I often feel like such a failure at this whole parenting thing. I get frustrated more than I should. I get snippy and short with Nicholas for doing absurd things like acting like a 3 year old. He occassionally has meltdowns. And so it is really nice to see other parents, especially people who I see as such good parents, struggle, even though that is a really mean thing to say.
Right now I am working from home and can hear one of the girls downstairs (4 and 2 1/2) having a MASSIVE meltdown. And their mom is one of the most cool and collected parents I've ever seen. I am just in awe of her every time I see her with her kids and wish I could be as good as she is. So if her girls can have those days, then maybe there is hope for me too.
And maybe I'll take her down one of the mocha brownies I made a couple nights ago. It sounds like she could use some chocolate today.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
Updates: Potty, Swimming, and Sleep
Nicholas had a GREAT day and I am bursting with pride tonight. This whole parenting this really is pretty hilarious--I am more proud of him for wearing underwear all day with no accidents than I have been of myself for anything I've done in a loooong time, and that includes finishing my doctorate. Absurdity.
Anyway, so yes, he made it all day at school with no accidents! I will admit to being shocked when I arrived at daycare and heard the news. Even more exciting was how tightly he was hugging me when I arrived. He knew he had done something really amazing and was SO proud of himself. I could just feel how proud and excited he was, which was wonderful, and it was clear from his tight hug how much he wanted to share that feeling with me. That was better than any thank you.
So far only pee at school, but since he made it all day at school, through both nights dry, and can do the whole routine at home without any help (his stubbornness in waiting means that he grew enough to navigate by himself with the help of a stepstool!), I am declaring that he has crossed the line and is not allowed to go back to diapers. Now I just hope he doesn't make me regret it.
I wanted to much to give him some special reward for today because I know how big of a step it was for him and how hard it was for him, and so I volunteered to take him swimming when we got home. We only stayed for 20 minutes, but we had a good time and I was right that it was a very special and appreciated reward. And since we were the only people there, I asked the person who checks pool passes to take a video on Nicholas swimming. All of the forward motion is his own. I am supporting his weight and keeping his midsection up to the top of the water. It is hard to see with his hat, but halfway through he even stops to blow bubbles:
Anyway, so yes, he made it all day at school with no accidents! I will admit to being shocked when I arrived at daycare and heard the news. Even more exciting was how tightly he was hugging me when I arrived. He knew he had done something really amazing and was SO proud of himself. I could just feel how proud and excited he was, which was wonderful, and it was clear from his tight hug how much he wanted to share that feeling with me. That was better than any thank you.
So far only pee at school, but since he made it all day at school, through both nights dry, and can do the whole routine at home without any help (his stubbornness in waiting means that he grew enough to navigate by himself with the help of a stepstool!), I am declaring that he has crossed the line and is not allowed to go back to diapers. Now I just hope he doesn't make me regret it.
I wanted to much to give him some special reward for today because I know how big of a step it was for him and how hard it was for him, and so I volunteered to take him swimming when we got home. We only stayed for 20 minutes, but we had a good time and I was right that it was a very special and appreciated reward. And since we were the only people there, I asked the person who checks pool passes to take a video on Nicholas swimming. All of the forward motion is his own. I am supporting his weight and keeping his midsection up to the top of the water. It is hard to see with his hat, but halfway through he even stops to blow bubbles:
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| From 2012 July |
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Busy Weekend
While potty training has been the milestone incident of this weekend and so what I wanted to record for my own records, Nicholas and I actually had a busy weekend even beyond that. Joe is out of town for a couple weeks, so Nicholas and I have been on our own and kept ourselves busy.
Friday evening we went to a concert on the town green, which they do every Friday in the summer but we'd never gotten around to before. The music was so-so, but we had a fun time anyway. It was just great to be outside, surrounded by so many people all just hanging out with their families.
Yesterday we ran a bunch of errands, played fun games at the library (he enjoyed Guess Who the most), and spent a long time at the pool. His swimming has made huge leaps forward and he was working at swimming almost the entire time, rather than wanting to just jump in. He was even asking me to actively teach him things and practice individual skills. I wish I could have gotten video, but even as much as he has improved, he is not able to be without an adult in the pool with him. With a vest that provides some bouyancy, he was able to swim a few feet completely on his own, but what was even cooler to me was that if I put just two fingers under his belly to make him keep his bottom up, he could swim the entire short distance across the pool, and with pretty decent form. So cool!
