Short and Sweet

We haven't had many pictures lately, I think because we haven't ventured out as much as we used to. We did go to the State Capitol again this past week. He had been asking to go back there, so I took him on Monday (his day off). 

We've had lots of rain, a few storms, and often I've wanted to share some hot cocoa with Nico. I will have to find ingredients to make some so that we can do this!

This week in school they are talking about shapes and are learning how to draw people. Homework is pointing out shapes in our environment. There are so many circles everywhere! Especially when you own 50+ hot wheels, each with 4 perfectly round wheels.

Nico has also started trying to count to twenty. He gets practice every day when Guy makes coffee, they count to twenty together when grinding the beans.

Hmm hmmm.. what else? Seems like this week has been shorter than others. 

Oh, there are two things I wanted to document. Two things that Nico has been saying for quite some time but I don't know what they mean. One, after he goes #2 in his potty, he sometimes points to it and says "Min-uh mee pee". The other one is whenever I ask him to turn around, he says "I dee". These aren't recent developments, but I wanted to write them down so I have a record.

Sometimes the papers that come home with Nico from school have notes on them from the speech therapist. Looks like they're working on ending sounds, like buS, mouSE, froG. When he does say the last part of a word, he makes it into another syllable, so he says froguh for frog.

I think that's it for this week. Short and sweet! Next week may be more exciting, we are going to Nampa to see G.G. on Monday, and Nico has next Thursday and Friday off from school.

Nico found a new way to watch his iPad.

Achoo!

We had a sick baby last week! He had a restless night last Thursday night, which I attributed to a sore throat. He was coughy and sickly the next morning, so I kept him home from school. I took some preventative measures for myself and for Guy, but I ended up getting the cold on Sunday.  I thought at first that it was a cold, but mine came with chills and hot flashes along with the fever, so it may have been the flu! We spent a lot of time chilling on the couch, watching Netflix. We watched Brother Bear 2, it was a cute movie. 

Guy seemed to miss the cold completely, thank goodness! He worked DAY-time overtime this past weekend and had no time to be sick. We made sure that he was sleeping whenever he wasn't working, so that switching from nights to days to nights again would go as smoothly as possible. I think it worked! He was a little woozy his first night back on Wednesday, but I think he's recovering pretty well from the switch.

Nico went back to school on Tuesday. He still has a bit of a phlegm buildup, but other than that he seems fine. This week in school they are reading "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" and they built their own book called "Preschool, Preschool, Who Do You See?" and each page of the book has a picture of a child in his class. They built the book themselves by gluing the pictures in. We are supposed to read the book with them at home. Nico knows most of the names of his classmates, I was pretty impressed!

He's saying more and more words, making more and more sound approximations!

We didn't get many pictures this week. Just the one of us snuggling, but I do have a sweet video of Nico watching for Papa through the window. Papa came over on Saturday to install our new water filter. (Thank you, Papa!) He often brings Nico a new toy car when he comes over, so that is what Nico is remarking about. This particular time, Papa actually brought him a little toy plane!

Counting

Not a lot of pictures this week, but I make up for it with a video. Check it out at the bottom, and hear him count!!

Nico has been counting, saying his own name when he wants to do something (point to the slide at the park, then point to himself and say Nico), and saying "Mine" when referring to something that is his.

Both Guy and I have experienced just this past week, for the first time, Nico getting frustrated because he couldn't communicate with us what he wanted to say. Neither of us have seen him frustrated about talking before, but it was obvious to each of us that he was trying to figure out how to say what he was thinking. When I witnessed it, he was trying to say "Greenbelt" (we went to the Greenbelt with the Strider) but he kept saying "Cah"and I kept thinking he was saying Car. He paused often and tried again and again and again but couldn't say it. The look on his face while he was concentrating was definite frustration. I finally figured out what he was trying to say and then coached him through saying "green" and then "belt" and then putting them together.

