Late Night Walk, and Bath

It was 8:30 PM before I realized we hadn't gone for a walk at ALL today! So I took Nico outside really quick and we walked down the street and back. We could hear the crickets and Nico seemed really excited that it was getting darker and he was very talkative and excited the whole time. He tried to say "dark" when I said it. And he says crickets like "Kih-Kuh" or sometimes "Guh  Guh".

Then we came home and I gave him a bath. He played with his new wind up toy frog from Grandma Salisbury. It kicks in the water!

Oh and I should mention last night. Nico had a very late night last night and had trouble falling asleep. He asked for milk and so I gave him some, but he wanted to keep the bottle in his crib with him like he does with his water bottle. I put the milk bottle right next to him, tucked him in, then silently grabbed the milk bottle on my way out. Just after closing the door he starts crying. I go back in and he asks for milk again. I get him milk and after 5 more minutes of snuggles I put him back into the crib. This time he holds onto the milk, propped up on his elbows, until I leave the room and close the door.

About 15 minutes later I went back in there and took it from his crib to put back in the fridge. He was asleep by then.

Zoo, Slobber

Today we went to the zoo. I wanted to get in to see the butterflies one last time before they are gone. Their last day is next Monday. This morning was cool, so the butterflies weren't fluttering around everywhere, but that also meant that the butterflies were perched on everything, so we spent a long time looking at all the butterflies perched on twigs and trunks and flowers.

Lately, whenever Nico wakes up from his nap, his sheets are soaked. But not from urine, from slobber! At first I thought it was his water tipping over, but in the mornings after a full night of sleep his sheets are never wet, even if his water is tipped over. It happens only after nap time!

In the picture you can see that his sheets are soaked and his hair is also wet. The wetness went down his shirt, too. You can also see Nico's new bear, Bud.

Mall and New Things

Nico and I went to the mall today with Grandma Salisbury. She bought Nico a new pair of shoes and a snuggly bear from Build-A-Bear. We named the black bear "Bud". It was a lot of fun!

This evening we went to the Fish Park and then took a brief walk on the greenbelt. Nico spent time trying to walk just on the white lines. We even went down to the water and tried to touch it. He said he wanted to touch it but I think he was a bit shy about it, because he never made a move toward it!

Nico has also been drinking a lot of raw goat's milk. We have his own little sippy cup for milk and he asks for it by signing. He's gone through about a quart of it in 3 days. That's a lot compared to the last time we had goat's milk!

Alexis

Grandma Salisbury and Alexis stopped by today for a bit. Nico loved having her around! Lexie hug-attacked him several times, it was cute!

Before Bath

Nico right before we went off to bath time! Nico doesn't get a bath every night, but we may need to start. His whole body can get incredibly sticky after an entire day of playing!

Pants

Today at the cabin we attached a clothespin to Nico's shirt and pants to keep his pants up. We figured that he needs some suspenders!

Broth

Picture is of Nico drinking the rest of my chicken broth from my mug. The mug belonged to my Great Grandma French!

Tonight we went to the Fish Park for the first time in a while. Nico walked nearly the whole loop by himself, waving bye-bye to each landmark as we left it. Bye-bye fishies, bye-bye bridge, bye-bye sign, bye-bye waterfall.

Evie

We met Evie and Allicia today at Old Park, we hadn't seen them in a while!

Story Park

We went to a new park this morning, Story Park in Meridian. It is on the corner of two busy streets, not that that's a problem, it was actually a benefit! We had big semis and dump trucks pass by often, on their way to the freeway. Unlike other places where you can just hear the trucks pass on the street but not see them, at this park you can see them. And there were a lot of them!

We have a mat on our front doorstep that says "Welcome". Whenever we leave the house, Nico crouches down on the mat and points to each letter until we recite it for him.

This evening we passed time by going to the library, then parking downtown and walking around a big city block. When we got back to our car there was a fire engine passing by. No lights flashing, just cruising. They slowed down and waved at Nico, who was pointing nonstop at them.

Balance Ball

Guy and Nico have been doing some crazy gymnastics lately. One of their tricks is the Balance Ball, where Nico stands and bounces on a ball while Guy holds his hands.

Guy went to see Weird Al tonight at the fair. He had a fun time, he said that Weird Al wore a different costume for almost every song.

Prairie Dog Tunnel

The prairie dog exhibit at the zoo has been closed for a while, but the tunnel is still available! Nico played in it for a while. Then we headed over to the goats.

