Septemberfest 2011

I adore cool, sunny weather, and we've had an abundance of those days lately. Perfect carousel-riding weather.

Last Sunday, we went up to G.G.'s house for Schaumburg's Septemberfest. We last took Nick to this festival in 2009, when he was still a baby. My, has he grown. Until Sunday, however, he had not tried cotton candy.

That situation was quickly rectified, and Nick is now an expert on this sweet treat. Poor Henry wasn't old enough for cotton candy, so he had an alternate treat.

Nick absolutely adored all of the rides. He does not, however, grasp the concept of "all done," and every time it was time to leave a ride, bouncy house, ferris wheel, or other such things, a loud and terrible fit ensued. I can understand why--rides are such fun! This, I believe was Nick's first ferris wheel ride. He went with Grandpa Ray and Grandma Linda, and begged for more.



Both boys enjoyed the carnival and craft fair, but I think Nick's favorite thing was the bouncy house. He absolutely would not come out. We had to bribe him with a cupcake--if we hadn't thought of that, I'm sure he still would be there, bouncing happily away.

We were pretty tired on Sunday, for various reasons. Greg caught up on his sleep while we were visiting with G.G. I forgot how much fun Septemberfest can be--we'll have to make sure to go next year. I will have to remember to bring something to bribe Nick with so he doesn't stay forever.

This Little Piggy. . .and a Train Song

Nick really liked it when Auntie Mandy did "This Little Piggy" with him. He begged for it again and again.

Nick has become rather demanding in the car. For the last few months, he won't let me listen to NPR. "No talking! Want music. Turn on the music!" Sigh. I miss NPR, but it's not worth the trouble to fight him on that. Instead, Nick begs me to turn on music, and he's picky about what I listen to. He'll tell me, "No, not that song. Want another song!" Thank goodness I don't listen to actual children's music. I couldn't handle that in the car. I need to relax while I drive.

I'm pretty eclectic in my music tastes, but this morning some Grateful Dead came on, and I'll admit. . . I was singing along. I didn't realize for awhile that Nick was singing along, too. It was the Casey Jones song--you know the one--about the train. After the song ended, I turned off the radio to ask Nick a question, and he kept right on singing. . . "Drivin' that train. . . high on cocaine. . . " over and over again.

Yes, that is indeed partially scraped off wallpaper that you see on the walls. Having a baby slows down the home improvement plans, you see.

I winced slightly and hoped he wouldn't sing those particular lyrics in public. Eh, oh well. There are worse songs he could be singing. (And he has. Remind me to tell you about the time Nick and I jammed to Nelly's "Hot in Herre." Or not.)

Anyhow, on the way home about three hours later, Nick got mad at me when I was flipping through the stations. "NO Mommy! I want the train song! Turn on the train song!"

Then, this afternoon, he was playing with his Thomas train while singing what he calls "The Train Song." It was quite cute. So Nick has a new favorite song.

I supposed I'd better track down all of my Dead albums. We've got a new little fan.

Lunch with Aunt Mandy

Last Thursday, Nick and Henry and I took Aunt Mandy out to lunch at Sweet Tomatoes, a really yummy salad bar buffet restaurant. I had the biggest spinach salad for a meal, and definitely got my veggie requirements for the day. It was a nice, healthy meal, but the best part was that I got to go use the washroom by myself. That is a luxury nowadays.

Nick's favorite part was the soft serve frozen yogurt. It was dark chocolate, and pretty yummy. Check out Nick's chocolate goatee.

Henry didn't get any salad, but he didn't seem to mind. I guess he liked his lunch of. . . milk.

Henry was happy to have the chance to wear his new shoes. They finally fit him, though they're still a tad bit big.

After lunch, we went to the pet store to see the animals. Nick was overly excited about every single animal. He couldn't however, control his volume. We'll have to work on that.

Nick wanted a hermit crab, but we told him no. Somehow I think my cats would not be cool with hermit crabs in the house.

June: The Craziest of Months

For my family, June has always been a pretty busy month. Between my birthday, my sister's birthday, and my grandmother's birthday, there are plenty of parties to go around. When you add in Father's Day, my wedding anniversary, and now Henry's birthday, June has truly become the craziest of months.

Yesterday we went to my mom's house to celebrate three of these major June events: my grandmother's birthday, Father's Day, and the second anniversary of my sister's 29th birthday (if you know what I mean). In the picture above, Henry is reclined on Gigi's lap, and I do believe I have never seen him more relaxed. She has the magic touch.

My mother made some really delicious chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese filling. Aren't they gorgeous?

