Daddy's Boy

Since Nikolai is an incredible 7 months old, Colin has been busy teaching him all that he'll need to know to survive in the world as a man. The top picture is Nikolai learning to simultaneously play pool and watch football, while waiting for Thanksgiving dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house. My mom transformed their sewing/computer room into an Irish pub-styled pool room. The room turned out great, and I have a feeling that Niko will be building forts under the pool table for many years to come while the grown-ups have a pint. Don't worry, he knows not to scratch the felt!
Here is Nikolai earlier in the month helping us brew beer for the first time. Colin recieved a beer brewing kit from my parents for his birthday in October. He is busy sterilizing the fermenting tub in this photo. We made a Hefenweizen for our first batch, because we agree that it is inappropriate to let a baby drink anything darker than that. Just kidding, don't call the authorities. Right now it is fermenting in the closet . . . we'll let you know how it turns out.

GO KU!!!!!

Today is Nikolai's first truly historic football game. The Jayhawks are playing MU in one of the biggest games EVER! The kids at daycare have been showing thier colors for the entire month - to the point where one of the toddlers has the Jayhawk confused with the Thanksgiving turkey. Here Nikolai is on the way to school a couple of weeks ago. ROCK CHALK!!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday Dad! Thanks for loving me and teaching me to play the piano and staying home with me for the past two days while I was sick. I'm sorry you're so old, but I hope you have a happy birthday anyhow. Love, Nikolai

Happy Birthday Mom / Grandma!

Hi Mom! Happy Birthday from your kids and grandkids!

Both your brown-eyed grandkids wish you well. They would write, but they are very tired from their long walk together on the shore of Lake Michigan over the weekend.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Today is my Grandpa Roland's birthday . . . happy birthday! We can't be together today, but I look forward to seeing him in two weeks when he comes to visit (maybe he'll bring me some cake?). Above is a photo of the three Humphrey guys - I'm the cute one. Here is a photo of me and grandpa back when we met - I was really little then!

Day 159

Editor's note: The following entry is excerpted from the prison diary of our subject, Nikolai.

Day 159 - I contemplate escape once again, but the guard on duty, the one they call "mommy" caught me with her digital surveillance equipment. As you can see from the photos, they have both stationary and mobile retention devices that I am kept in a good deal of the time, except for a few hours a day when they force me to do hard "tummy" time in the supervised "play mat" area. The guards aren't too bad - they try to amuse me with songs and shiny objects, and they have upped my daily rations from plain milk to also include a watery gruel. I am so weak that they are forced to spoon feed me . . . the spoon even has a rubber coating so that I cannot dig my way out of this place.

I would write more, but most pointy objects are kept away from me, and I find my supplies limited . . . There is a small blue bear that I associate with on occasion. I have asked him to get word to the authorities, but I fear his situation is worse than mine . . . they have bound his arms and legs around a rubber ring with beads and a rattle between his bottom paws. . . I don't know if he will even be fit to re-introduce to the wild. Sometimes they torture him in something ominous called "the washer." He is never quite the same when he returns. - From the diary of NWH

Please, may I have some more?

Here is the cute guy, enjoying the spoon just a little bit more than the cereal. Notice how his eyebrows are coming in . . . his dad and uncle John were both concerned when he was born that he didn't really have any. Today is his 5 month birthday - I'm thinking we'll need some cake for 6 months (not for him of course, for me - sorry baby!).

One of the babies in his daycare class learned to crawl a bit last week. This morning, I put him in a bumbo seat, and she scootched right over to steal his sock. He'll have to learn to crawl soon just to fight back! (um, by fight, I mean play and share nicely)

Fun With Giraffes

It seems like there are tiny new milestones every day . . . Nikolai is starting to pay attention to his toys, and even protested when Colin took away his giraffe toy from Uncle Stephen & Aunt Christy today (mean daddy!). He knew where it was and kept looking at it from across the room. He started getting a little rice cereal at dinnertime last week, which he isn't quite sure about, and has started rolling over to sleep on his side at night.

Some believe that life is beautiful. . . Nikolai believes that it is delicious. If it is small enough to pick up and put in his mouth, he does, and if it isn't, he'll do anything in his power to get in for a taste. Funny how kids don't like vegetables, but somehow chairs, blankets, door knobs and lead paint chips are yummy.

