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Nick tried to help me with the blog this month, but you'll see in the picture below he'd had enough for one day to be productive at the computer.
With springtime, Nick helped his grandpa plant his garden. The early planting is for seeds, including Nick's pumpkins. After they put them in the ground, Nick stood there staring for several minutes, waiting for something to happen. Grandpa explained it takes a little longer than on TV. Later on, we found soil all over Nick's water bottle - he kept watering them with his drinking water hoping for a sprout. He also stares out the window asking to, "swim in the black water" because he can't wait for the cover to come off of the pool.
To aid with potty training, a common trick is putting a few Cheerios in the throne to help little boys with their aim (quite frankly, most full grown men could still use this approach - ever see a men's restroom? Eeks!) Not to be confused by his parents, Nick now goes into the bathroom to take care of business, sits on the throne, and eats the Cheerios from the little tupperware his mama keeps nearby. He's got the potty concept down now, except he's on a cycle to use it every morning at 4 AM.
You'll notice from the pictures he makes a fashion statement about mid-month, with a new haircut - very short for summer. The girl at the barber shop earned her tip on this one. Hard to keep him still. But now he asks to go back.
A few pictures included from Easter. He got three baskets from the Bunny, including one with airplanes attached. One of the baskets was mine, and his grandpa's, from long ago. Like his mama, he gnaws the eyes off of the chocolate bunnies first. Other favorite foods this month: peanuts (shells and all), Five Guys Burgers, ketchup, popcorn, Cracker Jacks and banilla ice cream (I spelled it just how it sounds). Sounds like Spring food for baseball season, doesn't it? Just a coincidence.
I can't believe how fast little kids can heal. We went to the largest indoor playground in Michigan with Mason, Bo, Robin and Carrie - spent almost three hours there. It's a setup of tunnels, nets and slides 
that's probably 3-4 stories tall, and would fill a gymnasium or two. Of course, Nick tried his head-first technique on the yellow slide, leaving forehead skin on a quarter-mile of hard plastic tubing. And somehow, he was healed by the next morning.
Along with finding new playground, we discovered one at a nearby school with a monkey-bar space rocket. Boy, was that a huge hit. His new thing is chasing robins on the playground, trying everything from quiet and sneaky to pouncing at the attempt to catch one. He chases the wildlife when there's no other kids to chase. He doesn't seem to have any hesitation walking up to other kids and starting a conversation. Although, they aren't always captivated by his opening lines ("the sun's going up!", "you have nice eye browns," or "space shuttles need a parachute to stop!")
- Jason
Lots of time at the indoor playground in the early part of a cold month. I just don't understand why I have to come away so exhausted from every visit, though. I watch other children, and admittedly I do a little comparing, or sizing-up, to other kids. Other children run to the swings to see how high they can fly, while Nick climbs the chain and tries to unscrew the hinges. Other children zip down the slide as normal, then my son barrels down face first and plows his cranium into the rubber floor. Their kids bounce around inside the inflatable jungle gyms, and Nick crawls under them looking for the vacuum source of hot air. Why!?
When Nick can't have something, or loses something, it's high drama. "I'm never ever gonna find my train! It's gone forever," he'll say. This approach has now worked its way into our vernacular as well. "We're never ever gonna find a house! says Brandi." (For those you following along, the home we bid on four months ago experienced severe structural damage due to neglect over the winter, and we moved on. Back to the drawing board!)
But the big moment this month was a real s#*tter (literally). He has closed himself in the bathroom to poo for months, so we think nothing of it. Then, last weekend, we walked in to check on him, and he'd pulled the cup from under the toddler potty, and used it according to specifications. Of course, a celebration ensued, and then we had to take him to the playground to get him off of the potty. But out of nowhere, he finally proved he'd been getting the message all along.
Part of being a dad is now having an excuse to go buy Hot Wheels cars all the time, and claim they are for Nick. I'm trying to shift him from trains to cars, and teach him the proper names. He can recognize a Maverick, a Chevelle, a Grand National and a Camaro on sight (but can't everyone?)
With the weather improving this past week, we got out to the parks alot more (and out of the 'crap home' as we call our apartment.) We enjoyed an afternoon together at Crosby Gardens, the local nature preserve, to watch the swans and ducks and wildlife. Nick is into the waterfall, and feeding the squirrels (they're going to carry him and his granola bar away if he's not careful, if the 20-lb geese don't pummel him first for infringing on their territory.) We finished the evening with a gourmet meal of pre-cooked rotisserie chicken and a box of peanut butter Oreos. That's the difference between Daddy versus Mama providing dinner.
Finally, I know there's a point at which kids transition from 'Mommy and
Daddy' to 'Mom and Dad' but I didn't expect it to be at three years old. All of sudden, I'm just known as 'Dad'. We went from, "I love you, Daddy," to "Hey, Dad, where's the remote?" overnight. This is fine, but he'd be wise to smooth-up to his mother for a little while longer.
Pics here.
- Jason
Nick has become a YouTube junkie. It's just amazing to me watching a three-year old maneuver around the internet, mouse a-smokin', screens-a-flippin' and he has absolute intention of where he's going and what he's looking for. Last week, he found what appeared to be a nine-minute video of a food fight, but it turns out the video actually had historical undertones, and Brandi and I ended up watching it like four times along with him until we figured out what message the producer was relaying. Very interesting.
