A Cookie Tradition and the Craziness of the Season

My family has a tradition. Each year my mom and my sister and I bake cookies for work and gifts. My grandmother usually joins us, but this year she was in South America, on a cruise. Last year, Nick joined us but slept through the whole thing. This year, he played and tasted cookies. Our cookie adventure ended up taking us two Sundays, so these pictures are from last week and this week.

Above you can see Nick hugging a puppy book, and below he is having fun with his Auntie Mandy.

Nick read stories with his Grandpa Ray. This one is called "Gallop," and it has moving pictures, which Nick was fascinated with. He loves turning the pages in books. It seems like he's listening carefully to every word. Tonight I read him three books in a row, and he sat quietly listening to all of the stories, helping to turn the page and pointing to things in the books.

Doing "So big!" with Grandma Linda.

Christmas, this year, has been a little more overwhelming than in past years. Last year was my first year of being a parent during Christmas, but I was on maternity leave and had plenty of time to shop and get things ready. This year I'm working full time plus teaching an after-school program, we had three parties to go to last weekend, and the stress of buying all of those gifts is getting to me a bit. Thank goodness Nick is a happy shopper.

My next week or so is going to be pretty crazy. Next Monday through Wednesday, Greg is taking me downtown for two nights at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago. It's his Christmas present to me, and I'm really looking forward to it. Nick's Grandma Toni will come and watch him. Then come the four Christmases. Other people might have two sides of the family to have Christmas with--Greg and I have four places to go. This Saturday we will spend with my dad and stepmom, then off to Chicago Monday-Wednesday, then Christmas Eve with my mom and stepdad and grandma. We go directly from there to my mother-in-law's house, and spend the night and all of Christmas Day with Greg's mom and sister. Finally, on the 26th, we'll go up to Wisconsin to visit Greg's Dad and Stepmom. Wow, I didn't realize how busy I am until I wrote that. I'm totally going to need the whole next week off for vacation.

Puppies and Duck in Wisconsin

I'm still waiting for my sister to send out her Thanksgiving pictures, so I'll talk about Friday first. We took Nick up to Greg's dad and stepmom's place in Delavan, Wisconsin, where we stayed until Saturday morning. We did not shop on Black Friday. I cannot think of anything I want badly enough to risk injury and hour-long lines. As you can see, Nick had fun playing with the puppies. I wish I had taken more pictures, but we were too busy enjoying ourselves.

Nick's grandparents took us out for dinner at a place called the Duck Inn. The food there was delicious, and yes, Nick ate and liked duck. He was relatively well-behaved, although he made quite a mess. His Uncle Matthew was holding him for awhile, and he kept trying to steal his Aunt Sarah's Brandy Alexander. That would not have been good. Don't think for a moment that the boy was deprived, though. We fed him chocolate lava cake for dessert.

Can you see the chocolate smeared all over his cheek? Not a bad trip. We got back yesterday and have pretty much stayed in our pajamas since. Five day weekends are nice. Very nice.

A First Birthday Party for Nicholas!

Nick's first birthday party was a success, all things considered. I always get nervous planning these things; I think I worry too much about what other people think. My sister took all of these great photographs, and I'm so glad she did. My pictures never turn out this well. I know that my son enjoyed his first birthday party, despite being sick. Tylenol, hugs, and presents (in conjunction) can work wonders. In the above photo you can see him grasping a balloon with one hand and trying to tear off his birthday hat with the other.

Planning a birthday party is no small feat; I have a tiny house, so I had to put limits on the number of guests. Then there were invitations and decorations and cake and candles and, whoops, the baby grabbed the lighter. I can't take my eye off of the boy for even one second. I like this picture because he's holding the lighter so protectively.

Nick was lucky enough to have three grandmas and two grandpas at his party. (Greg's dad and stepmom celebrated with us last weekend.) So needless to say, he had a turn in every lap. Can you tell that this child was running a fever over 102 degrees at one point? Grandma Linda held him and cheered him right up. They are always saying that "Nick is so well behaved." Yup. Sure. When other people are around. The gremlin in him only comes out when Greg and I are alone with him. Like today, when he whined (under his binky) for ninety minutes straight. But of course tomorrow, when it's Thanksgiving, I'm sure he'll be a perfect angel. Sigh. Back to the party. . .

The adorable hat and book were a gift from Nick's Aunt Sarah, and he immediately tried to rip the hat off. He'll change his mind when it is ten below and his little ears are cold--the hat is not only the cutest thing ever, it is also inordinately soft and has a strap so it won't fall off.

