Mommy's Birthday

Another birthday is officially in the history books for me and it was such a nice, relaxing day.  Just what I needed.  After work on Friday, Nicholas and I headed to the lake house with my parents for the weekend.  Greg had to work so he met us there later that night.  The weather was so mild and enjoyable that we spent just about every second outdoors.  The lake levels have been pretty low since the drought so we haven't been able to keep the boats on the dock.  But, Greg got one of them out of storage for us Saturday afternoon so we could take a cruise and show my parents the beauty of Lake Eufaula.  After we got home, my very old friend Kori brought her kids over to play with Nicholas and visit for awhile.  She and her husband also have a house at the lake, which is very handy for me.  Unfortunately, this was only the second time we've actually been able to coordinate a get together in all our time there so hopefully we'll be more consistent in the future.  She has four amazing kids that Nicholas absolutely adores so we better keep after it or he'll be very disappointed in us.

So, yes this was a wonderful birthday weekend.  It was so nice to be with my family and to receive all the sweet phone calls and messages from everyone on Friday.  It might not be all that fun to be another year older but it felt good to know how much I'm loved.  I'm lucky.  So, very, very lucky.

 Pointing out all the big boats at the marina to Grammy and Papa.  He was a superb tour guide.

My awesome hubs made me a delicious red velvet cake.  He definitely knows how to spoil me!

 Yes, we all enjoyed it!

Weekending

We kept Nicholas busy, busy this weekend with some pretty fun activities.  On Saturday morning, Greg had the great idea for us to all go to the 45th Infantry Museum.  For a young boy, and even his parents, this was an exceptionally interesting tour.  I was really surprised at all the historical artifacts they had on display, and I was especially intrigued by the large collection of Hitler relics.  Among some of the items were silverware, linens, stationary, and clothing.  It was definitely unnerving to be so close to items used by the most despicable human being to ever live.  But, the museum had a lot of less somber exhibits that we all enjoyed, including a vast accumulation of military vehicles and aircraft.  I was pleasantly surprised by everything they had to offer, all at no cost to the public.  Now, that's not something you come across very often.  I'm sure we'll be going back many times in the future.   

 Here are some of the Hitler items I was talking about.  These are all things taken directly from his Berlin bunker.  It's hard to see, but the linens hanging on the bar have his monogram on them. 

 This next one was probably the most chilling of them all.  This is a mirror that

was hanging in his personal bedroom inside the bunker.

Next up was Sunday afternoon at the Oklahoma State Fair! Neither Greg nor I had gone to the fair in well over 10 years but now that we have a child who's given us a renewed sense of fun we decided to give it a go. While it was ridiculously expensive, it was still quite a good time. Nicholas had a ball getting to ride some rides and play games with Daddy. I was very disappointed though that he wanted nothing to do with the ferris wheel. I figured he'd be all over that one but he couldn't have cared less. Bummer. This was our first time to be in a crowd of this size without putting Nicholas in a stroller so we had a very serious talk beforehand about the importance of holding our hands the entire time and to never, ever run off from us. Not once did he give us any trouble and kept a tight grip on me the whole time. However, I don't think the fair atmosphere suited him all that well. He's usually pretty well behaved when we're out and about at different functions, but this one didn't go so smoothly. I think he was a little overstimulated by all the sights and sounds and threw a few tantrums when he didn't get what he wanted. One of those tantrums came as we were leaving and we turned him down on a toy machine gun. Probably the worst public tantrum I've experienced to date. We just grabbed him by the hands and marched as fast as we could for the gate, heads down to avoid the stares and laughter around us. But hey, I'm sure that 90% of that crowd had experienced this little pitfall of parenthood at one time or another so I'm not letting it get me down. That's what you get from a tired, hot, overly excited three year old. Sometimes you got to just roll with the punches, eh?

 Watching the pig races from Daddy's shoulders. 

He desperately wanted to ride the race cars and got there just in time to hop on.  There were

plenty of open cars but for some reason he chose to ride shotgun with this little boy.  We tried

to convince him to move but he was happy as a clam right where he was. 

