We lost power at about 11am yesterday and it was still not on this morning. A quick call to daycare revealed that they had power, though, and since (according to my mom's help checking my email) I didn't have anything cancelling my orientation, Nicholas and I headed down to Framingham. Since the first functional traffic light I encountered was at his daycare's intersection, we really lucked out.
Nicholas and I went about our days and meanwhile Joe left about 10 to drive down to Philly, with the power still out all around us. I heard a third-hand rumor mid-afternoon that at least some parts of our town had power, but was unwilling to risk getting all the way back up here only to find it impossible to make anything other than tuna for dinner, and so Nicholas and I went out to eat after I picked him up.
On the drive home Nicholas asked if he could watch "Little Einsteins" when we got home. I simply said no, but he followed it up with an explanation of how we couldn't watch tv because the tv wouldn't turn on. About two minutes later we turned onto our street and our building came into view. "Our building!" Nicholas shouted. And then I saw what I was really looking for, a light on over a doorway. "And the lights are on!" I chimed in. And, our Nicholas, what did he say? "Now the tv works!"
We then walked upstairs and I turned on a light when I opened the door, to which Nicholas exclaimed, full of excitement, "We have power!" He and I then proceeded to do a little "we have power" dance.
He then promptly climbed up on the couch, insisting that he needed to watch tv and had a complete meltdown when I told him that no, even though the power was back, he couldn't watch tv because it was too late.
Poor kid.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Getting so big
I uploaded the pictures from last night's baseball game and discovered an assortment of other photos from the week I had forgotten about. And as I looked through the pictures I was struck over and over again by how old Nicholas is getting. In live action the increasingly frequent outbursts of whining remind you frequently that he is still only 2, but silent photos highlight instead the increasing range of activities and level of sophistication. Yes, I did just use the word "sophistication" to describe the activities of a 2-year-old boy. It is all relative.
Case in point: Nicholas has recently discovered the board games we keep on the living room bookshelves and wants to play any I'll let him. He or I make up modified rules and he has no idea of competition, but he is enamored with them. His favorite (like most adults who come over) is "the train game." And, no, that name isn't his toddler interpretation, it is what we call it because we always forget the real name.
Nicholas plays without the cards and the objective for him is to build train sequences where the color trains match the color of the route.
Drawing on his chalkboard is nothing new, but today he decided to pull over his bench to sit down to draw. In reality this doesn't mean anything, but it just makes the endeavor look so much more serious and studious.
Nicholas' school was closed yesterday for a professional development day (the "school year" starts Monday so they needed to get all the rooms transitioned) so he and Joe had a morning full of exciting activities and then came and met me on campus for lunch. Nicholas had a really great time seeing where Mommy works.
I think he only sat in this chair for about 20 seconds, though, because there was so much to explore. On a side note, this picture has convinced me that I need to reorganize my bookshelves. I have books on the other 3 and was using this one for more storage and/or decorative things since it isn't as easy to get to. But since this is the view from the doorway (and therefore the view for everyone who comes into my office), I may need to rethink. Also, I need to clean my desk.
And, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, we went to another minor league game last night. Nicholas was super excited about going and thrilled to be there, but didn't sit still for as much of the game as last time and we left in the sixth inning (which was, to be fair, at his bedtime). When we walked in the gates Nicholas started giggling and then shouted, "Let's go find our seats!" and took off running, pulling me along with him. He was only able to really sit and focus on the game if he was being constantly engaged with it, so we spent a fair amount of time chanting "Hit that ball" when the Tornadoes players were up to bat. I think the people around us got sick of it, but Nicholas loved it.
So far this afternoon and evening we have had a lot of rain but nothing too bad. We are supposed to get the worst of whatever we end up with during the day tomorrow, so our plan is to just hang tight at home. Joe's train was obviously cancelled, so he won't leave for Philly until at least Monday morning. We are playing this all by ear.
