Happy Halloween!!

* Nixon is way cooler than I ever gave him credit for. Today at school 2 boys were very cruel about his costume, calling him a girl and saying he was dressed as a lalaloopsie doll. Nixon ignored them, never saying more than "I'm a boy" when one said he was a girl.
   It wasn't all good, Nixon decided during the class parade to dart from the group towards the road. I've never ran so fast in my life! I was next to him when the teacher got there, which wasn't as dramatic as it sounds. Nixon was being Nixon and wanted to run and do a dance, he chose a really bad location. I nearly shat my pants when I saw him run off.

My Pinkie Pie and his teacher

* We went to the playground when we got home. Mac came with and Nixon had a ball! The three of us were happy to spend some time outside together for a bit.

* Finally, trick or treating! Nixon made out like a bandit! We went to an on-base neighborhood, 30 minutes and he filled his bag about 3/4 full! And his skunk costume was even thought to be a honey badger, which totally fits. We had another lovely night and it was great!

Nixon's very advanced...he's not going to runaway from home, he's taking an airplane!

* Mac woke me up today and said Nixon was asking for eggs and bacon. I promised him I'd make breakfast for him last night and he was ready for it!
   I made bacon, eggs and toast for the three of us. During breakfast, we started talking about football (duh, it's Sunday, of course football came up!) and Nixon says, out of nowhere, "The Eagles are going to beat the Giants!". I'm an Eagles fan so that was music to my ears!
    Nixon went on to say that the Dolphins (Mac's favorite team) was going to beat the Jets. He didn't actually know who was playing whom, but he was making these predictions and he was sticking to them.
    Sadly, the Eagles did not win and the Dolphins lost to the Patriots.

* Nixon: I'm going to pack my things and fly away?
me: Are you running away from home then?
Nixon: No, I'm going to the airport and go on a airplane.
me: Oh, okay. where are you going?
Nixon: I don't know.
me: How are you buying your ticket? You're cute but you can't fly for free, kiddo.
Nixon: I don't have any dollars!
me: Well, it's a good idea but I think you need to plan a little better.
Nixon: Well, fine! Then I'm not taking BeBe! *as he leaves to stomp upstairs to his room*
me: Oh Nixon, I'll take BeBe. I'll love him while you're gone.
Nixon: Fine! You take him! *brings me BeBe and stomps up to his room*
This was brought on by....well, I have no clue what brought this on. He just decided he was going to fly away from us. And he was unimpressed by my lack of emotion as he tried leaving! Later, he did try extorting a thousand dollars from me, I think for his plane ticket. I was coming downstairs and he was sitting on the bottom step. He stood up and tried blocking my way, telling me "Give me a thousand dollars and I'll move!", I gave him a kiss and tickled him as I passed him.
   I ain't got no thousand dollars for him!

Fun day even if it started a little rainy.....

* It was raining this morning. It's a school day for Nixon, which is not a good start of the day for him because rain means no outdoor playground time...Nixon's favorite thing about school. I prepared him as best I could. I explained it was raining and that meant no outdoor play time today.
   I hoped for the best as I left him at school.
   I also let him do some dancing in the living room before we left for school. Just in case.

* I took Nixon to meet Mac for his lunch break today. We spent some time walking around a store waiting for Mac to get off for his lunch (he's in a class this week). Nixon asked for a mini Lalaloopsi doll from the toy section. What do I care, he was being good and it's a damned toy.
   So he got the doll. And he loves it! Even napped with her.

* To make up for no playground time today at school, and since it stopped raining, I took Nixon to a playground near our house. It was recently redone and today was the first time I've taken Nixon to see it since it was reopened.
   Nixon was loving it! He was on swings, there's a musical set with plastic bongos, drums that he could hit with his fingers, large wind chimes. He was in love with the music! Pure greatness. We played there until it started to sprinkle again. Then we went home to get lunch.

It was an interest day....was totally a Monday!

* Today is Monday. Nixon didn't have school on Friday, so he has had 5 days off since his last school day. This morning my alarm goes off, I snoozed it twice and got up just before the 3rd time it went off. I walked into Nixon's room and let the alarm wake him up because, shockingly, he was still sound asleep.
   He rolls over, barely opens his eyes to look at me and says "Ugg... really, Mom? It's too early for wake up, the sun is even still sleeping, see? Can I have 5 more minutes please?"
   What could I do but give him 5 minutes?!? I made a cup of coffee before going and getting him, this time he was sitting up in bed but still not totally awake yet.

