'Merican Summer

This summer has been infinitely more fun than last.  Nixon is filled with so much wonder and excitement for the little things - Leaves!  Dirt!  Flowers!  More Dirt!  It's so much fun watching him play in the yard, in his pool, water table.  He can sit out there and play for an hour just content in splashing around, crawling in and out of the pool, playing with his toys. 

One thing we've been learning lately is that routines are paying off for us.  He'll start getting cranky and we'll say "Nixon, is it time to go to bed?".  He walks up to the baby gate we have across the archway we have in the foyer to the side where we open it and he stands there and says "UP?".  I'll open the gate and he'll crawl up the stairs, walk into his room into the closet where his changing table is and say "UP?".  I put him on his table, change him for bedtime, nurse him, brush his teeth, read a book, sing his song and put him in his crib for bedtime and then he's out.  He does this for naps too, it's pretty unbelievable. 

Two weekends ago Nixon and I had a super fun Mama-Little day hanging out with eachother and catching up with friends while daddy worked. We started our day by heading to Bruegger's Bagels for some carbs and caffeine. Nixon and I go to this particular bagel shop maybe once or twice a month. I wouldn't say we're regulars, but I wouldn't say we're strangers to the restaurant either. Every time we are there, this one woman always brings Nixon 2 packs of saltine crackers. I thought maybe it was something she did for all the Littles who came to Brueggers until this particular visit. She came over, flirted with Nixon and gave him his crackers, and then she said to me, "Wow, his hair is getting so long!!!" This made me realize that she recognized us and that I didn't think the saltines were something she did for all her guests. It was really sweet and endearing! Now I feel obligated to visit more! Hehe.

After our Carb Load we headed home and packed up the bike and trailer and went to one of my favorite bike trails. It was a beautiful mid-80's day and it felt great to be out on the trail. This trail always makes me smile because it runs right through the city but it is along a river and wooded so you feel like you're up north even though you are less than a block away from some of the busiest streets in Milwaukee. We even saw two doe and a fawn while we were on our ride! Once we were about 6 miles from home I was crossing a street and Nixon's trailer hit the curb and flipped his trailer!!! EEKS! The poor guy was pretty scared and then later that day I noticed he had some road rash on his elbow. Sorry Little Guy. Of course he was pretty much over the ride at that point but I had to ride the 6 miles back to the car with an occasionally crying Nixon. Ooops. We made it back safely and headed home for naptime.

Later that afternoon we headed to my friend's Jason and Rikki's house to BBQ with them and enjoy their stunning back yard. I worked with Jason at my previous job and he and I have always stayed in touch. He's an industrial designer and he's actually the guy who designed our wedding invitations. His wife and I always clicked and she's such a fun easy going person. They completely adore Nixon which is so flattering. They personally don't want kids so I always assumed they just didn't like kids when in actuality they are so smitten with Littles, they just chose a lifestyle poop and drool free. I completely respect their decision and I just have so much fun watching them spoil Nixon. Jason busted out his vintage tractors from when he was a kid and played with Nixon. Rikki got so many giggles out of the little guy when she was running around crazy with the trucks and tractors too. They are also avid Gnome collectors so we had to hide all the gnomes (appropriate, no?) so that Nixon wouldn't break them all. He was also addicted to smacking all their plants and digging in their dirt. We had brats from a local butcher, fresh corn on the cob, homemade potato salad and Caramel Sea Salt Gelato from our local Gelato hot spot. It was so much fun and such a great night catching up.

Ha, ironically I just remembered that we were supposed to have dinner with Jason and Rikki the night I went into labor with Nixon. I was pretty committed to meeting them for dinner because we had to reschedule on them once before. Thank goodness for my mom and Kyle for talking me into going to the hospital. By the time we were supposed to meet with them I was in full swing ouchie labor. Silly First Time Mom.

Nixon's New To Him Vintage Rocking Deer (Horse?)

He loves giving it kisses on its head

We spent all of Sunday hanging out around the house, cleaning up, cooking, running errands, playing with Nixon. You know, all that boring domestic stuff. The rest of the week went by as usual until Thursday. Our babysitter Kellie was due with their second child July 6th but we all felt like she was going to have her before that. With her first child he had a silent labor so she wasn't all that familiar with what contractions felt like. She called me Thursday morning at 10:30a.m. and said that she was feeling some stuff and was going to get checked out. I asked her if it felt like period cramps and she said yeah but it was every 3 minutes so I was like, umm, yeah, you better get to the hospital!!! I got a text at 11:00 telling me they were admitting her. At 12:02 Sylvia Joyce joined the world! Are you freaking kidding me??? I hope 2.0 goes just as smoothly for me!!!! Because of this I had to go get Nixon (Kellies friend and neighbor was watching Nixon and their son Noah). I spent the rest of the afternoon working from home.

Sweet New Sylvia

On Friday Nixon went to our friend's Shawn and Lisa's house for the day. Shawn and I were car buddies from 12 years ago and of course his wife and I became friends through him. They have 3 kids and Lisa is the ultimate Stay at Home Mom. She used to be a preschool teacher so she is one of the most crafty and creative people I know. To anyone who receives mail from us, she's the one who designed Nixon's Birth Announcement and his 1st Birthday Invitation. Her shop on Etsy is http://www.etsy.com/shop/daydreamingindigital if you're ever interested in her digital announcements and invites! Anyway, she's super crafty and she introduced Nixon to his first time fingerpainting! He had so much fun and it's so exciting to walk by the fridge to see his first piece of art.

