Conversation the other day in the car:
S: Do you know that I love you so much?
N: Yes, I do.
S: Who else loves you so much?
N: Daddy does!
S: And who else?
(pause)
S: Do Grandma and Grandpa love you so much?
N: Yes!
S: Do you love anybody so much?
N: Yes.
S: Who?
N: I love Mommy and Daddy so much. (pause) And Grandma and Grandpa. (pause) And Uncle Brian and Aunt Shayna. (pause) Uncle Brian laughs at me. (pause) Uncle Brian likes to laugh.
I'm assuming those thoughts were connected, in which case apparently to Nicholas love is expressed by laughing at people. No wonder he is so close to his uncles.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
And Then I Get a Nicholas
Nicholas' monologue tonight:
"I am still a little boy. But I am getting bigger. And when I get big I will be a daddy. And then I get a Nicholas!"
(pause)
"And when daddies grow up then they are girls."
Just when I thought he was starting to figure this whole progression out.
"I am still a little boy. But I am getting bigger. And when I get big I will be a daddy. And then I get a Nicholas!"
(pause)
"And when daddies grow up then they are girls."
Just when I thought he was starting to figure this whole progression out.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Inside Humor, Baseball Edition
If you've interacted with children's media in any form, you know that they often operate at two levels. There's the excitement and story for the kids, of course, but often there's also a few well-placed or well-timed jokes that go over the heads of little ones, just to keep the parents entertained.
Recently we encountered one that is subtle, subversive, and hilarious if you remember 2003.
Nicholas loves baseball books. He loves dinosaur books. So why not Dino-Baseball? Needless to say, we've read it just about every night since it came home from the library, and quite a few other times besides. It's silly, mostly, narrating a game between the Green Sox (all herbivores!) and the Rib-Eye Reds (not herbivores, if you know what I mean).
At one point, a Red hits a fly ball down the left-field line, which leads to this play:
If you can't quite tell what happens, a fan nabs the ball away from left fielder Diplodocus. But take a look at the fan. Notice anything familiar? Here's a close-up view:
Get it yet? If not, take a look at this:
Yes, one of Nicholas's books has ever so subtly inserted a Steve Bartman reference, right down to the headphones. Well played. (If you still don't get it, read the Wikipedia entry.)
Recently we encountered one that is subtle, subversive, and hilarious if you remember 2003.
Nicholas loves baseball books. He loves dinosaur books. So why not Dino-Baseball? Needless to say, we've read it just about every night since it came home from the library, and quite a few other times besides. It's silly, mostly, narrating a game between the Green Sox (all herbivores!) and the Rib-Eye Reds (not herbivores, if you know what I mean).
At one point, a Red hits a fly ball down the left-field line, which leads to this play:
 |
| From 2012 March |
If you can't quite tell what happens, a fan nabs the ball away from left fielder Diplodocus. But take a look at the fan. Notice anything familiar? Here's a close-up view:
 |
| From 2012 March |
Yes, one of Nicholas's books has ever so subtly inserted a Steve Bartman reference, right down to the headphones. Well played. (If you still don't get it, read the Wikipedia entry.)
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Planting Update
As you saw in the posts from last weekend, we decided to do some planting last weekend. This was in response to Nicholas' enthusiasm about the sunflowers they planted at school a few weeks ago.
They sent the sunflowers home on Thursday because they were outgrowing their little paper cups. As you can see here, this sunflower was in desperate need of a deeper pot and a lot more dirt:
So we bought it a larger pot and transplanted it yesterday morning.
The end result:
(As a side note, yes, we know it is March, but he is obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse right now and x-mas pajamas were down to $4 at Kohl's.)
I am cautiously optimistic that the transplant worked because yesterday it was bending to get better light. But we'll see how it does in the long term because we have serious problems with sunlight in this apartment.
Which brings us to what we planted last weekend. We planted some baby lettuce plants, as well as flower seeds and rosemary seeds. We then promptly realized that even though we get a ton of light in the sliding door that goes to the balcony, the balcony actually gets a grand total of about 30 minutes of direct sun from 7:00-7:30 am at this time of year. Ooops.
We've been doing everything we can think of to get the plants some more light, through and including me working outside on a blanket in the grass in our complex for 3 hours on Friday afternoon in order to "babysit" the plants while putting them out in the sun. Now, I'm in no way complaining about working outside on a 73-degree March Friday afternoon, but it was a rare fluke of the schedule that allowed me to do that. In other words, it is not a good long-term plan.
