We've had 20 months of cute pictures - the kind that make you say, 'awwww!' Then somehow Nick crossed over into the bizarre. As I sort through all of the pictures from this month, I see him flipping 'the bird' to the camera, eating a Master padlock, in a dog cage, wearing what appears to be a racoon hat, and flushing himself down the throne (a moment in time that could well be titled 'a creative way to lose a good pair of socks.' 'Kind of a funny way to potty train, don'tcha think?,' observed my father. You never have to stage a great moment for a photo op at this age, you just have to be quick with the camera. More time this month with the cousins from Atlanta, and with no gasoline in the south, they had plenty of time playing at home on the slide, in the yard with bubbles, and indoors, safe from the Georgia heat. Most of the time you see baby Thatcher in the pics with Nick, as Thatcher is usually intent on whatever Nick is doing, where Nick is intent on intervening into whatever Seth is doing. And the dogs steer clear, for fear of being trampled by the high traffic of kids barrelling in and out of their doggie door.
Cool food of the month: he can dip his own Chicken McNuggets, and loves the BBQ sauce. He usually dives in 'double fisted' with a dry nugget in one hand, and a BBQ nugget in the other, so he can mix and match for the taste buds. Also loves chocolate Teddy Grahams, and Goldfish crackers. But nothing tops Gushers!
He sits for hours and stacks blocks one on top of the other, and they're the little ones, too, so it's not easy. His record is 15 blocks, and man is he excited when he sets a new record. He must be able to count in order to know, right?
Nick now meaningfully says, 'Hi' and 'Bye' and is pronouncnig other words better like 'doggie' and 'book' (the letters G and K took a little extra time.) Now we need to polish the non-verbals, like ripping off his diaper when he's ready to be changed.
- Jason
