Happy Easter!

Happy Spring!

At 9 1/2 months, Nicky is really enjoying life, especially since he discovered how to climb and cruise the furniture. We no longer have the luxury of letting him play by himself, as he inevitably gets into some precarious situation with his newfound skills, which include climbing the staircase and opening/emptying cupboards.


He continues to cultivate his friendship with Manny the cat, which amazes us all.

She even tolerates Nicky's occasional body slam/pounce, complete with gurgling war-cry and delighted laughter.

Nicky now can play the piano by himself! And despite all his exciting baby toys, he still prefers the flat screen TV and DVD player as playthings... it must be attached to the Y chromosome... the remote control gene...!

Apart from his mania for standing and exploring, Nicky is also making lots of silly faces these days, loves to play peek-a-boo, and has a vast repertoire of sounds that sometimes seem like words (such as, yes, "strawberry" and "grandma", though this is attributable to Mommy's overactive imagination). He now insists on feeding himself food in small bits-- no more mush for Nicholas!

These past few weeks have been somewhat hectic and busy because we have been showing our house to prospective buyers in preparation for our planned move to Brazil. Luckily we received multiple offers the weekend before last and we were able to choose one that we think will work out well, while also having an excellent back-up offer. This good news (we sold the house - in this economy!- in 3 weeks without a realtor or any advertising costs) comes with mixed emotions, of course, because we would love to keep this home or stay here. But life moves on, and we are moving to Brazil for the next several years at least. We are looking forward to year-round gardening, building a beautiful home, and beginning our post-graduate school lives as a family.

We will probably close on the house in July, but we may remain here until September-- we have to see how things work out.

Nicky had a very bunny-ful Easter at Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve's house, where he saw Grandma and Grandpa, his cousins Jeffrey and Michelle, as well as Michelle's fiancee Jay and family friends Sue, Dwayne, and Cody. Although there were probably more dogs there than people (and Inca stayed in Brooktondale, thank God!), we all managed to enjoy a pleasant weekend and delicious Easter dinner prepared by Kathy.

Silly Bunny!

As you can see in the photo, Nicky received MANY stuffed rabbits for Easter, enough to last us the next few years! He really loved all the soft, bright bunnies, as well as the other nice toys he received as belated Christmas presents. He also got some nice Easter money from the most famous Easter Bunnies, Grandma and Grandpa Spofford.

I LOVE GRANDMA!!
Me, Grandpa, and Daddy!