NICHOLAS' FOOTPRINTS

Savor The Days

2008-10-12T22:28:00.001-05:00

Well, we'll be having our little girl on Monday, October 20th (unless she decides to come sooner) and I don't expect to try to keep up with a blog for each child. Therefore, I won't be posting to Nicholas Footprints anymore. Instead, please check our our new family blog called Savor the Days at www.savorthedays.blogspot.com. See you there!

Hunting Panthers

2008-10-12T12:07:00.003-05:00

This morning, Stuart was doing some work in the backyard while Nicholas played nearby. At one point, I went out to check on them and Nicholas informed me that, "I'm hunting panthers so I can make Panther Nuggets!" Oh, yummy Panther Nuggets. Guess I won't have to worry about what to make for dinner tonight!

Making a Birthday Card

2008-10-08T18:53:00.005-05:00

Nicholas loves to make birthday cards for people. He has a big "art cart" that we roll out to the kitchen table and he has all kinds of neat supplies to choose from - paint, crayons, markers, stickers, foam stamps, yarn, magazine cutouts, pipe cleaners, craft sticks, etc. Yes, I think my love for arts and crafts has rubbed off on him a little bit.

Here he is working on a birthday card for one of his teachers. He did the art work and wrote his name then he told me what I could help write on the card for him.

Nicholas writes well but he writes really large so he often can't even get his whole name on one line. But this is a common for beginner writers so I don't say much about it. However, it does kind of bug me when he runs out of space and then he just crams the rest of the letters in nearby. See the card above how he wrote the S above the A when he ran out of space. It drives me a little crazy but I just bite my tongue. He's doing great and will work this out in his own time.

Super Sibling!

2008-10-06T23:15:00.006-05:00

This weekend Nicholas attended a class at the hospital where his little sister will be born. The class is for 3-5 year olds who are about to become a big brother or sister. The class was really great and we all enjoyed it.

The children started with decorating a foam picture fram that we will put in the baby's bassinet once she is born so the first face she wakes up to is her big brother looking over her.

Next we all watched a video about how to be a "Super Sibling!". It was a great presentation of what to do and what not to do with a little baby. For example, it showed a cat carrying its kitten by the nape of the neck. Then they asked, "Is this how your mommy will carry your sister?" And of course all the children said, "NO!" The video then talked about how to properly carry a baby. Next all of the children got on the floor in a circle for storytime and to look at pictures of real babies.

The next part was really fun. Each children got their own baby doll and blanket and they learned how to properly swaddle a newborn. Nicholas did great and loved holding the little baby.

Nicholas was impressing us with his big brother skills and soft gentle touch. Then we saw this....

Do we squeeze the baby by the head? NO!

Each child also got a medical hat, mask, and gown like all of the daddies will wear in the delivery rooms.

Finally, we all took a tour of the hospital. The children got to see how neat the bed are and how the buttons can make them move in different ways. They also got to see a couple of real newborns in the nursery.

Of course, Nicholas got most excited with the revolving door as we were leaving. What fun!

Starving Our Child?

2008-10-06T22:09:00.003-05:00

Tonight we were running some errands and we were all getting a little hungry. Nicholas said that he wanted to go to a restaurant to eat - He loves going out to eat just like his Mommy :) Anyway, we were trying to just get home and make some dinner but he kept on and on about wanting to go to a restaurant. Finally he said, "But we HAVE to go to a restaurant. You don't want me to starve do you?" Yes, he gets a little melodramatic at times :)

Glow in the Dark Tattoos

2008-10-05T23:53:00.007-05:00

Nicholas loves glow sticks and flashlights and he loves Halloween. So when I saw this pack of glow in the dark temporary tattoos, I just had to get them.

Nicholas loved going through them all and picking out two that he wanted to try out tonight. He picked a spider web and a creepy guy carrying a pumpkin.

Check out the cool picture that Stuart got of the tattoo glowing in the dark. Awesome!

This Week at Preschool

2008-10-04T13:47:00.003-05:00

My birthday was on Tuesday of this past week and apparently Nicholas told his teachers about it because they helped him make 2 birthday cards for me plus a little bouquet of carnations. He was so proud to be able to give me these gifts on his own.

Montessori Works:
Nicholas did a great job on a push pin work. This project takes a lot of time and can be rather tedious but is great for strengthening the pinceer grip used in writing. The student has a small piece of paper with a simple design on it, in this case an outline of a tulip, and he uses a push pin to punch small holes in the outline. He does this until the entire design is perforated and he can just punch out the tulip. Nicholas usually gets bored with it very quickly but this week he finished two push pin projects and he says, "I took my time and worked really hard on them."

Nicholas also worked on metal insets and sorting.

Language:
Nicholas learned the following sight words: the, to, pig, wig, and x-ray. He continued to practice his musical phonics. This week the class focused on the sounds of C and X.

Math:
Nicholas learned how to use the Table Top Blue and Red Rods and he played addition games with them. He is quite good at basic addition and subtraction. He often adds and subtracts numbers together just for the fun of it.

Good Shepherd lesson:
Exodus

The class got to see the x-rays of another student who had hurt his arm. Nicholas really enjoyed telling me all about it.

Baby Shower Fun

2008-10-03T23:37:00.007-05:00

Nicholas and I got to participate in a fun event today. Stuart's boss, Karen, secretly invited us to a surprise baby shower for Stuart. I didn't tell Nicholas until this morning after Stuart had left for work to be sure that the secret didn't leak out. Nicholas was so excited about surprising Daddy that he talked about it all morning.

We headed out to Plano later in the day. Karen had people watching Stuart so she knew when it would be safe for us to sneak in. We got to the room where the shower would be and Nicholas instantly discovered the pink and white balloons on the floor. Boy, did he have a blast! I had told him to be still and quiet and not too disruptive since this was where Daddy works and we had never met most of these people that were going to be at the shower. He promised to behave but when you throw balloons into the mix, well, it's all over. He ran around throwing balloons up in the air, kicking them, and rolling around on them for a good 15 minutes before we had to get him to settle down because the party was about to start.

I was so impresed by all of the work that Stuart's boss and his team had gone to in order to make this shower special. There were tons of presents, two cakes, lots of decorations, and about 30 people in attendance.

Karen finally brought Stuart into the room and we all said, "Surprise!" Stuart looked shocked and didn't want to walk into the room at first. He was so overwhelmed that he didn't even notice that Nicholas and I were there at first but Nicholas couldn't help but run over to see his Daddy. It was so much fun.

Everyone had filled out advice cards for raising a little girl and Stuart read them aloud. There were some really sweet ones and some really funny ones.

Next Stuart opened presents and again we were both overwhelmed by the generosity and thoughtfulness of everyone who put this together. Not only did the baby get lots of gifts but Nicholas got three gifts as well - a dump truck toy, a t-shirt that says, "I'm a big brother", and a book about being a big brother. Needless to say, Nicholas was thrilled. He ran over to one of the ladies to tell her thank you and kissed her on the cheek.

Nicholas also had lots of fun playing with the baby toys.

He was also very excited when Karen told him that he could take the balloons home and she got giant bags to put them in. Nicholas was so proud!

As excited as he was all morning and considering all of the exercise he got playing with the balloons, it was no surprise that Nicholas fell asleep shortly after we left the party to head home. He was one tired little guy!

Later tonight we met with our Bible study group. We knew that they were doing "something for the baby" but we were just execting a cake or something. Instead they had the room decorated with pink balloons and a cute banner welcoming the baby. And there were more presents - we are blessed to have such thoughtful friends! Check out the diaper cake. Isn't that cool?! It is made of little diapers wrapped around a tub of baby wipes. I know it will come in handy but I hate to ever have to disassemble it!

We had a great time at the shower and we did actually do a little of our Bible study. While the adults were busy with the shower and the Bible study, the kids were upstairs making a scene from Daniel in the Lion's Den. Each child made their own lion for the den.

Nicholas and his buddy also had fun playing with costumes.

Of course, Nicholas loved getting more balloons, especially the giant baby balloon. Here's a pic of him kissing the baby...

Do They Have A Button On Them?

2008-10-02T15:50:00.006-05:00

After school today, I took Nicholas to get a haircut. He loves getting haircuts because he knows that they will give him a lollipop when he's done.

On the way home, I told Nicholas that I had a surprise for him. I told him that I had two new Halloween decorations in the front yard. He got excited and asked, "Do they have a button on them?" I knew what he meant by that question - does it have lights and sound? He just loves going to the Halloween store and seeing all of the ghoulish decorations that have red eyes that light up and make scary sounds. Well, he was a little disappointed that I didn't have anything ghoulish but he did run over to them and hold their hands.

Guess What Nicholas Is Going to Be For Halloween?

2008-10-01T15:37:00.002-05:00

Darth Vader, of course!

Of course, depending on what day it is, he sometimes decides that he would rather be a Transformer or Batman or a Skeleton. Fortunately I was able to pick up a couple of different used costumes at Once Upon A Child consignment shop so he actually has several costumes to choose from for Halloween and to play dress up with later throughout the year.

The Nursery is Done!

2008-09-30T13:39:00.007-05:00

Woo hoo! The nursery is done! It's a good thing too because the little baby girl will be here in less than three weeks! Now if we only had a name for her.....

The only thing I still want to do is to paint a quote above her crib that reads, "Love like you'll never be hurt, Sing like no one is listening, Dance like no one is watching, Live like it's heaven on Earth." This may not get done before she arrives but I'm working on it on figuring out how I'm going to do it. That's a lot of words to try to freehand in a straight line with a paint brush!

Here are some pictures of the nursery. I've tried to explain the perspective of the shot for those of you who haven't seen this room before.

From standing in the doorway, a view of the right side of the room where the crib is. The two floral shadowboxes above the crib were given to me by Mom many years ago. They had a dark cherry wood frame but that was too dark for the nursery so I painted the frames ivory with a burgundy trim. There is a small bookshelf next to the crib with all of Nicholas' baby board books and baby toys on it. He is enchanted by all of the baby toys that he doesn't remember ever having. If he gets the chance, he will always go in there and play with the baby stuff!

A picture of the left side of the room with the window, glider rocker, baby quilt and a piece of the open door.

This picture was taken from where the window/glider is located looking at the back right corner of the room at the dresser/changing table and closet door.

This room used to be our guest bedroom and as you can see we don't really have a place for guests in here anymore. For Granddad Owen and Grandmother Chance who both plan to visit at different times during October, we will move the glider into the office and set up a twin bed in it's place. The baby will be in a bassinet in our bedroom so you won't have to share the room with a baby crying at 3 am but it will be a little crowded in there for you :)

Preschool Pals

2008-09-29T11:35:00.002-05:00

Here is a cute shot from our Monday playgroup. These are just some of the friends in Nicholas' preschool class.

Playing and Sharing with Friends

2008-09-26T23:28:00.005-05:00

This morning we went to meet up with our PTA friends at the park. Nicholas had fun climbing on the playground, watching ants, and playing in the pine needles and dirt. He is all boy, isn't he?

When it was time to take a break, he headed over to a blanket where Mrs. Deb had laid out lots of books and games for the kiddos. Nicholas learned how to play the game Perfection and he really seemed to enjoy it (Keep that in mind, Santa Claus).

Then we found a table and got out our picnic lunch. Nicholas said he was so hungry but when his friend came over and said she was hungry, he didn't hesitate to offer her half of his sandwich and then he shared his strawberries with her. When there were only two strawberries left, Nicholas said that they could each have one and he let his friend choose which strawberry she wanted. When she picked the smaller of the two, Nicholas said, "Oh, I was going to let you have the bigger one." I'm so proud of him for being so generous with his friends and for understanding the importance of sharing.

More Jumping on the Bed?

2008-09-24T20:58:00.000-05:00

I don't like Nicholas jumping on the beds. I don't care about the beds so much but I worry that the little daredevil will hurt himself with his lack of fear. However, as I was going through pictures on the camera I found several that Stuart apparently took of Nicholas jumping on our bed! Hmmmm. Yes, the jumping makes for cool pictures but now I'm going to be the "mean mommy" for telling him no jumping on the bed!

The Great Trash Bash

2008-09-23T20:33:00.007-05:00

Our PTA group sponsors a trash pickup at one of our local parks. Each year we pass around a sign up sheet among the membership and moms sign up for one day to go pick up trash at the park. It's a great way to teach our little ones the importance of keeping our environment clean.

This week is our week for cleaning the park. We went to the library yesterday and found the perfect book to read before our expedition. It's called The Great Trash Bash by Loreen Leedy. In addition to teaching the importance of picking up after ourselves, it also touches on the 3 R's - Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. So we read our book last night and talked about our agenda for today.

I picked Nicholas up from school and asked if he wanted to stop at a convenience store for popsicles/ice cream to eat when we got to the park. He said no. Huh??! Whose child is this in my car? And more importantly, how can I stop for a popsicle if my four year old isn't wanting one? I finally managed to convince him that we should stop so we got our treats and headed to the park.

