Here comes Mando to save the day...
It's always the blondes, isn't it boys?
July 17, 2011
Like Father Like Son
We were at a park in Needham last Saturday playing soccer and having a lot of fun when all of a sudden, Nicholas saw two teenager girls on the other side of the field. One of them was an attractive blonde. As soon as he saw them, he darted away from me and ran straight toward them. He came to a stop right in front of the blonde girl and started jabbering away, saying who knows what. I had to snap a picture before I ran after him. Que coqueto!
Like Mother Like Son
Nicholas got a ribbon dancer as a party favor. **Sniff, sniff** I was so proud.
Whoops! All tangled up!
He's not as graceful as I was in my youth, but I think he brings a real sense of masculinity to the art form.
Strawberry picking
There is nothing tastier than a sun-warmed, fresh, organic strawberry right off the vine. Mmm, mmm good.
Nicholas was helping me keep the basket from overflowing. Just doing his part, you know.
The only problem with strawberry picking with kids is that they tend to go for the strawberries that are within reach, i.e. the smushed, squished, and rotten berries that have fallen from the stem.
I think Nicholas and Becca ate more than their fare share of those berries. That's why Nicholas started taking them from my basket.
4th of July
We went to the beach for the 4th of July. I know, what were we thinking, right? But it actually wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be. Parking was a pain (to say the least! I had to drop Mando and Nicholas off with the cooler, drive almost two miles away, park, and walk back to the beach along the side of the road. Then, at 5:00 I walked the two miles back to the car, drove it to the beach and parked in one of the now-empty spots until we were finished). When we saw the parking fiasco, we almost turned back and went home. I'm glad we stayed though. Nicholas LOVED it! And south end of the beach was fairly empty, which was a nice surprise.
Wingaersheek is such a fun beach! The water is kidde-pool depth for yards and yards, so Nicholas can run and splash as much as he wants without our help. There are huge rocks that are kind of like islands that you can wade out to and climb on. When the tide goes out, it leaves little pools of water all over so you can often find crabs and other cool things. It's just a great beach for kids!
Nicholas had the most fun doing two things:
1.) Knocking over people's sand castles. All Mando wanted to do on the beach was build a sand castle with Nicholas (he's been talking about it since Nicholas was born). All Nicholas wanted to do was demolish anything Mando built and laugh.
2.) Chasing the seagulls. He ran so fast and so hard trying to catch one of them. I think he would have spent all day chasing them if I hadn't persuaded him to go in the water.
Since Mando was on the beach first (for a good twenty minutes while I was parking the car), he tried to put sunscreen on his back by himself. At the end of the day his back was as red as a lobster except for a few handprints and finger smudges on his shoulders and lower back. In all of our time together I have never seen Mando get sunburned. He just gets darker...sometimes there will be a faint reddish-tint to his dark skin, but within a few hours it's gone and he looks almost black. This time he was RED...like a red-headed gringo. I felt bad for him, but it also made me laugh a little.
Wingaersheek is such a fun beach! The water is kidde-pool depth for yards and yards, so Nicholas can run and splash as much as he wants without our help. There are huge rocks that are kind of like islands that you can wade out to and climb on. When the tide goes out, it leaves little pools of water all over so you can often find crabs and other cool things. It's just a great beach for kids!
Nicholas had the most fun doing two things:
1.) Knocking over people's sand castles. All Mando wanted to do on the beach was build a sand castle with Nicholas (he's been talking about it since Nicholas was born). All Nicholas wanted to do was demolish anything Mando built and laugh.
2.) Chasing the seagulls. He ran so fast and so hard trying to catch one of them. I think he would have spent all day chasing them if I hadn't persuaded him to go in the water.
Here he is chasing seagulls...
and here he is looking for more seagulls...
Sometimes I like to put the camera on record and pretend that I'm taking a picture because it's just funny to watch them wait for it. I love how high Nicholas makes his voice to say, "Cheese!"
July 1, 2011
Double-edged Sword
When Nicholas is quickly reaching wit's end in the grocery store, but I just need five more minutes to finish up, I love them.
When I want to do something fun and interactive with Nicholas like riding my bike or going swimming or climbing on the jungle jim, I want to take them and break them into a million tiny pieces.