In other words, I have been very anxious about this project failing and Nicholas' disappointment. But today, we saw this:
The flower seeds have sprouted!!!!!!
We aren't out of the woods because the lettuce leaves are turning brown and this week it is supposed to be rainy and cloudy, decreasing even further the already limited sunlight available, but it is a very encouraging sign. And it made us all so happy!
They sent the sunflowers home on Thursday because they were outgrowing their little paper cups. As you can see here, this sunflower was in desperate need of a deeper pot and a lot more dirt:
 |
| From 2012 March |
So we bought it a larger pot and transplanted it yesterday morning.
 |
| From 2012 March |
The end result:
 |
| From 2012 March |
I am cautiously optimistic that the transplant worked because yesterday it was bending to get better light. But we'll see how it does in the long term because we have serious problems with sunlight in this apartment.
Which brings us to what we planted last weekend. We planted some baby lettuce plants, as well as flower seeds and rosemary seeds. We then promptly realized that even though we get a ton of light in the sliding door that goes to the balcony, the balcony actually gets a grand total of about 30 minutes of direct sun from 7:00-7:30 am at this time of year. Ooops.
We've been doing everything we can think of to get the plants some more light, through and including me working outside on a blanket in the grass in our complex for 3 hours on Friday afternoon in order to "babysit" the plants while putting them out in the sun. Now, I'm in no way complaining about working outside on a 73-degree March Friday afternoon, but it was a rare fluke of the schedule that allowed me to do that. In other words, it is not a good long-term plan.
In other words, I have been very anxious about this project failing and Nicholas' disappointment. But today, we saw this:
 |
| From 2012 March |
The flower seeds have sprouted!!!!!!
We aren't out of the woods because the lettuce leaves are turning brown and this week it is supposed to be rainy and cloudy, decreasing even further the already limited sunlight available, but it is a very encouraging sign. And it made us all so happy!
Friday, March 23, 2012
Nicholas' Day
NICHOLAS
He just typed that, all by himself. Well, I turned the caps locks on first for him.
Today was show and tell at school and he took his camera, so we wanted to share some of the pictures he took. His most impressive two were of one of his friends, but we weren't sure about posting them.
He just typed that, all by himself. Well, I turned the caps locks on first for him.
Today was show and tell at school and he took his camera, so we wanted to share some of the pictures he took. His most impressive two were of one of his friends, but we weren't sure about posting them.
 |
| From Nicholas Camera |
 |
| From Nicholas Camera |
 |
| From Nicholas Camera |
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Pretending to Read
The only two words Nicholas can read are NICHOLAS and XAVIER. And, yes, they have to be in all caps for him to read them. And yet, he loves "reading" us books he has memorized. Today he read one book 3 times in a row. And I caught about 1 1/2 of those on video.
So, for your entertainment, Nicholas reading about a Halloween party at the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse:
 |
| From 2012 March |
Monday, March 19, 2012
Spring Weather
I can't resist the first few days of gorgeous spring weather--it transforms any mood and makes me giddy.
A few things we love about spring:
A few things we love about spring:
 |
| From 2012 March |
 |
| From 2012 March |
 |
| From 2012 March |
 |
| From 2012 March |
 |
| From 2012 March |
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Spring!
It feels like spring outside and the light is gorgeous, so I asked Nicholas if he'd be interested in taking some pictures outside. He consented and then I played with the settings a little. Here are the versions I played with:
The originals are in the Gallery .
 |
| From 2012 March |
 |
| From 2012 March |
The originals are in the Gallery .
Friday, March 16, 2012
Friday Earworm
Since Sarah's post yesterday, I've had this song in my head. And more specifically (embarrassingly?) this scene from Look Who's Talking.
Fortunately, Nicholas isn't growing up quite fast enough to justify a montage ... but sometimes it seems that way.
Fortunately, Nicholas isn't growing up quite fast enough to justify a montage ... but sometimes it seems that way.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
When I Grow Up . . .
Last night I went out on a "Mommy date" with a friend who lives in our building. (Chick flick, appetizers, and no kids!) I left while Nicholas was still eating dinner so had to explain to Nicholas where I was going.
S: I'm going out with Leila's mommy. You know how sometimes you and I go on "Mommy and Nicholas dates." And every once in awhile Daddy and I go on "Mommy and Daddy dates." Well this is a "Mommy date."
N: I want to come! Can I come too?
J: Are you a mommy?
N: (dejected) No.
(pause)
N: When I grow up I'll be a mommy and then I can go.