Yummy treats. Ok, time to get to work. Nicholas was excited about cleaning up the park although the park is always really clean so I knew we didn't have much work to do. Nonetheless, I came prepared so that each of us had a plastic shopping bag for our trash (REUSE!) as well as some disposable gloves to keep our hands clean. Nicholas loves wearing gloves so he was all excited to get his gear. We walked around a while finding little tiny pieces of trash and one piece of an aluminum can. It was so clean that Nicholas got bored with the lack of activity and ended up running off to play on the playground.

I'm not sure what these little plastic pellets are but they can be found at every single park in our area. They may be some kind of little BB gun pellet but I never see any kids playing with such a thing. Anyway, today Nicholas called them treasure and collected a bunch of them along with the help of another little boy who showed up to play.

Your Bedroom Makes a Four!

2008-09-22T23:59:00.003-05:00

We were sitting at the dinner table tonight. Nicholas was talking about the running broad jump that he had been doing in our bedroom a little earlier. Suddenly he said excitedly, "Your bedroom makes a four!" It took us a minute to understand what he was talking about. However, if you think of the layout of our bedroom you can see that it makes the number four.

We were impressed at this. Even though he's never seen our bedroom from a bird's eye perspective, Nicholas was able to use spatial skills to imagine that looking down at the walkways in our bedroom would form the number 4. Amazing!

Loving His Baby Sister

2008-09-21T20:34:00.006-05:00

Nicholas is going to be such a great big brother. He is always hugging on my belly and telling his little sister how much he loves her. He kisses my belly good night and prays for his sister at bedtime. I asked Stuart to try to take some pictures that captured this sweetness. He did a better job at it than I could have ever imagined.

Of course, it is tedious to try to have any sort of posed photo shoot with a four year old boy, especially when it is outside where there are sticks, bugs, and leaves all around that are just begging to be played with. All things considered, Nicholas did a great job of posing for the pictures. He seems to have fun at everything he does. Take this picture for example. I'm not sure what he was doing but he just looks so happy and carefree!

Once we got back home, Stuart and Nicholas played outside for a little while. They checked out one of my rose bushes and even picked the perfect rose for me. What sweeties!

They quickly headed back outside and Nicholas enjoyed playing with the sword he got at Six Flags and digging for worms.

When they were too hot and tired for any more play time, they made their way back inside where we made sno-cones to help cool off.

Nicholas usually gets a "cold headache" when he eats cold things like this too quickly. He always runs to me to cuddle so I can warm his head - he thinks it makes a difference. But this time, I got the cold headache so he ran over to me and squeezed me with all his might to try to help me feel better.

I sure do love this sweet little guy!

Handyman Nicholas

2008-09-20T23:30:00.000-05:00

Stuart had to replace a set of blinds in our bathroom window today. Of course, Nicholas was ready and willing to help with his own little tool box in tow. He is so cute. He just loves helping Stuart on all of the various projects around the house. Today he insisted on putting this pencil behind his ear and I had to get a quick picture because the pencil kept falling.

Girl Scouts Garage Sale for a Great Cause

2008-09-20T13:13:00.004-05:00

I haven't posted an update about all that has happened since I won the $5,000 award from Pantene to add educational components about nature to a local playground. Well, I've spent a lot of time speaking with some members of the parks department and have been working to get a large all-inclusive (aka handicap accessible) wooden fort-like playground built on some undeveloped property that the town will be developing soon. I've attended several public hearings before the Parks, Arts, and Library Services board as well as Town Council to promote my idea and explain the reasons why our children need an exceptional park to help draw them outside, away from the television and video games. I'm excited to say that the final approvals have been granted for the concept drawings for the playground. Now I'm working on getting the community involved to help contribute time and money to help make the playground something really exceptional.

One of the ladies I've spoken with is the leader of a group of Daisy Girl Scouts. They are mostly 6 year olds and they want to do something to help contribute to the playground. I met with the girls last weekend at their first meeting of the year and talked to them about the efforts that have gone into getting the park to where it is and what we need to do next. I already knew that they would be learning about seeds and growing plants this year so I talked to them about the literal planting of seeds but also how we can plant seeds with our actions. We talked about how the seeds have been planted for the playground but now we need others to help water it to help it grow into something beautiful that we can all enjoy.

They decided to have a garage sale and donate all of the money to the playground. I worked with them to help get people in the community to donate items to be sold at the garage sale and made several trips around town picking up items for them.

The garage sale took place this morning and we all went over to show our support (and shop!). Nicholas' favorite part was the lemonade and donut stand. He was proud to do his part to contribute to the fundraiser by eating as much as he could.

Nicholas was also proud that he had gone through his toys and chosen some items to donate to help raise money for the playground. However, I did get in a little bit of trouble with him when he noticed a few more of his toys for sale at the garage sale that I had thrown in on my own. Oopsie! I hadn't thought about him catching me like this :)

I'm so proud of these little girls and what they did to get the fundraising piece of the project rolling. They have started us off with the first donation of $170. Way to go, girls!

Six Flags!

2008-09-20T08:45:00.004-05:00

Again this year, Pepsico had their annual party at Six Flags. It is always so much fun and Nicholas looks forward to it all year long. The entire park is closed to the public so the crowds and lines for the rides are small. Pepsico provides stations throughout the park where you can pick up free Aquafina, Gatorade, Pepsi soft drinks, Fritos, Doritos, Lays, Rold Gold pretzels, and Sun Chips. Plus each person gets some free Daffy Dollars that can be spent on food or souvenirs at the park. What an awesome family event for a company to put together! Thank you, Pepsico!

We ended up with an extra ticket so Nicholas got to invite a friend along with us. We went to McDonalds for a quick bite to eat before because we were all hungry.

The boys got Batman toys in their happy meals and Stuart helped them figure out how to make Batman shoot his batarang.

Then we were off for the real fun at Six Flags!

The boys had so much fun on the rides. I loved watching their smiles and laughter. I don't think either of them were ever worried or scared on the rides.

We got some great pictures until the sun went down. Then we enjoyed a special treat of cotton candy. Who can resist cotton candy?

We got each of the boys some souvenirs with the Daffy Dollars and headed home about 11:00 pm. We are all exhausted except for Nicholas who was too excited to just sit quietly. He just kept talking about all of the fun he had. But as soon as we were home he passed out in bed...and so did Mommy and Daddy.

Meet Bumblebear

2008-09-19T12:36:00.000-05:00

This morning we went to a PTA party at the library. It was fun and there was an instructor for Noah's Ark Animal Workshop there to help each child make their own stuffed animal!. Nicholas chose to make a Bumblebear which Mommy thought was the cutest of all the options to make.

The first thing Nicholas noticed was that the bear had an embroidered star on his foot. He said, "Look Mommy! This must be some kind of new Webkinz!" For those of you who are not Webkinz-savvy, the Webkinz stuffed animals have a little embroidered "W" on them.

He was given the bear and a bag of stuffing. The instructor taught the children how to make just the right size "snowballs" out of the stuffing to fit into the bear's arms, legs, etc. Nicholas make lots and lots of stuffing snowballs then the stuffing began. He was so cute as he stuffed because he was already talking to the bear as he worked on him.

Once Bumblebear was well stuffed, the instructor gave Nicholas an embroidered star. She told everyone to hold up their star and make a wish.

Nicholas wished for "all of the Star Wars toys ever made". Then he kissed the star and put it in the bear before we permanently closed him up. And voila! Meet Bumblebear! Isn't he a cutie!

This Week at Preschool

2008-09-18T16:13:00.004-05:00

Nicholas had a great week at school. Here's some things he worked with and learned about:

Montessori works: Nicholas practiced using the pink tower and brown stair extensions. He learned how to measure and cut flowers for the height of a vase.

Language: Nicholas practiced nursery rhymes, finger plays, and songs to help learn the pattern of sounds for reading. He has been using muscial phonics to learn about letters and he enjoys singing his phonics songs around the house.

Math: Nicholas enjoyed counting everything. He used Math Mats which helped him to listen carefully and cooperate.

Good Shepherd Lesson: Altar and flower cutting

Spanish: He has been learning to say various colors in Spanish.

I'm proud that Nicholas' school promotes a Developmental Point of View. Here's an excerpt from an article that was recently sent home:

It is highly unlikely that anyone without a Developmental Point of View can really take part in a successful Readiness Program. This is not a program for those who feel that a child is like a piece of clay which can be pushed and pulled to fit a pre-determined form. Nor is it a program for those who feel that a child is like a computer for which information is broken up into little pieces and fed in bit by bit, to be retrieved at a later date. It is a program for those who have faith in the orderliness of nature and trust a child to know his own needs.

The Developmental Point of View means understanding that growth is orderly, structured, predictable. Because a child is a living organism, he is subject to the same laws of growth as every other species in nature and has a cycle of development peculiar to humans in general. In this way he is like every other child.

The Developmental Point of View means respecting the fact that every child has his own rate and pattern of growth peculiar to him. In this way he is different from every other child.

The Developmental Point of View means accepting the child as a total action system; his physical, social, emotional, and intellectual components depending upon and supporting each other. These components are not separate, and one cannont be stretched ahead of the others without upsetting an intrinsic and intricate balance.

The Developmental Point of View means appreciating that readiness for any given task has its roots in the biological-maturational make-up of the child. We can neither produce it, hurry it, nor ignore it. When a child is ready, he will be born, walk, talk, and read.

The Developmental Point of View means promoting educational programs for children in terms of development as is is, NOW, not in terms of what one thinks it ought to be.

The Developmental Point of View means walking hand in hand with nature. It is a respect for the total humaness of children.

The Power of a Pen

2008-09-17T22:18:00.004-05:00

I picked the boy up from school today and we went to the park at the duck pond to spend some time outside and enjoy the awesome weather we've had.

I let Nicholas play on the playground for a little while but when he was ready for a break I told him that I had a surprise for him. I handed him a small package that came in the mail today for him from Granddad Owen. He excitedly opened it up and was glad to see an LSU pen (notice from his shirt that he had strawberries for lunch today - why does he think his shirt is a napkin?)

Nicholas loves LSU Tigers and even asked yesterday if McDonald's might have LSU Tiger toys in their Happy Meals someday. Anyway, this isn't just a regular old pen. No. This one plays the LSU Fight Song! How cool! Well, Nicholas had to run back to the playground and show all of the kids his new pen that plays music.

Then he had to go play the music for the ducks who were trying to take their afternoon siestas by the pond. Well, of course the ducks didn't appreciate a little four year old boy running up to them with a music-playing pen so they ran away. Hmmm, what do you think happened next? The four year old boy loved the response and created a new game - "Chase the Ducks with the LSU Fight Song Pen".

I let Nicholas play for a little longer on the playground before we left. At one point he was playing near the fence and bent down to pick something up. He came running over to me and said that these were for me. Sweet!

Thanks for the pen, Granddad! Nicholas loves it and has been playing that song over and over and over and over and over again ALL day long. He even wanted to bring the pen to bed with him tonight. I love the song but it's stuck in my head now and driving me crazy. You are so thoughtful to send this to us - how can I ever repay you? :)

Playtime at the Park

2008-09-15T16:12:00.003-05:00

Nicholas likes the new friends he has made in his class this year. The moms have started a little playgroup so we can get them all together to play once a week. This morning the weather was great so we all met at a park. Nicholas was pretending to be a dinosaur and making weird animal noises. He loves doing that - as much as those animal noises drive me crazy!

Hug Machine

2008-09-13T12:08:00.002-05:00

This morning, Nicholas and I were playing Tickle Monster on the bed. We were rolling around, laughing and such. Suddenly I grabbed him and gave him a big hug. I told him that I loved him so much that I just had to steal a hug. He laughed and said that I didn't steal all of his hugs because he has a Hug Machine in him that is always making more hugs. I tried to get the rest of the hugs from him but he said there were still more. Then he reached around to my back and made some silly noise then said, "I put a Hug Machine in you now so you will always have hugs too."

This Week at Preschool

2008-09-11T22:00:00.002-05:00

Montessori works: Nicholas practiced grasping and pouring beans, tearing and gluing paper, and he began working with the Montessori pink tower and red rod extensions.

Language: Nicholas learned the following sight words: on, the, turtle. The class has also been working on musical phonics. Everyone enjoys singing while they learn.

Math: Nicholas sorted and counted gummy bears (his favorite!) and worked with sand paper numerals.

Good Shepherd Lesson: The Land of Israel

Sweet Kisses

2008-09-11T17:04:00.002-05:00

Nicholas just amazes me at how thoughtful and sharing he is. Before leaving school today, he got some treats - a Tootsie Roll pop and 2 Hershey Kisses. When I picked him up, he asked if he could eat his Tootsie Roll pop and I said yes. Then he handed me his two Hershey kisses and said that they were for me. I thanked him but refused and said that they were for him. He said, "No, I want you and the baby to have them. They are for you!" Such a sweetie.

Funyuns Make Me Smile, Socks Make Me Cry

2008-09-08T23:43:00.001-05:00

Even though they are a Frito-Lay/Pepsico product, I don't usually buy Funyuns.

