Corduroy's Christmas Surprise has been found! It was apparently still in my backpack from our last airplane trip. This is what I get for not unpacking all the way in between trips.
You may all now return to the rest of your day.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Advent
Advent is a big hit in our house. Nicholas will repeat back that we are waiting for Christmas, but he doesn't really get that part. What he gets is that we get to light a candle every night at dinner and sing a special Advent song. Oh, man, has that kid latched onto the Advent song. How long do you think until he knows all the words?
Tonight was the second night of Advent candles and Nicholas has spent a good 10-15 minutes at each dinner giving a long soliloquy about how he can't blow a candle away but he can blow the fire away, and other such very informative insights into the nature of candles. I don't think it is a coincidence that he hasn't been eating much dinner. I mean, really, who has time to eat when you have to opine on the nature of candles?
Just wait until Thursday when we break out the Advent calendar and he gets to add opening a flap and chocolate to the Advent routine! Toddler heaven.
Tonight was the second night of Advent candles and Nicholas has spent a good 10-15 minutes at each dinner giving a long soliloquy about how he can't blow a candle away but he can blow the fire away, and other such very informative insights into the nature of candles. I don't think it is a coincidence that he hasn't been eating much dinner. I mean, really, who has time to eat when you have to opine on the nature of candles?
Just wait until Thursday when we break out the Advent calendar and he gets to add opening a flap and chocolate to the Advent routine! Toddler heaven.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Lost in the Mess
Our house is a mess. I know this. I figure that I get a break this semester. After all, if I'm working 50+ hours a week and single parenting, the fact that I pack our lunches every day, we eat out only once every 2 weeks, I do the dishes every day, I do the laundry each week, and there is no food or other actually gross mess around is enough. And clutter is just going to be a part of our life.
These arguments were all pretty convincing to me. Until this weekend. When I discovered that I can't find anything in this mess! I was certain Corduroy's Christmas Surprise was in the black diaper bag. Certain. But when we went to pull it out in NY, it wasn't there. I was annoyed but figured we'd get home and I'd see it sitting on the floor right next to where the bag had been, removed by a little helper. Nope. And I've searched the house. It is nowhere to be found.
It isn't really about the book. I did a quick search and I can get copies on Amazon starting at a penny. But we have the book. Somewhere. It has to be in this house. Or in the car. How can I be that person whose house is so cluttered that I can't find a book?
I also spent half an hour last night looking for matches to light the Advent candles, only to eventually give up and go buy a lighter. That I blame on the move, however.
I also spent 20 minutes last night searching for the mug Joe got as a groomsman's gift from Brian and Shayna last month that I didn't remember unpacking and was worried was sitting in the bottom of a bag waiting to be smashed. It turns out I actually did unpack it and put it in the last place I thought to check--the hutch with all the nice glasses. Exactly where it belongs.
So I'm hoping Corduroy shows up on Nicholas' bookshelf and I was just blind to it the 4 times I checked. Not because I don't want to spend the penny to replace it. But because I'm starting to doubt my sanity.
We have got to get this house cleaned up!
These arguments were all pretty convincing to me. Until this weekend. When I discovered that I can't find anything in this mess! I was certain Corduroy's Christmas Surprise was in the black diaper bag. Certain. But when we went to pull it out in NY, it wasn't there. I was annoyed but figured we'd get home and I'd see it sitting on the floor right next to where the bag had been, removed by a little helper. Nope. And I've searched the house. It is nowhere to be found.
It isn't really about the book. I did a quick search and I can get copies on Amazon starting at a penny. But we have the book. Somewhere. It has to be in this house. Or in the car. How can I be that person whose house is so cluttered that I can't find a book?
I also spent half an hour last night looking for matches to light the Advent candles, only to eventually give up and go buy a lighter. That I blame on the move, however.
I also spent 20 minutes last night searching for the mug Joe got as a groomsman's gift from Brian and Shayna last month that I didn't remember unpacking and was worried was sitting in the bottom of a bag waiting to be smashed. It turns out I actually did unpack it and put it in the last place I thought to check--the hutch with all the nice glasses. Exactly where it belongs.
So I'm hoping Corduroy shows up on Nicholas' bookshelf and I was just blind to it the 4 times I checked. Not because I don't want to spend the penny to replace it. But because I'm starting to doubt my sanity.