Family Visit

We went to church this morning. We start out in the service and then end up in the nursery for a while. I stay with Nico the whole time. After a while in the nursery, and usually right when the sermon starts, we head back out to the sanctuary with a pile of books. The books last Nico about 5 or 10 minutes, then it's time to leave. It works for us! Nico is becoming more comfortable being there and around the people that he is starting to know.

Then this afternoon we went to the cabin. My Aunt Mary is visiting from Lewiston because one of my cousins was married on Friday. We also saw Aunt Jill and her girls, as well as Aunt Ellen. We all had a blast!

The picture is of Nico with Aunt Jill.

To Market To Market

This morning at the market.

We've been buying dried apples with cinnamon. I gave Nico the choice of which ones he wanted and he chose cinnamon. They are delicious!

This evening we went on a family trip to the Co-op. Nico doesn't like being in grocery carts, so having a wing-man is quite handy! Guy can always carry Nico on his shoulders if he gets unruly.

More of the Same

Went to the Old Park this morning. Nico found a truck there that belonged to another boy, but the boy let Nico play with it. Nico took the truck everywhere and drove it over all of the play equipment.

Another trike ride this evening. Nico's legs aren't quite long enough for him to be able to push the pedals on his tricycle effectively, so I am still pushing him. He doesn't like it when I push the back of his seat, so most of the time I push him with my feet as I'm walking.

Waiting

We went on two tricycle rides today. After a while of being on the tricycle himself, he always gets off and asks me to sit on it. He really enjoys pushing me.

Here is Nico waiting at the window for Grandma Salisbury to arrive. She arrived just in time to read him a story and put him down for his nap.

Tractor Spoon

Spaghetti tonight for dinner, and Nico used his new tractor spoon that Grandma Salisbury brought back with her from Ohio. He loves it! And he loved the spaghetti too.

This evening, I pulled my guitar out and Nico played it for the first time! I had pulled it out when he was younger, but was never much interested in it. It had been at least a year before he'd seen it.

Legos

Zoo this morning. I asked him which park he wanted to go to and gave him two choices: Old Park or Fish Park. He said ZOO!

Guy wasn't feeling well yesterday and today, so he was sleeping. Nico was watching a video of Daddy and then ran to the bedroom and opened the door to see if Daddy was in there. He was! Whoops! He's been doing this a lot, we may need to buy a toddler-proof doorknob cover to keep him from opening the bedroom door to see Guy while he's sleeping. Nico always signs "Daddy" and "sleeping".

Legos this afternoon.

VBS and Trike

No picture today, forgot! (Edited and added a picture later)

This week is VBS at the church, and I went to help chop vegetables. I had Nico as a tagalong. He was super hyped up with all the loud noise and people, so I left a bit early.

Then tonight we went for a walk with the tricycle. He rode it for most of the way, but then got off when I wouldn't let him cross the street with it. He got down on his stomach on the pavement and whined a bit, so I climbed onto the trike myself and asked him to push me. He was very excited about this and pushed me really hard for quite a long way. He was a good, strong pusher! Then he tripped and fell, dragging his feet while still holding onto the trike. He thought this was funny so he did this about 5 more times. Then we wrapped things up and went inside.

I noticed that with all the dirt on his knees he also had a little scrape.

If I can get my hands on one of the pictures taken of Nico tonight at VBS, then I will post it here! He was running everywhere, not in one place for too long, interrupting classes and trying to grab all the balls that he could find :)

Editing this entry to add a picture: Me chasing Nico. He kept escaping my grasp and running through all the VBS classrooms. I didn't get many vegetables chopped, but Nico sure had a blast! :)

Cabin BBQ

BBQ at the cabin today, all of the family was there! Nico spent time with cousins and with Grandparents and he ate some hot dog and lots of fruit. I made grain-free snickerdoodles and Nico ate one of those too. It was a great time.

Market Apples

Trip to the Saturday Market this morning. Dried apples, strawberries, and a whole chicken were among our purchases. I bring the stroller so that I have a place to put the stuff. Nico likes to be held at first, but after we buy the dried apples (our first stop), I put him in the stroller and he is happy to munch on the apples while I push him around.

In the late afternoon we did FaceTime with the Grandparents Russell and with Great Grandma Gohl! It was Grandpa's birthday today.

Pushing the Stroller

Nico pushing the stroller at the zoo.

We were one of the first in the zoo this morning. When we were heading to the Co-op, Nico signed "zoo" so I told him we could go after dropping off our groceries at home.