First Finger Painting

I was actually on vacation the following Monday and Tuesday so the timing for the arrival of Miss Sylvia couldn't have been more perfect! This past weekend and my two days off I had all these hopes and dreams of bike rides, runs, days at the pool, pretty much as much outside time as I could possibly get. Mother nature had other plans for me though. It was so hot I barely had motivation to do anything. Kyle was gone that weekend in Michigan for a car show so I had the weekend sorta to myself. He had bought me this movie I wanted to see, Mirror Mirror, so Friday night I watched that. It was really cute!

Nixon Loves Yoga

Down Dog

Saturday was Kyle's cousin Kari's daughters first birthday. It was a very hot but very nice day out. They had pools set up for the kids to play in so Nixon just splashed and played the day away and he had a great time playing with his family members. I felt like a bit of a tool there because I don't really know people but whatevs, I still had fun. Kennedy had a great first Birthday and she got a TON of clothes. After that we headed to Wheels and Katy's house for their BBQ just to say HI and happy birthday to Wheels. Nixon was pooped so we only stayed and hour and headed home.

Nixon's Second Cousin Kennedy at her 1st Birthday with Kyle's Cousin Shane

Nixon and I at Kennedy's Party

On Sunday we headed to Shannon's and Jr's house for Brunch with Shannon, Christina and Katy (a different Katy from the night before). Kyle was actually driving home at that time from Michigan with Jr. and they happened to arrive just on time when brunch was ready! We had a killer brunch of pancakes, eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, candied bacon, monkey bread, bagels, fruit and of course coffee and mimosa's. Kyle went home and Jr. retreated inside so us ladies filled Shannon's pool, chilled with our feet in it while Nixon played. It was so fun catching up with the girls and catching rays. What a great Sunday! Nixon got to get spoiled by the girls and show off his cute skills.

Spoiled by the ladies

He pretended to need help so Shannon would hold him

The kiddie pool/shallow end for Nixon

Splash!

On Monday the Fam drove to Lake Geneva for the day. We wandered shops, had killer Chicago style pizza, checked out the beach, drove around to look at mansions and then headed back to Milwaukee. We had to stop at Best Buy to buy a TV. So here's what happened. On Friday when I was watching Mirror Mirror all of a sudden a strip showed up the center of the TV that didn't light up with the picture. I hoped Kyle wouldn't notice, or I hoped it would be gone by the time he got home on Sunday. So on Sunday when he was home he says, Hey, what's that line??? BUSTED. I'd been fighting getting a new TV for over a year. My TV was over 10 years old and would occasionally have issues...no sound, it would go black and white, it would hum when it was cold, etc. I think I put up a good fight but I finally had to give up. Kyle did some research online and found out that Best Buy had a 50" Insignia on sale for the 4th of July weekend for $499. Sold. It it is freaking HUGE but I will be the first to admit the picture is amazing and it is a lot nicer than our old TV. I really hate how big it is for our house, but I guess, it is what it is.

Random Pic of Nixon and his Twin at Daycare...creepy huh?  We didn't take pics in Lake Geneva unfortunately.

Tuesday we kinda sat around....it was still so hot out we could barely move. I played with Nixon in his pool and was pretty much a waste of space for the whole day. I originally wanted to take Nixon to Summerfest for Children's Day but it was around 100 degrees out with the heat index and I had no motivation to chase a toddler around Summerfest. I went to Kellie's to meet 'Lil Miss Sylvia for the first time that afternoon instead. It was so wonderful holding such a teeny newborn again. It is so crazy how quickly you forget how little your own babies ever were. I already forget Nixon being that little and it makes me so excited for 2.0. Sylvia is a beautiful baby and she has the prettiest black hair. Noah, her big brother seems to be adjusting very well to his new partner in crime. I'm so happy for them!

New Baby Sylvia.  Soo sweet.

Just Chillen'

On Wednesday we were totally dumb and took Nixon to the Wauwatosa parade. We got there at 8:00 and the parade was from 9:00 - 11:00. Nixon absolutely loved every second of it. The problem? It was nearly 100 degrees by 10:00 and we were soaking wet. After that our plan was to execute Operation Steal Free AC. We met our friend Steve for lunch - Steve was in town visiting from Kansas. He was hoping to come to Milwaukee to escape the head of Kansas but alas, no such luck. After lunch we all headed to the mall and wandered the mall for about 2-3 hours. We went into so many stores and just looked at dumb stuff to waste time. After that it was Froyo time at Yo Mama. We begrudgingly finally went home and sat around. It was 95 in our house.

The Flag they Raise at the Start of the Parade.  So Cool!

I let Nixon play in his pool again and then gave him a cool bath when he was done. The poor little guy woke up at 4:30a.m. crying and I layed in bed wondering why in the heck he'd be up. It dawned on me he might be thirsty so I went and got his water bottle and he pounded almost 14oz of water and then went right back to bed. Poor baby. Today I was back at work and it was nice and quiet allowing me to get a ton of stuff done. Nixon went back to Miss Lisa's and he made his first book! His friend Cynrae drew a picture of him that is very accurate too! So cute! Tomorrow Nixon and I head up to Gramma's to see her and spend some time with her! Yay!

Poppin' Fresh from the Bath