October 31, 2009

Two days ago Nicholas got to experience his first Halloween! I am sure he is still trying to figure out why we took him to a special location to purchase his very own pumpkin only to cut it open and roast its insides! This was of course followed by dressing up in a strange new outfit and walking around the neighborhood collecting "treats."

And now for some photos.....

Getting ready for the first incision...



"Are you sure you really want to do this Dad?"

Suddenly the boy who dislikes getting peanut butter and jelly on his fingers wants to join in the fun!

Using his very own scoop to get the seeds out....

Getting every seed requires total concentration...

Scoop? Who needs a scoop!

Roll those sleeves up and get to work!

This is a young man on a mission!

This "stuff" feels kind of cool...

Time to watch Mommy show off her mad carving skills....

A lit candle inside is the final touch!

And now for a quick costume change...

(David Lee Roth called from 1983...he wants his pants back)

Preparing for his maiden candy seeking voyage...

I swear this couch is moving up and down, and up and down, and up and down

The S.S. Nicholas setting sail for the 2009 Lantana Monster Mile. At 5pm on Halloween our community staged a "mile" long route lined with local high school kids dressed in costumes and handing out candy to kids of all ages. This was our first time to attend the Monster Mile. We brought the wagon thinking Nicholas would not be able to walk the whole time...well he showed us.....he walked nearly the entire route and collected a good amount of candy. He even got a few hugs from various characters and said "Thank you" after getting a treat!

Getting a hug from Cinderella....

The rough seas caused him to lose his headband causing him to look more like a Quaker than a Pirate!

We started a new tradition this year...

The morning after Halloween we went for a walk and picked up all the candy wrappers and candy we encountered on our journey around the neighborhood...

Happy Halloween!!

Please Peruse Our Priceless Precious Pumpkin Patch Pictures

Breaking News......Our boy has sampled the first leg of the Cap 'n' Crunch trilogy.....Crunch Berries!!

Before we picked out our pumpkin Nicholas wanted to try out the two-story inflatable slide.....Daddy had to help him climb the steps....he did the rest!

Daddy and Nicholas sharing a moment after conquering the giant slide....he was ready to go "AGAIN!"

Riding in the wagon after the pumpkin selection was completed....sorry for going out of order, but it's late and I want to go to bed!!

Reaching speeds in excess of 3 MPH.....

Finding the right pumpkin requires a lot of heavy lifting....

A lot of heavy lifting is required to find the right pumpkin!

Which way should I go? Which way should I go??

I will stop for a picture with Mommy......but only for 5 seconds!

I got this....step aside Daddy.....

Who made these things so heavy??

More Milestones!!

Nicholas has started to use 3-word sentences!! He now says, "I did it!" after doing something like finishing his juice or picking up a toy....

During one of our recent early evening walks Nicholas was trying to find the moon...as soon as it came into view he said, "There it is!"
His language is still improving nearly everyday....thanks to his wonderful Mommy who talks to him all day, everyday, all the time.....




We recently had our first family pancake breakfast morning....Nicholas loved his pancakes....Mommy made them this time, but Daddy will make the next batch!






While the pancakes were cooking I thought some early morning tickling was a good way to pass the time!

First bite of a pancake!!

Second bite, with a overly animated Daddy!

Out of sequence shot of his first two pancakes pre-butter and syrup...

SIX MONTHS!!!

We have now been the proud parents of Nicholas Alexander Aronin for 6 months. He has brought us loads of happiness and joy....he's made us laugh and cry and on a few occasions even yell....but that's what kids do, right?? :-)

Since we have not blogged in a while I will just touch on some big events just to peak your interest and then expand/expound?? on them later....

1. Back in April we made an appointment for Nicholas to see a Pediatric Neurologist as suggested by our Dr....this is standard for kids with Cerebral Palsy. The first appointment was not until October! We learned A LOT and have been through a A LOT since then....More details later!

2. Nicholas had his first Bounce House experience!!

3. Nicholas (and his Daddy) went to their first Pumpkin Patch!

4. First time in child care (5 and half hours!!) while Mommy and Daddy attended conference about Adoption and Foster Care presented by a local church that has a wonderful Adoption and Foster Care Ministry.

5. Nicholas is getting ready for his first round of American holidays....first up..Halloween!

More later!!

Home Improvement

After nearly six years in our house we have finally been able to have our patio covered...this will allow us to actually step foot outside during the hot summer months here in Texas...(April through October)

We have hired a handy man to do 97.37% of the work...this allows me to help out a little and also gave us some wonderful photo opportunities since our boy loves to play in the dirt!

And away we go....






A true professional always makes sure their equipment is working order.

Is this small boy actually moving this tremendously heavy wheelbarrow or is it your imagination?

"Hey man...you are totally digging in the wrong place...who said you could bring your dog to the construction site and where the heck is my apple juice??"

What's gonna work?? Teamwork!! (Wonder Pets reference)

Helping Daddy find the right spot to dig!