After church today we went to the playground with one of my colleagues and her son, which was really great for both of us. Then this evening after dinner I took him out to ride his bike. The kid has become a speed demon on that thing. I think next summer it may be time to upgrade to a real bike, with training wheels of course. Just take a look at the video:
It is funny, because this weekend I have wanted to scream a half dozen times and have been so worn down at many points, but we really did have a pretty good time. And I am just so incredibly proud of him. He has just been very needy and clingy and without having any backup there were points when I really desperately just needed to have 5 minutes to myself. Speaking of which, I have about 10 minutes before I need to get laundry and then go to bed, so I should take those 10 minutes to get myself some ice cream and watch something trashy on tv.
Friday evening we went to a concert on the town green, which they do every Friday in the summer but we'd never gotten around to before. The music was so-so, but we had a fun time anyway. It was just great to be outside, surrounded by so many people all just hanging out with their families.
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| From 2012 July |
Yesterday we ran a bunch of errands, played fun games at the library (he enjoyed Guess Who the most), and spent a long time at the pool. His swimming has made huge leaps forward and he was working at swimming almost the entire time, rather than wanting to just jump in. He was even asking me to actively teach him things and practice individual skills. I wish I could have gotten video, but even as much as he has improved, he is not able to be without an adult in the pool with him. With a vest that provides some bouyancy, he was able to swim a few feet completely on his own, but what was even cooler to me was that if I put just two fingers under his belly to make him keep his bottom up, he could swim the entire short distance across the pool, and with pretty decent form. So cool!
After church today we went to the playground with one of my colleagues and her son, which was really great for both of us. Then this evening after dinner I took him out to ride his bike. The kid has become a speed demon on that thing. I think next summer it may be time to upgrade to a real bike, with training wheels of course. Just take a look at the video:
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| From 2012 July |
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| From 2012 July |
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| From 2012 July |
It is funny, because this weekend I have wanted to scream a half dozen times and have been so worn down at many points, but we really did have a pretty good time. And I am just so incredibly proud of him. He has just been very needy and clingy and without having any backup there were points when I really desperately just needed to have 5 minutes to myself. Speaking of which, I have about 10 minutes before I need to get laundry and then go to bed, so I should take those 10 minutes to get myself some ice cream and watch something trashy on tv.
Big Boy
It has been a loooong day. Good, but long. I've spent a lot of time today reminding myself of how many major changes Nicholas has gone through recently, particularly as he fell asleep at naptime curled up on my chest and clung to me with tentacles at bedtime. But, to be fair, six weeks ago he was sleeping in a crib, sucking his thumb all day long, and refusing to even sit on the potty. And tonight he went to sleep in his big boy bed, without even thinking about sucking his thumb or moving it anywhere near his mouth even while asleep, after a day where he wore underwear all day with no accidents 9:30-8:30. (And, yes, he also made it through last night dry.)
So, yes, the underwear experiment is going pretty well. He had one accident today, which unfortunately was at church but luckily was outside on the steps. And it was a doozy. But I had been wondering if he needed to have one really bad one to know what it felt like and so why it was so important to use the potty if he's going to wear underwear. But, in his words, soaking wet underwear and shorts and pee down his leg was "gross," so hopefully that will be a deterrent. He made it the rest of the day without another accident. (Although one was only avoided because I saw what was coming and physically set him on the potty.)
I'm a little worried about how he'll do at school tomorrow, without someone watching closely who knows what every facial expression means. But I'm going to send him in underwear (and with at least 3 backup pairs--hence, I'm doing laundry tonight) and hope for the best. Regardless of how school goes, though, I'm very proud of this little boy. And he is so incredibly proud of himself, which is great to see.
So, yes, the underwear experiment is going pretty well. He had one accident today, which unfortunately was at church but luckily was outside on the steps. And it was a doozy. But I had been wondering if he needed to have one really bad one to know what it felt like and so why it was so important to use the potty if he's going to wear underwear. But, in his words, soaking wet underwear and shorts and pee down his leg was "gross," so hopefully that will be a deterrent. He made it the rest of the day without another accident. (Although one was only avoided because I saw what was coming and physically set him on the potty.)
