Spending the morning with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

This morning I told Nicholas that we were going to a Slappy's Puppet Playhouse (http://www.slappysplayhouse.com/) to watch a puppet show production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He was very excited and ran to his room to "read" the book one more time before we left.



We made our way to the Galleria in Dallas where Slappy's is located. It was challenging waiting to be let in the theatre. Their lobby is of course filled with all sorts of wonderful and magical toys for sale that every child just has to have. Nicholas and I played with some adorable puppets. He had a knight in shining armor and I had a pirate. I would have loved to have bought several puppets but I was able to resist the urge when I saw that they were $20 each.

Since children are the main audience for the show, the stage manager asked that parents sit on the side rows and let all of the children sit in the center section so that they have the best seats in the house. I thought, "Surely, they don't know my child. He'll jump around and run all over the place if I'm not there to hold him down." At first I was going to have him sit along the side rows with me but he really couldn't see well. So I asked him if he wanted to sit on the front row with the other children even if I wouldn't be there with him. He hesistated for a minute but then jumped up with his popcorn in tow and headed to the front row. He looked back at me a few times to make sure I was still there but I was pleasantly surprised that he sat quietly and well-behaved in his seat for the whole performance.



The stage manager, Raymond, came out on stage before the show began to talk to everyone. He explained how marionette puppets move. He told us about the Bridge where the puppeteers stand above the stage while they work with the puppets.

The show was great, even for me. We've been to Slappy's once before to see Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It was fun then but this production was even better. There was more music and the puppets looked even better. Since I volunteer on stage crew at church, I can't help but notice backdrop changes and stage moves in live performances. Twice I had to resist the urge to run up onstage and make a slight adjustment to the backdrop. Crazy, huh?!





After the puppet show, we went to the children's play area at the Galleria. Nicholas had a great time. He enjoyed climbing on top of everything and jumping off.

"On Children" by Kahlil Gibran

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let our bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

First Day of School

It was Nicholas' first day of school. He was very excited! Nicholas got to pick out his own lunch box for school. He, of course, chose Superman. We looked all over for a Batman lunch box but we never found one. (If you see one out there somewhere, please let me know!) Here he is proudly showing it off.

The front of the lunchbox which looks like Superman's chest...



The back of the lunchbox. It has a real little cape that hangs off the back! How cute!



Here's my little angel in his cute little uniform, ready for the first day of school.



Here's my little angel making fun of me for being sad that he is going to the first day of school.



It has been a rough day - for me, at least. I don't know why. It seems so silly to be sad. I was kind of looking forward to having some time to myself to get some things done around the house. But instead I was just sad because of the new milestone that reminded me that my little baby is growing up so quickly. I know I'm not the only mom at Montessori who was feeling these mixed emotions today. I dare say there were probably more crying mommies than crying children there today.

Nicholas made me smile though as he got out of the car. He waved to me and said, "Bye!" with a big smile on his face. I watched him walk confidently to his class and I felt so proud of him and so happy to have him in my life. After drowning my sorrows at Starbucks over a venti caffe latte and a magazine, I realized that my tearfulness was due in part to some sadness that Nicholas is getting older but I think a lot of it was also a happy kind of cry (I know you men out there can't comprehend that concept!). I thought back over the last three years and how blessed we have been. Nicholas is such a delight and a joy to be around. He is bright and happy and always doing creative things that just amaze us. He has his whole future ahead of him and I pray that he loves every minute of it. I pray that his life is full of as much happiness as he has brought to our lives.

I felt good by the time that I headed home - but I still got absolutely nothing productive done while Nicholas was at school. The house was too quiet and I felt restless. I couldn't seem to function without my missing 3 year old appendage hanging on me. Stuart called to check on me later in the day because he knows how sappy I am. He said I'll probably feel much better tomorrow. I hope so. Dad also called to check on how the day was going and to see how Nicholas did on his first day.

Nicholas was excited to see me when I went to pick him up. He was so cute waving his little hand at me with a big smile on his face. He said he had a great day. His teacher included a little note to me which said, "Nicholas is very eager to learn! He has a sweet heart. During morning prayer he said, 'Thank you for my teacher!'". What a charmer!

Nicholas said that his favorite part of the day was playing on the playground. He told me about some new friends that he met. We stopped for ice cream on the way home. Nicholas got a cone with sprinkles all over it. He told the man behind the counter how his first day of school went. We sat outside and enjoyed our cold treats.



