Bookworms

It's amazing what these two inspire each other to do! If one is reading they both have to, even if Nico is looking at an entirely blank page.

Relocating our old Milwaukee neighbors: Himsel edition

Our next door neighbors in Milwaukee had moved (in fact just two months before our visit) so we got to stay with them at their new home and have some quality time.  The kids just picked up where they left off, and this time Nico got to join in the fun.

It certainly made us miss too much the good times that we used to have in Bay View and how inseparable Nolan and Ruby had been.  Nolan used to ask about playing with her instead of sitting down to eat dinner or go to bed and I'd have to say, "But Ruby is eating now, too" only to find out that Jessica would have to do the same thing with Ruby.  Nolan has a friend in Nashville named Ruby as well, but she's "Nashville Ruby" and his Milwaukee is just Ruby.

More Chicago...

Reading on the train... We bought a copy of Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Suess at Myopic books, an old haunt of John's from living in Chicago.

Early morning light in the hotel on a baby doll lovin' Nico.

Nolan caught a ride on the luggage, blurry picture but funny none the less!

Chicago 9/2011

 It's taken a while to say so, but we did have a fantastic trip to Chicago this past September.  We stayed at the Hilton overlooking the lake and Grant Park and Nolan asked if we could just live there it was so wonderful!  It was also overlooking a train yard to his delight as well.  The best part was how close we were to the Natural History Museum.

Nico and the mastodon!

Nolan and Sue the T. Rex in the background, with a tiny little green T. Rex in the foreground.

This is how we managed to keep the kids' feet happy on our trip!  Nico wasn't walking on her own quite yet and there were some serious distances to cover, so they agreed to share the stroller.

swing nostalgia

When Nolan got into his old baby swing we laughed hysterically.  He did need help getting out.  It was also pretty emotional just to see how big he's become.  He used to propel himself back and forth in this thing so seriously.  Nico loves it, but differently bouncing up and down mostly.  Too see the high flying Nolan, go HERE.

Nico and the helmet

The kids are really enjoying rides in the bike trailer lately and John has been using it to travel to school.  The routine then of the helmet has become greatly important to Nico and symbolic of good times.  This weekend I realized how important it is to her for myself.  Any time we went near the back door she would yelp emphatically for the helmet there, insist upon wearing it and try to get me outside.  She can be very patient though.  I'd put her helmet on and we'd be amused watching her walk around with it, but she'd always return to the door eventually and then insist that I wear a helmet and take her outside.  I did both days this weekend and she and I had lovely rides and she would sing to me during them.  This evening I was telling Grumpa about her passion and just mentioning "helmet" made her flash me a glance and touch her head, then dash to the back door and start to yell and cry until the helmet was on her head, another on my head and then she giggled.  But she wasn't done.  She wanted Nolan's helmet and then carried it to him, made him put it on, giggled and then she headed for the front door where she pulled out all of our shoes.  Too bad we can't really ride at night, but we sure have gotten a taste of Nico's will.

the rapidly expanding universe of Nico

A lot has happened in Nico's world and we can't keep up!  Her girlishness continues to prove itself with her love of cheap vintage jewelry from the local shops.  A jewelry box will surely be in order soon!

We can't leave her alone in Nolan's room not just because she will try to tear apart his train system but also because she will go up to the top bunk.  She's so skilled at climbing the ladder I think she'd actually make it without falling but we're not letting her try on her own just yet...

Nolan is sharing this old car with Nico now and she loves to drive it out front trying to keep up with all the kids.

She also loves crayons or anything she can draw with.  She stumbled upon a small thin piece of wood that has been perfect as her drawing board and for a while she was inseparable from it!

As soon as Nico thinks she's done eating her dinner she wants down to go feed the dogs!  She helps by feeding Stella super slowly so our old mutt doesn't gorge herself too quickly.  Nico will give her one piece at a time and Stella sits and waits obediently.

Someday when the kids are fighting over music choices they'll laugh over this picture.  They were enjoying records together on Nolan's old player.  Nico dancing and singing with Nolan as deejay.

The word tally!  Nico has an incredible vocabulary for 14 months old!  Since I last tried to document it all she can now say woof woof, meow, ball and tried to imitate whatever you say.  When I was trying to teach her the noises a train makes as they were playing in Nolan's room she was instantly into her own version of "chugga chugga choo choo."  Sometimes I think she might be saying something to indicate her brother but it's not solid.  However today it was obvious that she is calling out the neighbor girl's name!  She'll look to the front door and say "Gus!" and look for her and call her by name once she's in sight.

And Nico is officially walking.  I'll mark it down as October 7th, the day after Nolan's birthday when she actually walked away from me for the first time.  She had been walking toward us a few steps but once she walked in the other direction it seemed like a whole new world of walking opened up for her. Now she is all over and speeding up.  It was funny a few mornings where it seemed like she started out crawling and then recalled she could walk instead and was elated.  She's graceful and cautious it seems, too, as she will crouch and catch her balance.  Welcome little walker!

Parents of a five year old!?!

Nolan is five.  We are amazed and in disbelief simultaneously.  But the proof is there that he is a brilliant and creative little five year old guy.  The most amazing thing about the past year is how inseparable he has become from his sister.  I tried to get him out with me along to I Dream of Weenie, our favorite hot dog stand just around the corner, and he protested twice that Nico had to come with us!  I finally told him that we were going to sneak away together for a hot dog and being "sneaky" got him into our mission as a dynamic duo and allowed him to leave his sister behind.

Nolan has passion and some to spare.  The past year has demonstrated an everlasting love for dinosaurs and trains, and he picked dinosaurs for his party theme.  (And as a kiddie pop culture reference, there is a PBS show Dinosaur Train that for the record he LOVES.  The love of dinosaurs and trains was an imperative beforehand however.)  Often, our family is actually a triceratops family and Nolan will take his turn as the baby.

Nolan is blessed with fantastic friendships that he has gone into great details about this school year.  Pictured are Evan and Josh (who also just turned five and Nolan tells me they're the oldest in the class.) Then Opie, birthday boy and Rose.  He had a few other sweet party guests, Elliot, Evan and Ruby.  Here they are solemnly waiting to go on the dinosaur egg hunt...

They tore through the egg hunt and Nolan was ready to start breaking into the pinata.  Once it was smashed the kids were thrilled candy was inside but disappointed it was only one kind... Skittles.  I learned a lot from this party, as every party I've had for Nolan has taught me a valuable lesson.  This time I learned how you need to plan probably three times the activities you think you'll need to keep the kids busy... and that three hours is way too long for a kid party... it all seems like common sense in retrospect but not for me!  The kids did a great job just hanging out and playing like kids do so there was no tragedy.

Nolan just seems five now in every way.  He shares his opinions on everything, he voices his emotions so much more eloquently, listens intently and remembers everything we say, knows the boundaries of mischief and good behavior and he loves his family and friends and is still super snuggly and loves to sit in my lap.  There's a lot in store for him and I can't wait to see what my boy can do, but I'd rather just slow this down and enjoy five.

more favorites

more of my favorite pictures...

lovely pictures

We had some professional family pictures taken!  Our friend Asia had shown us some of their incredible family pictures and we had always meant to have someone else take some sweet pictures so we finally had a try at it.  It was a great deal of fun for a family that is hard to get to smile all together.  Nico was napping when the photographer first showed up, but once she finally woke up she was in cute form.