Welcome to Baltimore

And just think, this is about 5 inches into 20+...

Little Drummer Boy

I'm Three!!!

The celebration started with a cup cake party at school...

Nicholas then requested a Steak and Shake lunch...

And who can go without one of Mom's custom cakes...

Finish it off with 12 preschoolers running around at Bouncertown....


Remember me?

Jack and the Beanstalk

To the stage he went... Nicholas checked out the play at Beef and Boards. He really enjoyed himself except for a little issue with the Giant. And besides you can't beat the snack that we all got.

The Battle Continues

Except this time, he pulled out the big guns....

The Annual Leaf Attacks

It was a long day of work for Nicholas. First you have to bag all of the leaves that the parents have gathered...


Then you have to lug all of those heavy bags...


When all is said and done though, nothing beats the satisfaction of hanging out with your new pumpkin famliy...

The Party

After weeks of anticipation, Nicholas finally got to go to the big Halloween party at Katie's house. And in the best t-shirt form, all we (the parents) got was this decorated pumpkin.... :)

Camping and Hoosiers

The "Junior Hoosier" made a late season camping trip to check out the IU Homecoming game against Illinois....

He's Just a Skater Boy...

Out on the ice he went yesterday for his first ice skating lesson. Once he mastered the Nicholas quick pop-up from falling, he started moving around nicely. His favorite was when they strewn shapes across the ice and the kids had to clean them up. Apparently a deal has been made with the teacher wherein he gets to make the "big mess" next time.

Flat Nicholas

Nicholas had homework today. He brought home a person and needed to make it look like himself.

Off to Hobby Lobby we went so he could pick out fabric for the shirt, pants, and shoes. Yes, he picked it all out, who else would choose that combo :)

Back home he put on glue and placed all the hair on he picked out. Glued down his clothes, put on the eyes, and drew a mouth. Somehow he even came up with the idea to hold that train sticker across both hands. All and all, a lot of work for a little boy.

First Day of School!!!!

Ok, this one is a little late. Come on, I have a broken leg here :)

At any rate, the big boy has started school. He travels off to his classroom at the YMCA every Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours. So far, he is having a blast, especially now that they have started gym every class. Here are the big photos from his first day of school....

Heading in for the first day...


Putting the bag in his cubby...


All settled in after telling his Mom she could leave now :)

Piloting a riverboat down the Ohio

How Now Brown Cow

Running the Road Roller

After a busy day stalking the guys paving our driveway, Nicholas was able to hop up and show what he could do. Here he is taking over the action....

Fireworks!!!

Check Out the New Wheels

Nick's New Boat

We all took Nick's new boat up north for a spin on Morse on Friday. Here he is showing it off to his Aunt Kim and Kheira....

Big Winner

Who knew that when you let the 2 year old take on Mini Skee Ball at the church festival that he would actually win. Here he is displaying his prize for getting over 100 points rolling the bouncy balls....

Big Red Gooey Fish

I'm not sure what we started here yet. Nicholas has been asking like crazy to take his new fishing rod out after Mickey Mouse caught the Big Red Gooey Fish. This weekend we were off to the lake after digging up some worms in the garden. Wouldn't you know it, the kid caught a fish! Here he is showing his prize:

Climb, climb, climb

What do you do when your two year old says that he wants to climb this...

You just have to let him even know you know what that means. And yes, those little specs you see in the picture are people. It's hard to capture, but that is a really big dune :). With a crazy combination of crawling and climbing he made it all by himself. Even we have to admit shock here....

Picking Mulberries

Ok, we have entered dangerous territory here. Nicholas has discovered that we have big trees in our yard with yummy things to eat. Now we just have to keep him from trying to eat anything else. First time out some of the mulberries even made it into the bowl. The second picking most went to the mouth....

Look What I Did!

Well, we planned to wait until he was 3 for this, but Nicholas asked... He successfully completed his first Home Depot project. That kid can really swing a hammer. Look out!!!

Lemonade Stand

For only one coin you can get some yummy lemonade poured by a two year old!

Leaning Into Lombard St.

The Doubleheader

After a quick jaunt over to watch the Athletics play in a big concrete bowl, Nicholas got to go to a real baseball stadium to watch the Giants. He even got to get into the action at the miniature baseball diamond.

Nicholas in SF Chinatown

One bus, two airports, two planes, one tram, one train, and 7 hours of travel... Leave it to Nicholas to boil all that down to finding a playground in Chinatown.

Roller skates!

Waving the Checkered at IMS

Give me s'more

On the Beach in Holland State Park

Balloons at IMS!!!

Reading Letters

Nicholas would like to take a time-out from our normal programming to say thank you to Wheel of Fortune. A long time ago Nicholas decided that Pat and Vanna would be his goodnight wind-down show. This is what happens when all your kid watches is Wheel of Fortune :)

Sunshine!!!

Go Fly a Kite....

Why, I think I will:

Gino's East in Chicago

Snow!!!

After about 13 inches of snow, Nicholas was ready to go play. From sidewalk cleaning to snowmen he was a busy boy. Once we convinced him to go outside in the cold.