* Nixon's had so many good days at school, a bad day was bound to happen. Today was that day. According to his teacher he was loud and disruptive, but did participate after his outbursts. So he was just loud, but still not a good day.
   Ugg.....

* And then, finally, Nixon's entire Halloween costume is finished. He even got to try it on....which he pouted about while wearing it, then demanded to wear it longer after he took it off!

He's bossy, but he can explain his reason for being bossy....I'm cool with that because his logic was sound.

* Tonight we had chili for dinner. I told Nixon he had to try it. By try it I meant take two bites. That's it, just two. He did it, but it took a lot of whining and complaining about it in addition to almost 30 minutes. But the point is: he tried it and that's all I was asking him to do.

* Mac and I have a couple friends over tonight. We're watching the late football game, which started after Nixon went to bed. Nixon was in his room for well over half an hour when I hear his bedroom door open followed by his little feet coming down the steps.
    He peeks around the corner of the stairs and says "You guys, can you keep it quiet? I'm supposed to be sleeping but you are being too loud!", just as serious and non-impressed as could be.
    Mac and I apologize and say we'll be quiet, our friends also say sorry and we send Nixon back to bed. This little smartypants says, as he's climbing the stairs back to his room, "Thank you for apologizing everybody. Good night now."
    What could we do but laugh as he closed his bedroom door?!? A very quiet and contained laugh, but we did laugh.

* As I was taking tonight's photos, Nixon rolled over and saw me.
"Mommy, what are you doing in here? It's too early for wake up." he said to me very groggy with sleep.
I assure him I wasn't there to wake him up, only take tonight's pictures. He tells me that's fine, but hurry "I need my sleep".
    Yes, sir!

...and today he wore a size 6 pants for the first time ever. Stop growing, baby boy!! Just slow down!

* Nixon heard Mac come home this morning and proudly showed him the clear path in his bedroom! He's been sleeping in our bed because his room is such a disaster even he doesn't want to sleep in there and possibly have to get up in the middle of the night to pee and walk across the matchbox-car-angry-birds-stuffed-animal minefield he created in there!
    To be fair, he had some help. We had a friend crash here last night and she was up when Nixon woke up. She told Nixon a great way to surprise his daddy and make him very happy would be to clean his room up a little before he came home. He did just that and was super proud of himself. And Mac? Mac was super pleased with the effort!

* It was pretty chilly in the house this morning, so I grabbed a blanket and Nixon and I snuggled while watching our Saturday cartoons together! Nixon would get up, say he was warm, then come back and say "Mommy, let me in, my feet and hands are cold!"

* Tonight was a major milestone! We had to go to the grocery store, and normally we go armed with the PSP or iTouch for Nixon to keep him occupied, but tonight we left without it and went anyways. This was either going to go really well or really bad!
   Turns out, it went really well! Nixon was great! He got a little cold in the meat and dairy section, but he liked picking out granola bars for himself and weighing the fruits and veggies for us. He didn't get antsy until the very end and even that wasn't bad.
    Best part of the whole trip? On the way out, Nixon walked past 2 older men and (of course!) said "Excuse me" as he passed them. These two guys were just blown away, completely awed by our little man's manners. The man closest to Mac and I said "Did you just hear that little boy say "excuse me" as he passed us? That's incredible! He's yours, right? Great job! He is so polite."
    Yep, that's our boy and we are so proud!

Oh the cuteness I've dealt with today!

* Nixon's friend W called again tonight. Nixon was so cute! I was watching a video on my computer, when Nixon came over and says "Shhh, mommy I need you to keep your computer quiet because I'm on the phone. See?"
   I love that he was so interested in W he told me I needed to let him have quiet to focus on her!

Nixon on the phone with W...how cute is he?!?!?

* Nixon was crawling around on all fours and chasing a ball. He told me "Now you have 3 cats. I'm a cat meow."

* Nixon crawled into bed with Mac and I after his nap. His says "I want to give Daddy a hug and kiss because I missed him so much!"

Good day and songs too!

* Nixon had a wonderful day at school. It started with him getting dressed and asking to wear his striped tie to school. When I left he was showing it off to his teacher!
   When I picked him up, he was a little against leaving, but he showed me his sticker card...full of stickers from his teacher for good behavior! I was so proud of him, I bought him the Happy Meal he asked for when we left.

* Nixon was sitting on the floor, coloring in one of his books. He was singing to himself the "Chuggington" theme song just cute as could be.