We spent a lot of time walking up and down the big hill that leads to the bears. He liked that half of the hill was damp with water and the other half was dry. He wanted to walk on the wet side.

He also approached a group of people and started roaring like a lion. It was so cute, and incredible, he had never done anything like that before. When you ask him "What does a tiger say?" He roars!!

Shaun the Sheep

Sitting on Daddy's lap while watching Shaun the Sheep (a Wallace and Gromit spin off) on the iPad.

Animals AND Cars

Today at the table, Nico played with his cars and his animals at the same time and I did some crafty things I needed to get done.

Feeding the Goats

Nico has been asking to go to the zoo lately. Today he came up to me, signed "outside" and then signed "zoo". It was a little too early for the zoo at that point, but we went as soon as we could. We showed up right as they were opening and were actually the very first people in the zoo! What a cool feeling! We tried to go straight to the goat pen but there was a leaf blower right out front, so we wandered a bit before going over there. We had fed the goats once before, so he knew that the vending machines dispensed goat food. He also knew that right after we were done we needed to go over to the sanitation station and sanitize our hands. Good memory!

We stayed at the zoo for only 30 minutes, which was perfect. It's nice having a zoo pass!

There is a picture AND a video today!

Pictures Soon

We are minus our laptop at the moment, it is being fixed by Apple and we've been without it a few days. Pictures will come soon! Nico has had a cold this past week and the most boogery nose I've ever seen! Is it slowly fading.

Cars at the Cabin

Went up to the cabin today and Nico pulled out all of the cars and trucks. Papa and Nico played with them off and on the entire evening, even lining them all up on the couch once.

Trucks

Reading books on the couch

Zoo Trip and More

This morning we went to the zoo with the Grandparents Russell and G.G. (Great Grandma). Fun was had and lots of pictures were taken! Nico enjoyed sitting in the jeep at the zoo with Grandpa.

Then this afternoon the Grandparents came over to hang out. They leave to go back to Washington tomorrow morning.

BIRTHDAY BOY!

Today Nico turned 2 YEARS OLD! I can't believe it.

Grandpa and Grandma Russell came into town today!! They brought G.G. (Great Grandma) over with them so we could have a small party. We sang Happy Birthday to Nico, he attempted to blow out candles, and then we opened presents. I think he's getting the hang of opening gifts and understanding that underneath the wrapping paper is something that he gets to play with! He got a lot of great gifts today, including a handmade play mat and carrying case (made out of Guy's jeans when he was younger!). Nico loved this, and spent a lot of time moving his new cars (and old micro machines) around the mat. And get this: the mat is made from Richard Scarry fabric!! Made by Grandma Russell. It was a hit.

This morning the Grandparents Salisbury came and visited Nico at the nursery at our church before they headed to the airport so they could say Happy Birthday to the birthday boy! They brought him a lego set (large blocks) that he loves!

Coloring

Today I brought the crayons out for the first time in a long time, and Nico colored in his very own coloring book. It was a gift to him from my Aunt Jill and her girls. Nico mostly scribbled back and forth really fast.

Xylophone

This morning we hung out with Sarah. She brought Nico a birthday present from her and her mom, my Aunt Ellen. A xylophone! Nico loved it.

Grandma Snuggles

Today Grandma Salisbury came over for a quick visit, but Nico wanted her to stay longer, so she did. He laid his head on her shoulder and held on for quite a while.

Zoo Again

We went to the zoo today with Allicia and Evie. All of the animals were out and about and very easy to see. Nico was very very excited to see each of the animals. I think he's starting to enjoy our zoo trips! While we were there we heard the lion roar several times. You could hear him from across the zoo. Every time he roared, Evie would roar and then Nico would roar.

And the end of the zoo trip, I took Nico's pants off and gave them to Allicia for Evie. They were too small around his waist and not long enough for his legs, so I thought it would be a good time to pass them on.

Zoo

We went to the zoo this morning to see the butterfly exhibit. Nico enjoyed it, and actually had a butterfly land on his shoulder. I told him it was there and he kept turning to try to see it.

We also fed the goats. Nico was pleased to hold a pellet of food out for the goat to grab with his lips.

Tonight we went for a few walks, one with all 3 of us and the Strider, and one without. I was surprised on our second walk, Nico just took off down the sidewalk. He isn't one for walking, so this was a surprise. He didn't ask for his bike or anything. For part of the journey we both took our shoes off to walk barefoot.