They are quite yummy - deep fried cornmeal with the flavor of onion rings. They just aren't very healthy so we don't get them often. However, Nicholas was grocery shopping with me and he somehow convinced me to buy a big bag of them (I always end up buying more groceries when he's with me!). He just loves Funyuns! Here he is with his "Funyun Smile":

Although he doesn't usually nap anymore, there are times that he just seems exhausted by the afternoon and you can tell that he needs to nap. This was one of those times. He was trying to pull off his socks and when it didn't come off on the first try, he had a bit of a melt down. Poor little guy!

Jump for Joy

2008-09-07T17:00:00.003-05:00

Nicholas really seems to love jumping on his bed. We don't want to encourage it but Stuart couldn't help but get the camera out for a mid-air shot.

Sir Nicholas Attends a Royal Ball

2008-09-06T16:44:00.007-05:00

Nicholas was thrilled to get to go to his dear friend Emma Rae's birthday party today. What fun! There was a bounce house, face painting, balloon swords for everyone. They even got to throw water balloons at a big inflatable dragon.

The party theme was knights and fairy princesses. Nicholas marched over to the face/hand painting table and had a sword painted on his hand. This seems like a simple thing but for him it was a big deal because he has never ever let us even get close to a table of people getting their faces or hands painted. I never figured out why he was so afraid of it but at least for now he seems to be over it.

Then we all got a big surprise when a fire truck pulled up in the front yard just for the kids at the party. As many times as Nicholas has climbed on a fire truck, he never gets tired of it. He got to sit in one of the seats that the actual firemen sit in on their way to a fire. He also learned about the water intake where the firemen hook up the hose from the fire hydrant to the truck's pump and then the output value where the hose the shoots the water comes out. I guess I never really thought about it but I didn't realize that the water from a hydrant actually ran through the truck's water pump before getting shot onto the fire.

About the time we were all done playing on the fire truck, a police car showed up for the kids too. Next everyone lined up and Mrs. Deb knighted each of the boys and turned the girls each into princesses. Then each child got a custom gift bag with their name on it. The boys all got knight helmets and swords. What a hit!

Here are some pictures of the little knights and fairy princesses.

Photographer Nicholas

2008-09-05T16:33:00.003-05:00

Stuart and I have been discussing new dishwashers. Not that we just want to spend the money or take on a new household project. No, as usual, something broke and now we have to replace it. So is the way of home ownership. Of course, as we are trying to compare the millions of different dishwashers out there, the subject of cost keeps coming up in the decision making process.

Nicholas decided that he would contribute and said, "Don't worry. I can help with this" and he disappeared for a while. When he came back, he had put some money from his piggy bank into an old treasure chest box and gave it to us to buy a new dishwasher.

Of course, being the shutterbug that I am, I had to take a picture of the treasure to capture the moment. Then Nicholas climbed up on the coffee table to take a picture of the box with his own camera.

He took several shots standing up then others as he squatted down closer to the box. He told Stuart that the pictures were too bright and he asked for us to close the curtains because he was getting too much light. So cute! The other day he also announced that he needed a tripod and a backdrop for taking pictures!

We've been cleaning out lots of old stuff around the house lately. It's sort of a pre-baby, last-time-I'll-have-time-for-this, late spring cleaning. We found an old camera that we bought in 2000 that had something wrong with it so we replaced it. Yet for some reason we never got rid of the broken camera. We have now finally gotten rid of the broken camera but we kept it's camera bag to give to Nicholas. Boy, was he proud to have a real "professional" camera bag similar to the one that Daddy has. He has carried it around with him all day long.

This Week at Preschool

2008-09-04T22:13:00.004-05:00

Nicholas is having fun being back in school but he's had to be redirected several times for being noisy and talking too much. Lately at home he just seems to talk non-stop all day long so I guess I'm not terribly surprised. I'm not sure if this is attention-seeking or just his way of sharing all the things going on in his busy little mind. I know the constant talking can wear me down by the end of the day and I'm sure it is disruptive in the classroom. I hate to tell him to stop talking and expressing himself but he does need to learn that there is a time and place for talking and a time and place for being quiet. We'll have to work on this some more.

This week at school, Nicholas did some work on improving his fine motor skills for writing such as push pin work, tearing paper into specific shapes, grinding, and painting. He learned the parts of the turtle.

For reading, I usually focus strictly on the phonics of the words with him and I have not tried to teach him any sight words yet. However, at school this week, he was presented with sight words including me, home, no, hot, and mom. I would like to work with him more on sight words and maybe this is a good time to start doing so.

For math, Nicholas worked on the spindle box, sandpaper numerals, and math mats.

He has Spanish class and a trip to the library every Tuesday. On Wednesdays, he goes to chapel, P.E., and music class. On Thursdays, he has art class. This week in Spanish he learned that "pequeño" means small and "grande" means large. He is really proud to be learning Spanish and has enjoyed going around repeatedly telling us the translation for these two words over and over.

Toothbrushes Can Clean So Much

2008-09-02T10:11:00.002-05:00

Stuart or I usually supervise Nicholas as he brushes his teeth to be sure that he brushes long enough. However, he finishes up, rinses, and cleans up his toothbrush on his own. Well, maybe he still needs some supervision on this part of the process too. Recently Daddy noticed some lint or hair on the toothbrush and asked Nicholas about it. He said, "I used it to clean my sink and my mirror too!" Ewww! Time to go to Target for a new toothbrush!

Little guy, I appreciate your willingness to help Mommy clean the bathroom but let's keep the toothbrush for cleaning your mouth only please!

Homeschooling in our future?

2008-08-29T19:38:00.005-05:00

Stuart and I both believe in the importance of education. I love the concept of homeschool and have such admiration and respect for families are homeschooling their children. I would like to be able to homeschool Nicholas but often question whether or not I have the patience, organization, structure, and dedication to take on such an incredibly important responsibility. Plus, I tend to get a little stressed out if I don't have a little bit of "me time" now and then which I don't think I'd have if Nicholas was home with me all day every day. So for now, he goes to a private preschool that by the grace of God we can afford at this time.

However, when he is done with preschool, what will we do? I'd love to send him to a private Christian college prep school like the one I went to in Louisiana. However, I don't know how my parents were able to afford such a thing for both my brother and me and I don't see any way that we will be able to pay for it, especially for two children.

The other option is public school. Woo hoo, we could sure save a lot of money with that option. However, my brother went to a public school in Louisiana for a brief period of time and it seemed very "rough" and I don't mean from an academic standpoint. I also had some friends that went to public school and they were just different from my friends at private school. I can't explain exactly how - a little rougher? a little less sheltered? a little more risk-taking and wild? I know that public schools in Texas, and especially in our district, are top-notch and nothing like what I've heard about public schools in Louisiana. But I just can't seem to shake the worries I have about teachers who don't care and students who are up to no good. I also hate the fact that God is not in the public schools and I don't want our children getting conflicting messages between home and school.

So what will we do when Nicholas leaves preschool? Homeschool? Private school? Public school? I think about this several times a week. I lean towards homeschooling but still worry about whether or not I can handle it, whether or not I'm qualified to take this on. Fortunately I have another year to mull over it.

I recently joined an email group of homeschooling families at our church so that I can get exposure to some of the issues that homeschooling moms deal with. I happened to get an email today from this group with the following story:

(Excerpt written by Ethan Demme)

Moses didn't feel qualified to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. He was frank with God about his perception of his abilities. Moses' questions may be summarized as, "Who am I? What shall I say unto them? They will not believe me. I am not eloquent."

In reading through this interaction between Moses and God, it is encouraging to note that as Moses trots out one question after another, God patiently answers each with a reminder of who He is and what He will do for him.

It is only when Moses says, "Let someone else do it," that God gets angry.

We know from our perspective, with our 20/20 hindsight, that Moses was uniquely qualified to do exactly what God had called him to do. His education in Egypt coupled with a strong Levitical heritage, seasoned by forty years in the wilderness, and enhanced by his experience as a shepherd, made for a peerless candidate who could and would lead the children of Israel out of the wilderness and into the promised land.

Guess what? God has uniquely equipped you to teach your children. You were created before the foundation of the world for this very work. This good work. The eternal work of training, teaching, shepherding, and raising your kids to live forever with Jesus.

You know more than you think. You have been wonderfully endowed and furnished to teach your children. Your children need what you have to offer. While I may understand math, you understand your kids.

So when you are tempted to be discouraged or feel unqualified, remember Moses. And Moses' God. He has called and prepared you for this very journey. He doesn't call the equipped; he equips the called.

How inspiring! God has blessed us to be parents and no one knows our children like we do. Surely we are better equipped to train and teach them than a stranger who is in charge of a class of 20 other students all at different educational levels. Hmmm, definitely something I need to keep in the forefront of my thoughts over the next year.

And Here is the Tree Frog!

2008-08-27T09:49:00.003-05:00

While I was packing Nicholas' lunchbox this morning, he was upstairs playing with Daddy and apparently digging through the desk in our office. He came bounding down the stairs and said, "Here comes the tree frog!" and he showed me his tree frog feet. All 10 of his fingers had brightly colored round stickers on them and I can see how one might say they looked like the feet of a tree frog...sort of...

After School Treats

2008-08-26T15:10:00.000-05:00

Well enough of that sappy emotional stuff about time flying and my baby growing up. It is time for ice cream! I just picked Nicholas up from school and took him to celebrate "back to school" with some cold treats from our newly discovered treat-place called Bahama Buck's.

Nicholas ordered a coconut snow cone and I ordered an Orange Crusher smoothie. Nicholas was excited about the little umbrella that came with his snow cone. However, he then wanted to try my treat and decided that he liked mine better so we traded. The Orange Crusher was really good and I hated to give it up for a coconut snow cone but how can a mommy say no to her cute little guy?

Don't Blink

2008-08-26T11:14:00.003-05:00

Today is the first day back to school for Nicholas. He has the same awesome teacher that he had last year and a few of his friends from last year will be continuing in this class as well. However, most of his friends from last year were a little older than him and have moved on to Kindergarten. So Mrs. Carrico says that Nicholas will be one of her leaders in the class this year. She is counting on him to help the younger children coming in feel welcomed and comfortable and to set a good example for them. He is very excited about being a class leader and he's been looking forward to starting back to school. But he said "I'm a little shy to meet new friends." If you know Nicholas, you know that he isn't a shy quiet kind of child but I'm sure he is feeling a little nervous about meeting so many new children. He'll do great though and I'll bet he has several new best friends by the end of the week.

Of course, we got our traditional first day of school picture with his new lunchbox that he picked. This year it is Batman. I even found a matching Batman insulated drink bottle to keep his milk cold as well as a Batman food thermos to keep food warm in winter.

He was bouncing around acting silly while we were waiting in car line to drop him off this morning. Here's some pics of his antics.

He just gets funnier and funnier. I also got this picture as he was getting out of the car this morning. He is holding two flowers which he picked himself for his two teachers. What a charmer he is!

I can't believe he's going to be in Kindergarten next year. How is that possible? Where has the time gone? I still can feel him falling asleep in my arms as a newborn with that sweet new baby smell. I remember his first smile, his first time rolling over, first step. What beautiful memories. We make new beautiful memories every day but I still find myself wanting to hold on to him as a baby boy and not close the chapter on those precious years. They just went by too fast. There's a country song by Kevin Chesney that sums it up in two words...

Don't Blink

I turned on the evening news
Saw an old man being interviewed
Turnin' 102 today.
Asked him what's the secret to life
He looked up from his old pipe
Laughed and said all I can say is:

Don't blink,
Just like that you're six years old
And you take a nap
And you wake up and you're 25
Then your high school sweetheart becomes your wife.
Don't blink,
You just might miss your babies growing like mine did
Turnin' into moms and dads
Next thing you know your better half of 50 years
Is there in bed and you're prayin' God takes you instead
Trust me friend, 100 years goes faster than you think
So don't blink.

Well, I was glued to my T.V.
When it looked like he looked at me
And said, "You best start puttin' first things first."
'Cause when your hour glass runs out of sand
You can't flip it over and start again
Take every breath God gives you for what it's worth.

Don't blink,
Just like that you're six years old
And you take a nap
And you wake up and you're 25
Then your high school sweetheart becomes your wife.
Don't blink,
You just might miss your babies growing like mine did
Turnin' into moms and dads
Next thing you know your better half of 50 years
Is there in bed and you're prayin' God takes you instead
Trust me friend, 100 years goes faster than you think
So don't blink.

So, I've been trying to slow it down.
I've been tryin' to take it in.
In this here today gone tomorrow world we're living in
So...

Don't blink,
Just like that you're six years old
And you take a nap
And you wake up and you're 25
Then your high school sweetheart becomes your wife.
Don't blink,
You just might miss your babies growing like mine did
Turnin' into moms and dads
Next thing you know your better half of 50 years
Is there in bed and you're prayin' God takes you instead
Trust me friend, 100 years goes faster than you think
So don't blink.

Usually Our Plants Don't Grow

2008-08-25T20:54:00.004-05:00

We've actually been better than usual about running our sprinkler system to keep the grass and plants watered. Maybe the two dead trees in our front yard has prompted us to pay more attention to our landscape. Today Stuart was commenting about a giant hibiscus bloom that he said looks a bit like a small satellite dish. It is quite an impressive bloom and even Nicholas thought it was neat looking. He said, "Wow, that's nice. Usually our plants don't grow." Thanks little buddy!

