Sun Shade, GG, and hugs

Last Friday Guy worked late, but it worked out just fine because Nico fell asleep around 4:30 PM and woke up at 6:30, right before Guy got home. (6:30 is the usual bedtime around here). So after eating dinner we decided to go to the park since it's rare that Nico naps. We rode our bikes.

We got home around 8:30 and started bedtime. Didn't work, really. He was awake until I went to bed at 10:30, when he crawled into bed with me. He didn't stop tossing and turning until 11:30. 

On Saturday we met outside with Jeff & Allicia and crew so we could put up our new sun shade! They purchased us our very own sun shade, they had initially intended to put it up for us while we were gone on vacation so we would come home to it, but thought instead that they would wait so we could have input into the process. 

Cutting back branches

The main work crew

The helper crews

Nico's stick and rock collection. Arranged by him. We thought of you, Grandpa Russell! :) Guy said: LOOK! Take a picture of that!

Avery "helping" sort screws

 Aaaaaand... DONE! 2 hours later!

We ate lunch and I took a nap while Guy and Nico went out to the library and to get coffee. That afternoon we met up with the crew again in the backyard where they had stacked a bunch of compost on a tarp, on its way to the garden. Nico thought to bring out the digger.

Balancing on a board

Then when they were nice and dirty, they turned the sprinklers on!

That was a full day!

Sunday was a risk-filled day as our car was developing problems with starting. It would take longer and longer every time we tried to start it. We ran errands after church (leaving the car running at our last stop so I could run in without having to turn off the car), and then drove the car home and parked it. We borrowed Jeff & Allicia's car Sunday night to make it to Bible Study, we wanted to save as many starts as we could so that Guy could start the car Monday morning and drive it straight to the shop to get it fixed. But alas, Guy could not start the car Monday morning, and the engine started smoking. I am so grateful for USAA's Roadside Assistance! We have used it several times now to tow our car. The tow truck came and took it and Guy to the shop. The shop of course drove Guy to work. I didn't have to think about it at all, because the car was fixed that day and Guy drove home with it good as new! It was the starter. Makes sense.

On Tuesday we drove Guy to work so we could have the car to visit GG! Nico brought his iPad with him to show her his current favorite iPad game which is called Around the World in 80 Days, it's a hidden objects game. You can click on the objects you find and it gives you points and removes them from the page so you can move on to the next item. We got it when it was free a few weeks ago. The first time we went "Around the World" it took us a while (several days), but now he pretty much has all the object placements memorized. Him and GG played it for a good 30 minutes during our visit!

It's so fun to see him so excited to show her his favorite things! GG gave us a foldable table to put under our sun shade. Thank you GG! We set it up outside yesterday and we ate dinner on it. Guy pulled it back inside when it started raining. It looks like a big suitcase, but you unfold it and it's a table with 4 chairs! Incredible!

We ran into one of Nico's school friends on the way to school on Tuesday. Her name is Brody and she yelled from down the street: "NICO!!!!" Nico turned around and yelled "BRODY!!!!" and they ran to each other and gave each other a hug. Nico patted her back afterward and then took her hand to walk to school with her. Brody's little sister joined in and took Brody's other hand, and I was holding Nico's other hand, so we had quite a line. Brody's great grandmother was walking her to school so we were able to chat.

This reminded me that last Thursday on the playground (I had volunteered in the classroom Thursday so I was able to see it, Nico's teacher pointed it out to me), him and an older girl (1st grade maybe?) were hugging on the playground. Then they would stand with their arms around each other. Then another girl came over and all three of them hugged as a big group. He is a hugger! 

On the way to school yesterday Nico asked me "Where's Brody?" and I told him I didn't know. I said "Brody's really nice, I like her." and Nico said "Yeah, Brody's really nice to me. She's cute too." hehe

Do I need to be worried? :)

I think that's it for this week. I captured some video but didn't have time to put it together for this week, so maybe I'll do a snippet video next week? 

Ta ta!