I am reminded what true uninhibited joy is like when I watch Nick. He received a new toy for Christmas, a building-block set made of rails and blocks with holes in them, where structures are built for marbles to run through them like a maze (it's called Quadzilla, I think. He calls it, "Marble-ous!") When we build a new maze, he gets so excited, he runs in circles around the room, unable to sit still. He jumps up and down, dances a little, and yells with excitement. I can't remember the last time I was that excited about anything (at least not without some level of cautious optimism).
Favorite foods this month: mint Oreo cookies, real fruit strips (not fruit rollups, but the expensive organic stuff, and ham-cheese (a piece of cheese wrapped in ham). Most kids I know pick through candy or popcicles for the red and grape, but Nick is partial to orange and lime. I'm sure some psychologist has an explanation for this.
Lots of love in the air this month. He got a hicky from our Hoover when it took advantage of an innocent partner, hence the big red spot on his cheek. He's also chasing more girls at the Jumpy Place. He latched onto a 3-year old named Abby this week, took her by the hand, danced and followed her around for an hour, until their romance was abruptly interrupted when she was wiped out by a swing.
His imagination is expanding as well, as we're continuously surrounded by wildlife, like river dolphins and flying seals. And he sees alot more airplanes and red helicopters than I do when we're outside.
Something he came up with totally on his own... he sprints from the tub when we turn our backs, and races to the living room. Then he walks around on all fours, and yells, "I'm walking the lizard!" I have no idea where he got this, but the irony is good for a chuckle every time.
From the pics, you'll also see what happens when you mix a bean-bag chair with a three-year-old. Great photo op.
And then there were two. Nick's not the only game in town anymore, with another Mantel populating this side of the family, just a couple days ago in Washington, DC. Samantha was born 2/15/10, 3:00 PM, at 7 lbs. 2 oz., 19.25". Some of you who follow this blog know Brad and Colleen, so we're sharing the good news across all mediums to spread the word. Everyone is happy, healthy, and short on sleep (as it should be!)
Nick's verbal comprehension is now comparable to an adult. We've spent the last three years talking around him like he was a stuffed animal, but no more. When I ask his mother, "Do you think Nick is hungry?" He'll yell, "No thank you," from across the room. It's still mixed in with some great Nickabulary, though. His favorite toys this month are, 'Mr. Frotatohead' and making 'Fragettis' (that's spaghetti) from Play-Doh. And like many people have a stutter of 'uh', when Nick can't think of a word, he stalls with, "poon-on-the" which is supposed to mean, "putting on the.." Chuckle of the month: we're on a car ride, and I'm passing Skittles to Nick in the back seat as he requested the treat along the way. I heard him drop one, and from the back seat comes, "Uh, oh. Where'd that jelly bean go? Help! Help!" Now he sits in the back seat and yells, "Oh no! Red light, Daddy! Stop!" It's time to explain the world of 'exceptions to the rules' to him, such as right turns on red, but I'd prefer to delay that lesson because I know he'll start using it on me. Hot and cold with the 'foods' this month. Like a normal child in wintertime, he loved finding icicles and licking them to cool his buds. On the hot side, he discovered a spicy salsa that had 'matured' for a few days and got super spicy. He chowed down salsa and lime chips like it was the last supper... nose running, eyes tearing, and only a shovel could have sped up the consumption. He exclaimed, "Mmm! Salsa sounds a lot like sausage." Sure, I guess I never thought about it. Chocolate circles and chocolate cupcakes are other faves (those are actually Peppermint Patties and Peanut Butter Cups.) And brown-and-serve sausages. My, how life changes. Now we take Nick to the mall on Friday nights, so the teenagers can see him run wildly and meltdown over chicken nuggets. It's my contribution to public service - contraception for teens.
He's now decided he needs privacy in the bathroom, so of course, we take him seriously and leave him alone, always knocking before entering. When he gets too quiet, that's usually trouble. We've emptied most things from the room that could cause him harm, or be flushed, but you'll see from the pictures, Brandi left her makeup bag in the room once, and he found it.
Feature length films such as Wall-E, Cars, Up and Finding Nemo are now able to hold his attention on video. He loves, "The Pink Manther" (no, I didn't spell that wrong) and "Tom and Jerry" the best.
It's amazing how fast the brain can process when pushed into service. At 5:00 am one morning, every light in the apartment flipped on within seconds, including the one in our room. Immediately, my brain was able to conclude, "New problem - he's over the door gate and out of his room. I can cover the holes in the gate so his foot won't get through, I can stack two g
ates up high, I can reinforce the gate from the wall across the hall..." And about 5 other options for renewed containment. Fortunately, the gate just fell over. Apartment living has been fine, except for the neighbors who fight like it's Hockey Night in Canada all week. I don't mind the yelling, but when they fight on the front stoop, throwing wine bottles through their car windows, wielding picture frames at each other in the parking lot, and it wakes up Nick, then we have a problem. Fortunately, I think an eviction is coming.
And speaking of hockey, we found him some small hockey skates, and he loves them. If we're going to raise him in Michigan, he'd better be able to skate.- Jason
Nick tried to help me with the blog this month, but you'll see in the picture below he'd had enough for one day to be productive at the computer.
that's probably 3-4 stories tall, and would fill a gymnasium or two. Of course, Nick tried his head-first technique on the yellow slide, leaving forehead skin on a quarter-mile of hard plastic tubing. And somehow, he was healed by the next morning.