Nicholas decided he wanted to bite into some of the cone itself...so he did. Then he proceeded to start poking his finger through the hole and pulling out ice cream through the hole with his hands. You know, the "old pre-Nicholas me" would have been worried about teaching him to eat the ice cream neatly, not sticking his fingers in it, and worried about not getting it all over his fingers, face, and clothing. But Nicholas has taught me to just have fun and experience life and I'm so much better for it. So eat your ice cream with you fingers and just bite into that cone whenever you want to!



Nicholas wanted to tell Stuart how is day went so we called and talked to him for a while. When Nicholas had said all that he wanted to say to Stuart, he said, "Ok, I'm all done talking to you now" and tried to hang up the phone. Before we left, Nicholas wanted to go back inside the ice cream store to say goodbye to the man behind the counter and to sing him a song that he learned at school. The man was very sweet and gladly accepted the serenade.

Electric-Tronic Surfboard

Stuart caught some cute video tonight as we were trying to get Nicholas ready for bed. Our little daredevil started talking about an "Electric-Tronic Surfboard" - which we think is supposed to be an electronic surfboard (whatever that is?!). Apparently, as you will see in the video, this surfboard works by pressing two buttons on the handles and another button off to the side. Nicholas has been surfing for "40 hours without you guys" yet he says that he has never learned how to surf.

It's an Armadillo Shell!

This morning we met some of our PTA friends at L.L. Woods park. It's a great park with a paved path for riding bicycles, 2 playgrounds, picnic tables, lots of trees, and even restrooms! The gang played hide and seek, rode bikes, and pretended the playground was their rocket ship.

They discovered an osage orange tree and played with its unusual fruit that had fallen to the ground. The group came walking over to the moms to show us the "treasure" they found. Nicholas said, "It's an armadillo shell!" They put it on the ground and started studying it closely. They poked it with sticks. They rolled it around. They discovered that there were some bugs in a rotting part of the fruit. One of them shouted, "FIRE ANTS!" when she saw the bugs and everyone moved back. However, the two boys couldn't resist and they were soon back at the fruit to watch the bugs some more!









Tonight when Stuart got home he asked Nicholas what he did today. Nicholas said, "We played fire ants at the park!". Of course, Stuart asked how the game of fire ants is played. Nicholas said, "You get down real small and hold a stick. The stick is how you sting people - like a fire ant."

Relaxing with our friends

The Nolans invited us over for a little get-together for the families in the Parents As Teachers (PATs) group. It was Stuart's first time to meet most of these friends. We had a great time relaxing by the pool and enjoying hamburgers and hot dogs. Good weather, good food, and good company. What more could you ask for?

The boys enjoyed playing "good guys and bad guys". They are getting a little rougher with their play at this age but they seemed to have fun. Nicholas enjoyed falling down and pretending to be shot. He would lie in the grass for a long time and just try his hardest not to laugh.





We are sad that we will not be able to continue with the PATs group. They meet on Wednesday mornings but this year Nicholas will be in school on Wednesdays so we won't be able to join them. However, we are hoping to promote these "educational playgroups" to the Early Childhood PTA members so hopefully we'll get enough response to warrant additional groups. I have offered to start and coordinate a new PATs educational playgroup for 3 and 4 year olds that meets on Friday mornings. I'm not sure where I'll find the time to do this but I'm excited about it!

Sweet snarling child of mine

Why does my sweet child like to make snarling mean faces at me when I'm trying to take his picture??? He's always done it, even before he understood what the camera was. Here's is a mean-faced Nicholas at 3 years old...



And look at this little guy...



Recognize that toothless snarl? That was Nicholas when he was only 10 months old. You see, he's always done it. I have tons of snarling child pictures. He likes to be silly but it can be so very frustrating. But then he turns around and gives me the sweetest, most playful looks and my heart just melts (please disregard the pizza on the corners of his mouth and the watermelon dripping off his chin!).....





Sweet child of mine, snarling or not!

"We do not stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - Author Unknown

Summer may be at its end but we will not stop playing!

I love to watch Nicholas and his friends playing. I love to see the happiness, curiosity, and innocence as they play with the most simplest of things. Sand, sticks, rocks, and all kinds of little things on the ground that I would just walk past without a second thought. However, they are all exciting and enriching discoveries for a three year old.