We have got to get this house cleaned up!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Christmas Decorating, Day 1
Grandma Alice loves Christmas. I mean loves Christmas. And Nicholas has been begging to "make a Christmas tree" and see a gingerbread house since he became obsessed with Corduroy's Christmas Surprise back in early fall. So Joe asked his mom if there would be any Christmas decorating that Nicholas could help with over Thanksgiving weekend.
And oh boy was there. Most of Grandma Alice's normal Christmas decorations are way too fragile for a pint-sized helper. But Grandma Alice got Nicholas some very special Nicholas-sized decorations to work on.
Nicholas' first surprise was a 4-ft tree set up for him in the basement. Grandma and an uncle or two set up the tree and got the lights on before bringing Nicholas down. And his face just lit up when he saw it!
He then went right to work, putting on every single ornament that had been laid out.
He then asked about the box of candy canes that were there. And all it took was someone saying they could be hung on the tree too and he was on a mission.
He did all of this by himself (okay, except the bow on top):
Just as the adults had decided that this looked good and maybe we should just skip the garland, Nicholas saw it. And there was no going back. His first attempt to do it himself was, while hilarious, not very productive. So Aunt Melinda helped him and they got it wrapped around the tree nicely.
The tree looked just as pretty when we left this morning, although not the same. Nicholas has rearranged the ornaments and candy canes (especially the candy canes) at least a half dozen times in the past 3 days. But he does it carefully and methodically and enjoys it, so why not? Given this, however, this year we might want to just skip any breakable ornaments on our tree so he is free to re-decorate at will.
After decorating the tree there were still more fun Christmas surprises in store for our very lucky little boy.
A real gingerbread house!
Grandma Alice bought a gingerbread kit and Aunt Melinda took on the bulk of the work of helping Nicholas decorate it.
I cut out the fondant for the windows and doors to the right size and we pointed to the general area where they should go (which was also designated by lines on the gingerbread), but Nicholas put them on. He also picked the pieces of candy he wanted and put them on after Melinda dotted frosting on the backs.
Nicholas did discover pretty early on that the "glue" was yummy frosting and so was intentionally wiping it off the candy pieces and liking his fingers. Sneaky.
We had to re-glue some of them.
The grownups put the house together and Melinda and I did the piping for the roof lines, but Nicholas did the bulk of the gumdrops.
Putting them on the roofline was my idea, but he carefully placed them all neatly in the line. (Watch the video below to see the excitement.)
It is so fun watching him do projects, now that he is old enough to really get them and enjoy them. And he is such a careful and mellow 2-year-old that it is feasible to let him.
Nicholas loves looking at the gingerbread house, but he has also asked to eat it a couple times. Technically it is edible, but I'm not so sure I'd want to eat it. Maybe we'll make some gingerbread cookies to eat closer to Christmas instead.
We'll be back again in 2 weeks for the extended family Christmas party, so Nicholas can see "his" tree and gingerbread house again soon. We also left the other Christmas-themed goodies that Grandma bought there, to be rediscovered on our next visit. I don't think I need to pack any toys. :)
And, best of all, as we read our knock-off Corduroy's Christmas Surprise last night (I couldn't find the real book in his bag even though I was certain it was packed, so I made him one), he stopped when we got to the part about decorating the tree and exclaimed, "Corduroy decorated a tree like I decorated a tree!" And, if possible, even more excitedly proclaimed when we reached the next page, "Dolly made a gingerbread house like I made a gingerbread house! That was so much fun!"
The next month is going to be one new exciting thing after another for him. He's working on a bunch of Christmas songs, trying really hard to learn the exclamations in Rudolph and figuring out what each of the songs on our Christmas CDs "is about." Currently he likes Frosty because it is about a snowman and we built a snowman, Rudolph because he loves the exclamations (especially "ho ho ho" and "yippee"), and "The Little Drummer Boy," because "it is about a little boy like I am a little boy."
2 is simultaneously such an awful age and such a wonderful age. I guess this wonder and joy and excitement is there to balance out the stubbornness and boundary testing. As I have said before, God knew what He was doing when he made little kids cute.
And oh boy was there. Most of Grandma Alice's normal Christmas decorations are way too fragile for a pint-sized helper. But Grandma Alice got Nicholas some very special Nicholas-sized decorations to work on.
