The last weekend of 2013....and I missed Saturday's post

December 28 & 29, 2013

BeBe's back!
Day 362 & 363

* Saturday was pretty nice. Nixon and I woke up and watched My Little Pony together. There wasn't much going on except that I went out with friends last night and Nixon was very okay with it.
    Unlike the last time I went out, Nixon was very okay with me going out. Even telling me to leave so he and Mac can spend time together. They had a great night together, according to Mac.

* Sunday...football day!
Mac and I were excited because both of our teams had playoff spots on the line. Miami Dolphins had a chance....and needed a few other teams to lose, but the chance was there. They just needed to win. They did not. The Philadelphia Eagles (my long-loved team) had an easier path...they only needed to win. And they did!

We played Jenga Tetris tonight with Nixon. It's a lot harder than regular Jenga, but still fun! Nixon liked when everything fell down.
We also played Cars 2 Monopoly. The first game went by quickly, but the 2nd game lasted almost an hour and Nixon won! He was good at counting out the money and rolling Lighting McQueen around the track. It's a great game, I'm glad we got it for the family. It'll be a lot of fun for all of us.

Finally....we had a belated christmas miracle happen tonight. Mac found BeBe!!

He's home, been in the house this whole time! Nixon's sleeping and doesn't know he's been found yet. I placed him in the tree, waiting for Nixon to notice him tomorrow. He's been missing for almost a month (I think) and Nixon's been okay, only asking for him a couple times since he's been MIA.
   It's great that BeBe is home before the New Year.

'Tis was the night before my baby turned 5 and being the only one awake in the house, my eyes were totally dry and yes, I am also surprised!

* Today was rough, but not because of anything Nixon did. I had my first real, painful migraine in a few years. I woke up with it and it got progressively worse as the day went on. Mac let me nap before he napped today. Nixon was pretty quiet, thankfully.
   When it was time for me to get up, Nixon came up and asked me if my head was feeling better. It wasn't, and I couldn't even lie to him. He gave my head a kiss.

* Nixon asked me what my head felt like. I was flinching when he made noise and he noticed it.
 I explained it as best I could: It feels like I had a troll in my head, with a shovel and he was digging deep in my brain and scooping out parts of my brain every time I heard a loud noise. Nixon looked at me, eyes wide, and says "Ouch!", then walks up to my head, kissed it and said (very softly) into my ear "Now you leave mommy's head you mean troll!"

* Tonight, Nixon headed up to bed at 745pm. After he brushed his teeth, and put Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash to bed in his bed since they "wanted to sleep without me" according to Nixon, I tucked him into my bed for the night.
 




  I was lying there, telling him how much I loved him...grateful I was he was mine, how happy he made me, all the mushy things I had swirling in my head right before he turns 5. He was listening, until he rolled away from me and said "Shh, I'm sleepy. I have a big day tomorrow. I'm going to be 5!", as if I didn't already know!

"Best birthday party EVER!!" -Nixon

* Today we had Nixon's birthday party. It was a super small event, only us and 2 friends. I decorated while Nixon napped and when he woke up he said "Wow! These are the best decorations ever! This is my best party ever!"
   He did get his My Little Pony theme. He loved it!

* He got a Rainbow Dash pony for his birthday. We took him to Build-A-Bear and did the whole thing together with our friends who bought it for him as his gift. He loved it all!

* He had his pink cake with pink frosting:

* He also got his fish tank ready for his fish. We'll get his fish either tomorrow or Wednesday...we'll see how our days go.
   Mac bought him Centurion figures with accessories, a couple MASK vehicles and an entire lot of new Star Wars figures! Nixon was over-the-moon excited about it!

The best part was hearing him say, repeatedly, that today was a great day and this was his best party ever! There was really nothing special about the party, other than he was totally surrounded by people who love him.

After taking this picture Nixon said, in his sleep, "Please leave my room."

November 14th.....day 320

 Sorry for the lack of posts. I was going to post one last night, but Nixon has another cold and came downstairs asking for me to come to bed and snuggle him. He doesn't sleep well when he's congested and he wakes up scared when he can't breath. He took his medicine before bed, but was still super congested. All he really wanted was to see me next to him when he woke up scared. 
  I couldn't deny him that. 

