Happy Easter!

Dude this has been the best Easter yet! Yes, yes, I know I've only experienced 3 so far in my life. But still, this one was great! Baking with Mama. An Easter egg hunt at the Alerus Center with hundreds of eggs plus facepainting, moonbounces, and a firetruck, and now Easter day with a great Easter egg hunt at home plus an Easter basket filled with goodies! I totally made out. I got a bit of candy, some stickers, plastic animals, a yellow stuffed ducky, a Spiderman baseball hat, some books, a mini flower pot to plant daisies in, and even a Pez dispenser. Score! Mommy took a rare time off from cooking the holiday meal so we all went to the bufet at the Blue Moose instead. Yum!

I got a Bearnstain Bears book recently about how Easter is not all about candy (or toys) or even food, though. Mommy and I have been readin about how in Christianity, it is about Jesus's death and resurrection, and in pagan traditions, it is about spring and new life.

Hope you had a blessed and joyfilled Easter as well!

Here's a few photos and videos of my Easter. Enjoy!

From 29 to 30 Months

Had my face painted!

From 29 to 30 Months

Checking out the eggs before the hunt.

From 29 to 30 Months

That hunt was competitive!

From 29 to 30 Months

Me and my Easter basket.

From 29 to 30 Months

Click on the image for a video of me before the big hunt.

From 29 to 30 Months

Click on the image for a video of me after the big hunt:)

From 29 to 30 Months

Click on the image for a video of me hunting for eggs at home on Easter morning.

29 Months Old!

What's been up with me, you ask? Well, last month I got my second 2 year molar in, and this month I'm getting the last 2 in. So, I've been busy teething and now have a complete mouth of teeth. I haven't been too grouchy considering all that's been going on in my mouth. Two molars should not come in at the same time, I say! But then again, at least that's all over with. Mom says all my teeth will fall out in about 5 years. WHAT?!!! I'm not gonna think about that.

In other news, just when we thought spring was coming because the snow was melting, we get another snow storm. Ah well. I kinda like the white stuff. Mom says we can go outside more once it gets warmer. I can't wait!! I love the outdoors! And I'm looking forward to trying out my rainboots.

Mom and Dad and everyone, it seems, keep talking about the flooding and the river. Guess its a big deal, though our dike system should keep us safe, they say. Daddy sure is busy taking care of the town and giving interviews. I like seeing him on TV!

Hmm, what else? I continue to love going to Storytime at the library, hanging out with my friends Kael and Asa, and visiting all my relatives. I absolutely LOVE my grandparents. All they do is play with me. Its the best! My Grandma and Grandpa Huizenga came to visit not long ago and they bought my Great-Grandma and Grandpa Deibert with, too! They also brought my beloved Christmas pony from Glenburn. Now I can ride it every day.

Oh, and Easter is coming up so Mommy and made Easter cookies for this weekend and froze them. That was fun! I love cooking with Mommy. She even let me have my own little rolling pin and a little dough. We also made an Easter Bunny House, sorta like a gingerbread house, from a kit from Target. Mommy had fun, but all I wanted to do was eat the icing and candy, not help. That annoyed Mama. Sorry!

Anyway, lots of excitement coming up here including Daddy's Birthday and another visit from the Easter bunny! Catch you again next month!

Happy Birthday Grandma Kathy!!

Molar #2, Symbols, and "Exactly"

Just a few random things I've been doing lately:

• Teething my 2nd 2-year molar. That explains why I caught a cold, but I'm not feeling too bad. Two down, 2 to go. Then I'll have my complete set of milk teeth:)
• Symbols - I LOVE them. I like identifying them, and since I like tv commercials way too much, I've picked up a few new ones lately. I know the symbols for Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, NBC, FOX, Magor League Baseball, Sioux hockey, and lots of others.
• My favorite words and phrases as of late are "million dollars" (maybe because I like gameshows?), twenty! (its a big number in my mind), tilla (tortilla), Oh Buddy! (my parents say this to me all the time so I've picked it up in its various intonations), Because, and my most recent addition has been "Exactly." That one cracked Mama up.