This week's theme at preschool is learning body parts and about the five senses. Homework was a body parts poem. We also got our very first Scholastic Book Order form. We figured we would wait until Nico is older and able to pick out what books he'd like to get. Both Guy and I remember getting these when we were younger and picking out books to buy.

The bus attendant this morning told me that once last week, Nico started fussing and crying a bit and asking for me, and it turned out that he had wet pants. I felt so bad! Nico is still having the occasional accident, but we're dealing with those. The biggest issue now is teaching him how to aim. He often comes home from school wearing different pants than what he wore to school. Sometimes he comes home in someone else's pants because he ran out of spare clothes.

He has skipped his nap the past 3 days. I think we might be done with naps entirely. But he makes up for it in the evening by going to bed by 8 PM.

On Tuesday this week, as he was getting on the bus, for the first time he said "No buh" and turned around and started getting off the bus. I turned him back around and said "Yep, we're gonna ride the bus today, you'll be okay!" but what was really going on in my head was "Ok, Nico! You don't have to get on the bus any more, let's get off this icky bus and I will drive you to school today and forever." I'm glad I didn't actually say that :)

But, I must say, in general Nico is a happy and chipper bus rider. The bus driver in the morning always makes comments about how happy Nico is! I think the morning he turned around to get off the bus, he was just asserting his decision making skills. And when he comes home in the afternoon, after he gets down off the bus, I pick him up and carry him into the house and he hugs me the whole way, saying "Mommy!" Then I ask him how his day was and he says "Nnnduh!"

Routine

We're getting our routine down surrounding preschool. Nico and I read books while we wait for the bus every morning, and when it gets reeeal close, we put his backpack on and hang out by the window.

 Waiting for the bus.

On the bus, getting strapped in. I wave at him from our front step until the bus drives off.

Coming home.

When he gets off the bus in the afternoon, I have lunch ready for him. I eat earlier, so while he eats I read him books. Then after that I give him 5 minutes with his beloved iPad, and then it's time for nap. Maybe. Twice he hasn't taken a nap. He fell asleep on the bus ride home on one of those days, but then today I'm not sure if he fell asleep on his way home, but he skipped his nap anyway. He's a tired buddy in the evening without a nap!

This week he has started counting things regularly. The steps across the bridge at Memorial park: "One, two, three, five, four, five, four, nine, ten!" He says it with his own sounds, but some of them are very close to sounding correct, like FOUR. My favorite is how he says "Siggy" for seven.

He also says the word "Down", and also signs it. They told me that they teach signs along with words, because his need to communicate is larger than his need to say words correctly. He used it (the word and the sign, at the same time) correctly at the park when he told me he wanted to get down from the equipment. They must have also taught him how to be a monkey, because he's been attempting to climb poles, like he has been taught how. Grabbing it with his legs correctly and everything.

Homework this week was a book called the "My Can-Do Book" with pictures to color of kids doing things that we should reinforce to them that they can do too: Brush their teeth, pick out their own clothes, ride a tricycle. They must be teaching him how to write his name, too, because when I wrote his name on the front of the book, he pulled out his crayon and wrote an N, and kept saying his name! But sometimes he would say "Tico" and he drew a bunch of Ts. He drew lots of Is, too, and one O.

I know I said this already, but I am looking forward to being able to ask him what he did in school! It is strange not being able to know exactly what they did. Except twice this week he did bring home projects that he had done at school - a finger painting picture of his hand prints, and a bracelet (which I am currently wearing on my wrist).

Guy said that this is the first of two times in Nico's life that we won't be hearing about his day at school. Now and when he is a teenager. :)

Doing homework

Also, notice his hair in the previous picture! We got a new hair cutting apparatus, so we tested it out.

It buzzes, so Nico cringed a bit.

Last but not least, I finally finished Nico's quilt for his new bed. Grandma Russell and I both worked on this quilt for Nico. He slept with it for the first time last night.