I'm a little worried about how he'll do at school tomorrow, without someone watching closely who knows what every facial expression means. But I'm going to send him in underwear (and with at least 3 backup pairs--hence, I'm doing laundry tonight) and hope for the best. Regardless of how school goes, though, I'm very proud of this little boy. And he is so incredibly proud of himself, which is great to see.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Underwear
The short version: Nicholas has been wearing underwear since about 4:30 this afternoon (about 4 1/2 hours) and has successfully used the potty 4 or 5 times and had 1 minor accident. He is now in bed in underwear and although I'm pretty certain this will mean I'm washing sheets in the morning, I'm not about to fight him on this since he insisted he "doesn't need diapers anymore."
The longer version:
As you may remember, after a lot of success on potty training in January, he just decided in late Jan or early Feb that he was not going to use the potty anymore. Once we realized he was adamant on this fact and had enough control to ensure that he wasn't successful even by accident, we dropped the fight. Since then we have left it at occassionally asking if he was interested and reminding him that he couldn't wear his Mickey Mouse underwear until he used the potty all the time.
This afternoon when we were showering post-pool he had to pee and knows he can't do that in the shower, so successfully used the potty. I praised him and reminded him that if he started doing that all the time he'd get to wear his Mickey Mouse underwear. Then he shocked me by declaring that he wanted to start wearing them NOW and he promised he'd use the potty from now on. Sure, why not? Clearly holding them out as a reward after proving success wasn't working, so let's try this.
And he is SO excited! I'm a little worried because he wants to show off his underwear all the time (complete with a "ta da" as he pulls down his pants), which should be interesting in church tomorrow morning. I am also pretty certain that this whole skipping stages things will end up with lots of laundry (gah--coin operated machines) and carpet cleaning for me (stupid wall to wall cream carpet!). But, maybe just maybe it will be what he needs to make the leap.
Then again, the novelty of the underwear may wear off by tomorrow morning and we'll be back to square one. We'll see.
The longer version:
As you may remember, after a lot of success on potty training in January, he just decided in late Jan or early Feb that he was not going to use the potty anymore. Once we realized he was adamant on this fact and had enough control to ensure that he wasn't successful even by accident, we dropped the fight. Since then we have left it at occassionally asking if he was interested and reminding him that he couldn't wear his Mickey Mouse underwear until he used the potty all the time.
This afternoon when we were showering post-pool he had to pee and knows he can't do that in the shower, so successfully used the potty. I praised him and reminded him that if he started doing that all the time he'd get to wear his Mickey Mouse underwear. Then he shocked me by declaring that he wanted to start wearing them NOW and he promised he'd use the potty from now on. Sure, why not? Clearly holding them out as a reward after proving success wasn't working, so let's try this.
And he is SO excited! I'm a little worried because he wants to show off his underwear all the time (complete with a "ta da" as he pulls down his pants), which should be interesting in church tomorrow morning. I am also pretty certain that this whole skipping stages things will end up with lots of laundry (gah--coin operated machines) and carpet cleaning for me (stupid wall to wall cream carpet!). But, maybe just maybe it will be what he needs to make the leap.
Then again, the novelty of the underwear may wear off by tomorrow morning and we'll be back to square one. We'll see.
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| From 2012 July |
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Regulating
I'm almost afraid to post after last time, but I owe an update. Nicholas has been pretty good the last 4 days. Some incidents, but along the realm of normal 3-year-old boundary testing. No invasion of the body snatchers incidents. And we had an absolutely delightful bedtime tonight.
I am exhausted, but it has nothing to do with him. I think this is my tenth workday this summer when it was over 90 degrees in my office. I would have given in at this point and bought my own air conditioner if my windows weren't crazy long skinny things that open sideways and so can't hold a unit.
I am exhausted, but it has nothing to do with him. I think this is my tenth workday this summer when it was over 90 degrees in my office. I would have given in at this point and bought my own air conditioner if my windows weren't crazy long skinny things that open sideways and so can't hold a unit.
Friday, July 13, 2012
AWFUL
I take back everything I said yesterday about things beginning to improve. It was the calm before the storm. Tonight Nicholas was a complete and utter disaster. I'm going to go get some sleep before the inevitable 2am screams when he wakes up and realizes I'm not still holding his hand.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Ups and Downs
We mentioned briefly awhile back that Nicholas has been going through a difficult phase. I haven't posted any more details because frankly lots of nights by the time he went to bed I just needed to curl up in bed with ice cream or a glass of wine and watch crappy tv. But this week has been much better and today was actually a great day, so I have the energy and patience to write a bit.