Just thought I'd share. Hope your spring is warmer than ours has been. I want to go outside!!! And I also hope Uncle Dusty and everyone in Fargo stays dry. Peace out!

Nicky the Pirate

Showing Off My Pipes

Batter Up!

28 Month Update

I turned 28 months old back on the 9th, but we've been busy the last few weeks so not enough computer time to get this post done. But, hopefully devoting some time on this lazy Saturday will get it done! Anyways, I've just been doing what I do this past month. That means playing, learning, creating, eating, sleeping, you get the idea. As you know, I love reading and I love creating art, so Storytime at the EGF Library has been quite enjoyable for me and Mama. We try to go every week and have been pretty successful at doing so for the last 2 months. The lady who reads the stories is so animated, involves us kids in the story, is super patient and nice, and comes up with great art projects for us to do afterward that are related to the story we just read. I love it!! I like to show off my art projects and play with them. Check out my slide show and you'll see what I'm talking about.

My obsession with sports has reached a new high. Everything is either baseball or hockey to me. I find it everywhere! I notice team decals and symbols where ever I go. Can you blame me? They are some fun sports! And I love playing them, too! I use my plastic golf club and my nerf foam baseball bat interchangeably as a bat and a hockey stick. Sometimes I just hit the ball around myself, but I love to have people actually pitch to me. And let me tell you, I can HIT it! I make contact more often than not! Its quite something to see. I also have quite the arm. Mommy had no idea I had such good coordination! I also get many laughs when I wag my bat:) I scream, "Hit!," or "Home Run!" or "Twenty!" when I make contact with the ball (twenty is a very large number in my mind so it means it was a BIG hit).

I'm so happy the weather is getting warmer! It means that Mommy or Daddy sometimes put my rain boots on me and take me for walks around the block and through all the puddles. I just love being outside. I do love eating snow, but I don't like getting stuck in the drifts, though. Scary! But those have been melting away the last week or so. Spring is on its way! Yipee! Mommy tells me that we'll go for stroller rides and walks down by the river after the spring flooding is all over. She also tells me that we will go to the pool and maybe do some camping this summer! Did I mention I love the outdoors?! I just can't wait for all this. Mommy says it will be nice to use our screened-in outdoor room off the back garage once it gets warm, too. Here's to sunny days.

I keep hearing from people that I'm getting so skinny and tall. But check this out: I'm 30 pounds and 36.5 inches tall. Mama looked it up and according to the WHO baby charts, I am in the 70th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height and my height to weight ratio is perfectly average, so while I'm a little on the tall side, I am not skinny;) People seem to forget who babies go from being chubby as infants to starting to look with long, lean, proportional little people in their toddler years. Quite the transformation, yes, but perfectly normal.

My other development over the past few months is that I went from being a co-sleeping kiddo to sleeping in my own big-boy bed in my own room most nights (Mommy's still there for me if I need her). I usually can sleep from 9 or 10 until 6 in the morning when I go and hop in Mommy and Daddy's bed with them. Good morning Parents! Mommy's so proud of me. I still prefer to snuggle and sleep close to someone when I'm sick or feeling off, but now I know I can do it on my own, too.

Oh, forgot to tell you guys last month that I got my first 2 year molar. Ouch! But no big whoop. One down, three more to go. Then I'll be done with getting my milk teeth.

No more developments on the potty learning front. I am not interested!! I seem to be a little scared or put off by the big potty. NO!!!! Is what I say when asked if I want to sit on that thing. No way. I do announce quite often that I'm going poop, have to go poop, or just went, but I am quite happy with using my diapers right now. Mommy bought some pull-up type ones both for better fit and to encourage me with the potty learning, but that hasn't done much. Next up, a little potty of my own, but no expectations.

