Laundry is Fun

Whoever said that laundry isn't fun has never been in a laundry room with Nicholas Edward or John Dockweiler.

Beach Baby

As hard as it is to believe, I used to spend every day of the month of August at the beach. I was a beach baby. I don't know what happened, but I abhor the beach these days. Sadly for me, the youngest of my offspring loves the beach and sand. He truly is a water baby. He just loves to throw sand all around and doesn't mind getting it all over. He must get that from his mother because I can't stand the feeling of sand.

The Fountain

Nicholas seems to have taken quite a liking to fountains lately. I think he gets it from his fountain obsessed brother. Anywho, Maureen took the boys for a walk the other day and took this gem of a photo. I like to call it, "Small Child at The Cookie Fountain."

Sunday at the Grove

Donuts are Good

Both of the boys woke up at 6 AM this morning. We couldn't convince them to go back to sleep. John already had a plan for the day made up. We'd go to a farmer's market to buy some strawberries and go to the Grove to ride the escalators, say hello to the security guard friend at Barnes and Noble, and get donuts. Nicholas got to benefit from this plan because we pretty much followed through on most of it. We didn't go to a farmer's market for strawberries because we just bought strawberries at The Farmer's Market on Fairfax.

Fun in Sand

We bought some butterflies a while back to watch them grow and develop. Little did I know that there was quite a bit of upkeep for butterflies. We finally gave up today and decided to set them free before any more died (sadly two had died). All in all, we released 7 butterflies to the wild. After we let them go, the boys got to enjoy some fun at the play structure. I'm not a fan of the play structure because of the sand, but both John and Nicholas loved it.

The Smartest Almost 18-Month Old

I mock "Your Baby Can Read". Our Nicholas, not quite 18-months is able to count to two. I had no clue he could do this until I saw him playing with John's computer. The program started to count, "One", and a few seconds later Nicholas answers, "TWO". I was ever so impressed until Maureen told me, "Oh, he's been doing that for a while. I always count when we go up and down the stairs." Thanks for sharing mom, thanks!

Breakfast at Fiddlers

We decided to go to breakfast at Fiddler's this morning. I had a hankering for some good pancakes and felt like getting out of the house even if it were raining. Shortly before we left, it stopped raining, so that was quite nice not having to deal with that mess.

As always, the staff was quite accomodating to the Terrible Twins. Nicholas kept on screaming MILK and MAMBA WAMBA. Obviously, he wanted his milk, but as for Mamba Wamba, that's an episode of Scooby Doo. Fortunately, we were able to pull up the video and that kept him quite. We didn't ahve a bid, but improvised with the nice table linens at Fiddlers.

Sunday Is Funday at Griffith Park

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Griffith Park to ride the trains and look at the ponies. This was the second time that we had gone with the boys, but this would be the first time that Nicholas rode the train. As usual, he was quite the little squirmy worm. He wouldn't sit still at all. I had the great fortune of riding with him and trying to keep him under control. Much to my surprise, he loved it and wasn't scared at all. I can't say the same thing for the first time John rode the train, but he was much better this time.

After the trains, we decided to drive up to take a look at the Merry Go Round. I'd never been there and it had been some time since Maureen had been there. She mentioned the story about the time her mother warned her not to run down the hill and sure enough, our Tumbellina fell down the hill. Anywho, Nicholas was quite happy on the Merry Go Round. He was all smiles and enjoyed himself thoroughly. I got a bit dizzy, but got used to it after the third round trip.

If you are looking for a fun and inexpensive way to kill a couple of hours, I recommend the train ride and the merry go round.

Little Spanky

As some of you know, there used to be a wonderful series of short subject films called "Our Gang/Little Rascals". One of the main characters was Spanky. He started with the series when he was probably about 2-years old and stuck around for a good 10-years. Young Spanky was just this cute little spunky boy who got into all sorts of trouble in a big tam and knickers. When I saw our Nicholas in his Easter outfit, it reminded me ever so much of Spanky.

The Pizza Thief

When it comes to food, Nicholas loves two things, pizza and french fries. He calls french fries by the name "cheecha", but he doesn't really say anything for pizza. He just enjoys eating it.

One evening, we prepared two equal plates of pizza for the boys. When he enjoys something, he eats it. John, on the other hand, roams around the room and stops by for bites here and there. Maureen noticed that Nicholas had a large mound of pizza on his plate and John's amount was decreasing rather rapidly. John hadn't been by to pick up a bit, so she watched. Sure enough, our Dear Sweet Nicholas was taking food off John's plate and piling it on his. Even with this thievery, he's still underweight. I just don't get it.

Sorry About the Delay

This author has been a little preoccupied with other pressing matters, so I've been quite lax in posting updates. In the coming week, you'll read about hair cuts, Easter, the beach, and Griffith Park.