Hair Cut!

Milestone among children: The First Haircut. Nico has had his first hair cut! On Tuesday Guy got out the hair scissors and we set him up in the dining room.

Before

During

After

Guy was concerned that he didn't do a good job, but I think he did a fantastic job, especially considering that Nico was a wiggle baby! I kept a lock of his hair and will be printing some pictures to put in his baby album. 

On Wednesday we went to the zoo for the first time this year. We were there for 45 minutes but didn't get much further than a few 100 feet and only saw goats and a red panda. There was the giraffe slide we had to play on, and oh my, the sandbox! And the lion/seal/elephant statues we had to climb on, and the prairie dog tunnel we had to go through. I let him do whatever his little heart desired and those are the things he chose. I was so pleased that he was having such a good time! We also went to the gift shop and I got him a small toy helicopter and a few small rubbery animal figurines to add to our collection. We will be going back soon to see the rest of the zoo. He asked to go back later that day, and we were actually on our way back there when he decided he'd rather go to the "Goose" Park. He says "Gheee!" when he wants to go to that park. 

Another milestone: successfully climbing up a slide for the first time! (this actually happened at Memorial Park earlier this week, not at the park in the picture)

This morning at the Co-op I was marveling how he recited every letter in the name "Boise Co-op" which was printed on the cart (and upside down, at that!) When he got to the dash he said "dubaduh". He has also started telling us stories, which is awesome to see. In the past the only time he has communicated something solid was when he wanted something (water, potty, chicken, banana). But now, for example, holding up one of his trucks he will say "Pah" (for potty). He's telling us that he got that truck as a reward for going potty. This is a new step in communication! And on Monday morning when we went over to see Allicia and Evie, Nico said "Noooo" while signing Old Park, and then he signed "Evie".  He did this over and over again, he was telling me that we are NOT going to Old Park, we are going to see Evie! Evie lives right near Old Park, so I think he was clarifying. How cool to see him start to communicate like this. I'm excited to see it progress!

Nico's first speech therapy appointment is next Wednesday at 2:15. She'll be coming over every Wednesday after that, at 2:15, for 15 weeks. Also coming up in the next few weeks is Nico's transition appointment with the public school district, to see if he qualifies for transferring to a free preschool this fall that will offer him speech therapy. The program is there to help kids transition into kindergarten from the Infant/Toddler Program. So excited for the possibilities!

From tonight's walk. Nico dragging his tricycle home.

Speech, Strider, and Spills

Not many pictures this week! I couldn't locate the camera for most of the days. It happened to be right where I always put it, just hiding a bit.

On Saturday we went to visit Nico's cousin Lexie and Uncle Jonny and Aunt Alanna. We gave Lexie her birthday present (she turned 4!) and then hung out for a bit. Nico really enjoyed playing with Lexie's remote control car that she got for her birthday. He preferred moving it around the floor himself instead of using the remote control. Lexie showed him how to play their "Don't Break the Ice" game. We both had fun, it was great to see all of them!

Monday morning Nico had an evaluation with Idaho's Infant/Toddler Program, to determine if he qualifies for free speech therapy. A speech therapist and a developmental specialist both came over on Monday morning and played lots of games with him (aka "testing"). Nico had so much fun! It turns out that he does qualify for speech therapy. The speech therapist we met on Monday, Marcia, will be the one working with him. He will be getting 15 sessions, 45 minutes each. She comes to the house to do the sessions, which is awesome! We are just waiting to hear when they will start. Once Nico turns three (a little more that FOUR MONTHS away!!), he will transition out of the program since it is only for those who are 0-3 years.

One awesome speech development in the last few weeks is Nico's ability to say "Mama". And he correctly uses it to refer to ME! This just completely melts my heart. He has also just started to say "Daddy" and a few weeks back he correctly started saying "Papa" to refer to Papa Salisbury. They may seem like such small steps, but to me these things are HUGE, especially when he inserts a "Mama" into his crying at night. WOW, what a way to get straight to my heart.