Halloween Party and Climbing Trees

Guy has been on days for a few weeks now, he is having trouble sleeping at night but for the most part things are good. He is able to hang out with us more, though some of our normal activities have gotten lost in the shuffle. Nico, for example, used to wake up at the crack of dawn to run downstairs and play games with Guy on his computer. But that hasn't happened since the switch. In fact, Nico is now sleeping in most mornings. This morning he got out of bed at 5 AM and passed our bed and headed for the door, but then turned and came back, crawled over me and planted himself between me and Guy and fell asleep for another hour and a half. Nico sleeps much better when Guy is there. But Guy sleeps terribly when Nico is there. Nico goes through fits and starts in the middle of the night during certain times. You can hear his teeth grinding together and he is kicking and bouncing his head around knocking into me and Guy. Nico always starts off in his own bed, but transfers to our bed at some point during the night, nestling in between us. We know he's there when he starts kicking us in his sleep.

The other previously normal activity that hasn't occurred since the day switch is me and Guy watching Netflix together.

Sunday was fun again to have Guy at church.

On Monday I went up to the cabin by myself to help my mom with computer stuff. Of course we took advantage of it and went for a hike and ate a wonderful lunch that day too. When I told Nico that he got to hang out with Daddy that day he said "Awwww I LOVE staying at home with Daddy!" He was very excited about it, even though he knew I was going to the C-A-B-I-N.

The view was beautiful up there, I don't ever remember it being that beautiful. Thanks for the wonderful day, Mom!

On Tuesday was Nico's Halloween Party at school! I brought some Nico safe treats with me in case they handed out candy. Gluten free peanut butter cups to the rescue! He decorated a cupcake but didn't eat it, and ate his peanut butter cup instead. Guy and I were BOTH able to go! The kids played musical chairs (Nico was the first one out and he started to whimper and cry when he had to sit by himself. Pretty soon everyone but 1 person was sitting with him, though, so he got over it fast). Then they played Bingo (everyone won something!).

Today was a fun day. Guy has had to go into work late (11 AM) so that he could stay late (8 PM) so he can train someone. This morning was our parent teacher conference and Guy was able to come!! Nico is a smarty pants, as we all know, and Ms. Lung is finding that she has to challenge him in Math. He is exceeding expectations there. He struggles a bit with social stuff but we are working on that. 

Two things the teacher gave us, is Nico's Blood Ghost, who apparently ate too much red blood, and then an About Me page where he was supposed to sound out the words he wanted to write and fill in the blanks. In Kindergarten they're not concerned with spelling, and as you can see Nico's favorite food is aplpi - a perfect phonetic reproduction of his beloved Apple Pie (which he's never actually eaten before).

After the parent teacher conference we came home and put on spooky scary nail wraps on Evelyn and Nico. I bought some MONSTER nail wraps and so for Halloween Evelyn and Nico are wearing them.

Here they are showing off their Zombie/Vampire/Mummy/Monster/Spider Web fingernails. 

This afternoon we went to Quarry View. Nico asked me if there was going to be friends there. He didn't mean friends that he knew, but kids in general. When he is on the playground with a group of kids he always says "Look at all my friends!!"

Evelyn showed up to the playground with her cousin and Aunt, and Nico joined in as they played soccer and climbed trees. Evelyn wore her dinosaur costume all day today. And Nico called out to her from the playground when he saw her: "Evelyn! Do you want to play with me with all my friends?" There was a large group of children on the playground and I was thankful for that. Nico has so much more fun when there are other kids around. He has no trouble asking other kids to play and always asks them what their names are. 

And then a random picture of Nico ironing. It was his idea and I had him use a cold iron.

Did you know Nico can read a bit? I'll have to video it. Ms. Lung sends home homework and it includes sentences. The first time I asked him to read a sentence I didn't expect much. But, yep, looks like he can read. And he has got his Ls down. He says "like" just fine! I am proud of him.

What a life! I am loving it!

Lumberjacks and Boo Bash

On Friday we went to Pojo's in the morning just to have some fun with Guy around. Guy even got some tokens for himself! Nico really enjoyed playing air hockey and we played it about 4 times.

On Saturday we ALL drove up to the cabin at 11 AM for the lumberjack party! It was so cool to have Guy with us. Grandma Salisbury served a huge microgreen salad, chili, and all the fixins! It was fabulous. We got to see family and old friends and new friends. After lunch the men went off to split some logs for the neighbor. (Guy had to work half the night on Friday night so he stayed back). The girls had a fun time while the boys were away and Guy was our commentary and made us laugh. There were guessing games (how much does the pumpkin weigh? How many M&Ms are in the jar) and Nico won a picture colored by Lexie and Rory.

