As we near the 100 day mark from returning home with Nicholas, things seem to be going pretty well. His language seems to improve each day and he is understanding more concepts too....but that is not always a good thing! Since getting his first Bee sting a couple of weeks ago, Nicholas now says, "hurt" whenever ANYTHING flies near him....although this would be correct for bees, wasps and hornets....it would not be correct for butterflies, dragonflies, ladybugs and commercial aircraft....all of which he will say "hurt" when he sees them....
His vocabulary is improving all the time. He is now starting to repeat nearly everything we say, so we now have to really watch our flippin' language. He likes to repeat new words that sound funny to him...For example...we went to Hobby Lobby (www.hobbylobby.com) to get a large cork board for his room. The whole car ride over to the store he kept yelling, CORK!" which sounded more like, "QUARK!" and he would laugh and laugh. This behavior continued once inside the store, only it was louder and a few octaves higher...very close to glass shattering levels......speaking of the last time we were at Hobby Lobby......
Lisa and I were in some sort of clearance aisle with Nicholas securely (yeah right) in a shopping cart. We did not see how this happened, but when we looked down we saw that he was holding some sort of decorative plastic soap dispenser...we quickly snatched the illegally obtained item from his clutches...but it was too late!! Apparently he had pressed the pump an estimated 14 times causing large deposits of ancient soap to appear all over his shirt, pants, hands and arms. He then must have thought...."Hey this stuff smells great...it must TASTE even better!!" Life lesson learned...soap does not taste good......Lisa quickly used part of her blouse to scrape off Nicholas' out stretched tongue...we then headed straight for the restroom to clean up the soap...on the way there we were stopped by a friend of ours....Lori D.....she had not yet met Nicholas...we explained the "soap incident" to her and told her what she had to look forward to with her own child...
Other words he likes to say and then laugh and laugh...
Squash
Slow
Bonk
Cheese
He also likes to add the word "it" to the end of these and many other words....so imagine our small boy yelling and then laughing.... SQUASH IT..........SLOW IT.......BONK IT.......CHEESE IT.......BITE IT........CHEW IT....etc...
Another word he seemed to know without us telling him is 'tunnel.' He saw a picture of a tunnel in my photo album from my trip to Mexico. I got to walk inside a giant pyramid and took many pictures of the tunnels. Upon seeing the picture for the first time he said..."tuh-nuu-lay." This quickly became 'tunnel.' He now knows you go through a tunnel....so whenever he sees ANYTHING that resembles a tunnel he will say...."tunnel....through."
Nicholas continues to love all water related things....baths, swimming pools, washing his hands, sprinklers, lakes, streams, water towers, fire hydrants...we think he is saying the Ukraine word for Fire Hydrant since everytime he sees one he says...."Dyloooshka."
We have had some very humid weather here lately so the wild mushrooms are all over the place...including in our back yard....
A few days ago Lisa noticed our very own large mushroom and decided to take Nicholas out to see it. As Lisa and Nicholas got closer to the fungus, he stopped a few feet away from it and then continued on to get a closer look at this strange new thing.....as Lisa was trying to get him to say "mushroom," she noticed he was quickly moving his feet up and down and seemed to be stressing a little. Upon further investigation Lisa discovered he had stopped on top of an Ant bed and his feet were now teaming with Ants! She brushed them off and brought him back in the house. He only had one bite on his foot. Now when he says 'mushroom' and points outside, we ask him if he wants to go outside and see it....he will they reply...."no...hurt."
Lisa and I continue to feel amazingly blessed to have such a wonderful son......stay tuned for more stories and pictures!
Take Care....
R/L/N
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Back to the zoo....
Saturday............July 18th......
We made our 4th trip to the Fort Worth Zoo today. Nicholas is starting to recognize more animals and repeating their names. He really likes see the "cats."
Today was a real treat. We got to see four lion cubs running around and playing. Nicholas was mesmerized watching these giant "kitty cats" run around and tackle each other. He kept saying, "OH WOW."
Thanks to the wonderful animal books we have, Nicholas was able recognize the Rhinos and Elephants....he also knows what a Hippo is, but we didn't get over to their section.
It was also the "coolest" day he have been to zoo as family for two reasons...
1. The temperature was less than 90 degrees.
2. Our friends Ed and Laralynn we able to join us.
After lunch we completed the "Texas" section of the zoo and then decided to stop off for a cool treat.