On Monday Nico had two falls. He face-planted off of the step stool in the kitchen, and then later that night face-planted off our really tall bed. OUCH. He busted his lip when he fell off the bed, and had a fat lip that night. I iced it for him and tucked him into bed a little late because we needed to snuggle and watch Curious George for a while to calm us down. He also had a bruise on his head. The next morning he woke up with the sniffles, and since then we have been fighting off ear infections (my mom got us an ear scope so I can look in Nico's ears when I suspect infections!) He also has a low grade fever (hovers around 99.0-99.5). I am using melaluca and garlic oil in his ears and it seems to be keeping the infections at bay. I'm hoping we can come out of this without a doctor's visit. At least this time I know that if his temp goes up and he starts doing the inconsolable thing, that his ear is probably in trouble. We've been doing extra snuggles to help out :)

On Tuesday, Guy had his follow up doctor's appointment (remember when I stole his last follow up appointment so that I could get my ear looked at??). She talked to him about diet since his cholesterol is pretty high. We switched his breakfast to oatmeal for now and will address the rest of his food in the coming weeks.

Nico and I have been going to parks, going for walks, and spending time under the carport cleaning up from the fall. Leaves leaves everywhere! I adjusted the seat on his Strider so he could ride it. He helped me a bit there.

We went for a short walk and when he was done, he carried his Strider back to the house and wheeled it into place next to my bike in the shed.

Until next week!

G.G., Cabin, and Dentist

We had quite a full week!

On Friday, Nico and I drove to Nampa to see G.G.

She had all her toy cars out and ready for him when we walked in. She also gave him a stuffed dalmation dog that he loves and we have tentatively named Spot. (Thanks G.G.!) We had a great time and will be back again next month!

For our drive home, I had prepared a snack for Nico of (no kidding) cut up piece of beef liver along with cut up pieces of cheese. He (no kidding) loved this. The way that I've been cooking the liver has been very tasty, and it is even better COLD. So he munched on his liver and cheese while I just munched on a big slab of cold liver. He has been eating liver and cheese for a snack after nap time this whole week. It appears to be one of his favorite snacks.

After Nico's nap on Friday, we drove up to the cabin to see Papa and Grandma and stay the night! We took the opportunity to spend some time up there while Guy was out of town. We had a lot of fun. Good food and good company! Nico slept on a cot in a sleeping bag for the first time, and seemed to enjoy it. He slept pretty well!

Grandma caught this rare video of Papa and Nico dancing to a song on the iPad:

We left Saturday morning and all of us came back to our place. I went and did some shopping while the Grandparents played with Nico. It was a fun day, Nico got to eat Jimmy John's TWICE (and then again on Sunday!)

On Sunday, about halfway through the church service, someone came to tell me that Nico looked very troubled and looked about to cry in the nursery/toddler room, so I went in there. He RAN to me and hugged me really big. I took him into the service with me after that. I'm not sure why he's starting to have trouble in the nursery again, but I think next week I will stay in there with him like I used to do.

Monday morning we picked up Guy from the airport. It was great to see him again after 4 days away, we missed him! He had a great time in Portland. The comedy show was great, and he got to spend time with his brother Tom and Tom's girlfriend Emily.

Tuesday morning was Nico's very first dentist appointment. It was a "Happy Visit" and they didn't do much more than have him sit on the chair, recline, and poke around his teeth for a few minutes. They attempted to polish one of his teeth briefly, too. Nico didn't like that, but over all he did very well. 

The hygienist made things fun for him and let him hold and touch and play with everything. He enjoyed holding the mirror in his mouth. He also kissed the suction tool when she asked him to, and enjoyed watching it suck up an entire cup of water.

We'll go back in 6 months to get reacquainted and maybe try a bit more of the tooth polishing. His teeth looked good, though, no signs of cavities anywhere, just a normal amount of plaque. The hygienist said she could tell that he uses a binky, but that his front teeth will come back down pretty quickly after he stops using the binky and that it's nothing to worry about right now. Her son apparently used a binky for quite a long while and his teeth had no trouble returning to their normal position.