Then the fun with Guy continued on Sunday when he was able to come to church with us for the first time in one year! This was the second time he has been to our church's Sunday service, and the first time he has heard the pastor preach! Then Bible Study Sunday night.

Monday & Tuesday were fun with Guy home, he went with me to pick up Nico from school on both days. Guy carried Nico home on his shoulders.

Then tonight was the Boo Bash at his school. Sooo much fun! I never remember winning cake walks when I was little, but the FIRST round-about Nico did at the cake walk, he won! There was an allergy free table so he picked out a little gluten free chocolate cake. We got a polaroid taken of all of us and visited all the rooms and got prizes. We even played with electricity in the Micron room. In the hallway near the library were boxes and boxes of books that the library was getting rid of. We were limited to picking out 3 for free so Guy picked out 3 while Nico and I went to a few of the game rooms.

You probably noticed that Nico is wearing his Fire Chief costume instead of his Ninja Turtle.. well... the ninja turtle needs a little bit of fixing with safety pins, which we had, but Nico didn't want to deal with it and just wanted his fire man costume. It's a good thing we had it on hand!

When we came home, though it was 7 PM, we let him have a small piece of his chocolate cake. He is a bit bouncy now... hehe. Guy is snuggling with him in his bed but it is not going as calmly as usual. There is lots of talking and excitement and jumping around going on in there. 

Nico and Evelyn searching for rocks at the park. SO many to choose from! Evelyn is wearing her dinosaur costume.

Nico told me to pick him up a comic book at the library on Tuesday. I picked up Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland

He was actually pretty excited about it, and it has chapters. Guy has read it to him the last 2 nights, one chapter each night, and Nico is thrilled! Glad to see it when he'e excited about reading.

Another Birthday Party!

Saturday was Michael's birthday party. Michael is a boy that went to Nico's preschool and now they are in Kindergarten together! The party was at Quarry View, so Nico rode his bike. They had a bouncy house, and cake and snacks. And Michael's older sister was doing face painting! Nico asked her to do a lion! I got a rose on my hand.

Nico jumped so much on the bouncy house that he came out and said he had a tummy ache and wanted to go home. This was right at 3 PM when the party was over, good timing! We came home and turned the swamp cooler on and relaxed on the couch. He was soon feeling better. 

At the party I met the mother of another one of Nico's classmates, she helps out on Wednesdays in the classroom with the weekly art project they do. She invited to come help this past Wednesday because they were doing something that could use an extra hand. I agreed! Nico was very excited that I was coming to his class. He made sure I stood in line with him.

For the art project they had to wrap sticks in yarn and then we (the helpers) tied them to another stick to make mobiles. There was glue and yarn everywhere!!

Every month, Guy's cousin Missy (I call her my cousin too) puts together a girls night out for a small group of girls. I was able to go this time and it was a blast! We went out to eat. Nico got to stay home with Guy. Missy said she may try to stop by G.G.'s house the next time Nico and I go there. Looking forward to that!

Nico has Thursday and Friday off this week.. teacher inservice!

I have my Aromatherapy Registration Exam on Monday. I've been studying. Pray for me!

Still no word on Guy's job. I'm in charge of Guy's phone during the day in case they call, and I've been carrying it with me everywhere for 4 weeks now!

(Forgot to mention us climbing Camel's Back Hill! See next week's blog for pictures and video!)

New Bike!

Saturday was Bruce's birthday party! Nico and I went up to the cabin that afternoon and enjoyed seeing family and celebrating with Bruce. There was even gluten free Nico pizza!

We had to leave around 2:30 to be back in time to wake Guy up for work. After waking him up, I packed up my henna stuff and went over to the neighborhood's block party. I did free henna for a few hours that night for everyone who showed up. Jeff and Allicia handled Nico for me, they came to the block party and Nico got to jump on the bouncy house. He even came over to my henna booth and got a henna tattoo. He usually wants it wiped off as soon as I get it on, and this time was no exception. I got home after 8 PM that night and Nico was still up, so we snuggled a bit and he told me that he was never going to jump in a bouncy house again because he jumped so much that it made him sick.

