Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Thank you, AstraZeneca!
One of the medications that Nicholas uses in his breathing treatments is Pulmicort which is manufactured by AstraZeneca. Pulmicort is a corticosteroid that is inhaled through his nebulizer machine. It's a maintenance medicine for asthma and it is designed specifically for children's small bodies. I've been doing some research on the medication and signed up with AstraZeneca to receive more information about Pulmicort. I'm so glad that I did. They sent me a lot of information on the medicine and some free masks and tubing for the machine but they also sent some goodies for Nicholas as well. They sent several sheets of stickers that he can use to decorate the nebulizer machine or his mask or anything he wants. They also sent a DVD for Nicholas to watch while he gets his treatments. It shows a little sea creature type character named Pulmi who has to get a breathing treatment. The story highlights all the cool things that Pulmi does at the beach and the neat sea creatures he meets. When the show is over (about the time that it takes to complete a treatment), Pulmi does an "All Finished Dance" where he dances around because his treatment is over. Nicholas loves to watch the video while he gets his treatment and he asks to do the "All Finished Dance" several times once he is done. Thank you, AstraZeneca, for making these treatments a little more enjoyable for our little guy!
Monday, July 30, 2007
I am Nicholas Darth Vader!
Nicholas and Daddy have been watching some old Star Wars movies lately. I know, I know...Star Wars is surely not a G-rated movie. What can I say? It's a classic! -and there is no cursing in it. Anyway, tonight after Nicholas' bath, he decided that he and Daddy needed their nightly glow sticks. Nicholas, still in his dog-themed hooded towel, decided that he was Nicholas Darth Vader. Watch this video! Nicholas is a great Director and Actor...he even does his own stunts!
Saturday, July 28, 2007
National Day of the American Cowboy
We went to the Fort Worth Stockyards for a special celebration today in honor of the National Day of the American Cowboy. We had never been to the Stockyards so it was a great experience for all of us. We would say it is similiar to the French Quarter in New Orleans but so much cleaner and more wholesome! There were shops and restaurants, people dressed up in costumes of the Old West, a vintage train ride, gunfight show, 5400 square feet of a hay bale maze, street performers, children's roping lessons, etc.
We had lunch at Riscky's Barbeque in Union Station. Nicholas is proud of the Texas Marshall badge that he got!
We went to The Candy Barrel and Nicholas got a giant lollipop. He had so many people comment about how cute he was as he walked down the street in his cowboy hat licking a lollipop that was as big as his head!
We stopped in at Fincher's Western Wear and let Nicholas try on some cowboy boots. He loved them and wouldn't take them off. He was very cute in them. However, we spend our summers running around barefoot outside so I think we will wait until the fall to get him the boots. We did see a cute straw cowboy hat that we might have to go back and get for him though.
We didn't realize that there are two cattle drives every day in Fort Worth! We were excited to get to watch one. They are big, beautiful animals and everyone was excited to be able to watch them as they walked down the street in front of us.
Nicholas loves to pretend to be a super hero. Here he got to pretend to be a "bad guy" in jail!
We had lunch at Riscky's Barbeque in Union Station. Nicholas is proud of the Texas Marshall badge that he got!
We went to The Candy Barrel and Nicholas got a giant lollipop. He had so many people comment about how cute he was as he walked down the street in his cowboy hat licking a lollipop that was as big as his head!
We stopped in at Fincher's Western Wear and let Nicholas try on some cowboy boots. He loved them and wouldn't take them off. He was very cute in them. However, we spend our summers running around barefoot outside so I think we will wait until the fall to get him the boots. We did see a cute straw cowboy hat that we might have to go back and get for him though.
We didn't realize that there are two cattle drives every day in Fort Worth! We were excited to get to watch one. They are big, beautiful animals and everyone was excited to be able to watch them as they walked down the street in front of us.
Nicholas loves to pretend to be a super hero. Here he got to pretend to be a "bad guy" in jail!
The Plane! The Plane!
Yesterday, Nicholas and I went to Paradise Pond with some friends from church. Nicholas had a great time playing with Brendon and Danielle. Afterwards, we took the kids to Chick-Fil-A for lunch. They have a really cool series of Kid's Meal toys on The History of Flight. Nicholas got several paper airplanes as well as a paper-piecing glider of Amelia Earhart's Lockheed 5B Vega in which she was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. Nicholas helped Daddy separate the plane pieces from the paper but the instructions were so complex that Daddy ended up putting the rest of the plane together.
Nicholas enjoyed flying the plane around for a while. However, it is only made of paper so it probably would not have survived an hour like that. Daddy had a great idea to suspend it from Nicholas' ceiling. He hung it up near the Moon in Your Room and the clouds that I painted on his wall. It looks really cool and Nicholas loves looking up from his bed and seeing his plane "flying" across his room!
Nicholas enjoyed flying the plane around for a while. However, it is only made of paper so it probably would not have survived an hour like that. Daddy had a great idea to suspend it from Nicholas' ceiling. He hung it up near the Moon in Your Room and the clouds that I painted on his wall. It looks really cool and Nicholas loves looking up from his bed and seeing his plane "flying" across his room!
