Mavericks Parade

A few days before I sat for step, we decided would go on an adventure to the Mavericks celebratory parade. The plan was to take Nicholas and Whitney (the little girl Maren babysits) on the train to downtown and find a spot. We ended up waiting in Irving for four different trains that came by before getting on one which came from downtown and then turned around especially for our backlogged station. The route was crazy full, but we found a place only about 7 rows of people back so you could occasionally see something if you jumped. I eventually found a tree with only one person already in it and soon made myself at home and was able to get the Dirk shot when he finally came by. The way back was just as crazy, but we did eventually get back to the train. The exciting points included a fight that broke out behind us and the rush to get Maren and the kids shielded from the brawl. I read later that there was one fight with three arrests at the parade. I don't know if that referenced our fight, but it was exciting none the less. Also, I got off early to go study at the school, and Maren got to fight her way to the door with a double wide stroller all by herself. She decided that was less than ideal. All in all, I don't know if we would do it again with this age group, but it certainly was an adventure and I am glad we went.

All Done With STEP

Joseph took STEP on Saturday. I have a husband again for 1 and 1/2 weeks. While he has been studying, I have managed to make a page long "honey do" list that will keep him busy during the break. One of the things on the list was to sort through all his med school papers. He ended up getting rid of 53.6 lbs of syllabuses and handmade note cards. (I think there is another box of syllabuses still in the shed.) Before you get too worried, all these syllabuses are available online if he ever needs to reference them. He also had the option to box them up and put them in the garage, but he thought he would never go to the effort to look through the box to find any information.

We also found some fun stats that he recorded the first week of school.

• 237 students in his class
• Students came from 82 colleges/universities.
• 48% of the class is female
• 14% are under-represented minorities
• 13 home countries
• 13 students have masters degrees
• 3 students have doctorates
• Ages ranged from 20-39
• 32% of the class was non-native English speakers

IT'S A GIRL

We found out today that we are having a little girl. She is still due at the end of October and she looks healthy. We are super excited. Finding out the gender is one of my favorite parts of being pregnant!

Nicholas at 20 months

Weight: 30.2 lbs

Height: 32 inches

Eating Habits:

• He loves to eat and he eats A LOT!
• He loves sitting in new places when he eats. It makes meal time exciting.
• He loves dipping his food in different sauces.
• He is pretty much to the point that he will eat at least a part of whatever we are eating.
• Vegetable Update: He still won't eat broccoli. He will eat carrots, tomatoes, green beans, and sometimes squash.
• He will share his snacks with Papa, but he won't share them with Mama. It makes him laugh so hard when I ask for him to share.
• He can climb in and out of his highchair, but I don't let him do it.
• He has always liked to throw his food, but recently it got a lot worse. He figured out it was a quick way to get out of highchair when he was done eating. Making him stay there didn't work, because he would just enjoy making a bigger mess. So after trying the punishment route, we decided to offer an incentive instead. He now gets a treat at the end of each meal if he doesn't throw things. We have only been doing this for a week, but it has helped a lot.
• His favorite treat right now are juice and Cadberry eggs.
• He clings to Mama, but he idolizes Papa. He wants to wear Papa's hat, use Papa's toothbrush, and do all the things Papa does. For example, he likes to study, ride the motorcycle, and mow the lawn.

Words He Will Say:

• Fish, Saws, Hammer, Tool, Bowl, Ball, Please, Thank you, Eat, More, Juice, Choo Choo, Backpack, Hi, Bye, Car, Airplane, Puppy, Mama, Papa, All Done, Treat, Up, Yeah, Yes, No, Potty, Book, Egg, Bird, Baby, Elmo, High, Shoes, Outside, Inside, Swing, Spin, Barney

Favorite Toys:

• We got the Playskool Explore and Grow Ball Popper. I love this toy. It entertains him for a good 5-15 minutes each time he plays with it. He loves chasing the balls and putting them down different ways.
• I got him a car that has a handle on the back that I can use to push him around. He rides in it when we go to the nearby park.
• He loves the sandbox. We are still working on keeping sand in the sandbox.
• He loves his two trains.
• He loves to sleep with his glow worm. He calls it his baby.
• We have two stuffed puppies that he loves. He also sleeps with them and carries them around the house.
• We got him a little shopping cart and he likes to fill it up and walk around the house.
• He loves the TV remote.
• He loves "playing" the Wii. Right now his favorite games to play are Baseball and Bowling. He can't really bowl, but he asks to do it all the time.

Movies He Will Watch:

• Barney
• Baby Signing Time
• Thomas the Train

Quirks:

• He is VERY active (like a little boy should be). He always has some sort of bruise or scratch from all his adventuring. I keep on putting off getting formal pictures of him until his most recent bruise on his head heals, but he always gets another one before I can take him in.
• He is very quick to tell you when he is bored/ALL DONE. Once he makes up his mind that he is ready to go, there is no stopping him.
• He talks a lot, which can be a problem in church. We feed him lunch during the first 15 minutes of church. Then, we desperately try to entertain him for the next half-an-hour. Then, he usually gets taken to the primary room for the last bit of church.
• He hates water on his head, but he loves playing in the water. He will sit in the sink for a good half an hour and play with the water. He would do it for longer, but Mama usually calls it quits.
• He is getting very good at being watch by other people. He likes going to nursery now. In contrast, he is not good at being passed to other people if Mama is anywhere near.
• He loves to watch and copy older kids. He is very good about taking turns when he is playing with someone older. When he plays with kids that are his same size, he is a little bit of bully. He does it in a sweet way, but he is so anxious to show them how the toy works or to play with them that it can be overwhelming for the kid he is play with.
• When he finds something interesting, he says, "Whoa." Every time I hear that I quickly look to see what he has in hands. Nine times out of ten it is something I don't want him playing with.
• He loves his swing. He loves to go high and to spin in it. He looks like a drunken sailor when he gets out of his swing.