On Tuesdays I have started doing something new in the evenings - Tap Dance! This past week was my second class. It is a lot of fun. Nico likes my tap shoes, but told me that he doesn't tap dance because he's a boy. So Guy took him to Youtube videos of Danny Kay, Fred Astere, and Nico watched them several times and danced along.

Still no word from Guy's job. Ho hum!

Today Nico and I ventured to a kids consignment shop to buy winter clothes. We got him some boots and a coat and some long pants and long shirts. We even bought him a Halloween costume - Raphael the teenage mutant ninja turtle.

He was pretty set that he wanted to be the Armor of God for Halloween but we couldn't find an armor suit there, so I let him look at the other costumes while I looked at clothes, and this is what he found! It's not in very good shape after taking it out of the bag, but, it'll do!

Then on the way out we saw a bike that he liked, and so I considered... his current bike has a flat tire and is so small. Instead of fixing the tire, why don't we just buy a new bike? :) And this bike was signed by Kristin Armstrong (the bike park that we go to sometimes was named after her). And this was also a Trek bike, brand new costing $299, and we bought it for $32. It does have a non-functioning right brake and the handle bars need to be tightened because they turn, but Jeff has offered to fix the bike for us! We took the bike out to the park tonight, Evie followed on a tricycle. Nico took the park loop a good many times and got used to riding it. Unfortunately he cannot get up on the bike without help. He tried several times but he can't touch the ground and sit on the seat at the same time so it will require some serious skills to be able to do it. He'll get it eventually. But this also means that landings are sometimes dangerous. I told him to kick his foot out and fall on his foot after he stops. This usually means that the bike also falls too. He had a few crashes, and thankfully I was there at the right moments to prevent the serious crashes from happening. God's angels were also at hand :) 

AND OH MY GOODNESS! I don't think I ever mentioned the hot air balloon chase we did a few weekends ago (September 5th). How could I forget! A hot air balloon landed nearby and so me and the kids raced there and got there just in time for Evelyn to get to go inside the balloon and see the fire. Nico wanted to stand back. There's a video below too. Two videos today! One of biking, one of hot air balloon.

Video!

G.G., Bible Study, and the ickies

Nico had a lot of fun with Grandma while I was gone! Thanks so much for watching him, Mom! 

I returned home Saturday night, and saw Nico the next morning. He woke up while I had gone to the bathroom and I came back into the clubhouse with an angry-voiced Nico saying "Mommy! Mommy!" because I wasn't there. Hehe.. he was grumpy but I made him smile and then we snuggled for a long while in the bed before getting up.

Sunday we had church and then that night was the first night of Bible Study this year. We dropped Nico off at the big kids group and Guy and I went to our group. It was great to see everyone again. We had to go around the room and introduce ourselves (even though we knew most of the people) and say something interesting about us that nobody would know. Mine was that Guy and I did a lot of puzzles together while we were dating and that a few years ago we did a 13,000 piece one. When it was Guy's turn, he told everyone that he likes to try to identify sandwiches from long distances. Hehe.

We haven't heard anything about Guy's job yet, but he did tell me that he got a "wink" from the hiring manager. Not sure if I already mentioned that. Now we're just waiting... and waiting... and waiting...

On Tuesday morning we went to see G.G. and Nico wanted to bring his checkers game to play with her. He brought it with us and G.G. taught him how to play. G.G. also let him feed Scamper two treats, and Scamper ate them right off his hand, to help him learn that Scamper wouldn't hurt him.

On Wednesday morning we went to the park with Allicia and crew. We usually do this Monday but on Monday we both desperately needed to go grocery shopping, so we postponed it until Wednesday. The plus to doing it on Wednesday was that there were no lawn mowers.