Case in point: Nicholas has recently discovered the board games we keep on the living room bookshelves and wants to play any I'll let him. He or I make up modified rules and he has no idea of competition, but he is enamored with them. His favorite (like most adults who come over) is "the train game." And, no, that name isn't his toddler interpretation, it is what we call it because we always forget the real name.
 |
| From 2011 August |
Drawing on his chalkboard is nothing new, but today he decided to pull over his bench to sit down to draw. In reality this doesn't mean anything, but it just makes the endeavor look so much more serious and studious.
 |
| From 2011 August |
Nicholas' school was closed yesterday for a professional development day (the "school year" starts Monday so they needed to get all the rooms transitioned) so he and Joe had a morning full of exciting activities and then came and met me on campus for lunch. Nicholas had a really great time seeing where Mommy works.
 |
| From 2011 August |
And, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, we went to another minor league game last night. Nicholas was super excited about going and thrilled to be there, but didn't sit still for as much of the game as last time and we left in the sixth inning (which was, to be fair, at his bedtime). When we walked in the gates Nicholas started giggling and then shouted, "Let's go find our seats!" and took off running, pulling me along with him. He was only able to really sit and focus on the game if he was being constantly engaged with it, so we spent a fair amount of time chanting "Hit that ball" when the Tornadoes players were up to bat. I think the people around us got sick of it, but Nicholas loved it.
 |
| From 2011 August |
So far this afternoon and evening we have had a lot of rain but nothing too bad. We are supposed to get the worst of whatever we end up with during the day tomorrow, so our plan is to just hang tight at home. Joe's train was obviously cancelled, so he won't leave for Philly until at least Monday morning. We are playing this all by ear.
Zooming Through the Sky ... Zooming Through the Sky ...
No, that's not a typo.
Nicholas has recently become obsessed with The Little Einsteins, thanks to a visit with friends who have an 18-month-old who was already an avid watcher. It's a goofy show, four little kids who fly around in a rocket (cleverly named "Rocket") and have adventures to famous strains of classical music, and through scenes riffing on famous artwork. Say, to make up an example, solving a puzzle using music by Dvorak while dancing through an Andy Warhol painting.
In other words, it can be a little trippy for 6am.
The good news is it's a decent show, I like the music and getting him exposed to some of the classical music (note to marketers: bull's eye!). And he's taken it upon himself to learn the theme song to the show. If you don't know it, take a moment to listen:
Catchy, right? And not the easiest thing to learn (at this point, he's even got the clapping down).
Which brings us to the problem. When he sings it, it doesn't ever end. It just loops back on itself ceaselessly. The first time, it's cute. The second time, well he's just excited. The fifth time?
By the fifth time, I'm left to wonder why kids' shows, given their obvious influence, don't include programming where the protagonists sit and quietly eat their lunch at the direction of their parents.
Nicholas has recently become obsessed with The Little Einsteins, thanks to a visit with friends who have an 18-month-old who was already an avid watcher. It's a goofy show, four little kids who fly around in a rocket (cleverly named "Rocket") and have adventures to famous strains of classical music, and through scenes riffing on famous artwork. Say, to make up an example, solving a puzzle using music by Dvorak while dancing through an Andy Warhol painting.
In other words, it can be a little trippy for 6am.
The good news is it's a decent show, I like the music and getting him exposed to some of the classical music (note to marketers: bull's eye!). And he's taken it upon himself to learn the theme song to the show. If you don't know it, take a moment to listen:
Catchy, right? And not the easiest thing to learn (at this point, he's even got the clapping down).
Which brings us to the problem. When he sings it, it doesn't ever end. It just loops back on itself ceaselessly. The first time, it's cute. The second time, well he's just excited. The fifth time?
By the fifth time, I'm left to wonder why kids' shows, given their obvious influence, don't include programming where the protagonists sit and quietly eat their lunch at the direction of their parents.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Thought for the Day
There are times when you can protect your kids from harm.
And then there are times when they walk head-first into a living room wall because they were looking down at a puzzle piece in their hand.
When the latter happens, the best course of action is to get an ice pack, soothe the frightened child, and make sure to wait until you're out of sight to burst out laughing.
