Nick had a spectacular day today. He took two good naps, ate well, and wasn't really bothered by the teething. He also got to see his Grandma Toni today. She's been in Hawaii the last few weeks, and as you can see, he was just thrilled to see her again. He is pushing up to a stand at every opportunity, and getting braver and less cautious about falling. I guess that is a good sign, but I foresee some bumps in his future.

We took him out to the pet store, because our kitties are eating us out of house and home. I don't think that the special diet food does any good, either. They eat Science Diet for old, overweight kitties, but they're not getting any peppier or any less chunky. But we shall persist and continue buying giant bags of the exhorbitantly expensive special food that our vet recommends. Although, I'm sure the cats wouldn't mind if we just switched them to a much cheaper diet of tuna and fancy feast. . .

Nick loved going to the pet store, because he was able to see all of the animals. This PetSmart had little finches, which I haven't seen before. They were cute and little. I love finches.

If I didn't have cats, I would love to have a few birds. But I think it would be torturous for both cats and birds if they had to live together. Even if I could prevent outright slaughter, I believe it would be traumatic for the birds to constantly see predators circling their cage. As for the cats, it would be like baking homemade gingerbread cookies in my kitchen everyday and not letting me eat even one. Cruel and unusual temptation.

Nick knows what to do with kitties. He tried to reach out and pet the kitty immediately. Thank goodness for the glass, though. Otherwise he would've reached out and grabbed a wad of this poor kitty's fur. Then he would laugh uproariously and try to put the fur into his mouth. That's what he does to our cats, and to my hair as well. This cat looked curious and eager, but after one minute with my son, she would run and hide. Smart kitty.

Nick also loved looking at the fish. We've been thinking of taking him to the acquarium sometime. I bet he would like it; he sure seemed enthralled by the fish at the PetSmart.

Switching gears, I have been acquiring prizes for my students all summer. One of the great things about being a teacher is that I get to buy prizes all the time. I give them to my students every time they do their homework for ten days. In order for this to work, I have to make sure that I have really cool prizes. I found this cool site called http://www.raymondgeddes.com/, where I was able to buy a ton of prizes for my kids. My favorite one is the skateboard eraser. It has wheels that really roll. I'm secretly looking forward to playing with them myself. I guess it's a good thing I'm a teacher, or that would be a little weird.

They also had bracelets that were also pens, scented pencils and pens, and little rolling car erasers. I am hoping my students will go crazy for them. Bribery? Yes. But if it makes my students do their homework and read with their parents, it is worth every penny.