Down on the Farm?

Last night, Nick and Henry and I spent a good hour and a half playing together on the floor. Nick has this nice collection of little plastic animals that are pretty safe for all ages. Nick has animals (and people) from five or six different sets, but the farm is the only home for all of these creatures right now. The other homes (zoo, airplane, rocket ship, etc.) are in the basement. We rotate them out periodically.

That is why the pilot is living on the farm with the zebra, the pig, and yes, the little green alien with three eyes. They all live in perfect harmony in the wicker basket, and lately Nick has been dumping them out every chance he can get.

Henry likes to chew on them a lot.

They have actually been playing side by side more lately, which is interesting to see. Nick seems to get that Henry plays too, and will bring him things to play with, like "Mommy, do you think Henry wants a lion or a giraffe?" 

The reasoning of a three-year-old is quite funny. I love the conversations that Nick and I have. Sometimes he makes sense. . . other times, not so much.

Anyhow, this was a pretty fun way to spend a few hours. 

Just A Small Dose of Adorableness

I'm swamped this week, but I figured I'd give you two pictures containing gratuitous cuteness. First, here's Henry playing with toys. He adores playing with toys.

Next, here is my baby naked on our new living room rug. Yup, I censored him. 

I have many, many fall and pumpkin-related pictures to show, and stories to share. Hopefully I can do that later this week. For now, just revel in the cuteness. And pardon the messed up photos. I think my camera lens is dirty and I can't figure out how to fix it. Drool got on it and I tried to wipe it off and now the lens is all smeary. 

Signs of Growing Up

Everyday my Nicholas is becoming more of a little boy and less of a toddler. Soon I won't even be able to blame anything on the fact that "he is only two." Here are some recent signs I've noticed that my baby is growing up:

1. Creative Play. Nick has all-out conversations with all of his toys, and he role-plays things that have happened using his cars. The other day he had his cars all go to lap sit at the library, and he admonished them for running around and being "too loud cars."

2. Counting. Nick is starting to understand the concept, and though he can only count with one to one correspondence on a hit or miss basis, he's been getting more hits than misses lately. Point in case: Friday evening he says to me, "Mommy, I want raspberries. Put them in the purple bowl. One, two, three, four, five raspberries in my bowl." Then, he counted them to make sure I wasn't cheating him on the raspberries. Maybe it was just coincidence that he counted them correctly, but I was excited. I can't help it--I'm an elementary school teacher.

3. Coordination. Nick is starting to be able to put on and take off his clothing and shoes, to a point. I have to confess that I have spent very little time on this. Our babysitter is a stickler for teaching things step-by-step, and I admire her ability to patiently explain every step of putting on a sock, and then wait and talk through his impatience. It takes Nick forever to do this, but I love that he is learning how.

4. Letter recognition. On my way back from Iowa a few weeks ago, Nick started identifying letters on street signs. He also knows many stores simply by their signs, though I'm sure the distinctive color and shape of the signs have more to do with it than actual reading skills.  "Mommy, look! T is for Target. Are we going to go in there and go shopping? The "t" says "t" and T is for Toni!" (This is from Monday, I believe.)

5. Storytelling. Nick has started retelling lots of the books we read him, and he even memorizes some of the words. We let him take books to bed with him, and even though it's pretty dark in there, one night this week I could hear him quoting from this book he loves, "Edna." It's part of a poem (Recuerda, by Edna St. Vincent Milay), and he loves the way this poem sounds. Nick likes the line, "We were very tired. We were very merry. We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry."

6. Stinky feet. This is definitely a little boy sign. You know how babies and even toddlers always have that cute little kid smell? Nick is no longer one of them. Except for right after his bath, Nick smells like an amalgamation of crayons, dirt, kid sweat, and fresh air. It's not actually a bad smell, but it shows that he's not a baby anymore.

7. My son is a backseat driver. He's always telling me that the light is red and it is not my turn. Then he tells me that the light is green so I should go. Pretty soon he'll be commenting on my following distance or the no-turn-on-red sign. Perhaps.

