Boy's Day Out

Yesterday, Gus took Nikos up to a barbecue at our koumbari's house in North Hollywood(I'll explain that in a minute). I stayed home so that I would have uninterrupted time to work on various work-related tasks, since school starts on Tuesday. Since it's easiest for Nikos to make those longer drives when he's asleep, Gus drove to his parents' house in Orange County during nap number one, and then drove from Orange County to L.A. during nap number #2. He drove all the way home at bedtime. And, somewhat shockingly, the day went very smoothly and they both had a great time!

Before I post pictures, here is some background. When we got married in the Greek Orthodox Church, we needed to have sponsors ("koumbari") who were members in good standing. Gus' parents asked their friends Maria and Manoli if they would like to be our koumbari, and the rest is history! It's tradition for the koumbari to also be the godparents ("nouno" and "nouna") of the couple's first-born child, so they will be Nikos' godparents when he is baptized in a few weeks (stay tuned!). So essentially, they are part of our family now. Now to switch gears for a bit... August 15th (this past Friday) is a holy day, and one of the biggest holidays in Greece. It's the feast day of the Assumption of Mary, which means it is also the name day (similar to a birthday) for anyone named after the Virgin Mary. Maria is, obviously, named after her, but so is one of her sons, Panagioti. In Greek, the holiday is called "Panagia" ("all-holy," a common nickname for the Virgin Mary)-- see the connection? Anyway, the family hosted a small-ish barbecue this weekend in honor of the holiday. And so Gus and Nikos went!

It seems that our little guy is moving beyond his stranger anxiety phase, which is a welcome relief! Gus said he let everyone hold him, but was especially fond of the two boys (Panagioti and Irakli). I say "boys," but they are really only a few years younger than us, haha!! Anyway, he had a good time, slept the entire way home, woke up just for a second when I moved him from the car to his crib, and then went back to sleep without a peep! I really missed him yesterday- the house felt so empty! But I am glad they had fun, and I definitely needed the time. Here are some pictures from their adventure...





The only bad news? It looks like our little guy may be coming down with a cold... He has a stuffy nose and is napping horribly. :(