Thanksgiving Weekend at Ray & Rose's

Nothing too new to report.
Anyone who was present at Ray & Rose's last Saturday got to see Nicholas, who was a big hit at the party. From his usual chitter chatter to his dinner-interuptions such as "excuse me, grampa, I have to ask you something... can I have some more green beans" to his growing list of "why did the ___ cross the road" jokes, he never ceased entertaining everyone in the room.
And, even though he stayed up many hours past his usual bedtime, Nicholas showed no sign of becoming cranky (nor did he sleep late the next morning, to our surprise).
I'll keep posting news as it happens...
Pete

What's New.

Last week, Jennifer and Nicholas began searching for a new daycare program because we don't think Nick is being challenged enough where he is. We've recently noticed him exhibiting "baby-like" behavior and we're also disappointed with the amount of baby television shows they watch at his daycare center.

Jen had her eyes on an "after school" program called Fast Track that meets only one day a week for 2 hours. Although Jen was told that they began accepting kids at 3 1/2 years of age, after meeting Nick and putting him through a short test a couple of weeks ago, they said they'd make an exception for Nicholas (2 years 2 months old). Last week, Nicholas was invited for a free session to see how well he fit in and he did wonderfully. In a room of 4, 5, and 6 year olds, Nicholas was able to sit patiently, listen to and then answer questions about different stories and videos, and he even participated in a role-playing exercise.

For those who have not seen or heard Nicholas in person lately, you would not believe you were talking to a 2 year old. He speaks so well that except for an occasional word that he may have trouble pronouncing, he is really able to have adult conversations and is able to retain and process information and facts.

We're not sure what we'll be doing yet, but as always, we'll keep you posted.
Pete

Pee Pee on the potty!!

Nicholas, who has done pee pee on the potty literally every night before his bath since my last post, finally asked to do pee pee on the potty at school on Friday. The people at school are going to continue to work with Nicholas to see if they can move him up to poopy on the potty! We'll keep you posted.

Photographic Memory?

Tonight we discovered that Nicholas' memory is much better than we had imagined. Up to now, we knew that he had a gift for remembering names and we knew his vocabulary was very strong. We also knew that he could remember the words to songs and fill in the blanks when we read him stories, but tonight he went one better. While Jennifer was reading him one of his stories and she paused, Nicholas continued "reading" the story from memory. He was able to go a two or three sentences before Jennifer would give him another push and he'd go another sentence or two, LITERALLY word for word.

Pete

Potty Time

Last night, Nicholas asked to do pee-pee on the potty. We put him on his potty seat (that sits on the real toilet) and, sure enough, he did his thing. He also said he wanted to do poopy, but all he could manage was some gas!

Update

It's been a short while since I posted, so I just wanted to update anyone who reads these posts. Nicholas is still amazing everyone with his ability to speak so well - he really talks now. He expresses his likes & dislikes and sometimes has even expressed himself with a little attitude.

Nicholas is thinking things through better and is beginning to understand consequences. It's been months since we have had to put him in "time out" and when he does something even questionable, he immediately says he's sorry and that he doesn't want a time out. We're also able to reason with him and tell him why something is good or bad, and he seems to really understand.

At the park, and sometimes around the house, Nicholas has proven himself quite the daredevil. He's now climing and then jumping from taller heights, and he thinks nothing of running up and down some pretty tall ladders. Luckily, he's only suffered minor cuts & bruises so far, but at the rate he's going I'm sure we have lots of surprises in store for us!

Nicholas is always willing to try new foods, and is still eating healthy, well-balanced meals. The only real "candy" he has had so far is an occasional lollipop (regular and "tootsie" pops), and an occasional scoop of ice cream. We're sure that after a little more exposure to the other kids at school, he's going to start asking for "real" candy, soda, and not-so-healthy foods, but for now we've been able to avoid them.

Nicholas does a magic trick where he takes an object, shows it to you, closes his hand, puts the object in the other hand and (after saying Abra Cadabra, of course) asks "where did it go?" Then he'll make it re-appear. He's not too good at the slight of hand yet, but we think it's amazing that he understands the trick.

Nicholas now weighs 35 pounds.