Nicholas' first surprise was a 4-ft tree set up for him in the basement. Grandma and an uncle or two set up the tree and got the lights on before bringing Nicholas down. And his face just lit up when he saw it!
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| From 2011 November |
He then went right to work, putting on every single ornament that had been laid out.
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| From 2011 November |
He then asked about the box of candy canes that were there. And all it took was someone saying they could be hung on the tree too and he was on a mission.
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| From 2011 November |
He did all of this by himself (okay, except the bow on top):
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| From 2011 November |
Just as the adults had decided that this looked good and maybe we should just skip the garland, Nicholas saw it. And there was no going back. His first attempt to do it himself was, while hilarious, not very productive. So Aunt Melinda helped him and they got it wrapped around the tree nicely.
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| From 2011 November |
The tree looked just as pretty when we left this morning, although not the same. Nicholas has rearranged the ornaments and candy canes (especially the candy canes) at least a half dozen times in the past 3 days. But he does it carefully and methodically and enjoys it, so why not? Given this, however, this year we might want to just skip any breakable ornaments on our tree so he is free to re-decorate at will.
After decorating the tree there were still more fun Christmas surprises in store for our very lucky little boy.
A real gingerbread house!
Grandma Alice bought a gingerbread kit and Aunt Melinda took on the bulk of the work of helping Nicholas decorate it.
I cut out the fondant for the windows and doors to the right size and we pointed to the general area where they should go (which was also designated by lines on the gingerbread), but Nicholas put them on. He also picked the pieces of candy he wanted and put them on after Melinda dotted frosting on the backs.
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| From 2011 November |
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| From 2011 November |
Nicholas did discover pretty early on that the "glue" was yummy frosting and so was intentionally wiping it off the candy pieces and liking his fingers. Sneaky.
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| From 2011 November |
We had to re-glue some of them.
The grownups put the house together and Melinda and I did the piping for the roof lines, but Nicholas did the bulk of the gumdrops.
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| From 2011 November |
Putting them on the roofline was my idea, but he carefully placed them all neatly in the line. (Watch the video below to see the excitement.)
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| From 2011 November |
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| From 2011 November |
It is so fun watching him do projects, now that he is old enough to really get them and enjoy them. And he is such a careful and mellow 2-year-old that it is feasible to let him.
Nicholas loves looking at the gingerbread house, but he has also asked to eat it a couple times. Technically it is edible, but I'm not so sure I'd want to eat it. Maybe we'll make some gingerbread cookies to eat closer to Christmas instead.
We'll be back again in 2 weeks for the extended family Christmas party, so Nicholas can see "his" tree and gingerbread house again soon. We also left the other Christmas-themed goodies that Grandma bought there, to be rediscovered on our next visit. I don't think I need to pack any toys. :)
And, best of all, as we read our knock-off Corduroy's Christmas Surprise last night (I couldn't find the real book in his bag even though I was certain it was packed, so I made him one), he stopped when we got to the part about decorating the tree and exclaimed, "Corduroy decorated a tree like I decorated a tree!" And, if possible, even more excitedly proclaimed when we reached the next page, "Dolly made a gingerbread house like I made a gingerbread house! That was so much fun!"
The next month is going to be one new exciting thing after another for him. He's working on a bunch of Christmas songs, trying really hard to learn the exclamations in Rudolph and figuring out what each of the songs on our Christmas CDs "is about." Currently he likes Frosty because it is about a snowman and we built a snowman, Rudolph because he loves the exclamations (especially "ho ho ho" and "yippee"), and "The Little Drummer Boy," because "it is about a little boy like I am a little boy."
2 is simultaneously such an awful age and such a wonderful age. I guess this wonder and joy and excitement is there to balance out the stubbornness and boundary testing. As I have said before, God knew what He was doing when he made little kids cute.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Thanksgiving 2011
We have had a thoroughly enjoyable Thanksgiving weekend in New York. We've been having so much fun, in fact, that I haven't gotten around to posting. And I've also managed to squeeze in a lot of grading and glorious glorious sleep!!!
Per usual, Nicholas' favorite part of the trip has been spending time with everyone. This little boy just absolutely can't get enough of his aunts and uncles and grandparents. This trip people were in and out and we were all together for I think a total of 12 hours, of which we slept for 7. But I realized that this marked the fourth time that we've all been together in the past year, which given how spread out we've all gotten, is really amazing. So I'm thankful we were all together, even if it was not for an extended period.
