A Sister for A Day

Today Baby Alexa came over! When I got Nicholas up in the morning, I told him she was here and he had absolutely no interest. The only thing on his mind was getting his milk and watching George. Eventually, he came down and inspected all her "equipment." Of course, the swing got his utmost attention. By 10'ish, he was helping me by telling me whether her eyes were opened or closed.

He came up with the idea to "dance for baby Erica" (yes, everyone is baby Erica to him - that should be interesting when he calls his brother that!)

He sure got some nice smiles out of Miss Alexa!

Nicholas would basically do anything to get close to the swing controls (you know him and buttons). He'd go over to her to "check her eyes" and end up standing so close the swing would hit him and wake her no matter what she was previously doing!

(notice the different food he's snacking on now - yeah, he basically ate all day long - just one of the ways he took advantage of Mommy's split attention!)

Alexa's mom even brought over her favorite floor entertainer, but she hardly got to use it, since Mr. Demanding insisted she use our playmat. Thankfully, she really likes it!

I've never had my son be so interested in getting his picture taken as he was today with Alexa around. He basically begged for his picture taken, nearly 1:1 for every shot of her.

"Ka-chowing" with Alexa's Dreft pen (yes, even her diaper bag required inspecting from him).

"Take me picture Mommy, right now!"

This was actually the first picture of the day - little did I know things would get a lot worse at other points. My dear sweet Nicholas took FULL advantage of Alexa's first bottle of the morning and had half the kitchen gadgets in the family room, rummaged through my purse and had nearly all his toys out.
Yeah, our transition to baby brother's arrival shall be interesting. This is just a bit of insight into the upcoming scenario, I'm guessing...but it sure was precious having a baby girl in the house... even if it was for just a day! Thanks for coming Alexa - you were such a good girl...and thank you Jodi for entrusting me with your adorable one!

Mr. Shades!

Nice style, Buddy!

Oh, we are enjoying this gorgeous weather!

What a gorgeous day!

This afternoon, we soaked in the sunshine and warm temps with some family time outside. Nicholas is actually starting to pedal his trike on his own (even telling Mommy - "no touch my bike. I do!"). What a change from last fall when his feet didn't even touch the pedals through a full rotation.

He found the "poop bags" in the storage compartment of his bike and insisted he needed to go "pick up Zoey's poops in the yard."

Don't worry Nicholas, your day will come for that!

Mommy's on the war path...

After yet another discouraging experience of buying a video baby monitor - I've officially taken out my frustration on the latest Ebay scammer. I quickly composed this email and then asked Fred if he'd like to hear it before I press send - and that was the point when I realized just how ridiculous the whole situation is - and we died laughing! (Hey, if anyone would like one of my 2 crappy video monitors, I'm more than willing to part with them...and I won't charge tax or shipping!)

To Demaine69,
There is no way possible the monitor that was sent to me was brand new and never used, as you report in your email. To begin, the plastic on the package was cut through, the factory seal was previously opened, the monitor was attached to the packaging with kitchen ties and the monitor is filthy dirty! Furthermore, this monitor has been well-used, for the graphics/labels are worn-off and there is considerable scum in the crevices.
This item was NOT properly described and I paid top-dollar for an item that was promised to be in new condition. I am writing you at this time to provide you a final attempt to correct this situation by refunding my money in full, INCLUDING the cost to ship the item back to you. If I do not receive cooperation as requested, I will report you to Ebay and leave very negative feedback on this sale.
I look forward to your cooperation to remedy this situation into a positive manner.

Ahhh, Its Shamrock Shake Time

To celebrate Daddy's good news on his job, we celebrated with the rest of America -

at MacDonald's!

(Okay, there is a story behind his, involving a late start to getting out of the house on a Friday night, a picky eater Daddy and a very indecisive pregnant Mommy).

At least we got our annual fill of Shamrock Shake!

This Goes Here...

Our little man had an epiphany last week, realizing he was the bald beauty in a framed picture in his playroom. We've found him carrying it around saying, "oooo, too cute!"

The absolute topper was when I found him redecorating the end table saying, "This goes here...sit here next to Christmas tree picture! too cute!"

Bonding with his new Room

We've been pumping up the idea of Nicholas moving to a new room for the past couple weeks. He already loves the closet (because it has a step in it) and the view of the driveway to check on Big Truck and Fast Car. The best part is his bird's-eye view of Emelie's house. He runs to the window and yells, "Hi Emelie's house! Why is Emelie at school? Where is Marco?...Silly Ashes!..."

checking out all the painting supplies (that sit waiting for action)

He's gotta say goodnight to Emelie's house!

Don't Blow Away!