That's it for now.
Pete.

Talking up a storm.

Nicholas' sentences and his questions, in particular, are getting more detailed and inquisitive. He asks everyone he meets their name (he never seems to forget a name) and where they're going. That usually turns into a conversation - and it's difficult to even get through the supermarket without literally dozens of conversations with strangers! People really enjoy talking to Nicholas and he definitely enjoys people!

Nicholas' grammar and enunciation are both improving daily and he's beginning to spell short words, like cat & dog. At this point, we hardly have to interpret for people what Nicholas is saying, since he speaks very well for himself.

Pete

Pee Pee on the Toilet! Happy 2nd Birthday!

Nicholas, for his 2nd birthday, last night decided to do pee pee on the toilet, instead of standing up in the bathtub. He stood on the toilet seat and did his thing.

Pete

Nicholas does the Electric Slide (23 months)

Nicholas, 23 months old, did the Electric Slide at uncle Michael & Aunt Maj-Brit's wedding, Aug 5, 2006, Warwick, NY. The lighting was poor, but this video is still worth watching. Hometown: Staten Island, New York.

Nicholas sings his A B C's (23 months)

Nicholas, 23 months, tries the alphabet song... Staten Island, New York USA.

Quite the Swimmer!

Nicholas, who for the past couple of weeks has been swimming with arm-floats, no longer requires anyone hold onto him in the water. He is able to kick his hands and feet to propell himself in whatever direction he desires, and does not mind when we let go of him and let him swim on his own. He also likes to jump into the water from the edge of the pool and does not get upset when he goes under water -- although it scares us when he comes up coughing-up water (and laughing, of course!).

Pete

Pledge of Allegience, Part II

Nicholas has officially recited the Pledge several times, from beginning to end. He's still a little shy about doing it "on the spot" but has said it for several family members over the phone. He had trouble with "indivisible" at first, but is now saying that part, too!

Pete

Pledge of Allegiance

Just in time for Independence Day, Nicholas has been practicing the Pledge of Allegiance. He basically knows the whole thing, but has not yet recited it from beginning to end in one stretch.

He can quickly and confidently count to 20 and continues to speak more clearly and with larger words.

Nicholas has started letting us know when he's wet so we can change him promptly, and has urinated into a cup while his feet are in the tub, but has not yet urinated in the toilet (though he keeps trying).

Pete

Almost time for Pee-Pee on the Potty?

Nicholas, last night for the first time, asked to do pee-pee on the potty on his way into the bath. He stood on the edge of the toilet and squeezed, but had no luck. Tonight, he was able to go (into a cup) only after he got his feet wet in the tub. He also tried sitting on the toilet to do #2.

We think he's going to be toilet trained soon.

Also, Nicholas has become very good at the ladders in the park and can now climb them all at a very fast rate. He's able to go up the ladders and down the slides almost as fast as we can!

His speech is also getting better all the time. His sentences and questions are getting longer and his responses more precise. Every day he amazes us with new responses and questions that we haven't taught him!

Climbing Ladders

At the playground yesterday, Nicholas, for the first time ever, climbed a four-rung ladder that took him to a landing about 4 feet off the ground. He did this with no help from anyone (although my hands were only inches from him). Nicholas repeated this task several times because it proved to be a faster route to his favorite slide than the stairs.

I'll take some photos the next time I have Jennifer with me so that one of us can stay near him while the other takes the pictures!

-Pete

Under the weather

Nicholas, for the past couple of weeks, has continued to be on-and-off sick. The past week has seen two visits to the hospital Emergency Room, where he's undergone a barage of blood tests and chest xrays, only to confirm nothing is wrong. We even had a "bloodborne bacteria scare" that ultimately involved a contaminated test and no bloodborne bacteria! All we know now is that they strongly suspect a virus, so there's not much more we can do except wait.

Nicholas' symptoms continue to be a persistent cough and occasional, sporadic fevers, both of which have caused him to miss a lot of daycare this past few weeks.

The doctors are apparently reluctant to label Nicholas as asthmatic, but we think they're leaning towards that diagnosis. Nicholas gets two nebulizer treatments per day of two medicines that could be used by asthmatics but we're not sure how much they help.. only time will tell.

