Simple Toys and Simple Joys

One of the best things about having a toddler around is the way they find joy in the simple things. Like a metal mixing bowl from the kitchen. Nick managed to use it to play peekaboo, as a drum, as a hat, as a hat for the cat, as a stool, and as a chair. That is what I call creative play.

Oh, and no worries. . .no animals were harmed in the making of the above video. Ticked off, maybe, but not harmed. Notice that after being accosted with the bowl, Molly didn't go far. She just hid under our cocktail table, watching what Nick was doing.

Since Nick broke his arm, I've been trying to keep an eye on him so he doesn't break anything else. You know what I noticed? My son climbs a lot. Nick climbs on his toys, on the furniture, and on me. Upwards of forty times a day, Nick climbs precariously on something. His cast puts him slightly off balance, and he often falls. My task is immense.

Oh, and some good news. Greg and I bought a new living room set. We are thrilled. :) It's being delivered on Friday. I cannot wait. We also bought slipcovers so that the cats don't claw the new couch. (They'd better not!)  We honestly haven't done much redecorating since we moved in, so this will be the first step in redoing our living room. It's amazing how such a simple thing (like getting new furniture) can make us so happy and excited.

Our current couch has cushions that are constantly sliding down. It's very bad on my back. The new one has cushions that won't slide. The last straw was when I found Nick playing with the stuffing he pulled out of one of the arms of our old couch. "That's it!" I told Greg. "We're getting a new couch." And we did. Do you see what I mean? Note the arm of this couch. Hey, anybody interested in an old couch and chair?  (The cat is not included.)  ;)

Here, Kitty-Kitty. . .

This is Molly. She is a 9-year old mixed-breed cat, and she has a thing for Nick. Our other cats are afraid of him, but she actively seeks him out. The feeling is mutual, as you can see above.

I got Molly in 2001 when she was a tiny little thing. She's always been the most vocal cat, and her personality is more human than cat. Molly makes all kinds of noises, and is especially attached to men, although she tolerates me. With four males in the house (two human and two feline), Molly and I are the only girls around. She genuinely believes she is in charge, and it is seldom that anyone argues with that. Our two other cats know that she's the one in charge, and they accept her dominance.

When Nicholas starts crying, Molly will go to him and yowl at us as if to say, "Do something about it!" I'm not sure if she does this out of love or because she can't stand the sound of his crying. She'll try to comfort him, too, by nuzzling him with her chin. A couple of days ago she sat under his high chair and he threw her pieces of roast beef. I was thinking maybe he didn't like roast beef, but then I fed it to him today and he liked it just fine. Babies are fickle, I guess.

Nick likes to show his affection for Molly with big hugs. Unfortunately, he often tackles her to the ground with these hugs. Other cats would run away, but Molly stands her ground and refuses to leave, even after having her ears pulled or her fur yanked. Molly's patience has increased in recent months, and she mostly just growls until Greg or I come and peel him off of her. It's not surprising that one of his first words is "Kitty." When I gave Nick a bath this morning, Molly sat on the toilet lid and watched, intrigued as to why someone would want to be sitting in all that water.

There was lots of time for cat-human interaction this weekend. Today we stayed home and relaxed, and the cats got plenty of exercise while running from Nick. It must be something about winter, but I never feel like doing much around this time of year. I'd rather just stay inside and dream of warmer days.

Spaghetti Fun and My Snowy Nightmares

So first, the spaghetti fun. As you can see, Nick enjoyed his first taste, and his second, although by his third taste, he was dumping it all over himself. Greg has been on a cooking kick lately, and he tried this great Italian recipe (Spaghetti with Boullinaise Meat Sauce) last weekend. I figured Nick was old enough to try spaghetti, but I stripped him down to his diaper to avoid stains. (No, I'm not a cruel parent. It was 73 degrees in our house at the time.) Yup, Molly's been hanging around the high chair. The other day we fed him salmon, and Molly actually reached onto the highchair to steal a piece. Smart kitty.

Nick has started pointing at everything lately. He's been jabbering more too. Still no official talking, but he's saying "daddy" and "kitty." However, we're not sure he knows what they mean, since he called me "daddy" tonight. We'll keep working on it.

Onward to the nightmare. I am afraid of driving in snow. Tonight there was light snow/sleet/slush, and we're due for more tomorrow. I think the snow was timed just right so that we won't get a snow day. Sigh. I think snow is lovely to look at, but when I know I have to drive in it, I start to get panicky. I've skidded and slipped enough to know that snow=danger. When I got into the car tonight, I had a death grip on the steering wheel. I know logically that it wasn't too bad out, but to me it seemed like I was driving on a sheet of ice. I literally drove no more than 25 mph the entire way home, which is why it took an hour and a half to get home.

That's why I'm up writing this instead of sleeping. Fear. Fear of those tiny white flakes. I worked out on the elliptical trainer today, and it gives me this little burst of energy. I made a deal with myself; I will work out 30 minutes at least 5 days a week (pilates or elliptical) through the month of December, but not worry so much about what I eat. I'm not going to pig out, but I don't want to miss out on the holiday yummies.

So I had a cookie and sat down in front of the tv. That's when I checked the weather, and saw what the roads are going to be like tomorrow. Not enough snow for a day off, but enough to make my morning commute scary. Enough for nightmares and hyperventilation.

I'll end with this cute video of a messy, adorable Nicholas chatting and playing with his food. He actually ate quite a bit of it, this is just at the end of his meal.