Skunky Vultures

2008-08-24T20:31:00.001-05:00

There just always seems to be something in need of repair at our house so today we made our routine trip to Home Depot. While we were there, Nicholas kept running down the aisles. I told him the usual, "No running!". I heard him murmur something like, "Ok, then I'll just gallop." and he continued down the aisle with something just shy of a run. I guess now I have to clarify by saying, "No running and no galloping!"

On our way home from Home Depot, there was a dead skunk that must have recently been hit by a car. I never actually saw the skunk myself but there was no question what it was by the smell in the air.

Nicholas recalled another trip to Home Depot where he had seen a vulture eating some kind of road kill and he made a comment that a vulture might like to eat this skunk. Then he thought about it some more and said, "But you wouldn't want to get too close to that vulture. He might burp on you and that would really stink because he ate that skunk!"

Breakfast of Champions

2008-08-24T10:37:00.003-05:00

Stuart and I stay up way too late each night so we enjoy sleeping late on the weekends...that is, until Nicholas wakes us up. As usual, Nicholas was up before us but he didn't come bouncing on the bed. He quietly went down stairs to get some breakfast for himself. He is quite independent these days. Of course, he is very thoughtful for a four year old and he brought some breakfast upstairs for Stuart and
me. When we got out of bed, this was lined up, just as pictured, in our doorway...

....a box of raisins, a bowl with milk and some kind of cereal (with a spoon), and a jar of pickles (with a fork). So sweet...but such an unusual breakfast. Needless to say, we thanked him for the breakfast but managed to avoid actually eating any of it. When we made it downstairs, Stuart noticed an opened box of Triscuit crackers on the kitchen table. He asked Nicholas, "Hmm, so was that Triscuit 'cereal' that you made for us?". Nicholas said, "Well, I thought it was cereal but it was really just crackers." But he went ahead and made cereal out of it anyway.

A Visit from Mrs. Mundt

2008-08-23T21:01:00.003-05:00

Nicholas just loves one of my long time friends, Shelley Mundt. Before he was born, she handmade a quilt for him and gave him a little stuffed teddy bear. He still sleeps with the quilt at times and he affectionately calls the bear "Mrs. Mundt Bear".

Today Shelley came over to bring us some baby girl clothes and a handmade quilt for the baby. Nicholas was so excited to see her. Daddy got out the camera to get a picture of Shelley with the quilt and me. Nicholas had to get in on the action too. This first picture is Daddy's....

This second picture is by Nicholas...

So maybe he needs a little more practice with framing his shots but at least the passion is there.

Shelley, thank you again for the beautiful quilt and all of these baby girl clothes! I've had fun going through this giant stack of clothes and I'm loving all the pink. So cute!

And Down Comes the Second Tree...

2008-08-23T15:20:00.003-05:00

We started the day off with a bang. Stuart cut down the second of our two dead trees that were in the front yard. This one was particularly sad for us because this was the tree where we hung his toddler swing that Grandmother Chance gave him. He would giggle and cackle as we pushed him higher and higher. We're all sad to see this tree go.

Nicholas did all of the hard work in cutting down the tree with his hammer as you can see from this video. Stuart just came in and finished it up.

Nicholas liked the chain saw but it was a little bit loud for him.

Woo hoo! A whole new climbing structure right here in our front yard!

Then we had to load up all the cut branches and trunk into the back of the truck. Nicholas was a great helper. He's quite strong and was able to drag some pretty large branches over to the truck for Daddy. Next we drove off to the landfill to give a final farewell to our tree. Nicholas was excited to see where all of the trash actually ends up. Per requirement of the landfill, Daddy had to wear a bright green hard hat and vest in order to enter. He looked cool.

None of us enjoyed the smell but we did have fun watching the bulldozer work!

A Photographer in the Making?

2008-08-23T08:10:00.005-05:00

Nicholas woke us up this morning and he was eager to take some pictures. He has a digital camera that Grandad Owen gave him a while back and he just loves it. He stood in the doorway and took a picture of me sitting up half asleep. He looked at the picture on his viewer and said, "Hmm, needs more light". So he came closer to me and stood by the window and took the shot again. It was well framed and the lighting looked good. I know you are expecting to see his work of art here but I'm sorry. Did you forget that I said I was half asleep? And of course I was blinking as he took the picture so I look really crazy. I think I accidentally deleted the picture(bad mama!).

I praised him for his picture but suggested that he find another subject to practice taking portrait shots - at least until I was more awake. He went into his room, turned on his bedside lamp and set up his Webkinz dog, Cappaccio, for a photo shoot.

Then later this morning, once we were showered and dressed, he took more pictures of us. First this quick shot...

Then he said, "Ok, now give kisses!" so we kissed and he took our picture! What a cute little photographer he is!

Preschool Orientation and a Trip to McKinney

2008-08-22T22:46:00.005-05:00

Yesterday we went to Orientation at Nicholas' preschool. He has the same teacher and same classroom as last year so it really wasn't a big deal. However, I can see that it is a good way to help get him focused back on the school setting. He was there for 45 minutes with just a few other students that will be in his class. When I picked him up, he had two Tootsie Roll pops and gave one to me. He said they were supposed to be just for the kids but he asked Mrs. Carrico if he could get one for him Mommy too and she said yes.

Today we went to the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary in McKinney. It was a bit of a drive and it was really hot out there but we had a great time. They currently have a big snake exhibit and we saw some really interesting snakes. Nicholas was amazed at the size of the python. There was also a giant snake model that the children could walk through. Unfortunately, my memory card quit working soon after we got there and I didn't realize it until we were about to leave so I only have one picture from this outing. Nicholas was fascinated with learning about coral snakes and the saying, "Red on black, friend of Jack. Red on yellow, kill a fellow." Here's a picture of him working on one of their interactive exhibits where you can set up the snakes color pattern yourself to see the red on black/red on yello. We learned that coral snakes have the second most potent venom of all snakes in North America.

Some other fun things we did there include the giant sandbox where you can dig for fossilized bones and also a live working bee hive encased in glass so you can safely watch all of their activity at the hive. They also have a greenhouse set up as a butterfly exhibit. We walked in and were surrounded by live butterflies. Nicholas hoped that one would land on him but it never happened. I got some really great butterfly pictures in this exhibit, but alas, my memory card didn't save them :(

Afterwards, we went exploring in McKinney. We were hoping to stop by Herbie's Burgers and Soda Fountain for some old fashioned milk shakes but there was a lot of construction around the building and I couldn't tell if the restaurant was even still in business. So we went to another cool shop instead. It's called Mom and Popcorn. They have 45 flavors of popcorn. Yes, I'm sure you've heard of cheese flavored popcorn and caramel popcorn. But have you heard of barbeque flavored popcorn? What about creamy dill or pizza? Or some of their sweet flavors like green apple or pina colada? They sound crazy but trust me they are all yummy. I know this because they are very generous with their samples! I wish I could have stayed their all day and tried all 45 flavors :)

Nicholas got a bag of cornfetti flavor which is a mixture of all of their sweet flavors. It is very colorful and very tasty. After I tried his, I wished I had gotten another bag for myself!

Working with Tangrams

2008-08-20T20:22:00.006-05:00

The other day we were at our favorite educational toy store, Constructive Playthings/U.S. Toy, and I found a set of tangrams that I bought for Nicholas to try. They are just geometric shapes that the child fits into patterns on a card. Sounds simple but I think it is a great workout for the brain. The box calls them "geometric brain builders" and says that they wire kids brains for important problem-solving.

I wasn't sure if Nicholas would get excited about tangrams or not. However, with his recent interest in puzzles I thought it was worth a shot. He was so excited when he saw the box that he didn't even want to wait for me to open it and read the directions. He started working on them right away and made it up to level 3 without a problem.

At one point, I read the card which said that the shapes would make a rhomboid. He said, "That's not a rhomboid! I'll show you what that shape is." Then he ran off and came back with a shape puzzle that Grandmother Chance had given him when he was one year old. He pulled out the parallelogram and put it next to the rhomboid and said they matched.

Goodbye Pink

2008-08-20T09:51:00.005-05:00

Nicholas was too busy this morning playing pirate to get dressed. I picked out some clothes for him and asked him to hurry up and get dressed because we were meeting our friends at Studio Movie Grill to watch Pippi Longstocking. Nicholas quickly put on the shorts then he paused and asked, "Have I worn this shirt before? It's pink. I don't want to wear a pink shirt. I can't wear that! I would silly in a girl color! I can wear a shirt that is red, or green, or blue, or brown, or striped, but NOT PINK!"

Granted, I would not have picked out and purchased a pink shirt for him. A friend gave it to him. I think it is a nice shirt and not feminine looking. He's worn it in the past without complaints but I guess my little pirate is more concerned about what he wears now. I guess the brown shirt does look a little better on this scary pirate.

Working on a Puzzle

2008-08-19T18:10:00.003-05:00

Nicholas has had many puzzles since he was 2 years old. However, he hasn't had much interest in working them until recently. He would get frustrated when he couldn't figure it out and just want to quit. But recently he has become more patient and will keep trying until he gets it. Today we worked on a giant floor puzzle of construction vehicles. I gave him some direction about placing the corners and outline first and then filling in the center. I gave a few clues along the way when he was struggling to place a piece but for the most part he worked the puzzle by himself.

Nicholas was very proud when he finished the puzzle. He was impressed with how big the the picture ended up being but he had to point out that he was still bigger than the puzzle as he lay across it.

Walk A Little Slower, Daddy

2008-08-18T22:54:00.001-05:00

Tonight Nicholas was following Stuart somewhere in the house but he was having a hard time keeping up with him. Nicholas said, "Walk a little slower Daddy. Remember what the Father's Day card said."

I neglected to mention this on the entry for Father's Day this year but Nicholas made a cute Father's Day card for Stuart at his school. It included the following poem which we read aloud on Father's Day but haven't mentioned it since then.

"Walk a Little slower, Daddy." said a little child so small.
I'm following in your footsteps and I don't want to fall.

Sometimes your steps are very fast, sometimes they're hard to see;
So walk a little slower Daddy, for you are leading me.

Someday when I'm all grown up, You're what I want to be.
Then I will have a little child who'll want to follow me.

And I would want to lead just right, and know that I was true;
So, walk a little slower, Daddy, for I must follow you!!

~author unknown

I'm always in awe of how well Nicholas remembers things and then applies them so appropriately in real life situations.

An Angel for His Little Sister

2008-08-16T12:37:00.001-05:00

A few months ago, we had some problems with Nicholas going to bed at night because he was afraid. We tried everything. He has a night light on during the night. We explained that Daddy and Mommy wouldn't let anything happen to him and that Jesus was watching over him all the time. Out of desperation, I offered to give him a little angel figurine that I was given a long time ago. I told him that the angel would watch over him and keep him safe. He liked this idea so the angel now sits on top of his bookcase at the foot of his bed and looks down on him throughout the night.

Recently, Nicholas said that he wanted to be sure that we got an angel for his little sister's room. It was such a touching idea that I decided to take him shopping to pick out the angel himself. Amazingly, the next day I saw a posting on Freecycle where someone just down the street from us was wanting to give away 8 angel figurines for free. I contacted the lady and explained that we were interested but only needed one angel. She let us come to her house and she pulled out each angel for Nicholas to see. I saw one that was so sweet and was mostly pale pink and pale green which would match the colors of the nursery beautifully. But this was Nicholas choice so I bit my tongue so I wouldn't influence his decision. He picked a rather large one that plays music. The colors are a brighter than I would have liked but they are actually pink and green like the nursery. The angel is holding a scroll that reads, "Praise the Lord!"

A Picnic for you...No, I changed my mind...

2008-08-15T22:30:00.005-05:00

This afternoon Nicholas decided that he wanted a snack and went to the kitchen to see what he could find. He came back with two little plates and two cups of orange juice. On the plates were some crackers and cheddar cheese that he had sliced himself with a butter knife. He said that he wanted us to have a picnic together. So sweet! I hadn't even asked for anything but he was so thoughtful to have brought a snack for me too.

Before I had a chance to take a bite, my cell phone rang. It was Daddy calling to say that he was on his way home from work (he only works half days on Fridays). As soon as Nicholas realized that Daddy was on his way home, he said, "This picnic food is not for you. I'm saving it for Daddy. You can get your own."

What?!

Rescue Heroes

2008-08-14T12:23:00.004-05:00

This morning, Nicholas decided to pull out all of his Rescue Hero vehicles and line them up on the table. He has quite a few and about twice as many of the actual hero figures. He then directed me to tell a story in which the Rescue Heroes are called to duty. Every day we create tons of stories that we act out either as ourselves or through his many toys.

Videos from Trip to a Local Playground

2008-08-13T15:41:00.001-05:00

We are so blessed to have so many great parks in our town. Several are within walking distance. On this day, I walked while Nicholas rode his bicycle. He loves riding his bike and singing as you can see. (Sorry but the video on this camera has trouble focusing at times)

As soon as we arrived at the park, Nicholas noticed a hole at the base of a tree that he had never noticed before. He was quick to pull off his pads and helmet and he said that he had to go investigate it! He figured it is for some kind of animal that lives in trees and he wanted to look for the animal.