While I'm often frustrated with his behavior (you'll notice I have consistently avoided the entire topic of potty training), I am usually pleased with his growth. I'm a little wistful that his baby years are mostly behind him, but it is so nice to have actual conversations with him. I'm torn between feelings of pride and regret. Regardless, I think Nick, sometime recently, has crossed the line and is officially a little boy, even if he won't be three for another month.

Future Gynecologist?

Nick went with me today for my 32 week OB appointment. My doctor asked him if he wanted to be a gynecologist someday. Probably because of how interested he was in all of the equipment in the room. Nick was especially fascinated with the plastic uterus model and the stethoscope. He kept putting the stethoscope up to his stomach, saying, "I listen to the baby in my tummy!" (Nick is obviously not quite clear on the whole baby-in-mommy's tummy thing.)

Apparently, from this point forward, I have to go in for an NST (non-stress test) once a week. After 34 weeks, I may have to go twice each week. The baby is looking great, but they're being extra cautious because I'm a high-risk pregnancy. I don't mind the NST, but I'm going to have to try to schedule them so I go when I don't have Nick. A doctor's office is filled with very expensive "toys" that he shouldn't be playing with, and it was way too tempting for him.

When you have an NST Test, they put two straps around your belly. One monitors contractions, and the other monitors the peaks and valleys of the baby's heart rate. The thing is, you can't move for at least 20 minutes during this test, and if your belly wiggles, it might register as a contraction. Nick kept trying to climb up my legs and wreak havoc in the room. He ripped up a bunch of magazines, took bunches of kleenex out of the box, and stole a pen out of my purse. Then, right after I'd been all strapped in to the machine, Nick announced, "I need to go pee pee in the potty!" Sigh. Poor timing. Between the NST Test and another 20 minutes of waiting for the doctor, Nick caused quite a bit of trouble.

First, he was fascinated with the sharps box, and I had to wrestle him away from it. (Such a horrible parent am I--I won't let my child play with a box containing used needles.) Then, he found the plastic uterus model, and decided that it would be good to throw at me. Thank goodness it wasn't breakable. By the time he got the stethoscope, I figured it was harmless enough.

It was pretty cute, though, how Nick was talking to the nurse. He announced to her, "I'm going to have a baby brother! He in mommy's tummy." Then he showed her his tummy. Nick got a sticker for his loquaciousness. Then he promptly wet his pants. Finally, we had to run outside in the pouring rain. A fitting end to an interesting doctor's visit.

A Visit from Auntie Mandy

I got a call from my sister last week, saying that she hadn't seen Nick since Christmas, and that this travesty must be corrected, and soon. So we invited her over for dinner Saturday. Nick was over the moon. Finally, there was someone new to play blocks with. . . someone worthy.

Indeed, my sister is the master of playing blocks.

Aunt Mandy kept Nick focused until they had used every single block in the whole house. The final product was taller than Nick! Check out their creation.

They also played with Nick's Little People animal collection, and Aunt Mandy was surprised that Nick knew the names of practically every animal--even the rhino and the penguin. That's because when Nick and I build houses with his Mega Blox, he chooses a different animal to make a house for every time. So he's had lots of practice.

There was also lots of coloring. . .

and the reading of stories. 

I think Nick had a great time. Such a great time, in fact, that he's been asking for his Auntie Mandy ever since she left.



Beans, Shopping, and Yogurt!

Summer is almost over. My first official day was Wednesday, when I led some training for new teachers. School starts next Tuesday. To end our summer, Nick and I went up to Woodfield last Thursday to visit Grandma Toni and Aunt Sarah. We met at a Mexican restaurant, where Nick promptly ate an entire bowl of black beans. Yup. The whole thing. Good times, good times. 

Then it was off to the playland at Woodfield. This play area was both bigger and cleaner than the one at Fox Valley. In fact, they kick everyone out of it a few times a day and clean it. Nick loved climbing and running around. There were so many kids, though, that the three adults had a hard time keeping track of Nick. It was like a game of Where's Waldo.