Cars.
They are the bane of my existence right now. I recognize and appreciate how nice it is to know EXACTLY what I can give Nicholas to keep him happy and entertained when I need to get something done (he played quietly in his crib for 45 minutes after he woke up from his nap because I left a couple of cars within reach). But the rest of the time-- when I want to play with him or do a fun activity-- they annoy me to no end.
We went to the playground yesterday morning, and he insisted on carrying three cars with him. Because both of his hands were full he fell on his face every five minutes as he tried to climb stairs and ladders and slides without the use of his hands. I told him we had to put the cars away, and I gave him the opportunity to do it willingly (which of course he didn't do) before I took them away and promised he could have them when we left the park. He spent the rest of the time running around, whimpering, saying, "Cars...cars...cars..." He kept running toward the busy road so he could get closer to the cars driving past. Then, unfortunately, a mother showed up pushing her child in a wagon shaped like a car. He had a melt down when I refused to let him push the kid out of his car. That was the end of the park. I gave him his cars back as I buckled him into the car, and he was a happy, pleasant child again.
In the afternoon, I decided to try out our new toddler bike seat. It doesn't have a seatbelt, so he HAD to grip onto the handlebars. Which, you guessed it, he can't do with cars in his hands. He was so excited to ride the bike, but he refused to let go of his cars. I tried to coax and persuade him to put the cars in his pockets or my shirt (sometimes he willingly gives them up if he can put them inside my shirt...I know it's weird, but it works), or give them to Papí while we rode, but he refused vehemently. Finally, we took them by force (again), thinking that once we got riding he would forget about them and enjoy the ride. He screamed bloody-murder. He was stunned into silence as I started pedaling and he realized how fun it was, but silence lasted about ten seconds. Then he started whimpering and crying out, "CARS! CARS!" We pulled back up to Armando, and Nicholas launched himself off the bike toward his cars in Mando's arms. As soon as he had the cars in his clenched fists he smiled, laughed, and wanted to start the bike ride again. I told him we couldn't ride the bike if he had cars in his hands. He was more than happy to give up the bike for the cars. I was not as happy to do so. I really, really wanted to ride my bike. Instead, I had to follow him around as he drive his cars on the sidewalk. Not fun for me. My frustration with the cars was growing. I started imagining putting every single car we owned into a big bucket and dumping it into a lake.
Then, Nicholas' cars found their way to the pool. He stood outside the fence asking to go inside, saying "Upan, Upan," and, "Agua..agua." GREAT! I totally wanted to go swimming. I explained that we had to get our swimming suits on first. So, naturally, he threw a fit because he wanted to go in NOW! Finally, we got all the back to our building, up three flights of stairs, and into our suits. But, seeing as how I'm already annoyed with his cars, I tell him he has to leave them behind. They are brand new wooden cars, and I didn't want them to get ruined submerged in chlorinated water. If they were metal, no problem, but they're wooden! He refuses. I tell him we're not leaving until he puts his cars down. He refuses. I wait. It's turned into a battle of wills. I bet you can all guess how this ended. I ended up taking them by force (when will I learn?), and he screamed the whole way to the pool (even though I have replaced the wooden cars with two metal ones, so he still HAS cars in his hands). I assumed, incorrectly, that he would forget about them as soon as he sees the pool and remembers where we are going. Instead he screams as I take off his shoes and socks, take of my t-shirt, and try to put on his floatie-thing. Finally, I realize he's NOT going to stop screaming, he doesn't care about the pool anymore, and it's just going to be torture for both of us if I go forward with the plan (not to mention the poor folk who were already at the pool. I can only imagine what they thought). Back up three flights of stairs where he grabs his cars and instantly turns into a happy child again.
Here's the problem: If a child is screaming and throwing a fit, you remove him from the situation, right? They say that if you're in a grocery store you should leave your cart and walk out. What if that's exactly what the child wants? What if he's screaming and throwing a fit because he wants to leave-- it's not really as effective. I'm basically giving in to him every time he screams his disapproval. So I find myself basically "forcing him" to do these fun things that are supposed to be reward type activities! I'm SICK OF PLAYING CARS ALL DAY!
