Fort Worth Zoo

So, I am still playing major catch up here!  On October 20th, we visited the Fort Worth Zoo and had a really good time!  You would think that in October the weather would be nice, however, it got really hot towards the end of our trip.  We still had a good time and really enjoyed watching Nicolas get excited over animals.  The first animals we saw were the gorillas and Nicolas started yelling "da da da" so loud that he had other onlookers cracking up.  Here are a few highlights of our day....

Pointing and most likely yelling at the gorillas

"I'm not scared of any crocodiles"

"But daddy, I want to get in"

Nico and the Kimono Dragon

Checking out the fish

Nicolas the crocodile hunter

For those of you who know me....I was clinging to Nicolas in pure terror as he so calmly looked at the birds!

Looking at the rhino

Silly penguins

Hey guys, look at me!

Pointing out the elephants

"What is this?"

Very cool picture of the lion roaring...it was louder than expected!

State Fair 2012

I know this is a very late post considering we went to the State Fair back in early October...however, I'm playing catch up so here we go :)

On October 11, I got quite antsy at work so I decided to give Enrique and call and see if he could take a half day so we could take Nicolas to the State Fair....we spur of the moment left work and picked up our little man from daycare so we could let him have his first experience.  It was also my first experience going to the State Fair on a day that was not during the Texas/OU game so quite a different state fair for me indeed :)

Nicolas had a really good time and so did mom and dad :)  I love this stage in his life when he is experiencing new things and can enjoy going places and walking around (although I still get really sad when I think about how quickly he is growing up).  I am the happiest I've ever been when we take Nicolas along on family outings, I never knew how much I could love someone and enjoy watching Nicolas and Enrique interact.

Here are a few pictures from our fun day!

Right when we walked in Daddy needed to test his skills

The water was the first thing to catch the attention of Nicolas...go figure!

Can't go to the Fair without checking out the car show

Checking out the giraffe in the petting zoo

No so sure about this camel

"Get me outta here"

Daddy thought this sign was funny

Pointing to the peacocks

ROOOARRR its a lion!

Not yet buddy

Nicolas LOVED the carousel!

Nicolas and Mommy's first ride on the ferris wheel!

"That's pretty high"

Nicolas got to meet Big Tex just a few days before he caught fire

One tired baby after a long day at the Fair!

Pumpkin Patch 2012

Back in early October we took Nicolas to the Pumpkin Patch at the Dallas Arboretum.  We were joined by our close friends Maggie and Justin and made a night of it by walking around the Chihluly exhibit and even had a picnic. It was so much fun and Nicolas LOVED IT!  He thought it was just a bunch of balls and he was running around screaming "ball, ball, baaaaaallllll".  I must say he had many admirers and people saying how cute he is :)

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our outing....

Family Picture

Such a strong little man, he kept picking up the pumpkins and throwing them

Smiley boy

This one was heavier than it looks!

Can't get enough of this face

Such a tiny little man but growing oh so fast!

Watch out Travis Barker....

video a video by uterod on Flickr.

Nicolas is currently looking for a gig if you have a band that needs a drummer.....

Big boy bath

Enrique and I kept Nicolas in the tub on top of the counter for as long as we could...the "big boy bath" made us very nervous!  After Nicolas turned one, we knew it was time to move him out of the baby tub and we soon found ourselves asking "why did we wait so long!"  Nicolas LOVES the bath!  He has such a good time playing with his bath toys.  Every night Enrique and I both give Nicolas a bath because neither one of us want to miss our silly little man playing in the water.  Here are a few pics from his first big boy bath back in August.

He loves his bath toys

I promise he put the bowl on his head all by himself!

"Why have you waited so long to put me in this thing?!"

Love this face

"Hmmm...not quite sure about this"

We also introduced him to a bubble bath recently...he wasn't a big fan of the bubbles so we are just sticking to a plain 'ole bath for now.  We will give bubbles another try soon.  Here is a video of Nicolas trying to figure out what these so called "bubbles" are

One of the best parts of bath time is asking Nicolas "Are you ready for a bath?"  His eyes light up and he immediately starts clapping his hands and takes off for the bathroom.  One night we followed him on his journey to bathtime.....

Nicolas jumps.....kind of

I know I'm behind on posting and I'm working on an update, for now I had to share this video of Nicolas trying to jump for the first time.  Enrique and I were cracking up the night that he did this!  He was so proud of himself and he thought it was so much fun.  Not much air time, but it is still super cute to watch!

I love this little guy so much.....he makes everyday 110 times better.  Nicolas has a contagious smile and the best laugh in the world.

Great news to share!

This time last year was probably the scariest moment in my life when I had to watch my baby boy be wheeled into an OR for surgery to fix his hydronephrosis.  When I reflect on that time and day, I still get tears in my eyes and knots in my stomach.  There is no way to explain how vulnerable you feel when you watch your baby be poked and prodded and prepped for surgery.  No parents should ever have to go through that.

Today we had the one year check up and scans and received the best news!  Nicolas' kidney is almost 100% healed and back to normal!  We will not have to go back to the urologist and have any tests run for another year!  I knew Nicolas was doing great, but it was still such a relief to hear that everything is looking better than expected.

I can't express how happy I am to have Nicolas in my life and the joy he brings to me everyday.  There is nothing better than seeing his smiling face and kissing those soft, chubby cheeks.  We are very grateful that he is 100% healthy and growing into such a fun little man.

Nicolas a year ago in the PACU recovering

Nicolas was such a trooper at his one year check up.  The ultrasound tech was amazed at how good he was, he just laid there and let her rub gel on his belly and get all of the pictures she needed.  We are truly blessed to have such a good baby boy.....here is our little man being the best patient ever!

"hmmm what's going on back there?"

Ah....the shoe is always a good distraction, whether it be during diaper changes or ultrasounds!

Getting a little bored

This was the only time he let out a scream...no crying just an  "ARGH"

Queue the return of the shoe!

"Hey, that tickles"

The BIG first birthday party

Ok...I vowed I would have this up within a month after Nicolas' birthday so here it is exactly one month later!  We had SUCH fun at Nicolas' birthday party that it has been very hard to narrow it down to just a few pictures for a post.  I'll post a few of the highlights of the day and at the end I'll include a link for those of you who would like to see all of the pictures from the day.

We were overwhelmed by all of our family and friends that came to celebrate and make Nicolas feel so special for his birthday.  Nicolas is so lucky to have so many great people in his life that love him!  I still can't believe I am the mother of a one year old...it was the fastest year of my life!  Watching Nicolas grow in the last year has truly given me so much joy and filled my heart with so much more love than I ever thought I was capable of having.

Without me getting carried away with how much I love my little man, how quickly he has grown, and the bitter-sweetness of watching him grow so quickly, I'll get right down to pictures from the big birthday bash.  Everyone has asked me what his theme was so I guess I would have to say his theme was "The big one"



Pictures are worth a thousand words so here you go....

Little birthday boy waiting for guests and loving all the balloons

Front yard...handy work by Dad

Front door

Cake table

Yummy cake

Candy bar 

Favor bags (for candy bar)

Another angle of candy bar

Fruit tray compliments of Abuelito

High Chair

Fire mantel with progressive month pics

Nicolas is so lucky...so many people showered him with love and gifts

"What is going on here?"

Cake, cake, cake

Family pic :)

Not so sure about this candle thing

"Why is everybody singing and staring at me?"

Hmmm...squishy

Not quite sure about this cake yet....

Ok, I'm liking this

YUM

Why have you been keeping this from me for a year?!

This was one long day....too much stimulation!