While Laralynn and I were in line to get some ice cream a couple of Bees landed on Nicholas' hands. Ed noticed them first and helped Lisa "shoo" them away...this must of agitated one of them because he decided to sting Nicholas on his left index finger, which made him cry for a few seconds. Ed then asked Lisa if Nicholas was allergic to Bees...to which she replied, "We don't know." Lisa then removed the stinger (did you know Bees lose their stingers after they sting someone?) which did not make him cry, but he was not thrilled with the situation. Since the bees continued to closely fly around them, they were forced to move to safer ground and wait for their ice cream! We believe the bees were either attracted to our hand sanitizer or to the high levels of cuteness and sweetness that Nicholas was exuding at the time of the stinging.
A big THANK YOU goes out to Ed, since he himself IS allergic to bees and yet still helped "shoo" them away from Nicholas and Lisa.
Good friends are a true blessing.
Speaking of blessings.....
We now know Nicholas is not allergic to Bees or peanuts since he was okay after the bug** incident and he loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!
**"Bug" is what Nicholas current calls all small flying things with the exception of a butterfly, fly or dragonfly.....he calls these "Flies."
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Zoo Pictures....
A native Texas Eagle....
For $1 you can buy a popsicle stick with bird seeds stuck to them....then enter a giant avery with hundreds of hungry birds.....look closely at the stick Lisa is holding....
Same bird still eating lunch.......
That out of focus harry blob is a silver back Gorilla finding a shady place to lay down....
Lisa, Nicholas and Zebras!!
Lisa and Nicholas saying hello to two gorillas trying to take a nap...Hey More Pictures....
It is never too early to start thinking about Halloween costumes! What if our son could "transform" into a Jersey Mike's sandwich??
Just in time for the holiday season.....Jersey Mike's oven mitts!! 
Extreme close up of the amazing "Boy who falls asleep at the Dinner Table."
Same boy.....still sleeping....
As Daddy finishes his Chipotle dinner...Nicholas continues to sleep....
Nicholas and his Mommy....one of my favorite pictures!
Nicholas reading one of his favorite books with his marvelous Mommy....
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Our Visit To The Dallas World Aquarium 7/11/09
Lisa and I had been meaning to go the Dallas World Aquarium (located in the West End of downtown Dallas) for many years, but never got around to it.....this was our first trip and we were pleasantly surprised. It allows you to get up close and personal with a wide variety of animals....we know as Nicholas grows up he will learn to enjoy this place more and more...Here are some photos!
A waterfall inside a building in downtown Dallas! Who knew??
Nicholas observing some birds...
If you look where he is pointing you will see a bird that landed on the railing and allowed us to take his picture....
Not sure what kind of birds these are but this is an action photo of Nicholas feeding one of them a blueberry. Once the young man working this exhibit placed the blueberry in Nicholas' hand he asked, "Are you ready Sir?" I think I got a pretty good shot of Lisa holding his hand with the blueberry in it and the one bird of three who was lucky enough to get it.
Since Nicholas is still learning English he was not impressed when I started singing...."Follow your nose, it always knows.." That's right, the them song from the old Fruit Loop commercials with Toucan Sam...
Lisa took this one from the other side of the alligator tank of me and the boy checking out some cool reptiles.
Nicholas really loves watching fish...I see a home fish tank in his future...
Did I mention my boy really likes watching fish?
As we were walking through a the Continental Shelf Tunnel we could see large fish and sharks swimming around and above us....this here is what they call a "big ol' shark."
Nicholas watching a Gila Monster furiously digging for something...
It is hard to see the thick glass separating my wife and son from this giant, well fed, couldn't eat another bite, Jaguar....
Two curious owls who sang their favorite song from their favorite band to all as we walked by them...... "Who Are You?" by The Who....
The world famous Penguins of Madagascar!
One of the previously mentioned penguins trying to stay cool on this 104 degree day!
We will get the names of the animals next time we go....so here is a dark haired hanging monkey with a really long tail...we can call him Chet....
A waterfall inside a building in downtown Dallas! Who knew??
Nicholas observing some birds...
If you look where he is pointing you will see a bird that landed on the railing and allowed us to take his picture....
Not sure what kind of birds these are but this is an action photo of Nicholas feeding one of them a blueberry. Once the young man working this exhibit placed the blueberry in Nicholas' hand he asked, "Are you ready Sir?" I think I got a pretty good shot of Lisa holding his hand with the blueberry in it and the one bird of three who was lucky enough to get it.
Since Nicholas is still learning English he was not impressed when I started singing...."Follow your nose, it always knows.." That's right, the them song from the old Fruit Loop commercials with Toucan Sam...
Lisa took this one from the other side of the alligator tank of me and the boy checking out some cool reptiles.
Nicholas really loves watching fish...I see a home fish tank in his future...
Did I mention my boy really likes watching fish?
As we were walking through a the Continental Shelf Tunnel we could see large fish and sharks swimming around and above us....this here is what they call a "big ol' shark."
Nicholas watching a Gila Monster furiously digging for something...