Glow Sticks!
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Nicholas absolutely loves playing with glow sticks. He and Daddy each open a new one every night. If you know of a wholesale supplier for glow sticks, please let me know. I need to find bulk pricing on these things because we are blowing through them! Anyway, they chase each other around in the dark with their glow sticks. They do little experiments with them to see how they look under various fabrics, under water, etc. Tonight Nicholas couldn't wait until it was dark to open them up. He wanted to open them up before we got in the pool for an early evening swim. As he was playing with them, he discovered that the yellow glow stick floats but the orange glow stick sinks!
Here's a little performance that the two of them put on for me with their glow sticks:
Nicholas absolutely loves playing with glow sticks. He and Daddy each open a new one every night. If you know of a wholesale supplier for glow sticks, please let me know. I need to find bulk pricing on these things because we are blowing through them! Anyway, they chase each other around in the dark with their glow sticks. They do little experiments with them to see how they look under various fabrics, under water, etc. Tonight Nicholas couldn't wait until it was dark to open them up. He wanted to open them up before we got in the pool for an early evening swim. As he was playing with them, he discovered that the yellow glow stick floats but the orange glow stick sinks!
Here's a little performance that the two of them put on for me with their glow sticks:
Hats, hats, and more hats!
Thursday, July 26, 2007
I asked Nicholas to go in his room and get dressed this morning. He came out of his room, still in his pajamas, but wearing every single one of his hats on his head! It's frustrating when I'm running late and trying to get out the door in the morning and Nicholas isn't cooperating yet it's so hard to get mad at him when he's being so cute. I love that he likes being silly!
I asked Nicholas to go in his room and get dressed this morning. He came out of his room, still in his pajamas, but wearing every single one of his hats on his head! It's frustrating when I'm running late and trying to get out the door in the morning and Nicholas isn't cooperating yet it's so hard to get mad at him when he's being so cute. I love that he likes being silly!
Gerva Groovie Rocks!
Thursday, July 26, 2007
We finally met Gerva Groovie today! We've heard many of our friends rave about Gerva Groovie whom our neighborhood Kroger grocery store host once a week to put on a program for kids. Gerva is a cute little lady in a wild costume. Each week she has a different theme to her program. This week was the Wild West. She had cups of various ingredients like raisins, pretzels, sunflower seeds, etc and the children could make their own trail mix. Nicholas also loved drinking the "cactus juice" which was really a float made with lime sherbet and 7up. There were empty milk jugs painted like cows that the children could rope.
We even got to make our own "horse on a stick" riding toy. We starte with large envelopes that had bubble wrap on the inside. We cut out the horse shape from a template. Then Nicholas cut the yarn to make the horse's mane.
Next we glued on the yarn and then attached the two sides of the horse head to a dowel.
Here is cowboy Nicholas riding on his horse. Yee-haw!
Gerva Groovie also had a table set up to make your own "brand" (really just a foam stamp) and also an area to paint a desert cactus scene. However, Nicholas was having too much playing with his horse and his friends to do any more crafts for the day.
Here is a picture of Gerva Groovie, with Emma Rae who is trying to lasso her horse, and Nicholas who is playing with a milk jug cow!
We finally met Gerva Groovie today! We've heard many of our friends rave about Gerva Groovie whom our neighborhood Kroger grocery store host once a week to put on a program for kids. Gerva is a cute little lady in a wild costume. Each week she has a different theme to her program. This week was the Wild West. She had cups of various ingredients like raisins, pretzels, sunflower seeds, etc and the children could make their own trail mix. Nicholas also loved drinking the "cactus juice" which was really a float made with lime sherbet and 7up. There were empty milk jugs painted like cows that the children could rope.
We even got to make our own "horse on a stick" riding toy. We starte with large envelopes that had bubble wrap on the inside. We cut out the horse shape from a template. Then Nicholas cut the yarn to make the horse's mane.
Next we glued on the yarn and then attached the two sides of the horse head to a dowel.
Here is cowboy Nicholas riding on his horse. Yee-haw!
Gerva Groovie also had a table set up to make your own "brand" (really just a foam stamp) and also an area to paint a desert cactus scene. However, Nicholas was having too much playing with his horse and his friends to do any more crafts for the day.
Here is a picture of Gerva Groovie, with Emma Rae who is trying to lasso her horse, and Nicholas who is playing with a milk jug cow!
Swimming at Reed's house
Wednesday July 25, 2007
We had a great time swimming at Reed's house today. Mrs. Tammy made the pool extra fun by throwing about 50 floating colored balls in the pool. Mrs. Deb brought a yummy snack that Nicholas just wouldn't stop eating. We spent several hours enjoying our time together with our friends and relaxing in the pool.
We had a great time swimming at Reed's house today. Mrs. Tammy made the pool extra fun by throwing about 50 floating colored balls in the pool. Mrs. Deb brought a yummy snack that Nicholas just wouldn't stop eating. We spent several hours enjoying our time together with our friends and relaxing in the pool.
