2-4, Nikolas' 1st Wiggly Tooth

This tooth has been hanging on for WEEKS!! Nikolas just can't wait for it to fall out....but then again, he won't pull it out either. Thanks to all of my oral surgeries I've had over the years, I get weak-kneed just looking at it. So much to my surprise yesterday, I caught a glimpse of how wiggly it really is. Boy is Nikolas proud. =)

It surely can't be long now!

2-1, Steeler MANIA

Oh, boy, when you talk football in our house, you're talking something really, really serious. "Steelers all the way, baby". Those of you who know me know that's 180 out from MY perspective (nothing against the Steelers, just football in general), but Sven is a die-hard Steeler fan and he's training Nikolas to follow in his footsteps.

This is the playoff game a few weeks back. Somehow the Steelers always manage to hit it big when we're living in an area where it's pretty unpopular to be a Steelers fan, ie playing Seattle, Baltimore, etc. Once again, the Steelers prevailed and Sven and Nikolas were able to rub that in with the Ravens fans around here. =)

We DID let Nikolas stay up for the game.....see? He's NOT in his bed! =)

Ok, moving right along....now we're to the BIG DAY....you got it....Superbowl Sunday. (By the way, Heather W., we made your baked rigatoni in honor of the occassion....thanks for sharing such a great recipe!).

We again let Nikolas stay up for the game.....thankfully he fell asleep before the Steelers fell behind in the second half....boy would THAT have upset him....

.....it SURELY upset Sven!!! Do you SEE the beads of sweat coming off his forehead?!?! This is SERIOUS, SERIOUS stuff.....

Oh no, oh no... the sky is falling....the Steelers may NOT win the Superbowl......

That's it, Sven....stand up, get involved...send some psychic power to those boys out on the field....

Can you hear the proclamations...."YES!!! YES!!! YES!!!!"

Well, I tried to upload a video that would have made most of you roll on the floor laughing, but it was just too long. Oh well, better for Sven's dignity that it not be broadcast on the web. Let's just say that I got the final 10 minutes of the game on video and it's PRETTY FUNNY. Congrats to all you Steeler fans on the victory!!! Way to go SIXBURG! =)

1-24, Thad's Overnighter

BWI this time-- Woo Hoo! Instead of driving over an hour to Dulles to see Thad for his layover, we only had to drive 10 minutes up the road to BWI. Better yet, Thad was able to stay the night with us. What a treat! For this special reunion, we recreated BJ's infamous taco pizza-- our favorite item at a local restaurant back home in Montana. It was quite nummy!

For Christmas, we helped Thad choose a Cabela's hunting game for Nikolas' Wii. Well, we soon learned that it was a pretty hard game for Nikolas to play because it requires a great deal of patience. Having Thad to play the game with resparked Nikolas' enthusiasm for it. And of course, the boys played it long after Nikolas went to bed. =) (Though Nikolas doesn't know that...Shhh!!!)

Thad finally got to meet Rascal. By the way, I don't know if there's any way to get rid of the red-eye on a rabbit! =) Special eyes he must have because they always photograph red!

A few pictures for a short visit......we're hoping Thad gets another BWI layover soon!

January snow days

We have decided that the weather here in Maryland is quite odd. It fluctuates a great bit...even during the course of just one day. We had one slight snowfall in mid-December, but our real first snow didn't come until these past few weeks. The picture below is of the beginning of those snow days. These are some of Nikolas' neighborhood friends....Nikolas is hiding somewhere under the table. What a party-pooper! =)

As you can see, it barely snows inches and it doesn't stick around very long. The kids have to run out and make the most of it while they can. During another snow day (pictured below), Nikolas and I invited over a friend from Nikolas' class (and his older brother). The family just moved here from Korea. I'm helping their mom learn English and she's helping me with my 'listening ears'. =) Danny, Nikolas' friend, has autism. He and Nikolas share a unique friendship. It's heartwarming to see Nikolas' soft side when he is with Danny. Anyway, it was so funny to watch the boys sled. Danny had never been sledding before, so the boys took the sleds up the little (and I do mean little) hill beside our house. Nikolas and Danny would start at the top of the hill on the same sled together but halfway down Danny would get excited and throw Nikolas off the sled. If you look closely, you can see Danny in the red sled and Nikolas laying on the ground behind him. =) They would laugh and laugh and do it over and over. Had any other of Nikolas' friends done that, there would have been a fight....but not with Danny. Kids can be quite amazing.

So, after a day or so, the weather warmed up just enough to melt the snow and refreeze it again at night. Everything was so slick for days. The kids would run outside and play and all of us moms would just hold our breaths and hope nobody would get really hurt when they inevitably fell. The moms were WAY more concerned than the kids, of course!

It sure made for a pretty sight at night when the lights reflected off the ice.