I adore Nixon, but we might need to talk about his team support. This is not how I wanted the Eagles season to begin....yes I am blaming my kid for my team's bad performance!

* Mac asked me what happened to this hilarious moment from last night. The honest truth? I forgot about it when I did last night's post.
   The story:
Last night Mac called his mom to talk to her and let her know he's fine, given everything going on nearby in DC I had a feeling she'd be worrying a bit. She talked to Mac a bit, then me and finally she spoke to Nixon. Nixon gets on the phone and says "Why did you forget about me, Nana?". It was hilarious!

* Today. Nixon decided to play dress-up most of the morning. He was a transformer, a soldier and a giant pile of clothes on the floor that resembled my room when I was teenager. He stood over the pile of clothes and started saying, out loud, "What do I want be? Who am I right now?"...exactly like me when I was a teenager! He ultimately decided he was going to be a boy, in a tee shirt and undies.

* At bathtime tonight, Nixon and I were talking football. The Eagles are playing tonight. I asked Nixon if he thinks the Eagles were going to win.
Nixon: Yes!
me: Really? That's great why?
Nixon: Because Eagles fly high in the sky.
me: I can't beat that logic, baby boy.
Nixon: Duh! I know that's why I said it!

School's going well, Nixon is thriving at home too!

* Nixon started the day skipping and dancing into my bedroom when he heard my alarm go off. He came over to my still sleeping body and said "Mom, your alarm went off and I danced, did you see me?" No, but I felt the floor move when he jumped all over my bedroom. He said to me, not liking my answer, "Well, next time open your eyes and watch me, okay? I'm a great dancer!"


* Dancing was the theme of the morning:

* Nixon was also making up silly songs today.  Have you heard the dreidel song? Well Nixon was making up a song in that tune
Daddy, Daddy, Daddy
I love every day
or
Mommy instead of Daddy.
 Too damned cute! 

* The best part of my day was listening to Nixon spell a word and sound it out. He started spelling "taxi" then sounded it out. He moved on to "jet", "boat", "fire truck" and a few other words. He was reading these words from a book he's had since he was a baby, but he was actually spelling then sounding out the words!
   Mac and I are a couple of super proud parents today. He got good report from his teacher at school. He was so happy to see us when we picked him up, he ran over to me for a hug!

Another major milestone reached today: Nixon's first "injury" at school at the hands of another child....holy crap is it really only the 2nd week of school?!!?

* Nixon gleefully returned to school today, after staying home Monday due to some pretty bad congestion issues he had going on. He bounced back from that very quickly and woke up excited for school today.
   When I dropped him off, he went skipping...literally skipping, towards the toys singing "It's time to play! It's time to play!" without a single glance back at me.

* When it was time to pick Nixon up, he rushed from the center of the group circle and came over to tell Mac and I about his day, which it turns out was not that great.
    It seems Nixon got hit in the head by another child. He was hit with a wooden block, and Nixon was given an ice pack while the other child was spoken to about why hitting others with blocks is not okay. The other child apologized and Nixon has no bump so all is well in his world.
    His teacher also said, other than this incident, Nixon was incredible today! He helped her, followed instructions, stayed in circle during circle time.

* When Mac and I got Nixon into the car we talked more abut what happened at school. I did what I do best, I focused on the good. Nixon didn't hit the other child back, he didn't retaliate and he accepted the apology. He focused in class today and was on good behavior. I was (and I am) so proud of him! This is really the first time he's been in a situation like this, without me around him, and he handled it like I've always tried to teach him to: without losing his temper or resorting to violence in response. No whether this was a conscious effort on his part or he didn't respond because he was shocked, I can't say for sure, but to me it really doesn't matter so long as he didn't hit back.

Today, Nixon has decided my random outbursts into songs are hilarious and he is demanding MORE! I love this kid, he's so good for my "fragile" ego.

* The sky tonight was looking very foreboding.

Very much like a storm was rolling in, so I said as much as Nixon was heading upstairs for his bath. I burst out singing a totally appropriate song, for the moment, Garbage's "I'm only happy when it Rains"
me: I'm only happy when it rains,
    I'm only happy when it's complicated...
Nixon: *as he's dashing up the stairs* As long as there's no thunder with it.
me: That was awesome!! He totally sang that on tune and it rhymed! Nixon you rock, kid!
Nixon: Yeah, I do. Now fill my bath with water!