                                                   Fast, Mom?  Really?  Lighten up.

I enjoyed every minute of this weekend, just the three of us together being a family.  We've got several fun weekends on the horizon so we'll be back with more very soon!  Have a terrific week!!

Back to School

Wednesday was Nicholas' first day back for the new school year.  He's still attending St. Mark Preschool but he's now going to school three days a week instead of only two.  My plan was to increase a day each year until he starts kindergarten, which seemed a nice, gradual plan.  He's now in the 3 year old classroom which means a teacher and classroom change, which we hope will be an easy transition for him.  The room is much smaller than his other one but there are only 5 kids in his class, so it should be plenty of space for them.  They can have up to 8 kids in each room but I like the idea of more one-on-one interaction with the teacher so five students sounds like a really good number.   I was also pretty excited to hear that they've now added music and Spanish class to their curriculum each week.  Nicholas will love having all of that activity and stimulation.  He's just such an active little boy with a very inquisitive mind.  The more you throw at him, the better.  I didn't get to go for morning drop off but Greg said it went exceptionally well and Nicholas just ran off to play with all the toys.  I got there a little early in the afternoon for pick up and got to see him playing in the classroom through the window.  He was having such a great time and was totally content.  When I popped my head in to say hello he was so involved in his playing that he took little notice of me.  I finally had to tell him we had to go and I'm taking that as a very good sign of what's to come.  It feels fantastic to have him back in his routine and getting to do fun things outside of the house every day.  I know that preschool is so good for him.

After such a great start to the school year, we celebrated with a trip to the zoo with Grammy.  I bought a season pass for us awhile back but it's been so horribly hot all summer long and we just haven't had the desire to go since last Spring.  Well this week Mother Nature gave us quite a treat when she dropped the temps about 25 degrees so we've been soaking up all the outdoor time we can.  It was perfect weather for the zoo - cloudy, breezy, and even a little downpour.  Dare I say it?  It was almost chilly for a moment!  There also weren't very many people there so the afternoon turned out to be quite enjoyable.  Nicholas was starving when we left so we stopped at McDonald's to get him a Happy Meal for the ride home.  I guess a full belly was all he needed to send him over the edge of exhaustion because he fell sound asleep on the way to the house.  It was 5:30 in the evening and that's just not something that happens very often.  I think he had a good day. 

Rolla Time

Labor Day weekend was spent in Rolla, Missouri visiting Grandma Smart and all the family at the farm.  It was a fast trip because I had to be back at work Monday morning but it was definitely worth the 6 hour drive each way to see everyone.  We had coordinated plans so that the whole Jaggi clan could be there at the same time - us, Mimi, Papa, Uncle Ryan, Aunt Cindy, and Jillian.  And visiting the the farm is always a huge event for Nicholas because he gets to ride 4-wheelers and check out the all the animals.  He also got to play with his older cousin Adam, who he pretty much idolized the whole weekend.  The entire afternoon Saturday was full of riding 4-wheelers, watching the kids play, talking, and of course, eating good food.  Aunt Kathy spoiled us with a delicious homemade meal complete with cucumbers, corn, and green beans out of the garden.  We even got to have a little corn shucking party before dinner, which was not something I've done a whole lot of.  Yes, I'm an Ozarks girl but no one in my family grew corn so I never got the chance.  Now, it's not very often that we get to eat great, homegrown food like that and we totally indulged ourselves.  It was one of those unbutton-your-top-button kinda meals for sure!  After a full day of playing, we headed back to the hotel so Nicholas and Jillian could do a little swimming before bedtime.  Jillian has done an amazing job in her swim classes and goes underwater with complete ease!  She showed us her latest tricks and we're just so proud of her!  Nicholas was wearing his floaties, but I convinced him to jump to me in return for a sit in the hot tub (hot bath, as he calls it).  He went under a couple of times and handled it really well so it looks like Jillian may have inspired him.  Thanks, Jilly Bean!  I was a little shocked to see how much he liked the hot tub and I'm not sure where he picked it up, but he had the hot tub conversation down pat.  He's just sitting on the step enjoying the bubbles, turns to me and says, "So, how ya been doing?"  I couldn't help but laugh out loud at this mature exchange.  Where does he get this stuff?

