Yes We Still Have A Blog!!

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it"

---Ferris Bueller


To say we have been busy since our last blog would be an understatement.

In late February of this year we decided to put our house up for sale and find a house closer to the school Nicholas is currently attending. We really love the school, his teachers really love him and we have heard some not too favorable things about the two elementary schools here in Lantana. So we began to pack up the house for staging purposes...you know when you make your cluttered house look more roomy for the perspective buyers?? We rented a garage sized storage facility AND filled our garage up with boxes, so neither of our cars are protected from the elements. We have been lucky so far with several big hail storms......no damage done to our cars...woo hoo...but we are not quite out of "hail season." The house went up for sale in March. We have had 12 showings so far, but no interest. We are still hopeful to sell this house and be in a new house by the time school starts again in August. Speaking of school.....Nicholas will be going into Kindergarten in August!! He has been in Pre-K for three semesters. His teachers think he has learned about two years worth of language and skills in one year! He is very bright and continues to show us everyday just how special he is.....Like when we were at Toys-R-Us last week and I pointed to a giant castle we could put together....he said, "That's a fortress." Huh? When and where did he learn that?? Yesterday he found a toy compass in his pile of toys. He brought it over to me and said, "Go 15 paces to West." I said, "Excuse me? What did you just say?" Today he asked me what the dogs were eating....I said that it was dog food. He said, "Kibble." I agreed and then told him that they were eating crunchy dog food to help clean their teeth since we don't brush there teeth like we brush his....THEN during dinner on this Sunday night of Memorial Day Weekend 2011, he was eating yogurt with peaches mixed in and a slice of Lisa's world famous banana nut bread.....He pointed to a walnut in the bread and said, "What's that?" I told him in was a walnut and that it would 'crunch' when he ate it. To which he replied, "That's MY kibble." The boy is brilliant! He took a new concept just explained to him 15 minutes ago and applied it to his own life experience....Note to self....we really need to start his college fund now!

We recently met with his teacher, the assistant principal, the adaptive P.E. teacher, the speech pathologist and either his physical therapy teacher or his occupational therapy teacher, for his end of year A.R.D. (Admission, Review, and Dismissal) meeting to discuss his I.E.P. (Individualized Education Program). Since he has qualified for special education for his Cerebral Palsy and being behind in his language and social skills, he gets to have these meetings to discuss his process and goals. We also get to see the wonderful teachers and administrators that are helping Nicholas and that are also under his spell. He made everyone one of them laugh or smile during the meeting. Since the meeting was after school he had to be in the room with us. He managed to grab the microphone and send out a "PING" to the entire school....that's our boy! Anyway...he his definitely progressing in all areas, some not as fast as others....Lisa and I will be working on a variety of skills to get him ready for Kindergarten. Due to recent budget cuts, the Trans-K or transitional Kindergarten classes were cut. Nicholas could have qualified for this class, but since it is no longer an option...he will be in a regular Kinder class in August. He will be pulled out twice a day to work on math and reading, but the rest of the time he will be in the classroom with up to 23 other kids! His previous class had ten or less kids and two teaching aides. Nicholas has done amazingly well at school, compared to how he is at home with just Mommy and Daddy. But none the less, I will be a nervous Daddy the first week of school....I may even have to take a few days off..

I hope to Blog a little more often...here are some photos from a wonderful event we went to on April 1, 2011. It was an event for kids with special needs...it was free...and it was very close by at the Circle R Ranch in Flower Mound, TX. ALL of the volunteers were wonderful! There was a fire engine and an ambulance to explore, a small petting zoo, horseback riding, carnival games, prizes, arts and crafts, music, dancing, face painting, Super heroes, a photo booth and wonderful food...Nicholas (and his parents) had a wonderful time!

Spin the wheel and win a prize!

Getting ready for our family photo...

This was the last thing we did, so we are totally exhausted in this picture. But like the consummate professionals we are, we were able to pull it together for our photo session...

The arts and crafts were outside and it was a little bit windy. Here he is making a clothes pin critter.

Just throw the football through the hole and win a prize!
Or just walk up and push it through and then...

...take off running like zombies are chasing you!

An action photo! He just threw a bean bag through the top hole and then...

...ran behind the scenes for a quick photo opportunity with some monkeys.

Making a butterfly with popsicle sticks and tissue paper...

Meeting Wolverine and Thor and having to ask himself what every
five year old boy has to, at some point in their life...
"Which weapon would I use in an alley fight?"

"Okay Thor, if that is your real name, this hammer is now mine.
Let go, walk away quietly and no one gets hurt."

Flexing his muscles with Bat Girl, Green Lantern and Super Girl.

Flexing his fantastic flirting skills with Purple Girl and
Captain America's niece, Amber-America.

Petting Zoo overload....So many animals to grab!

Our kid petting a kid.

Sitting in the "Doctor's chair" in an ambulance.

Buckled in (by himself) the back of a fire engine. He even tried to close the door!

Quickly promoted to the driver's seat.
The firefighter told him that if he could reach the pedals,
he could drive it home!
Maybe next year??

