2-25, Gangsta Em

"So the weekend fun is over.  Nik has to go to school (except he didn't leave as early as he normally does...), Harrison is gone, and dad has to go to work.  Bah-hum-bug!  But I guess if I dig through the closet I can find something to entertain myself with....ah-ha-- my big brother's hat and boots!  Look at me now!  Look out world, here I come!"

2-24, Nik's 11!!

Eleven.  The number I can never spell correctly-- isn't there an 'a' in there somewhere?  No, I guess not.  Anyway, Nikolas....Nik....is now 11.  I knew it would happen.  In the beginning, he was "Baby Niki"....then he grew into "Nikolas"....and now, to most of the world, he's known simply as "Nik".  I really thought he would be at least 15 before that happened, but what does a mom know?!  Thankfully to most of the family, he is still Nikolas and has yet to be just "Nik" with them.  I'll hang onto that little remainder of his youth as long as I can.  Yes, 11.  Not a teenager yet, but close enough to smell the attitude (or feet...hahaha....) a mile away.  He only has a few more months of elementary school left.  After this summer, he'll be beginning middle school.  (How I came to have a child in middle school and a child yet to be in preschool I have yet to figure out....)  

Nikolas' big wish for his birthday was to have his closest friend, Harrison, spend it with him.  Last year, that wasn't a big undertaking seeing as how Harrison lived right up the street.  But as of last October, Harrison now lives much, much farther up the street.....like almost to Boulder.  Nikolas hadn't seen him since he moved and he's really missed his friend.  So, thanks to his wonderful mother (a shout out to you, Kari, hahaha....) we arranged to make a Harrison-swap for the weekend and make Nikolas' birthday wish come true.  We hauled ourselves up to Boulder (ok, not quite Boulder but you get the idea) on Saturday and spent a lovely afternoon catching up with Harrison's family, seeing their new house and town, and enjoying a nice lunch together.  The boys had a wonderful time together this weekend.  They stayed up late, played video games, rough-housed and did what they do best--- pal around.  Emalie tried to be in on the action as much as they would allow.

Nik's birthday came on Sunday and with it his second birthday wish-- doughnuts!  In lieu of cake, we celebrated with birthday breakfast doughnuts.  Gifts were opened (thanks for all of you who sent cards and gifts!).  The grand gift finale came when he opened our gift.  I think Sven and I have become notorious for the gifs that 'flop'.  We're not ones to indulge in the madness of materialistic giving....until this year.  Now that he's older, always on my computer, and entering middle school soon, Sven and I decided to give him that one big thing Nikolas never dared to put on his wishlist:  an iPad.  Yep, the kid has an iPod (thanks again, pap-pap) and an iPad.....Sven and I have neither.  Oh, well, we knew this day was coming.  The photos of him opening his gift are so cute.  You can see the amazement in his eyes.  He LOVED it.  

And on top of all of that going on inside, there was an extreme blizzard going on outside.  As the newsflash said on Saturday "IT WILL SNOW ALL DAY LONG".  They weren't kidding.  Sun up to sun down, it did indeed snow ALL DAY LONG.  So in between, episodes of electronics time, the boys bundled up and played in the snow.  It was a happy, cozy birthday for Nikolas.  Unfortunately, it wasn't so cozy for Kari who agreed to pick Harrison up on Sunday through the treacherous blizzard.  (Thanks so much for that, Kari!!).  And just as I suspected, Nikolas was a little sad at the end of the day when Harrison was gone.  But, now that we know just how far (or not far) away he lives, hopefully it won't be another 4 months until we see him/them again!

Emalie remembers Harrison and how much she likes him!

Now I know the secret to getting Nikolas to smile for a picture--
put doughnuts down in front of him first!

Nikolas and Harrison

And of course you have to include mei mei.....little sister! 

"Now THAT's a good doughnut!!"

"Umm, yeah.....I don't think I like this...."

Talking on the phone with Grandma and opening a gift-- multi-tasking at it's finest.

And now to unwrap the gift from us.....

I love the fact that he shows Harrison first!

So very, very happy.

And Emalie is so very, very happy with the ribbon.
I think she's thinking it's a karate belt!

I tied it around her waist and she wore it all morning.

This picture CRACKS ME UP!  Harrison with Nik's iPod, Nikolas with his new iPad, and Emalie with her....
pink Dollar Store calculator!
How many more years until she realizes she has the short end of the deal?!
For now, she's 'hanging with the big boys' and that's all that matters to her!

Taking a break from the way-too-much-used electronics!
Playing old-fashioned style!

Happy Birthday, Nikolas!

We love you, buddy!

2-20, What a way to wake up!

So, it was taking Sven quite awhile to get Emalie out of bed from her nap the other day.  I went upstairs to see what was going on.  This is what I found.....a giant stuffed animal party!  And to think, when I wake up Emalie, all I do is comb her hair.  NO WONDER daddy's so much fun!  We keep Emalie's stuffed animals (a large assortment of ones from when I was little -- note the Raggedy Andy that I have had forever-- to Nikolas' stuffed animals to new ones that Emalie has received as gifts) in a tub next to her crib.  Sometimes we'll go in there to get her and she's pulled them up over the railing or through the slots and is quietly playing with them.  The little girl from China who wanted nothing to do with stuffed animals has come a long way!    

"Yaayyy!!"

"No, dadda, not that one.....that one!"

"Noooo!!!  This one scares me!!!!!!"

"But, I like this one!!"

2-16, Thad's Visit

I debated whether to make this a blog post.  The event is worthy, but the quantity of pictures is not-- 1.....one.  "Uncle Thad" visited us the weekend before last, and I only got one lousy picture.  Unbelievable.  In my defense, it was a crazy weekend with Sven working nights, Nik's karate and a last-minute chiropractic appointment for Thad.  The remainder of the weekend Thad spent cocooned in our basement studying.  He's back with United now and in training in Houston.  Houston to Spokane is a little far for a weekend, but Houston to Denver is just about right.  I did manage to sneak in one picture of Thad with Emalie (note, getting Thad to cooperate with a photo is just about as hard as with my Grandma O.....let's just say neither really jump at the chance for a photo opp!).  Emalie was quite taken with "Thaaa, Thaaa.."  We went to the store one day and she insisted that HE push the cart.  Never thought I'd see my brother pushing a cart around a grocery store with a baby in it!  LOL.   Nik doesn't do photos much either-- you can see him in the background sucked into the boob-tube.  Anyway, thanks for visiting Thad it was so great having you.  We'll leave the light on for you for next time!