I've been making some great friends lately and going to playgroups and some meetings with Mom. There is a group of moms that meet every week or two at mall playland, a fastfood playland, or someone's house. We're working on making it a regular weekly thing now:) Mom also taking me to MOPS meetings every other week. We've gone twice now. I like playing with the other kiddos in the nursery and Mama gets to know some other moms and listen to neat speakers. I also go with Mom to the breastfeeding support group once a month (and play with the other kiddos there, too), API parenting group once a month (same deal), and when Mom goes to LLL group in Fargo once a month, I either hang with Daddy or get to play with my Uncle Dusty at his place while Mom is at the meeting. So much fun! Mommy's also looking into swimming lessons for the two of us or maybe a music class. Good stuff!

Well, guess that's enough news for now. Its March Madness time so I have lots of basketball to watch with my parents. Our hockey team, the UND Fighting Sioux, lost not only in regional tourney first round game, but they just lost the 3rd place game today so we are really sad about that:( Hopefully they do better in the national tourney!

Oh, my grandparents (the Huizengas) and my great grandparents (the Feists) came up for a visit on Thursday, but I guess I should save those details and pics for my 29 month post since technically they don't belong in this one. Confusing! But that's what happens when I'm late with my posts (hint, hint, Mom!). Anyway, the important thing is that I got my Xmas pony back (they hauled it up for me from Glenburn since we couldn't fit it in our car at Xmas), and I absolutely adore my Grandpa. He is the best! I had fun!

Also, I just went to my second hockey game to watch my second cousin, Jarad Zittleman, play in a tourney at the Ralph arena. At first I was overwhelmed by the sounds and lights (I HATE loud noises, they freak me out!) but by the second period, I got used to it. It was neat to see elementary aged kiddos playing really skillful hockey. After the game, we went to Susanne, Rich, Brady, Jarad and Jackson's hotel room to hang out and watch the end of the (dreadful) Sioux game. I showed off my hockey skills by playing with Jarad and Jackson's mini hockey sticks and using a pop bottle cap as my puck. Cousin Rich is excited that there's another kid in the family interested in hockey.

If Mom could ever catch me on video, I'd show you my singing skills. I love to sing along with the rock songs me and Daddy listen to or really any other song I know. My favorite is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, though. I love my "mu-kac."

Peace out, everyone. Here's hoping that we all stay dry and have a happy Spring!

FOX and Geico

I can read the words "Fox" and "Geico" as in the television station and the insurance company. Yeh, Mommy and Daddy are definitely putting limits on my TV now.

27 Months Old!

I turned 27 months old on the 9th:) I just keep growing and learning. So what have I been doing this month, specifically you ask? Well, I have my alphabet down as you've seen in the video I posted in the last entry. I also have my shapes and number up to 10 down and I'm working on the teens now. I have a pretty good grasp of colors and get blue, red, yellow, green and purple right most of the time. Now I'm working on black, brown, white, gray, and pink.

I am obsessed with baseball! Well, all sports, but especially baseball! I have taken a new interest in my baseball-themed room ever since Mom finally put up all my baseball decorative items. (They're the same ones from my room in KC, she tells me, put I don't remember them so they're cool and exciting to me!) I know the baseball terms including strike, hit, helmet, bat, ball, glove, grounder, out, safe, slide, home run, and others.

I have taken (way too much) of a liking to some of the television shows on the Sprout station (PBS station for preschoolers and toddlers) and will watch as much as Mom and Dad let me. My favorites are Caillou, Sesame Street, Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder, and Rory the Racecar. Sometimes Mommy makes me sad by declaring it TV-free day or turning off the TV when I want to watch more:( But, we have started to get out and about more, so I don't miss it we're on the go. Mommy is also not too excited that I have started to identify all the characters in these shows and talk about them often or point them out if I see them. I love, love, love Caillou (he's a 4 year old boy who stars in a cartoon about himself, for those of you who don't know) and Cookie Monster! They are my favorites. I now call all race cars Rory after Rory the racecar. I know the Thomas trains' names better than Mommy does.

I have also taken a big interest in art. I love to color with crayons and finger paints and watercolor paints and markers. I don't understand why it can't be art time ALL THE TIME! Hmm, what else...? I am quite the loud, boisterous little boy. I will to SHOUT and SQUEAL! I like to run around in circles and spin to get my energy out. My favorite time is when Daddy gives me horsie rides on his back or Mommy gives me airplane rides on her legs/feet. I also like to jump and tumble. Mommy really needs to get me a mini trampoline already! Recently I have taken to climbing on our leather rocker/recliner and diving onto the couch next to it. Mommy keeps telling me to be careful and says I'm gonna end up with stitches again soon.