For the past few days Nico has been complaining of tummy aches before, during, after bed and before, during, after eating. Wednesday morning he only had a few bites of pancake and started whining. After lunch he told me he was sick and needed to stay home from school. Hmm.. I sent him anyway. He did fine at school but didn't eat anything when he came home, and right before bed he got sick once. He felt so much better afterward, and slept until morning, when he ate some food and then again for lunch. I kept him home from school. He skipped dinner again tonight and though he's telling me he doesn't have a tummy ache, he really has no appetite for food. He ate a few monster teeth before going to bed just now, but wasn't very interested. He had a temp of 99.3 earlier. Not that that's significant, but sometimes that can mean something.

I'm hoping he'll be okay tonight and wake up his chipper self tomorrow. He does seem to have a runny nose, so perhaps that's related.

That's it for this week... hopefully next week we'll have news from Guy's job!

Christmas in July, dancing, and a skateboard

Nico woke up several times in the middle of the night on Friday night, to ask me if it was time to go to the cabin. On Saturday we got ready and drove up there early. There was a Christmas in July craft that my mom put together for all the girls, and the kids had a craft of their own that Alanna organized. We made Christmas trees from styrofoam and fabric squares, cotton balls, and pins. It was a lot of fun, and I got to see an old friend plus all my sisters! It was a great event that my mom organized. She actually organized it for last November (or was it December?) but they got snowed in and so had to cancel it. To avoid that problem again she decided to do the craft in the middle of July :)

The craft the kids did looked like fun. Painting on canvases with hand prints and foot prints making Christmas shapes like reindeers and santa claus. Nico decided he was done after painting his canvas completely brown with nothing else. I asked him at home just today if he wanted to add anything to it and he said "No". So, brown canvas it is! We'll hang it on our wall. I'm proud! :)

After getting home on Saturday, we woke Guy up and then Guy and Nico went out for a bit. They stopped by the PO Box to pick up a package that Grandma Russell sent Nico. VBS music! (more on that later) They were back by 6 so that we could venture over to Red Robin to celebrate the fact that we paid off our first debt. More yummy food.

On Sunday Nico had a fun day. After church I dropped him off back home so I could go out to eat and a movie with friends from church to celebrate a birthday. Nico got to go with Jeff & Allicia, Evelyn, Avery, and Ivy on an adventure to the "beach". They rode their bikes to Municipal park and then went to the little beach area at the river, near the Fish Park. Nico stripped down all of his clothes but they had him put his underwear back on. I'll have Allicia send me some pictures that she took of Evelyn and Nico playing in the water. When Jeff asked the kids what they should call the place so they know what to say when referring to it, Nico said "Minnow!" So they're going to call it the Minnow Pond. I wonder if they saw minnows there and that's why he said that?

Monday afternoon was dance class. I drove Nico and Evelyn there and then pulled up a chair right outside the window so I could see them in the studio. They did clapping and skipping and hands above the head like a ballerina. It's a jazz/cheer/ballet combo class. I think for the last 2 minutes of class they must have done free dance, because all the kids were dancing all over the place doing whatever they wanted, instead of taking turns walking across the studio doing a specific move. It was fun to watch. I tried to study my aromatherapy flash cards, but I was too intrigued with the dance class to really pay attention to the cards.

Wednesday morning we took Evelyn with us to Target to buy Nico his skateboard for his birthday. He asked if Evelyn could come and I said Yes! Nico chose his skateboard, and wouldn't you know it, they had spiderman knee/elbow pads, so we bought them. Then we went to the park. See the video below for that.

I've told Nico over the past few weeks that skateboarding will take a lot of practice and that it's normal to fall down but that if he keeps at it he will get better and better.  He can push himself on the skateboard but he can't yet bring his pushing leg up to the skateboard and coast. That will take some practice!

While driving around with Evelyn, we were listening to our new VBS CD and it turns out that the first VBS that she went to this summer was one that used those very songs, so she knew all of them. I think this irked Nico a little bit and once Evelyn started singing along with the songs and telling Nico that they were HER songs, he told me to switch it to Sneaky Snake. haha... but then this evening I caught him singing Song #2. And he is very fond of Song #3, having said "This is my favorite song" the very first time he heard it. Thanks to Gma Russell for the CD! Nico told Evelyn several times that Gma Russell gave the CD to him.