It was great how many people came to wish Nick happy birthday. We ended up with 15 guests, not included Greg and I. I'm glad I bought so many appetizer and drinks. Nick received a ton of wonderful presents, but the real gift was getting to see his family members. We don't get to see some of them often, and Nicholas always loves to have company.

Here's Nick sitting on his Grandpa Ray's lap. Sitting on laps occupied much of Nick's afternoon. This is a baby used to being the center of attention. That's what happens whne you're the first grandchild. He soon destroyed that 1st birthday onesie with blue frosting. . .

Nick was a little perturbed and unsure when the lights went out and we all started singing so loudly. On my mother's side of the family, we sing all 3 verses of "Happy Birthday." Not sure why. That is a long time for a little man to have to wait. Then, he was crabby and didn't want to try the cake. But I put a tiny bit on my finger, and Nick's daddy tasted some to show how good it was. Then. . .

Yup. Frosting from head to toe. This is the face of an elated baby on a sugar high. With a balloon. Check out the blue frosting in his hair. Someone spiked it into a mohawk. Had to give him a bath after this experience. But isn't that what a first birthday is for?
Nick and his Grandpa Mike (my dad) were making faces at one another and playing with one of the balloons. Then Grandma Patty brought in his present. . .

See the joy on his face? Can you imagine a neater present for a toddler? It is a life size, ride on bear. He's soft and huggable and sturdy enough for either riding or using to stand. I would've loved one when I was a little girl. Maybe it'll stop him from wanting to sit on the cats. Or not.

Perhaps the best part of having a party was the fact that it forced us to rearrange furniture, arrange Nick's room, and give a thorough cleaning to the whole house. If we didn't have company, when would we ever do that? I know Nick won't remember this first party, but he sure enjoyed it while it lasted. Plus, he's been enjoying the leftover cake all this week.

The Birthday Bonanza Begins

Nick's official birthday isn't until Tuesday, and his birthday party isn't until Saturday, but Nick's grandma and grandpa (Greg's dad and stepmom) came down to visit today for a little pre-birthday fun. They brought with them a cool new ride-on toy for Nick. He wasn't sure what to think of it at first, but he watched intently as Greg took it out of the package. It's amazing how many of those little plastic ties can be on one baby toy.
He figured out really quick what to do with his new ride-on toy. This one is more fun than any of his other ride-ons; it's short enough for his little toes to touch the ground. Daddy was showing him how to push with his feet to make it move. Best of all, it has little fireman that go around in a circle and play music. Nick figured out really quick how to push those buttons. I think this toy is going to be a favorite; I can already hear the music playing in my head after hearing it so many times. They also brought lots of baby socks for Nick--I was thrilled about that because I have one heck of a time finding two matching socks for this child on a daily basis. I think the dryer keeps eating them.

For dinner, Nick's grandma and grandpa took us out to our favorite Japanese steakhouse/sushi place. Kiku, in Naperville, is our favorite because of the high-quality food. I had filet and shrimp on the hibachi with veggies and rice, and Nick ate lots of it. He also enjoyed eating our sauteed calamari, their special soup, and a few bites of Greg's sushi. We ate a late lunch/early dinner, and we are still extremely stuffed. I couldn't believe Nick ate so much, and from chopsticks nonetheless.

Best of all, when they found out it was Nick's birthday, they brought a chocolate cake with one candle, and they sang Happy Birthday (or some variation of such) to him in Japanese. We clapped along, and Nick seemed pleased but truly confused as to why we were all clapping and singing. He wasn't confused at all about what to do with that cake though; his mouth opened up like a little bird and he kept grabbing for the whole thing.

Not a bad celebration for a baby's first birthday. I'm glad he had today, because Tuesday Greg works late and I don't think we will be doing anything special. I still can't believe my boy will be one this week. Wow.

More Costumed Fun!

Lately Nick has been cruising around holding on to everything in sight. He especially loved my mom's dishwasher. We have one at home, but it is white and doesn't show a reflection like this one. He was really excited about seeing himself.

The first picture is me at my first Halloween, and the second is Nick at his first Halloween. I do see some resemblance, but boy, I was a chunky baby. I think I was nearly 10 pounds at birth, and I obviously wasn't missing any meals. I think I was only about four or five months old when this picture was taken. How did THAT baby end up with a son this cute? I have no idea.

