Thanksgiving 2009

Ok, so...yeah...now that next week is Christmas...I suppose I should finally write about Thanksgiving!  I just haven't been in the blogging mood, and now that I'm so far behind, other things have happened since that need to be mentioned.  So, here goes...

As I said before, we went to El Paso for Thanksgiving to visit Granny and Poppa.  This was Nicky's first trip to west Texas, and since he doesn't yet have the capability to string together sentences which always make a ton of sense, I'll say it for him..."it was a fun trip, but the next time we go, can we please fly instead?!"  Wow.  10 hours in a car with a 3 1/2 year old.  I know our parents did it all the time when we were little.  But, jeez.  That's a long time to be in the car as an adult!  Thank goodness for portable dvd players!!!  And, it's a good thing we have a decent-size vehicle (Pathfinder), because 1.) although we were only going to be gone from home for 4 days, we packed as if we were never returning; and b.) I was able to slip back and forth between the front and back seats with ease!  It seems as though Nicky kicks the back of my seat a lot less when I'm sitting next to him...hmm...coincidence?  I think not!

Thanksgiving day, we decided to take Nicky to the parade in downtown El Paso.  We arrived right at the start time, and since we placed ourselves at the ending spot, we didn't miss a thing.  Of course, we stood there for an hour people-watching (WOW), and never did see any of the parade itself.  Granny, however, who stayed at home to prepare our yummy Thanksgiving feast, watched the parade on tv (smart lady, that Granny), and informed us that it would be a while before the parade made it our way as they were still close to the start-point after an hour!  Needless to say, we went home...but not before we took a few pictures...

Nicky & Poppa "in" the parade...

We all pitched in to help Granny with the last-minute dinner details.  Here's Nicky (looking oh-so-thrilled - in his defense, he had just gotten up from his nap) making the ice-cream (for our dessert - although would've made an excellent gravy!)...

After dinner, we all piled into the mini-van (which Kris threatens to buy me as my next car, and although they are quite comfy and roomy, I swear to never own one) and drove around in pursuit of Christmas lights.  We were surprised to find that not many people had decorated yet, so the lights of Juarez were the highlight (pun intended) of our journey.  (those of you oh so lucky to receive a Christmas card from us this year are getting a sneak-peek of this year's picture).

Our cousins Becky, Mike and their daughter Erina joined us for the holiday.  Nicky had them eating out of the palm of his hand by the end of our trip!  Or, as the photo below suggests, he also had them feeding him...

...and building tents with him (thanks Erina!)...and reading books to him...and playing cars with him...and you name it.  Noooo...he's not spoiled at all!

The day after Thanksgiving, we went out for Mexican food.  Mike ordered an Arnold Palmer, and apparently our server didn't know what it was (must have been the language barrier) - half lemonade/half tea - all in one glass.  Instead, a lemonade and a tea were delivered to the table, and in order to achieve the drink he was hoping for, Mike had to double-straw it!  Check out Nicky's face while viewing such a sight...

We drove home during the late afternoon/evening/night, thinking that Nicky would sleep some of the way (nice thought, but didn't work too well).  Before we left, we tried like crazy to wear the little Russky out.  We all played in the backyard with Nicky, having him run around chasing a ball...that is, until someone - who shall remain nameless, ahem, Daddy - knocked it over the fence into a neighbor's yard, causing a full-on melt-down.  All of that, and a full belly, and he still only napped for about half an hour!  Oh well...like I said, thank goodness for portable dvd players!  Here's a sweet picture of Nicky and Erina before we left...

And a picture of Nicky with his Granny & Poppa...I took about 10 pictures before I could get one of Nicky looking at the camera, smiling, not playing with his shoe, etc.  What is it about trying to get a toddler to look at the camera and smile on cue?!  Why is that such a hard task?!  Sigh.

Here's the best picture from the whole trip.  Nicky experiencing his first side-of-the-road potty break!  Nicky and Daddy both giggled like school girls the whole time Nicky peed!  The next time we stopped to fill up the car, and to go potty, Nicky asked "i go pisca in grass?".  He was actually disappointed when we told him no.  I don't get what all the hype is about going pisca outside...I guess you have to have a penit to understand!