After checking out the hole, Nicholas determined that there were ants living there and therefore it must also be the home of a baby anteater!

Once we got on the playground, Nicholas pretended to fly a space ship to Mars. I love catching him at play like this and hearing his cute answers to questions. Again, the video goes out of focus at times but it is still cute!

As you can see, we got pretty hot out there. It was at the end of the day and Daddy called my cell phone to say that he was on his way home. We let him come pick us up at the park. We could have ridden in the cab but what fun it was to ride in the bed of his pick up truck since we just had to travel a few streets through the neighborhood! I told Nicholas that we would have to duck down if we saw a police officer because we were supposed to be wearing our seat belts. He thought that was a neat idea and created a game in which he would shout that he saw a police officer and we had to duck down and hide!

Mr. Smarty Pants!

2008-08-12T16:02:00.004-05:00

This morning I said "ouch" and Nicholas asked what was wrong and I told him I had a boo boo on my finger and it hurt when I bent it. He said, "Oh, then just don't bend it." Well, ok then Mr. Smarty Pants!

We had fun at a water park today. I can't believe summer is almost over! We've had fun but with my pregnancy I haven't felt up to going out and about as much as usual so I'm sad for all the plans I had that didn't happen.

The Treasure Within Us

2008-08-11T09:39:00.002-05:00

Nicholas sometimes says the most amazing things! Yesterday we were pretending to be pirates seeking treasure. Nicholas went to show Daddy the treasure he had found. Daddy played along but then asked Nicholas if he knew where Daddy's treasure was. Nicholas said, "No". Daddy pointed to Nicholas and said, "It's you!"

Nicholas caught on and said that Mommy and Daddy were his treasure too but so was the bag of gold that he had. I was curious if he was really catching on to how we were using treasure for gold and for people so I asked him if he could explain what the word treasure meant. I quickly wrote down his response word for word so I wouldn't forget it.

He said, "Some treasure that pirates dig up is underground but treasure in the world that is within us is Jesus." I think Stuart and I both dropped our jaws at this one and looked at each other bug-eyed. This little guy can be so insightful and spiritual for a 4 year old.

An Impromptu Adventure

2008-08-10T14:48:00.005-05:00

We ventured out to one of our local parks so Stuart could practice taking some portrait pictures of me with my big pregnant belly.

We hadn't really planned on doing any exploring on this visit but Nicholas was itching to go down in the creek bed. Stuart went down with him and got some great pictures of the adventure.

Nicholas found a giant rock and of course he had to throw it in the creek for the big splash effect.

Then he took a closer look at the water and watched some tadpoles swimming by.

He always has lots of fun climbing and jumping on the rocks here.

Nicholas spent a lot of time using a stick to scoop out some slimy moss out of the creek and toss it on the bank. He has no problem touching the dirty slimy stuff. Ick!

Check out this cool picture of a spider web they found!

Three Hot Weekends

2008-08-09T22:26:00.005-05:00

Our church is currently in a series called "Three Hot Weekends". For our church services, Stuart and I are in the main sanctuary while Nicholas is in the children's church where he hears about the Word of God in age appropriate ways like Bible stories, crafts, and a weekly puppet show. However, this weekend I wish he could have been in our main sanctuary at least for a little while before the service started. Since they are playing on the idea of summer, they were giving away cups of ice cold lemonade and about 10 minutes before the service started, these giant inflatable balls appeared and we got to play with them as people continued to find their seats. I love being at a church that isn't too stuffy to just have fun sometimes. Check out the quick video and you'll even catch a glimpse of Stuart getting ready to work the video camera.

Bedtime Silliness

2008-08-08T23:33:00.003-05:00

I love reading bedtime stories to Nicholas. Because my pregnant belly has gotten too big to let him cuddle in my lap in the glider rocker while we read, now I just lie next to him in his bed as we read. I was glad when Stuart got out the camera and got a few pictures of us together.

Soon, Nicholas turned silly and decided that he wanted to be the star of the show so he covered my face with the book. What a silly little ham!

I pretended to have hurt feelings - which, of course, he just loved! But he soon decided to make up with me by giving me eskimo kisses. Oh, how I love this sweet little boy.

First Pictures of His Baby Sister

2008-08-08T18:21:00.005-05:00

Today I had one of these cool new 3D/4D sonograms of the baby. The quality of the images are just amazing! The closest thing to getting a real picture inside my belly. The technician estimates that she weighs about 3 pounds, 1 ounce now.

Of course, Nicholas was excited to see his little sister for the first time. I'm sure the picture looked a little odd to him even though we explained her position and that her arm is crossing in front of her face.

Here is a picture of her left side as she is lying on her back. You can see her two legs sticking up in the air and her left arm. As we tried to explain the picture to Nicholas, he decided to show us what she was doing so he got down on the floor in the fetal position. I guess he understands it more than I thought!

Here's another picture from the side showing her left leg, left arm, and head all curled up in a ball. Isn't modern technology amazing!

Out and About

2008-08-07T17:33:00.006-05:00

I'm still struggling to catch up on all the things we've been doing lately. I missed including this video on a recent blog entry. We had gone to Home Depot to get the new tarp for Nicholas' fort roof and while we were there, Stuart decided to get some ropes for some other upgrades on the fort. Nicholas loves playing with the ropes while we were there. In this video, he is using the ropes and the shopping cart like a snow sled and saying "Mush!". Cute stuff!

Earlier this week, we met up with some of our PTA friends for a playdate in a friend's pool. There was lots of shade so it was really nice considering this terrible heat we're having.

Nicholas enjoyed playing like his was a shark with his big dorsal fin sticking up. Earlier he had been doing this while making the music from Jaws!

Nicholas and I recently made a trip to Burlington/Baby Depot so I could shop for a few more pieces of maternity clothing. While we were there Nicholas said that he wanted to pick out a new toy for his little sister. He searched all over but wasn't thrilled with the selection of toys there. He finally decided on this farm animal toy from Fisher Price. He did pretty well for choosing an age appropriate toy and not something related to Star Wars or a super hero!

As we walked through the store just browsing, Nicholas found these two very-low-to-the-ground, sink-your-body-right-into-them chairs. Of course, he wanted us to both sit in them and not being one to pass on fun with the boy, I obliged. However, after struggling to lower my larger than usual body into the chair without falling on my behind, I soon realized that I was going to have an even harder time getting myself out of the chair. As I tried to pull myself out, I decided I was too tired and just wanted to sit there a little longer. As I sat resting, my sweet child started making fun of how I was trying to get out of the chair. It was nice having him show me just how graceful I looked!

A Big Boy Bed - Finally!

2008-08-06T23:09:00.000-05:00

Yes, Nicholas is four and he has just now gotten his "big boy bed". We have been wanting to move him from the toddler bed to a twin bed for quite a while but we kind of thought that if we had another little boy then it would be easiest to put the baby in Nicholas' room which was still decorated in a "nursery" style. Then we wouldn't have to start over with decorating a little boy's nursery and we'd just move Nicholas to the other bedroom to make a more dramatic "big boy room" for him. Well, we aren't having a little boy so we decided to just leave him in the same room with the light blue walls and redecorate it for a big boy.

Nicholas decided that he wanted his big boy room to have a space theme. First we had to get rid of all the ABCs and teddy bears throughout the room. Thank goodness he hasn't minded having a nursery theme for so long! We took down the border around the top of the room and painted over my little hand painted cloud mural that said, "I'm A Little Gift From Heaven" (I was sad to see it go). Nicholas was excited to help take apart his toddler bed.

We put it and the matching dresser in the little girl nursery since the toddler bed can convert back to a crib for her. Next Nicholas helped to bring in the headboard and footboard for his new twin bed. He was so excited to be involved in putting his room together!

Before we could even get the bed made up and put some other things away in their new homes, Nicholas was already jumping on the bed. For some crazy reason I had been inspired to set up the bed just before Nicholas' bedtime. Well of course he was too wound up with excitement to go to sleep for quite a while. Instead he reveled in the joy of jumping on his new bed to initiate it.

To create the space theme for the room, we used some giant foam board printouts of some awesome space pictures that our church had used in their preschool. They were going to just throw them out so they were happy to let me put them to good use. The space theme goes well with the Star Projector and Moon In My Room that he already had.

Fort Upgrades and Water Balloons Galore!

2008-08-05T23:29:00.002-05:00

We had a big hail storm here back in April. The roof on our house needed to be replaced afterwards but amazingly the roof on Nicholas' fort appeared to remain strong. However, the storms must have weakened the tarp roof and since April it has slowly started coming apart. Today Stuart went to Home Depot and bought a replacement tarp for the roof. While he was there he also bought two kinds of rope - one for a climbing rope on one end of the fort and the other for a pulley system he created near the front door of the fort to help Nicholas get snacks, drink, and, of course, water balloons to the top floor quickly. Nicholas loved playing with the ropes before Stuart even got them to the back yard. Stuart had his ladder out for some reason and Nicholas had him tie the rope to the top of the ladder so he could pretend to climb the rope.

Here is Nicholas testing out the new pulley system with a bucket full of water balloons. Of course, I was in a dangerous position and got pelted with a few balloons right away!

While Daddy filled up more water balloons, Nicholas planned a sneak attack on him. He got Daddy good!

Next Nicholas decided that being spashed by water balloons was fun and popped one over his own head! Silly boy!

Then Daddy and Nicholas took turns popping the water balloons on each other's head while I stayed relatively dry with the excuse that "I have the camera so I can't get wet!"

Shaken Up 7up

2008-08-04T22:55:00.003-05:00

Stuart is home sick today with a stomach bug. Nicholas and I went to the grocery store and got him some "get well" foods such as 7up, chicken noodle soup, and Jello. Nicholas wanted to try some of the 7up as soon as we got home. He shook up the 2 liter bottle before opening it but of course 7up is carbonated and doesn't need shaking! I told him not to open it and explained to him how the bubbles wanted to get out of the liquid and how they can cause the 7up to shoot out all over the place now. He was fascinated with this idea. We put that bottle aside and I opened the other 2 liter bottle that I had bought that didn't get the Nicholas shaking treatment. It was warm and had been jostled some on its way to our house so it tried to spew a little as I opened it. Nicholas, of course, got excited and thought it was fun to watch. He grabbed the shaken 7up, laughed a little evil laugh, and said, "Let's give the shaken one to Daddy and let him open it so he gets squirted! Hee hee hee!" Such sympathy for his poor sick Daddy! I couldn't help but laugh at his plan though :)

Quote for the Day

2008-08-04T01:10:00.002-05:00

"If we can teach our children to honor nature's gifts, the joys and beauties of the outdoors will be here forever." - former president Jimmy Carter

One of Our Favorite Parks

2008-08-03T23:44:00.004-05:00

We spent the afternoon at one of our favorite local parks. It is a small park with just a single play structure. But there are lots of trees, pine needles, pine cones, sticks, mulch, leaves, and other natural delights that we find lots of fun playing with. When Nicholas was very young, we were at this park and I decided to show him what we could do with the pine needles we found on the ground. We bunched them together and made a bird's nest and added a few pine cones for eggs. Ever since then, Nicholas insists on making bird nests whenever we go to this park. Here he is gathering the pine needles, a very important first step.

He added lots of pine cones and then hid them under even more pine needles. He started to pretend to be a bird sitting on the nest but we decided that the pine cones would be too pokey for that to be much fun.

There are some cool trees around the park and there is one in particular that Nicholas likes to get help climbing into.

Of course, you can always just play Star Wars no matter where you are. Here is Nicholas and Daddy playing with pretend light sabers.

The heat here has been terrible. I think it got up to 107 degrees today! We soon decided we needed some refreshment in the form of Baskin Robbins! What a way to wrap up the day :)

Missing pics from Making Gummies entry

2008-08-03T23:07:00.003-05:00

I found the missing pictures of Nicholas making his own gummy bugs from the July 27th entry. I take way too many pictures every day and have such a hard time keeping up with them all!

Here he is mixing the gummy goop and using a pipette to transfer it into the bug molds. By the way, Nicholas loves playing with pipettes and water! We have used them to measure and talk about suction but what he likes most of all involves using them like little water guns!

Another Concoction by Nicholas

2008-07-30T13:57:00.002-05:00

This morning, Nicholas was sitting at the kitchen table with a bowl of grapes and a small glass of milk. Too simple? Apparently so. After leaving the kitchen for a few minutes, I returned to find that he had added his own flair to his once healthly and tasty breakfast. Take a look.

He poured his milk into the bowl of grapes. Odd enough, right? No. Next, he added some butter - yes, I said butter!?? Then he added a packet of Crystal Light White Grape drink mix to the bowl. This little packet was enough to flavor a whole two quarts of water but I guess the white grape flavor did sound like a good combination considering that there were real grapes in there somewhere. Then he topped it all off with some Easy Cheese from a can (I didn't even know we had that stuff in our pantry!).

I asked him how it tasted and he said he didn't try it yet because he made it for me. OH THANKS! No, I think it sounds too yummy for Mommy. You are the chef so I'll let you try it first. So Nicholas sampled his concoction and here was his reaction...