Here is the promised VBS Video. But first, a story. Halfway through the VBS week, Nico started asking for a shiny armor costume for halloween. One with shiny boots, and a shield and a helmet. He kept saying he was going to ask Grandma to buy him a shiny armor costume for Halloween. Then I figured out what he was talking about. Shortly after singing one of the VBS songs, he turned to me and said "I want to get a shiny armor costume for Halloween" and I finally put the pieces together.

Hehe... you must watch the video to figure out what he was talking about... it's the last dancing scene and I spell it out for you there in case what they're singing about is hard to hear. Yes Nico, you can be that for Halloween!!

Then the Skateboard video

Goodbye school year!

On Friday Nico had his end of year party for Beautiful Savior Lutheran Preschool. This was at a park at 10 AM, we ate lunch there. He played in the sand. He told me he wanted to wear his suspenders that day, so we pulled them out and put them on him. This makes spotting him in pictures easy. That and his red hat. It was held at what Nico at one time dubbed "Picka Park". The proper name for this park is Baggley Park. (For a treat, click here to watch Nico dub this park Picka Park. We told him to pick a park, and he said he wanted to go to Picka Park)

Then we came home for an hour and then headed back out to go to his preschool graduation from White Pine Elementary. Grandma Salisbury was also there. You can go see a video clip from this at the bottom of this post.

So, Nico is out of school now! He has this week off and then next Monday he starts the literacy program. On Tuesday Nico and I rode the trailer bike to Municipal park, but on a whim we PASSED it, crossed the Parkcenter bridge, and rode all the way to Sage International school, which is where the literacy program is happening. So I decided that we will ride our bikes to the school every morning so I can drop him off. When we got home (we stopped by the park on the way home, don't worry), I looked up a map of the greenbelt and found that there was an even shorter way to get to Parkcenter. We tested it out on Wednesday and it took us 10 minutes to get to Parkcenter. I added another 5 to that to come up with 15 minutes, because we also have to cross Parkcenter to get to the school. 

I should have shown where we cross Parkcenter. 

Other things we did... park! Nico and Evie were picking "poison cherries" from the trees and Evelyn was stuffing some in her pocket.

Today we went up to the cabin! Lexie was up there so Nico had someone to play with. They did legos and played with squirt guns, and watched movies. He had a lot of fun. I did too! Thanks Pa and Ma!! Then tonight after dinner and after Guy went to work, Nico wanted to get all wet so we put his swim suit on and he told me to squirt him with the squirt gun. So, I did! Then shower and then bed.

Now I am sitting outside on our "porch", enjoying the pleasant evening, and writing the blog. I have dreamt about having a place to sit outside in the evenings, and now I have it! I am soaking it in.

The teacher who is speaking is Miss Erica, Nico's teacher. 

Milestone

Last week of school, just one more day tomorrow of playing in the park with "new preschool" friends, and then a graduation ceremony with "old preschool" friends. Busy day. Last day. Sad day. Happy day! He will then be ready for a New Day. Ok that's enough of that.

Guy has worked like 15 days straight, and has 3 more to go before he has a day off. Wow! Even though he's working overtime, he still took Nico out on Saturday, to the Aquarium! They had a lot of fun and Nico apparently touched a fish! He asked to go back to the Aquarium the next day.

Sunday was Ivy's baptism, so Nico and I went to Jeff & Allicia's church to join them. They go to Beautiful Savior Lutheran church, the same one where Nico has his preschool, so Nico was familiar with it. He asked where Teacher Chris was. He looked for her. He found her! There was no Bible Study that night, so we had time to hang out as a family. To the park we went! Tried to fly a kite, we were successful for a little while, I think the wind kept changing directions so we couldn't keep it up for long.

And so on to the milestone. Nico has learned to ride a bike! I think it was Monday night, Nico was hanging out outside in the backyard like he is oft to do in the evenings lately. Apparently Jeff was in the garage working on some stuff and Nico was showing interest in riding his (Nico's) bike, so Jeff helped him with it and took him out to the alley. And a few minutes later they had gone around the block and showed up at our front door. Jeff knocked. I answered. "Do you want to show your Mommy what you can do?" Huzzah! We went back around the block to the alley and it was incredible! He still couldn't steer very well but he was riding a bike! The next morning we booked it to the park, with Evie, to practice riding his bike in the big basketball court there. A LOT of room to learn how to correct steering and balance issues. He was PRO after only a few minutes on the court. I felt myself bursting with pride that he learned a new skill. I just couldn't believe it. I often forget that he is a child and is still learning things, I expect him most times to just stay the same. SO when he learns something new, when he improves in speech, when he is kind and thoughtful out of the blue, I am taken aback and I just marvel. He has been so much easier to talk to these days about feelings and how to treat people, he is responsive and I have actually been seeing fruit from it.