Shell and Rock Collection
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Nicholas has a nice collection of shells and rocks. I gave him a lot of big shells when he was very young. We would sit together and look at each shell. I would talk aout the color of a shell then I'd point out whether it is smooth or rough, large or small, etc. Over time, he has collected more shells at the beach and rocks from nature walks plus he has been given some other neat rocks from other people. He had a very eclectic collection. But I love it that he still picks out the big shells that I gave him and he now enjoys telling me about each one and comparing them to the other shells. Here he is telling me that this shell is smooth and he contrasts it to the white one on the table that he describes as "spiky".
Nicholas has a nice collection of shells and rocks. I gave him a lot of big shells when he was very young. We would sit together and look at each shell. I would talk aout the color of a shell then I'd point out whether it is smooth or rough, large or small, etc. Over time, he has collected more shells at the beach and rocks from nature walks plus he has been given some other neat rocks from other people. He had a very eclectic collection. But I love it that he still picks out the big shells that I gave him and he now enjoys telling me about each one and comparing them to the other shells. Here he is telling me that this shell is smooth and he contrasts it to the white one on the table that he describes as "spiky".
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Fun in the Sun!
We had so much fun this morning. We went to Old Town Aquatic Park in Lewisville with the Early Childhood PTA. It was such a fun water park! I can't believe we haven't gone sooner. They have a huge pool with water features all through it. There are two water slides, a lazy river, 3 "spraygrounds" where water just shoots up from the concrete, plus there was water shooting out of hoses throughout the pool. We played for a long time, stopped for lunch, then played some more.
This was the first time Nicholas has been to a public pool so he had never seen a lifeguard before. I talked to him about how important the lifeguard's job is. At one point, Nicholas crawled up on to a little wall that seemed perfectly fine to me and another mom but a lifeguard blew his whistle and told Nicholas to get down. I think Nicholas was embarrassed by it because he got very shy around the lifeguards after that. However, before we left he had warmed back up to them and was smiling and waving at all of them.
On the way home we talked about how bright the sun was. Nicholas likes to imagine (or have us imagine for him) what inanimate objects might be saying to us or to each other. He asked, "What is the sun saying to us?" I replied, "It is saying, 'Everyone enjoys my sunlight but be careful because I can burn your skin if you stay outside for too long!'". Then Nicholas asked, "What is our sunscreen saying to the sun?" I replied, "It is saying 'No, you can't burn Nicholas and Mommy because they have sunscreen on! I'm going to protect them from sunburns!'". Then Nicholas asked, "What is the sun saying to our car?". I replied, "It is saying that 'I'm shining bright to help you see but I also make it hot outside and in your car." Then, of course, Nicholas asked, "What is our car saying to the sun?". I replied, "The car is saying, 'You can shine on me and make me feel hot but I'm not going to let Nicholas and Mommy get hot. I'm blowing cool air on them with my super-duper air conditioner!" We continued to discuss what various things said to each other all the way home. It's fun to play along for a little while but Mommy's stories lose some of their creativity after 15 minutes or so.
Once we were home, we got cleaned up and started talking about some other fun things we could do later this week. We talked some about fishing and Nicholas asked, "How can you fish and fly at the same time?" I didn't understand what he was asking so he said it again, "How can you fish when you are flying? You know, when Daddy talks about Fly Fishing?" I realized his assumption about what Fly Fishing is and couldn't help but smile to myself. I explained to him that in fly fishing you use a bait that looks like a fly and you make the fly appear to be alive by the way that you cast the line. The fish can't help but bite into it when the fly finally lands on the water. He seemed to understand and then said he wanted to fly fish. I told him that he needed to fish with his standard rod and reel for a few more years before he could start trying to fly fish. He didn't like that answer but then he happened to notice that his glow sticks from last night were still glowing and he forgot all about fishing for the time being.
This was the first time Nicholas has been to a public pool so he had never seen a lifeguard before. I talked to him about how important the lifeguard's job is. At one point, Nicholas crawled up on to a little wall that seemed perfectly fine to me and another mom but a lifeguard blew his whistle and told Nicholas to get down. I think Nicholas was embarrassed by it because he got very shy around the lifeguards after that. However, before we left he had warmed back up to them and was smiling and waving at all of them.
On the way home we talked about how bright the sun was. Nicholas likes to imagine (or have us imagine for him) what inanimate objects might be saying to us or to each other. He asked, "What is the sun saying to us?" I replied, "It is saying, 'Everyone enjoys my sunlight but be careful because I can burn your skin if you stay outside for too long!'". Then Nicholas asked, "What is our sunscreen saying to the sun?" I replied, "It is saying 'No, you can't burn Nicholas and Mommy because they have sunscreen on! I'm going to protect them from sunburns!'". Then Nicholas asked, "What is the sun saying to our car?". I replied, "It is saying that 'I'm shining bright to help you see but I also make it hot outside and in your car." Then, of course, Nicholas asked, "What is our car saying to the sun?". I replied, "The car is saying, 'You can shine on me and make me feel hot but I'm not going to let Nicholas and Mommy get hot. I'm blowing cool air on them with my super-duper air conditioner!" We continued to discuss what various things said to each other all the way home. It's fun to play along for a little while but Mommy's stories lose some of their creativity after 15 minutes or so.
