Laundry and Children

From the Mouths of Babes

Last night Nicholas came in to the kitchen and announced: You know Mom, I have two dads.

Me: Really? (bracing myself)

Nicholas: Yes, one is your husband and the other is God.

I love this child so much.  He has wisdom beyond his years.

Boys Dance Too!

I was so pleasantly surprised to see that there were two other boys in Nicholas' dance class today.  Nicholas had a great time and the teacher said that he shows much promise.  So much promise in fact that she said that if he wanted to take class with his sister as well as the class he is in, it might be good for him because it would push him a little more.

I have my own little Gene Kelly.

Stop Your Jibber Jabber!

There is an M&M commercial on these days that shows a melt in your mouth not in your hand piece of deliciousness getting a mohawk at the barber shop.  Well, every since Nicholas saw it he has been asking for a mohawk.  Then on the computer he found a game that lets you build a computer version of yourself and, you guessed it, he gave himself a mohawk.

So yesterday, I aquiessed and let him get a mohawk.  Now all I want to do is give him about 20 pounds of gold chains and listen to him say "I pity the fool!"  I keep watching the horizon for a black van to arrive drop off the rest of the A-Team.

We have agreed that he won't keep it forever, but that it is fun while it lasts.

This is just for fun.  It cracks me up that he fakes a cramp in the middle of the video.  Teddy just loves to jump with his brother.

Happy Birthday Nicky Pants!

Your aunt said it best the other day when she said, "Who would have ever thought that Nicholas would be the calm one?"  You have come a long way my baby boy.

You are one of the kindest children I have ever known.  You care that your siblings are happy and, when Mommy is having a rough day, you are there to give me a rub on the back and an encouraging word.  Your love of babies only slightly nudges out your love for trains.  This was the third birthday in a row in which I made a train cake for your party.

I am so proud of how smart you are.  You are absolutely scary smart.  I have to stop you from doing your big sister's homework. You are already reading and don't even get me started on how good you are in Math.  I worry that we won't be able to homeschool as long as I'd like because you are going to go all Doogie Houser on me.

Funny, boy oh boy are you funny.  You are starting to learn how to tell jokes that actually have a punch line.  But, the funniest things you say are when you point out how obvious the world is and question why the rest of us just don't seem to see things like you do.  This happens a lot when you are trying to negotiate a point.  The phrase, "Don't worry" or "Perfect" is always on your lips.

You seem to be my only kid who has the ability to look and see if I am in the middle of something before you ask me to help you with something.  I love when you say, "Mommy, when you are done doing your thing there, could get me some juice?"  If I get distracted and forget (because that never happens) you will gently say, "Mommy, did you forget that you were going to get me some juice?"

Even though you are getting so big, you are still my cuddle bug and happy to curl up on Mommy's lap and tell me your secrets.  I hope that we will always stay so close.

Happy 5th Birthday Nicholas.  Even though you are anxious to grow up, I wish that I could slow down the hands of time and keep you my little boy forever.

Interactive Halloween Costume

This year for Halloween Nicholas amazingly enough did not want to be a train.  He wanted to be Superman.  But in true Nicholas style, he didn't want to me cape, flying through the air Superman, no he wanted to be running down the street changing clothes Superman.  So I had to make a shirt that could be ripped open again and again.

Please note the jeans.  This is Casual Friday Superman, the comfortable crime fighter.

Two costumes down, two to go.

The Children are Climbing the Walls

From the Mouths of Babes

Today Marty has the boys out running some errands.  As they were getting ready, I was writing down the 4 or 5 things we needed at the grocery store.  After inquiring as to what I was doing, Nicholas looked at Marty and said, "Daddy, do you even know where the grocery store is?"  I love that kid!

Happy Birthday Nicholas

Dear Nicholas,
You are now a big 4-year-old boy.  You keep telling me that you are glad you are four because Gordon the train is number 4.  Everything goes back to trains with you these days.  You got your first report card last week and you teacher wrote, “Nicholas’ love of trains is astounding.”  That is not the only thing astounding about you.

I don’t know why, but last year I didn’t get as nostalgic about you getting older as I have this year and my memories of you changing encompass both years.  I just keep thinking about how much you have changed over the last two years.  I cannot tell you how many people have said to me, “He is just not the same child.  He is so sweet and caring.”  The truth is that you are not the same little boy that you were at two.

I will never forget your second birthday.  We had to go for your developmental testing.  It seemed to take all day, but it was only a couple of hours.  Perhaps it seemed so long because you never took off your coat and insisted that I keep mine on as well.  You wanted to be ready to go as soon as possible.  Back then your coat was your security blanket.  You even slept in it a few times because I just could not physically get it off you.  After the testing the therapists, there were three of them, told me that even though you were 24 months old, you were testing at a 15-month level.  That blows my mind now, because Jack is one day shy of 17 months and at 2 you were behind where he is now, but you would never know that today.

At the time they told us that you would be in intensive therapy for at least two years and that you would probably need special ed for the rest of your schooling.  Maybe it is good that you couldn’t understand, because that was not in your plan.  After just 5 months, your therapist had her supervisor come to re-evaluate you because you had caught up on almost a year of developmental milestones.  The supervisor told me that in all her years as a therapist she had only seen one other child who had caught up as fast.

