Fun in the Sun Weekend

hi friends...it's me, nicky j! :) i wanted to tell you all about my super-fun weekend i had with my momma and daddy. it all started saturday morning when momma took me to "darget" (Target in Nicky-speak) to buy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 toys for me to play with in my friend gina's swimming pool. i got a fun boat (momma says it's a raft, but it's big, it floats, and you can get in it...so it must be a boat!), some goggles that make me look like an olympic swimmer, a football for daddy, and a bunch of fun squishy animals that float around the pool - i'm so lucky! anyway...after nap time, we all went over to gina's house to swim and then daddy grilled some yummy food for us to eat for dinner. here are some fun pictures of us...

here's me all geared up and ready to get in! how ya like my goggles?!momma made daddy put this sunscreen stuff on me 1st - i didn't like it at all! i was just ready to get in that pool already!
here's me testing the water...it was a little chilly at first, so me and momma took our time getting in all the way.
silly momma said the water was still cold, so gina took me on my boat for a ride!

momma finally got in and i decided to play in this cool fountain thingy. it was so fun to put my feet on it and splash momma in the face!

my new nick-name is "nicky noodles" - not sure why - my momma just started calling me that, so i'm just going along with it cuz it sounds silly! anyway - here's me and my family floating on some noodles - i like those things! daddy used them like an elpant's (Elephant in Nicky-speak) trunk and momma used them as trumpets...these people are crazy!
here's me floating with my best friend ever - my dad!
ok - so i'll admit - after all this fun swimming in the sun i got a little sleepy...
...but then i got my 2nd wind when i got out of the pool and found this really cool door!
it was so much fun to go in and out of the house this way...we gotta get one of them at our house!
then i built me a fort with this cool chair...gina's got some fun stuff to play with at her house! thank you, gina for letting us come over to swim and play!!!

sunday morning momma and me went back to darget - she says she "forgot something" when we went yesterday, but i think she just likes that store! anyway - after we went there, she took me to this place called central market for lunch, with the promise of some playground time...she delivered! there was a big, cool old mac donald's barn thing to climb on with some fun slides! momma forgot her camera, so there are no shots of me in action, but she says we'll go back "later" (Note: if we don't do something right now with Nicky, it's always either in a minute, tomorrow and/or later & usually always in that order...as long as he knows he's getting what he wants at some point, he's good!). after nap time, daddy came home from work and we all went to the backyard to give the dogs a bath - they don't really like it, but it was pretty fun! i didn't like it when they shook all the water on me...why do they do that anyway? and - i got some dog hair on my hands & that was YUCKY! oh well - it was still a good time.

here's me brushing blitzer

and here's me helping momma spray bailey

after the dog's bath, i got to play in my water table...now that was more my speed!

after all that tomfoolery, i finally got to relax with my new "baby", sammy the cat (my friend gina gave him to me yesterday and he's joined me and jack bunny in all our antics around town today). i watched a new movie called the aristocats and i liked it a lot, so i might have to add it to my loop of movies. momma said she was "so over" shrek, nemo and lion king - whatever - they're my faves and i can't get enough of them!

here's me lookin' cool while i ate my yummy dessert! momma made some brownies and mixed it with some yummy vanilla yogurt (my favorite) and some blackberries! (Note: the sunglasses did not leave his face all day, except for sleeping and bath-time! He got so many compliments on them while we were out and about!)

well, i don't know about you peeps, but i had an awesome, fun-filled weekend! i hope you all did too and i hope you enjoyed my pictures!

smell ya later gators! nicky j :)

