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.  :)

Childproofing and Mexican Food

Man, kids are expensive. Nick and I had to make a trip to Babies R Us on Thursday. You see, Nick is a very active little boy, and he has managed to ruin and/or destroy some of his stuff. He ripped the pad on his changing table, so that all of the stuffing was coming out and the plastic was gone. That's $30 right there for a new one. I guess the diaper pail refills aren't Nick's fault, but I had to buy two packages at $16 each. Definitely necessary. But I suppose the cost is offset by his cute little shoes, which I got on ebay for $1.50.

Then there were the stove protectors. Nick has ripped off one of the plastic thingies that cover the knobs on our stove, actually cracking the plastic. Unfortunately, you can't buy just one or two, so I had to get an entire package of new ones. That's another $9.

Nick also keeps breaking his sippy cups. He throws them on the floor when he's mad, cracking the plastic, and then they leak. So I had to buy him some new ones. I got nice insulated sippy cups, with animals on them. They also have nice straws and they're thin enough for Nick to hold with one hand. He's had a hard time this week holding his drinks because of his cast. When he saw the orange cup above, he announced, "Moo!  Ball!" Yup, there are cows playing soccer printed on his sippy cups. Those were $10 for three cups. See his t-shirt? Got that at a garage sale for $0.50. It says, "I tried to be good, but I got bored."

After all that shopping, Nick and I were hungry, so we decided to try a new Mexican place in Plainfield, called La Adelita. Their chips were yummy, but the salsa and the food overall was a little spicy for me. Still good, though. We had quesadillas. Nick loved the food, even the spicy stuff. He was shoving the lettuce garnish in his mouth in handfuls, and he kept begging for more salsa. Before I had Nick, I felt just a little uncomfortable eating out by myself. Now I have a regular dining partner. He's pretty good company, if a little messy. We actually have little conversations nowadays. His side sounds something like this: "More chips!" "Moo ball." "Mmm chicken." "Birdie!" (pointing to a bird on the mural) "Hello!" (to everyone who walks by the table) "Tea!" "All done."

He might be expensive, but Nick is worth every penny.  I've really enjoyed spending so much time hanging out with him this this summer. Only about two weeks left, though. . .

Table Games at Lalo's

As promised, here is Nick playing peekaboo with a corn tortilla. He actually loved the corn tortillas, and the beans, and the chips. Lately, his favorite word is "Eat!," announced while pointing at his mouth.

We were eating at Lalo's, a Mexican Restaurant right by Fox Valley Mall in Aurora. This is definitely not Nick's first time there, though. Actually, he went to Lalo's when he was less than a week old. I remember that I had an appointment with the lactation consultant, and we stopped for dinner after the appointment. Our waitress and the hostess exclaimed over how tiny he was. He's not so tiny anymore. 

I was trying to figure out what he was pointing at. It was my iced tea. Nick loves it, and keeps trying to sneak a sip whenever he can. "Tea. Tea. Tea!," he'll cry when he sees me taking a drink.

The food was pretty authentic, at least from our gringo perspective. I especially like the chicken soup they serve before the meal. The salsa was a little spicy for Mr. Nick, though, who squealed when he tasted it.

I'm not sure why Nick is shrieking with joy in the picture above, but I love the look of pure happiness on his face. I'm very glad I ended up with such a happy kid. It makes us enjoy the simple things.

When all of the tortillas were eaten, Nick decided that the container they were in would make a great hat. He put it on his head, and then on mine. Yes, he is silly. But easily entertained.

Hot, Hot, Hot!

Last Saturday we took Nick out for Mexican Food, and he really enjoyed it. I'll write more about it tomorrow, but for now, enjoy Nick sharing his new word. He definitely knows what "hot!" means.  : )

I've been trying to catch Nick talking on camera for some time now, since he started talking more. He tends to stop talking when he sees that I've got the camera out. But not this time!

Tomorrow I'll show pictures of him playing peek-a-boo with his tortilla.