Yesterday, Nicholas had Brendon and Danielle over to play with him. They played with toys inside. Everyone made individual pizzas for their lunch and had some sweet cold watermelon for dessert. It was fun. But I think they had the most fun when we went outside. They played in the fort. They played with sand - sifting sand, dumping sand in water, pouring sand on the grass, and throwing sand in the air (we had to limit this to keep sand from getting in their eyes). They watched the hummingbirds with delight and fascination. They found a lizard and took turns holding him then they excitedly looked for something to put him in so he couldn't run away (poor lizard!). Such joy in their little hearts and big smiles on their faces. This is what childhood is all about. Playing carefree, exploring the world around them. I thank Nicholas all the time for keeping us playful and young.

Meeting Darth Vader

Stuart, Nicholas, and I went to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History to see their Star Wars exhibit. Nicholas just loves the Star Wars movies and he asks to watch them all the time. The exhibit was great and we all enjoyed seeing the characters' costumes, movie models of the ships, and weapons up close.

Nicholas meets a Jawa. Mommy has always liked the Jawa...such cute little things!



Towered by Wookies...



Captain Nicholas and the Millenium Falcon.



Walking like a robot...



Nicholas meets Darth Vader. Look at that smile!



What was Nicholas' most favorite part of the exhibit? It was the little speakers attached to each exhibit. You could push a button, put the speaker to your ear, and hear a narration about the particular Star Wars character or ship that you were looking at. Nicholas loved pushing the buttons and standing there endlessly listening to the story. He often took more interest in playing with the speaker than he did the actual character that he was standing in front of.





Of course at the end of the exhibit you find yourself in the middle of the "Star Wars Store" where you can satisfy every child's Star Wars wish list. Nicholas didn't see much that he wanted except for two Star Wars light sabre toys. He said that he needed the blue one and Daddy needed the red one. They were really neat looking but at $32.00 each we suggested that he put them on a wish list for Santa Claus. He whined for a minute but soon found something else to look at and then we quickly maneuvered him out of the store before he found something else that he just had to have.

All the way home from Fort Worth, Nicholas wanted us to "play" Star Wars. He told me to "sing the bad guy song" so I had to try to remember and make the music that's played when Darth Vader is on screen. He said that he was Luke Skywalker and that Daddy was Darth Vader. It was fun because Stuart remembers a lot of the lines from the movie so as I'm doing my "dah, dah, dah, da-da-dah" in the background, Stuart is talking like Darth Vader saying things like, "Luke, I am your father!", "The force is strong in this one." etc. Nicholas, still in his car seat of course, then pretended to fight Darth Vader with his imaginary light sabre. Sometimes we were told to change characters but Nicholas decided I was best on music because I couldn't remember lines as well as Daddy. This game continued ALL THE WAY home (45 minutes!).

Tiny hummers

We have hummingbirds in our yard every year. I keep hummingbird feeders full of fresh sugar-water solution and I place them right outside our kitchen bay window so we can easily watch them. My mom has given many bird watching books and I've looked through them with Nicholas and discussed hummingbirds. We've talked about how they are the smallest bird and that they get their name from the hum of their wings which are flapping so fast that you can hardly see them. We've watched their feeding/rest patterns and Nicholas has noticed on his own how they feed very quickly then fly off to a tree branch to take a little break but they usually come right back a couple of minutes later. One flew away as we were watching it at the feeder and I said sadly, "Oh, he's gone." Nicholas said very matter of factly, "Don't worry. He'll be right back."



Hummingbirds, as small as they are, are fierce fighters when it comes to other birds, especially other hummingbirds, in their territory. When they find a feeder, it's hummingbird heaven and they'll fight hard to protect it. We had an opportunity today to watch two hummingbirds "duking it out". One would go to the feeder and the other would make these cute little squeaks that are probably supposed to invoke fear in its enemy and then it dive bombed toward the hummer at the feeder. Nicholas thoroughly enjoyed the show.

Orientation at Montessori

Yesterday Stuart took Nicholas to Montessori for orientation. The school holds orientation to help the students feel a little more comfortable with the teachers and the classroom before the first day of school. The children go to their classroom where they spend about 45 minutes with both teachers and two other students. Stuart walked Nicholas to his class. He said that Nicholas was a little shy at first. Mrs. Carrico greeted him at the door and he walked on into the classroom and did great. Mrs. Carrico commented that he is quite talkative and very articulate for his age. She also commented that he is very interested in participating in activities.

Nicholas will be in a class with an age range from 3-5 years old. This is an important feature in Montessori education with a focus on cooperative learning and social interaction, while also nurturing the development of self-esteem. Mixed age groups free children to enjoy their own accomplishments rather than comparing themselves to others their own age. Younger children learn from and model the older children in their class while also getting encouragement through help and attention from older children. At the same time, older children provide leadership and guidance, and benefit from the satisfaction of helping others. Older children reinforce and clarify their knowledge by sharing it with younger ones. Children learn to respect others, and at the same time develop respect for their own individuality.

