Friday night is date night. . .

for Nick and me, that is. Every Friday, after I pick him up from his babysitter, we have a little date. Most of the time, I stop in at Starbucks for a special mommy treat (usually a latte) that makes me mellow and happy. Then we go to the Costco. It is our weekly date, and one of the highlights of Nick's week. Can you tell why?

Yup, they have samples there. Nick is munching on a cinnamon roll sample, which he loved. Nick likes everything about shopping at Costco: the samples, the stuff to play with in the cart, the people he can watch, other babies, riding on the bumpy ground in the parking lot. Costco is one of the highlights of our week. Hey, at least I have a cute date to accompany me.  :)

After we got home today, I gave up on bringing in the groceries. Nick wanted to play outside. He loves to play with sticks, and he carried this one around for a good forty-five minutes.

Nick playing with his faithful stick.

Nick was pointing to a bird in this picture. He won't say bird though, and he won't say tree anymore. I suppose he hasn't yet connected the beautifully decorated Christmas Trees with the bare, brancy ones he sees in our yard. Lately he's been pointing a lot, and I always give him a word for what he's pointing at. (At least, when I can tell what he's pointing at.) He was fascinated with birds today--in the Costco parking lot there were seagulls, and he pointed at them and follwed them with his finger across the sky. I suppose we should call them landfill gulls, seeing as there is no sea near us, and they mostly live on garbage. Nick likes them, however, and I thought he was going to explode with joy when one landed near our cart.

Since he likes birds so much, Greg and I will have to fill the bird feeders soon, so that he can sit with the cats and watch them fly and eat and sing. We used to call that "kitty tv," but Nick will probably enjoy watching just as much as the cats. I bet we won't be able to fill the bird feeders this weekend, though. After a week of lovely temperatures, there is supposed to be highs in the 30s tomorrow and possible snow. And on the first day of spring, too. Urgh. I'm ready for spring to get here and stay here.