That's great it starts with an earthquake . . .

So very early this morning, Colin and I woke up to the sound of continuous tapping. I thought it was Nikolai rattling his crib bars at first, and then we thought it was squirrels in our walls. I only just realized that the earthquake in Illinois happened this morning at 4:30 am, and that it was rattling our house. Crazy! I'm just glad it wasn't squirrels . . . I couldn't get back to sleep because I was thinking of these foamy-mouthed rabid squirrels that were probably hiding in the closet, waiting to jump out and bite us. . .

Not Little!

I am having some serious issues lately as I've been discovering that Nikolai is not a baby anymore! The latest thing is that he no longer wants to be cradled or "held like a baby" while he is drinking his bottle before bedtime. Instead, he wants to sit up next to me leaned against the arm of the rocker while he holds the bottle himself. He is also slightly indignant when I try to feed him jarred baby food for dinner instead of real food that he can feed himself.

He has quite a will of his own, and expresses it every few minutes with either screams and whining or giggles, depending on what he thinks. I'm pretty sure that he is working on something approximating "ah ma ma" and I even heard an "addy" the other day after Colin had walked out of the room.

While I was dropping him at daycare one morning this week, his teacher told me to wait before I put him on the floor to play, because she had to lock some doors and put some things away so that he couldn't get into them. All the other babies are too little to get into trouble. I guess it is a good thing he is moving up to the toddler room this month!

We've also been having fun at swimming lessons at the YMCA. He had his first lesson last week and seemed to like it. He was a little intimidated at first, but soon got the hang of splashing and kicking. He didn't cry when we went under water, but he seemed pretty put out by all the water in his face. Since his first lesson last week, bath time has become a mess. He is so excited and splashes water so far across the bathroom that I can only fill up the tub a little bit for fear of causing a flood downstairs. I'm looking forward to seeing him play in the pool tomorrow morning! Also, he took a 2 hour nap after last week's lesson, which is highly unusual. I just found out from my mom that he is going to the same Y where John and I learned to swim. I remember how much fun we had with the kick boards, but they use noodles now instead. I hope Nikolai has similar good memories someday :)

Waaaahoooooooo!!!!

Rock Chalk all the way!!!

Can't get enough highlights? I can't. . . .

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3335339&categoryId=2378529&n8pe6c=2

Congrats to the KU Jayhawks - NCAA Champions!

Nikolai slept through the game, but with the volume of basketball that has been played on our tv lately, we're pretty sure he thinks of the tv as the "basketball machine." Since Niko has been born, we've won the Orange Bowl and the NCAA B-Ball Championship. Coincidence? Who am I to judge. . .

Guy Stuff

Nikolai is a busy man these days. He is still cruising around, but getting closer to walking. He is climbing and getting into everything that he can! His favorite game is throwing and chasing balls around the house. We went to Wichita last weekend, and Nikolai got to meet his cousin Angel, Elaine & Tobias' dog. They hit it off very well and gave each other lots of kisses! Tomorrow is a big day - we are starting swimming lessons at the Y. He is getting closer to his first birthday, which is unbelievable.

On the Move

Here is a photo of Niko and his little red wagon walker. He loves it and uses it to run around the living room. He gets stuck when he hits a wall or runs into furniture. Depending on his mood he will either try to turn it around or push it from the other direction, or, rest his head on the handle and cry until someone turns it around for him.

Hollywood!

That's right - our first video post . . . enjoy grandmas and grandpas!

more teeth than a tennessee trailer park!

Nikolai has two new teeth!! He now has a matching set with two on the top and two on the bottom! The top two just poked through his gums yesterday. I gave him a zwieback toast with his dinner and he was astonished when he was able to bite off chunks of it. He was so excited - he kept putting it into his mouth and then pulling it out in amazement. Today he is going in for his 9 month check-up. I'll let you know how he does . . .