The best way I can describe this phase is that Nicholas' body has been invaded by a teenage girl. It has been like Freaky Friday in our house. He went from a child who never threw tantrums and rarely yelled to one whose tantrums were extreme, who yelled ALL. THE. TIME. He had the attitude of a teenager, complete with backtalk. And the slightest random things would set him off and lead to world-class meltdowns. He was just unable to deal with the world.
Some days were better and some were worse, but few passed without at least some outbursts. And it got to the point that I felt like I was walking on eggshells, constantly trying to spot things that might set him off before he could explode.
He simultaneously got more clingy and that has been getting steadily and steadily more extreme, actually getting even more noticeable this week as the mood swings have been better. Not just holding on when dropped off at school or wanting an extra hug at bedtime. We're talking about not being able to eat dinner unless he is holding my hand kind of extreme. And he is suddenly so afraid of the dark he needs a real light on in his room instead of the nightlight and won't even go into his room himself to turn on the light. And he has to have his door open to go to sleep, which he has never done. And these things seem to be really truly necessary for him all of the sudden.
Clearly there is something (or multiple somethings) bothering this kid. He is still the same kid underneath and the Nicholas we know comes out (and his teachers haven't seen anything odd at school), but he gets swamped by these waves multiple times a day where he seems taken over by something else. We have noticed a huge jump in his imagination when he plays (making up complex stories for the dolls in his dollhouse, singing his own songs) and he has started to talk about bad dreams, so our best theory is that his mind has all sorts of new things going on but he doesn't yet know how to filter through everything that is going on and it overwhelms him. And he doesn't even have his thumb to turn to anymore to help him through it.
For now we are trying to offer lots of extra cuddle time and have let him have the accommodations he has requested to sleep. And, as I said at the beginning, this week has been significantly better, so maybe just maybe he is starting to come out of it. (Cross your fingers. Knock on wood.)
And today was such a great day. When we got home from swim lessons I was just bursting with pride and couldn't wait for him to tell Joe all about his afternoon.
I don't know much about his day at school other than that he did a face-first slide across the playground that led to a scraped up nose, but he was the least clingy he has been at drop-off in weeks and was in a great mood when I picked him up, chatting animatedly the whole way home. We got him changed and walked over to swim lessons and he patiently watched the last half of the class before his. (I actually think he learned more watching the advanced class than he does in his own lesson--he watched so intently and when we got home he was showing Joe the backstroke he saw them learning and his form was better than the 8-year-olds.) Swim lessons have been hit or miss, with him doing well some days and refusing to pay any attention the other days (the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing I mentioned), but today he was on.
In fact, not only did he do everything the teacher asked, but he was really good to the new little girl who was absolutely terrified of the water. I'm actually wondering if part of why he was so good is that he tends to step up when there is someone else who needs him. So when Leila was here one afternoon he immediately snapped into big helper mode. And today he showed the little girl how it wasn't scary to put your face in the water and blow bubbles (even though he is usually hesitant). Mostly I was impressed with how patient he was since the teacher quite literally had his arms full with a screaming child and Nicholas spent a lot of time hanging out on the dock waiting.
And then he was angelic in the shower (which has sometimes been a nightmare given his personality switch) and as the icing on top he asked to go to the bathroom and did! I was so proud of him for this whole litany of things and the contrast with recent weeks was so great that he got rewarded with an ice cream cone tonight. Heck, if I can have this Nicholas, I'll give him ice cream every night.
The best way I can describe this phase is that Nicholas' body has been invaded by a teenage girl. It has been like Freaky Friday in our house. He went from a child who never threw tantrums and rarely yelled to one whose tantrums were extreme, who yelled ALL. THE. TIME. He had the attitude of a teenager, complete with backtalk. And the slightest random things would set him off and lead to world-class meltdowns. He was just unable to deal with the world.
Some days were better and some were worse, but few passed without at least some outbursts. And it got to the point that I felt like I was walking on eggshells, constantly trying to spot things that might set him off before he could explode.
He simultaneously got more clingy and that has been getting steadily and steadily more extreme, actually getting even more noticeable this week as the mood swings have been better. Not just holding on when dropped off at school or wanting an extra hug at bedtime. We're talking about not being able to eat dinner unless he is holding my hand kind of extreme. And he is suddenly so afraid of the dark he needs a real light on in his room instead of the nightlight and won't even go into his room himself to turn on the light. And he has to have his door open to go to sleep, which he has never done. And these things seem to be really truly necessary for him all of the sudden.
