Summer Fun

Man, I love the summer. I have been enjoying all of the extra time I'm getting with the monkey these days. He is just the best thing that has ever happened to summer vacation!

We have been so busy - playing in the water, eating Popsicles, and making messes! The picture above is Nicholas "eating" some chocolate pudding - yikes. His new favorite thing is to ride his tricycle around the house yelling, "Beep! Beep!" It's hilarious - if he sits on the seat, he can't reach the floor, so he sits on the back. He cracks me up...
We are finally making some progress on decorating all of new rooms. We got the TV up on the wall in the living room, and got a new cabinet to put below it. The hard part is convincing Nicholas that it's not an appropriate place to play. He loves going in there!
There's never a dull moment with a toddler running around!

Christmas in July

I know I'm on summer vacation, but MAN have we been busy! Sorry I haven't blogged in a while- Nicholas is constantly moving, and it can be tough getting a good picture these days! He's also become fascinated with cameras, and as soon as he sees you pointing the lens in his direction, he immediately says, "I see it!" and runs to grab it out of your hands. He loves to look at all of the pictures and videos on the camera screen. And he knows exactly how to turn it on, and which buttons to push. Uuuugh...

Anyway... This weekend was the Dickinson family Christmas in July in Maine! It was so much fun. I can't remember the last time that we were all together in one place, and my parents really did it up right! We had a Christmas tree, Santa decorations, Christmas carols, the whole 9 yards! Friday's weather was just perfect, and we all got a chance to get some sun, take a ride on the boat, and swim in the lake. We even saw a bald eagle! It really was a perfect Maine day.

It rained on Saturday, but that's OK - it gave us a chance to hit the outlets and shop! It cleared up and we were able to have our lobster dinner outside on the picnic tables, though, and we even had a beautiful sunset on Saturday night. Nicholas had his first taste of lobster, and it went well - I think shellfish was the only thing he hadn't tried yet. We had the Benadryl at the ready, but luckily didn't need it. I'm glad there are no signs of food allergies because this kid can eat! And in this family... it's practically a requirement.

Nicholas was such a good boy this weekend. I wasn't sure how he would be around so many people - there were 19 of us! But he handled it like a trooper. In fact, I'm pretty sure he liked all of the extra attention! He spent a lot of time in the water this time too, which was great. He LOVES being in the water. I think his favorite thing, though, is Papa's boat. He sits in the driver's seat and says "Vroom vroom! Beep! Beep!" It's hilarious. And the kid's no dummy either - I'm pretty sure he could start the thing up and pull it away from the dock if we'd let him.

Lately Todd and I have been absolutely blown away with how much he's learning. It's like a language explosion! It's amazing how fast he's growing and changing. We're just trying to take it all in and enjoy every minute of it. And I'm sure someday we'll even look back at the more exhausting and frustrating times and laugh. This parenting thing is some roller coaster ride! I always did love the roller coaster...