Needless to say, he wasn't very fond of the taste so we dumped it in the trash. While I had the camera out, I got a few more pics of my silly little chef.

What a Cool Product!

2008-07-28T15:48:00.001-05:00

Nicholas loves playing in the bathtub and he could stay there for hours on end playing with his boats and sea creatures. However, he also likes to take showers but he likes for us to lower the shower head for him which just seems like a hassle to me. So I was very excited to see this fun shower head for kids that attaches to the regular shower head and suctions to the wall! And of course, Nicholas thinks it is just the coolest thing!

Making Our Own Gummies

2008-07-27T15:38:00.002-05:00

Although we don't buy much candy for Nicholas, he does love gummies of any shape or size. Recently Stuart was at a cool toy store that I love and he found a kit for making your own gummy bugs. How fun! I've somehow lost some pictures of Nicholas mixing the candy goop and pouring it into the molds but here are some shots of the candy in it's mold and one of Nicholas just before he sampled his creation.

The kit is fun but it is a little challenging for a four year old to mix the ingredients smoothly and get it all poured into the molds before it starts to firm up. Nicholas had fun but he said it would be easier to just go buy him a bag of gummies next time :)

Fishing with Daddy

2008-07-27T14:04:00.001-05:00

Today Stuart took Nicholas out to their fishing hole while I stayed home to get some things done around the house. I think Nicholas caught his biggest fish ever. We haven't been measuring them yet but we'll definitely need to start keeping track.

In the past, Stuart has helped Nicholas a little with casting the line. However, Nicholas can now make a great cast all by himself. Check it out...

While taking a break from fishing, Nicholas made a cool house for elves in the dirt. He's quite an architect!

A Dance Floor at Snuffer's?

2008-07-26T22:05:00.000-05:00

My favorite hamburger place is Snuffer's. They have this awesome burger with green chiles on it that I just love. Anyway, it's just a basic casual restaurant but Nicholas thinks it needs a dance floor. With the fun music playing in the background, he just can't help but get up and dance! And of course, the waitress just fell in love with him which only encouraged his to dance some more!

Safari Fun at Summer Camp

2008-07-25T22:43:00.001-05:00

This week at summer camp, Nicholas made his own safari outfit which includes a hat, vest, and binoculars. Today the group went on a safari hunt on the playground where they had to find lots of little plastic animals that had been hidden around the yard. Nicholas has really enjoyed summer camp and I can't believe that I almost didn't sign him up for it.

In honor of his safari, we took Nicholas out to eat at The Rainforest Cafe for dinner. It's a cool restaurant in a jungle setting with leaves, trees, flowers, and vines covering the walls and ceiling. Throughout the restaurant, there are life size animals that come to life and start moving and making their animal noises. Nicholas had a great time and even got a balloon sword.

After dinner, we walked around the mall and found some cool stand up cut outs of Nicholas' favorite movie characters - Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, and Chewbacca. They were only $35 and I thought about getting one to put on his bedroom wall since he does have a space theme. However, I think it might be a little scary to wake up in the middle of the night and see Darth Vader staring at you from across the room. I think I'll pass on that idea.

Next we headed to the bookstore. Our whole family loves the bookstore. Stuart looked at photography magazines while Nicholas and I played in the children's section. Then Stuart looked at children's books with Nicholas while I looked at crafting books.

Texas Heat Requires Sno-Cones!

2008-07-23T16:37:00.004-05:00

Another hot day today! After summer camp, Nicholas wanted to go get ice cream again. I suggested that we go home instead and make our own sno-cones. He loved that idea.

I showed him how the ice crusher works and he was fascinated with it. We scooped out our ice into cups and poured Cherry sno-cone syrup on top. Nicholas got a little carried away with squirting his syrup and ended up with a cup of syrup with a little ice in it. So he added more ice to it and problem solved! Yum!

This was the first time I had used this ice crusher and I wasn't really that impressed with it. Even on the "fine" setting, the ice chunks were still too big for sno-cones. I ended up dumping my sno-cone in a blender and making slushies. Nicholas liked that idea too. Next time, we'll skip the ice crusher and go straight for slushies!

Nicholas also asked me to get a picture of the Macaw mask that he made at summer camp today. He is very proud of it!

Musings of a Big Brother To Be

2008-07-22T20:34:00.000-05:00

Although we never discuss it with him, Nicholas has apparently been thinking about the baby waking up at night for feedings. He has come up with two solutions:

1. Stuart and I can cut our bed in half so that I can move my side of the bed into the nursery and be there when the baby wakes up or

2. Use a baby "alarm" to let us know when the baby is crying. It took a moment but I finally figured out that he was referencing a baby monitor.

Great ideas! He's going to be such a sweet and caring big brother!

I reassured him that the baby will sleep in a bassinet in Mommy and Daddy's room at first and then we will move her into her nursery with a baby monitor. He liked that idea.

Who wants Ice Cream?!!

2008-07-21T18:02:00.005-05:00

Nicholas started his second week of summer camp today. This week the theme is "Safari". As always, when I picked him up, he was bubbling over with excitement to tell me about all of the cool things they did today. He was excited to tell me that a friend of his was also in his class this week but he wouldn't just come out and tell me. He made me guess! He gave me a clue and said, "His name starts with a 'Ch' sound." So I named the only friend of his that came to mind but got it wrong. Then he said, "He also has 'ace' in his name". Well, of course that would be Chase! How fun that he used phonics as a clue to his guessing game!

On the way home, I decided it was so hot outside that we needed something special to cool ourselves off. I asked, "Who wants ice cream?". Of course, Nicholas did! We stopped at Baskin-Robbins. He had said that he wanted Cotton Candy ice cream but once we got there he picked out a crazy neon-colored ice cream called something like "Make Me Wild" which was a blend of three different flavors. It actually tasted pretty good and I enjoyed mine too. But most of all, we just enjoyed hanging out together and having fun.

Chopping Up Branches

2008-07-20T16:18:00.003-05:00

We have two dead sycamore trees in our front yard (thank you cheap builders who failed to put quality trees in our yard!). Yesterday Stuart got out his chain saw and cut down one of them. It went amazingly well - no one and no vehicle was hurt in the process! After it was down, I helped him cut the branches down to a smaller size and we loaded them in the bed of his truck and hauled them off. However, we ran out of truck bed space before the branches were all gone so today we were still working on the last of the big branches left in our yard.

Nicholas went out to his toy box in the back yard and got some of his gardening tools. He brought his shovel out to the front yard and started using it to "chop" the branches. He's such a good helper! He was really working hard and didn't want any help - well, at least for the first ten minutes until the newness wore off!

Wrapping up a fun week

2008-07-19T22:33:00.007-05:00

I've been feeling the baby move around for about two months now. However, every time I've tried to let Nicholas feel her kick, either he won't hold his hand still for more than 5 seconds or else she stops kicking. Nicholas and I cuddle in his glider rocker when we read our bedtime stories each night. When she started kicking tonight, Nicholas finally felt it! He got so excited! Now he enjoys touching my belly and telling his little sister, "C'mon baby. Kick mama!"

Nicholas had a great time at summer camp this week. The theme was all about the sea. He did neat experiments like filtering water, sinking vs. floating, and making his own ocean aquarium to bring home. He also made a pirate hat out of folded newspaper. Cool! Friday was "water day" so he got to wear his swim suit and they were all going to play in the water. He said his favorite part of "water day" was playing catch with water balloons.

Friday night, we dropped Nicholas off at Fellowship Church for a few hours for the start of Adventure Weekend (aka Vacation Bible School). We brought him back to church this morning for the second day of activities. It was all day long and we were a little concerned about how he would hold out but he did great.

The theme for Adventure Weekend this year was "Backstage Blast" and the kids all got to participate in making their own movies. Nicholas also enjoyed the crafts. He made this cool megaphone.

Just like all famous movie stars, Nicholas also got to make his handprint in his own star on the Walk of Fame. What a neat idea! They used 12 inch black vinyl floor tiles and some modeling clay for the stars and handprints. Super cute!

We met back up with Nicholas at church at 3:30 and went into a special service for Adventure Weekend families. Nicholas was so proud to get to go into "Mommy and Daddy church" with us. We got to watch the video clips of what the kids did over the weekend as well as the completed movies they made.

Pastor Mike Johnson talked about the importance of raising our children. I like the scripture he quoted:

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;
They shall not be ashamed,
But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.
Psalm 127:3-5

Children are gifts from God. If we as parents train them and guide them correctly then they will, like an arrow shot well, follow a straight path throughout their lives. Otherwise, one might as well lay the arrows at the feet of his enemy and tell them "Good luck".

We have such an awesome children's ministry at Fellowship Church. The pastors and staff are all great and so passionate about what they do. They put on incredible children's services each week complete with Bible lessons and even a puppet show! Nicholas looks forward to going each week and he is learning such wonderful lessons about Jesus Christ and the Bible. We are blessed to have found such an awesome church for our family.

Look at that leaf and those messy fingers!

2008-07-17T17:11:00.007-05:00

Nicholas and I were playing in the front yard today. He noticed a giant leaf on one of our sycamore trees. Look at the size of this leaf!

Nicholas said, "That's 100 cool!" I guess he meant 100 percent cool :) Of course, we had to bring it inside to measure it and Nicholas was amazed to see that it was longer than his new 12 inch ruler!

It was a very pretty leaf but it is sad because that particular tree is dying and Stuart is planning to remove it this weekend. I guess it's heard the news and is trying to impress up with a swan song. I explained the swan song reference to Nicholas and he loved how I acted it out for him. He loved it so much that he made me repeat it over and over and over...

This afternoon we went to our local library for a puppet show. It was based on Jack and the Beanstalk but adapted for especially for Texans so he had pinto beans! It was really cute. Nicholas was so impressed with it that he sat still for the whole hour. Can you make out his little blond head and red shirt in the crowd? Afterwards, we went up to the front to meet the puppeteer and get a closer look at the puppets.

For dessert tonight we had chocolate eclairs. Nicholas enjoyed eating his as much as he enjoyed squishing it through his fingers. We really try to teach good table manners to the boy but sometimes you just have to let boys be boys!

A New Ruler Can Make The Day

2008-07-16T21:19:00.006-05:00

Nicholas and I went to Office Depot today for a few things. Nicholas got so excited when he found this ruler.

He has two rulers already but they are 6 inches long. He was amazed when he saw a 12 inch ruler. "Wow, this one is so long. I can't believe how long this ruler is?!" So we had to get it and it actually came with a free pair of scissors. He has scissors already too but he picked these out so they are more special to him. Of course he wanted to use his new ruler to measure everything as soon as we got home.

Then he used his scissors and other craft supplies to make a birthday card for Great Grandmother Green. He drew a picture of himself for her to see...

Look At My Tail!

2008-07-15T16:19:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we found an awesome deal at Target - packages of 15 glow sticks for only a dollar! Usually glow sticks are about a dollar each so what a bargain! These are smaller than the ones we usually get but Nicholas loves any kind of glow stick so I stocked up and bought 20 packages! They'll last about a week around our house.

Of course, he and Daddy had to crack a bunch of the glow sticks last night. They are very bright and are still glowing well this afternoon. Nicholas attached them together and stuck them in the back of his pants as he said, "Look at my tail, Mommy!" He has been wearing his tail for much of the afternoon and even wanted to wear it to the library (fortunately I was able to talk him out of that one!).

Purple Leaf

2008-07-14T20:08:00.003-05:00

Nicholas and I were talking recently about possible names for his little sister. No, Stuart and I haven't started talking about names but I was just curious about names that Nicholas might come up with. He first said "Alyssa" but I explained that we couldn't name her after his 2 year old cousin although I had a hard time really explaining why not. I named off a couple of girl names off the top of my head to see what he thought of them. I mentioned Jennifer and he said, "No, Uncle Steve Owen's friend is Jennifer so we can't name her after Jennifer." I guess he's got me there.

A moment later, he said, "I'm just going to call her Purple Leaf!" Umm, OK....why??? He said, "Because girls like the color Purple and I like leaves!"

So, until we come up with something better, the little baby girl in my tummy is loving being referred to as Purple Leaf....Maybe Stuart and I should really get started on picking out names!

Gone Fishin'

2008-07-13T17:06:00.006-05:00

We got outdoors today and had a wonderful time together. We went fishing! There is an awesome little pond nearby that is just packed with sunfish. But there is a little secret to catching them...they love hot dogs! Yes, all you need is a tiny piece of hot dog on a hook and as soon as the hook gets wet, you have a fish on your line. It's pretty amazing and it's a great place for young children to learn how to fish with confidence instead of boredom.

We've taken Nicholas fishing several times before but it's been a while. So Daddy took some time at the beginnning to go over again how the fishing rod works, how to cast the line and set the hook.

Then watch out! On his first cast, Nicholas caught one! Then he cast again and caught another...and another...and another! What fun!

After a while, catching fish got boring so Nicholas played at the gazebo and in the dirt and let Mommy and Daddy have a go at catching fish. It was fun!

Nicholas also had fun looking through Daddy's tackle box. What neat little rubbery critters there are in there!

