Nicholas has been astounding us everyday with his growing vocabulary, but here are 3 words that he has learned that prove he is definately a second child.
1. Treat
2. Chocolate
3. SHARE!
Friday, July 21, 2006
Monday, July 17, 2006
Nick's Favorite Word
Nick: Eat!
Mom: Are you hungry?
Nick: NO!
Mom: You want to eat?
Nick: NO!
Mom: You aren't hungry?
Nick: NO!
(silence)
Nick: EAT!
Moral of the story: Every question or statement made to Nicholas is now answered with a NO!
Mom: Are you hungry?
Nick: NO!
Mom: You want to eat?
Nick: NO!
Mom: You aren't hungry?
Nick: NO!
(silence)
Nick: EAT!
Moral of the story: Every question or statement made to Nicholas is now answered with a NO!
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Winton Woods and Parky's Farm
The kids getting in some practice time on the tractors before helping Daddy with the real thing in just a few short weeks. While Nick's legs are just a little too short to reach the pedals, Katie has it all figured out and can ride with the best of them.
Katie going down the slide at Parky's Farm, a large indoor playground that is themed like a big barn. It is quite cleverly constructed, having all kinds of areas, such as this one, where she could have gone up a rope ladder to reach a third level or come down this slide. The only bummer - NO Air-conditioning!
Nick sitting in a ball pit area, that is themed as a chicken coop. You throw the white eggs (balls) over a fence at 2 foxes, and the 3 chickens (cut out of wood and painted) lay the eggs. Very cute!
Nick, after a tough hike up one of the ladders, just to look out the window at the ponies hanging out in the shade right below. Note the exertion displayed by the tongue hanging out.
Cowgirl Katie
Since we forgot the camera for Katie's first pony ride, here our some pictures of her second. She was very excited to ride upon the pony who's real name was Summer, but who she personally named Princess.
What is more amusing, is that just an hour earlier, as we 
were walking the trail that led by the riding lessons, we ran into a horse named Slow Joe out for a walk with a volunteer. Apparently there is a significant difference between ponies and horses, for this horse made Katie beg and plead to go away and be carried. Funny how one small version of the same animal can cause such joy a short time later.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Fun in the Rain
What else can you do on days like these? The weather was perfect for some time in the puddles. No lightning and lots of rain.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
A Fun Game of Kickball
Katie has now been introduced to the fine art of playing kickball by her Uncle Doug and Daddy. While the game began seemingly to play a game with Katie, as the morning progressed it was the adults?? that really were having the fun. Even Grandpa with his sprained ankle got in on the game, carefully positioning himself to kick, and then hobbling from base to base. It didn't take Katie long to figure out that you could run directly from home to second, bypassing first base, and then round the rest of the bases for an easy homerun. Who knew those little legs could go so fast?
Nick on the other hand, while a sports addict, didn't seem to understand the fundamentals, and during his turn
decided picking up the ball and walking away with it was a much better idea. He was content to just watch the silliness, try to catch various roly-polys and ants, and pick pinecones from under the gigantic douglas fir in the front yard. Maybe we'll hire him out as a landscaper/ pest controller.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Happy 4th!
Sorry, no pictures today.
The 4th of July was a relatively good day here. We went to Winton Woods at about 8:30 in the morning to go play. I packed up the kids swimsuits and put sunscreen on them, but the weather ended up being a little drizzly and then downright rainy, plus the water park was closed for repair and cleaning. So we played on the playground for a while and walked around.
We then drove to another area in the Woods that had a play barn and farm. The barn was very cool. A whole indoor, although unair-conditioned, play area with the most creative areas. It was a 2 story maze of different things to climb, crawl thru, play on, ball pits, slides, etc. Outside they had little John Deere tractors to ride, and an area with farm animals to look at and pet. Katie was most intrigued by the horses and chickens. And of all things, as we were leaving, Katie asked if she could ride a horse. So of course, we said yes. AMAZINGLY, our cautious child, had her 1st pony ride and rode like a champ with a big smile on her face. And of course, we didn't have the camera.
We stopped at McDonald's on the way home, and while it had an indoor play area, you had to wear socks and we didn't have any with us. Thus began Katie's emotional breakdown. For the long ride home (it does take 30 minutes to get anywhere around here) I heard how it was all my fault that she couldn't play and I'm mean and yelled at her.