Oh yeah! Forgot to tell ya! I was climbing on the cupboards in the kitchen a few weeks ago and slipped and landed belly then chin first on the ceramic tile floor! Ouch! I got quite a deep cut and it hurt so bad! I screamed for quite awhile while Mommy held a towel on it to get the bleeding to stop. Luckily it didn't take long. Then Mommy and Daddy and I headed to the emergency room (my first time there). They put some numbing gel on the cut for about 20 minutes and then the doc came in to stitch me up. Everyone kept going on and on about how hard it was gonna be and how I probably would freak out when they tried to hold me still. But I didn't! One nurse held my head still, the doc put towels on my face around the cut, and Mom held my hands and told me exactly what was going on, play by play style. I held so still and was so brave! I stayed very quiet and only asked for Mommy and Daddy once since those towels made it hard to see! Once Mommy reassured me that they were both still there, I settled right away. Everyone kept going on and on about how well I did, how brave I was, and how amazed they were. Mommy kept thanking me for holding still and staying calm. I don't know what the big deal was, I mean, yes, it was scary and weird, but I had my parents there, everyone was staying calm, and as long as I knew what was going on, I wasn't too worried. So, I ended up with 5 stitches. Five days later I went to my family doctor and she took them out. She was amazed at how well I held still, too. And let me tell you, getting them out was even harder because the stitches were stuck in the scabs and I didn't have numbing medicine this time! But the doc stopped and took a little break every time I said ouch and I resettled and pretty soon we were done! I got a bunch of stickers and coloring book out of the mess so that was nice! Now I have an inch and half scar on my chin, but Mommy is rubbing it with Vit. E and Mederma, so hopefully it will fade over time. Mommy says, please, no more trips to the ER!

Hmmm, so back to talking about playing! I like going down to my playroom/rec room downstairs so I can play with my trains, play my piano keyboard, cook on my play kitchen, or bounce on the exercise ball! I also have a stash of smaller toys in my closet and some in the living room. If I'm not playing with my cars or my many balls, I'm reading. My favorite books right now are The Roar of a Snore; Moo, Ba, La, La, La; The Very Lonely Firefly; and Dogs (a Dr. Seuss book). I have many of my books memorized and I can shout out parts of the books as Mommy or Daddy reads them.

If I'm not reading, I'm usually listening to music with Daddy. I love music! I memorize the words to my favorite songs (like Hiroshima by Ben Folds, You Don't Know me by Ben Folds, and So Happy by Theory of a Deadman as well as the classic, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) and sing along with them when Daddy plays them on the computer. Daddy also showed me how to drum, and I am quite the headbanger!! Music is the best!

Enjoy the yet another monthly slideshow:

I Know My ABC's!

Here's a video of me and Mommy reading my Thomas's ABC Book.

Riding my Christmas Pony

26 Months Old

I turned 26 months old on January 9th, but Mommy and I were still hanging out in Regent then, so she nearly forgot to get my pics for the month uploaded. Anyway, this month I learned my entire alphabet, I can count to 10, I know my shapes pretty well, and I am working on my colors. I LOVE sports including baseball, hockey, football, and basketball and can say many phrases from each of them, and I LOVE transportation like trucks, trains, cars, boats, etc. I am very good at somersaults and I like to run around in circles or spin in circles sometimes. I also love to jump and bounce on the exercise ball (just like I did when I was a baby!). I am quite the memorizing machine and have a bunch of my books memorized. My favorite books right now are Thomas the Train Engine's ABC's, The Very Lonely Firefly, Baby's First 100 Words, Bambi, and We Help Daddy. Reading is the best! I also love music! Daddy taught me to drum along to the beat of the music (I have rhythm!), and I love to sing, too. My favorite song is Hiroshima by Ben Folds (I call it Oh, oh, oh, oh! because that is in the refrain and its my favorite part to sing). I also play piano on Daddy's old electric keyboard. Oh, I also had my 2 year check-up and I am 35.5 inches tall and weigh 29 pounds which are both around the 75 percentile! Looks like my typical picky toddler eating its hurting me. I am still mostly vegetarian (or should I say fruititarian since fruit is my biggest love), but I do like sausage and bacon and occasionally chicken or hamburger. It is hit or miss. Luckily, I do like nuts, seeds, and dairy so I get my protein. Anyway, that's it for me! I'll be 27 months old in just 2 weeks so you will hear from me soon:)