It is hard to see the thick glass separating my wife and son from this giant, well fed, couldn't eat another bite, Jaguar....
Two curious owls who sang their favorite song from their favorite band to all as we walked by them...... "Who Are You?" by The Who....
The world famous Penguins of Madagascar!
One of the previously mentioned penguins trying to stay cool on this 104 degree day!
We will get the names of the animals next time we go....so here is a dark haired hanging monkey with a really long tail...we can call him Chet....Saturday, July 11, 2009
80 Days!
As of tomorrow, July 12, 2009, Lisa and I will have had Nicholas home with us for 80 days or 11 weeks and 3 days.....He has totally changed our lives and truly makes everyday an adventure.
His English seems to improve a little each day. His pronunciation on some of his earlier words is improving and he is slowly using some words and phrases in context. For example he sees one light and says, "light." He turns his head and sees another light and says, "light, two," while simultaneously pointing at both lights. He does this for 'doors,' 'cars,' 'dogs' and a few other words.
We decided to give up on afternoon naps since he would fight them so much. We really believe he has trouble going to sleep in his bed during the daytime. It's like he doesn't want to miss anything by going to sleep during the day...The first couple of weeks he was very 'cranky' in the late afternoon, but we think is body is slowly adjusting to being awake all day. He also will not go to sleep at night if there is still a shred of daylight. Lately it does not get dark here until close to 9:15pm, so we have had to adjust his bedtime. Sometimes when we are out running errands during the day he will fall asleep in his car seat, but since we have triple digit heat indexes, we cannot go and park somewhere while he sleeps...we have to keep driving around with the air conditioning cranked or go home and try to get him inside without waking him up, which is nearly impossible.
A few weeks ago we decided to take a major step. Although he cannot fluently speak English, his comprehension is good enough for us to slowly ease into the wonderful world of potty training.
*****warning---graphic language ahead*****
Since we began we have been telling him that every time he pooped or peed in the potty, he would get a treat. In the beginning he would say potty, but would have already gone in his diaper. We then began sitting him on the potty the first thing in the morning and after meals. Each time he went we got very excited for him by jumping up and down, yelling and screaming, shooting off air horns, etc, etc....and he would get a Hersey's Kiss.....Nicholas soon figured out that chocolate was "yummy." We are now at the point were he will tell us, "potty," and we take him and sit him down, in addition to the first thing in the morning and after meals.
So, for the past few weeks he kept hearing us say, "if you poop or pee in the potty you get a treat..." This somehow became the phrase...."Peeps." This is the word Nicholas uses to describe all activity from "that area." (poop, pee and the passing of noxious gases)
Which brings us to the word, "Peeps." As I write this in the year 2009, this word has at least four distinct definitions.
1. Peep...the sound a baby chick makes as in "peep-peep-peep."
2. Peep...keeping quiet as in, "you won't hear another peep out of me."
3. Peeps...sugary marshmellow candy that is not for Easter anymore since they are now made in all different colors for most major holidays.
4. Peeps...a term to describe your friends and/or peer group as in, "I'd like to send a shout out to my Peeps."
So I thought it would be cute/funny if we could get him to slightly tap his chest with one of his fists and say, "Yo yo, my Peeps," while he was on the potty...this took a few days, but he now is able to kind of say, "Yo my peeps." We need to capture this proud moment on video...
Television....
Only very recently has Nicholas been paying more attention to television. We keep the channel on Noggin when he is awake. If you are not familiar with this network you should check it out...if you don't have young kids, you probably will not last more than 5 minutes....this is a commericial free network that tries to be "pre-school on TV." They show a bunch of different cartoons and play a lot of music. Nicholas loves the music and is slowly showing interest in some of the shows like Wow Wow Wubbzy, Max and Ruby, Yo Yo Gabba and Dora the Explorer. He does not sit for more than a minute or two but when he passes by the television he will say what he sees outloud like, Bunny or Water or Car or Music or Amatuerish Stop Motion Animation With Mind Numbing Dialogue, etc, etc.
Lisa and I are very blessed to have Nicholas in our lives. He is a very active, smart, cute and sweet little boy and we are excited about what the future holds!
It is now 12:06am so we have officially begun day number 80....good night everyone...
His English seems to improve a little each day. His pronunciation on some of his earlier words is improving and he is slowly using some words and phrases in context. For example he sees one light and says, "light." He turns his head and sees another light and says, "light, two," while simultaneously pointing at both lights. He does this for 'doors,' 'cars,' 'dogs' and a few other words.