The picture is of Nico with a butterfly on his shoulder, this was taken as he was starting to turn to see if he could see it.

Birthday Party!

Today was Nico's birthday party. We had it up at the cabin and it was tons of fun. Hot dogs first, then "cupcakes" (apple-cinnamon muffins and banana muffins with optional cream cheese frosting), then presents. The cousins had such a fun time playing.

Nico got an awesome garbage truck that was an instant hit. Some books, balls, other toys.

There was a huge grass fire off of highway 21, so bad that the road was closed for a while and David and Jaynelle weren't able to make it out to the cabin! And we were stuck out at the cabin for a few hours. The roads opened again at about 7 PM and we were all able to leave.

Sitting on the Strider!

Today we went for two Strider walks. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. During the one in the morning, near the end of our walk, Nico actually sat on his Strider seat. When he did this, he got a big smile on his face and looked up at me excitedly. I praised him for figuring out how to sit on it and keep moving. He shakily took a few steps while sitting, but soon went back to standing.

He walked on his Strider the 2nd time out today.

We also went to the Saturday market and bought some dried apples, a pint of strawberries, and a bag of fresh, organic green beans. Yummy!

No picture today :(

Striders Striders Everywhere

Picture is of Nico watching a video of a child riding a Strider bike.

This morning we hung out with Allicia and Evie and another mom and baby. Come to find out that Evie and the other child, Miles, both had Strider bikes, too!

In the evening, Nico and I went out and took a walk with his Strider bike. He wanted me to be on my bike, too, so I brought my bike out and just walked next to it. Nico actually walked on his Strider bike the entire time (instead of wanting to be carried most of the way), we went around the block and were gone for 45 minutes. I think I will raise the seat a bit on his bike because I think it may be too low and that's why he hasn't thought to sit on it yet.

Sarah, Park, Strider

This morning we met Sarah at the park again. I brought along Nico's strider bike in case he wanted to play with it. He played on the park for a while and then wanted to get on his Strider.

Tonight I wrapped all of Nico's birthday presents. His birthday celebrations will be spread over a few weeks, it should be pretty fun!

Strider and Zoo

Nico received two of his birthday presents today, from Grandparents Salisbury. We went to the zoo this morning to get a zoo membership. We were hoping to visit the butterflies, but they don't open until 10 and we had to be home by then. So we just saw the lions and a few random monkeys before heading home.

Then later this afternoon, his strider bike came in the mail! The strider is a bike with no pedals. When kids first use it, they just walk with it, until they feel comfortable sitting. That's what Nico did when he got on it.

Later this evening, we watched some videos of kids on strider bikes on YouTube, and he went and got his strider bike and got on it and walked back and forth in the living room with it while continuing to watch the videos. He even asked for his helmet after seeing the kids on the video wearing theirs. He has already perfected getting on the bike. He holds both handlebars and then picks up his leg over the seat. To get off the bike, he just pushes it to the ground and steps over it.

Batman

Nico wore his Batman shirt today that he received from my cousin Molly. It has a cape that attaches to it with velcro on the back. He enjoyed wearing it!

This morning we went to the park where he climbed a big rock for the first time. In the picture you can see his Batman cape.

This evening he spent some time with Grandma Salisbury at the mall while I went to  CPR class. Guy had a migraine so he stayed tucked into bed. Nico had a blast at the mall and I came home in just enough time to hug Nico goodnight and put him to bed.

Rained Out

We got rained out at the park this morning! So we came home, smelling like wet dogs, and sat on the couch and watched a 10 minute video of a parade of emergency vehicles, all with their sirens on. Nico has really been enjoying watching car videos. He'll hand me the iPad and sign "car" if he can't figure out how to get to the videos in YouTube. He can literally watch the same 10 minute video a few times in a row, sirens blaring!

He also likes to watch car hydraulic competitions on YouTube.

Kale Chips

We went up to the cabin today. Aunt Ellen, Sarah and I made kale chips with different spices. They turned out very tasty! (See the almost empty plate on the table)

Sarah

We hung out with Sarah today! Nico wasn't in the mood for pictures, but he was having a blast with Sarah there.

Printer

Nico now can climb up onto the printer. He doesn't know yet how to get down on his own, but he can sure get up there quick.

More Fun

Nico had a lot of fun today with the Grandparents Russell. Pushing a car back and forth across the table was quite entertaining to him. They headed back to Washington today but we'll see them again soon for Nico's birthday!