Viva Las NICHOLAS

While Gretch & Jack were in town we decided to take a trip. We rented a sweet mini van and drove down to Las Vegas!! Yes, I know, Vegas doesn’t really seem like the best place to take a baby, but Nicholas enjoyed himself. He did pretty well on the car trip down. We stayed on the Strip at the Excalibur. We had to walk through the casino to get to our rooms. I’ll have to admit, I felt kinda weird strolling my baby through the casino, but we were not the only ones! Nicholas loved to crawl all over the hotel room. He especially loved the drawer handles and the big bed. He just crawled around being his normal goofy self!

It was really hot in Vegas, so we tried to keep Nicholas indoors most of the time. We took him to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. He loved all of the animals!! I think he is going to be like me and love the ocean. He also liked listening to the tour on his Grandma’s tour “phone”. We took the tram to and from our hotel and he seemed to enjoy it. We also took Nicholas to the Venetian for a Gondola ride. The teenage girl behind us in line fell in love with him right away! She was watching him pose for the camera in line (I posted some of those pictures) and couldn’t get enough of him. Nick was showing off and flirting with her the whole time. We kept running into her and she would just squeal and run over and talk to him. It was pretty cute!! Nicholas loved the Gondola ride :0) He seems to love boats and the water. He really liked the fountains and when our “captain” (I don’t remember what the Gondola operators are called) sang to him. Nicholas was looking up at him the whole time. People who were watching on the sides were enjoying Nick’s smiling and laughing during the serenade. It was a fun outing!

My parents babysat Nicholas while John and I went out at night. We went to 2 shows (my favorite was Carrot Top, he was so hilarious!!) and went up and down the Strip. It was so nice to have the help and to get out without the baby!! It was also nice to get out of the house and have a vacation! I sure do miss having the constant help with Nicholas! Maybe my parents will move out here soon (HINT, HINT!) :0)

Nick's First Trip to the Mountians

Nicholas had his first trip into the mountains while his grandparents were here. We went to the Silver Fork Lodge in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Nick loves to be outside so he LOVED the mountains! This is a good thing since he’s going to be in them a lot as he is training for the Olympics and X Games :0) We ate outside on the deck at the restaurant. It got a little bit chilly so we got Nick a nice warm blanket. He loved being under the blanket and was entertaining himself and everyone around him being his usual goofy self :0) I kept hearing people ask, “Did that baby just pose for the camera!?” HAHA Yep, Nicholas LOVES the camera! He can be having a temper tantrum (shocking, I know!) and if I take out the camera, he’ll stop and pose mid-tantrum! How did that happen!? Hmm…could it be the amount of pictures that he has had taken of him!? I guess we’ll never know ;0)

Dinosaur Park

While my parents were here we went out to lunch with everyone from John’s office. We discovered that Nicholas can sit in “restaurant” high chairs now! I know that doesn’t seem like a big deal, but like everything else with Nicholas, I think it is :0) I kept meaning to get picture that day, but I forgot. So, I took pictures the next morning when we went to Breakfast!! Nicholas loves to sit in the high chairs and he also likes to chew on them and the table. We also took Nick to Dinosaur Park. They have a few robotic dinosaurs there and tons of statues around the park. It wasn’t too hot the day we went so we got to see most of the park. Nicholas also went on his first ride down a slide (my dad took those pictures so I will have to scan them in sometime). Nicholas did pretty well on the hour long drive. Grandma Gretch kept him laughing most of the way :0)

Getting Taller!

Nicholas is getting taller and taller by the day! We had to move his crib down to the lowest level because he was pulling himself up on the bars. My parents flew in on Monday, 8/7/06 for a week :0) Here are some pictures of Nicholas showing his climbing skills while waiting for Grandma and Grandpa to get to the house (before we moved the crib down). There is also one of the crab hat they brought for him!! I am thinking that he might be a crab for Halloween, but I know I will change my mind several times before then!

Popsicle Time

Here are some pictures from Nicholas enjoying a Popsicle. Our friend Vicki introduced us to "Mighty Magic Mini" popsicles and Nick just loves them :0) I wish that the Popsicles were flavored, but not colored. They are quite the mess! But, we have it down to a science now :0)

7 Month Photos

I am getting ready to take Nicholas for his 8 month pictures and I realized I never put his 7 month pictures up!! Here they are!

Nick's First Trip to the Zoo

I took Nicholas to the Zoo with some friends this week. Luckily, it was overcast and not too hot for our outing. Nick loved looking at all of the animals. He especially loved the giraffes :0) He was trying to grab them as they got close to him while they were eating. Nicholas just started kicking and laughing when the animals did anything. He also loved being outside. He just looked around and smiled at everything. It was tough to find a way to get pictures of Nick and the animals, but I think you’ll get the idea :0) We are going swimming today and to the Farm next week, so check back for some pictures of those outings soon.

Nicholas & a Tiger (Can you find it!?)

Nicholas & a Giraffe

Watching the Giraffe eat

More Giraffes :0)

Nick & some Rhinos

Mommy & Daddy's Little Firecracker

We went to our friends Becky & Joe’s house for the 4th of July. We had a nice BBQ and Joe put on quite the fireworks display for us! They have 2 Dalmatians, so Nick spent most of his time laughing and trying to pet them. Nicholas loved the fireworks :0) I was surprised that he wasn’t afraid of the sounds. He just squealed and laughed as he watched them. He fell asleep during the fireworks show, but had a fun first 4th of July :0)

Becky & Nicholas

Nick's 4th of July Outfit

Our Little Goofball

Trying to Get Dotty

Some of the Fireworks

Joe with his Bottle Rocket Display

Mommy & Nicholas Watching Fireworks

Watching Fireworks with Daddy

Aftermath of Joe's Awesome Fireworks Show

Daddy Trying to Feed Nicholas :0)

Here are some pictures from John trying to feed Nicholas yesterday. Nick’s high chair cover was in the wash, so John had to try to feed him in his bouncer. Nicholas is getting goofier and goofier by the day, so he was really hamming it up for his Daddy! It was pretty entertaining to watch :0) Of course, I took out the camera and started taking pictures for you all to enjoy!! I was finally able to get a pretty good shot of Nick's teeth :0)