Throughout everything, the most encouraring news is that nothing has prevented Nichoals from being his usual, happy, talkative, and playful self. His eating, drinking, sleeping, and bathroom schedule have remained normal.

-Pete

More talking & catching

Nicholas has gotten a little better at catching, and can now catch a tennis ball from about 3 feet away. (Last week we shot some video showing that, hopefully it will be edited/uploaded soon into the video clips section of the site). He has gotten better at using his hands to catch (rather than simply catching what bounces off his chest) and he's quicker to close his hands as the ball hits his chest. His aim has also improved when he throws the ball back.

His sentences are getting longer and he's getting more creative with his questions and answers.

For the past few weeks, we've been getting used to Nicholas telling us when it's time for "night night" and we're able to bring him upstairs to his crib while he's awake and put him to bed. He likes to say "good night," "night night," "I love you," and "see 'ya" before he turns in.

-Pete

Genius?

Yesterday, while shopping, a speech pathologist overheard Jennifer and Nicholas talking to each other and was astounded by what she heard. Jen asked, and Nicholas answered, many questions for the pathologist, who could hardly believe Nicholas was only 20 months old. She told Jennifer that Nicholas, in her opinion, was a genius, and that he should be tested. She took our number and said she'd get back to us. We'll keep you posted...

-Pete

Real Sentences

Nicholas, for the past couple of weeks, has been forming longer sentences. He's gotten better with pronouns and knows, for example, the difference between he, she, me, you, ours, and yours. He's also learned the tenses of some words, so that he knows to ask, "how did you sleep?" but will answer, "I slept good." (we'll work on the use of "well" instead of "good" later!).

Nicholas has the ability to remember the answers to silly trivia (like the first president, the current president, the president that freed the slaves, etc.) as well as real information, such as some simple math questions, his age, his birthdate, and his eye

Pete

Nicholas was sick last week.

We were so busy that I did not have a chance to post any information about Nicholas' being sick last week. He started with bronchialitis, which may be seasonal for him (he had that almost a year ago to the day) and it led to high fevers (up to 105 degrees a few nights). Our doctor monitored Nicholas' progress each day and eventually, he fully recovered. Unrelated: Nicholas started becoming more comfortable with his pediatrician, Dr. Broillet. After a few days of seeing him each day, Nicholas started acting like himself and he eventually talked up a storm at the office. The doctor and his partner commented that Nicholas spoke like no other 19 month-old baby either had ever seen.

Day Care & Updates

Nicholas started day care last week, and so far he seems to enjoy his visits. He's doing three days per week for approximately 5 hours per day. Updates. Nicholas has gotten only slightly better at catching a ball, but is considerably good at throwing. From as much as 7 or 8 feet away he is able to throw a ball to me and - on target - 4 out of 5 times! (He uses his right hand for throwing). Nicholas' vocabulary continues to grow and his sentences are getting longer. Nicholas weighs 30 pounds, as of about a week ago.

Nicholas can catch a ball.

Posted: 24 Jan 2006 08:45 am Post subject: Nicholas can catch a ball.
It's taken lots of practice, but Nicholas can now catch a ball tossed from a few feet away. He knows to hold his hands out and if the ball hits his chest or his arms, he is able to close his arms in time to catch the ball. We've also been noticing he favors his right hand, which he uses almost exclusively for throwing. Even when Nicholas has a ball in each hand, he will inevitably throw the one in his right first, then shuffle the one from his left to his right before throwing it from his right.

Left & Right & More talking

Posted: 07 Jan 2006 08:34 am Post subject: Left & Right & More talking
Nicholas knows his left from his right. We started noticing a while ago, but after a few weeks of us asking questions and testing his knowledge we can say for sure. Nicholas can raise his right or left hand, and even his right or left foot when you ask. When we dress him, he knows which hand or foot we're asking him to put in or out of his shirt or pants, and will give a high-five with the hand you specify. Nicholas is talking more clearly each day, and is putting together different combinations of words to make longer sentences. He's also become quite good at repeating whatever words are said to him. He'll be 17 months old in a few more days... Pete