While looking in the tackle box, Nicholas noticed a little ant had crawled in and was carrying away a piece of hot dog that was bigger than himself! We all stopped and watched for a while in amazement.

While we were using his fishing rod, Nicholas found a big stick and decided that he could use it as another fishing pole. He put a piece of hot dog on the stick and tried to fish with it. The hot dog kept falling off but he didn't care. I love his creativity in making his own fishing pole!

We miss our friend

2008-07-12T16:57:00.003-05:00

Our friend Dwayne passed away Thursday night around 10:00 pm. We will miss him. I tried to find a few children's books about death and Heaven but unfortunately they were all checked out. However, Stuart sat down with Nicholas yesterday and explained the Mr. Dwayne had died and was in Heaven now. Nicholas was sad but he said, "The good news is that Dwayne was with Jesus now so that is ok."

Stuart and I worked together and made 200 ribbon pins so that everyone in the media department at church can wear one this weekend in honor of Dwayne. Nicholas even helped to make a few. Nicholas was at our friends, the Kofinks, last night while we were at the visitation and our neighbor's house this morning while we were at the funeral. He had fun both times and is doing fine. It's still hard for Stuart and I to look at the video camera at church where we usually see Dwayne's smiling face and not find him there.

Please Pray For Dwayne!

2008-07-09T23:34:00.000-05:00

Our dear friend from church who is a camera operator with Stuart is very sick and in the hospital. He first got really sick back at Easter and was in the hospital for almost 2 weeks. The doctors thought they had a diagnosis and that he would get better but he has continued to get sick again off and on since then. Sunday he started having seizures and went back into the hospital. He was admitted to ICU so they could closely monitor him. He had some tests done but the doctors couldn't figure out the cause of the seizures. This morning he was supposed to have an MRI and more tests but before they could do the tests, Dwayne had a massive seizure and had to be rescusitated. He is currently in a coma and on life support and not expected to live. He is a wonderful friend and a compassionate Christian man. Please pray for him!

Nicholas really likes Dwayne. Stuart often brings Nicholas into the main sanctuary when they aren't rehearsing and shows him the camera equipment or lighting equipment so most of the media team knows who he is. But Dwayne really plays with Nicholas. He gets down on his level and makes faces, plays peek-a-boo and really has fun interacting with him. Last year, Dwayne was working camera for Adventure Weekend (our version of VBS) and he singled Nicholas out of the crowd and got a great camera shot of him that was shown on the big IMAG screens at the front of the sanctuary. Nicholas was so proud!

I told Nicholas this afternoon that Dwayne was sick. He got upset and said, "I don't want my friend to be sick. Is there anything I can do for him?" I was so touched by his caring and compassion for his friend. I suggested that we make Dwayne a get well card and bring it to the hospital tonight. Nicholas colored a wonderful card and put lots of great stickers on it. Then he told me what to write on it. He said, "Mr. Dwayne, I love you. Please get well and get out of the hospital soon. Your friend, Nicholas."

We brought the card to the hospital tonight. I stayed in the waiting room with Nicholas but Stuart brought the card back to Dwayne and prayed for him. Nicholas made instant friends with the volunteer at the desk in the waiting room. She showed him some teddy bears that she was making for patients at the hospital and also gave him some crayons and paper to play with while we waited. He also helped to cheer up Dwayne's family who were at the hospital and they were all very touched by the card he had made for Dwayne.

Phone Number vs. Address

2008-07-07T14:24:00.001-05:00

Nicholas has known his phone number and address for well over a year now. However, for some reason he keeps getting confused as to which is which. If you ask for his address, he might give you his phone number and if you ask for his phone number you might get his address. He knows his number and address so I haven't bothered to try to hammer in the difference but as he gets older, it is more important for him to understand what he is being asked for.

We were reviewing the difference again today. When I asked his phone number he correctly gave it to me. Yeah! Maybe it has finally stuck! But then I asked for his address and he gave me his phone number again. Ugh! I explained again what the difference is and that it is important for him to be able to tell someone his address in case he were ever lost. He told me, "Aw, Mom! I'll just give them my phone number and they can call you to get my address!" Two points for him for good problem solving!

What A Short Trip!

2008-07-05T22:06:00.000-05:00

We stopped by Grandmother Owen's house to say good-bye. As promised, she gave Nicholas a present for each day we were there. He just loved it! He got the phonics laptop, a cute little educatioanl robot, and a Toy Story/Buzz Lightyear RC car.

Nicholas also got a belated birthday present from his cousins, Jessica and Alyssa. He was surprised that it was a Star Wars Tie Fighter. How cool! He just loves anything related to Star Wars!

With Nicholas' toys and the wonderful nursery gifts from the Chances, our luggage was bulging. It seemed like a short trip to Baton Rouge but we rushes around as usual and at least we got to spend some quality time with everyone. We plan to go back again later this year soon after the baby is born so she can meet the rest of her family.

Happy Birthday, America!

2008-07-04T23:10:00.000-05:00

Nicholas woke up bright and early this morning and we could hear him playing with Grandmother Chance in the living room. I love it when we're at home and he crawls into our bed in the morning to snuggle. However, I must say, it is especially nice to get to sleep late while Nicholas is happily playing with Grandmother - THANK YOU, Grandmother Chance!

Ed had brought home some incredible Bavarian Cream filled croissants from the bakery for us to have for breakfast. We had a leisurely morning talking with Ed and Janet. It was nice having some quiet time with them. Then we headed out to have lunch with some of our friends from college. Our little entertainer fell asleep on the way to the restaurant. Poor little guy just goes and goes until he finally crashes. I'm glad he got to catch up on a little bit of sleep.

We had a wonderful lunch with Kristina and her daughter, Grace, from New Orleans. They stayed with us during Katrina but we haven't had a chance to see them much since then. They gave Nicholas a travel size game of Hungry, Hungry Hippo which Nicholas just loved! We also enjoyed spending time with Denise and John and their daughter, Kira, who we met for the first time. Nicholas made friends right away with her and the three of them enjoyed playing Hungry, Hungry Hippos together at one end of the table.

We are heartbroken for Denise and John whose little boy drowned just last week at their home. Ryan Christopher Williams was 3 1/2 years old. With Nicholas being just a little older than Ryan, it really hit close to home for us and I can't imagine the pain and the difficult road ahead for them. We will keep their in our prayers and close to our hearts.

After lunch, we spent stopped back by Grandmother Owen's house and then headed to Uncle Steve Owen's house for grillin', chillin', and fireworks mania.

Nicholas really wanted to hold a sparkler and I hate to squash new experiences for him but safety is a bigger issue for me. I know they are fun and I remember loving them when I was little. However, I just didn't think it was a good idea for a four-year old to be holding anything that gets 3300 degrees hot! Fortunately, no one argued with me and Nicholas quickly found something else to get excited about.

We were all a little shocked to see just how far Steve had gone on the fireworks he had planned. He will forever be called the King of Backyard Fireworks in my book. Look at his collection!

Nicholas liked being surrounded by tiki torches but he kept trying to blow them out!

Nicholas had a blast at Uncle Steve's because Steve loves to act like a kid and play with Nicholas...and they both love Star Wars! Nicholas enjoyed the fireworks, although sometimes he got startled a bit. I enjoyed taking tons of pictures of his different reactions...

One of the fireworks was called, "Smiley Face" and when it explodes it really forms a smiley face in the sky. We didn't believe it but I've got the video to prove it. The video goes pretty quickly so you might have to play it again to see it and it doesn't help that the face is kind of upside down from my perspective. But it was still pretty cool.

We had hours of fireworks fun at Uncle Steve's. There were lots of other fireworks in his neighborhood but he had the best show hands down. When we walked out the front door to go to our car to leave, we couldn't help but notice that the entire street was smoky from all the fireworks. How funny!

We went back to the Chance house and got to spend some time with Nicholas' other Uncle Steve (Steve Chance), Aunt Donna, and cousins Jessica and Alyssa. Uncle Steve Chance also had some fireworks and sparklers. Although I was able to keep Nicholas from holding a sparkler at my brother's house, somehow I lost all input at the Chance house. Stuart was right there with him, not that he could have done much either with a 3300 degree burning stick. Nicholas enjoyed it at first but as soon as it started burning down, he changed his mind. I was quite relieved when he said he didn't want to do it anymore.

That was ok because he had more fun just playing with his cousin anyway! They have so much fun together!

I'm Leaving On a Jet Plane...

2008-07-03T23:09:00.005-05:00

We enjoyed Granddad's visit although it seemed much too short. He flew over to visit us as a mini-vacation and because he knows how hectic our schedule gets when we are in Baton Rouge because we always feel so rushed around between both Stuart and my family. It was nice getting some quiet quality time with him at our own home.

We headed to Baton Rouge to spend the 4th of July weekend visiting with the rest of the family. We headed out bright and early to get to the airport. Nicholas was proud to have his own suitcase which Grandmother Owen had given him a while back. He didn't want any help with it at all.

We arrived in plenty of time to grab some Starbucks and watch the planes.

Granddad Owen was excited to be able to fly back next to Nicholas. He talked all about the plane and explained what was going on as we went along. He talked about how cars look like little ants and Nicholas commented that the little white cars must be the termites! The flight was short and all went well.

Once we arrived, Stuart needed to get a rental car. It was funny seeing him rent a car from Thrifty Car Rental since he worked there for so many years when his dad owned it. It was where he was working when I met him back in college. We told Nicholas about it but he didn't seem too interested. I guess all kids go through having to hear their parents reminisce about the old days when they really don't care to hear about it :)

We headed over to Grandmother Owen's house and picked up Uncle Steve Owen for lunch at Drusilla's Seafood. We had a nice lunch and got to catch up on what has been going on with everyone.

When we dropped Uncle Steve off at work again, we couldn't just leave the Rainbow property without at least playing on a few things! Uncle Steve was happy to play too, as always! He's just a big kid at heart.

We took Grandmother Owen back to her house and spent some more time with her. She said that she had a gift for Nicholas to open each day that he was there. Nicholas got a little laptop computer that teaches phonics. He loves it and seemed to naturally know how to play the games on it.

Just Hanging Out

2008-07-02T23:04:00.000-05:00

We spent today just hanging out around the house. I had to go get a new cell phone and start packing for our trip to Baton Rouge. Meanwhile, Nicholas and Granddad just had good ole fun together including eating fresh watermelon! Who doesn't love that!

We had dinner at Cantina Laredo and believe it or not, we were too stuffed for our after dinner trip to Starbucks!

Of course, I had to get a picture of Nicholas snuggled up in Grandad's lap as they read bedtime stories!

Granddad is here!

2008-07-01T21:26:00.000-05:00

Granddad Owen comes to visit us once or twice a year. Nicholas absolutley loves these visits. He likes to wake Granddad up in the morning, show off his toys to him, and play with him non-stop. This visit was no different. Nicholas even tried "riding horsey" on Grandad's foot like he used to as a toddler but he has gotten too heavy for that ride now.

We welcomed Granddad last night with a trip to one of his favorite restaurants here, Mikado's Hibachi. Yum and Fun all in One. Wow, I just made that up. We always have a great time watching the chef prepare our food right at our table. Nicholas even knows the sequence that they follow and reminded our chef about the onion volcano that he still needed to do!

This morning we needed a little wake up call so we headed to Starbucks. I love to just sit and talk over coffee, even if it is decaf. It's a little hard to relax with Nicholas there who loves to chat with the man next to him who is trying to work on a presentation or something. However, we all had fun.

Nicholas loves their Strawberries and Cream Frappacino. It's a pretty good strawberry milkshake if you haven't tried one before. However, he kept getting "cold headaches" from drinking too fast. When he gets them, he puts his hands on his head and then comes over to me for me to "warm" up his head. I've tried to explain that this doesn't help it go away but there's just no convincing him.

Today we took Granddad out to try his hand at Letterboxing. He is good at figuring out clues and we thought he would like this. He did! Our first clue took us to a cemetery in Argyle. The clues were great and easy to follow. Nicholas followed them well and found his way to a tree stump. He then had to think about which was the left and right sides of the stump in order to know where to look for the hidden letterbox.

He picked up the box and Granddad helped him open it. Inside was the log book and special rubber stamp. We stamped our logbook with their stamp and made a note about the date and location. Then we used our own stamp to stamp their logbook so the owner would know that we had visited their letterbox. We discreetly hid the box back where we had found it. On to the next box which wonderfully was in the same cemetery!

The clues for the next box began at a historical marker and a bell so we took a moment to learn a little about the area and the cemetery.

The clues then directed us to the back of the cemetery behind a gravestone shaped like a podium. The clues suggested that we stand at the podium and "talk" to our audience. Granddad was happy to oblige! Silly Granddad!

We followed the rest of the clues but had trouble with the last one. There were lots of brush around and we just couldnt' figure out which was the "small patch of bushes" where the letterbox was hidden. We looked all over but eventually had to give up.

We headed south for our next letterbox hunt to some property owned by the Corps of Engineers. This location has three letterboxes on it so we were sure to have good luck here.