We decided to give up on afternoon naps since he would fight them so much. We really believe he has trouble going to sleep in his bed during the daytime. It's like he doesn't want to miss anything by going to sleep during the day...The first couple of weeks he was very 'cranky' in the late afternoon, but we think is body is slowly adjusting to being awake all day. He also will not go to sleep at night if there is still a shred of daylight. Lately it does not get dark here until close to 9:15pm, so we have had to adjust his bedtime. Sometimes when we are out running errands during the day he will fall asleep in his car seat, but since we have triple digit heat indexes, we cannot go and park somewhere while he sleeps...we have to keep driving around with the air conditioning cranked or go home and try to get him inside without waking him up, which is nearly impossible.
A few weeks ago we decided to take a major step. Although he cannot fluently speak English, his comprehension is good enough for us to slowly ease into the wonderful world of potty training.
*****warning---graphic language ahead*****
Since we began we have been telling him that every time he pooped or peed in the potty, he would get a treat. In the beginning he would say potty, but would have already gone in his diaper. We then began sitting him on the potty the first thing in the morning and after meals. Each time he went we got very excited for him by jumping up and down, yelling and screaming, shooting off air horns, etc, etc....and he would get a Hersey's Kiss.....Nicholas soon figured out that chocolate was "yummy." We are now at the point were he will tell us, "potty," and we take him and sit him down, in addition to the first thing in the morning and after meals.
So, for the past few weeks he kept hearing us say, "if you poop or pee in the potty you get a treat..." This somehow became the phrase...."Peeps." This is the word Nicholas uses to describe all activity from "that area." (poop, pee and the passing of noxious gases)
Which brings us to the word, "Peeps." As I write this in the year 2009, this word has at least four distinct definitions.
1. Peep...the sound a baby chick makes as in "peep-peep-peep."
2. Peep...keeping quiet as in, "you won't hear another peep out of me."
3. Peeps...sugary marshmellow candy that is not for Easter anymore since they are now made in all different colors for most major holidays.
4. Peeps...a term to describe your friends and/or peer group as in, "I'd like to send a shout out to my Peeps."
So I thought it would be cute/funny if we could get him to slightly tap his chest with one of his fists and say, "Yo yo, my Peeps," while he was on the potty...this took a few days, but he now is able to kind of say, "Yo my peeps." We need to capture this proud moment on video...
Television....
Only very recently has Nicholas been paying more attention to television. We keep the channel on Noggin when he is awake. If you are not familiar with this network you should check it out...if you don't have young kids, you probably will not last more than 5 minutes....this is a commericial free network that tries to be "pre-school on TV." They show a bunch of different cartoons and play a lot of music. Nicholas loves the music and is slowly showing interest in some of the shows like Wow Wow Wubbzy, Max and Ruby, Yo Yo Gabba and Dora the Explorer. He does not sit for more than a minute or two but when he passes by the television he will say what he sees outloud like, Bunny or Water or Car or Music or Amatuerish Stop Motion Animation With Mind Numbing Dialogue, etc, etc.
Lisa and I are very blessed to have Nicholas in our lives. He is a very active, smart, cute and sweet little boy and we are excited about what the future holds!
It is now 12:06am so we have officially begun day number 80....good night everyone...
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Pictures!!!
Potty training is going very well...Nicholas was just named "King Of Froggypottyland"
When your child does not take naps he will ocassionally fall asleep right after dinner!
Nicholas loves balloons! Why didn't anyone suggest this inexpensive "toy?" We had lunch at Red Robin recently and got him a balloon. He stared at it during the entire meal and played with it during the car ride home and took it with us on our 5 mile walk after Mommy tied it to the stroller and then he took it to bath time where it popped! We went to Party City the next day and bought a whole bag of balloons and also found out they will give you one free helium filled balloon with any purchase! WooooHoooo!!
Here is a photo for the archives.....Nicholas right after finishing his first ever Oreo cookie! 
Styling in his vintage Star Wars shirt.....Nicholas.....I am your Father!!!
Rocking out with Daddy. These are the first set of drums my parents bought for me when I was about 12 years old from Mel Zelnick's Music Stop on Sherman Way....
He seems to like hitting stuff just like his Dad....
Just wait until his feet can reach the pedals!!
Aunt Ann's Visit!
My sister Ann came to visit for few days to meet her new nephew. She and Nicholas got along great immediately and he can't wait to see her again. Nicholas said.......and I quote...."Be back soon!" That means he misses her....
Here are some photos!
Helping with bedtime....
Congratulating Nicholas after his awesome drum solo on Daddy's drums.
Playing with a giant sunflower..
"Be back soon" Aunt Ann......we love you!!
Here are some photos!
Helping with bedtime....
Congratulating Nicholas after his awesome drum solo on Daddy's drums.
Playing with a giant sunflower..
"Be back soon" Aunt Ann......we love you!!
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