This is the first of the Halloween Posse Pictures. Everyone got to take a turn going up to doors with Nick and Trick-or-Treating. Nick didn't mind being passed off. First was my grandmother, and then my mom. Candy all around!

Nick's grandpa enjoyed holding him and walking up to the doors, where some folks commented, "All of you are going along for this one baby?" Yup. It was quite a crowd: me plus my mom, stepdad, grandmother, sister, and husband. Oh, plus the actual trick-or-treater: Nick.

Finally, here's the photographer: my sister, Mandy. She uses Nick as her model, and she takes pictures that are 100% better than mine. In most of her pictures, the lighting and color work, he is smiling, nothing is blurry, and no heads are cut off.

I had a few requests to post all the Halloween pictures, so I'm just going to put them all in this post. Poor Nick ended up wearing his costume quite a bit on Saturday, then again on Sunday for his other Grandma (Greg's Mom). He took it all in stride.

Tigger always likes to play with Nick, and I think the costume only helped. Usually Tigger goes to lick Nick on the face, and he gets made and crawls away. The puffy cat head helped as a buffer.

Tonight Nick was having a lot of trouble calming down. We think it's the adjustment to no more daylight savings time. One great thing about our boy is that he is generally out like a light at 8 p.m. He makes the sign for sleep and wants to go down. But since the time change, we're feeding him later (according to his body clock) and he gets overtired. He was screaming and clawing and buzzing. He wouldn't even take his binky. Greg finally laid him down in his bed at exactly 8, and he was out like a light.

Trick or Treat!

Yes, this was Nick's first Halloween, and he really loved seeing all of the people. And candy? Well, he sure liked that, too, although we didn't let him have too much.

We went trick-or-treating with my father and stepmother out in Rosemont. Everyone was so nice, even though Nick had an entourage of adults with him. We were asked a few times, "All of you guys for this one little baby?" Yup, he had a posse.

The cheetah costume didn't bother him too much, and the padding on his head even saved his head from getting bonked a few times.

This was just the first part of Nick's Halloween Adventure. We ended up going to my mom and stepdad's house for more trick-or-treating. I will have to post more later this week, when I get the pictures from my sister. It was a really fun day, though. I think Nick loved the whole Halloween thing. We sure got a kick out of watching him enjoy it.

Wisconsin Weekend

I don't suppose I ever finished blogging about our weekend in Gleason, Wisconsin. It's kind of a tradition that we go up there the weekend after Labor Day for Greg's Grandma Marie's Birthday. This was her 95th, so it was extra special.

Nick seemed thrilled to see her, as well as his grandma and grandpa. He also had fun trying to destroy everything in her house: Magazines, antique doorstops, picture frames, books. Nick had his sights on all of them. He especially liked harrassing his great-grandma's cats. They learned quickly to stay away from the baby.

Here is Nick with his great-grandma. We went out to a nice restaurant, and I dined on scallops, while Greg had shrimp and steak. Nick's favorite seemed to be my french onion soup. He kept opening his mouth for more. He also loved the croutons, which he chewed on for awhile and then threw on the floor. They brought Nick's Great-Grandma some carrot cake and we all sang happy birthday.




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The part of the weekend where we weren't in the car was lovely. The weather was absolutely amazing. Usually when we go up to this part of Wisconsin, it is freezing and drizzly. This year it was sunny and in the 70s. I wish we would've had more chance to go walking. The air smells so fresh up there. Greg had us walk outside and turn all the lights off so that we could see the stars. That far from civilization, you can see a ton of stars, and it was awesome looking up at them.

Here is Nick with his Grandpa Jay, who isn't very comfortable with babies. I've been trying since Nicholas was born to get a picture where the two of them don't look uncomfortable. This one isn't too bad. The trees behind them are beautiful, as well.

I had to include this picture, because I think it is hilarious. We stopped in Madison at a restaurant specializing in South American food, and Nick was thrilled when I brought out his duckie toy.

I've been very busy this week; next week I start teaching, so it's been a mad rush to get lesson plans ready and find classroom resources. I just spent the last hour searching for a free download of a Brahms piano/violin sonata. My students will be reading a story where one of the main characters has to play such a sonata, and I wanted them to hear what it was like. I finally found a link to one, and I just hope it'll work on my school computer.