We hope you and your families all had a Happy Thanksgiving...I know we did!

Nicky the Vampire

I guess with all the vampire craze these days, Nicky decided he didn't want to be left out.  Me, I'm more "Team Jacob"...goodness...have you seen the boy sans shirt?!  Anywho...I digress. 

So, I get to Nicky's school last night and I walk into his class and find him sitting at a table playing with some "friends".  The teacher (a sub, not one of his regular teachers) comes up to me and tells me that Nicky has been sinking his fangs into his friends (ok...she really just said he's been biting his friends, but it's more fun to say it my way).  This is the first we've heard of such a thing, so I said "Biting?!" (as if I didn't hear her correctly).  She nodded and said "Yes, yesterday he bit one friend on the arm, and today he bit another friend on the leg".  I then looked at Nicky and asked "Nicky, have you been biting your friends?".  At first he looked at me with an "uh oh...I'm busted" kind of look; then it changed to a smirk accompanied by a slight giggle.  I didn't know what to say - I just looked at him dumbfounded.  The teacher said "Oh yes, this is what he does when we tell him not to bite - he laughs at us."  She went on to tell me that he then receives a time-out and they talk to him about the behavior.  I told her we would talk to him about it, and apologized for his actions (not sure why I apologized...my chompers didn't meet with my friends' flesh, but I just felt that I should). 

When we got home I asked Nicky why he was biting his friends, and of course I got the "i don't know" response (seriously, did I really think he would give me an explanation?!).  I asked him who he bit on the arm and he told me "alexandra"; I asked him who he bit on the leg and he told me some name (a boy's) that I couldn't understand.  (he's an equal opportunity biter at least)  As if to say "i've already been punished for this, so can we move on and can i watch tv now?", he tells me "i sit in time out".  Ok...but...we're still gonna talk about this mister!  I asked him if his friends bite him (which I know they do, as he's come home with huge, red, mouth-shaped marks on his hand, arm, and forehead - interesting spot to gnaw on, but hey, I guess you just bite whatever you can get hold of).  He told me that yes, his friends do bite him.  I asked him if it hurts and does he like it when his friends bite him.  He told me that, yes, it hurts and no, he doesn't like it (well, I'm glad we cleared that part up - I was worried there for a minute!).  So I told him biting is not something you do to your friends and to please not do it anymore because it hurts and is not nice (yeah, so there!).  I tried to explain that when you're upset or frustrated with your friends you need to just use your words, or go tell a teacher (great, now I'm creating a tattle-tale...).  I may have then added, for good measure, "Santa doesn't bring presents to little boys that bite their friends" (Is that mean to tell him?  I don't know, but at that moment I felt it might give me some leverage).  I mean, what is it you say to stop a child from biting?

Well, my answer was in Parents Magazine - this month's issue had lots of advice on the subject - how'd they know?   Anyway, it basically said to do as I did (sans the Santa comment I would suspect) - don't make that big of a deal about it (I WAS rather calm while speaking to him...may have had something to do with the glass of wine I had with dinner), and to acknowledge that him being frustrated led him to bite.  Yay!  I did those things!  The question is, will I receive a report that Nicky's played another game of Twilight at school today?  I hope not...wouldn't that be somethin' if my words really sunk in?!  Sigh...I can dream, can't I?

Ladies Man Part 2

I was all geared up to blog about Thanksgiving tonight, that is, until I had the following coversation with my son.  It was way too, well, too I don't know what, so I had to share.  It went a little something like this...

I had just given Nicky a shower and was putting his pj's on him.  He had chosen a lovely pair, which he received as a hand-me-down from his cousin Brenden, that had stripes and a small car embroidered on the left breast.  After pulling the shirt over his big head, Nicky tells me there's a car on his shirt.  He then giggles and says "there a car on my boobeet!".  I just nodded in agreement.  He then proceeds to tell me "i go see boobeet morrow" - very matter-of-fact.  I just continued dressing him without really much more than an "umm hmm".  Nicky, with a huge ear to ear grin, emphatically says, "i go see boobeet morrow!  eat pizza!"  It was then that it dawned on me.  He wants to go back to the grill and bar, Third Base.  You see, it was 'bikini night' when we took the little pimp ladies man, and Nicky much enjoyed checking out all the hot, YOUNG chicks.  (I'm pretending that Nicky was the only male at our table that enjoyed the scenery that much...Daddy definitely only has eyes for Momma!)  Needless to say, I really didn't know how to respond to his request.  The more I tried to get him to pick out books to read, the more he kept telling me what he wanted to go see.  I somehow managed to steer him back to books/bedtime.  I always thought I wanted to be one of those moms that their son wants to talk to about girls, etc...after my first dose of such a conversation (and keep in mind, he's only 3 1/2!!!), I think I've definitely changed my mind!  Does he have to grow up?!