His second turn in the drivers seat. As of right now, this is a possible career path!

The newest in firefighter fashion....
The fire proof coat-skirt and helmet combo!

Seven volunteers helping Nicholas mount up and ride!

Three volunteers helped him on his equine adventure!

.....DOWN THE STRETCH HE COMES.....

Everyone should get a hug from the Easter Bunny at least once a year!

Next year we can use this picture to see how much he has grown...
Over the past two years or so he has grown nearly 9 inches!

The last photo I took before Nicholas some how released the brake, started the engine, turned on the sirens and drove away looking for fires to extinguish!

Thanksgiving 2010 and then Surgery!

It is currently 9:51pm on the evening of Tuesday, February 8, 2011.....I have not blogged since November of 2010......sheeeeesh... To say the least, we have been busy!

Lisa's Father, aka Grandpa, came over the day of Thanksgiving to help us with our tradition of "Grandpa watches Nicholas while we put up our Christmas lights." The week leading up to Thanksgiving day featured unseasonably warm temperatures....so of course the day we decide to spend a couple of hours outside it turns very cold and windy...now when I say cold, I do not mean anything like the week we just endured leading up to Superbowl XLV right here in North Texas. We had 4 days of sub-freezing temperatures, ice covered roads, snow, dangerous driving conditions and my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers came to town and lost....oh well, that's the way the pigskin bounces!
Back to the Christmas lights.....Lisa and I managed to get most of them done while Nicholas went on a walk with Grandpa. Lisa finished the rest of them over the next few days....she also had time to prepare a wonderful Thanksgiving meal that was so delicious! We all enjoyed it very much....except for The Boy....he decided to have yogurt instead....oh well...

A few days after Thanksgiving, Nicholas had surgery to lengthen the tendons in his left foot. Since his homecoming, he has not been able to stand or walk with his left foot flat. The surgery was going to allow him to do so for the first time ever! He was in very good hands at the wonderful Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth. The surgery was early Thursday morning, December 2nd. He would have to stay overnight at the hospital too....this would prove to be quite an adventure for our family! Once the surgery was over we were able to see him in the recovery area....he didn't take long to wake up. Once he did he wanted to take of his heart rate monitor, climb out of bed, make the bed go up and down, etc., etc. After a very long wait, we were finally taken to our room and met the first set of nurses. All of the nurses and Docs were wonderful!! They really understand how to make kids and parents comfortable. Nicholas proceeded to charm every nurse fool enough to enter his room! He was getting all the Jello and pudding he wanted, when ever he wanted it! Mommy and Daddy however forgot to eat anything and went from 6 am until 8:30pm before getting a chance to have a meal. The cafeteria was inexpensive, delicious and open until midnight. The nurse sat with Nicholas while we went to get dinner! After dinner I drove back to the house to feed the doggies, give them some love and then drove back to the hospital. This was my first time staying overnight at a hospital. I was able to get some sleep despite being in a recliner next to his bed and having nurses coming in the room every two hours or so to check his vitals and the circulation of his cast covered lower leg and foot. The next day we met the physical therapist who had the job of getting Nicholas to try and walk with his walking boot and using the world's tiniest walker!....this was a little traumatic for Nicholas and his parents too! Lucky for us, she really knew what she was doing. After promises of even MORE Jello and pudding, Nicholas was able to get around very slowly.....but he was NOT happy about it! The therapist assured us he would be zipping around in no time and of course she was right....it took about three days or so before he got the hang of it and then about week after that, he no longer needed the walker at all! After his second session with the therapist Nicholas got into a red wagon and we took him to the front entrance of the hospital. We heard a rumor that Santa and Mrs. Clause and a bunch of there friends were going to be arriving at the hospital that day via real fire engine!! We left out the part about the fire engine so he would be surprised. We waited and waited and waited and then found out that once the crew was loaded onto the fire engine, they received a call to go put out a fire....so instead of a grand entrance on a giant fire engine, Santa and his posse rolled up in three mini vans and three SUV's. Santa came over and talked to Nicholas for a few minutes....he seemed starstruck! It was a very special moment to witness... A few hours later, we were on our way home....our mission? To keep his left leg elevated for 36 hours! Nothing like trying to keep an active 4, almost 5 year-old to sit on the couch with his leg propped up...and when he was sitting, he had to practice using his walker....also not fun!! Saturday night Nicholas slept in our bed with Lisa, while I slept on the couch....why the couch?? Well I had to get up at 4am to I could go walk the Dallas White Rock Marathon at 8am....which I did in 6 hours and 19 minutes, my 16th overall marathon....but what this really meant is now Lisa had to take care of two boys who were having trouble walking....one from surgery and one from being sore after walking 26.2 miles.....once again, Nicholas and I are so blessed to have Lisa in our lives!! She is the best!!

Two days later, December 7, 2011, Nicholas turned 5 years-old! Two days later, my parents and my brother Howard flew in from California and my sister-in-law Leigh and her two daughters, Jessica and Jackie, flew in from Connecticut. We had an open house birthday party on Saturday, December 11th...fun was had by all!