Under the supervision of Nicholas I am attempting to dig 18 inches wide and 6 inches deep in order to extend our patio..

Somebody please put some more dirt in here!!

And now...Deep Thoughts with Richard.....

Having a kid is hard work.....mentally, physically and emotionally...

I appreciate my amazing wife Lisa more and more everyday...

Neither of our dogs like being surprised by a small boy...

Sometimes after we return from our nightly walk, Nicholas is fast asleep. I really enjoying carrying him upstairs and placing him in bed....I know I won't always be able to so I need to appreciate it while it lasts.

Nicholas LOVES all things having to do with Construction sites and Fire Trucks! He has a series of DVD's showing giant pieces of machinery in action...he watches it several times a day....

He also loves the show Yo Gabba Gabba.....if you are not familiar with it, look it up...it's kinda trippy....

Nicholas has a beautiful smile and a wonderful laugh.

Nicholas has learned many many English words and is now starting to put them together in two word phrases....and all in about 5 months!

Nicholas understands A LOT more then he can speak.

We are looking forward to our first...Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve as a family.

We thank God all the time for bringing Nicholas into our lives...

More Milestones!!

On Sunday, August 30th Nicholas got to meet his Uncle Tom for the very first time! Due to scheduling conflicts his drive up from Houston was long overdue.

The moment we "got" Nicholas on April 13, 2009.....(His "Gotcha Day")...he immediately had, One Great Grandmother, One Grandmother, Two Grand Fathers, Five Uncles, Three Aunts and Eight First Cousins..


After meeting Tom on Sunday, Nicholas has now met Three of his Five Uncles.


Tom arrived in a giant Ford F 350 Truck that Nicholas immediately wanted to check out. He was even able to take his first giant truck ride as Tom slowly took us for a spin around the block....nothing like the smell of Diesel and the roar of engine powerful enough to tow a small church....ala "The Jerk," with Steve Martin.....


Once we finished our spin around the mean streets of Lantana, we spotted the local Ice Cream Truck.

Although Nicholas has had ice cream since coming home, he has never had ice cream purchased from the sidewalk of his own home from a giant van blaring the same song over and over and over and.....


So after treating us to a ride in his monster truck, Uncle Tom then became the first person to buy Nicholas an ice cream (actually a Popsicle...his first ever!) from the ice cream man/woman/person....


After the ice cream it was time for dinner.....ANOTHER MILESTONE...The first time we have allowed Nicholas to have ice cream BEFORE dinner...this was unheard of in my day....my parents always made sure we cleaned our plates before allowing us to have one graham cracker with some cool whip on it and then we had to do our homework, our chores and then off to bed at 7:00...


Tom and Nicholas really hit it off... He let Nicholas play with his i-phone (another first!) and sat and read some books with him. Nicholas loves all things Truck and Machine related and Tom explained how many of the machines and trucks worked out in the real world....Tom also brought Nicholas a toy truck...a remote controlled replica of his Ford F 350.....we all agreed he was not ready for the remote control aspect....but that didn't stop him from playing with it the whole time Tom was here and he continues to keep it in the "top toy rotation." Thanks again for the cool gift!!! We look forward to Tom's next visit so he can help us with some projects and give Nicholas another truck ride!





In other Nicholas related news......


I think I mentioned before that he was able to recognize the letter "W" and calls it...."Duhwel you you you".....very cute....well on our walk a few days ago he saw the letter "T" and said...get ready for this...."TEE" Although Lisa works on the whole alphabet and spelling certain words with him everyday....he can seemingly only recognize T and W..... Totally Weird huh??



Lisa recently taught him to say hello in Spanish...he can now say, "HOLA."



He is also saying....."I see you...." and uses "OH MAN" in context...


He can recognize and say some shapes...Circle, Square, Triangle, Heart, Star....we are working on Octagon, Parallelogram, Rhombus, Scalene Triangle and Trapezoid....


He can say all of the basic colors and is most consistent identifying items that are RED...like Stop signs, Fire Trucks and when the Dow has a bad day.


And now some pictures!


In the back seat of the GIANT truck...

Getting his very first Popsicle, purchased by one of his Uncles, from an Ice Cream Truck!

In the driver's seat!

He is totally ready for Autopia at Disneyland!

In back seat with Grandpa talking him through the "buckle up" process.

Unbuckled and on the move.......again......

Uncle Tom explaining, "One of the most important things to keep in mind when going from split-shot injectors to single-shot units is tuning. To be specific, it's in the timing. Split-shot engines typically use 1 degree of timing advance at idle, while single-shot engines require 11 degrees. After our install was complete, we pulled the F5 chip attached to the power train control module (PCM) and had John Wood Automotive reburn it with DP Tuner's programming, which allowed the new, single-shot injectors to work problem-free both at idle, and on the throttle."

Nicholas updating his FB Status to...."Just had some Mac and Cheese; now sitting on Uncle Tom's lap"

Reading with Uncle Tom is F-U-N!!!

His very own Ford F 350 Diesel!!
Tom showing how to install snow tires....just in case....