Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer...

...according to Nicco:

"On a froggy Christmas Eve, you'll go down in my story."

Jacknives

Nicco and I were playing "exercise" this afternoon. For some reason, he really likes the strength training exercises where he follows the trainer's instructions. He makes me giggle.

Here he is, listening attentively, learning how to do jacknives.

Not quite there...

But on the third try, check out that form! His pudgy little boy belly will be a six pack before you know it!

A Holly, Jolly, Sniffly, Snuggly...

The best laid plans...We all know the saying, right? We had plans for a fun Christmas Eve, sharing treats and traditions with some new friends, but the Daddy came home from work with serious sniffles and body aches. I dropped off our treats and regrets at our friends' house then went back home to baby my baby. Instead of Boudou Christmas Crepes, we had leftovers and chicken soup. Nicco tracked Santa via Norad's Santa Tracker website just until he got past Europe, and just one hour after a 2-hour nap beginning around 6:00 p.m. Nicco was ready for bed. I wasn't prepared for that! We hurried a note and plate of goodies for Santa's stop at our house then trundled off to bed. Nicco came in at about 7:30 this morning and asked if we wanted to get up. He was giddy and excited, as all 4-year olds should be on Christmas morning. He was thrilled that Santa found our house, ate our cookies, and left a note. Wouldn't you know it, there was indeed a red train named James for Nicco.

The look on Nicco's face says it all! He gasped with delight at each surprise, even the underwear in his stocking! We opened gifts live via the web cam with Papi and Mamie and Tante Zouzou so they got to share in the child-like joy of our child.

It was a sentimental Christmas journey this year...Sheila sent See's lollipops that Grandpa Madsen frequently gave to us growing up, Danae sent Blockhead, a game we played often growing up, and Mom and Dad found a near identical replica of Grandma Martindale's chilli sauce that she used to send us every year growing up. If only someone had sent us some figs....

Nicco and his two favorites (the red train named James and the GI Joe fighter jet shooting plane) helped Daddy make crepes. Patrice filled one with bananas, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. Nicco took a bite and said "I LIKE these tacos!"

With our whole family feeling a little weary with the sniffles, we plan on more Christmas snuggles. And really, what's better than a happy, snuggly family?

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Nicco's school scheduled a visit from the Jolly old Elf today. We know he is busy, so it is great to see that he managed to take time to visit all the good little boys and girls in our neighborhood! In the car on the way to school this morning, Nicco said "I'm not ready! I didn't write my letter yet!" So when we got home, we wrote a letter together. It said:

Dear Santa,

I like choo-choo trains. I want one. I want one that is red. His name will be James. I have been a good boy this year, so I am on the good list. See ya soon.

Love, Nicco

He held my hand tightly while he waited for his turn, walked cautiously up to Santa and handed him the letter. Santa said he's pretty sure he has a red train named James already packed up in his sack for Nicco. Awesome! I guess I know what Santa's local helper will be doing Thursday morning while Nicco is at school...

Quote of the Day

The other day Nicco came into the office with a scratch above his eye. I said "Oh no! You have an owie! How did that happen?" He replied immediately "I didn't jump off the couch." Hmm. Can anyone guess how he got his owie?

Hair Cut

I always like Nicco's hair best just before he really needs a trim. His curls are at their curliest and I think he looks cool, whatever that may mean coming from a mom. Once I can tell that the hair in his eyes is bugging him too much, I know it is time. He was distracted by the hair in his face every time he went under water at swim lessons, so he was due.

Before

His mess o'curls

After

I think he looks much younger when he gets a trim. He was extra wiggly this time, I may actually have to pay someone to do this chore some day.

Swim Lessons

Nicco finished up about 6 weeks of swim lessons on Wednesday. He loved it! I loved it! His teacher, Mr. Chris, was great. Nicco was visibly nervous and cried on his first day when he had to go under the water. Chris was very gentle and reassuring, saying things like "It's okay, I know it's scary. Let's take a breath, get the water out of your eyes and mouth, and let's do it again." When Nicco fussed and fought and said he didn't want to do it, Chris said "I know you don't want to. Let's do it anyway." And what do you know, Nicco got over his fear and anxiety in just one lesson! Chris was firm when he needed to be, gentle when he needed to be, silly and fun when it was appropriate, and Nicco looked forward to his lessons each week. I loved watching him improve from one lesson to the next, sometimes even making huge strides in a single session.
Here he is under water-no tears!

Popcorn popping up from the bottom of the pool. Many of the skills Chris worked on were safety skills...how to get out of the pool, how to float if you fall in the pool, how to pop up if you sink to the bottom. While I will never let my little man in the water without a grown-up nearby, I certainly do feel more confident that he will at least know how to control himself safely if he did fall into a pool by accident.

Nicco practiced his skills in the tub and in a pile of pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals. He is making "sandwich hands."

Sandwich hands, chin on chest...and dive. I anticipated broken wrists, cracked noggin, etc. each time he jumped. It made me crazy. CRAZY!!! He will start level two in January.

Fun and Games

Mom brought Nicco a new stuffed ball when she visited at Thanksgiving. Since then, Nicco's interest in balls and games associated with balls has been renewed. Once we put up the Christmas tree, I had to nix the ball throwing, kicking, and hitting in the living room. The boy staunchly refuses to play ball outside. The rocks and cacti are not very inviting. Also, he always seems to get the ball game desire right before bed time, when playing ball outside under the best of circumstances (weather-wise) is highly inconvenient. Not to be dissuaded from playing ball, we found an acceptable field...the hallway. Nicco is pretty good at tossing and hitting his "baseball." I'd like to think he has some athletic talent, but more likely it is the size of the ball and bat...
One problem with the game is that if Nicco misses the ball, he dives for it. Anyone else see an emergency room trip waiting to happen, given the corners on the blind there? I thought my brain would explode watching him bonk his noggin over and over again. I suggested a quieter game, and he said "Like hide and seek?" It is less wild, if not quieter...