Clearly there is something (or multiple somethings) bothering this kid. He is still the same kid underneath and the Nicholas we know comes out (and his teachers haven't seen anything odd at school), but he gets swamped by these waves multiple times a day where he seems taken over by something else. We have noticed a huge jump in his imagination when he plays (making up complex stories for the dolls in his dollhouse, singing his own songs) and he has started to talk about bad dreams, so our best theory is that his mind has all sorts of new things going on but he doesn't yet know how to filter through everything that is going on and it overwhelms him. And he doesn't even have his thumb to turn to anymore to help him through it.
For now we are trying to offer lots of extra cuddle time and have let him have the accommodations he has requested to sleep. And, as I said at the beginning, this week has been significantly better, so maybe just maybe he is starting to come out of it. (Cross your fingers. Knock on wood.)
And today was such a great day. When we got home from swim lessons I was just bursting with pride and couldn't wait for him to tell Joe all about his afternoon.
I don't know much about his day at school other than that he did a face-first slide across the playground that led to a scraped up nose, but he was the least clingy he has been at drop-off in weeks and was in a great mood when I picked him up, chatting animatedly the whole way home. We got him changed and walked over to swim lessons and he patiently watched the last half of the class before his. (I actually think he learned more watching the advanced class than he does in his own lesson--he watched so intently and when we got home he was showing Joe the backstroke he saw them learning and his form was better than the 8-year-olds.) Swim lessons have been hit or miss, with him doing well some days and refusing to pay any attention the other days (the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing I mentioned), but today he was on.
In fact, not only did he do everything the teacher asked, but he was really good to the new little girl who was absolutely terrified of the water. I'm actually wondering if part of why he was so good is that he tends to step up when there is someone else who needs him. So when Leila was here one afternoon he immediately snapped into big helper mode. And today he showed the little girl how it wasn't scary to put your face in the water and blow bubbles (even though he is usually hesitant). Mostly I was impressed with how patient he was since the teacher quite literally had his arms full with a screaming child and Nicholas spent a lot of time hanging out on the dock waiting.
And then he was angelic in the shower (which has sometimes been a nightmare given his personality switch) and as the icing on top he asked to go to the bathroom and did! I was so proud of him for this whole litany of things and the contrast with recent weeks was so great that he got rewarded with an ice cream cone tonight. Heck, if I can have this Nicholas, I'll give him ice cream every night.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Boston
We spent the morning doing part of the Freedom Trail in Boston, but it turns out that most of our pictures are more appropriate for lectures than this blog. There were two of Nicholas, however:
After naps, my mom agreed to play tennis with Nicholas. We aren't really sure where he got this idea, but he has been begging to play tennis for weeks and so I had convinced him to wait until Grandma was here since Grandma actually really knows how to play tennis. As should be expected with a 3 year old, we didn't really play tennis (but who are we kidding, I have more coordination but never actually learned the game so it isn't as though I could actually play anyway), but my mom did teach Nicholas the basics of how to hit and he had a really good time. In other words, success.
He couldn't volley because having to move to the ball was beyond him, but after swinging and missing many a time
he started to get pretty good about making contact:
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| From 2012 July |
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| From 2012 July |
After naps, my mom agreed to play tennis with Nicholas. We aren't really sure where he got this idea, but he has been begging to play tennis for weeks and so I had convinced him to wait until Grandma was here since Grandma actually really knows how to play tennis. As should be expected with a 3 year old, we didn't really play tennis (but who are we kidding, I have more coordination but never actually learned the game so it isn't as though I could actually play anyway), but my mom did teach Nicholas the basics of how to hit and he had a really good time. In other words, success.
He couldn't volley because having to move to the ball was beyond him, but after swinging and missing many a time
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| From 2012 July |
he started to get pretty good about making contact:
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| From 2012 July |
Friday, July 6, 2012
A Nineteenth-Century Experience
We spent the day at Old Sturbridge Village, which is a living history experience set in antebellum New England.
We went into lots of different houses and shops and learned things we all found interesting, but the really great part is how experiential everything is, which meant there was a lot for a preschooler to do.
We played lots of fun games, some of which (as you can see in the pictures and video below) were above Nicholas' skill level, but all of which he enjoyed trying or watching:
We got to try out many elements of daily life:
And there were lots of animals to see, drawers and cabinets to open, and people to talk to. Oh, and yummy cookies.
