mad scientist

We were solicited by some researchers at Duke to do a infant cognition study with Niko. Thank goodness I had nothing else to do on Tuesday or else we wouldn't have gotten this hilarious picture of him with the brain wave cap on!

daddy time

it is becoming my mission to get pictures of ben with the boys. here are some samples of my recent attempts. more to follow.

Beach boys and gal.....

We went to the NC coast for Labor Day. We usually make it down to the coast many times over the summer but sadly this year that was not the case. None the less we had a blast. We hit our usual haunts, Brits Donuts and the Boardwalk at Carolina Beach and certainly we made several trips Blue Reef- another chain of big box beach stores that Rick loves to go to where they sell everything from hermit crabs to miller lite bikinis (my personal favorite...) Several years ago we got banned from Blue Reef because Rick knocked over and broke a giant ceramic bust of a pirate. But, luckily for Rick, there is a whole new staff of young oblivious beach gals working the counter who have no idea who he is. He managed to go enough times (it is up the street from the house) that we came home with some miniature frogs in a very small glass box with florescent foliage. We also made our first trip around the lake in a paddle boat. This was Niko's first trip to the ocean and in true Pisces form, he loves the water!!! He couldn't get enough of it. He didn't even seem to mind all the sand in his crotch!! Rick and Ben are master boggie boarders too. They braved hurricane rough waters and caught some of the summers best waves.

First Day of 4th grade

Overall, it was a good start....

Birthday Bash

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO RICK!

Rick turns 9 on August 27th. He had a big time at Frankies Fun Park over the weekend with friends and family and was happy to blow it out before the first day of school. While the kids were waiting for us parents to figure out the driving arrangements, they found entertainment in dressing Niko up as Rambo.

The boys at work...

Rick got a kids research gig at UNC to earn a little extra summer cash. Hey, Legos are expensive. He made sure to change into his office attire before he went although he opted not o wear the tie today- casual Tuesday I guess? Niko's job remains the same, be cute and drool a lot.

Technology

I don't even know what to say about this, except for YIKES!

He's strong to the finish....

Cause he eats his spinach...and likes it apparently! Niko tried a little pureed spinach before I read that I should really wait unitl about 8-10 months to give it to him. Woops. Guess we'll wait a few months to have some more, so for now we'll just stick to carrots and rice cereal. Can you see the teeth? Man, are they sharp!

SMILES

Not always straight, but homeboy has a million of em....picts of his new teeth soon - he has one cut and a second on the way

We'reeeeeee Eating!!!

OK. maybe we're all eating a little too much, but Niko is taking the cue and enjoying rice cereal, prunes, and some pear juice - funny faces a plenty

Dad tours, Mom Runs the show

Well, Ben did a two week tour with his old band Milemarker, and Lindsay and a cast of amazing family and friends kept the shop afloat - THANKS EVERYONE!! - Dad left a picture on the computer that Niko grabbed a lot in his absence. Dad was looking at his pictures of the family quite a bit too while he was gone too.

bumbo mania, great grandmas and stray cats

June started off with the gift of BUMBO! Our friend Andrea passed this on and it is hilarious. Niko's little legs are so chunky that when we try to take him out it requires a bit of tugging! Overall our summer has started off well. Rick said adios to third grade and Niko has a little more head control. Mostly we spend a lot of time dressing Niko up and taking silly pictures or hanging out at the pool. Ben is leaving for Germany and Denmark to play some shows for the next couple of weeks and we are going to miss him so much.


I took the boys to see great grandma Griffin in New Bern at her nursing home this week. She was thrilled and the boys were troopers. Three hours there and back in one day and nearly no complaints. I'll call that a victory.
In other news, Rick has a new friend in the neighborhood . This pretty kitty that looks just like our old family cat, Annie, and it is constantly in our yard. wierd. We have no idea where it came from, but Rick is convinced it needs to fed.....

niko and mama

Niko had some good floor time yesterday and I joined him for a bit in the play gym. There is a mirror attached to the top that he loves to look into and flirt with himself. All is well here, just eating and growing with lots of smiles in between. Niko is 3 months old and it certainly feels like we are entering a new phase...he slept for 5 hours straight last night and the colic seems to be gone!!!! We had our birth class reunion today (sorry I don't have pictures) and every baby was just adorable.

Mother's Day Photo Shoot

Ben took these awesome pictures of the boys and gave copies to all the mamas in the family for mothers day. I love them especially because they had to sneak into the neighbor's yard to get the roses in there!