Once we were home, we got cleaned up and started talking about some other fun things we could do later this week. We talked some about fishing and Nicholas asked, "How can you fish and fly at the same time?" I didn't understand what he was asking so he said it again, "How can you fish when you are flying? You know, when Daddy talks about Fly Fishing?" I realized his assumption about what Fly Fishing is and couldn't help but smile to myself. I explained to him that in fly fishing you use a bait that looks like a fly and you make the fly appear to be alive by the way that you cast the line. The fish can't help but bite into it when the fly finally lands on the water. He seemed to understand and then said he wanted to fly fish. I told him that he needed to fish with his standard rod and reel for a few more years before he could start trying to fly fish. He didn't like that answer but then he happened to notice that his glow sticks from last night were still glowing and he forgot all about fishing for the time being.
Artist at work
I got Nicholas a new form of paints. They are called Paintastics and they are made by Elmers. They are like markers in that each color of paint has it's own brush. The paint is inside the brush and you have to squeeze the sides to squirt a little drop of paint on the brush handle. It is a neat concept but you have to squeeze rather hard, especially for a three year old with little hands. Nicholas eventually got the hang of it but we decided to try some other ways to use the paints. We squirted some paint on the paper and then Nicholas used straws to blow the paint in different directions on the paper. It made for some neat designs.
We also spent time practicing cutting with scissors. Nicholas loves to use my scrapbooking scissors because they make patterns on the paper edges as they cut - such as zig zags, scallops, etc.
We also spent time practicing cutting with scissors. Nicholas loves to use my scrapbooking scissors because they make patterns on the paper edges as they cut - such as zig zags, scallops, etc.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Nicholas is doing better!
Nicholas is finally breathing better. He is now only taking breathing treatments twice a day but this will have to continue for 2-3 more weeks. We've both been feeling a little stir crazy because we've been couped up in the house this week while he has been sick. Since he was feeling better this weekend we got outdoors and had a blast!
SATURDAY
We went to a park to launch a rocket that Nicholas got as a birthday present from Uncle Steve and Aunt Donna. The rocket has a generator that turns water into hydrogen rocket fuel. It flies over 10 stories high. Here's a video of our first launch attempt (Thanks to Daddy for the video editing!).
SUNDAY
A friend of ours from the Early Childhood PTA told us about a great little orchard near us where you can pick your own fruit! It's called Henrietta Creek Orchard and it's in Roanoke, TX.
We met with the owners who are a very nice couple. They showed us around the farm and the wife talked to Nicholas about some of the educational materials they have for the children, including a cut-away bee hive where you can watch live bees at work! We just missed the peach picking season but today we got to pick Mutsu, Mollie Delicious and Gala apples! Nicholas had a lot of fun...and so did Mommy and Daddy!
The trees are dwarf varieties so they are low enough to the ground that Nicholas was able to pick his own apples!
Of course Nicholas couldn't wait to bite into his fresh-picked apple!
We brought home lots of apples as well as some wonderful peach preserves and honey that they make right there at the orchard. My friend had recommended the honey and she said that you can taste a hint of peach from the pollen that the bees had collected. She's right! This honey is fabulous! We gave away some of our apples to neighbors but we still had a bunch left over so tonight we tried a great new recipe for Caramel Apple Pie. Yum!
SATURDAY
We went to a park to launch a rocket that Nicholas got as a birthday present from Uncle Steve and Aunt Donna. The rocket has a generator that turns water into hydrogen rocket fuel. It flies over 10 stories high. Here's a video of our first launch attempt (Thanks to Daddy for the video editing!).
SUNDAY
A friend of ours from the Early Childhood PTA told us about a great little orchard near us where you can pick your own fruit! It's called Henrietta Creek Orchard and it's in Roanoke, TX.
We met with the owners who are a very nice couple. They showed us around the farm and the wife talked to Nicholas about some of the educational materials they have for the children, including a cut-away bee hive where you can watch live bees at work! We just missed the peach picking season but today we got to pick Mutsu, Mollie Delicious and Gala apples! Nicholas had a lot of fun...and so did Mommy and Daddy!
The trees are dwarf varieties so they are low enough to the ground that Nicholas was able to pick his own apples!
Of course Nicholas couldn't wait to bite into his fresh-picked apple!
We brought home lots of apples as well as some wonderful peach preserves and honey that they make right there at the orchard. My friend had recommended the honey and she said that you can taste a hint of peach from the pollen that the bees had collected. She's right! This honey is fabulous! We gave away some of our apples to neighbors but we still had a bunch left over so tonight we tried a great new recipe for Caramel Apple Pie. Yum!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Nicholas is on breathing treatments again
Nicholas has to take Singulair and Clarinex before bedtime every night to help prevent allergy and asthma flair-ups. However, yesterday morning, he woke up coughing, sneezing and had a runny nose. By lunch time, his cough had gotten worse, even after taking a cough suppressant. He even had a hard time napping because of all the coughing.