  As for school, he had a great week! He earned two index cards of stickers in class and he was one of the few kids NOT sitting on the ledge in Time Out when I picked him up Friday. He's also started belting out totally random songs to the tune of Jingle Bells! Even though I don't like all the christmasy things going on before Thanksgiving, I'll let this one go because he is adorable when he makes up songs!

* Nixon came into my bedroom and asked me when I was getting up. I set the alarm on my phone and handed it to him. I said "When my alarm song plays you can wake me up." It was set for 10 minutes from when he asked.
   He's in his room and I can hear him talking to my phone "Why aren't you going off?" and "This is taking forever!" and finally, as he slams his bedroom door and stomps into my room "You didn't even set the alarm, right! It's never going off!"
   I laughed, told him I did set the alarm, showed him the time it was set for even...and then got out of bed.

* Nixon's birthday is in 4 days. His very quaint (re:small) party, is in 2 days. While he's in school Monday, I'll decorate. In the afternoon a couple of our good friends will come over and we'll all take Nixon to Build-A-Bear for his birthday gift. Then he gets to pick dinner and we'll have his pink frosted with silver sugar glitter on top. At his wonderful, My Little Pony themed party.

* I spent this morning inadvertently explaining drag queens to Nixon this morning. He asked me about my bra and then said "I'm too small to wear one." So I explained boys don't wear bras. Then I amended that statement and said "Some boys like to play dress-up and they wear bras, dresses, wigs, high heels..the works. They are beautiful too!"
   It wasn't the most elegant explanation, but for a nearly 5-year old it was easy to understand.  

Nixon's first board game and a family game day was had!

* I picked up Nixon from school and we headed off to a store so Nixon could pick out a board game (or 2) with the money his Nana sent him for Halloween. I've been hanging on to it, waiting for a reason to let Nixon spend it. Today seemed a good idea because his birthday's coming up and it's starting to get colder so board games will keep him busy when it's very cold outside.
   Nixon chose a Skylander's game that's just like Trouble: popper in the center holding the dice, and pegs you move according to the number on the dice.
    We played as soon as we got home. Nixon won the first game, totally fair and square! And he was super happy and excited too! He wanted to play over and over and over again. He even played a game by himself while Mac and I ate our dinners!

* Nixon's birthday party will be next Monday. We've got a couple friends coming over to celebrate with us. He's finally decided his theme will be My Little Pony. I took him to the nearest party store today and let him see all the options and he was super into the My Little Pony supplies!
   He also got to chose his cupcakes: pastel confetti cake mix, pink frosting and silver sugar glitter! He's super happy about the silver sugar glitter. He spent the rest of our time in the store carrying his sugar glitter around.
   I love my son and the simple things that make him so happy.

Uggg....what a damned day.

* You know those hard conversations that sneak up on you out of nowhere? Yeah, me too. This one caught me off guard today.
   This morning started with some coffee-milk (for Nixon), coffee for Mac and I, layers of clothes and a warm blanket for sitting outside waiting for another very awesome signing at Third Eye Comics. Nixon and I got there about an hour before the store opened. Nixon was running around but not being overly rowdy.
   Doors opened, we went in, got our stuff signed and even won 2 drawing from the artist. We were hanging out hoping the line slowed down so we could get the drawings and go home. Nixon spent most of his time playing with the dice, lining them up and what-not. He had become especially fond of this one pink die.
   Nixon had to go to the bathroom. The comic book store doesn't have a restroom, so we take him to the store next to them which does. While in there, Nixon says "Look momma, I have my pink dice in my hand!"
   OH SHIT!

    We went back to the store, found one of the owners and I had Nixon hand her back the dice and apologize for stealing it. We then found a "quiet" area and I explained to him why stealing is wrong. I know he didn't do it on purpose, but to me it's very important to nip this now before he does start doing it on purpose.
   He was sad, because he thought I was being mean and that the store owners wouldn't let him in the store anymore. I dialed it back a bit and told him he did the right thing by returning the die and apologizing. He was much better behaved after that and we left for home around noon.


* In other news, he chose his birthday theme. He wants My Little Pony plates/cups/napkins. He also asked for a Twilight Sparkle mask, but I doubt he'll get it since he hates masks and complain about them when he does wear them.

This is how I found him...curled up in a ball without blankets. 

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!

Yep, he can be a little know-it-all some days...lucky he was cute earlier tonight!

