Nick had a big month: countless hours in the water, travel east and south, amusement parks, trains, fireworks...The loud noise of fireworks bothered him, as do other loud noises. So we went for a drive to see fireworks on the night of the 4th, safe inside the car with the fun of seeing, and none of the loud noise. "I love fireworks! Gasp! They're so huge!" he would exclaim, as he called them out by color.
We took Nick to Soak City at Cedar Point for the holiday weekend. He lasted four hours, mostly in the kid's area around the Train fountain. He wanted to get on other rides, but was either too small, or would scream to get on, then scream to get off. He was mesmerized by the roller coasters around him. I can't wait until he's ready for those. The bigger water jungle gyms were enticing, but the ten-year-olds dominated those by blasting him in the face with water guns to knock him off. He'll need to gain some size to stand a little taller against the big boys.
This month's favorite toy was the Inflatable Shark for a buck at the dollar store. (Can't get enough of that Dollar Store.) He swam with it, dragged it around the house, flew it, rode it, punched it, snuggled with it, you name it. He also got some new planes from Aunt Megan, and a metal John Deere tractor, perhaps one in a collection to come. He doesn't need pre-made toys to be entertained, though. He probably built more nests from pillows, blankets and boxes than anything else he did all month (pretending to be Horton the elephant.) And every time we went for a walk, he wanted to go see the Snow Dog (a Dodge Ram with a snow plow on the front in the car lot next door.)
Least favorite food: anything that is green, he calls lettuce. He now likes ravioli with sauce (pizza ravioli.) And I brought home one of my favorite subs from The Andersons, a 2' sub, and he ate most of it - three meals a day until it was gone.
He learned not everything in a similar-shaped cardboard box has the same application. Brandi lets Nick load the dishwasher, add soap, and start it. One afternoon, I caught him adding mashed potato flakes to the dishwasher. From the pics, you can see he's handy at fixing things when he breaks them, plumber's crack and all.
On one of the really hot days, we ended up in a McDonald's playground as the nearby indoor playground went out of business. Nick found two little blond girls (his favorite) to drag him around, one on each hand. Up into the tree house, and down the slide they went, until one tried to pick him up, then he'd had enough. Just before the courtship ended, Brandi pointed it out to me, and I snuck over closer to get a peek. "What's your name?" I heard the oldest ask, probably about 7 or so, she was. "Jason Mantel," he replied loud and confident. In teaching him to read, alot of things around the house have my name on them, I guess. I don't mind him riding on my good reputation picking up girls, but let's not make a habit of it.
Here's how a typical evening conversation sounds in our home.
Brandi: "We had a tough day."
Jason: "Nick, were you tough on your mother?"
Nick: "I have two horns!"
Brandi: "Yes he does!"
Nick: "I have three horns and a spiny frill."
He meant he was being a dinosaur. His mother clearly heard another, relatively accurate, depiction. He can keep up with the conversation,
but it's not exactly the normal give-and-take. As the month went on thought, his conversational skills improved dramatically.Unfortunately, his Great-Grandad Little passed away, which led to a trip to Danville, PA. The second night in the hotel with Brandi, Megan and Lisa, he escaped into the halls while Brandi was in the shower. He made it to the elevator, and up two floors before Brandi caught up to him, soaking wet, barefoot, and wrapped in a towel. On the third night, when Brandi and Nick were alone in adjoining rooms for the four of them, she dead bolted the lock and went to the next room, when the adjoining door swung shut, locking Nick in one of the rooms alone. It took two hours and the handyman's toolbox to get into his room, but fortunately he slept through it. He got alot of time with the other kids in the family, lots in the pool. He also got his first dip in the stream that runs behind Little's Rest, pictured here with his Grandad.
Finally, the girls took him on a trip to the zoo when they returned to Toledo, where they got stuck on a stalled train for a half hour and Nick hurled all over everyone. I knew it was a tough day at the zoo when Brandi's text started with, "All is well here in the sixth circle of hell..."
- Jason