We had a good time on the hike but the brush was apparently much more grown up than when the box was placed back in January as we soon lost the trail we were following. We made it through the tall brush with Nicholas riding on Granddad's shoulders. It took us a bit but we were able to meet up with the clues later on and Granddad found the old hollow log we were looking for. However, there was no box to be found.

We really didn't mind too much since we were having fun anyway.

Nicholas discoverd some animal tracks and some "whole grain wheat" (that's really what he called it too)...

I found some pretty wildflowers...

And Granddad made friends with a grasshopper!

We had to give up on the last two letterboxes because my pregnant self couldn't stand the heat for much longer. However, from a distance, we did see the tree in the shape of an arch which housed the second letterbox at this site but we didn't go hunting for it.

We got cleaned up and when Stuart got home from work, we headed out to Babe's for dinner for the best chicken in the Metroplex! Nicholas seemed to enjoy flirting with our waitress. She even invited him out on the dance floor with her when the wait staff all danced to The Hokey Pokey!

Here's Nicholas and Daddy picking out songs on the old fashioned juke box.

We rolled our full bellies out the door and headed home - tired, full, but happy. Nicholas wanted to show Granddad how to play Lego Star Wars so the guys stayed up a while goofing off.

But it didn't take long for everyone to find their beds and crash for the night.

Working with Daddy in the Kitchen

2008-06-29T21:40:00.009-05:00

Nicholas loves to work with me in the kitchen when I'm cooking. However, this weekend, he got a new experience of helping Daddy in the kitchen. But they weren't cooking. They were installing new kitchen countertops together!

We emptied out the cabinets underneath the countertops. Then Stuart started pulling out the old ugly pink colored counters. Nicholas loved having the cabinets empty so he could play in them!

At one point, as Stuart was working on attaching the new countertops, he needed to put some weight on the counter while he secured it to the cabinets. Nicholas had been playing knights and castles (note the foam sword in its "holster") but he quickly volunteered to be a weight for Daddy.

Daddy had some saw horses set up in the living just to hold the counter pieces up off the floor. However, that was too exciting for Nicholas to stand and he ended up climbing up on the new counter and pretended to saw and sand it with his little plastic tools. What a hard worker he is!

Nicholas has always had one dedicated cabinet in the kitchen for his toys. It started out having toys that he could use to "help" me cook. Now it is more of a collection place for all kinds of toys, pine cones, etc. I took this picture of the cabinet before we cleaned it out to work on the countertop above it.

Party at Win Kids

2008-06-28T21:01:00.003-05:00

Today we went to a birthday party for Nicholas' friend, Reese, at Win Kids. What kid wouldn't love this place! There are trampolines, tumbling mats, foam block pits to jump into, balls, swings, parachutes, and all kinds of fun!

Nicholas' favorite part was the giant swing. There were three swings attached together so he got to swing with Emma Rae and Reese. The swing went increcibly high and all three of the kids were grinning ear to ear!

Mad Science

2008-06-27T20:32:00.004-05:00

We went to a special library show today hosted by Mad Science. I love their programs! They teach science in fun and exciting ways. Today we learned about dry ice, flash paper, and other cool things. I love that their programs are always very interactive and hands-on.

After the show, Nicholas enjoyed hopping from mat to mat as he pretended to step on rocks in a river filled with crocodiles. He can have fun with anything :)

Just Can't Measure Up!

2008-06-19T22:49:00.006-05:00

I have tried to have Nicholas involved in the whole process of decorating his little sister's room. However, today I don't think I taught him much - except what not to do! With the nursery walls painted pink, I ventured to try to put up a wallpaper border around the top of the room. Yes, I could wait until Stuart got home to help me but I'm pregnant and in the "nesting phase" so I'm just too impatient to wait around for help!

So I talked to Nicholas about how I would measure the walls and cut each strip to length so that I would tackle one wall at a time. Then I showed him how to soak the strip in water to activate the pre-pasted goo on the wallpaper. Of course, he loved dunking it in the water and making a mess! Then I started putting the border up on the wall while he watched. It was very frustrating trying to get the piece to stick to the wall, make sure it was straight, and smooth out the bubbles all by myself. Just as I would get a section perfect, I would have to climb down from the ladder, move the ladder over a few feet, and then sadly watch as all the work I had just done came peeling off the wall. Needless to say, Nicholas got bored with this part and abandoned me. I soon heard the television on in the other room. While I don't usually condone using the TV as a babysitter, I could tell that this would take a while and the little guy really couldn't help me with this part.

I finally learned that once I had a section looking just the way I wanted it, I needed to hold it in place for several minutes to be sure that the paste had set enough to allow me the few minutes I needed to scoot the ladder over and climb back up to keep going. The first wall was just a tiny bit too short but it was in the corner and I knew I could line up the pattern with the next piece so that it didn't show up much. So I measured out the second wall and cut my strip of border. After much frustration, I got it across the entire wall only to find that it was about an inch too short!

This would be harder to hide and although I probably could have winged it, I decided to peel the whole piece off the second wall and start over. Nicholas came to check on me from time to time and he always seemed amazed that I was still working on it. I was amazed at how long it was taking too! I tried to talk to him about persistence to turn it into a teachable moment but he was totally bored with my whole project and didn't seem to care. A few times I called him in to help me if I dropped my smoothing tool or needed him to hand me something else. He is a very good helper. In the end, the border turned out just the way I had wanted it to.

However, I'm afraid Nicholas didn't learn much from me except what not to do when it comes to measuring! Oh yeah, he also learned about some new products from commercials he watched on TV. Later in the day he told me, "Mom, you should get the new Kaboom! It does the hard work for you!" Maybe I can hire him out to be the next spokesman for Kaboom!

Water Park and Yogurt Treat

2008-06-18T23:21:00.002-05:00

We spent the morning at a local water park with some of our friends. Nicholas loves water parks and we usually stay for hours so I always come prepared with lots of sunblock, snacks, and drinks. Nicholas enjoys playing on the slide or in the water sprays of the shallow end. Of course, hanging out in the shallow end is also the best place to shoot everyone with water guns, thanks to some friends who brought three water guns with them!

Once we made it back home, Nicholas wanted some vanilla yogurt. I also gave him a small cup of Gatorade because he seemed really thirsty. I turned my back for a bit and looked what he did!

He poured his red Gatorade into his vanilla yogurt cup. I guess he didn't like the way his concoction tasted because he then offered it to me. He knows it drives me crazy when he wastes food like this so he buttered me up by saying, "I made this special treat just for you because of all of the cooking you do for our family!"

Sweet Big Brother!

2008-06-17T11:10:00.002-05:00

Nicholas and I were talking today about things that we needed to get done before his baby sister arrives. He is very excited and very involved in preparing for the baby. He always talks about "his" baby even with strangers in line at the grocery store! Today he told me, "I'll get up at night and help make her bottle or watch her while you make the bottle." How sweet! He's going to be an awesome big brother!

Working on the nursery

2008-06-16T22:05:00.009-05:00

This weekend we did a lot of work on what will become our baby girl's nursery. I've been incredibly busy the last few weeks cleaning out stuff from the guest bedroom. I try to use the rule that if I haven't used something in a year then it needs to go. That's harder than you might think. I have pack rat tendencies and I can rationalize how I might have a use for these things sometime in the future so I should just hold on to them. But we only have so much space in the house and I don't want things to be cluttered so some of my "treasures" will just have to go. I've been selling things on Ebay or giving them away on Freecycle. All of the shelves and drawers in the bookcases and desk are now empty. The closet is still quite packed with my hobby things but there is only so much I can stand to part with right now.

The walls in this room have been a challenge for us. The walls in our house have a standard splatter/knock-down finish that most walls have. The previous owners had put a wallpaper border around this room at a chair rail height. Under the border they smoothed the wall texture so that the border would look better. So when we removed their border we were stuck with the challenge of making the wall texture uniform - either all smooth or all textured. Neither way sounded like much fun. We decided to try a smooth texture on the wall. Well that took quite a while to do and it never looked completely smooth. I hated it and I spent the most time in this room since it has been my "hobby room" where I stash all of my craft and scrapbook supplies. So later I decided I'd add a texture to the walls to cover all the imperfections in our smoothing technique. I couldn't handle doing the splatter/knock-down finish by myself so I chose a sand texture. I bought special paint that was essentially like paint with sand in it. It covered the smooth wall ugliness beautifully and rather easily. However, as we were looking at converting this room into the nursery, Stuart decided that the sandpaper texture to the walls was too scratchy for a baby's room. So he decided to try the splatter/knock-down approach. I was happy because the walls would finally match the rest of the house but I dreaded yet another project.

We got all of the furniture out of the room and Nicholas loved climbing on it. He managed use a little desk as a step to help him climb up into a shelf on a book case. He loved his little cubby hole and he called it his "pirate bed".

Stuart and I worked on masking off the room with tarps and painter's tape. We had to be sure that all of the doors, window, and ceiling was protected from the splatter he was going to put on the walls. Nicholas loved having the Little Giant ladder out - like father, like son!

Oh no! Be careful, little guy! Please don't be so daring!!!

Stuart and I worked on the masking part of the project for a long time. Nicholas was worried about us being thirsty so he showed up at the door with two glasses of milk that he had fixed for us all by himself. What a sweetie!

Today Nicholas got to help paint the baby's room. He got a real treat because he got an entire blank wall to paint however he wanted. He learned how to load the roller with paint and roll it on the wall and he also got to use a paint brush. He did great and kept the paint where it needed to be and not on the doors or himself. What kid wouldn't have fun going crazy with paint on a wall!

We also wanted him to help paint so that he could have an active part in making the room nice for his little sister. He said he was doing it to make his little sister happy but then asked how would she know that he did it for her since she isn't here to see it. I told him that was why I was taking pictures so we could show them to his little sister someday.

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T20:41:00.001-05:00

Well, Stuart got to spend much of Father's Day working on the nursery. Poor Daddy! I couldn't even get to his Father's Day present until later in the day because I had stashed it in the closet in the nursery and we had taped the door up to work on the walls. Poor poor Daddy! Once his work in the room was done and he was absolutly exhausted, I was finally able to get to his present. We gave him his crown to be "King for the Day" and his gift of his favorite shave cream and cologne from L'Occitane. Not the most exciting gift but he said it was just what he was hoping for. We love you, Daddy!

We spent the rest of the day playing in the pool. Nicholas is doing a great job of swimming across the pool by himself even though he hasn't had a lesson since last summer. Nicholas hasn't napped in several days and we've kept him up later at night than usual. And with all of the playing in the pool, the little guy was pretty tired. We all got cleaned up and ordered pizza for dinner (Daddy's favorite!). Shortly after we had finished eating, we found Nicholas asleep on the couch. He was pooped out!

Come Take A Picture of my Beautiful Bed!

2008-06-13T15:54:00.006-05:00

Nicholas does not always nap in the afternoon anymore. Usually I can at least get him to have some quiet down time in his room though even if it doesn't actually sleep. Today I thought for sure he would nap because he hasn't had as much sleep as usual these last few days. But instead, I heard him calling me from his room. He said, "Mommy! Please come take a picture of my beautiful bed that I've made!" I was a little afraid of what he might have done to his bed but I tried to ignore him thinking he would forget about me and just go to sleep. Nope, he just got louder, "MOMMY! PLEASE COME TAKE A PICTURE OF MY BEAUTIFUL BED!" So curiosity got the best of me and I finally went in his room. He hadn't done much except put some Tinker Toys along the back of his bed. He was very proud of how he had decorated his bed and asked again for me to take a picture of it. So of course I did.

Nicholas and his Beautiful Bed...

P.S. - Uncle SMO, Nicholas still loves those Tinker Toys that you gave him two Christmas' ago. He makes something with them every single day! Usually it is either a rocket ship or a sword but there is really no telling what he will come up with. And of course, I find single pieces of Tinker Toys all over the house. I think they are multiplying on their own!

Peter Cottontail Bunny

2008-06-11T09:28:00.003-05:00

When Nicholas was born it was close to Easter and the Harrell family gave him a little blue bunny that sings "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" and a cute little outfit. Nicholas has loved on the little bunny for four years now. As a baby, he would giggle like crazy any time the bunny sang to him. Even at four years old, he still likes to have the bunny sing but now he sings along with him.

Recently, Nicholas played the bunny's song and it sounds slow and sad. He got a panic in his voice and said, "What's wrong with my bunny?" I told him that like so many of his other toys, the bunny's batteries were dying. Unfortunately, his batteries are not replaceable. Nicholas got so upset when I told him that the bunny probably wasn't going to be able to sing much longer. He hugged the bunny and said, "It's ok bunny. I still love you!" He asked if he might get a new bunny for Easter next year. I told him that I would make sure the Easter Bunny took care of that for him.

Helping Mommy Wash the Car

2008-06-08T22:15:00.003-05:00

Today Nicholas and I washed my car. He never hesitated when I asked if he wanted to help although he didn't quite know what to do. I showed him how to rinse off the car and get it all wet. Then we made up our bucket of soap and we each got a sponge. Well, then it was time to have fun!

Nicholas had a lot of fun doing this and he even made up a cute little song on his own. Check it out!

After we had cleaned the car, Nicholas decided to experiment with other ways to have fun with a wet, soapy sponge!