Later that day, as Mike listened to the shuttle, MCC dialogue, he spun the kids on the computer chair. In this small apartment, there is limited fun and this is one of their favorite activities. Mid-spin, Nick decided to disembark while Mike wasn't looking, and landed flat on his face. He now has a huge swollen lip.
We ended the day by going to McDonald's again, with socks, and letting the kids play. Nick tried several times to go up into the playground, but paranoid mommy is afraid of him getting stuck or lost or tumbling endlessly down a slide, so I wouldn't let him. The day ended happily enough even though we didn't bother to go look at fireworks.
The 4th of July was a relatively good day here. We went to Winton Woods at about 8:30 in the morning to go play. I packed up the kids swimsuits and put sunscreen on them, but the weather ended up being a little drizzly and then downright rainy, plus the water park was closed for repair and cleaning. So we played on the playground for a while and walked around.
We then drove to another area in the Woods that had a play barn and farm. The barn was very cool. A whole indoor, although unair-conditioned, play area with the most creative areas. It was a 2 story maze of different things to climb, crawl thru, play on, ball pits, slides, etc. Outside they had little John Deere tractors to ride, and an area with farm animals to look at and pet. Katie was most intrigued by the horses and chickens. And of all things, as we were leaving, Katie asked if she could ride a horse. So of course, we said yes. AMAZINGLY, our cautious child, had her 1st pony ride and rode like a champ with a big smile on her face. And of course, we didn't have the camera.
We stopped at McDonald's on the way home, and while it had an indoor play area, you had to wear socks and we didn't have any with us. Thus began Katie's emotional breakdown. For the long ride home (it does take 30 minutes to get anywhere around here) I heard how it was all my fault that she couldn't play and I'm mean and yelled at her.
Later that day, as Mike listened to the shuttle, MCC dialogue, he spun the kids on the computer chair. In this small apartment, there is limited fun and this is one of their favorite activities. Mid-spin, Nick decided to disembark while Mike wasn't looking, and landed flat on his face. He now has a huge swollen lip.
We ended the day by going to McDonald's again, with socks, and letting the kids play. Nick tried several times to go up into the playground, but paranoid mommy is afraid of him getting stuck or lost or tumbling endlessly down a slide, so I wouldn't let him. The day ended happily enough even though we didn't bother to go look at fireworks.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
10 Things I Most Definately Do Not Miss About Texas
10. The stink of Houston
9. The tropical rain that comes down in buckets and goes on for days.
8. The fire ants
7. The traffic
6. The lack of seasons
5. The heat
4. The humidity
3. The monster cockroaches
2. Hurricane season
1. The actual HURRICANES and the evacuation worries that come with them.
9. The tropical rain that comes down in buckets and goes on for days.
8. The fire ants
7. The traffic
6. The lack of seasons
5. The heat
4. The humidity
3. The monster cockroaches
2. Hurricane season
1. The actual HURRICANES and the evacuation worries that come with them.
Monday, July 03, 2006
50 Things I Miss About Texas
1. Having a home.
2. My lilies and snapdragons along the side of the house.
3. Katie's Winnie-the-Pooh bedroom.
4. Our king size bed.
5. Sleeping with my husband in our king size bed. (I now sleep with a squirmy 1 year old, while my husband sleeps with our 4 year old)
6. The way the kids used to run back and forth pushing toys or riding their little red truck on the ceramic tile.
7. My wonderful huge soaking tub.
8. My beautifully repainted lavender bathroom.
9. My neighbors.
10. My friends.
11. Having friends for Katie and Nick to play with.
12. Friday night craft night. (I'm afraid the drive is much too long, dear friend)
13. The League City and Harris County libraries.
14. Driving 5 minutes to get pretty much anywhere. (Around here if someone tells you a place is right up the road, assume that means 30 minutes)