(my computer is acting like a raging asshole, so I won't be able to post photos tonight....I have no idea what's wrong with it, but I can't even save a photo from a website and use it on here)

* Tonight, Nixon got a very special phone call. His best friend from Okinawa, W called him! It was adorable to see him light up when he knew who it was and they spent a little over 10 minutes on the phone talking. They were telling each other about their stuff. She was talking about a game her dad was playing and Nixon was telling her about My Little Pony: Equestria Girls! Her mom and I laughed about that.
   The sweetest moment was the first time he said good-bye (they said good-bye 3 times I think before the call was actually ended!), and the both said "I love you" to each other!

* Nixon's got no school tomorrow. So I decided tonight is a movie night for he and I. We watched Monsters University for the first time.
   Nixon suddenly paused the movie.
me: What's wrong?
Nixon: Mommy, I have to pee!
me: Oh, okay by all means go.
Nixon: *scrambling off the sofa running to the bathroom* Good thing I have a peenie, I can hold with my hands.
me: Uh-huh, just be sure to wash them when you're done.
    He pees, washes his hands and comes back, rubbing salt in my penis less wound.
Nixon: Well, peenies are great! I'm a boy with a peenie. Girls like you, mommy, you don't have a peenie. It's sad cause you have to sit down and let the water come out. I get to stand and pee.
me: Yep, you're lucky you're a boy. And thanks for reminding me I'm penis-challenged.
Nixon: No. You just don't have a peenie. You can't grown one anymore, because you a girl.

Well played son, well played.

It was a geek-out kind of day!

* Nixon was being wild and crazy...typical 4-year old stuff, this morning.
me: Nixon, can you tone it down a bit.
Nixon: Why?
me: What's mommy missing? Something I have every day that puts a smile on my face?
Nixon: I don't know.
Mac: Nixon, Mom needs her coffee before you go all crazy, okay?
Nixon: Yeah. Mommy, you need coffee right now!
me: Yes, I do.

* So check it, Nixon's getting good at his light saber skills:

* Nixon somehow cut his heel today. He was fine until he saw it was bleeding. Then he freaked out! "Mommy, I'm bleeding a million bloods!" as he was crying hysterically. Well, as my rule is "no blood no band-aid" it was time for a band-aid. I got him calmed and all cleaned up, he was still crying and missing Mac. A quick phone call to Mac, good nights said and he was in bed.
   Whew....

* Oh yeah and his Pinkie Pie hat is finally finished!! YAY!

I love his pouty face as he rolled over while I was taking this picture. Moments like this I see my baby boy instead of the grown-up boy he's becoming. 

Yep, he's a pretty honest kid....he honestly thought my hair looked horrible tonight & he wasn't afraid to tell me about it.

* Nixon and I were quick to get up and dressed this morning. Nixon didn't know why, but I had a surprise for him. I asked him to put pants on and find socks, while I got dressed. He got dressed and was asking me "Why mommy? Where are we going? Is it a surprise?" like I would give away the surprise by telling him where we were going.
  We got into the car and started driving, Nixon still a little pouty that he didn't know what was going on. And then...he knew where we were. I took an unexpected turn to throw him off, and he kept telling me I was "missing parking places". He saw Dunkin Donuts and asked me "Are we getting donuts?". Finally I told him yes.
  He was doing great, until I told him we were going home to eat the donuts. He decided he was going to try to force me to stay and eat. I'm sick with a sore throat and coughing, I'm not feeling like being in public around a bunch of strangers who will just glare at me as I cough anyways. So I told him, as I stood right next to the door and the garbage can "Nixon, you can come with me right now or I'll throw the donuts in the trash and carry you to the car."
   He came with me to the car.

* We skyped with Mac's mom tonight. Nixon went to bed saying we needed to go get her. *sigh* He misses her and really wants to see her again, and we miss her too of course, but he doesn't understand that we can't just pick up and go visit her and vice versa.
   He was super happy to show off his Pinkie Pie hat, with ears and his Yoda pumpkin.

* While Nixon was in the tub, I was goofing around with my hair. I tried brushing it all up from the roots (bottom up) and asked Nixon what he thought. I was not looking in the mirror, I was just being silly.
Nixon: Umm....Mom, that's not good. It looks horrible. You need to fix it.
me: You don't like it?
Nixon: No. I don't like it. You look weird.
(I brush my hair flat and then repeat the question)
Nixon: Oh Mommy, that's much better. You look good!
me: Not pretty?
Nixon: Mommy, you're always pretty, but you're hair was horrible. Not it's not so bad.

