The Cauwe Family: October 2009

Monday, October 26, 2009

Sunday Funday

On Sunday, we went to Phil's Icehouse for burgers. Phil's was voted the best place in Austin to bring the kids, and I agree. Nico had a blast playing on the playground and watching all the big kids run around.

Watching the big kids ...

and wishing he could join them.

Making friends!

Moo

Aw ... do we have to go home?

Getting Excited for Halloween!

Mmmm ... hummus!

This kid loves hummus and can't get enough!

Sharing his pita bread and hummus with Kyla.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Pumpkin Festival

On Sunday, we took Nico to the Elgin Pumpkin Festival and had a great time taking pictures in the pumpkin patch, riding the mini-train (sort of), and participating in water duck races.

Our little stinker in the pumpkin patch. He was such a good sport wearing his costume in the hot sun.

The pumpkin festival was at a Christmas tree farm. Nico and Nic got a head start picking out our tree for this year.

Our friends Caton & Steph met us at the festival.

Feeding the llama!

Competing in the duck races

Here we are about to go on the mini-train ride ...

and here we are walking back after one of the tires flew off!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

9 & 10 month update

Nico wearing his mom's retro-ET t-shirt.

These updates are long over due ... but with everything that has been going on, it got pushed to the bottom of my priority list. Better late than never!

9 months
Nico turned 9 months while we were in Europe, so I did my best to make "mental notes" of his accomplishments and milestones. During the trip, Nic and I both noticed how Nico changed from a baby to a little boy. Physically, Nico started looking less and less like a baby and more like a toddler boy.

While in Belgium, he began standing on his own while holding on to furniture. Nico also started to become more independent and demanding at the same time. For example, sometimes while feeding him, Nico will decide that he wants to feed himself and will refuse any food you try to give him. Other times, he'll let you know you aren't feeding him fast enough and demand food right away. Nico also makes it very obvious when he doesn't want something by slapping or pushing your hand away.

When we returned from our trip, Nico was moved from the infant nursery to the toddler class. He handled the transition like a champ, and I was the nervous one. Being in the toddler class definitely makes sense since he is mobile and needs more structure, but I just wasn't ready to accept that it was time for him to "graduate." The toddler class has been great. Nico does art projects and learns new lessons everyday.

Nine month stats:
weight: 21 pounds, 12 ounces (68th percentile)
(weight was a little low because he was getting over being sick)
height: 28 1/4" (50th percentile)
head circ: 47 cm (90th percentile)

10 months
At ten months, Nico started crawling on all fours and getting into everything! That boy loves to explore! He also went from standing still to walking around furniture and pulling everything down.

Nico loves to give high fives and then smiles afterward because he is so proud of himself. He also likes to clap his hands and play copy-cat. This month, Nico started pushing his limits to see what he can get away with, and let me tell you, he can get away with just about anything after giving his cute little smirk.

At ten months, Nico started having a little separation anxiety. It hasn't become a problem, so I'm hoping we're experiencing the worst of it and he'll grow out of it soon. According to my development books, this is completely normal around this age. I'm just not used to it because in the past, he would go to just about anyone and I could walk away.

Nico is eating a lot of new foods and likes almost anything. His new favorite food is hummus. We've tried some table foods, but he mostly just played with it.

At the beginning of October, Nico spent his first night away from mommy and daddy and did great. (Mom and dad did fine, too.) Nico's Nonni and PopPop came to stay with him in Austin and he had a blast!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Sick Baby

Nico has been fighting another respiratory infection this past week, and it got so bad that we had to take him to the ER at Dell Children's Hospital early this morning. He wasn't responding to the nebulizer treatments we were giving him, so the hospital gave him something stronger. The doctor said that he is having "bronchial spasms" that were brought on by a virus and or allergens. A chest x-ray came back clear, so hopefully he'll be better in the next few days.
Right now, all he wants to do is sleep in mama's arms. So sweet, but so exhausting for mama, who gets very little sleep.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Euro Trip 2009 - Switzerland

For the last five days of our trip, we headed to Switzerland to visit Laura, my suite mate from college. Last year, she married Bernhard, a Swiss man, and they now live in a small village on Lake Zurich. Laura and Bernhard were awesome hosts, and we loved Switzerland. It is so beautiful!

Walking in the hills above Lake Zurich

View of Lake Zurich

We took a boat ride on the lake and Nico loved the wind in his hair. (The red dots on his face aren't chicken pox ... poor kid was attacked by vicious Belgian mosquitoes.)

The boat ride took us to another quaint village on the lake, where we had dinner.

We drove three hours to the Swiss Alps, and this was the view from the car window! Beautiful!

After the three-hour car ride, we took a 45-minute train ride up to a small village called Wengen, where we stayed the night. Nico loved the train! On our trip, he experienced several modes of transportation -- plane, train, automobile, gondola, and tram. I think his favorite was the train.

Family pic on the balcony at our hotel. Amazing view!

Me, Nico and Laura

Hiking in the mountains (Jungfrau Region)

Our reward at the end of the hike. Cheers!

Nico wants some too!

In Switzerland, there are cows wandering everywhere. All of the cows are super friendly and have big bells around their necks. It was so peaceful to hear the bells while hiking.

More cows!

Nico in Interlaken, Switzerland.

Euro Trip 2009 - Belgium

We had a great time on our trip and Nico couldn't have been a better traveler. He was so laid back and just took it all in. The flights were successful and Nico adjusted to the new time easily. (Coming home was another story ... he wanted to wake up and start his day at 4 am everyday.) Nico was completely spoiled for the entire 2 weeks, and he loved his Belgian family.

Unfortunately, on the last day of the trip, our camera with photos from our entire trip was lost! We were devastated and can't figure out if it was stolen or left somewhere in Interlaken, Switzerland. Luckily, we took pics with the Iphone (thus, the poor quality) and friends and family are sharing their pictures, so it wasn't a total loss. I keep telling myself if that is the worst thing that happened on our 15-day trip, then that's okay. We all had a great time and came home safe and healthy and that's all that matters.

Getting ready for take off in Austin, TX

Checking out the view from above

Exploring on the airplane. The flight attendants loved him!

Taking a nap on mommy's lap.

First Belgian beer with daddy in Gent, Belgium. (Don't worry, he didn't really drink it. Although, he wanted to.)

Hanging with Aunt Char and mommy ... back to drinking water.

Another beer with daddy

Nico was cutting one of his top teeth on this afternoon, so he wasn't too happy about having his picture taken. We were sitting outside of a castle in the city center of Gent.

Charlotte, Nic and Malou with their dad

Nico getting excited for his first train ride.

With daddy in the market square of Brugge, Belgium. Brugge is where Nic and Aunt Charlotte grew up.

Lunch and a nap in a cafe in Brugge

Nic and his childhood friend Nicky

While in Brugge, we stayed in the house that Nic and Aunt Char grew up in. The house is now a hotel, and their old living room is part of the lobby. (I'll post pics once I get them.)