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We spent half the month in a hotel between Toledo and Cincinnati, and it was great being together. Nick got to hearken back to his childhood... nearly all his requests were met back here, from breakfast at Al Smith's, to an afternoon playing with Jack from the old neighborhood.
We had Christmas morning in Temperance, with a wonderful home-cooked meal, and plenty of toys: a 3' Godzilla, a 3" Godzilla, some rubber characters that looked like Godzilla, a Godzilla mask. You get the idea. He assembled a Lego Technic plane for ages 12+ with relative ease. Then onto Cincinnati, where he played well with the kids, as they ran free around the house for two days. Many 'missions' were accomplished where they competed in whatever challenges the adults set for them, such as stealing socks or finding items. We went to the archery range for an afternoon, and we both need practice in that arena. I got to play euchre for the first time in years... and Rob taught me new way to express being 'in the barn' (can't wait to milk my next opponent. Yes, ironic as I was raising an eyebrow last month about milkshakes in the yard.)
OK, this is an awful transition, but I don't have another. :) At school, the first 'female interest' has surfaced. Now, it's not simple (never is, may as well learn that lesson early before unrealistic expectations set in.) There's a little girl that chases him, and wont leave him alone, be he avoids her (she tags him and runs, yelling to be chased in return... he doesn't get it.) Then another girl that he likes, but he's still figuring it out. Second grade society.
Pictures here.
Don't feel bad for Nick being the odd guy out in the photo without a bow... he shared with Mason, and had to wrestle a little to get back the bow he liked best.
- Jason
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.
