The Larson Manor Blog

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Steamboat in the Summer

Headed to Colorado

Nikolaus first time on a private jet

Morning hike

Fun at the beach

Nikolaus loves the outdoors

Feeding the horses

Natasha had a great time throwing sticks in the

water for Cooper to retrieve

Lounging on the beach

Riding the Gondola

Natasha enjoyed the ride

"More Puffs"

Natasha being silly

Beautiful view

Beautiful family

Father's Day hike

Happy Father's Day, Zac!

Natasha was more interested in picking flowers than actually hiking

The end to a great weekend!

We had an amazing time in Steamboat, Colorado over Father's Day weekend. The weather was warm and the scenery was beautiful, as always. Natasha and Nikolaus did great on the plane ride over and had no problem settling in at the Flying L. Natasha managed to lock herself in one of the bathrooms, but daddy talked her through and she was free in no time. And she did slip while playing in the pond with Cooper and mommy had to run in (fully clothed) to rescue her. Other than that we had no other hiccups in our trip. Matt, Elizabeth and Brooks were great hosts and it was just a fun weekend away with family!

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Happy Half Birthday!

6 months old!

"I didn't do it"

Well, since its already knocked down...

"I'll fix it"

Our little Viking

Downward dog

Our two loves

Tuckered out from swimming

This is what happens when I'm left alone with my sister

Love those chunky feet

Sitting up all by himself

Such a big boy

Swinging with his buddy, Jax

He loves when sissy pushes him

Nikolaus is 6 months old and quite the mover. He is so close to crawling. I guess you can call his scooting/army crawl "crawling." Nikolaus does a pretty good job getting to where he wants to go and usually it is towards his sissy and what she is playing with. It might be time to baby proof the house or at least constantly remind Natasha not to leave small objects on the floor.

Besides scooting, Nikolaus is loving all the yummy foods we have been adding to his diet. Right now he has tried and liked, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, apples, pears, green beans, parsnips, peaches and prunes. He prefers the prunes to be mixed with something else though. Nikolaus is also doing a pretty good job with handling his sippy cup all by himself. Our pediatrician said we should introduce the sippy cup now, even if he doesn't get much out of it.

Nikolaus' 6-month well check went well and he is right on track developmental wise. Here are his stats from the appointment:

Weight: 16.15 lbs. (30-35th percentile)

Length: 26 1/2 inches (45-50th percentile)

Head Circumference: 44 cm (75th percentile)

A few things we should see from Nikolaus by 9 months of age are clapping or waving, constinant sounds, saying "mama" or "dada," and sitting up from a laying down position. So fun! I can't believe how fast time is passing by.

With the warmer weather and the heated pools in Ladera, we have been taking the kids swimming. Natasha is a little fish (her swim lesson post will come soon) and I think Nikolaus will be one too. He loves the water and I have already been practicing the back float with him. Got to prep him early for Miss Conni's class next summer!

This weekend we are headed to beautiful Colorado. Nikolaus is becoming quite the traveler (at such a young age), just like his sissy! Thanks for checking in on our mister man.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Five Months Old!

Nikolaus turned 5 months old and is turning into a little bruiser. He had many firsts this past month... From traveling on an airplane, staying in a hotel, riding on a swing and trying rice cereal. And let's not forget the white Christmas... Oh, I mean white May in Minnesota. Yes, you read that right. It snowed during our trip back to the Midwest. Although, we didn't take Nikolaus out in the snow, he did get a glimpse of it while we rushed him to and from the car in his car seat. Anyway, just like his big sister, Nikolaus is an excellent traveler. He was perfect on three out of the four flights (he was just over tired on the "difficult" flight) and slept well in the pack 'n play at the hotel.

Back home, Nikolaus got to try out the swings near our house for the first time and he LOVED it! There is a video posted on my Facebook page of him swinging and just giggling with Natasha as she pushes him. It is the cutest thing! I'll try to post it on here this week. He is such a smiley baby and will give you smiles and giggles if you just look at him. Such a difference from Natasha, who you had to work (hard) for her smiles... Sometimes we still do, ha! Natasha is loving that Nikolaus is so responsive to her. She can't wait for him to wake up in the morning, so she can have her cuddle time with him in his crib. Good thing he always wakes up with a big smile on his face and he doesn't seem to mind all the smothering either.

Rice cereal, avocados and bananas are now on the menu for our little man. Nikolaus seems to be enjoying all the new tastes, especially bananas! I was going to wait until he turned 6 months in two weeks, but decided to just go for it last week. He went from sleeping 9 to 10 hours straight to waking up two times a night and super hungry. It has helped a little and hopefully this will keep him full longer and reset his internal clock. As always, Natasha wanted to feed her baby brother all by herself. She is such a little mommy... I love it! We will stick to this menu for a couple of weeks and then I think I will try sweet potatoes and apples.

Nikolaus is also on the brink of sitting up all by himself. He is getting stronger and stronger each day. Toys, teething rings and of course, hair are the things he likes to grab. And he is definitely all boy, since he likes to grab his junk... ouch! Nikolaus has taken a real interest in certain toys, especially the ones that he can gnaw on, like Sophie. I don't see any teeth yet, but I'm sure they are pushing their way up. We will see what our pediatrician thinks at his six month well check in two weeks. Thanks for checking in on our mister mister!