The long day of sun and activity led to a few astoundingly awful meltdowns, but at least he mostly restricted them to the car and apartment. I know we ask for it when we push him that much, but geez!
Tonight we decided to work on a really big jigsaw puzzle together since Nicholas had been asking and it is something my mom enjoys. We figured Nicholas would help turn pieces over, maybe do a little sorting by color, then we'd help him put in a couple pieces and he'd lose interest, and we would finish it after he went to bed. And he did turn pieces and did a good job sorting pieces by color/pattern, but shocked us all with how well he did with the puzzle itself. He and Grandma worked closely together but he was actually legitimately contributing and finding pieces and figuring out where they went.
We went into lots of different houses and shops and learned things we all found interesting, but the really great part is how experiential everything is, which meant there was a lot for a preschooler to do.
We played lots of fun games, some of which (as you can see in the pictures and video below) were above Nicholas' skill level, but all of which he enjoyed trying or watching:
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| From 2012 July |
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| From 2012 July |
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| From 2012 July |
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| From 2012 July |
We got to try out many elements of daily life:
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| From 2012 July |
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| From 2012 July |
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| From 2012 July |
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| From 2012 July |
The long day of sun and activity led to a few astoundingly awful meltdowns, but at least he mostly restricted them to the car and apartment. I know we ask for it when we push him that much, but geez!
Tonight we decided to work on a really big jigsaw puzzle together since Nicholas had been asking and it is something my mom enjoys. We figured Nicholas would help turn pieces over, maybe do a little sorting by color, then we'd help him put in a couple pieces and he'd lose interest, and we would finish it after he went to bed. And he did turn pieces and did a good job sorting pieces by color/pattern, but shocked us all with how well he did with the puzzle itself. He and Grandma worked closely together but he was actually legitimately contributing and finding pieces and figuring out where they went.
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| From 2012 July |
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| From 2012 July |
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Fourth of July
A quick post to put up pictures from the Fourth of July.
Vital info:
Vital info:
- My parents came in for the Fourth and the rest of the week/weekend, which makes it really feel like a holiday.
- We went to a parade on the Fourth and they certainly do things differently up here: minutemen, colonial militia, kids in tri-corner hats shooting water guns, fife and drum bands.
- This parade only had one "shooting" in it, but it was right in front of us and it took Nicholas a long time to uncover his ears afterwards and even longer before he would come back up to the curb to watch close up. In fact, the only thing that convinced him to move closer was that the other kids were all getting candy that had been thrown.
- Speaking of the thrown candy, it took him until the very last float of the parade to be willing to go in the street to get it--such a rules kid.
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| From 2012 July |
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| From 2012 July |
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| From 2012 July |
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Quote of the Day
Daddy: "Nicholas, you're a pistol!"
Nicholas: "No daddy, I'm not a pistol, I'm a Nicholas!!!"
Nicholas: "No daddy, I'm not a pistol, I'm a Nicholas!!!"
Monday, July 2, 2012
Fever
Nicholas got sent home with a fever. One dose of Tylenol and he is now running all over the house acting perfectly fine. I'm trying not to be annoyed. Guess how well that is working out.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Maine
We just got back from a weekend trip to Maine and, while it was a little rushed, we managed to do a lot considering that we were only gone for 45 hours. I may become a convert to this whole Mass. way of doing summer vacation as a series of weekend or long weekend trips. And I had never been to Maine, but we don't have the time or money to do a long trip, so the weekend it was.
We had a very up and down trip, the downs mostly caused by Nicholas' determination not to sleep and the crankiness that ensued. The first night was our fault because we didn't leave until after work Friday and so with stops for dinner and dessert it was 10:00 by the time we got to the hotel (and since the sun didn't set until 9pm, he didn't fall asleep in the car until 9:15). But the refusal to nap Saturday and the 3 (three!!!!) hours he spent Saturday night lying in his sleeping bag singing and talking and refusing to sleep were his own doing. But even with his meltdowns and some hiccups that were the result of making up a plan on the fly with very little info to go on and primitive maps, I think we all had a good time.
Saturday morning we went to the beach, which despite this picture, was Nicholas' favorite part of the trip.
The expresion of sheer terror was the result of an intense fear of the waves. He was so excited to go in the water, but as soon as the first wave came, he freaked out. And remained thoroughly upset by them the whole time we were there. He loved splashing in the little pools left by the receding tide
and running through larger pools and out of the little lagoon
but any time we got near the actual waves, he would lose it.