As usual, Nicholas' uncles taught him some new things. You've already seen the "Dominick the Donkey" video Joe posted. Since then Nicholas has mastered a lot more of the words and learned some dance additions from Uncle Brian.
Uncle Brian also taught Nicholas the "special fist bump," a more advanced version that involves an exploding opening hand after the bump. Nicholas, of course, thinks this is both hilarious and totally awesome.
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| From 2011 November |
In addition to his aunts and uncles and grandparents, Nicholas also got to meet some second cousins who were in from England.
We were extra excited Michelle and James and the kids were in because Declan is our godson and we haven't seen him since his baptism. Three years ago. Yes, we are that awesome as godparents. But it was so great to spend time with them all and made me vow that we have to make it out to England. Don't ask me when or how, but I am determined. Nicholas and Declan share an intense love for Elmo, dinosaurs, and fruit snacks. And Nicholas and Amelia enjoyed playing the piano and making the airplanes fly.
And all three of them absolutely could not get enough of running laps around the living room-kitchen-dining room circuit. After Nicholas and Amelia got bored of the game, Declan and I added in a pit stop for him to get tickles or hugs each time through the living room, making it all the more fun for me. :) Since all the adults were busy catching up as well, however, there aren't many pictures.
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| From 2011 November |
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| From 2011 November |
We did Thanksgiving on Wednesday and so started in on pre-Christmas fun on Thursday. I'll post more on that later in the week. For now, I must sleep. Tomorrow we have to drive home and then re-enter the real world. But for now I'll leave you with some more pictures of family togetherness:
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| From 2011 November |
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| From 2011 November |
Friday, November 25, 2011
Passing the Torch
In my mother's family, "Dominick the Donkey," a 1960 Christmas song performed by Lou Monte, is a classic and a tradition. Nicholas is very excited for the song this year, in part because Daddy thinks it's cool (or so Mommy tells me), in part because it's about an animal, in part because the whole family lights up when he gets excited.
Also, the song is totally awesome.
If you don't believe how excited Nicholas is, take a look at this:
Also, the song is totally awesome.
If you don't believe how excited Nicholas is, take a look at this:
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| From 2011 November |
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Grandma and Uncle Peter
We had a great visit with my mom and brother. It was actually the first time Peter and Nicholas had met, since Peter has been living in China and hasn't been back in the States since a month before Nicholas was born.
My only regret of the visit is that we didn't get a great picture of Peter and Nicholas. Well, at least not in the traditional sense. Peter did capture this on his ipad:
Which is incredibly awesome. We had a really good picture set up at the zoo, but I just couldn't figure out which button to hit on Peter's phone before Nicholas got bored. And so, me being me, I am kicking myself for that missed one because I can see it in my head.
But, yes, I know, pictures are not the most important thing. Nicholas now has another uncle he adores, which is a much bigger deal.
I had to work Friday morning, so the three of them went to the Children's museum, where by all accounts, they had a blast. Nicholas certainly enjoyed trying to make the big bubbles:
And Saturday morning we drove down to Rhode Island to go to the zoo. It was a little on the cold side, but definitely tolerable, and probably the last chance for the zoo until spring.
Nicholas was SO excited! After we had finished going around the whole zoo, he was still exclaiming, "Let's go find some more animals!"
We also spent lots of time just hanging out at home, playing Candyland, building towers, reading books, making enchiladas, and just in general having a good time.
The only problem with having visitors is that they have to leave. I was crying a little after we dropped Peter off at the bus station and Nicholas asked me what was wrong. I said I was just sad because we had to say goodbye to Uncle Peter and it would be a long time before we saw him again. And, sweet Nicholas responded, "Don't be sad, Mommy. I make you happy."
And he does and I don't want him to think he isn't enough, but I do miss having grownups around. I am generally happy with my life and go about day to day fine. But after a couple days of a good visit, I find myself looking around and feeling very lonely and isolated here. In other words, I am happy with my current life as long as I don't have reminders of what I'm missing. And I miss my friends and family.
My only regret of the visit is that we didn't get a great picture of Peter and Nicholas. Well, at least not in the traditional sense. Peter did capture this on his ipad:
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| From peter pics |
Which is incredibly awesome. We had a really good picture set up at the zoo, but I just couldn't figure out which button to hit on Peter's phone before Nicholas got bored. And so, me being me, I am kicking myself for that missed one because I can see it in my head.