I've realized that if Nick doesn't have a certain amount of time to run around and climb, he starts to go nuts. He'll throw fits and climb the furniture and launch himself off of it. This was his time to be active. His cast sure isn't slowing him down any.

After a few hours of shopping, we had some Yogen Fruz. Usually, I can't eat ice cream without getting a tummy ache, but I can handle frozen yogurt just fine. I had strawberry frozen yogurt with chocolate chips. Aunt Sarah had vanilla with oreo cookie chunks. Nick got both. He got very excited after he had his first bite. In fact, he kept demanding to have more "Yogurt!"

By this time next week, I'll be longing for my next vacation, when I can take Nick to the mall for fun and frozen yogurt. But I think he'll be just fine. He loves going to the babysitter, because there are other kids for him to play with, and they run around outside every day. Plus, this year Nick will get to spend two days each week with his Grandma Toni. Lucky boy.  :)

A Little Accident

Today Nicholas had a little accident. He was playing with his Grandma Toni at the park while I was at work, and he fell down and hurt his wrist. Just to be safe, we took him to see the pediatrician.

Turns out his arm was broken. Poor guy. We spend the entire afternoon in the car going to and from the orthopedic doctor's office. He missed his nap, and you can see how exhausted he was in the car on the way home. At least he got a pretty blue cast. For three weeks. From his armpit to his fingers. Sigh.

He did have a very loud meltdown when he woke up from his nap and figured out that the thing on his arm wasn't coming off no matter what he did. But he recovered and is quickly learning to counterbalance with the heavy cast on his arm. The injury obviously didn't hurt his appetite, though he's having to learn to eat mostly with one hand.

By bedtime, Nick was a little slap happy, and he played with Grandma, Mommy, and Daddy without a care in the world. Does this look like the face of an unhappy child? I think he'll be just fine.

Does toddler chasing count as exercise?

Because if so, I can count hundreds of minutes each week as a workout. Chasing Nick as he runs towards the garbage can. . . Following him to figure out why he's crying. . . Racing him to see who can get to my cell phone first. . . Running to stop him from abusing the cat. Then he'll do something funny and cute, like breaking into dance in the middle of the living room. (see above)

They say that a toddler's brain is twice as active as an adult's, and I believe it! Nicholas is incredibly curious, zips around from one thing to another, and is constantly on the lookout for trouble. Plus, he's fast. I do believe he's skipped straight from barely walking to outright running. He can do squats, fast pushups, near somersaults, and sprints. I read once about a study where they took football players who were in excellent shape and had them mirror the every move of toddlers. I believe by noon every one of those football players was dead tired. Perhaps the toddler plan will be the next big diet and exercise book. "Throw half of your food off the table, but eat whatevery you want. Put rice into your ears, throw toys down the stairs, and make every step a run. Soon you'll be as slim as can be! It's the toddler diet!"

Don't get me wrong, I completely understand the toddler's need to explore. I've even read studies about how kids can be negatively impacted if they aren't allowed to explore their environment and have new experiences.  It's very seldom that I get frustrated with the force of nature that is my son. Usually I just sigh in defeat or laugh at the absurdity of things. Nicholas is like a tornado lately, though. Greg and I try to let him play with anything that isn't dangerous, so long as we're keeping an eye on him.

We try to pick our battles. The plastic straw he's playing with above? Fine. The butter knives he was trying to snitch from the dishwasher while Greg was cleaning up dinner? NOT fine. That's why he's stomping out of the kitchen in the picture below.

I borrowed Grandma Toni's camera today while she was visiting. It was so nice to take pictures of Nick again. My camera is still at the Nikon repair shop. Hopefully I'll eventually get it back in one piece. I keep trying to take pictures with my cell phone, but Nick won't stay still long enough and they all turn blurry. I guess that's the point, though. Nick won't stay still. At least not until bedtime. Then he's out.