Last night before dinner we noticed that Nicholas had started wheezing. His pediatrician recommended breathing treatments with Xoprenex and Pulmicort for the next 5 days. As I got the nebulizer machine out of his closet last night, Nicholas got upset at just the sight of it. He really dislikes the breathing treatments even though Daddy got him a special little dinosaur mask to use with the treatments. There have been two other times in the last year or so that Nicholas has had to get a series of breathing treatments. The most recent time, his pulse-oxygen level was so severely low that he was almost admitted to the hospital. Please keep Nicholas in your prayers!
Nicholas had a treatment before bed last night but he woke up at 4:30 am wheezing and having difficulty breathing. It is really frightening to hear your child struggling to catch his breath. I wanted to take the wheezing away from him but all I could do was pray for him and give him another treatment right away. It helped him breathe well enough that he was able to go back to sleep.
This morning, Nicholas chose to be a pirate and he wanted to watch Sesame Street while getting his treatment.
I remember when I was young and sick, my mom would leave the pediatrician's office and go straight to Sav-Rite drug store to fill my prescriptions. While there, she would always pick out a bunch of arts and crafts supplies so that I could have fun even if I didn't feel like getting up and moving around. I still remember the joy I had as she let me dig in to all the wonderful supplies she had gotten for me. Of course, after picking up four different prescriptions for Nicholas over the last two days, I've ended up getting quite a few arts and crafts supplies for him as well. Even if we can't chase each other around the house for a few days, we are still going to have fun.
Last night before dinner we noticed that Nicholas had started wheezing. His pediatrician recommended breathing treatments with Xoprenex and Pulmicort for the next 5 days. As I got the nebulizer machine out of his closet last night, Nicholas got upset at just the sight of it. He really dislikes the breathing treatments even though Daddy got him a special little dinosaur mask to use with the treatments. There have been two other times in the last year or so that Nicholas has had to get a series of breathing treatments. The most recent time, his pulse-oxygen level was so severely low that he was almost admitted to the hospital. Please keep Nicholas in your prayers!
Nicholas had a treatment before bed last night but he woke up at 4:30 am wheezing and having difficulty breathing. It is really frightening to hear your child struggling to catch his breath. I wanted to take the wheezing away from him but all I could do was pray for him and give him another treatment right away. It helped him breathe well enough that he was able to go back to sleep.
This morning, Nicholas chose to be a pirate and he wanted to watch Sesame Street while getting his treatment.
I remember when I was young and sick, my mom would leave the pediatrician's office and go straight to Sav-Rite drug store to fill my prescriptions. While there, she would always pick out a bunch of arts and crafts supplies so that I could have fun even if I didn't feel like getting up and moving around. I still remember the joy I had as she let me dig in to all the wonderful supplies she had gotten for me. Of course, after picking up four different prescriptions for Nicholas over the last two days, I've ended up getting quite a few arts and crafts supplies for him as well. Even if we can't chase each other around the house for a few days, we are still going to have fun. Nicholas likes grilled cheese sandwiches but I usually don't bother with a grill and just toast it in a regular pan on the stove. However, at lunch today I got out the grill pan to make his sandwich a little more special. He loved the "stripes" of the grill marks on his sandwich. He decided to call it a tiger sandwich. But if he is going to eat a tiger sandwich then he must get out his LSU Mike the Tiger toy that Grandmama Owen sent to him. We got to listen to Mike sing and dance to the LSU fight song while eating our tiger sandwiches!
Our little grasshopper friend
Here's a cute little grasshopper friend we found swimming in our pool. Daddy caught him but the little guy jumped off before Nicholas could get him into his bug house.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
To See or Not to See
We had lunch and a playdate with our friends today. While some of the little boys were running around with toy guns and swords, the moms started talking about how children pick up up on some of the scary things in the world even though we try to shelter them from it. For example, we've never let Nicholas watch a Batman movie or ever even talked about Batman in the house yet he knows all about him. Nicholas insisted on having a Batman-themed birthday party, selected Batman underwear at the store and loves to wear his Batman pajamas. When he is getting dressed in his Batman pajamas, he likes to say, "I'm becoming Batman right before your eyes!" Anyway, it's great that he likes super heroes. Nothing wrong with that. However, if there are super heroes then you must have "bad guys" and that combination will always result in fighting and violence of some kind. We try to let him watch only good-natured kid's shows like Go, Diego, Go! or The Backyardigans. However, between the shows he is bombarded with commercials for who knows what. It makes me want to unplug the TV completely until he is much older.
Recently I took Nicholas to a movie at Studio Movie Grill. It's a really cool theater concept in which you can eat a meal while watching a movie. I had steak quesadillas and Nicholas had chicken strips. Nicholas loved the novelty of it and the food was actually pretty good. We saw a G-rated movie called "Wallace and Gromit". It seemed like a cute claymation-style movie with a story line about a British town dealing with an overpopulation of rabbits eating from the people's vegetable gardens. Wallace and Gromit are hired to get rid of the rabbits. But Wallace ends up turning into a giant were-rabbit with a voracious appetite for vegetables but then later is saved from his "were-rabbit-ness" by his trusty side-kick. Sounds rather harmless to me...and I like the idea of encouraging the consumption of vegetables in any form!
