Baby's First Santa

Today, Niva had her first taste of Santa Claus...and she had no idea what was going on! We went to a Santa Storytime at Ghost-town Mall (aka Highland Mall) with Aunt Steph, Aunt Amanda, and Cousin Brian (who have now moved to Austin!). We practiced our ho-ho-ho'ing on the way down there which Niva was really good at. However, I had a hard time explaining who Santa Claus is besides saying, "He's this jolly old man with a long white beard who brings good kids presents." Is there a less shallow explanation of Santa Claus that anyone would like to share with me? I am paranoid about Niva growing up with a sense that she is entitled to receive presents (visions of the brat from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory dance through my head-- blech!). Am I being Grinchy??

(The quality of the pix are not so great since I only had my phone on me. By the way, they were selling professional Santa pictures too...2 5x7's for $20?!?!?! For the birds!)

Auntie Steph, please just give me a hug and a smooch for Christmas...thanks!

They handed out jingle ball necklaces and Niva loved hiding it under her neck...what a weird kid!

Thanksgiving Whirlwind!

Niva just had the best Thanksgiving holiday ever. It was non-stop, action-filled fun! The highlights include: a visit from Grandpa Mike, a trip to the Children's Museum with our Dallas homie Max Gantt, a visit from Gammy, Gampy, and T-Fu, a Thanksgiving morning of Turkey Tennis, a SURPRISE visit from the Unkee formerly known as Wajee (he will now be called Unkee Buddy), Niva's first partaking of the T-giving Feast, a trip to the Austin Zoo, a trip to the Capital to chase squirrels with Momo, watching the Chuy's Parade downtown, and a second trip to the Children's Museum. Whew, that's a mouthful!  I'll let the pictures illustrate the fun...

I love this museum so much, it gives me the Crazy Eyes!

You got us good, Unx!

Check out this little kid signing for "More!" She couldn't get enough of those King Hawaiian rolls!

We learned that both Niva and Momo were not a fan of the asparagus.

Let me be your zoo guide, Gampers!!

Yes, this goat ate directly from Niva's hand! Egads!

Can't hold me back, Gammy!

I don't know what power Unkee Buddy had over Niva but she would not let anyone else hold her at the parade!

Unkee, I can lead you around this Museum blindfolded!

Yet another picture in the ACM green tube!

Remember when this was the most action we could get last Thanksgiving??

One turkey leg...

...and she's sawing logs!

The Beginning of Something Great

Today, a beautiful thing happened. As we were wrapping up the day with our customary "Mom reads a book while Niva bounces around the room like a pinball" routine, I noticed my little pinball start to do something different. In the midst of the daily tornado that is her room at 7pm, she started to put her blocks in its appropriate bucket. Hmmmm, interesting. THEN, she started placing books from the floor in a shelf! What the what!!?? I took this as my cue to start dishing out orders while I sat back and watched in amazement. "Put the flash cards in the bookshelf"-- check! "Put your radio in the toy box"-- check! "Place your shoes under the futon"-- check (after mistakenly throwing them in the hamper first...good thing the pile of clothes is high enough so that Niva could reach the shoe and correct her error)! The child's head was drenched with sweat from this whirlwind of action. After picking up that room for the 8000th time, I can get used to this! Let's see if this miracle occurs tomorrow too...and until she moves to college!

Make no mistake-- I'm still a monkey at heart!

Nivatilova

Another morning of Sunday Tennis! Here, our future tennis star gets a lesson from Daddy:

Wow, Niva even matches her outfits to her tennis racquet! Totally planned move by whoever dressed her (not). I think our days of wearing these little baby "onesie"-type outfits are pretty much over...sniff sniff! :(

Holiday Photo Shoot

Yesterday, we did an amateur holiday photo shoot at Zilker Botanical Gardens. Taking pictures of a toddler roaming around a big space is quite a workout! I couldn't wait until holiday card time to reveal the pictures so here are a few that didn't make the cut:

Timeout J. Bonzek

I've come upon a parenting quandary...what the heck am I to do about my kid who grabs other kids? If you have ever fell victim to Niva's Baby Pinchers, you know that they are awfully lethal and very difficult to pry away. Well, as of recently, Niva has been using The Grab as her icebreaker with other kids. Just this weekend, we have had incidents at My Gym, the playscape at Doc's Backyard, and at the park. These poor children give Niva the craziest look as they try to figure out what is happening! And although all parents so far have been very understanding, I can't help but feel very embarrassed and apologize profusely. Likewise, I have had to get creative in finding a timeout spot for Niva in all these public places...who knows if she even cares about my stupid timeout (aka facing a tree or a corner)! Any advice is appreciated before you fall prey next!

Scoping out the next victim at the park...

I think I want to be friends with THAT one!

Aw man, timeout again?? When will I learn my lesson?

Bonus picture of the day:

The sheep dog look is officially out! We finally got the courage to cut Niva's bangs (and we will treasure the evidence in a Ziploc bag forever!).

Mischief in the Park

The last time we went to the Peacock Park (aka Mayfield Park), Niva was on the ground doing "tummy time." Today, I could barely keep her from jumping in a pond! When do kids start listening to what their parents say?? Sheesh!

Thanks for hanging out, Charlie and Leo. Hope you had a good snooze, Carla Ann...we'll see you next time!

Tree, my mom just doesn't understand me...

...WHY does she keep pulling me away from that pond??? Arggggh!

Bonus picture of the day:

It's hard to keep up with all the changing of the baby accessories! I couldn't find Niva's winter hat from last year so I stuck mine on her. I don't know why I even bother since it lasts about 8 seconds on her head!

Mischievous and Proud

I just had to share this piece from our vacation. Niva, how are you such a comedian??

Beach Baby

We just got back from our first real road trip as a family of 3...great times! After dropping off Momo P. Bonzek at Gammy and Gampy's in Katy, we drove 4.5 hours to the fun beach town of Port Aransas! For a kid of 16 months old, the beach is the perfect place...wide open spaces that don't need to be baby proofed, awesome! By the way, the Sesame Street Platinum Hits CD is our savior. Anytime NJ started to get grumpy, we would pop it in and it soothed her like a charm!! We listened to it about a hundred times and these songs now play in my dreams, but I'm so happy it works!

After a slip in the water, Niva became a little fearful of walking on the sand. The fear quickly subsided as soon as she found birds she wanted to chase.

Lots of cool discoveries were made

And the big highlight of the vacation was a trip to the aquarium. The sheer delight on Niva's face was priceless!

Back at our condo, Niva even participated in Vacation Happy Hour with Mom and Dad. Here she digs into hummus and crackers...but she opted for a side of milk instead of wine. Vacation with a baby CAN be fun!

Heck yeah, I want to go back to the beach!