Poor kid. He was crushed when we explained to him that he can never be a mommy. Being told that he could grow up to be a daddy was a slight consolation, but only slight. I don't know why, but I assumed he understood gender better than he apparently did.
S: I'm going out with Leila's mommy. You know how sometimes you and I go on "Mommy and Nicholas dates." And every once in awhile Daddy and I go on "Mommy and Daddy dates." Well this is a "Mommy date."
N: I want to come! Can I come too?
J: Are you a mommy?
N: (dejected) No.
(pause)
N: When I grow up I'll be a mommy and then I can go.
Poor kid. He was crushed when we explained to him that he can never be a mommy. Being told that he could grow up to be a daddy was a slight consolation, but only slight. I don't know why, but I assumed he understood gender better than he apparently did.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Naps and Letters
Nicholas really needs to start napping again at school. His behavior at naptime has improved, but he still refuses to nap. I think he has napped twice in the past 4 weeks. At school, that is. At home he naps each weekend afternoon.
Now I know some kids start giving up naps by this age (he is almost 3, afterall), but Nicholas is not ready to give up naps. He is a complete MESS each evening when he doesn't nap. The weather is delightful but we hesitate to try to do anything fun in the evenings because he just can't handle it. Things as simple as eating dinner can lead to huge meltdowns and crocodile tears. Sleep, child!
In more exciting news from school, Nicholas has apparently learned to write the letters "H" and "O." He volunteered this fact at dinner tonight, so we pulled out a piece of paper and sure enough, he has a beautiful and precise upper-case H. Writing an "O" just means that he has realized that he can call a circle an "O." This means he is 1/4 of the way to writing his name. Pretty cool!
Now I know some kids start giving up naps by this age (he is almost 3, afterall), but Nicholas is not ready to give up naps. He is a complete MESS each evening when he doesn't nap. The weather is delightful but we hesitate to try to do anything fun in the evenings because he just can't handle it. Things as simple as eating dinner can lead to huge meltdowns and crocodile tears. Sleep, child!
In more exciting news from school, Nicholas has apparently learned to write the letters "H" and "O." He volunteered this fact at dinner tonight, so we pulled out a piece of paper and sure enough, he has a beautiful and precise upper-case H. Writing an "O" just means that he has realized that he can call a circle an "O." This means he is 1/4 of the way to writing his name. Pretty cool!
In Which Nicholas Comes Down with a Case of Consumeritis
We took Nicholas to Toys 'R Us this weekend.
Big mistake.
There was a purpose to the visit. We had waited a little while to open one of his big Christmas presents because he wasn't quite ready for it, but went ahead this weekend and broke open the box. Unfortunately, the toy was not nearly what it was advertised. Parts were broken (some pieces looked like they'd been chewed on); much of it looked dirty; the screws to hold in the battery cases for the electronic parts were stripped. Not good. [NB: the gift-giver has already been made aware of the problem, and what's more sad is that Nicholas like the idea of the toy.]
Sarah called Toys 'R Us, and it turns out that we could still return it, but since we were so close to the ninety-day window (yes, it's been that long since Christmas) we decided to go ahead and return it and use the money to replace it with similar items that he'd enjoy and that we'd trust. We took him to let him pick out said replacements.
As we entered the store, our wonderful little boy became possessed. "I want this!" "I want that!" "But Nicholas, you don't know what that is!"
His eyes bugged out and stayed that way until we left. He wanted everything. He wanted to get a Power Wheels car, though he was happy just to sit in it for a minute. He wanted train accessories. He wanted tools (which we were there to get). He wanted more things for his play kitchen (some of which we intended to buy, but not 500 pieces of plastic food). Neither of us had ever seen him like that before, and it was scary.
Moral of the story: Nicholas is welcome to go to Toys 'R Us again, just as soon as he has a driver's license and a real car.
Big mistake.
There was a purpose to the visit. We had waited a little while to open one of his big Christmas presents because he wasn't quite ready for it, but went ahead this weekend and broke open the box. Unfortunately, the toy was not nearly what it was advertised. Parts were broken (some pieces looked like they'd been chewed on); much of it looked dirty; the screws to hold in the battery cases for the electronic parts were stripped. Not good. [NB: the gift-giver has already been made aware of the problem, and what's more sad is that Nicholas like the idea of the toy.]
Sarah called Toys 'R Us, and it turns out that we could still return it, but since we were so close to the ninety-day window (yes, it's been that long since Christmas) we decided to go ahead and return it and use the money to replace it with similar items that he'd enjoy and that we'd trust. We took him to let him pick out said replacements.