When I want to do something fun and interactive with Nicholas like riding my bike or going swimming or climbing on the jungle jim, I want to take them and break them into a million tiny pieces.
Cars.
They are the bane of my existence right now. I recognize and appreciate how nice it is to know EXACTLY what I can give Nicholas to keep him happy and entertained when I need to get something done (he played quietly in his crib for 45 minutes after he woke up from his nap because I left a couple of cars within reach). But the rest of the time-- when I want to play with him or do a fun activity-- they annoy me to no end.
We went to the playground yesterday morning, and he insisted on carrying three cars with him. Because both of his hands were full he fell on his face every five minutes as he tried to climb stairs and ladders and slides without the use of his hands. I told him we had to put the cars away, and I gave him the opportunity to do it willingly (which of course he didn't do) before I took them away and promised he could have them when we left the park. He spent the rest of the time running around, whimpering, saying, "Cars...cars...cars..." He kept running toward the busy road so he could get closer to the cars driving past. Then, unfortunately, a mother showed up pushing her child in a wagon shaped like a car. He had a melt down when I refused to let him push the kid out of his car. That was the end of the park. I gave him his cars back as I buckled him into the car, and he was a happy, pleasant child again.
In the afternoon, I decided to try out our new toddler bike seat. It doesn't have a seatbelt, so he HAD to grip onto the handlebars. Which, you guessed it, he can't do with cars in his hands. He was so excited to ride the bike, but he refused to let go of his cars. I tried to coax and persuade him to put the cars in his pockets or my shirt (sometimes he willingly gives them up if he can put them inside my shirt...I know it's weird, but it works), or give them to Papí while we rode, but he refused vehemently. Finally, we took them by force (again), thinking that once we got riding he would forget about them and enjoy the ride. He screamed bloody-murder. He was stunned into silence as I started pedaling and he realized how fun it was, but silence lasted about ten seconds. Then he started whimpering and crying out, "CARS! CARS!" We pulled back up to Armando, and Nicholas launched himself off the bike toward his cars in Mando's arms. As soon as he had the cars in his clenched fists he smiled, laughed, and wanted to start the bike ride again. I told him we couldn't ride the bike if he had cars in his hands. He was more than happy to give up the bike for the cars. I was not as happy to do so. I really, really wanted to ride my bike. Instead, I had to follow him around as he drive his cars on the sidewalk. Not fun for me. My frustration with the cars was growing. I started imagining putting every single car we owned into a big bucket and dumping it into a lake.
Then, Nicholas' cars found their way to the pool. He stood outside the fence asking to go inside, saying "Upan, Upan," and, "Agua..agua." GREAT! I totally wanted to go swimming. I explained that we had to get our swimming suits on first. So, naturally, he threw a fit because he wanted to go in NOW! Finally, we got all the back to our building, up three flights of stairs, and into our suits. But, seeing as how I'm already annoyed with his cars, I tell him he has to leave them behind. They are brand new wooden cars, and I didn't want them to get ruined submerged in chlorinated water. If they were metal, no problem, but they're wooden! He refuses. I tell him we're not leaving until he puts his cars down. He refuses. I wait. It's turned into a battle of wills. I bet you can all guess how this ended. I ended up taking them by force (when will I learn?), and he screamed the whole way to the pool (even though I have replaced the wooden cars with two metal ones, so he still HAS cars in his hands). I assumed, incorrectly, that he would forget about them as soon as he sees the pool and remembers where we are going. Instead he screams as I take off his shoes and socks, take of my t-shirt, and try to put on his floatie-thing. Finally, I realize he's NOT going to stop screaming, he doesn't care about the pool anymore, and it's just going to be torture for both of us if I go forward with the plan (not to mention the poor folk who were already at the pool. I can only imagine what they thought). Back up three flights of stairs where he grabs his cars and instantly turns into a happy child again.
Here's the problem: If a child is screaming and throwing a fit, you remove him from the situation, right? They say that if you're in a grocery store you should leave your cart and walk out. What if that's exactly what the child wants? What if he's screaming and throwing a fit because he wants to leave-- it's not really as effective. I'm basically giving in to him every time he screams his disapproval. So I find myself basically "forcing him" to do these fun things that are supposed to be reward type activities! I'm SICK OF PLAYING CARS ALL DAY!
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