According to the Motion Picture Association of America, a G-rating means that the movie is intended for all ages and "contains nothing in theme, language, nudity and sex, violence, etc. that would, in the view of the Rating Board, be offensive to parents whose younger children view the film." I was very disappointed in "Wallace and Gromit" and I do not feel that it should be rated G. Besides having some rather scary looking characters in it, I recall lots of chases, people getting hit, an explosion and the phrase "blithering idiot", along with several other phrases I would have prefered that Nicholas had not heard. Fortunately, Nicholas had so much fun eating while watching that I was able to distract him a lot with the food part of the experience and we ended up leaving the movie early so he really didn't see much of it. Some friends of ours had a similar experience at another G-rated movie called "Ratatouille". It was more violent than it needed to be (there were a lot of knives being thrown around in one particular scene) and the language was, again, inappropriate for young children. One of the children was so upset that she had leave. What was Disney thinking?
I now realize that I can't assume that I can take Nicholas to a movie simply based on the fact that it has a G-rating. I looked into the MPA rating system and found the following description for G rated movies "Some snippets of language may go beyond polite conversation but they are common everyday expressions. The violence is at a minimum." This is very subjective criteria, to say the least. I don't think that the people who decide on these ratings have heard the "common everday expressions" used in our household because they would have never heard the phrase "blithering idiot"! And what does "violence is at a minimum" mean anyway? There doesn't need to be any violence at all in a movie that a three-year old child is watching.
I'm not alone in my concern over these ratings. A recent study in Pediatrics found that parents felt that only 50% of G-rather movies were appropriate for their 3-7 year old children. So much for intended for "all ages".
Recently I took Nicholas to a movie at Studio Movie Grill. It's a really cool theater concept in which you can eat a meal while watching a movie. I had steak quesadillas and Nicholas had chicken strips. Nicholas loved the novelty of it and the food was actually pretty good. We saw a G-rated movie called "Wallace and Gromit". It seemed like a cute claymation-style movie with a story line about a British town dealing with an overpopulation of rabbits eating from the people's vegetable gardens. Wallace and Gromit are hired to get rid of the rabbits. But Wallace ends up turning into a giant were-rabbit with a voracious appetite for vegetables but then later is saved from his "were-rabbit-ness" by his trusty side-kick. Sounds rather harmless to me...and I like the idea of encouraging the consumption of vegetables in any form!
According to the Motion Picture Association of America, a G-rating means that the movie is intended for all ages and "contains nothing in theme, language, nudity and sex, violence, etc. that would, in the view of the Rating Board, be offensive to parents whose younger children view the film." I was very disappointed in "Wallace and Gromit" and I do not feel that it should be rated G. Besides having some rather scary looking characters in it, I recall lots of chases, people getting hit, an explosion and the phrase "blithering idiot", along with several other phrases I would have prefered that Nicholas had not heard. Fortunately, Nicholas had so much fun eating while watching that I was able to distract him a lot with the food part of the experience and we ended up leaving the movie early so he really didn't see much of it. Some friends of ours had a similar experience at another G-rated movie called "Ratatouille". It was more violent than it needed to be (there were a lot of knives being thrown around in one particular scene) and the language was, again, inappropriate for young children. One of the children was so upset that she had leave. What was Disney thinking?
I now realize that I can't assume that I can take Nicholas to a movie simply based on the fact that it has a G-rating. I looked into the MPA rating system and found the following description for G rated movies "Some snippets of language may go beyond polite conversation but they are common everyday expressions. The violence is at a minimum." This is very subjective criteria, to say the least. I don't think that the people who decide on these ratings have heard the "common everday expressions" used in our household because they would have never heard the phrase "blithering idiot"! And what does "violence is at a minimum" mean anyway? There doesn't need to be any violence at all in a movie that a three-year old child is watching.
I'm not alone in my concern over these ratings. A recent study in Pediatrics found that parents felt that only 50% of G-rather movies were appropriate for their 3-7 year old children. So much for intended for "all ages".
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Nature Lovers
We love being outdoors among the trees, flowers, birds, and bugs! Early this morning, Nicholas and I did one of our most favorite activities - spending time exploring outdoors. We took a nature walk through a wooded creek bed near our home. I've been letting him play at this spot since he was barely able to walk. We used to sit on the edge of the creek while Nicholas threw rocks into the water. Now he is able to navigate over the rocks and walks through the creek bed on his own.
But of course, he still likes to throw rocks into the water. The bigger the splash, the better!!
We always find such wonderful things when we are out in nature. Here Nicholas is looking at some interesting rocks that he found.
Here's a cool hole in the base of the tree. Notice the hole continues through to the other side of the tree! Nicholas was just fascinated with this. He looked all around inside the hole, poked a stick in it, and asked a lot of questions about it including what kind of animals might like to live in there.
Nicholas also found a stick that was longer than he is. He enjoyed carrying it around with him as it had many purposes. It was good for drawing on the dirt, moving rocks around, poking into holes, and even served as a nice sword. I love his imagination!