Family Trip to St Louis

I'll start out this post with a little bit of personal history... My dad was in the Air Force, so we moved around a bit, and we ended up in the St Louis, MO area. I ended up finishing high school and college there, and began my early adult years living and working in the area, so St Louis (StL) is pretty much where I consider "home" - at least as longevity goes, it's the place I've spent the most time during my 35 years on this planet. That being said, I've always wanted to take Kris there, but we've always had other more fabulous places that topped our travel charts (Europe, the Caribbean, El Paso...well...we do have family we're kinda partial to that live there!). My sister-in-law, Caroline, and her kids, Brenden (5 yrs old) and Emily (3 1/2 yrs old) just moved back to that area, so what better time to make a visit to my old haunts than with the little banshee (Nicky's most frequently used nick-name...he's a wild man!) in tow?! I've made the drive from StL to to San Antonio many a time, so I know every stop along the way, and am well-aware of the amount of time it takes to get from here to there. Mapquest said 10 hours and 1 minute...we made it there in 11 hours...not bad with a 3 year old I think! And - the funny thing is, we had to make more stops for Momma and Daddy than we did for the little guy! We are thrilled to report that Nicky was AWESOME in the car!!! He behaved so well it was unbelievable! I expected some tantrums and mayhem, but there was no ballyhoo coming from that backseat whatsoever! He was happy to sit and watch "The Lion King", "Nemo", "Shrek" and "Madagascar", and play with a few toys in between; he even took an hour or so nap! It was more of the same behavior on the way home too - he only had one little mishap...God was definitely on our side those days!

As for the visit itself - we had so much fun! The cousins got along famously! We couldn't believe how well they behaved together - they didn't have one single squabble! Sure, there were a few times that one didn't want to share with the other, but after asking them to they would always do so...very odd! And they were so cute together - they held hands everywhere we went and it was completely evident that Nicky idolizes his older (yet not much bigger) cousin, Brenden. They gave each other hugs galore and we all felt like one big happy family...Kris was even asked if the three kids were triplets!

Fun things to do while visiting the StL area:

1. Watch a Cardinals Game!!!

(Nicky stayed at home with his Aunt Caroline & cousins while Momma & Daddy rooted for Momma's favorite team...go Redbirds...beat the Cubbies!)

(this is me & my friend Heather & her son...I lived with her in the StL area way back in the day! man do we have some crazy stories...that Nicky will NEVER hear!)

2. Feed the "quack quacks" at Brenden & Emily's house
(nicky looooves him some quack quacks! couldn't get enough of them! every day he wanted to know where they were and wanted to go out and check on them.)

3. Visit the St Louis Zoo

(wild & crazy zoo animals!)

(Nicky & Daddy just before the melt-down...in all fairness, we had just filled his belly and we were embarking upon naptime!)

4. Cruise around the neighborhood in the Barbie Dream Car
(Aw...don't they make a cute couple?! Meanwhile, Emily was shooting a mean game of hoops with her Uncle Kris!)

5. Visit the St Louis Science Center

(building the arch at the Science Center...good thing we had a tall dude with us! the kids thought it was great fun when it came toppling over and knocked Uncle Kris/Daddy over and they all fell on top of him too!)

6. Dance Party at the Mills House!

(I did have a video to put in this spot, but it was taking way too long to upload...trust me when I say it is hilarious!!! Man...Uncle Kris has some super fly moves! The kids' moves are pretty sweet as well...that Emily can get lowww! When we could get him to participate, Nicky very much loved running around the house each night after dinner and dancing like a crazy man!)

7. "Big Kid" party time...
(the children were safe, all snug in their beds with a babysitter...)

All in all we had a great visit, and we can't wait to go back to do it all over again!!! Nicky asks us if we're going to see Brenden and Emily every day now, and wants to know where they are and what they're doing. We sure wish we all lived closer to each other! :( Thank you so much, Aunt Caroline, Brenden & Emily for making our trip so fun and we hope we get to see you soon!

1st Mother's Day

A little late on posting about this momentous occasion, but oh well...better late than never, right?! My parents came up for the weekend, so it was especially nice. Even better, Momma & Daddy got to have an all-adult day on Saturday!!! We went to a matinee showing of the musical Rent - for those that don't know, I worked as an HIV/AIDS counselor in a former life, and this show really has a special place in my heart. I've seen it in London, St Louis, Chicago, and now Dallas! This was Kris' first viewing (other than the movie), and he enjoyed it as well. After a quick wardrobe change, we were off to a friend's wedding, where we enjoyed being amongst a few other couples we're friends with, and stayed up much past our normal bedtimes...and possibly had a few adult beverages as well!