As we entered the store, our wonderful little boy became possessed. "I want this!" "I want that!" "But Nicholas, you don't know what that is!"
His eyes bugged out and stayed that way until we left. He wanted everything. He wanted to get a Power Wheels car, though he was happy just to sit in it for a minute. He wanted train accessories. He wanted tools (which we were there to get). He wanted more things for his play kitchen (some of which we intended to buy, but not 500 pieces of plastic food). Neither of us had ever seen him like that before, and it was scary.
Moral of the story: Nicholas is welcome to go to Toys 'R Us again, just as soon as he has a driver's license and a real car.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Gloucester
I am supervising a student who is doing an internship at a museum in Gloucester, so today the whole family took a road trip. They do "family fun days" with programming aimed at young children one Saturday a month, so Joe and Nicholas came along for my visit.
And a good time was had by all. The museum is much bigger and more exciting than it appeared on the website, and today's crafts were aimed exactly at Nicholas' level. So he did crafts (and crafts, and more crafts--I think he did each of the three options twice), I got a tour of the museum from my student, we all walked around the museum looking at cool boats, models of Gloucester at various points in time, and beautiful paintings of boats and ocean scenes. (And Nicholas learned to identify the American flag from the pictures.)
We then walked down to the water to look at the few boats that weren't covered for the winter, had a delightful lunch, and headed home. We have already resolved to go back in the summer, although we're brainstorming ways to get around the shortage of parking spaces that was apparent even on a snowy day in early March.
Since Nicholas fell asleep halfway home, we drove straight to the library, where we had to return a movie that was going to start accumulating dramatic fines beginning tomorrow. Our plan to drop it off and keep moving was thwarted when Nicholas woke up and saw where we were, but that meant we had an unplanned but enjoyable family trip to the library. I got a couple novels I am planning to use as bribery/rewards to convince myself to wake up each morning of Spring Break next week and grade papers. Joe read Nicholas a couple of the BIG books that require lying on the floor. All three of us played a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse letter matching game (because our library is awesome and has tons of cool games). Nicholas got some new Franklin books and a book about dinosaurs playing baseball.
We then did our grocery shopping on the way home, making the day just that much more productive.
All the activity and the short nap made for a very cranky and tired Nicholas, so the evening was not as fun, but he is now in bed, Joe is off running one last errand, and as soon as I write up my report of the museum visit for my student's internship file, I am off for the night.
I love these days!
And a good time was had by all. The museum is much bigger and more exciting than it appeared on the website, and today's crafts were aimed exactly at Nicholas' level. So he did crafts (and crafts, and more crafts--I think he did each of the three options twice), I got a tour of the museum from my student, we all walked around the museum looking at cool boats, models of Gloucester at various points in time, and beautiful paintings of boats and ocean scenes. (And Nicholas learned to identify the American flag from the pictures.)
We then walked down to the water to look at the few boats that weren't covered for the winter, had a delightful lunch, and headed home. We have already resolved to go back in the summer, although we're brainstorming ways to get around the shortage of parking spaces that was apparent even on a snowy day in early March.
Since Nicholas fell asleep halfway home, we drove straight to the library, where we had to return a movie that was going to start accumulating dramatic fines beginning tomorrow. Our plan to drop it off and keep moving was thwarted when Nicholas woke up and saw where we were, but that meant we had an unplanned but enjoyable family trip to the library. I got a couple novels I am planning to use as bribery/rewards to convince myself to wake up each morning of Spring Break next week and grade papers. Joe read Nicholas a couple of the BIG books that require lying on the floor. All three of us played a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse letter matching game (because our library is awesome and has tons of cool games). Nicholas got some new Franklin books and a book about dinosaurs playing baseball.
We then did our grocery shopping on the way home, making the day just that much more productive.
All the activity and the short nap made for a very cranky and tired Nicholas, so the evening was not as fun, but he is now in bed, Joe is off running one last errand, and as soon as I write up my report of the museum visit for my student's internship file, I am off for the night.
I love these days!
Friday, March 9, 2012
Gymnastics Excitement
Nicholas can't contain his excitement! When he woke up this morning there was a new drawing on his calendar.
What do you think Nicholas is doing on March 17th?
Yes, we signed Nicholas up for gymnastics class. Well, he is signed up for a free trial class for the last class of the winter session, with the expectation that he will then sign up for the 12-week class that begins the following Saturday.
Nicholas saw it and immediately exclaimed, "It's a balance beam! There are kids on a balance beam! I get to go on a balance beam!" And he has been talking about it ALL DAY, although he keeps forgetting that he has to wait over a week for it. He just can't wait.