Sad news in Flower Mound

On Wednesday, around 4:30 pm, we heard helicopters flying overhead. We didn't think much of it until we heard them several more times. We went outside and saw that the NBC and CBS news helicopters were flying over our home as they were circling something about a block or so to the east of us. Nicholas enjoyed getting to watch the helicopters for a long time and he waved at them several times as they passed.



I, on the other hand, wasn't enjoying the helicopters because I knew something terrible must have happened very close to our home. We live in a nice, quiet neighborhood and news helicopters don't just circle an area for over an hour just for fun.

I soon learned that a 15 year old boy was killed in a horrible skateboarding accident in the parking lot of the elementary school just outside our neighborhood. The boy's name was Kyle and he was very good at skateboarding. So good in fact that he had a sponsor. On Wednesday, he was doing a trick called, "skitching", which involves riding on a skateboard while holding on to a moving vehicle's bumper. Two of his friends were in the vehicle. Somehow Kyle fell from his skateboard and slid under the vehicle as it was moving. A Flower Mound SWAT team just happened to drive down the street shortly after the accident and someone flagged them down for assistance. Three paramedics were on board and immediately began to try to save the boy. Care Flight brought him to a Hospital but he did not survive.

My first thoughts were for the boy who died so young and so tragically. I feel sorry that his life was shortened, especially by doing something that he loved to do. Unfortunately it was his precious youth that led him to be naive and careless about this one fateful stunt. My heart aches for his parents. I can not imagine how they must feel after this loss. I'm somewhat familiar with skateboarders' lack of fear because my little brother was a great skateboarder in his younger days. He did some really impressive tricks which I enjoyed watching yet at the same time I would cringe until he was safely stopped on the ground. I don't know if he ever did any skitching but if I had to bet, I'd say he probably did. I'm so thankful that God watched over him all those years and kept him safe from harm. I don't want to even think about how something like this could have happened to him when he was only 15 years old.

Of course, I look at Nicholas and see a carefree, fearless spirit in him. I love it that he wants to experience everything in life and he has very few fears. Yet at the same time I want to forbid him from ever skateboarding and a whole slew of other things that I've, half-jokingly, told Stuart that we are never going to allow Nicholas to do. I worry about how to balance my protectiveness of him and desire to keep him close in order to keep him safe and still allow the need for him to soar free and expand his wings, to fly wherever his dreams take him. I truly pray that Nicholas develops and excels in whatever gifts and talents God has given him, even if that includes skateboarding, parachuting, joining the military, whatever. I just pray that Stuart and I teach Nicholas wisdom and good judgment during his younger years so that he will make wise choices in those more wreckless teenage years and throughout the rest of his life. And, of course, I pray that God keeps him close in those fearless moments.

"And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him." Luke 2:40

Baby Caterpillar

While we were outside this morning, Nicholas noticed a baby caterpillar eating a leaf. He gently picked it up and tried to feed it some more of the leaf. I was impressed with how gentle and caring Nicholas was towards the fuzzy little caterpillar. He was talking sweetly to it and said things like, "It's ok. I'm going to take care of you." and "Here you go. Want some more leaf?" He let it crawl up his arm and on to his shirt then he'd gently pick it up and hold it again. He was very good at picking it up as he even used the leaf as a tool to try to help pick it up. He wasn't as giggly about the caterpillar as he has been in the past. This time he was more protective, nurturing, and fascinated with it. I'm so glad that he is learning a love and appreciation for God's green earth.

Chopping Grass

We were in the backyard today when Nicholas started playing with one of his little rakes. He was doing the funniest thing and when I asked him about it, he said, "I'm chopping grass". I've included step-by-step instructions on how to chop grass, just in case your grass ever needs chopping.

Step 1:

Raise rake over your head. Check your stance. Feet should be shoulder width apart. Arms are overextended behind your head because the rake is really too heavy to be held in this position. You must also display a tough, hard-working facial expression.



Step 2:

Take a deep breath and swing rake over your head. Slam it down into the ground as hard as you can. The rake head should be well buried in the grass now. A cute little grunt may be required during this step.



Step 3:

Stradle your legs for good leverage as you rock the rake handle back and forth. Work it hard. This step ensures that you dig up all of the roots of that pesky grass.