He's always silly, always thoughtful and hopefully finally kicking this cold to the curb!

* Nixon and I were walking down to our mailbox (it's a community box with individual boxes for each house), when Nixon notices the house across from us has set up some Halloween decorations in the yard.
Nixon: Look mommy. I spy a moon, monster and a batman!
me: Really?!
Nixon: Yeah, right there...in that grass.
me: Nixon, who would you rather be: Batman or Iron Man?
Nixon: Duh mom....Pinkie Pie!
me: *laughing* That's awesome buddy!
Nixon: Because Pinkie Pie makes everyone laugh and smile, and I like to make you laugh and smile. That's why Pinkie Pie is the best!

    And there you have it folks. Flawless logic according to a 4-year old.

* Nixon's birthday is coming up, next month. He's starting a gift list and I'm asking what he wants to do for his birthday. Today we talked about his cake:
me: Nixon, what kind of cake do you want?
Nixon: *silent, thinking really hard* I want a cake with pink frosting!
me: Okay. What would you like on the cake? What kind of decorations?
Nixon: Iron Man! With a purple candle.
me: Really? That's quite a cake, my friend.
Nixon: But the purple candle is for you, Mommy. You like purple.
me: Aw, baby boy, I do like purple...but it's your birthday. Do you really want purple candles because that's okay.
Nixon: I'm going to think about this some more. I have lots of thinking to do.

* I think we're finally getting to the end of this awful cold Nixon's had. Seems he's sleeping the last of it off. He fell asleep on the futon around 530 tonight. By 8pm he wouldn't wake up to eat dinner, so I carried him up to bed, hoping he stays asleep for the night. Sometimes he just needs a lot of sleep to finally kick an illness. I'm hoping this is it.

He's not picky, he loves all of me! And he's not afraid to tell me the parts that really take more to love.....

 

* I picked Nixon up from school today and his class was outside on the playground. Three little kids saw me, and immediately started yelling "Nixon, you're Mommy's here!". Apparently, according to another mother also picking up her son, they'd done the same thing to two other children when their moms came as well. 

* Another week of all good reports from Nixon's teachers! Two weeks in a row and I couldn't be happier! He's getting into the routine and really getting used to school.

* I took Nixon to a local bookstore having a Clifford the Big Red Dog book reading and appearance today. We got there just as Clifford was walking to his reading chair. Nixon saw him, said "hi" and waved, then decided he wanted to play at the train table instead.
   We left with a new My Little Pony book, to prevent a meltdown when I kept him away from the train table (there were lots of younger children there and a few less than attentive parents...one child in particular had thrown those small wooden magnetic trains at other kids multiple times, hitting one child in the back quite hard. The child was less than 2, but still the mother wasn't doing anything to correct or prevent the throwing, because she was too busy talking to other moms there)

* I told Nixon "I love you to pieces!" today. 

Nixon: You love my pieces?

me: Well, that's not what I said, but yes. I love you from the hair on your head to the toes on your feet!

Nixon: I love you pieces too, Mommy. All you pieces, even the stinky ones like you butt when you fart! 

me: Thanks kiddo!

Success! A week of school with all good reports, no tantrums and no refusing to participate! The routine is starting to click and gel with Nixon!

* Three has always been a superstitious number to me. This being Nixon's third week of school and first full three-day school week, it's no surprise that he had a great week!
    His teacher said he was wonderful this week! They're doing things to get him to participate at his comfort level and it's working!  These are the reports I've been hoping to hear. And it's not been unrewarded.

* Today when I picked Nixon up, I had to go to the mall to pick up something nearby. When I was done with that task, Nixon asked to see the fish at the mall's fish tank. I agreed and even sweetened the deal: we each got mall a cookie to eat while watching the fish! We spent about 30 minutes together, just wandering the mall together, talking and enjoying a really good moment.

* At bedtime, Nixon read his very first book entirely by himself. Sure it's a book he's heard me read every night for almost a month, but he read the book page-by-page as I pointed to the words.
He also knows how to spell "Pinkie Pie" now. I'm loving this reading phase!

took his Pinkie Pie book to sleep with him!