Forklift Nicky

This year we went to El Paso for Thanksgiving to spend time with Granny and Poppa.  Nicky is all boy and loves trucks, "diggers", tractors, etc.  Every "digger" we drive by Nicky will shout "i drive that digger!", so he was especially excited about this visit because he was promised a trip to Poppa's work, where he would drive a forklift and "big truck"!  It was a beautiful sunny day, although a bit chilly, so Nicky donned his new gloves Granny found for him (technically they're gardening gloves, but, they did the trick - they kept his hands clean and warm) - they have dinosaurs all over them, so Nicky was excited to wear them.  He's still a little goofy about wearing gloves...he will sit with his hands in the air, as if unable to move them, until he is distracted by doing something where he is forced to use them.

We got to Poppa's work and Nicky made his rounds flirting with the girls in the office, then it was down to business.  His face lit up and he was so excited he could barely contain his enthusiasm!  He was stuck to his Poppa like glue, not wanting to miss out on anything.  Here's a picture of Nicky and Poppa after climbing aboard the forklift...

Check out the smile on this kid as he "drives"...he was definitely an expert by the time we left.  He loves to push buttons and figure out how things work.

Here's Nicky lifting an empty container.  Once they got it up in the air, they drove around a bit - Nicky pointed and said "look momma!"  Made me think of the athletes that say "hi Mom" when interviewed on tv! 

I think Nicky was more impressed with the driving and the pushing of buttons than actually doing any "work".  As they were lifting the chassis, several "big trucks" were pulling into the lot.  Nicky's attention quickly turned to them, and he waved and said "hi" to the drivers.

Nicky preparing to drive the "big truck"...

Here is a picture of 3 generations of handsome Johnson boys...

As we left Poppa's work and were securing Nicky in his car seat, he announces "i go poppa's work morrow".  I think it's safe to say he was quite impressed and thoroughly enjoyed himself!  Thank you, Poppa, for the fun day!

Momma's Birthday...

And I'm not telling how old I am...and if the question arises, I'll say "27"!  (tee hee hee!)  I have to say, as far as birthdays go, this was one of the best ones I've had yet.  It's really the first one I've celebrated with Nicky, as last year he had only been with us a few months and didn't understand it at all.  This year, on the night of my actual birthday, Kris and Nicky took me to dinner at a yummy German restaurant (Bavarian Grill), and since we had just finished the Vegan Diet, we were able to enjoy rich creamy sauces and our favorite - CHEESE!!!  Nicky was thrilled by the "choo choo" that runs around the ceiling of the dining room, so Momma and Daddy were able to sit back and enjoy the evening without having to constantly entertain Nicky.  I was even serenaded by the accordian-playing one-man-band (the "Anneliese Polka Song"), and had a special "happy birthday" song played on some Alpine bells!  Nicky sang me "happy birthday" several times throughout the day, and gave me a new pair of soccer sandals (I wear them around the house and had just torn my pair of 5 years in half).

The following evening, Nana and Pop joined us for a fun weekend.  Nicky got his "big boy bed"; Pop, Kris and Nicky went to tour the new Cowboys Stadium (Pop's a huge Cowboys fan); Momma and Nana had a fun girls-only shopping/lunch day; and we all enjoyed some delish Turkish cuisine (we lived in Turkey for 2 years when I was growing up, so we consider ourselves expert judges).  Nicky decided that his favorite part of the meal was Momma's dirty martini (the olives to be exact), and couldn't keep his eyes off it!

If turning another year older means I have to celebrate with such good company, then I suppose having a birthday isn't all that bad afterall!  (I could do without the new wrinkles though!)