Big thanks to Aunt Kathy and Uncle Mike and all the family for their generous hospitality.  You guys always make us feel so welcome when we come visit and it's very much appreciated! 

Cousin Adam was a terrific pal! 

 Checking out the farm.  (Electrified fence in the background.  There were a few close calls but no accidents to report.  Aunt Kathy thought it best to unplug it when Mr. Curious came to town.)

 The Double OHHHHH.

 I can't help but laugh when I look at this one.  The kids had just been outside playing on

 the playground and were drenched in sweat.  They both look a little catatonic here

but I assure you, they were not.  I just caught them at a rough moment.

 There was even a mini 4-wheeler Nicholas could ride on his own.  He was hilarious!

 Even more hilarious?  Daddy sprinting to keep up and make sure he didn't run into a tree.....or person.

 Now, I know how this probably looks.  I thought the very same thing at first - NO WAY JOSE! 

But I was guaranteed that this little girl was more capable than most adults and she'd be very

safe with my precious cargo on board.  So, they sandwiched him in and she drove very slowly

and responsibly up to the house.  Shew, no worries.

And a few iPhone pics too.....

Mission Wednesday: Operation Distraction

Nicholas has been a little out of sorts the last few days.  A little cranky, a little restless, and a little short fused.  It all began with a great big surprise on Tuesday evening when we had to try on his Halloween costume that had just arrived in the mail.  I knew this was going to be a bad idea because it's so absolutely fantastic (Can't show pictures yet.  It would ruin the big reveal!) that I knew he'd never want to take it off.  But, I had to make sure it fit and didn't have any other choice.  Yep, I was right.  He LOOOOOOVED it and hasn't been able to get his mind off of it since I forced him to take it off that night before bed.  A normal parent would probably just let him have it but I'm sticking to my plan and keeping it boxed up for the next two months.  I wouldn't want him to wear all the exciting newness out of it and just view it as some old toy by the time trick or treating rolls around, now would I?  Well, I wasn't home the next morning when he woke up but I hear it was a meltdown of mass proportions.  Greg said he laid in bed crying for an hour begging to have it back.  That he neeeeded it.  I could almost hear his little heart breaking all the way at work.  So in an effort to keep the despair of his missing costume from ruining his day, I decided to keep him so busy he wouldn't have time to think about it.  I opted to forgo the nap yesterday afternoon and have a little fun instead.  First stop was the space park, which is his very favorite park in the whole wide world.  It looks just like a rocket ship and I have to admit, it's pretty darn cool.  After that, we raced home to change into our swimsuits and headed to the pool.  The whole place was deserted, which was so relaxing and enjoyable.  We even did a little swimming practice without his floaties on, which he handled pretty good.  Little by little, he will get there.  He was able to swim/tiptoe to me from the steps, which was about 4-5 feet or so.  I just tried to keep the motivation going by pumping him up and celebrating his success.  He liked all the hootin' and hollerin'.  And, while we were there he got to make a new friend with a great big toad who we rescued from the bug trap.  Little guy was just swimming his little heart out when we came across him but I highly doubt he ever would have escaped.  Once we scooped him out of the water, he just sat on the edge of the pool resting while Nicholas examined him.  It was really cute.  After swimming and getting cleaned up, Grammy and Papa capped off the evening with a visit.  In the end, I think I successfully kept my boy sidetracked with some fun activities.  (Well, I had fun anyway so I hope he did too!)  He was exhausted and ready for sleep when bedtime rolled around, which is always a good sign!  I just love days like that.

I would just like to add that this slide should be outlawed, or have a huge WARNING sign at least. 

It is so freaking fast that I blasted through it and burned the skin off my elbow in the process.  Ouch!!