Step 4:

Lift the rake handle and admire your work. A successful grass chopping should leave a nice mound of dirt, grass and roots embedded in the head of your rake. You can discard the mound at this point but please do not replace it in the divet from which you pulled it. That would defeat the purpose of all of the hard work you have just done.



We hope that this lesson has been helpful for you in your grass chopping endeavors. Nicholas is available for grass chopping demonstrations upon request.

Superman, Knight, and Fireman - All in One

This morning, Nicholas put on his Superman costume which he got for Halloween last year (yes, it is too small for him but he won't part with it!). He then put on his "cape". It's really just a scarf that I never wear. I let him use this scarf as a cape a long time ago, before he had any real costume props. Even though he now has a real Superman cape that came with his costume, he always prefers to wear my old scarf as his cape. Then he picked up one of his foam swords and later picked up a foam shield too. He put on his fireman hat and said, "I'm ready for action!".





Then he made Daddy put on a pirate costume so he could be the "bad guy". However, Daddy was never given the other foam sword so it wasn't really a fair fight.



Later this afternoon, Daddy started feeling a little sick. We're afraid he might have caught the stomach bug that Nicholas had a few days ago. He told Nicholas he had to take a break from playing and he lay down on the floor in Nicholas' room. Nicholas said that he would take care of Daddy. He tucked Daddy in with a quilt, gave him a pillow for under his head and another for the top of his tummy (?), and surrounded Daddy with his favorites "friends". He then went downstairs and brought back a leftover biscuit for Daddy and fed it to him.





Get well soon, Daddy!

LLELA

This morning, we met up with some friends and had a great nature hike and tour of a 1850 homestead at Lake Lewisville Environmental Learning Area (LLELA), http://www.ias.unt.edu/llela/main.htm. We have never been there before but we'll definitely go back.





It was a short hike to the homestead and we enjoyed every minute of it. Along the way we caught about 5 butterflies, looked at the biggest spider I've ever seen, watched tons of dragonflies, saw a frog jumping in a puddle of water, and played with sticks. We noticed several times that leaves seemed to levitate in mid-air (but then we would look closer and we always found a spider web attached to them).





When we reached the homestead, we learned a lot about life in the 1850s. When the family would find the spot that they wanted to build their new home on, they would build a quick sod house so that they would have shelter while they built their main house which could take up to a year to complete. This is a picture of the little temporary sod house. I believe that this particular house is not authentic. I think I heard that it was built just to demonstrate what it might have looked like.





The main house was just amazing. It was built around 1850 near what is now Butterfield Stage Road in Highland Village and it was moved to this location for safekeeping. It is an authentic log cabin with sod and clay mortar. It is one room with a small attic space where the children would sleep.





Because of the difficulties in traveling back then, people brought very few items with them when they moved. Ladies had a hope chest and typically would only bring as much as they could fit into the chest. We learned that the family would make their own furniture, plates, tools, clothing, blankets, etc. once they arrive at their new homestead.



Notice the bowls at the base of the table legs. These could be purchased from the Sears and Roebuck catalogs and they were used to keep ants off of the table. The larger bowl would be filled with water or oil to form a barrier that the ants could not cross. People would cook over an open fire pit, in a clay oven or some even built smoke houses near the main house.

Here's an authentic spinning wheel.



Here's a unique design feature that is distinct to the Texas region. Due to limited space and great effort in having to build furniture, some people would build one-legged beds in the corner of a room. Some beds, like this one, were particularly short. Since allergens are abundant in this area and there was no allergy medicine back then, people in this region often slept sitting up to help with drainage during the night and allow for better sleep.



Emma Rae, Mrs. Deb, Nicholas, and me.



The kids had a great time but you know they are starting to get tired when you see the energetic little beings looking for a place to sit down!



We hiked a little farther to a Lookout spot over the lake. Mr. Tim tried to get a picture of the children and told them "Show your teeth" to try to get them to smile. Nicholas took that request literally and started pointing to his teeth!





We hiked some more but soon found the trail to be under water for a short distance. Yes, we could have braved the waters but they were a little murky and had a stink that Stuart says probably wouldn't wash off so we all decided to back track the trail the way we had come. The little ones were getting really tired of walking by then as we were probably a mile into the trail so we were glad that the Daddys were there to help carry them out. The six of them were all so cute together as they walked along the trail singing "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" and the "ABC song"



Being the Super Mom that she is, Mrs. Deb again had Fla-Vor-Ice for everyone when we got back to the cars! What a perfect way to cool off!



We decided to release the butterflies before we left. Nicholas had so much fun doing this. One butterfly particularly liked him!