Getting so big

I uploaded the pictures from last night's baseball game and discovered an assortment of other photos from the week I had forgotten about. And as I looked through the pictures I was struck over and over again by how old Nicholas is getting. In live action the increasingly frequent outbursts of whining remind you frequently that he is still only 2, but silent photos highlight instead the increasing range of activities and level of sophistication. Yes, I did just use the word "sophistication" to describe the activities of a 2-year-old boy. It is all relative.

Case in point: Nicholas has recently discovered the board games we keep on the living room bookshelves and wants to play any I'll let him. He or I make up modified rules and he has no idea of competition, but he is enamored with them. His favorite (like most adults who come over) is "the train game." And, no, that name isn't his toddler interpretation, it is what we call it because we always forget the real name.

From 2011 August

Nicholas plays without the cards and the objective for him is to build train sequences where the color trains match the color of the route.

Drawing on his chalkboard is nothing new, but today he decided to pull over his bench to sit down to draw. In reality this doesn't mean anything, but it just makes the endeavor look so much more serious and studious.

From 2011 August

Nicholas' school was closed yesterday for a professional development day (the "school year" starts Monday so they needed to get all the rooms transitioned) so he and Joe had a morning full of exciting activities and then came and met me on campus for lunch. Nicholas had a really great time seeing where Mommy works.

From 2011 August

I think he only sat in this chair for about 20 seconds, though, because there was so much to explore. On a side note, this picture has convinced me that I need to reorganize my bookshelves. I have books on the other 3 and was using this one for more storage and/or decorative things since it isn't as easy to get to. But since this is the view from the doorway (and therefore the view for everyone who comes into my office), I may need to rethink. Also, I need to clean my desk.

And, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, we went to another minor league game last night. Nicholas was super excited about going and thrilled to be there, but didn't sit still for as much of the game as last time and we left in the sixth inning (which was, to be fair, at his bedtime). When we walked in the gates Nicholas started giggling and then shouted, "Let's go find our seats!" and took off running, pulling me along with him. He was only able to really sit and focus on the game if he was being constantly engaged with it, so we spent a fair amount of time chanting "Hit that ball" when the Tornadoes players were up to bat. I think the people around us got sick of it, but Nicholas loved it.

From 2011 August

So far this afternoon and evening we have had a lot of rain but nothing too bad. We are supposed to get the worst of whatever we end up with during the day tomorrow, so our plan is to just hang tight at home. Joe's train was obviously cancelled, so he won't leave for Philly until at least Monday morning. We are playing this all by ear.