* Everyone knows the "On top of Spaghetti" song, right? Well, tonight was the first night I sang the song for Nixon. Upon finishing the "....rolled out the door.", Nixon says to me "And then what happened?". I asked him what he thought happened and he said he didn't know because I should know and tell him.

BeBe is always nearby.... <3

My little birdie has left the nest....for 2.5 hours and then he came back home, until Friday when we do this all over again.

* Nixon had his first day at his preschool today. He came into the bedroom only 10 minutes before my alarm went off, and he asked to snuggle with me. Mac came home, also before my alarm went off, and Nixon went to say good morning to him.
   Mac was in bed when my alarm went off and Nixon got a kick out of my alarm song "Oink, oink, oink" by Pinkie Pie! Nixon and I got out of bed and left Mac to get some sleep.

* Nixon was so excited to go to school. He barely gave Mac and I a hug when we dropped him off! He was happy to meet the kids in his class and go see all the new things in his classroom.
   When we went to pick him up, we got the expected report: He had some trouble transitioning from one task to another. I knew this was going to be an issue, which is a large reason why we sought out a preschool setting for this school year in the first place. But we also found out he helped with snack time, by helping set it up! So he wasn't a total terror, just a normal unacclimated-first-day-at-school kiddo.
   He didn't want to leave, another thing I was prepared for, which is why we had a surprise ready for him: an after-school trip to FroYo! That was all it took, he happily left the classroom and was good to go!

* Best news of the day: I made it all day without shedding a single tear!

The day Nixon grew up and approached Mac....like a man!

* You know what's adorable? Listening to your child hum classical music for no reason at all. I don't care what people say about Little Einsteins, Nixon picked up the music they play and he enjoys humming it. Today he was playing with his play dough and humming Beethoven! Awesome, right?  The best part is he was completely ignoring Mac and I being in the room with him and he was just totally all about the humming while he worked.

* If you've been around men for any period of time at all, you've undoubtedly seen the "man hug". Nixon "man hugged" Mac today! Mac called Nixon over, after Nixon did something pretty darned cute, for a hug. Nixon leaned in for the hug, then turned leaving space between Mac's chest and Nixon's upper body.
   I was cracking up! "Holy crap, did you just get "man hugged" by our 4-year old?!"
Mac says "Yep, I'm pretty sure that is exactly what just happened."
I asked Nixon for a hug, and I get a full-on hug and kiss. Yep, it's just Mac! haha

"She makes my face go *jaw drops* she's soooo pretty!", yes, indeed that is something Nixon said today....all on his own.

* No day is complete without Nixon and I making cashiers laugh with us and having a stranger listening to us and rolling her eyes at us. Our conversation today:me: Nixon, please stay over here by me (he was only 5 feet away, but he was too close to the exit to make me comfortable)

Nixon: Okay mom. I don't want to go to jail!
me: I'm happy to hear that, it's very good that staying out of jail is one of your goals in life.
*cashier chuckles*
Nixon: No, Mommy, you need to stay out of jail!
me: Nixon, I have not gone to jail so far in my life and I plan on keeping that streak alive. If I can stay out of jail, I'm sure you can too.
*cashier laughs again* That's a good role model you have son, your mom tells you life like it is.
me: Thanks, I try to keep things honest with him.
Nixon: Yeah, my mom's really great! Can I have my truck now?
me: Yep, when all else fails, bribery...works every time.
*cue the stranger's eye rolling and cashier laughter*

But for real, what mom wouldn't want to take an opportunity and encourage their child's goal to stay out of jail?

* Nixon has never really shown much interest in any woman, beautiful or otherwise, besides myself. It's not at all concerning to me, I don't care and it's not something I'm pushing on him because he is only 4.
   That all changed tonight.
   While watching E! Total Divas, Nixon had his very first jaw dropping moment when he saw a girl. He saw:

Ariane, Nixon's "SOOOOO pretty" girl

Nixon's face when he sees her 

Nixon says "OH MY GOD, Mommy, she's soooooo pretty! She makes my face go *cheeks sucked in, eyebrows go up and jaw goes open wide*. She's super pretty!" I say "Nixon, you think she's really pretty?" Nixon says to me "Duh, Mom, did you see my face?!" and he does it again!
  How adorable is that?!

The haircut that forced even the hairdresser to leave and take a time out...yep, that was my kid today!

(no pictures today....I'm lazy and the stairs are mocking me)
*Nixon woke me up today saying "Good morning, Mommy!", I rolled over and he ran downstairs to Mac and said "Daddy, Mom's not getting up."...tattletale!