Nicholas' latest trick in the car is to point and tell me which way he wants to drive. After a few battles back and forth to make it toward the neighborhood, I asked him where he wanted to go. He replied, "to the playground!" Seeing that the thermometer was reading 50 degrees, I was all for some fresh air too. Little did I realize just how blustery windy it was - not to mention the fact that the playground was flooded!

None of that phased this boy! He charged for the big slide as if he never left it for 5 months!

His highlight was surely the swings (no surprise!)

This day was extra exciting with the sloppy mulch mess he was able to splash and kick in.

Gee buddy, you look a little big for that swing all the sudden!

Sadly, I had to bribe him back to the car with the promise of a treat when we got home. Would you believe the temperature dropped 6 degrees in the 45 minutes we were at the park - that's CNY for ya!

Farmer Fix It

Lately, Nicholas is obsessed with "fixing" everything around the house. While passing through the garage, he insisted his tractor needed to be "fixed in the family room." When I brought it in, he dashed to his bedroom to retrieve his tool box and started hammering each of the "big wheels."

"Its ready to drive!"

(its so funny to see him hike himself up on the huge thing!)

"A little more fixing with my hammer."

"Yeah! I id it!!!"

With his feet now reaching the pedals, he's starting to get the hang of pedaling too. By spring he should be moving more than 5 feet at a time!

Free Entertainment at the Mall

On Tuesday, we met some friends at the mall and later Daddy for lunch. Nicholas was all psyched for a ride on the carousel, until they closed it at prime lunch time (what's the deal with that!). Needless to say, he was just as happy, if not happier with riding the escalators.

Although this technique may look a little hairy, Nicholas seemed to trade-mark it time and time again.

The elevators are always a favorite too!

The last time we were all at the mall, there were dancers in the commons area. Nicholas kept asking where they were - oh, such a memory!

10-Weeks To Go!

Our countdown seems to be in high gear - where has time gone!!!

With Baby B's arrival at the 10-week mark, he'll be here before we know it. Mommy is really feeling the pressure and has an ever-growing list of things to accomplish in preparation. Top on the list is getting Nicholas' new room ready, since we still need to transition him to his big-boy bed.

Thankfully, with the beautiful weather, I felt like I was outside (okay, almost felt that way) with the windows all opened for nice ventilation.

Campers - Boys Only!

After watching an episode of Curious George going camping, Nicholas seemed to suddenly realize his tent has been put away and he couldn't find it. We pulled it out this afternoon and him and Daddy camped out in the family room.

Looks cozy in there!

Sorry Mommy, boys only!

Nicholas talked about going camping with Daddy through dinner. My guess is he'll be super psyched for the boys camping trip with the Viera's this summer!

Getting Sticky with Kalie!

This morning, Nicholas and Kalie decorated "frosting cookies."

Kalie worked neatly, placing each sprinkle carefully.

Nicholas blew through his decorating so he could starting the eating phase. When I asked him to show Kalie his shamrock, he said, "look Kalie, yeah!!!"

Kalie wasn't too sure about eating her beautiful creation, but eventually she gave in to the goodness.

Are we tired of the "cheese" face yet?

When I tried to get a shot of both kiddos together, Nicholas repeated to Kalie, "close your eyes... see...cheese!"

Baby Erica is such a good girl. She likes to hang out in the middle of our Monday morning chaos. Nicholas is growing more attentive of her needs and even gave her the pacifier today - well, almost gave it to her.

Nerd in Training

On Saturday, we met Grandpa John for dinner. In Mommy's attempt to keep an active 2-year-old happy at Tassone's (where they don't even give you a crayon set - yikes!), we scoured the bounds of Mommy's huge purse. Nicholas was busy drawing when he announced, "I need to put my pen in my pocket!"

He had a big master plan to tuck the pen into his vest and insisted the clip hold on the collar.

Seriously, where does this kid get this stuff!!!

Tug of War

The boys played an intense game of tug of war!

Nicholas' strategy was to sit on the floor for some extra resistance.

He gave Daddy a run for his money!

Until he finally pulled his competition over.

So glad the exercise bands are getting used in some fashion these days!

Checking out the Competition

Daddy's latest issue of Home Theater came in the mail the other day. Him and Nicholas couldn't wait to check out our DIY competition.

Nicholas was pointing out every speaker in the magazine, no matter how unique looking they were. Daddy was most proud of his little clone!

Oh, we've got this one in the bag!

So that's what's been going on....

During a tickle fest this afternoon, I got a good look in Nicholas' mouth and was shocked to see so many teeth. After counting (and double checking), it occurred to me that he has 3 out of his 4 two-year molars fully in! So, that may explain some of the crankiness, tantrums, random drooling fests and eating boycotts...(hopefully).

Daddy taught Nicholas a new word, ka-chow" - taken straight from Lightning McQueen.

"Ka-chow" to Mommy!

Those teeth sure came in ka-chow fast!