Anyway, Evelyn didn't bring her bike and so Nico gave her a turn on his. You can see all this in the video below.

We went to the park the next morning. And then this morning as well. Early morning park visits are awesome. I am feeling a tad bummed that the Literacy Academy will take up Nico's mornings for a whole month this summer. It will be harder to play outside in the afternoons when it is sunny and hot, and when bedtime is 7 PM that doesn't leave a lot of time for the air outside to cool down before having to hop into bed.

We have started watching Bill Nye the Science Guy with Nico, and he is very interested in it. There are a few that he is watching over and over again. One about volcanoes and one about digestion. He knows the word "chyme" now. hehe. There is a scene from the volcano one that he rewinds and watches over and over again, laughing every time. He quotes it, too. You can see him do this in the video.

We put a Bill Nye book on hold at the library, as well as a few books about volcanoes. Nico asked this morning "I want a volcano Bill Nye activity book" haha.. well, there is no such thing. Oh well.

Picture below is of Nico doing one of his "challenges". I would never have thought of this if it wasn't for my mom doing this same sort of thing for us when we were little. "Nico, I have a challenge for you. Ride circle-eights in the basketball court 3 times." "Nico, you're next challenge, is to ride your bike over to the park, go down a slide, and then come back, and do that 3 times." I did this for both Evie and Nico when they got tired of just riding in circles on the basketball court. I had to give each of them different challenges because Nico didn't want Evie to have the same ones as him.

Bill Nye the Science Guy

Waiting for the bus. No more bus for this little dude.

May 2015 Snippets

High Fives while Biking

Park, Movie, Dentist

Fun times this week. Took Nico and Evelyn for a trip to the Co-op. Allicia provided some money to buy them treats, so I got them each a fruit leather, and then they were enamored by those single serving containers of cream cheese, so I bought them each one. Then we stopped at home to pick up some bread, and we went to the park and they ate cream cheese sandwiches and then played for a little while.  Evelyn picked off all the cream cheese from her sandwich with her finger and left the bread behind. She is a cream cheese lover, just like myself.

On Saturday we went to another sensory friendly movie, this time they played SpongeBob Squarepants. I had never seen the cartoon before, and it really wasn't a very good movie, but Nico really enjoyed it! There was a rap battle at the end of the movie that made me smile though.

We had a few hot days there. We went to the park with Evelyn again one night and came home and Nico was so hot, so we did something we used to do at our old house. I took his socks off and washed his feet in cold water and then let him sit with the water running over his feet.

On Monday Nico had a dentist appointment. He let the hygienist polish all of his teeth this time! I think once he discovered that it tasted good, he was fine with it. His teeth look great, they complimented the wide gaps between his teeth.

One day last week when I took Nico to preschool, we showed up at the same time as someone else so we walked in with them. This has been happening a lot, actually! And Nico is always so excited to see her, her name is Sydney. While we were walking with them he asked her "What did you do last night?" heehee. She told him and then asked him the same question. Sydney's mom commented and said that Nico is the happiest kid she's ever seen.

I've been trying to make more Nico-friendly dinners. For some reason he has lost his taste for chicken!! All he wants now are cheese sandwiches. I am trying to branch out our breakfast, too. I am going to try some breakfast cookies tomorrow instead of making him a chocolate chip pancake. The cookies are made with almond flour, with pecans and dried fruit in them, and maple syrup to sweeten. They are in the freezer right now and tomorrow morning I'll cut them into rounds and bake them. I hope they turn out!

Please pray for: Nico's summer literacy program, that he's able to adapt to the large classroom easily. And for his tummy aches.

That's it! I leave you with a picture of a ladybug that Nico found on the tree out front while we were waiting for the bus on Tuesday.