Christmas 2012

We made the trek once again up the I-95 corridor to visit family in Connecticut and New York.  We had a great time in CT - and saw all the Smith side.  It was a Nicholas & Natalia love fest - she is so good with him and he just adores her.  Frank and I took Nicholas and Natalia to the Kid City - and Frank was impressed (we love that place!)

Our time in New York was equally enjoyable with lots of quality time with cousins Alexander and Caroline. Nicholas and Caroline are both little piggies and just ate and ate throughout the whole holiday. Uncle Pat and his Young Beautiful Smart Wife Donna came to dinner and the Busso's managed to pull off yet another elegant and delicious meal - even with all the grandkids involved. Frank and I even managed to squeeze in a fun overnight trip in Manhattan - just us! We stayed in a boutique hotel and saw an off-Broadway show, while Nicholas stayed in Staten Island with Grandma & Grandpa et al. All in all it was a very Merry Christmas!

Connecticut with the Smiths

Chris Nytch and his family stopped by for a visit - and tackle!

Natalia, Leo (Chris & Noelia's son) & Nicholas

"Let's just rest our eyes a bit."

"If we put our heads together...."

"I love the kitty more" - "No, I do!"

Christmas Morning

Fun at Kid City - CT

New York with the Busso's

Nicholas pins Alexander - looks like he learned a few moves from Natalia!

Back in Virginia...

Nicholas LOVES this car ramp from Auntie Coll-Coll

Nico's daycare provider, Christine, gave him the best gift - his very own vacuum!
Video soon to come.

Botanical Gardens with Laurel - Christmas Train Exhibit

Nicholas and Mommy went to see the Christmas Train exhibit at the Botanical Gardens in DC with Audrey, Jessse & Laurel. It was a very cool display with small scale replicas of all the DC monuments and landmark buildings made out of purely plant material! And there were fairy lands created out of logs and carved into tree trunks with real model trains running about. Of course Thomas the Train made an appearance and was met by squeals of delight every time he passed by.  Nicholas was entranced and loved peeking in the secret fairy nests hidden in the trees. And as always, he loved spending time with his little buddy Laurel.

The Supreme Court - made entirely out of plant material! Leaves, bark, petals...

A Fairy Castle - also all plant material! Amazing!

There goes Thomas! Laurel and Nicholas watch in amazement...

The innocence of youth!

Mommy & Nicholas & plant based U.S. Capitol

Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas 2012 Photo Shoot

We rolled Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas photos all into the same sitting this year - very efficient! Strangely enough, we think Nicholas looks so much older in the Christmas photos (taken just seconds after the Fall photos). See if you agree...

HALLOWEEN: Little Penguin

"Whew! Photo shoots are hard work!"

THANKSGIVING - AUTUMN GREETINGS

"Boy, this fake pumpkin sure is heavy!"

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Nobody loves this little boy!

Thanksgiving 2012

We stayed in Virginia this year for Thanksgiving and hosted dinner at our house.  But everyone pitched in and brought different side dishes or desserts.  Grandma and Grandpa Busso came down from Staten Island and of course Auntie Christina, Uncle Marshall, and Cousins Alexander and Caroline are just down the street.  We had turkey and all the fixins and Nicholas ate his little heart out! Since we didn't travel, we had a nice relaxing weekend of putting up the Christmas tree and Christmafying the house.

"You'll shoot your eye out!"

"Yikes, the turkey is almost as big as me! Gulp!"

Veteran's Day Weekend in CT - November 2012

Since we couldn't go home to CT for Thanksgiving this year (too much traffic!) Nicholas and Mommy went up for a visit on Veterans Day weekend (Daddy had to stay home and work).  We had a great time! Auntie Coll-Coll and her roommate Justin came down from Boston and we saw Nonnie, Natalia, Pa, Uncle Mike and Abby too! Natalia and Nonnie came with us to KidCity - the coolest kids "museum" in the world. It truly is a city built for kids! Nicholas loved it and explored every knook and cranny with Natalia showing him the ropes.

It was the first time Mommy traveled alone with her little man and Nicholas was a saint on the plane - very busy, but Mommy was ready with lots of activities. His favorite was the AquaDoodle and yelling into a plastic cup from the flight attendent (which was good for him and our seat-mates!) We had a long delay in the airport on the way home, but he was a trooper and burned off lots of steam running around the gate and looking out the window at the planes coming and going.

Here are some shots from the weekend:

Nicholas & Natalia in Tiny Chairs!

Nicholas Loves Auntie Coll-Coll

Baby needs to eat.

Kid City - driving the car 

Steering the ship

Ball maze mousetrap

Our little TV star!

Nonnie & Nicholas

Ingenious idea: water + paint brush + black wall = tons of fun!

My two squeaky clean snuggle bunnies!