ceremony site - Tunnel Mountain Meadow. Quite the view!

 

Temps were in the 40s, thank god the sun made an appearance!

The happy couple!

The first dance

 

 

Aren't they the cutest?

Frank & Gram, dancin the night away!

Moraine Lake

Lake Louise

We saw Elk . . .

right beside this statue of an Elk!

We took the ski lift to the top of the mtn for some great views.

There's Lake Louise in the distance!

Lake Louise

At the top of the gondola.

The Return of Nonnie & Natalia!

As my maternity leave winds down, we're squeezing in all sorts of visits and trips! Nonnie and Natalia came down for a nice visit from June 14th to the 19th. Natalia was her usual adorable, precocious self and Nonnie was a big help in entertaining both kids.  Natalia absolutely LOVES Nicholas, which is really cute. In fact, when she heard all the adults cooing over him and claiming "oh he's so cute, I could just bite his cheeks/toes/nose etc" she took it to the next level and proclaimed "Oh Nonnie, Nicholas is so cute, I just wanna rip his head off!" Ha! We know what she means. Kids say the darnedest things! As always, we visited lots of parks so Natalia could burn off some steam each day - our new favorite is Burke Lake Park.  Nicholas had his first ride on the merry-go-round and the miniature train. After a stop at the ice cream parlor, Natalia announced that it was "the best park in the world." I suspect we'll be back . . .

He didn't care too much for the whistle.

Nicholas' first train ride!

Nicholas' first merry-go-round ride!

 

Round and round we went!

Nonnie and her grandchildren!

Nicholas' first swing ride - Bolling AFB

Coochie-coo!

Nicholas loves Nonnie!

It doesn't get much cuter than this!

Natalia & Nicholas