We also saw many cool bugs on our trip. There were lots of roly poly bugs, ants, worms, and even some minnows in the creek. We saw some beautiful blue dragonflys as well as some red dragonflys that I've never seen before. When Nicholas saw the red dragonflys, he asked me what kind of dragonfly they were. Unfortunately I missed a teachable moment because I didn't know the name for the neat little guys. I sadly just told him that they were called "Red Dragonflys"! However, my next purchase at Amazon.com will include a book on bug identification!
Nicholas also discovered a dead yellow jacket on the sidewalk. He tried to pick it up with a stick but then he remembered that we had brought along his "bug house", tweezers, and magnifying glass for just such an occasion. Mommy helped him pick up the yellow jacket and we looked at it more closely with the magnifying glass. We discussed the antennaes, head, thorax, abdomen, legs, wings, and, of course, the stinger. Nicholas insisted on putting him in the bug house and bringing him home with us. He has a great collection of wonderful finds from our many nature walks!
I can't stress enough the importance of children spending time outdoors. If you are not familiar with it, check out the book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, by Richard Louv. My mom sent this book to me when Nicholas was first born. She is a nature-lover so she couldn't help but read it herself before mailing it to me. I love that she did because she made lots of wonderful notes and suggestions in it for me. It's really a great book and it's is all the buzz in the nature and education industries. I've heard it recommended four times in the last three months which says a lot for a book that is several years old. Louv says many problems with children today are due to a lack of play in nature, and he sites some great research to back up his findings. Unfortunately, television, computer games, organized activites, etc. have replaced fort building, bug chasing, and mud pies. So let children get muddy, climb trees, play in the rain, and explore the world around them while they are young. Mud washes off, scrapes heal, and wet clothes will dry!
But of course, he still likes to throw rocks into the water. The bigger the splash, the better!!
We always find such wonderful things when we are out in nature. Here Nicholas is looking at some interesting rocks that he found.
Here's a cool hole in the base of the tree. Notice the hole continues through to the other side of the tree! Nicholas was just fascinated with this. He looked all around inside the hole, poked a stick in it, and asked a lot of questions about it including what kind of animals might like to live in there.
Nicholas also found a stick that was longer than he is. He enjoyed carrying it around with him as it had many purposes. It was good for drawing on the dirt, moving rocks around, poking into holes, and even served as a nice sword. I love his imagination!
We also saw many cool bugs on our trip. There were lots of roly poly bugs, ants, worms, and even some minnows in the creek. We saw some beautiful blue dragonflys as well as some red dragonflys that I've never seen before. When Nicholas saw the red dragonflys, he asked me what kind of dragonfly they were. Unfortunately I missed a teachable moment because I didn't know the name for the neat little guys. I sadly just told him that they were called "Red Dragonflys"! However, my next purchase at Amazon.com will include a book on bug identification!
Nicholas also discovered a dead yellow jacket on the sidewalk. He tried to pick it up with a stick but then he remembered that we had brought along his "bug house", tweezers, and magnifying glass for just such an occasion. Mommy helped him pick up the yellow jacket and we looked at it more closely with the magnifying glass. We discussed the antennaes, head, thorax, abdomen, legs, wings, and, of course, the stinger. Nicholas insisted on putting him in the bug house and bringing him home with us. He has a great collection of wonderful finds from our many nature walks!
I can't stress enough the importance of children spending time outdoors. If you are not familiar with it, check out the book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, by Richard Louv. My mom sent this book to me when Nicholas was first born. She is a nature-lover so she couldn't help but read it herself before mailing it to me. I love that she did because she made lots of wonderful notes and suggestions in it for me. It's really a great book and it's is all the buzz in the nature and education industries. I've heard it recommended four times in the last three months which says a lot for a book that is several years old. Louv says many problems with children today are due to a lack of play in nature, and he sites some great research to back up his findings. Unfortunately, television, computer games, organized activites, etc. have replaced fort building, bug chasing, and mud pies. So let children get muddy, climb trees, play in the rain, and explore the world around them while they are young. Mud washes off, scrapes heal, and wet clothes will dry!
Monday, July 16, 2007
The Hunt is On!
We had a great time this past weekend! We discoverd a new "game" to play. It's called Letterboxing. Here's a brief description of how it works (but you can find more information as well as search for boxes in your own area at web sites like www.letterboxing.org). People in the community hide little boxes in public places like parks and then they post clues on the internet to help others find the boxes. You get the clues and then go on a treasure hunt. It is a great outdoor family activity and it gets you to explore some areas in your community that you may have not known about. Each box contains a log book and a unique rubber stamp. When you find a letterbox, you stamp a page in the logbook with your family's rubber stamp. Then you use the rubber stamp in the letterbox to stamp your personal letterbox journal to show that you have found that specific box (kind of like country stamps in a passport). Nicholas loves to play hide and seek so he had a lot of fun going on our treasure hunts. So far we have found 3 letterboxes and we can't wait to go out looking for more!
The first box we found was at a local Botanical Garden. Part of the clue stated, "follow the walk along the creek toward a rustic bridge, the kind that is perfect for trolls." Nicholas was afraid of the trolls and wouldn't cross the bridge until Daddy went back to him so they could walk across the bridge together!