So apparently we guessed correctly that this would be a hit with him. Now I just hope the classes themselves live up to his expectations. And that the woman was right in assuring me not to worry about signing up until after the trial class because there would be plenty of spots left. I was skeptical, but I didn't feel like driving over to fill out paperwork an extra time.
Now the real question is: which parent is going to do gymnastics class with Nicholas?
 |
| From 2012 March |
What do you think Nicholas is doing on March 17th?
Yes, we signed Nicholas up for gymnastics class. Well, he is signed up for a free trial class for the last class of the winter session, with the expectation that he will then sign up for the 12-week class that begins the following Saturday.
Nicholas saw it and immediately exclaimed, "It's a balance beam! There are kids on a balance beam! I get to go on a balance beam!" And he has been talking about it ALL DAY, although he keeps forgetting that he has to wait over a week for it. He just can't wait.
So apparently we guessed correctly that this would be a hit with him. Now I just hope the classes themselves live up to his expectations. And that the woman was right in assuring me not to worry about signing up until after the trial class because there would be plenty of spots left. I was skeptical, but I didn't feel like driving over to fill out paperwork an extra time.
Now the real question is: which parent is going to do gymnastics class with Nicholas?
Monday, March 5, 2012
Friday, March 2, 2012
The Adventures of Ni-KOO-loos
One evening earlier this week, Nicholas decided to pretend to go to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed. He climbed up, put his head down, and waited for us to put the blanket over him. Then he asked for a story.
This was an unusual request. Nicholas has gotten used to stories as part of his bedtime routine, but we almost exclusively read books. Frankly, I don't mind, because I'm not a particularly inventive person [cue snarky comments from the uncles]. I'd rather read something than make up a story (can you tell why I'm a historian?). But I decided to try to indulge him.
And so was born Ni-KOO-loos (spelled phonetically), a little boy who goes on adventures with his parents. In the first story, he was going for a walk, and after it got dark saw an owl and a giraffe (part of the plot, of course, involves Ni-KOO-loos's daddy assuming that he couldn't possibly see a giraffe in the dark, but there you go). Then they go home and Ni-KOO-loos gets ready for bed. Oddly enough, he has roughly the same bedtime routine as Nicholas! This means that Nicholas can help tell the story, though I'm not sure he's yet fully made the connection that the whole thing is basically a Bizarro World, and of course we'll have to wait a few years to show him the Seinfeld episode. Not even going to bother with Superman. Anyway, Ni-KOO-loos gets ready for bed, and then lies down with his dolls: Almo, Jihnny, and Silverfield (Nicholas thinks this last one is hilarious but doesn't get the pun).
Apparently he liked the story because he insisted that I tell it again last night. We needed our Nicholas to get ready for bed, so we made the story conditional on his getting ready for bed while I told it, since he'd initially taken off for our bed as he was asking the question.
I got him to agree at the end that we could tell more stories about Ni-KOO-loos next time.
His next adventure? I think it involves a baseball game.
This was an unusual request. Nicholas has gotten used to stories as part of his bedtime routine, but we almost exclusively read books. Frankly, I don't mind, because I'm not a particularly inventive person [cue snarky comments from the uncles]. I'd rather read something than make up a story (can you tell why I'm a historian?). But I decided to try to indulge him.
And so was born Ni-KOO-loos (spelled phonetically), a little boy who goes on adventures with his parents. In the first story, he was going for a walk, and after it got dark saw an owl and a giraffe (part of the plot, of course, involves Ni-KOO-loos's daddy assuming that he couldn't possibly see a giraffe in the dark, but there you go). Then they go home and Ni-KOO-loos gets ready for bed. Oddly enough, he has roughly the same bedtime routine as Nicholas! This means that Nicholas can help tell the story, though I'm not sure he's yet fully made the connection that the whole thing is basically a Bizarro World, and of course we'll have to wait a few years to show him the Seinfeld episode. Not even going to bother with Superman. Anyway, Ni-KOO-loos gets ready for bed, and then lies down with his dolls: Almo, Jihnny, and Silverfield (Nicholas thinks this last one is hilarious but doesn't get the pun).
Apparently he liked the story because he insisted that I tell it again last night. We needed our Nicholas to get ready for bed, so we made the story conditional on his getting ready for bed while I told it, since he'd initially taken off for our bed as he was asking the question.
I got him to agree at the end that we could tell more stories about Ni-KOO-loos next time.
His next adventure? I think it involves a baseball game.
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