Intermission

August 8th, Nina plays with some of the toys at the cardiologist office. It was a time we hoped would be filled with good news. Instead the doctor’s appearance terrified her, and it was pretty much wasted time. See this image larger.

We went to return Nina to daycare, to find her class was outside enjoying some water activities in the summer sun. The problem was, nobody was inside to help us find Nina’s lotion… nobody except for Nina! She led us right to the right spot! See this image larger.

So she went right outside and joined them! See this image larger.

The kids really enjoy “painting” the building with a fresh coat of water. See this image larger.

At home on the 11th, Nina sets the table for five, knowing that Grandma Sue would be showing up soon! See this image larger.

Inspired by recent news in space travel, Ian built his own Mars rover! See this image larger.

Nice job, buddy! See this image larger.

August 12th, staying at a hotel with Gramma Sue on the way to the cottage… I have a six pack of abs, but they’re more like Capri Suns, than bottles. See this image larger.

We braved the cold water, and had a lot of fun! See this image larger.

The kids were carefully escorted through the deep end. See this image larger.

A warm spot from the sun! (I hope.) See this image larger.

Nina got a ride too. See this image larger.

August and Nicole’s Wedding

Lot to catch up on… Alright, let’s go!

Blurry Nina! See this image larger.

Nina told me, at the time, that these guys were all in line to go to Java Gym. See this image larger.

Swingin’ with Jake! (Technically these were July 29th… get over it! See this image larger.

July 30th, Ian at Tumble Time! See this image larger.

He’s great at this one, he thinks he’s Spiderman! See this image larger.

Ian sticks the landing! See this image larger.

Ian receives a stamp for his excellence. See this image larger.

Nina receives a stamp for Ian’s excellence! See this image larger.

August 2nd, the landscaping we had completed is almost invisible, as the grass has grown in nicely. (Later, it did get a little fried when we went away for a weekend. Time will tell if the young grass “made it” or not.) See this image larger.

August 3rd, we made our way to Grampa Dave and Gramma Marcia’s so that Mommy and Daddy could attend Daddy’s cousin’s wedding! See this image larger.

This is the night before the wedding. See this image larger.

Bedtime story! See this image larger.

One of Nina’s favorite books! See this image larger.

A sly little smile there! See this image larger.

Another story! Thanks, Gramma! See this image larger.

*TEN friendly fish? Huh!* See this image larger.

August 4th, and toys were played with. See this image larger.

Ready for fun! Thanks for the new ones, too! See this image larger.

Note the foam padding around the table! Has come in handy more than once! I’d like to take a moment to thank Grampa Dave and Gramma Marcia for making time for us, giving us a place to stay, and watching the kids which is probably at its most challenging. (Even currently I can say that Ian was maybe a bit more of a challenge back in August, and this is just a few months later.) See this image larger.

At the actual wedding, Tiffany’s husband Glen leads Carolyn down the aisle. Carolyn is a friend of the family, and one of Nicole’s best friends. 🙂 See this image larger.

Cousin Tiffany. See this image larger.

Nicole walking down the aisle with Uncle Donny. I should have taken the time to talk to him, but I did not end up being able to, and regret it. See this image larger.

The little guy there is Cole, who would be Nicole’s son by marriage about 10 minutes after this shot was taken. Forgive the guy on the far left, it was hot in there! See this image larger.

Nicole does a little happy jig on the way back from lighting the unity candle! See this image larger.

And, done! See this image larger.

Happy ever after, here they come! See this image larger.

We bought Nicole something from her registry, but I also got her a Lego bride and groom. Fond memories of playing together as kids; lovely to see her grown, beautiful, and now happily married! See this image larger.

Cake chop, and “Red Solo Cup” set the tone for a fun reception! See this image larger.

Mitchel sisters! See this image larger.

Dancing with Grandma Sue! See this image larger.

A great framed note acknowledged recent family losses, including Uncle Chris. Thanks for the thinking of him! See this image larger.

August 6th, back home – Nina grew a beard? See this image larger.

Nah, that was black beans and rice. See this image larger.

Cupcakes! Thanks Gramma Marcia! See this image larger.

July Dialogue and Milestones

You’re going to have to excuse the lack of updates lately… Melissa and I trying to find each other and ourselves amidst the stress, the new schedules, and chaos of life. And now, let’s get July out of the way so we can head into August, shall we?

Dialogue, July 2nd
Nina impressed me with the following conversation… I left my side out of it so you can see how much she held her own: “I eat it all gone.”
“Daddy you give me more cereal?”
“Put it in da bowl.”
“Can put more milk, in dere?”
“I help you.”
“I Bring my bowl to you.”
“I help you put it in?”
“I help you. Please.”
“Don’t spill it.”
“I need a napkin to wipe it up.”

Dialogue, July 9th
Ian: “You shouldn’t fall asleep on the potty, because if you start to fall over and you flipped over your hair would go get wet.”

Dialogue, July 23
Daddy: “What makes you happy, Ian?”
Ian: “Mommy and Daddy.”
Daddy: “What else makes you happy?”
Ian, while galloping around the room: “GRAMPA DAVE BOAT TRIP! GRAMPA DAVE BOAT TRIP! GRAMPA DAVE BOAT TRIP! GRAMPA DAVE BOAT TRIP! ”

Dialogue, July 26th
Ian explains Strawberry Shortcake, the cartoon: “It’s strawberry girl, or whatever.”