And then there are times when they walk head-first into a living room wall because they were looking down at a puzzle piece in their hand.
When the latter happens, the best course of action is to get an ice pack, soothe the frightened child, and make sure to wait until you're out of sight to burst out laughing.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Language!
Two quick notes on Nicholas' language development:
First, he's gotten very good with adverbs: he knows the correct use of "already," "anymore," and the like, and puts them into his sentences comfortably.
Second, he knows how to use "oy." It's kind of hilarious, actually, watching him carry his box of Legos over to the shelf to put them away, and muttering to himself, "oy ... oy ... oy."
I'm a very proud father.
First, he's gotten very good with adverbs: he knows the correct use of "already," "anymore," and the like, and puts them into his sentences comfortably.
Second, he knows how to use "oy." It's kind of hilarious, actually, watching him carry his box of Legos over to the shelf to put them away, and muttering to himself, "oy ... oy ... oy."
I'm a very proud father.
Monday, August 22, 2011
From Nicholas' Eyes
As I think we've mentioned before, we got Nicholas a camera for his birthday. He goes in spurts in his use of it, but in the past couple weeks he has been taking a bunch. And actually started framing things a little more carefully.
After he seemed to take some decent shots when Mike and Melinda were here, Melinda reminded me in a comment that I hadn't looked at how they turned out. So I uploaded all his pictures (almost 500). Of these I went through and deleted about half, which were pictures of carpet or blank white squares that I assume means he had the camera in a weird mode. I have posted the 22 best in a special folder in the Gallery. As you can see, I am using the term "best" in a very relative manner.
The first few are from May or June, when there were a lot of self portraits (or partial portraits) because the camera was either pointed at his face or straight down at the ground.
For example:
The pictures from the last couple weeks capture his efforts to photograph the people who have come to visit and his tours walking around the apartment with his camera. I'm not sure whether the things in the apartment were being intentionally captured or just happened to get in front of the little boy walking around clicking the button. But, either way, they give you a glimpse of the apartment through Nicholas' eyes.
A couple examples:
For the whole tour, check out the album.
After he seemed to take some decent shots when Mike and Melinda were here, Melinda reminded me in a comment that I hadn't looked at how they turned out. So I uploaded all his pictures (almost 500). Of these I went through and deleted about half, which were pictures of carpet or blank white squares that I assume means he had the camera in a weird mode. I have posted the 22 best in a special folder in the Gallery. As you can see, I am using the term "best" in a very relative manner.
The first few are from May or June, when there were a lot of self portraits (or partial portraits) because the camera was either pointed at his face or straight down at the ground.
For example:
 |
| From Nicholas Camera |
The pictures from the last couple weeks capture his efforts to photograph the people who have come to visit and his tours walking around the apartment with his camera. I'm not sure whether the things in the apartment were being intentionally captured or just happened to get in front of the little boy walking around clicking the button. But, either way, they give you a glimpse of the apartment through Nicholas' eyes.
A couple examples:
 |
| From Nicholas Camera |
 |
| From Nicholas Camera |
For the whole tour, check out the album.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Christmas is Coming
Grandma Alice would be proud.
Nicholas has been going on and on the past few days about Christmas. He keeps asking if he can "make Christmas." Since this first started when he was looking at pictures of decorating last year's Christmas tree, I presume this is what he means by "making Christmas." He has also mentioned Santa Claus. No reference to presents yet, though.
We have been stalling him by telling him that he can indeed help make Christmas, but not until it is cold outside. Now that we're in New England, that buys us until, what, the beginning of October?
Nicholas has been going on and on the past few days about Christmas. He keeps asking if he can "make Christmas." Since this first started when he was looking at pictures of decorating last year's Christmas tree, I presume this is what he means by "making Christmas." He has also mentioned Santa Claus. No reference to presents yet, though.
We have been stalling him by telling him that he can indeed help make Christmas, but not until it is cold outside. Now that we're in New England, that buys us until, what, the beginning of October?
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