But, yes, I know, pictures are not the most important thing. Nicholas now has another uncle he adores, which is a much bigger deal.
I had to work Friday morning, so the three of them went to the Children's museum, where by all accounts, they had a blast. Nicholas certainly enjoyed trying to make the big bubbles:
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| From peter pics |
And Saturday morning we drove down to Rhode Island to go to the zoo. It was a little on the cold side, but definitely tolerable, and probably the last chance for the zoo until spring.
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| From peter pics |
We also spent lots of time just hanging out at home, playing Candyland, building towers, reading books, making enchiladas, and just in general having a good time.
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| From peter pics |
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| From peter pics |
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| From peter pics |
The only problem with having visitors is that they have to leave. I was crying a little after we dropped Peter off at the bus station and Nicholas asked me what was wrong. I said I was just sad because we had to say goodbye to Uncle Peter and it would be a long time before we saw him again. And, sweet Nicholas responded, "Don't be sad, Mommy. I make you happy."
And he does and I don't want him to think he isn't enough, but I do miss having grownups around. I am generally happy with my life and go about day to day fine. But after a couple days of a good visit, I find myself looking around and feeling very lonely and isolated here. In other words, I am happy with my current life as long as I don't have reminders of what I'm missing. And I miss my friends and family.
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| From peter pics |
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Fun Times
Lots of fun going on here. I'll try to post tomorrow evening after my mom and Peter leave. Nicholas has been in absolute heaven!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Next 2 Weeks
As you can see, from Nicholas' calendar, he has lots of family time in the next 2 weeks.
We are so excited!
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| From 2011 November |
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Baseball Drawing
When Nicholas draws/colors he usually just scribbles a bunch of lines, more interested in color than form. Sometimes he tries to draw "baseballs" and "airplanes," each of which he has asked us to draw for him on multiple occasions. And each time he has drawn these I could see that he was trying to mimic what we had done, even if the end result bore little resemblance.
But yesterday morning when I walked into his room and saw that he had drawn this
my jaw dropped.
That is a baseball!!!! It is really, truly, clearly a drawing of a baseball. He even replicated the seams and stitches!
But yesterday morning when I walked into his room and saw that he had drawn this
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| From 2011 November |
That is a baseball!!!! It is really, truly, clearly a drawing of a baseball. He even replicated the seams and stitches!
Friday, November 11, 2011
Good Week
Nicholas and I had a very good week. In fact, the best week we've had in a long time. Not that anything interesting or exciting happened this week, but we just were clicking and connecting really well, enjoying each other and keeping the bickering and stand-offs to a minimum. Hmm, I just realized that from that description we sound like a married couple. Well, I guess that what happens when it's just the two of us.
I think the difference this week is that I left work early almost every day, giving us a bonus half hour in the evenings, which was just enough time to actually play a little each day. In our normal schedule we get home about 5:45, he watches one DVR'd episode on tv while I make dinner, and then we eat, making it usually around 6:45 when we finish. Since 7:00 is bedtime, that means we go straight from dinner to getting ready for bed, sometimes with a bath squeezed in.
Add that to weekends of travel or full of errands and until last weekend Nicholas had forgotten he had any toys other than his animal puzzle, because he really only played at home for a couple hours a week. I know, pathetic.
Anyway, the combination of trying to get home before dark with daylights savings (which failed) and the fact that we are at week 10 of the semester and I was feeling a little burnt out meant that I left work early a couple days in a row. And then we had so much fun that I consciously made the decision to replicate that pattern the other days.
And, yes, it means I have an extra half hour of work to do each evening, but really, does it matter whether I'm doing 2 1/2 hours instead of 2 hours of work after he goes to bed? So I think we will continue to do this whenever possible. Of course this coming week I have advising appointments late each day, but I'll do my best.
Because, really, the flood of smiles and hugs I've been getting from this little boy all week have been amazing!
And I am loving working with him on his alphabet puzzle. By yesterday he recognized enough of the letters that I decided to blow his mind by singing the ABCs slowly while pointing to each letter. And he got it! His eyes were huge as he realized that as I sang, the words matched up with the letters on the puzzle.
Exactly what this tired mommy needed this week.