Family trip to the library on Tuesday evening.

Wednesday we had a play date with Tricia and her 15 month old daughter Brynnlynn. When we were leaving he asked to give Brynnlynn a hug. First time ever asking for a hug from one of his friends! It was too cute.

Then there was the random walk and park visits this week, as it's getting warmer I find that being outside is a great way to spend time! :)

Fresh Air!

This week we finally got out for a big dose of fresh air. After being cooped up inside being sick and/or too cold to go out for long, we were ready to PLAY! We went to Old Park and stayed for at least an hour. The temp was around 60 degrees and it was beautiful and smelled great and both Nico and I really needed it.

We were also able to take Nico's tricycle out for a ride. His legs are finally long enough to reach the pedals and actually use the tricycle, though he prefers to stand up and walk awkwardly while on it, like he does on his Strider bike. We'll have to pull out his Strider bike soon and raise the seat a bit and see if he still prefers walking with it instead of sitting. 

I got Nico his very own knife for use in the kitchen. So, while I'm chopping vegetables, he can stand near me and chop his own vegetables! I need to get him a little cutting board, because cutting on a plate is hard. The knife isn't sharp at all, but it's serrated. Nearly impossible to cut anything with it, but whenever I do soft vegetables (zucchini maybe?) he'll be able to help out. 

Posing for a picture with his new knife.

Church on Sunday. Nico was in the toddler room and asked for me about halfway through the service, so they came and got me. I took him potty (he actually went potty! I forgot to mention last week, that his very first time going on the potty in public was at the pharmacy. While waiting for a prescription he told me that he had to go! Of course, once we started toward the restroom, he tried to take it back.) After I took him potty at church, he didn't want me to leave the nursery, he had the bottom lip quiver. So I stayed. No problem for me, it was fun!

Nico had his follow up doctor's appointment on Wednesday morning. The doc looked in his ears and told me that they both looked pearly white and there was no sign of infection in either of them. His left ear did have some fluid behind the ear drum, she said it is likely just congestion left over from the cold. She said a humidifier would probably help thin it out to get rid of it. She used the word "bubbling" when describing the look of the ear. His right ear, the one that had perforated, looked perfect. No scar tissue and not able to tell at all that it had burst. His blood pressure was 95/55, weight was 131.8 pounds and height was 36 inches.

Drawing while waiting for the doctor.

I'm still unable to hear well out of my right ear. If it doesn't resolve soon then I'll make an appointment to go have it looked at. 

Now to talk about potty training. Nico was having a hard time with pooping, so we decided to allow him to play on the iPad while he tries. This has solved the pooping problem completely, and then some! It has been hard to teach him that he doesn't always get the iPad when he goes potty. He especially likes to ask me to take him potty while we are in the middle of chores, or right before he knows we're going to start cleaning up dinner or lunch. He makes the Potty sign and says "Pah". I say "Ok, let's go potty!" and then he asks for the iPad. When I tell him no iPad this time, he then signs "all done" frantically and does a cute little whine. We'll get the hang of all this soon enough! :)

Another new recipe this week for Nico - banana pancakes. It's just 1 banana mixed with 2 eggs. Fry them up, and then I smothered it in butter. He loved it!

Nico and I took Guy to the airport tonight, he is off to Portland for 4 days. I am so excited for him, he is going to see a comedy show that includes several of the people from MST3K. Trace Beaulieu, J. Elvis Weinstein, and Frank Conniff are each doing a comedy routine, and afterward they are live-riffing a movie called Plan 9 from Outer Space. An added bonus is that he gets to stay with his brother Tom! Sweet deal!

Nico and I will be staying with my parents for a night or so. We should have a pretty fun weekend!

Time to sign off, but I leave you with a video from this past week. Nothing big, just some shots from the park and of Nico dancing to one of his favorite Pocoyo episodes.