My 2 year portraits

Here are my portraits from early December. Aren't I handsome?!

My Christmas 2008

This year we were home in EGF for Xmas Eve, then went to Grandma and Grandpa Huizenga's in Glenburn on Xmas day, and finally to Grandma and Grandpa Laub's the Sunday after Christmas. We were busy! I really enjoyed the holidays this year. I became obsessed with talking about Santa, although I got scared when I actually got to meet him. I even followed Santa's travels on Google Earth with Daddy on Christmas Eve. I really enjoyed our Christmas tree and kept telling Mommy to turn on the "pretties" meaning turn on the Christmas tree lights:)

Though I don't need for much including toys, I did get some for gifts this Christmas. Some of my spoils include: a wood play kitchen, a play mixer and cookie baking set, a play pizza, a play sandwhich, a wood firetruck, an ambulence, a Thomas train, clothes, books, and a singing pony on springs.

Mommy also told me the story of Saint Nicholas, who has the same name as me:), and his role in Christmas. We talked about the giving spirit of Christmas and how it is important to be generous. I even made my own donation in the Salvation Arm plate at the mall.

I hope you all had a great Christmas, too, and are enjoying 2009!

25 Months Old

Some Birthday Movies

Here are some movie clips from my birthday celebrations last month:

Santa! Ho Ho Ho!

Last Thursday I went to visit Santa at the library. Beforehand, mommy and daddy told me about him and I kept saying "Santa" and "ho ho" all day. But when it came time to go sit on his lap, I got really scared! Come on, some strange man in a red suit with a long beard who wants me to sit on his lap- tell me that's not weird?! Anyway, I didn't want to sit on his lap right away so he gave me my goody bag and we went and did art projects in the story room and walked around the library for a little while. Then mommy gently took me back to try again. I still didn't want to go up to him by myself so mommy went with me. This time I didn't run away but I still wasn't too excited about it. I didn't know what to tell him when he asked what I wanted for Christmas. All I could think of was "truck." Daddy captured some pictures of the event which we'll post later and so did the local newspaper. One of them even made it into the paper. The links to those pictures from the paper are below. Mommy didn't include the links to the pics where I protested sitting on his lap. No need to relive that! Anyway, despite the minor trauma, I am still talking about Santa lots:)

Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
Picture 4
Picture 5

Poopy in the Potty!

Last night I went poop in the potty for the first time! Yay!

Mommy has been slowly introducing me to the concept of the toilet and encouraging me to use it if I want to, but she isn't forcing me to. Before yesterday, I'd sat on the toilet many times with my little toilet seat insert, but I was kinda scared to actually do anything.

Then, last night while we were washing up to go to bed, I told mommy, "Potty," and pulled down my pants. Mom asked if I wanted to sit on the potty and I said yes, so she helped me do so. I like a little privacy so Mom went back to washing her face while I did my business. It sure sounded like I was doing something this time, so after I was done she checked and sure enough, I had went poop! Yeh! Still no pee, but Mom assures me that whenever I'm ready she'll help me get to the potty to do that, too.

I am TWO!!!!

Happy birthday to me!! I turn two today. And I will tell you so if you ask me:)

No big party for me today - a big snowstorm last week snowed in my grandparents and uncles so we'll have my party next weekend instead. Hope they shovel out by then, ha ha! Its gonna be a train party and I am so excited! Mom says there will be cake, too. Can't wait.

Check you later. I am gonna go play and enjoy my birthday.