I think the difference this week is that I left work early almost every day, giving us a bonus half hour in the evenings, which was just enough time to actually play a little each day. In our normal schedule we get home about 5:45, he watches one DVR'd episode on tv while I make dinner, and then we eat, making it usually around 6:45 when we finish. Since 7:00 is bedtime, that means we go straight from dinner to getting ready for bed, sometimes with a bath squeezed in.
Add that to weekends of travel or full of errands and until last weekend Nicholas had forgotten he had any toys other than his animal puzzle, because he really only played at home for a couple hours a week. I know, pathetic.
Anyway, the combination of trying to get home before dark with daylights savings (which failed) and the fact that we are at week 10 of the semester and I was feeling a little burnt out meant that I left work early a couple days in a row. And then we had so much fun that I consciously made the decision to replicate that pattern the other days.
And, yes, it means I have an extra half hour of work to do each evening, but really, does it matter whether I'm doing 2 1/2 hours instead of 2 hours of work after he goes to bed? So I think we will continue to do this whenever possible. Of course this coming week I have advising appointments late each day, but I'll do my best.
Because, really, the flood of smiles and hugs I've been getting from this little boy all week have been amazing!
And I am loving working with him on his alphabet puzzle. By yesterday he recognized enough of the letters that I decided to blow his mind by singing the ABCs slowly while pointing to each letter. And he got it! His eyes were huge as he realized that as I sang, the words matched up with the letters on the puzzle.
Exactly what this tired mommy needed this week.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
I is for Zizz-bell
Nicholas' new school is nowhere near as academic as his old one. And in some senses that may be a good thing. I mean, really, is "remedial colors" necessary for 18-month-olds?
But it does sometimes worry me how far to the other end of the spectrum this school goes. So I was heartened when tonight Nicholas was playing with a toy that has keys with different combinations of straight lines and looked at one and proclaimed, "L is for Lucy." And, sure enough, that shape did look like an L. This was followed by "T is for Trevor" for the T-shaped key.
So I pulled out his alphabet puzzle. And sometime in the 5 or 6 weeks since he last played with that puzzle, he learned to identify a handful of letters: those that begin the names of each of his classmates.
My favorite, however, is "I is for Zizz-bell." He obviously isn't making any connection to the sound the letter makes, just identifying the name of the letter and memorizing what it is for. Because I is for Isabel, but it certainly is not for Zizz-bell, which is how he pronounces her name.
But it does sometimes worry me how far to the other end of the spectrum this school goes. So I was heartened when tonight Nicholas was playing with a toy that has keys with different combinations of straight lines and looked at one and proclaimed, "L is for Lucy." And, sure enough, that shape did look like an L. This was followed by "T is for Trevor" for the T-shaped key.
So I pulled out his alphabet puzzle. And sometime in the 5 or 6 weeks since he last played with that puzzle, he learned to identify a handful of letters: those that begin the names of each of his classmates.
My favorite, however, is "I is for Zizz-bell." He obviously isn't making any connection to the sound the letter makes, just identifying the name of the letter and memorizing what it is for. Because I is for Isabel, but it certainly is not for Zizz-bell, which is how he pronounces her name.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Grandpa, Soccer, and Projects
As I write this Nicholas is doing pushups in the hallway, on his own initiative. But the camera is plugged in so alas no pictures. And he has now switched to situps, which basically consist of propping himself up on his elbows and nodding his head. Since he has no models of these at home so must have learned this at school.
Joe was home for the first time in 3 weeks so a chunk of the weekend was spent in errands and cleaning. (Including Christmas pictures--how did it get that late in the year?!?!) Nicholas lost patience with all of this and with the addition of some Halloween candy he became a holy terror. He actually hit me in the face in the grocery store. Yeah, exactly. His Halloween candy has now entirely vanished, likely never to return.
But Nicholas' weekend improved immensely when Grandpa Dan came for a visit. Nicholas was so psyched! After my dad left today Nicholas just kept talking about how Grandpa "came to visit us at our house!" They did puzzles, they played with pretend tools, and, best of all, they played soccer. All 4 of us went outside and played soccer this afternoon and had a blast. I forgot how much I enjoyed it. And it was a glorious fall day.
After Grandpa left Nicholas helped Joe with a special project--putting up hooks for our coats.
