Another Concoction by Nicholas

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!

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

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

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?

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

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!

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

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?!!

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

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

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!

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

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!

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

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'

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

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!

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

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!

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!

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!