Running Errands With a Nearly Two-Year-Old

It's become more interesting lately to take Nick on errands. He's much more talkative, and also far more demanding about what he wants and what he does not want. We pick our battles, but Nick definitely knows the meaning of "No." Today Greg and I went to rent a video, and our little man enjoyed running up and down the aisles. He also loved sitting in the director's chair, pulling dvds from the shelves, and trying to swipe candy bars. It is exhausting but never boring teaching him boundaries.

We also had to pick up some groceries, and Nick adores the grocery store because of all the people and the colors and the things to grab. Near the end of our shopping adventure, my blood sugar started to drop, so I went to buy a few munchkins from the Dunkin' Donuts in our Walmart. Nick immediately started shouting, "Please! Me eat! Please mummin!" I told him that they were doughnuts, not muffins, and he adjusted his demands accordingly. "Please doughnut! Me eat!" Stuffing an entire munchkin in his mouth, Nick grabbed for the bag, snatching another one. You'd think we didn't feed the boy.

I adore the look on his face in the picture above. He looks like he just got caught doing something naughty. Lest you think that Nick subsists on doughnuts and mummins, please understand that today he also ate greek yogurt, whole wheat bread, chicken, rice, a whole apple, and pasta with plenty of shrimp, asparagus, and red pepper.

Today was a pretty good day. When Nick woke up this morning, he climbed next to me on the couch with one of his favorite books, "If You Give a Moose a Muffin," by Laura Numeroff. "Mummin story," he demanded. Then he started to climb into my lap, exclaiming, "Lap story!" I do believe I read that story three times this morning. "Again! Mummin Again!" Nick loves pointing to the moose and the muffin every time they appear and naming them. He has this thing about muffins. I actually don't mind rereading stories; Nick has pretty good taste in books, and reading together is our thing. I've been reading stories to him since he was only a few wees old. I think that reading with him is actually my favorite thing to do with him--I'll always remember sitting with him on my lap with a story.

I love Nick's velour track suit. It was a hand-me-down from one of my teacher friends, and I think it's adorable. Greg said that when he wears it, he looks like he was about to go for a run. it's a 2T, and it actually fits him, though I had to roll the waistband so it wouldn't be too long. I can't believe Nick is going to be two this Wednesday.

I haven't been posting as often as I'd like during the last few weeks. Fall always makes me tired, and the time change has really messed me up. Plus, I have had multiple days of parent conferences, doctor's appointments, and family visits. I'm really looking forward to having a five-day weekend for Thanksgiving in a few weeks.

One of the Best Things About Summer. . .

is going to the farmers' markets with my husband and son. Last week, we went to the Oswego Country Market, and we enjoyed ourselves. Part of it, I think, is just being able to be outside and enjoy the morning air. Nick likes it when people bring their puppies to the markets.

On Sunday, we bought asparagus, peaches, spinach, fingerling potatoes, salad dressing, tomatoes, and onions. They were all pretty fresh, and the rainbow fingerling potatoes were my favorite this week. They were delicious in olive oil.

Nick absolutely loved the hot cinnamon doughnuts that they sold. He got sugar in some pretty weird places, like the crook of his knees and up behind his ears. After finishing our shopping, we went walking by the river and let Nick play in the park. When he saw the park up in the distance, he screamed with glee and started running, full force, towards the slide. Nicholas was vibrating with excitement and kept pointing and screaming, "Whee!" as he ran. The swings were his favorite, I think. . . especially this big boy swing.

Sometimes I feel kind of guilty, because I have such a high energy kid. I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a high energy mom. He is eager for any kind of exercise, and I am exceptionally good at finding excuses to sit on the couch with a good book. Perhaps Nick is good for me, in that sense, although he's also exhausting. I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow, because I'm thinking of taking him for a long walk and then for a run and a climb in the park. That should tire him out.

Baby's First Doughnut

Today Greg and I went to the Farmers' Market in Oswego and to a beautiful park down by the Fox River. It was beautiful, and the weather was just perfect. Not too hot, not too cold--you don't get many days like this in July.

Nick loved the swings. He laughs so hard when he gets to go swinging. Here you can see him happily enjoying himself while an older baby surreptitiously checks him out. This little chic was extremely interested in my Nicholas. I guess I'd better get used to little girls checking him out.

The park we went to had a great view of the river, a bridge, and slides and climbie things that Nick will love in a year or so. There was even a misting station if you started feeling too warm. Here's Greg and Nick down by the path. Notice how he's sitting forward all the way in his stroller. Today was the first time I saw him do that. He kept leaning forward so he wouldn't miss anything. Nick is just happy to be there. Anywhere, actually. He seems to see each new place we go as a new adventure, even if it's a bathroom in a bar or a place to buy tomatoes. I wish I could get a shot of that kind of joy.

Below you can see Nick enjoying his very first doughnut. At the farmers' market, there was an older couple making fresh batches of mini doughnuts with cinnamon sugar. They made them right there in front of us, and boy did they smell good. We decided that Nick was old enough to try his first doughnut, so we bought a bag of 6 for $1.75. First I gave him a little taste, and then you can see what Nick did. He grabbed a huge chunk out of my hand and stuffed it in his mouth. Boy, was I surprised. He ate the whole darned thing, too. He got cinnamon sugar all over his little toes, and made the happiest "mmm" sounds. It's kind of neat when he has first tastes of new things. Nicholas seems to like things such as steamed peas and avocado just as much as doughnut or tiramisu. I guess the world is an adventure when everything is new.
I'm now going to make a rant about the town of Oswego, or whoever built this memorial. See if you can figure out what is wrong. . . I did a double take when I found it.
That's right, there is no apostrophe for "Veterans' Sacrifices." Now, I'm all for monuments, and I'm especially all for veterans, but can't they at least own their sacrifices? Stuff like this really makes me steamed. I just finished reading a book called Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss. She has the same issue I do with grammar. Every time I see a mistake, I feel the need to get out my red pen. I don't, usually, but I still feel a surge of rage. I'm an extremely tolerant, liberal, live-and-let-live kind of gal, except for grammatical situations. Since I work with non-native speakers of English, I'm pretty tolerant of them, because they have an excuse. However, couldn't the guy doing the carving get a proofreader before carving something into stone for posterity?!

Okay, I'm done ranting. Sorry about that. Time to put the baby to bed and perhaps plant some herbs.