Happy Birthday Nico!

Well, you know you're in bad straits when you're mom, who hardly ever posts, is all over your back about posting on your blog.  To be fair, I have started the post-birthday a couple of times, but just haven't had the time to sit down and finish it.  And last week, I did a training in downtown Chicago... where I had sketchy internet access.

That said.  The birthday.  The big 0-4!!  We had a really fun time!  Dave's mom came to town for a visit, and we started with a trip to the Children's Museum at Navy Pier.  Dave picked her up from the airport and I met them there (after leaving the office for the day).  Recall that the Children's museum was one of the places where Dave and Nico went before Nico started school.  Dave wanted to go back on Thursday night because the first Thursday night of every month is free family night.  Pro Tip: Family Free Night+summer=madness.  There is a giant ship's rigging that Nico climbed.  We also built with some play-building materials and Nico worked the construction and transportation equipment.  After, we grabbed some dinner from Harry Carey's at Navy Pier and headed home.

Nico's actual birthday started with a birthday breakfast of Dunkin Donuts (one of the perks to living 3 blocks away from a Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins).  We let Nico unwrap a couple of presents early in the day, so he would have something to do at the house.  He was thrilled to get a new Chicago Police Department shirt and Chicago Fire Department shirt.  Plus the big gift, a new bike.  With the training wheels and everything.

We made him wait till I got home later that night (after work) to open the rest.  We got him some new books and a new ambulance that he has been eying at Target.  Granny You sent him a new firefighter coat, made with real firefighter coat material.  This one looks more like the first coat he had, which actually looked like it was a slim fitting firefighter coat.  This one also has clasps that are much more reasonable than the other one.   

Grandma and Grandpa Royse got Nico some fun gifts, like a Spiderman lunch case and thermos, which Nico has been making use of.  Although, he did give me a good telling off when I tried to put cars and other vehicles in the lunch case.

  Saturday, we to Grandma Royse to swimming lessons, which Nico calls his "swim team practice". Saturday night, we had steaks and coconut cake for dinner.  Both were really delicious.  Sunday, we started with breakfast at Tre Kroner.  I went ahead and put us on the wait list, and had a few minutes to kill in the Sweden Shop (which is right next door).  Luckily, I was checking out when I saw that they had a selection of Swedish fabrics.  I say luckily, because it could have gotten ugly, with me buying 948534985 yards of their supercute fabric.  No joke.

Per usual, Nico put the muscle on his belgian waffle.  That kid can put away breakfast at Tre Kroner.

Dave and I had a soccer game, so Grandma and Nico hung out at the soccer field.
Altogether, it was an awesome birthday weekend.  Busy, but fun.