Nikolai Earns His Wings

We've been quite the travelers lately . . . after getting home from Oklahoma, we turned my first post-Niko business trip into a little family vacation. Nikolai and Colin joined me in Lake Lure, NC for some meetings, and then we headed out to Asheville, NC to see the Biltmore Estate and the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway. Nikolai was wonderful on the plane and made friends everywhere he went.

He had his own little travel bed. . .

but seemed to prefer the king-sized all to himself.

Catching Up

We're sad to say that Nikolai's first trip to Oklahoma to see his Humphrey family was to attend the funeral of his great-grandmother, Katherine Verona Humphrey, pictured here second from the left. This is Colin and Kassie with thier grandparents in the mid-70s. Although it was a sad trip, we had a wonderful time re-connecting with the family, and Nikolai got to meet his Aunt Katherine, in from Alaska, as well as his great aunts and uncles from Arkansas and Dallas.

Great Aunt Camille & Uncle Roger

Aunt Kat brought authentic muckalucks from
Alaska to keep Nikolai's tootsies warm this winter!

Grrrrr. . . .

What a gut punch to see a kid with so much promise in a MU jersey. Now I know how Chase Daniel's mom must feel. Much love to Uncle Sean starting his second season with Tigers for the tight gear.

Labor Day

It was a busy weekend for the Humphreys! After two evenings at the Irish Festival with family and friends, we headed out to Powell Gardens to enjoy a little nature with Elaine & Tobias, in from Wichita. Here is the little guy in his sun-proofed traveling outfit.

Niko at 4 months

Nikolai had his 4-month check-up last week, and he weighed in at 15 lbs and 25 inches tall, which is in the 50th percentile for both height and weight. This photo is at the un-official weigh-in with Grandma and Grandpa, where he scored off the charts in cuteness and cuddle-bility.

Friends at School

As I drop Nikolai off at daycare in the morning, I usually pass a class of toddlers on their way outside for a buggy ride. Their teacher always says "Hi Nikolai!" The kids are too little to talk much, so I say good morning and tell them to have fun on their ride and they just stare at us. This morning, as I got Nikolai out of the car, all 6 toddlers in the buggy turned to us and said "Hi Nikolai" in unison. It was too cute!

Macho Baby

Nikolai is modelling his "Miso Macho" onesie that my cousin Elaine made for him. This weekend he started holding on to things that we would give him which was new and exciting. Usually he will grab and then drop anything that you put in his hands. He played with the teddy bear rattle in this photo all the way to daycare this morning and was still holding it when we got there. From the amount of time it spent in his mouth, I can only guess that it is delicious!

Nikolai also attended his first house party with a band this weekend, which I'm pretty sure he enjoyed. Much thanks to our friends Gabe and Robin, and Gabe's terrific rockabilly band, King King. The homebrew 'Dirty Blonde' was excellent, and we only regret that Nikolai got too tired to stick around for the second band. At 4 months old, hearing even one set is a good night out, especially because we're starting to suspect that he is teething, based on the sheer volume of drool that he is producing.

Clean Baby

No stinky babies here!

Here is Nikolai fresh from the bath :)

Baby Beret

Nikolai loves his beret that Grannie Annie made!

Hoppiest Beer of Belgium

like cherry blossoms

fleeting beauty Belgium hops

hot summer days pass

Just Bouncin'

It has been a busy weekend for us! Friday night was Nikolai's second visit to the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum. He was wonderful, and didn't let out a shriek in the galleries like on our first visit! He was a little curious why everyone was looking at the walls, and not at him, but I think he enjoyed it nonetheless. If you haven't seen the Bloch Building addition yet, definately drop by and see "the Met of the Midwest." If you don't like art, well, it was air conditioned! Other than than that, Nikolai enjoyed going to his mom's 10-year high school reunion on Saturday night, and tried out his Sassy bouncer for the first time. It is a big hit!

At the Ball Game

Here is Nikolai and his Dad, Grandpa and Uncle at the Royals vs. Yankees game on his 3 month birthday. Nikolai was fine until the crowd got a little too noisy and then we had to head home.

At the Park

Here is the little guy at Loose Park a couple of weeks ago.

Joining My Generation

Ok, I'm in. After enjoying the blogs of many of my friends, I'm finally ready to move beyond e-mail. Also, I have an obnoxious number of cute photos of Nikolai to share. Don't think that this means I know how to text message...Nikolai will have to teach me how someday (I'm a late adapter, in marketing terms). Enjoy :)