skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Oh, the things kids say.
He runs into the room and says, "I need a weapon!" (He needed a sword or something to fend off the other kids who had sticks). And the obsession at this age with farts and burps extends to body parts, where he loves the words, 'ball crotch'. "Did you know that we are mammal like reptiles? Because we can control our body temperature."
"Do you have a spoon? I want to get all the nutricious ice out of my water cup."
His crutch this month is starting so many sentences with, 'Besides...'
We took a weekend trip to Stone Mountain in Georgia before Thanksgiving, a couple days away for activities like train rides, playgrounds, and fireworks (the last one sucked... like 4 minutes long? Really?) We shot his first game of billiards (not just messing around, a full game, no wager... because he's now into, "I'll bet/give you $X if you can..." Don't take the bet... he can't pay up.) And we played chess on a life-size board.
Nick's artistic skills are getting stronger, now more into clay than drawing or painting. So we have clay figures all over the place, from dinosaurs to birds to snakes. Still nothing trumps the iPad, which like most other kids, he rarely lets out of sight. Always in search of a new App, when he's not feeding Dinosaurs on his Jurassic Park app. Anytime he gets a free buck, he's thinking about a new App (but when he gets a twenty-dollar-buck, he's more careful with it.)
School makes it harder to hide kids from pop culture, like when he comes home singing, "My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard..." I had to Google it. And no, he hasn't seen the video (I just watched it with one eye open.) Can't we just shelter kids in traditional experiences, like his first time eating with chopsticks was exciting, right?
Pictures on Flcikr, link here.
- Jason
Nick was invited to a Halloween party this year, his friend James from school had six buddies over for the evening, while a few parents mingled in the background. We had good food, and passed five hours along with trick-or-treat around their neighborhood.
The boys played on an inflatable playground early in the evening, then took it to a ghost pinata which Terry hung from the tree by tossing string tied to a baseball over a branch. (Six boys swinging an aluminum bat errantly at a heavy object always adds to the excitement.) Nick wore out early from going house-to-house, as his Godzilla suit was a little restricting. But it was a big hit with his friends.
We returned after collecting candy to watch Ghostbusters in a makeshift outside theater, huddled around a campfire (not that it was as cold in Atlanta as it was in Detroit where there was a threat of snow.) Nick says this was, "the best Halloween ever."
Halloween photos here.
- Jason
Nick's school had a festival on a Friday night, which included an inflatable playground for the kids, lots of simple games, and some 'fair food'. Nick and Thatcher got their arms painted, and ran with their friends for over two hours. At one point Thatcher lost his shoes as another kid wandered off with the wrong pair, but we found them. (I was just happy we didn't lose Thatcher, but since the Nikes were brand new, it was imperative we recover them.) He nearly had a scuffle with some bigger kids over a place in line at one of the rides, but that worked itself out. He has settled into the new school with a circle of friends, and his teachers says he's doing great.
Nick's new verbal habit this month is describing things like this (can you figure out the name of his favorite ice cream place?): starts with 'The' and ends with 'Mix'. And punctuating every question with, 'Get it?'
We carved pumpkins after picking them out at the local farm in Newnan. The boys still aren't really into the carving part... well, Nick carved his, but the other two were grossed out. So the adults carved pumpkins this year. My brother-in-law remains the master carver.
He's been roller skating a couple times now, and uses some contraption made of PVC to stay upright. But he's getting better, and loves going to the rink.
Firsts this month: cavity (of course his mama got pictures at the dentist office), and first visit to a growler tavern (no he didn't drink, but he found some taps he liked!)
We took Nick to his first hockey game, an ECHL game, the Gwinnett Gladiators (same league as the Toledo Walleye.) We got seats down on the glass, probably the best hockey seats I've ever had. He still only pays periodic attention, like when bodies slammed into the glass in front of us. It was a good brand of professional hockey, and I'd do it again (you only see real fights anymore in the lower leagues!)
Pictures here from October.
- Jason
We finally had some family pictures taken this summer. Here are a couple, including Nick's "Hollywood pose", his favorite.
Nick told an awesome joke this month: "What do you call a fish with ten eyes? A fiiiiiiiiiish!" Given he didn't hear it from us, it was pretty funny. He's still full of quotes that we've never head before. "I was right, it was a fart," which you know what happened just before. And, "I'm going to pick up the post," which means he's going to the mailbox... don't know why he's talking like the British... I see less BBC in his future.
At the end of the month we went to Callaway Gardens, a beautiful park of golf courses, ziplines, greenhouses, lakes, and nature walks. The rain stayed away for us, and we filled the first day with lots of walking, from the Butterfly house (the picture is Nick in the chair pretending to be a flower so a butterfly will land on him), to feeding fish (and hence feeding the heron), seeing a wildlife show about owls and falcons, and lots of impressive gardens. The first day wore out our feet, and we rented a golf cart on the second day to see the rest of the park. Our hotel looked like a Howard Johnson from the 1960's still awaiting renovation, but it worked for one night. We also toured the vacation home of Franklin Roosevelt, which didn't interest Nick much, but it was very cool. All this was just an hour from Newnan, GA.
The rest of the time Brandi keeps him busy, from swimming, to piano, to Spanish classes. And she's a part-time librarian at his school. The teacher is still adjusting to Nick, as he pushed buttons often... she makes rules, he figures out how to get around them. Give him cards to 'cash in' when he wants to ask questions, and he's going to use them all. He has a great ear for piano. And he's passed his first swimming class, now able to swim multiple strokes and dive.
And you'll see, he's learned how to photo-bomb.
Pics here from September.
- Jason