Nick got to play outside in the pool, and his favorite thing to do was empty the pool one bucketful at a time into the grass. I thought this was a wonderful way for him to expend his energy, so I had Greg buy a similar swimming pool for Nick on the way home. We'll see if he does the same thing at home, and tires himself out.

Everybody wanted a chance to cuddle little Henry, but Nick made sure he got his share of the attention. Something tells me that my oldest son will never let anyone else take the spotlight for long. While we were fussing over the baby, check out what Nick did to get our attention. . .

If nothing else, June in my family will never be boring, because of all the celebrations! Greg and I did plan to have a baby this time of year, so I could avoid taking unpaid maternity leave. Nick was more of a, um surprise, so his November birthday wasn't planned. But I do think summer birthdays are nice because everyone can gather outside.

We have a lot to celebrate this year.  : )

Cookie-Baking Fun

The Saturday before Easter, Nick's Aunt Mandy came over and we baked cookies. Nick loves cookie-baking, and he gets super-excited every time I even mention making cookies.

I'll have to make a point of baking more healthy items this summer, but lately, I've been mostly craving naughty foods, like sugar cookies with sprinkles. Nick loves using the big rolling pin, and he can actually use it correctly now.

We made cookies shaped like chicks, bunnies, lambs and eggs. Nick did not ever want the cookie making to end. I think next year, though, I need to get some smaller cookie cutters. These cookies were huge!

Putting on the sprinkles was very fun for Nick, but I think he used too many sprinkles. The purple ones were his favorite--we let him pick.

For some reason, the Easter sprinkles I bought didn't come with a sprinkling thing on the lid. You know, the holes that allow you to sprinkle right from the jar.

We tried to teach Nick how to sprinkle, but he mostly just dumped.

Well, the cookies tasted pretty good, even if the sprinkles weren't on evenly.

I think Nick wins the award for the most flour spilled, as well. I don't mind, though, because I am a firm believer in the principle of: the bigger the mess, the more fun the kid had. He did have fun.  :)


*Pictures courtesy of Amanda Wiatr. Or Aunt Mandy. Because that's what Nick calls her.   :)

Wordless Wednesday

Coloring Easter Eggs

Last Saturday, Nick's Auntie Mandy came by to help Nick and I decorate eggs, among other things. Eggs plus food dye plus stickers equals one giant mess, but Nick sure had a ball. Check out this picture; you can actually see the drops of blue dye flying onto his nice sweater.

Nick actually loves eating hard-boiled eggs. So it was hard to get him to dye them rather than eat them!

I'm not sure why I'm either making a face or have my eyes closed for all of these (perhaps trying to avoid splashes?) but Nick was really into the process.

He especially loved the sticker part. Adding stickers to eggs is fun!

I'm too tired to write anymore, but enjoy the pictures. I will post more pictures from Aunt Mandy's visit tomorrow.

This Boy is Well-Loved

Here are the promised pictures from Nick's visit with my mom, stepdad, sister, and grandma. Nick had a ball and loved all of the attention. He knows all of his relatives by name and he even knows how they like to play. Auntie Mandy likes to tickle him, and Grandma Linda likes to read with him. Gigi likes to sing with him--in this case they sang "The wheels on the bus."

Nick knows that he can play pinball with his Grandpa Ray, and that Grandma Linda will let him make biscuits and eat "cookie bears" anytime he wants. (I'm talking about those chocolate graham cookies--my mom keeps them at her house just for him.) Nick sometimes chooses to eat them with a spoon.

Nick even knows how to play blocks with different people. With me, he wants to make houses for his little animals, but with Grandma, he likes to build with squishy blocks. Plus, also chew on them.

Grandma Linda also makes a delicious dark chocolate bundt cake. Nick really loved that. I'm going to have to get her recipe. Anything with dark chocolate is a craving of mine lately.

Grandma Linda also likes to play Wii with Nick. He loves the balance board, and even requests to stand on it when he visits. Chewing on the Wii mote is even more fun. I think he was playing a game where you're a penguin and try to catch fish and not fall off of your iceberg. Nick got to visit his grandma and grandpa again this week, and he exhausted them with all of his energy.

We don't have any sort of video gaming system at our house, so this is very special for Nick. Also tasty, apparently.







Singing his ABCs with Piano Accompaniment

On Saturday we took Nick to my mom and stepdad's house for a visit. I'll write more about that tomorrow, but for now, here's a video of Nick showing off his ABC skills. He loved playing the piano and singing with his Auntie Mandy. I believe he sings the whole song twice thorugh, although I didn't get every bit on video.

I'm thinking I'll probably have to sign this boy up for piano lessons at some point. He can play for quite a long time without getting bored.

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.