15. Blue Bell Ice Cream
16. The Kemah boardwalk
17. The Pizza place at the Kemah boardwalk
18. Water that does not smell funny whenever you run a faucet.
19. Relaxing and talking with good friends.
20. Katie's ballet school
21. Getting to see friends who just moved back to Texas after we had already moved away.
22. Living in a home (did I say that already?)
23. Not needing to think about which rent, mortgage, utility bill is due in which state. (after all we will soon own 2 homes, and have one apartment temporarily - we live in style)
24. Not getting to see the Faith Hill/ Tim McGraw concert. (I've still got my ticket if anyone is interested)
25. Playdates.
26. Normal sized spiders.
27. Having lots of homeschooling moms around.
28. Having a good hospital 5 minutes away.
29. Having great doctors that know me and the kids.
30. Being able to make a dental appointment for the kids without being told to call back next week.
31. Having a happy husband
32. Watching the NASA channel
33. Living in a place where people are friendly.
34. Having a friend who knows a lot about sewing and can help figure things out.
35. Space shuttle launches
36. Galveston and the Strand
37. Moody Gardens
38. Good steaks and baked potatoes.
39. Fourth of July at Kemah's Walmart parking lot
40. Clear lake park
41. Having a babysitter
42. Having friends who lived just around the corner
43. Having a real beach
44. Einstein bagels
45. I think I've actually run out of things, soo
46. Friends (you know who you are)
47. Friends
48. Friends
49. Friends
50. AND A HOME (did I say that)
2. My lilies and snapdragons along the side of the house.
3. Katie's Winnie-the-Pooh bedroom.
4. Our king size bed.
5. Sleeping with my husband in our king size bed. (I now sleep with a squirmy 1 year old, while my husband sleeps with our 4 year old)
6. The way the kids used to run back and forth pushing toys or riding their little red truck on the ceramic tile.
7. My wonderful huge soaking tub.
8. My beautifully repainted lavender bathroom.
9. My neighbors.
10. My friends.
11. Having friends for Katie and Nick to play with.
12. Friday night craft night. (I'm afraid the drive is much too long, dear friend)
13. The League City and Harris County libraries.
14. Driving 5 minutes to get pretty much anywhere. (Around here if someone tells you a place is right up the road, assume that means 30 minutes)
15. Blue Bell Ice Cream
16. The Kemah boardwalk
17. The Pizza place at the Kemah boardwalk
18. Water that does not smell funny whenever you run a faucet.
19. Relaxing and talking with good friends.
20. Katie's ballet school
21. Getting to see friends who just moved back to Texas after we had already moved away.
22. Living in a home (did I say that already?)
23. Not needing to think about which rent, mortgage, utility bill is due in which state. (after all we will soon own 2 homes, and have one apartment temporarily - we live in style)
24. Not getting to see the Faith Hill/ Tim McGraw concert. (I've still got my ticket if anyone is interested)
25. Playdates.
26. Normal sized spiders.
27. Having lots of homeschooling moms around.
28. Having a good hospital 5 minutes away.
29. Having great doctors that know me and the kids.
30. Being able to make a dental appointment for the kids without being told to call back next week.
31. Having a happy husband
32. Watching the NASA channel
33. Living in a place where people are friendly.
34. Having a friend who knows a lot about sewing and can help figure things out.
35. Space shuttle launches
36. Galveston and the Strand
37. Moody Gardens
38. Good steaks and baked potatoes.
39. Fourth of July at Kemah's Walmart parking lot
40. Clear lake park
41. Having a babysitter
42. Having friends who lived just around the corner
43. Having a real beach
44. Einstein bagels
45. I think I've actually run out of things, soo
46. Friends (you know who you are)
47. Friends
48. Friends
49. Friends
50. AND A HOME (did I say that)
A Day Of Firsts
Nick had his first painting experience today at almost 21 months old. While he liked using the brush to paint, as soon as he got a little paint on his finger he wasn't so sure he liked it anymore. So after two quick pictures, a little paint in the mouth and hair, it was time to clean up, which he enjoyed immensely. Anytime we tell him "go wash hands", you hear him yelling "HAND, HAND" and the pitter patter of little feet running to the bathroom.
Katie, on the other hand, had her 1st viewing of the Wizard of Oz, which lasted approximately 20 minutes. Just long enough for her to make it through the black-and- white footage, and get her first glimpse of the wicked witch of the west. Promptly as Dorothy got the magic red ruby slippers, Katie declared this movie to be too scary, and that was the end of that. I had debated off and on, when would be a good age to introduce her to such a great classic movie, knowing full well what an impression the wicked witch once had on me, but decided to just let her see it anyway. Obviously 4 is still too young. Maybe next year!
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