In the meantime, Mr Nicky enjoyed an afternoon of playing with Nana and Pop, visiting the Dallas Zoo (he got to ride a "horsey" again!), and dinner at McDonald's! Here are a few pictures of the fun (as you can see in some of the pics his little face is still healing from the fall at school)...

Friday night Nicky and Nana played in Nicky's new sand/water table while Pop grilled us some yummy dinner. Nicky loved helping Momma water the plants, getting wet, and most of all, playing with all the toys in the water!

Daddy got up Sunday morning and cooked us all a big breakfast and Nicky gave Momma and Nana our Mother's Day Presents (a book and a watch for me & a necklace and earring set for Nana). Alas, the fun came to an end Sunday afternoon when Nana and Pop loaded up "Popt Truck" (as Nicky calls it) and drove back home. Now, every couple days Nicky asks "Nana Pop coming?" - guess that's a sign that he had a good time!

The Dreaded Incident Report

So there it was...waving in all its glory by the sign-in/out sheet as I approached Nicky's classroom this evening. The dreaded incident report. As I mentioned a few posts back, this is how the teachers at Nicky's school keep us parents informed about the little (and big) mishaps/accidents that go on while our little angel is away from us. We have received a few telling us that he's fallen down while at play; and two have spoken of a "friend" biting Nicky. When we've asked him who the biter was, he tells us it's the big bad "Darlet" - the name has been translated to "Nicky speak" to protect the so called innocent (I, of course, added the "big, bad" part). Funny thing is, the teachers completely leave off the "innocent child's" (aka antagonist) name from these reports, however, Nicky is all too willing to supply the name for us when asked! Today's report was no different. It read something as follows: "A "friend" pinched both of Nicky's cheeks while they were in the bathroom washing their hands and left scratch marks on both sides". Hmmmm...a friend? Really? I don't know about you, but my friends don't tend to do this type of activity with my face, nor do they practice random biting techniques on my person! (well...Kris might...but that's another story all together and this is a PG blog! LOL!) My point is, I never believed my mom when she would tell me that the boys that picked on me at the playground did so because they "liked me" and that was just their way of showing it! Nor do I believe that is why "Darlet" is doing so now. I have to mention, "Darlet" is a big girl for a 3 year old - and she totally looks like a "Darlet" too - big, mean, and burly! I probably should't say that about a little kid, but dude...she's picking on my baby! So - what do I do about it? Well, I suppose the grown-up thing to do is call Nicky's teacher and find out what part he has in this. Maybe "Darlet" isn't doing these things completely unprovoked - Nicky does have a way of pushing one's buttons...I've got some buttons...he's been known to push them. But...look at this face...maybe "Darlet" really does merely have a crush on him and he just won't go steady with her... Of course, if she doesn't knock it off, there won't be much of his cute face left!

"Be Right Back" - Part 2

In an earlier similarly titled post, I mentioned how often we use the phrase "be right back" in our household. Well, I didn't fully understand how important this little phrase was until I neglected to use it the other morning when I left Nicky alone in the bathroom. It was the same as any other morning. I put him on the potty, grabbed his pull-up to take to the trash in the kitchen, told him to go "ocaccalo" and that I was going to get his breakfast. I all but said "be right back". I assumed it was implied. Well, we all know what happens when one assumes things. I'm in the kitchen, preparing breakfast, when I hear the loudest, most urgent, blood curdling screaming coming from our master bathroom. "Momma! Momma! Momma!". Back to the bathroom I went, running as fast as I could. I thought he must have launched himself off our handicap-height toilet (Kris is rather tall, and therefore purchased a taller than normal, toilet for our bathroom) and banged his head on our iron pedestal tub. Nope, not so. Not so at all. As I reached the water closet area, Nicky immediately stopped crying, looked up at me from the toilet, took a deep breath, and with tear-stained face said "Momma. Be right back?". Note to self: Do Not Leave Child Unattended Without Telling Said Child Where You're Going and That You Will Be Right Back!!! Once again, the child has trained the stupid parent.