Come on now, where is the cutest kid contest? I have your winner right here!

In our never ending quest for indoor entertainment this summer we ventured to the far away land that is Arizona Mills. It was a wise decision, they have little rides (i.e. Choo choo train) and a Carousel. Nick enjoyed it and most importantly was tired out by it. He only had a 1hr nap (he was averaging 3hrs last week when he wasn't feeling well) so a half hour power nap on the way home helped improve his mood.

Nick, Mom and the orange "Dragon"

Nick hasn't been feeling well this week. He definitely has been having his ups and downs. I actually wanted the picture just before this, he was lying down in the middle of the room at 6pm but he was up before I could grab the camera.

Grandma Lee bought Nick some Nike shoes while we were in Taiwan. Mom remembered then and they are the right size for Nick now so he got to wear them today.

Well today we went to Baby Kays for lunch. But they were CLOSED!?!?! After we got over the shock we decided to have Chili's instead. Nick enjoyed himself while we were there.

Another hot and muggy day in Chandler so we ventured indoors to Makutu's Island. A paid version of Lord of the Flies. Lots of stuff to do, we didn't know how well Nick would do as we thought it was geared to older kids but he loved it. In fact he wore both Mom and Dad out in no time (we aren't nearly as bendy as we ought to be).

Let's Climb (ohh it hurt my feet bad)

Let's catch some Fishies

The one on the left is the new one (very glossy and smudge prone) while the one on the right is the old one that is slower and not nearly as smudge prone.

We drove to Tucson on Saturday for an in and out strike to get some Baggins Cheesesteaks for lunch. Timed perfectly to feed Nick bagels for breakfast and have him sleeping in the car on the ride back. It was short but sweet and Nick got to play around in Tucson for an hour or two.

Nick loves himself some choo choo train. This one is from IKEA. The first time he saw it he was in love, in fact there was quite a scene trying to get him to leave it behind to go to daycare. This is Nick enjoying it once we got back from a long day without the choo choo. See the accompanying video that is being put up as I write this.

We don't have a diagnosis yet though it doesn't appear to be a break. Mom doesn't care as all she is sure about is that it hurts! Next week for a hand specialist.

Mom just got back from New Hampshire visiting Emily and Sarah (and maybe avoiding some heat in AZ). She had a great time visiting and relaxing. She would be glad to be back but as she was getting her luggage she twisted her arm and hurt it. We will see if it is broken in an hour or so as she is at the urgent care.

How relaxed is that!

Nick's first big 4th of July so we decided to do it up in style. First was waffles for breakfast and then off to Chuparosa park before it got to hot. He had a really good time there as he gets more and more brave with the water. Of course that means... yep he bumped his head. Got a little off course through the 4 rings and hit the last one, didn't look bad but left a good size bump.



Grandma came over and played with Nick before nap time and then watched soaps while Dad took a nap of his own. After the afternoon dip in the pool we had hot dogs for dinner which Nick enjoyed. He didn't enjoy the idea of washing his hands after so Dad had to do a little strong arming. This didn't work so well as going through the bathroom door there was quite a thump. Same spot! The knot on his head was pretty good size now so we had to try and ice it down, Nick didn't seem to mind the bump after a while and by bedtime it was down to normal, just a little color.



Today was the first 4th of July that Nick was aware of, so despite scorching weather I decided to brave the show at Tumbleweed park. My mom came with to help out and enjoy the little one. The show was to start at 9:30 so we were definitely going to be pushing Nick to his limit. We went to the playground he likes so much and played there for about an hour. We tried to go get some kettle corn but the line was crazy long and Nick wasn't in a staying in line mood so we went hunting for a spot to watch the fireworks. Ultimately the fireworks didn't start till almost 10 so we had already moved to the car by then and when the fireworks started up Nick wanted nothing to do with them. He already had a sucker to calm him down so he sat in the truck while we watched a bit of the fireworks. What we watched were alright but it was way to late so we missed most of it. Nick did so good though and thanks to Grandma for helping keep him occupied.

Ms. Liz is moving to one of the 2's room (not Nick's next one unfortunately) so we will only have her around for a week or so. Ms. Nikki is her replacement (on the right) but we won't have to long to get to know her as Nick will be moving in a little more then a month to his 2's room.

A couple new friends for Nick, Elephant from Khol's and Po the Panda from Kung Fu Panda fame.

This would win a contest, come on, how cute is this?

The video disappeared from the video bar on the side so here it is in all its youtube glory. They do compress the hell out of it so it isn't as good as my own copy should anyone wish to see it (large file size).

Go Nick Go

So how old is Daddy? Well this picture was taken in February 1977 at Rawhide in Arizona. Now I got this picture from Bev and she said the boy in the middle was me. I tend to think it is Erik and I am off to the left just in the picture since in Feb '77 I would have been just over 2 yrs old (or I am a crazy fast grower). Does look like me a little (maybe the date is wrong).


Herb is the one in the middle and Aunt Bea is by the boys.

If you have old pictures of me and the family send them over, I can prove to Nick that I was a little boy once!