I don't know who is telling my kid he "can't" do things or like things because he's a boy, but I'm not raising him like that, so stop trying to break his spirit and ruin his purest happiness in life.

* Nixon and I went out for a mommy & me breakfast date. It was a surprise I did for Nixon just to give Mac some total peace in the house. We went to Dunkin Donuts and just sat, ate and enjoyed each others company. He was a total gentleman, using his manners, eating politely and being adorable.
   We even brought home a donut for Mac.

* Nixon and I were watching our usual Sunday morning cartoon, My Little Pony to tell the truth, when Nixon saw a commercial for Easy Bake ovens. What happened next broke my heart:
Nixon: I can't like that. It's for girls.
me: Nixon, you can't like what? The oven?
Nixon: yeah, 'cause it's for girls.
me: Nixon, I want you to understand something right now: There is only one thing that a girl can do that boys can't do and this is carry a baby in their belly. And there is one thing boys can do that girls can't and that is pee standing up without making a mess, because boys have a penis.
Anything else in the world boys and girls are equal. If you want to bake you can bake.
Nixon: So, I can bake cookies?
me: If that's what you'd like. Do you want to bake?
Nixon: No. Not now. But mommy, I'm glad I can do those things.
me: Nixon the only thing I don't want you to do are things that hurt other people and break laws.

* Nixon did something awesome last night, I can't remember what, but I was sitting on the sofa and put my foot out and asked Nixon for a "foot five", totally expecting him to high five my foot with his hand. He didn't. Instead he lifted his own foot up and touched my foot with his. He said "Haha Foot Five!"

Another night, another weird position sleeping on the floor.

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!

My Little Pony, helping Nixon enjoy writing without him even realizing he's writing! Thank you....

* Nixon has been fighting doing any kind of writing, or holding a writing utensil of any kind, lately. He gets easily frustrated when trying to write letters especially.
   Imagine my surprise when Nixon and I spent over 45 minutes drawing and coloring in a My Little Pony coloring book, with Nixon doing most of the drawing. We played tic-tac-toe and Nixon drew both "x" and "o" in the game and he beat me 2 of 4 games, we tied once.  Nixon connected matching ponies over 10 times, drawing perfectly straight lines.
   But the most incredible moment of the whole moment happened when Nixon was looking to match cutie marks to pony names. He asked me to read the name, instead I asked him to spell out the letters. He saw "P" in the first one, and based on the possible cutie marks, Nixon blurts out "Pinkie Pie!" which was correct. We moved on to the next choice, and he saw the "A" and gleefully said "Applejack!", again correct!

* Tonight is the beginning our our new bedtime routine. Bath at 7:30pm, in bed by 8pm. Nixon was very excited when he learned that the reason for the new bedtime was because he starts school tomorrow. He even shampooed his own hair! For those not aware, this is a huge deal! He's always had issues with water in his face and ears, but he seemed to get over it as long as he was doing it for himself.
    He came downstairs, after Mac left for work and asked me "Mommy, how is the operation going?"
me: The operation is not going well. *I wave a hand all over him* It's been a complete bed-ectomy. Now let's get you back into bed.
Nixon: No, it's too early.
me: How about, if you help me pick out your clothes for tomorrow, before you go to bed?
Nixon: Yay!

   So we picked out his shirt, went back to his bedroom, more hugs kisses and another good-night.

Amber taking advantage of a few moments she's allowed in Nixon's room by getting into bed with him 

Read me a story...but not that one, only Mommy can read me that one! And other ways Nixon lets us know where our place is in his heart.

* Nixon woke up today and was awesome. Super quiet, snuck downstairs and played with his toys. Then he came up and told me "Mommy, the sun is up and I'm hungry. Let's start the day!", and start the day I did.

* Nixon was doing his learning path on my computer, when the battery warning came on the screen. Nixon says "Mommy, you need to plug it in, the power is low!".
   I get the power cord and plug it in, while Nixon runs over to the switch that controls the outlet I plugged it into. He flips the switch and says "Let's get this power flowing right!"

* At bedtime, I ask Nixon if he wants Mac to read him the new My Little Pony books we have for him. Nixon quickly says "NO! Just you, Mommy." but he did let Mac read the "I love you, Stinky Face" book that we've read to him since he was a baby.
   Mac says it's okay, My Little Pony is just Nixon and I's thing and that's cool. Mac and Nixon have comic books together.