You learned how to talk in record time, new words everyday, but I will never forget trying to teach you that first new word, “yummy.”  We were eating apple sauce in the kitchen.  I would make you say “yummy” before every bite.  Now you are such a little chatterbox.  You can count; you know your colors; and you make up the greatest stories, usually about trains.

Gone are the rages, but you can still lose your temper.  You no longer run in to walls on purpose.  You don’t hit, bite or throw things at me any more either.  I don’t even know where the mat us that we had to use for your deep tissue stimulation therapy.  When you get mad, you stomp your foot and walk in another room to calm down.  You did retain your love of spicy foods.  You amaze adults who don’t know you when you chow down on chili or eat wasabi peas by the handful. 

You learned to use the potty this year after much delay.  We came to an agreement.  If you went on the potty, I would sit with you as long as it took, but, if you went in your Pull-Ups, you would have to change those yourself.  That was the end of diapers.  You were very proud of yourself that day, but even prouder when you learned that you could go potty standing up.  With Cherrios as targets, you even stopped peeing on the walls, floors, towels, Mommy, pretty much anything that was not the potty.

You went from the “baby school” to the “big kid school” and was even put in a class full of kids that were 6 months to a year older than you.  You can’t tell by looking at the class though, because you are still one of the tallest kids in the class.  You went from 3T to 5 this year and every time I buy you pants they only last a few months before they are showing an inch of sock.  Thank goodness you love your Spider Man boots so much and insist on wearing them even on warm days.  They hide the fact that most of your pants are too short.  Of course, I guess that I should be glad that you wear pants regularly, because when you were two you would take them off every chance you got.  Wouldn’t take off your coat, but hated wearing pants.

Our dining room as become your own personal Island of Sodor.  There is track and trains everywhere.  I love watching you and your Dad build multi-level layouts for your trains.  Everything in your world is Thomas the Tank Engine.  You even describe your moods by what train they remind you of: “Today I feel like Diesel because I am grumpy,” “I am cheeky like Thomas,” or “I am biggest and best like Gordon.”  I swear you can name every train and you can tell them apart with amazing accuracy.  To me there are the blue ones, the green ones and the rest of them, but you can tell Thomas from Edward and Percy from Henry every time.  You have also picked up many of your spontaneous expressions from Thomas, when surprised you say, “Well bust my boiler.” And when you are mad or frustrated you will say, “Cinders and Ashes!”  This combined with the fact you call Rachel “sister” most of the time, it is a little like living in another time with you.

You have grown in to such a kind and caring boy.  You love your brother with your whole heart and you think that your sister hung the moon.  You share without being asked and you are never stingy with the hugs and kisses.  In fact, you give just about the best “squishy hugs” in the whole word.  You are confident and funny.  I will never forget the time Dad and I were in the kitchen and you were supposed to be getting ready for your bath.  You burst in wearing nothing but a Darth Vadar mask.  We almost peed ourselves it was so funny.  Of course, you will tell whoever asks that Darth Vadar needs a time out because he is not very nice.

I try to tell you everyday that you are my special boy.  I love you so much.  There was a line in a book about adoption that I read recently that sums up you and me, “When our mom walked in the room, he saw love and ran into it with open arms.”  I could not love you more if you had my eyes or your daddy’s smile.  You have my heart baby boy; you always will.  Happy Birthday Nicholas.  I will love you forever and I can not wait to see the man that you grow up to be.

The Good News Is He Missed The Couch

Nicholas has been sick all week.  In fact, tomorrow will be his one and only appearance at camp.  This sickness has been the real deal, not just the sniffles, but full blown sad-puppy-eyes sick.

On Monday, as I was cuddling him on the couch, that is the one upside to a sick kid, they are very cuddly, he asked for a little more juice.  His total caloric intake for the day had been from juice.  After the second sip, he looked at me and puked in my lap.  Being the only think I had handy, I grabbed the juice cup for round two.  Let me tell you, those cups do not hold as much on the juice's second appearance.

Thinking the worst was behind us, I stood Nicholas up and he promptly threw up on the carpet and the coffee table which is also a near capacity book shelf.  Then he took a few steps and did it again.  Still covered in ABC Juice (already been consumed), I stripped Nicholas and took him upstairs for a bath.  When I came back downstairs, sans pukey pants, Rachel asked if I could make her more dinner. 

"I kinda got my hands full right now sweetie."

She replied, "OK.  I can be patient."  Thanks the support.

I cleaned up the carpet, the shelves in our coffee table (casualty, one suduko book), stripped and washed the couch cushion covers (say that three times fast) and disposed of the cup o'puke.  I made a second helping of dinner for girly, washed Nicholas and put everyone to bed.  Finally, I sat down on my one remaining couch cushion and enjoyed a beer.  I think I earned it.

Sibling Love

Today was Nicholas' first day of summer camp at the Pre-School (aka The Big Kid School).  It seemed that he was going to join the class without even looking back, but he did run back for one more hug from Mom and Dad.

When I picked the kids up, Nicholas was all smiles and full of stories.  As I was collecting Rachel's things, her teacher told me that Rachel had asked her twice to check on Nicholas and make sure he was doing OK.  Once in the morning and once right after nap time.

When I asked Rachel about it, she said, "I was worried that he would be scared and I wanted to make sure he was OK."  Then in the car she kept asking him questions about is day: "Did you like teacher Patsy?  I told you she was nice," "What did you have for snack?" "Are you going to the pool tomorrow?" and on and on.

I am so blessed to have three such wonderful children who clearly care so much for each other.