Girlfriends and kisses

Of course we expected that at some point, Nick would have a girlfriend and would be handing out kisses to deserving people. However, we hardly expected it would be before he turned two.

While at the day care in San Francisco, he had his first girlfriend, Ruby. We heard stories from his teachers about him giving her hugs & kisses, but we never saw it so thought maybe it was their imagination. Then when we moved down here, he promply left Ruby in the dust - not another thought!! Poor girl. Now he has a whole new set of ladies to work his magic on. First it was Amanda ('Manda') and then it was Maya. Now his latest affection is Cindy. And this is the first time we've heard it from his very own lips.



Sigh, he's leaving a trail of broken hearts already. But at least he's consistent with his kisses for Mommy & Daddy. All while busily re-arranging the pantry, of course. Mommy never has it up to Nick standards...

The ABC's while eating!

Nick is learning to do his ABC's. He's gotten quite good actually and can even do them while he's eating. Notice the way he "slides" through 'L-M-N-O'and puts such dramatic emphasis on 'P'. And 'W-X-Y-Z'? Who needs them - they're rarely used anyway.

You'll have to turn your volume up loud to hear his voice...



Is he talented or what?

Turkey Day in Green Bay

The Desotell Family currently flip-flops holidays between Green Bay and Spokane - this year it was Thanksgiving in Green Bay. Kevin headed out early for the yearly hunt. And, being the animal lover that I am - the deer won - yay! (Sorry, honey!!)

So I was the lucky one who got to fly out to Chicago on her own with Nick. We flew on Southwest Airlines. I've always hated Southwest, but dang it if they don't keep doing things to win me over. This time they had a DJ set-up at LAX to keep all the passengers entertained. They also had a balloon-animal-maker person (what are they called anyway???) So Nick got his Turkey balloon and was quite happy.




The timing of the flight was perfect and Nick slept for over half the flight. And after he woke up, I had enough toys, books and snacks to keep him happy for the rest of the flight. Phew!

Nick's Aunt Cindy and Uncle Mike were kind enough to let us stay with them while we were in Green Bay - it was great and SO much better than staying at a hotel! Thanks Mike & Cindy!!

In Green Bay, they have a Wildlife Sanctuary that is pretty cool. So we bundled up and headed over there to see the wildlife. The last time we were there, the family of wolves numbered at about seven. This time there were only two wolves - not sure what happened to the other five. Let's hope they're out prowling around, eating tasty venison. Here is a quick pic - doesn't do them justice; they're huge and quite amazing!


Nick hitched a ride for a good portion of the park.


But we - I should say - Kevin - got tired of being the baby carrier and down he went.


I tried to convince him to walk on the snow with me, but he would have none of it.


There were a bunch of geese and ducks by one of the lakes (don't geese fly south for the winter? Hmmm...) Nick HAD to check them out - ducks are one of his favorite animals and they're usually the only resident on Old MacDonald's Farm when Nick sings it.


Note that he quickly forgot that he didn't want to walk on the snow...


Nick decided that he would "feed" the ducks & geese leaves. Since he was wearing mittens, he figured out that he had to press them between his mittened-hands in order to pick them up.


All that walking around, quacking and feeding is pretty tiring...


How is that possibly comfortable???

In-house biking

Much to the relief of Mommy's back, Nick is figuring out the whole push-yourself-on-the-bike thing. He's loving riding it around the house, running into things, etc.


"What, you mean I can't ride my bike in the bathroom????"


And a stop for a quick drink at the wine rack...


A toddler's gotta stay hydrated, after all.

Cousins hatching a plan...

Jocelyn's brother, Brian came down to meet wife Natasha and son Alex at LAX when they arrived back in the US after a visit to Natasha's home in Russia. The layover was long enough that we could all meet for dinner. Poor Natasha & Alex were exhausted, but we were able to grab a quick bite while the cousins got to know each other (they were 7 & 3 months old the last time they were together!) I think they're perfecting their mischief planning skills...

"OK. Here comes the waiter. You grab the bowl of chips, I'll get the salsa. Try to look innocent. Yea, like that. Good."


"Dude - you got the chips. Nice. Now where is the waiter with that salsa?"


Just a glimpse of what the Thomas boys will be getting into in the coming years... we're in trouble.

Spoon-er-rific

Nick has become quite proficient at using his spoon to eat. Sure, he gets some on his bib, but he can always scoop that up later.


Hmm... maybe if I use another spoon, I can get MORE in my mouth...


Yep, that's the ticket. Two spoons it is.

It's as if he was in the desert...

We give him a lot to drink. Really. Milk, water, sometimes juice. But given his reaction, you'd think he was dying of thirst.



Nope - just loves drinking like a big boy out of his cup. Not to mention playing with the faucet and soaking himself and whomever might be near...