Nicholas is responsible for putting his coat on a hook every day at school but at home the only options were hanging it on a hanger in the coat closet or the floor. And so it was on the floor. And mine was on the back of a chair. But we now have hooks for our coats right next to the door. And a hook with a bag for Nicholas' hat and gloves.
I am so psyched!
Joe was home for the first time in 3 weeks so a chunk of the weekend was spent in errands and cleaning. (Including Christmas pictures--how did it get that late in the year?!?!) Nicholas lost patience with all of this and with the addition of some Halloween candy he became a holy terror. He actually hit me in the face in the grocery store. Yeah, exactly. His Halloween candy has now entirely vanished, likely never to return.
But Nicholas' weekend improved immensely when Grandpa Dan came for a visit. Nicholas was so psyched! After my dad left today Nicholas just kept talking about how Grandpa "came to visit us at our house!" They did puzzles, they played with pretend tools, and, best of all, they played soccer. All 4 of us went outside and played soccer this afternoon and had a blast. I forgot how much I enjoyed it. And it was a glorious fall day.
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| From 2011 November |
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| From 2011 November |
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| From 2011 November |
After Grandpa left Nicholas helped Joe with a special project--putting up hooks for our coats.
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| From 2011 November |
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| From 2011 November |
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Trick or Treating
We finally had trick or treating tonight and Nicholas had such a great time! We have taken him the past two years, but he didn't get it either time. But, as has been the case with lots of things over the past few months, he really gets it now. And he was loving it.
Nicholas has been interested in trick or treating for a few weeks because there is an episode of Little Einsteins where they go trick or treating to get Halloween treats for a party. (And tonight he definitely referenced that (and the ghosts that try to steal treats) a couple times.) And he had pretended to trick or treat in our house in response to that show. But he didn't really understand how it worked or that he would get candy. But that boy catches on quickly. After about 2 houses he started to tell me, "Mommy, let's go to the next house. See if their light is on. And is anybody home? Mommy, look their light is on! Let's go see if anybody home!" All this while he is rushing off to the next house.
He was pretty shy at the first few houses, but he got more confident as he went on. Most of the time he insisted that I walk up the stairs with him, although sometimes he would let me stay right at the bottom of the stairs.
He was really good about saying something although whether they got "trick or treat," "thank you," or "Happy Halloween" varied. I think his "Happy Halloween" in place of a "thank you" almost knocked one woman over with the cuteness. What I liked about that one is that it was him repeating what he had been hearing and changing the script. I had instructed him on "trick or treat" and "thank you," but then so many people said "Happy Halloween" to him that he changed his script.
He did not ask even once to open candy until we got home.
Last year the first time someone put something in his bag, he was done and wanted to eat it. This time he was enjoying the process so much that he didn't pay attention to the fact that it was candy! In choosing candy his only real preference was for lollipops.
But that makes sense since he doesn't know the codes of the color wrappers for different types of candy bars.
Between the haul he got and all the leftover candy we have (I don't think we got a single trick or treater given that the doors of our apartment building were kept locked), I think my students are getting candy tomorrow. I am all about having a candy stash, but this is insane.
And my favorite Halloween picture of all:
 |
| From 2011 November |
Nicholas has been interested in trick or treating for a few weeks because there is an episode of Little Einsteins where they go trick or treating to get Halloween treats for a party. (And tonight he definitely referenced that (and the ghosts that try to steal treats) a couple times.) And he had pretended to trick or treat in our house in response to that show. But he didn't really understand how it worked or that he would get candy. But that boy catches on quickly. After about 2 houses he started to tell me, "Mommy, let's go to the next house. See if their light is on. And is anybody home? Mommy, look their light is on! Let's go see if anybody home!" All this while he is rushing off to the next house.
He was pretty shy at the first few houses, but he got more confident as he went on. Most of the time he insisted that I walk up the stairs with him, although sometimes he would let me stay right at the bottom of the stairs.
 |
| From 2011 November |
He was really good about saying something although whether they got "trick or treat," "thank you," or "Happy Halloween" varied. I think his "Happy Halloween" in place of a "thank you" almost knocked one woman over with the cuteness. What I liked about that one is that it was him repeating what he had been hearing and changing the script. I had instructed him on "trick or treat" and "thank you," but then so many people said "Happy Halloween" to him that he changed his script.
