First Steps

Nico took his first two steps all by himself yesterday, and today, he took another two. Looks like he's on his way to walking!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nico had a great first Thanksgiving at Nonni and PopPop's. He loved it all -- turkey, stuffing, potatoes, asparagus, and rolls.


Our little butterball enjoying his first Thanksgiving.




Hanging out with Uncle Brandon. (They hadn't seen each other since Nico was 18 days old. Boy, has Nico changed!)


Cauwe family on Nico's first Thanksgiving


Nico helped Nonni put away Thanksgiving leftovers.

Helping Load the Dishwasher

He's discovered the dishwasher! Open the door and he crawls right in.
(Disclaimer: All sharp objects are now placed out of his reach.)

Janny Visits!

Last weekend, Janny came to Austin to visit Nico. We had a great time eating yummy food, relaxing and shopping. Thanks Janny ... we love you!

Walking ... with a walker

For about a week now, Nico has been walking with a walker. He's so proud of himself and gets a huge grin on his face when he gets going. Sometimes, he gets going so fast, crashes into something and then gets mad because he thinks he is stuck.
This week, Nico also started standing on his own. Everyday he's getting closer and closer to taking his first steps ... it won't be long!


"See ya later sucka!"


One handed!


Cruisin'




Slow down little fella!


Crash! $@#$%^&!!!!

Game Day

Although the Aggies lost the last two games, Nico still has fun watching the games with his daddy.


Celebrating after an Aggie touchdown!


Watching the half-time show.
(Our good friend Grace made the adorable overalls for Nico. The Aggie yell leaders wear these overalls at yell practice the night before a game.)


Hanging out on his A&M blanket that Nonni made for him.

11 Months

This picture was taken on Nico's 11-month birthday and pretty much captures his attitude at this point in his life. With his foot on the table, he wants you to know that he's in charge. (Don't mind the drool and green beans on his shirt ... this is real life!)

At 11 months, Nico is in charge and knows what he wants. If he doesn't get what he wants, he'll let you know. He is so strong and has a "death-grip" that he uses on objects he doesn't want to let go, and it is almost impossible to get them away from him.

Nico loves to be tickled and roughhouse with daddy. He is definitely "all boy!" We often call him destructo-baby because he loves to knock down and throw his toys. If you stack it, he will knock it down. He also has mastered the bounce pass with his mini-basketball.

Nico also is so very sweet and will still cuddle with mommy. Mama is his number one right now, and he is very aware of strangers and being left alone. He loves to watch Sesame Street in the mornings, which is nice because it gives mommy and daddy time to wake up. Nico is waking up about 6:30 a.m. these days.

Nico's favorites at 11 months:
- the color red (Out of all his colored blocks, he selects the 4 red blocks and carries them around the house.)
- of his 5 rubber duckies, he always picks the one with the basketball
- Elmo
- hummus
-Cheerios

Hard to believe that our 23 pound, 8 ounce little boy with six teeth will be one year old in less than a month!

Avocado, Hummus and Cheese Please

Our little boy who would once eat anything has now become a picky eater. He loves hummus, cheese and avocados but refuses just about anything else.
The fruit and veggies that he once loved get slapped and thrown to the ground. Sometimes, he will take a few bites of food if he sees us eating it -- mashed potatoes, green beans, refried beans and rice are a few things he'll sample.
Oh, I can't forget the Cheerios. He'd eat an entire box of if we'd let him!

Bowls of Water

I've mentioned before that Nico loves playing in water. Now that summer is over and we are no longer going to the pool, Nico is finding other "bodies of water" around the house to splash in and play with.

Nico loves the dogs' water bowl and if we put him on the ground, he crawls straight for it. The other day, I put him on the opposite side of the doggie gate thinking he couldn't get to the water. Wrong! He reached his arm through the gate and started splashing as hard as he could. So, I moved the bowl so that it was out of his reach. Wrong again! Next thing I know, he stretched his little arm and fingers as far as he could and pulled the bowl closer to him.



A few days later, Nico found another bowl of water that he thinks is so much fun ... the toilet bowl! Yep ... I turned my back the other day and found him splashing in the toilet. Yuck! I didn't bother to take the time to photograph that incident.

Halloween Festivities

Nico had a great first Halloween! On Friday, some of his friends came over to celebrate ...


Dead skunk? Nope ... just putting on the costume.


Nico and his neighbor, UT football player Garrison


Fireman Parker, Skunk Nico and Football Player Garrison


Bobbing for apples!




Nico, Parker and Joaquin bobbing for apples. This is the only picture I have of Jedi Joaquin because he was busy running around fighting drones.






Raegan and her Ladybug Maya


Nico and Pumpkin Steph

Also on Friday, Nico's school had a Halloween party and costume parade. The kiddos were so cute in their costumes and Nico loved watching the parade.


Daddy and his little stinker




"Hi! I'm a skunk. What are you?"


Getting ready to watch the costume parade.

Pumpkin Carving