We found the letterbox rather easily. It was deep in a hole between two rocks. Nicholas was a good treasure hunter!
We took the letterbox away from the hiding spot to not draw attention to what we were doing. We sat down under some trees to stamp the logbooks. The box was named Lauren's Turtle 2 so the stamp inside was a handmade stamp of a turtle. Nicholas loved stamping the log books!
Once we were finished we quickly replaced the letterbox in its hiding place and went looking for another letterbox. We were hooked!
The next letterbox was called Wooly Booly and it was located at an historical non-working farm that is open to the public. There were some animals in stables and lots of antique machinery in the field. The box was hidden in a crevice in an old thrashing machine.
Here's Nicholas checking out the contents of the box. The log books and stamps are always in a ziplock bag to protect them from rain.
Here's a picture of the logbook with this box. It has another handmade stamp that says, "Puddle Splasher".
The final box we found this weekend was called Lone Star State and it was located in a cemetery. It was very well hidden in a tree, between the head stones of Pierce and Whitcomb.
After our letterbox hunt, we were tired and hungry. We went back home and enjoyed some cold watermelon and went swimming in the pool.
The first box we found was at a local Botanical Garden. Part of the clue stated, "follow the walk along the creek toward a rustic bridge, the kind that is perfect for trolls." Nicholas was afraid of the trolls and wouldn't cross the bridge until Daddy went back to him so they could walk across the bridge together!
We found the letterbox rather easily. It was deep in a hole between two rocks. Nicholas was a good treasure hunter!
We took the letterbox away from the hiding spot to not draw attention to what we were doing. We sat down under some trees to stamp the logbooks. The box was named Lauren's Turtle 2 so the stamp inside was a handmade stamp of a turtle. Nicholas loved stamping the log books!
Once we were finished we quickly replaced the letterbox in its hiding place and went looking for another letterbox. We were hooked!
The next letterbox was called Wooly Booly and it was located at an historical non-working farm that is open to the public. There were some animals in stables and lots of antique machinery in the field. The box was hidden in a crevice in an old thrashing machine.
Here's Nicholas checking out the contents of the box. The log books and stamps are always in a ziplock bag to protect them from rain.
Here's a picture of the logbook with this box. It has another handmade stamp that says, "Puddle Splasher".
The final box we found this weekend was called Lone Star State and it was located in a cemetery. It was very well hidden in a tree, between the head stones of Pierce and Whitcomb.
After our letterbox hunt, we were tired and hungry. We went back home and enjoyed some cold watermelon and went swimming in the pool.
Playing Mozart with my hands behind my back!
Nicholas loves to "play" piano. He can show you where middle C is on a keyboard and he knows some basic music terminology such as forte, adagio, allegro, presto, etc. But most of all he just loves to hear himself make music. Here he is adding a new form of playing to his repertoire - playing Mozart with his hands behind his back!
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Froggy Friends!
Nicholas has been enjoying the tadpole/frog habitat that Grandmother and Grandfather Chance gave him for his birthday. We received the live tadpoles in the mail. They were very tiny and fragile. We immediately put them in their new home. Nicholas enjoyed watching them through his magnifying glass. The tadpoles are African Water Frogs and they are very sensitive to the water in their habitat. Therefore, we must be careful not to touch the water much so that we don't contaminate their environment. Soon after we had gotten the little tadpoles, I was washing dishes while Nicholas was supposed to be eating his breakfast. I glanced over at him as he was watching his little friends. I noticed that there was water all over the table. He said, "I was trying to catch a tadpole!" All the tadpoles were safe and accounted for but we had to talk about the importance of not removing them from the water.
Unfortunately out of our six tadpoles that we began with, only two are still living. We have really enjoyed watching the little tadpoles grow into big tadpoles and now into little frogs. Nicholas has enjoyed our talks about tadpoles and frog development. We even bought several books on frogs to read while we are learning about them. Here is a picture we took of the little guys. Here's a picture of the little guys hanging out in their cup while Mommy cleans their real home.
Unfortunately out of our six tadpoles that we began with, only two are still living. We have really enjoyed watching the little tadpoles grow into big tadpoles and now into little frogs. Nicholas has enjoyed our talks about tadpoles and frog development. We even bought several books on frogs to read while we are learning about them. Here is a picture we took of the little guys. Here's a picture of the little guys hanging out in their cup while Mommy cleans their real home.
Cowboy Nicholas rides again!
As a native Texan, Nicholas was born to ride a horse (or a pony, in this case). We found a pony ride at a little festival in Lewisville that Mommy and Nicholas went to. This was his second time riding a pony and Nicholas just loved it. After the ride he said that he wished he had brought his cowboy hat! He rode the ponies several more times until Mommy was all out of cash!
Sorting beans
Nicholas loves to sort things. He will sort them by color or size or whatever criteria he decides on for the moment. This day he was sorting dried beans by color. Once he had all the colors separated into individual cups, he poured each cup into a mason jar and enjoyed looking at the different layers that he had made. We decided to keep the little jar as it is for a decoration (and keepsake) in the kitchen.
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