Dialogue, July 28th
Nina, watching toilet refilling: “It’s loading!”

Dialogue, July 29th
Nina, quoting the Spiderman opening sequence from the 1960’s: “Spideman, take a wook, overhead.”

Dialogue, July 30th
Nina, regarding playing the iPad while observing Ian at Tumble Time: “Ian went to a different kind of Tumble Time today I made cookies on the iPad and eat them num num num num ”

Journal Entry, July 30th
I sometimes write little journal entries just for kicks… this one seemed important: “So today was the last Monday, probably. For five and a half years, I’ve spent my Mondays with my little boy, and two and a half of those years with my little girl. Ian will go to daycare for five days of the week, until he attends kindergarten in about a month. Nina will go to daycare five days a week too. Very easy to look back and be disgusted with myself for not doing more with those days, but we had a pretty good run. Perhaps this will teach me to better cherish the time I get with my children.

It’ll be interesting to see if I am less stressed out. The kids do stress me sometimes, but in this case I’m talking about the stress that has come from trying to make a four day week as productive as a five. Melissa and I have both been stretched pretty thin for a good long time, and it is pretty easy to blame the days of the week where each of us stays home.

It’ll also be interesting to see if this lasts. We don’t have a choice with Ian, but I foresee us possibly going back to three or four day schedule with Nina. It’d be more fair if she got five and a half years of Mondays and Tuesdays with her folks too; but we shall see.”

The people taking care of Nina in her new class? No longer write the date on the daycare sheet. So here’s some random entries… maybe I’ll get to put them in some kind of order someday… Some are probably from July and some might be from August.

RANDOM DAYCARE NOTES (I did find some of the dates, but let’s face it, it isn’t going to make much of a difference in the long run… so these will stay out of order. Ian’s aren’t very interesting at daycare, Nina’s are worth a read.)

“Happy Friday”
Nina’s Caregiver: “In dramatic play Nina fed her baby a bottle then she made a long track for a train. Nina loved making a Smore and eating it! she was so excited to play in the tent and tunnel have a great weekend”

“Thursday”
Nina’s Caregiver: “Nina was singing E I E I O while building with Lego it was so cute! She really enjoyed our circle time songs too.”

“Thursday”
Nina’s Caregiver: ” Nina had a wonderful day. She had a lot of fun shaking the colored test tube shakers. She also enjoyed painting an orange ice cream with Miss Jillian.”

“Wednesday”
Nina’s Caregiver: “Nina had a great day. She spent a lot of time playing with the magnetic dress up doll’s. She tried very hard to cut with scissors this morning.”

“Thursday”
Nina’s Caregiver: ” Nina love playing on the big playground! She tried the climber the bikes in the steering wheel! Nina did a great job putting spots on her giraffe and she tried hard to use her thumb!”

“Wednesday”
Nina’s Caregiver: ” Nina had a great visit today! She enjoyed the water activities outside. Her favorite activities were painting the wall with water and playing with windup toys at the sensory table. She did say she wanted to see her other friends and mommy a few times but she seemed very comfortable over all and shed no tears!”

“Wednesday, July 11th”
Nina’s Caregiver: ” Nina enjoyed playing with a baby in dramatic play! When I asked her what she likes to do at the beach she said build a Sandcastle with mommy and daddy she had fun making a hand-print octopus this morning!”

“Thursday, July 12th”
Nina’s Caregiver: ” Nina had so much fun coloring with markers this morning! She played with Ava a lot! Nina was very talkative today and used her words very well. She did have some trouble with hitting and pushing her friends. Nina loves playing with Lego dinosaurs!”

“Friday, July 13th”
Nina’s Caregiver: ” Nina loves playing with Legos this morning on the circle rug with Miss Chelsea. They built houses and then made one big one together.”

“Wednesday, July 18th”
Nina’s Caregiver: “Nina had fun splashing her hands in a tub of water! She kept listening and looking up for airplanes when we were outside. Nina enjoyed painting the wall with water.”

“Thursday, July 19th”
Nina’s Caregiver: ” Nina tried so hard to hold her scissors the right way. She’s a great job cutting paper! She also built a sand castle at the sensory table. She enjoyed playing with fish at the flannel board and shared them so nicely with a friend.”

“Wednesday”
Nina’s Caregiver: ” Nina pretended to go on a school bus ride with me at the park! We even buckled our seatbelts! She loved chasing tennis balls and shared one so nicely with a friend.”

“TGIFriday”
Nina’s Caregiver: “When Ms. Joanna asked how many legs and octopus has Nina said “I have 45!” She enjoyed reading books and watching the little mermaid. She did a great job identifying animals in the movie!”

“7/11/12”
Ian’s Caregiver: ” Ian had a great day he really likes playing with the train tracks set. He didn’t eat any oatmeal at breakfast or any pasta for lunch.”

“7/12/12”
Ian’s Caregiver: ” Ian did not go in the sprinkler but enjoying dumping water and using the spray bottles.”

“7/13/12 Accident Report”
Ian’s Caregiver: ” He was climbing up the steps on the climber he tripped and fell on his right knee.”

“7/13/12”
Ian’s Caregiver: “Ian said he liked playing on the climber and going down the slides”

“7/19/12”
Ian’s Caregiver: ” Ian liked riding his bike for a second day”

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