We have very sensitive filters there, and sometimes perfectly legitimate stuff won't work. For example, I kept trying to access this site with pictures of baby armadillos (for another story). I got the big "STOP" and the notice "provocative attire." I jumped and clicked out of the internet, and a funny picture appeared in my head of what kind of provocative attire armadillos might be wearing. Perhaps they had low cut blouses or daisy dukes?

Now, I looked up this site later, when I got home, and the only pictures on this site are of armadillos. Mind you, they're not wearing any clothes, but then again, armadillos aren't supposed to wear clothing. The site is a children's informational site about animals. Sigh.

Funnel Cakes, Sign Language, and Grandparents Galore

On Sunday, Greg and I took Nick to Septemberfest in Schaumburg. My grandmother lives bordering the park district grounds, and I've gone every year that I can remember. They have a craft show, a carnival, and music. All I bought was a barrette, but it was nice looking around at all of the crafters and artists.

Nick loved crawling around my grandma's super-plush carpeting. Our house has mostly hardwood floors, and Nick absolutely loved the cushiness under his little knees.

Nick got to try his first funnel cake at the fair. No, we didn't give him a whole one. Actually, my mom, my sister, Nick, Greg, my grandma, and I all split one funnel cake. (The thing still enough sugar in it to last a week!)

He seemed to like it. You can see him using the sign for "milk" with his right hand. Nick has only picked up this one sign so far, and he's actually generalized it to mean "I want." He makes that sign when he wants milk, food, or more sugary fried goodness. To make the sign for milk, you just open and close your hand as if you were milking a cow. After munching on a funnel cake, I can see why he wanted a drink of milk!

Nick's grandpa got to play with him while we were all visiting. It's a good thing there were so many adults around, because Nick was bound and determined to crawl into something and cause himself bodily harm.

Nick is in only his diaper because he makes a huge mess when he eats. My grandma doesn't have a high chair, so we put him down on a blanket and stripped him. Finger food is developmentally appropriate, but horribly messy. Nude babies are easier to clean.

My mom has been making these cool hats, and we put one on Nick's head, just to see what he would do. Well, he takes hats off, and then plays with them. My sister, by the way, is responsible for most of today's photographs. She can make a picture look good, whereas I make photos look as if a 5-year-old took them.

It was an incredibly busy weekend, and there wasn't a minute to take a breath. I think I need a vacation day just to recover from this weekend!
Nick sure enjoyed himself, though, especially all of the new foods he got to eat. Here he is with his grandpa, after a bite of a chocolate eclair. Do you think maybe he liked it?

I swear, though, my kid eats very healthy. Special treats only happen on the weekends, and we try not to let him have more than a bite or two. Today he ate vegetable risotto, tuna with peas, green beans and brown rice, and sliced peaches.

Notice him again using the sign for "milk." It's pretty neat how he picked that up. Our babysitter uses that sign, but her two-year-old twins use it all the time, and that's where we think he learned it. We are trying now to teach him more sign.

We've also noticed that Nick signs with his right hand, and uses his left hand to eat and grasp toys. We're not sure yet if that means he'll be left handed, or if he's just ambidextrous now.

Below I'm posting a video of Nick chattering away and eating some finger foods. At the end of the video, he decides he wants his milk. You can see him making the sign for milk furiously. He does it faster and faster until he gets his drink. Molly, the cat you see in the video, has started hanging around Nick's high chair. She's realized that food sometimes spontaneously falls from it, so she watches him eat and lies in wait. No wonder she isn't losing weight on her kitty diet food. :)

Puppy Kisses

Last Sunday Greg and I took Nick to see his Grandma and Grandpa in Delavan, Wisconsin. They have two very cute dachshund puppies who loved to lick his face.

Nick adores dogs. In fact, he loves animals of all kinds. The only problem is that he tends to grab ears and pull fur and even bite. (The baby, not the dogs.) I was appreciative of how tolerant the doggies were of Nick's explorations. They whimpered a bit, but never bit or even growled. These were extremely friendly doggies.


The highlight of the trip was that Nick got to see his Great-Grandma. She is 94, and she's only met Nicholas once, when he was about a week old. She had fun cuddling with him and watching him play.


This week has been crazy busy. I have to go back to work next Monday, and I'm trying to get my last little bits of summer joy in before vacation ends.

Part of me is actually looking forward to going back to work; I love the kids and the people I get to work with everyday. But I'm going to miss having as much time with Nick. He and I have gotten closer over the summer. I suppose it's really good for him to be around other kids at the babysitter's house, though. Nick loves playing with other kids.