* I left Mac and Nixon to get haircuts, while I ran an errand. I returned to find Nixon crying, Mac beyond frustrated and pissed, Nixon without a haircut and Mac with a haircut. Holy hell, y'all! It'd been less than 15 minutes!
   The story goes: Mac gave Nixon his Angry Birds game to play and got his (Mac's) hair cut first. When he was done, Nixon was getting mad at a stage and yelled that he needed to still play his game! Mac said "No haircut", Nixon melted down and I walked up at the ass-end of all that, just in time to see my baby boy needing a hug from mommy.
   After ten minutes of calming him down, getting Mac off the "my kid's an ass and I just want to go away" train and getting myself back into the mom mind we did get Nixon's haircut. And he was awesome! Sat still the whole time, no screaming or fighting.
   The hairdresser was MIA for about 5 minutes when we first walked in. I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt and say she was in the restroom....but I wouldn't blame her if she was reconsidering her job during those missing minutes. Gods know I reconsider parenthood on days like today....

* Nixon says to me today "Mommy, I want to be little in your belly again." WHAT?!?!
me: Baby, you're only in my belly once. When you come out, that's it. It's a no return policy.
Nixon: But mommy, I want to be in your belly.
me: Nixon, I'm pretty sure you're confused. I love that you want to go back in time and take me with you, but we can't. We can only move forward.
Nixon: That's stupid.
me: You have no idea.

We have arrived!! (Aug 17th's post is late)

We made it to NY safe and sound. Nixon was awesome, doing little sleeping, some picture taking and, unfortunately, getting sick at one point. He told us "I'm okay, just too much food in my belly". We cleaned him up and carried on.

the post that almost didn't happen because I am lazy, my bed is comfy and I really am lazy!

* I was watching Ink Master this morning, while Nixon was doing his learning path on the computer. Nixon says to me, something about wanting a tattoo and how awesome tattoos are. Then he sees the actual tattoo needle and ink process, shown on the show. He says to me "Mommy, I think I don't want a tattoo anymore. Needles give me owies and I don't like them. Can you stop watching this show now? I don't like it anymore." I tell him I do like tattoos and the needles and he says "Mommy, that's gross! You need help!"
   The fantasy in my head of mother-son tattoos just died a little today....

* It's Shark Week!! WooHoo!!
   Even Nixon is getting into Shark Week, watching some good shark-filled shows with mac and I. Tonight we watched a show with some crew members of Mythbusters building a replica of Megalodon, an ancient shark that was HUGE! The replica was crushing all kinds of things and it was really impressive. Mac let out a "DAMN!" at one point and Nixon repeated the phrase and then said, "Right, Dad?". Right you are kiddo....but we reminded him not to say that word.

* Nixon has been cleaning up his room for one week! I am a happy and proud momma because since he's been doing it, he's making less of a mess in his room!

Boring day and it's okay by me.

* I like boring days that really nothing happens. It means no great disasters and no big meltdowns, in my book it means an epic win!
   He even choose a book not a toy when we were doing a quick grocery shopping trip today. A book!! What parent would turn that down?!? Not us.

* Nixon's kind of the coolest kid I know. Did you know he tells me when he's ready to go to bed? He'll grab his teddy bear and go to the stairs and say "Umm, Mom, I think I'd like to go to bed now. I think it's time."
   Yeah, he really is the coolest kid ever!

If you see us on the playground, we're the weird ones...my kid's the one who wants to be chased by everyone and help push everyone on the swings!

* Nixon and I had a marvelous play date today, meeting a mom and her son for the first time. I'm usually extremely anxious and awkward when meeting someone for the first time, but today totally at ease.
   We spent a couple hours in the park and Nixon was cute. I got a couple compliments on his manners. Odd as he is, he walked up to a mom pushing her toddler daughter in the kiddie swings and said "Excuse me, may I help push your little baby?", and he did...very gently. The mom complimented him on his manners and his gentleness.
    She wasn't the only one who Nixon pushed on the swings. He asked me to sit on one so he could push me. And he did...for quite a few minutes, never once complaining about how heavy I was. He just wanted to make me as happy as I made him when I pushed him on the swing earlier.

* After the park, Nixon and I ran a couple errands. He was a total delight! Listened to me, stayed with me (as opposed to the usual behavior of hide-n-seek he's taken to enjoy lately), he was kind to other patrons in the store and he even picked out a "gift" for me. I loved being with him today!