He did not ask even once to open candy until we got home.
 |
| From 2011 November |
 |
| From 2011 November |
Between the haul he got and all the leftover candy we have (I don't think we got a single trick or treater given that the doors of our apartment building were kept locked), I think my students are getting candy tomorrow. I am all about having a candy stash, but this is insane.
And my favorite Halloween picture of all:
 |
| From 2011 November |
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Snow in October
We now have power and I am caught up on the schoolwork and housework that got backed up with the storm, so can finally post about our experience of the recent storm.
We only got about 4 inches, but it was really wet, heavy snow and most of the trees still had their leaves, so tree branches were down everywhere. Hence why we lost power.
It was also tricky to get anywhere the past couple days because all our normal routes involve twisty country roads through the woods. And while they were all cleared of snow, so many were closed because of downed trees and/or wires that each time I tried to drive somewhere, I would go about 5 minutes before hitting a closed road and having to loop back. Our route to daycare is actually still down to one lane in many places. Not officially, but at many points I'd be driving along happily and suddenly go around the bend to find a huge branch out in the road and have to stop quickly to wait for oncoming traffic to pass so I could go around it. But at least the road was open. Yesterday it took us an hour and a half to do the normally 10-minute drive because we (and everyone else) had to take such crazy detours.
But now that we have heat again and I have confirmed that the food in the fridge and freezer are still good (a benefit of how cold the apartment got), I am able to look at the pictures from Sunday with fondness.
We really did have a great time playing out in the snow.
Nicholas was so excited to go out in the snow.
We finally got the kid snowpants and boots this year (actually, two sets because they have to have a set at school), so he was able to walk around in the snow happily.
I have not found a good option for gloves, however. The waterproof ones are too bulky and I can't get his thumb in correctly, but the other ones get so wet and cold.
Anyway, Nicholas had so much fun walking around in the snow, climbing up the "mountains" I made with the snow I shoveled, learning to throw snowballs, and building a snowman.
He happily played by himself while I cleaned off one car, we stopped to build the snowman, then he played while I did about half of the other car. At that point he declared himself done, but it was way more than I expected to get out of him.
Our snowman is melting quickly and Nicholas seems very disturbed by this fact. He wants to go see our snowman every time we're outside and talks sadly about how the snowman is "falling apart" or "going away." The best I can do is promise him that we'll try to make another one the next time it snows. But, can you blame him? This is one awfully cute snowman, afterall:
We only got about 4 inches, but it was really wet, heavy snow and most of the trees still had their leaves, so tree branches were down everywhere. Hence why we lost power.
It was also tricky to get anywhere the past couple days because all our normal routes involve twisty country roads through the woods. And while they were all cleared of snow, so many were closed because of downed trees and/or wires that each time I tried to drive somewhere, I would go about 5 minutes before hitting a closed road and having to loop back. Our route to daycare is actually still down to one lane in many places. Not officially, but at many points I'd be driving along happily and suddenly go around the bend to find a huge branch out in the road and have to stop quickly to wait for oncoming traffic to pass so I could go around it. But at least the road was open. Yesterday it took us an hour and a half to do the normally 10-minute drive because we (and everyone else) had to take such crazy detours.
But now that we have heat again and I have confirmed that the food in the fridge and freezer are still good (a benefit of how cold the apartment got), I am able to look at the pictures from Sunday with fondness.
We really did have a great time playing out in the snow.
Nicholas was so excited to go out in the snow.
 |
| From 2011 October |
We finally got the kid snowpants and boots this year (actually, two sets because they have to have a set at school), so he was able to walk around in the snow happily.
 |
| From 2011 October |
Anyway, Nicholas had so much fun walking around in the snow, climbing up the "mountains" I made with the snow I shoveled, learning to throw snowballs, and building a snowman.
 |
| From 2011 October |
 |
| From 2011 October |
 |
| From 2011 October |
He happily played by himself while I cleaned off one car, we stopped to build the snowman, then he played while I did about half of the other car. At that point he declared himself done, but it was way more than I expected to get out of him.
Our snowman is melting quickly and Nicholas seems very disturbed by this fact. He wants to go see our snowman every time we're outside and talks sadly about how the snowman is "falling apart" or "going away." The best I can do is promise him that we'll try to make another one the next time it snows. But, can you blame him? This is one awfully cute snowman, afterall:
 |
| From 2011 October |
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