And now for some pictures!

Helping with the Christmas lights!

Nothing like climbing a ladder in 45 degree weather with 28 mph wind gusts!! Happy Holidays!

Pre-op waiting room. This is where he got into his gown and had some time to "relax" with the help of some medicine stuff they sprayed up his nose.

He explored every inch of the room...

He wanted to check his bear's blood pressure...

Mommy helped!

The beginning of a very long day!

Just a few moments before they took him into surgery. If you look closely you can see where the Doctors autographed his left leg.....so they know which one they are going to work on..

Post Surgery! Relaxing in his room with his bear.

The tiniest walker since famous actress Nancy Walker who was nearly run over by my friend Gabe many years ago. True story. Ask him about it the next time you see him.

The cast! This is the color Nicholas selected. It could be seen from 4000 kilometers away!

Waiting to meet Santa!!

He wanted me to take a picture of his foot, so I did...

He wanted Mommy to take a picture of "both of us with hurt foots." I told him we should look sad for the picture.

Halloween 2010

This was our second Halloween with Nicholas. Last year he literally had no idea what was going on, except of course for the "treats." He did remember dressing up as a pirate last year and when we asked him what he would like to be this year he replied, "Pirate." Since he has grown, (a lot) since last year, we had to get him a bigger sized costume. Speaking of growing....when we arrived home with our little bundle of boy, he was 39 inches tall and weighed 39 pounds. As I write this entry a mere 19 months later, there is a 46 inch tall and 67 pound baby boy fast asleep upstairs! As Nicholas would say, "Sheesh that's a big boy."

This year, like last year, we attended the "Monster Mile," in our community. It was held from 5pm to 7pm on Saturday, October 30th. Not sure if this event is actually a mile or not, because it seems like a lot more than a mile when we are done! But it is worth it since it is so much fun.

Both sides of our main street is decorated with Halloween and Fall decorations and local high school kids dress up in costumes and stand next to 55 gallon containers full of CANDY. Since the beginning is very close to our house, we began walking over to there about 4:45. We learned last year that the earlier you start, the better. When we first moved in to this community there were 901 people....we now have 7,800....Sheesh that's quite a proliferation of people.

We kicked off our Halloween weekend with the second annual carving 'o' the pumpkin. This was something that totally caught Nicholas off guard last year as well. We can only guess what he must have been thinking......"Why is Daddy plunging a large knife into the special pumpkin I picked out at the pumpkin patch?"

Well guess what? It happened again! We got him a pumpkin and then.....well, you'll see....

Enjoy the carving pictures, followed by the Monster Mile pictures.

We did not feel Nicholas was quite ready for actual trick or treating this year, maybe next year.....if we can find someone to hand out candy at our house while the three of us go trick or treating...please have your applications turned in by August 1, 2011.

The face has been drawn, the cutting instruments have been sterilized
and the newspaper has been spread out on the kitchen table...

"Isn't that the same giant knife wielding man who was in my kitchen last year??

Patiently waiting for his chance to show off his carving skills....

Forget the carving! Cleaning out the inside is a lot more fun....

He wanted to clean out the pumpkin all by himself....

But Daddy couldn't let him have all the fun...

He was a little man on a mission...

"If I use both hands, I can work twice as fast and get twice as dirty."

Lisa, our carving expert, consults with Nicholas on ways to increase his seed output...

We gave him a scoop to use, but he preferred the natural approach....

The fruits of his labor...

He was having a sensory overload playing with those pumpkin innards....

This was also a great way to introduce rich vocabulary like, "Squishy," "Gushie," "Stringy,"

"Icky," "Sticky," "Pumpkin Guts,"

"Messy," "Job well done," and finally,
"Don't touch anything until Daddy hoses you off in the driveway!"

Nicholas did not have a good feeling about game 5 which would be played November 1st
and end the World Series...but hey, the Rangers had an amazing season
and we are looking forward to next year and the Yankees didn't win!

Just moments away from the start his voyage to search for candy, candy, candy....

Is there a Pirate Doctor in the house??

Nicholas had just finished answering our question
(What does a pirate say?) with the phrase, "ARRR Matey"

We had just left our driveway and he was already looking for candy in his bag.....

But before we go, just one more picture!!

Along our travels we came across the beautiful Princess Kelsey from the country of Franz...

And now for some real characters!

Pirate Nicholas and Tigger..That's T - I - Double Guh - Er!

Pirate Nicholas and Blue

Pirate Nicholas and Barney

Pirate Nicholas and Spider Man

Pirate Nicholas and Scooby Doo

Pirate Nicholas and Thomas the Train

Pirate Nicholas and Elmo.....he loves Elmo!!

Pirate Nicholas and Winnie the Pooh

Pirate Nicholas and Cinderella

Pirate Nicholas and Darth Vader (one of my favorite pictures!)

Clifford is right....he IS nearly 4 feet tall!!

Hope you enjoyed your Halloween. Mommy and Daddy love you lots!!