The beach we went to has sand bars that are exposed as the tide recedes, allowing you to walk to a little island. The tide wasn't low enough for the sandbar to be completely exposed, but it was low enough that you just had to wade across one section to get over to the sandbar. Neither Nicholas nor Joe wanted anything to do with going across the water (which to be fair, did get to knee-deep on me and had a really strong current in one part), but Nicholas is still small enough to carry, so I left everything but the camera on dry land with Joe, and Nicholas and I went on an adventure. We found cool shells, a HUGE mound of seaweed, and lots of shallow pools to jump in.
Saturday night (after getting cleaned up, of course) we went to a restaurant right on the water where Joe could get the lobster he was craving. Nicholas wasn't so sure what he thought about the idea of Daddy eating a lobster. From the moment it arrived, Nicholas couldn't take his eyes off of it.
He refused to try any at first, but eventually consented, only to chew for about 15 seconds before spitting it out. I'm with the kid--the only reason I didn't spit my taste bite out was to not set a bad example.
After dinner it was a gorgeous evening so we went for a little walk at the marina:
We spent this morning in Portland, starting off at a narrow gauge railroad museum, which includes a train ride along the coast. I found the ride itself to be underwhelming, but Nicholas enjoyed it. And when we stopped all the kids were allowed to go up to see the engine, and I managed to capture photographic evidence of Joe swinging Nicholas onto the car:
Inside the museum Nicholas pretended to be the conductor and spent a lot of time punching our tickets:
He also really loved pretending to drive the small model they had, complete with improvising a pretty good whistle sound to announce the train was leaving.
And our last stop? What would a trip to Maine be without seeing a lighthouse?
And, possibly best of all, back home with time to do the grocery shopping and laundry, make and eat dinner, and get Nicholas into bed on time.
And, as always, there are a bunch more pictures in The Gallery.
We had a very up and down trip, the downs mostly caused by Nicholas' determination not to sleep and the crankiness that ensued. The first night was our fault because we didn't leave until after work Friday and so with stops for dinner and dessert it was 10:00 by the time we got to the hotel (and since the sun didn't set until 9pm, he didn't fall asleep in the car until 9:15). But the refusal to nap Saturday and the 3 (three!!!!) hours he spent Saturday night lying in his sleeping bag singing and talking and refusing to sleep were his own doing. But even with his meltdowns and some hiccups that were the result of making up a plan on the fly with very little info to go on and primitive maps, I think we all had a good time.
Saturday morning we went to the beach, which despite this picture, was Nicholas' favorite part of the trip.
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| From 2012 June |
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| From 2012 June |
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| From 2012 June |
The beach we went to has sand bars that are exposed as the tide recedes, allowing you to walk to a little island. The tide wasn't low enough for the sandbar to be completely exposed, but it was low enough that you just had to wade across one section to get over to the sandbar. Neither Nicholas nor Joe wanted anything to do with going across the water (which to be fair, did get to knee-deep on me and had a really strong current in one part), but Nicholas is still small enough to carry, so I left everything but the camera on dry land with Joe, and Nicholas and I went on an adventure. We found cool shells, a HUGE mound of seaweed, and lots of shallow pools to jump in.
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| From 2012 June |
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| From 2012 June |
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| From 2012 June |
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| From 2012 June |
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| From 2012 June |
We spent this morning in Portland, starting off at a narrow gauge railroad museum, which includes a train ride along the coast. I found the ride itself to be underwhelming, but Nicholas enjoyed it. And when we stopped all the kids were allowed to go up to see the engine, and I managed to capture photographic evidence of Joe swinging Nicholas onto the car:
 |
| From 2012 June |
 |
| From 2012 June |
And our last stop? What would a trip to Maine be without seeing a lighthouse?
 |
| From 2012 June |
 |
| From 2012 June |
 |
| From 2012 June |
And, possibly best of all, back home with time to do the grocery shopping and laundry, make and eat dinner, and get Nicholas into bed on time.
And, as always, there are a bunch more pictures in The Gallery.
Misc June pics
When I uploaded pictures from our trip to Maine, I discovered that there were quite a few from recent weeks that never got posted.
Of note, there are a handful from our Father's Day outing to play mini-golf
And this one taken before swim lessons last week:
In this you can see the indoor pool as well as the dock the kids stand on when it isn't their turn, since even the shallow end is too deep for them.
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| From 2012 June |
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| From 2012 June |
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