Nicco found me hiding in the closet.

Then he hid under the bed and under the table. He giggles and squeals and just cannot believe it when I find him. He got himself stuck under the table. Needed to be rescued. Even though our game of hide and seek was something of a rowdy romp, it was so much more fun than watching another episode of SpongeBob!

Self Portrait

Nicco got his hands on the camera again...
(He's saying "boo," not making a kissy face.)

Kid (?) Art

I L-O-V-E kid art. I am particularly fond of MY kid's art. My second favorite kid art is kid art that I (as teacher) managed to elicit from kids. In other words, art that I inspire. (I'll take my glory where I can get it...) I don't especially miss my old job, but I acknowledge it will be hard to replace whenever I do re-enter the work force. I do, however, miss the child-centered philosophy of my old school. I miss the freedom of expression inherent in the Regio Emilia based curriculum. I miss kid art that looks like kids did it.

This is the art Nicco brought home this week:

Nicco said of this blue and red creation "This is my train. See? The engine is blue and it is not as big as the caboose, but the caboose is red because cabooses should be red. Remember the red caboose we saw at Grandma and Grandpa's mountain house? It was red and it was huge. That is why the caboose is bigger than the engine. Small engines can pull big cars. Really. They can."
Nicco did not say anything about his gingerbread man. Can you blame him? Boring snoring! Besides, what can he say about something he did not do? I want a gingerbread man with lopsided eyes, a crooked smile, and buttons on its face. I want piles of glitter randomly strewn about its body. I want its nose where one might imagine a belly-button would be! Why would I want an unrecognizable mess of glitter, glue, scribbles and construction paper? Because that is what a KID would do. I don't want Nicco's teacher's art. Blech.

Lazy Days

Sunday was one of those special days that you remember for the non-specialness of it. The ordinariness of lazing around, just enjoying each other's company. We put on our "comfies,"
Nicco dragged every pillow and blanket he could find and built a house,

Patrice found a movie on netflix (and Nicco made a game of balancing on his daddy's side...

...and falling onto the pillows below.)

We played games, ate junk food, and basked in the chill* of the winter day.

*Chill being a relative term. The temperature dropped to the high 50s, it got below 70 in the house, and it was the first all-day cloudy day since we have been here. We even turned on our ambient fireplace.

P.S. We had crazy winds and quite a bit of rain last night. This morning, the gray clouds hung ominously over the Catalinas, looking very much like the mythical Misty Mountains. I intended to take a picture when I got back from taking Nicco to school, but alas, the clouds burned away and our winter day has turned into a bright, crisp, and dare I say "warm" day. Warm being a relative term.

O, Christmas Tree

The day and weekend after Thanksgiving are traditional get-ready-for-Christmas days. Nicco has been giddy and excited seeing all the pretty lights going up around the neighborhood. So we broke out our Christmas boxes the other day. Nicco took over, he was the boss. He jingled the bells and set up the "happy families."
This is the first year that Nicco was willing to wear his Santa hat. He isn't just willing, he wears it everywhere he goes. He pats his noggin and looks around if it isn't on his head. He also makes me and Patrice wear our hats if he is wearing his. This morning he said "Oh no! Daddy forgot to wear his hat to work!"

He started with all our "different" ornaments. Anything that is not a gold or purple ball is on the bottom of the tree. Our decorations have been inverted...the last 3 years, we had ornaments 3 feet and up to keep pesky hands away. This year, we had ornaments 3 feet and down, because that is where the little busy hands reached. He wanted to be in charge of putting the hooks on the ornaments, but it was frustrating for him to thread the hooks. He finally figured it out and did not let anyone else help. He declared himself "The Hooker Guy." Patrice surreptitiously handed me ornaments behind his back in order to expedite the decorating process.

Our little decorator was pleased with the final result. "That sure is a fancy tree," he said. He snuggled himself up under the tree with his two favorite ornaments. He tucked these glass balls under the tree skirt and patted them lovingly. I feel bad, but I had to move those two favorites up because I don't want to accidentally step on and crush ornaments into our carpet. Now I need to get candy to start counting down days!

Miscellaneous Fun

We sent Grandma and Grandpa on their way back to Colorado, you know, three hours before their plane was scheduled to take off. When Nicco saw that Patrice had gone to work before we returned from the airport, he said to me "Well, I guess it's just you and me now." We had lots of fun, adventures big and small, while it was everybody. Here is a sampling of our random fun:

Playing Uno Moo

Making cookies

Playing Go Fishies

Mr. Silly in the car on the way to our delicious lunch outing. If Nicco is awake, he's pretty much noisy, wiggly, and otherwise silly. On our way to swim class the other day, Patrice told me that his youngest uncle used to ask him to make noises and sound effects when he was little. He said he never really understood what that was all about, but now, as we listen to Nicco's noises, it starts to make sense.

Kisses

Wandering around La Encantada shopping center after lunch.

Ah, the delight in small children's faces when they see the Christmas windows!

I was excited for Nicco to finally wear that bulldog shirt. Its sleeves are still a little long, but I love it! He didn't notice that it was a picture of a dog on his shirt, and couldn't quite recognize it from his upside-down angle wearing the shirt, but when we left the restaurant, he caught a glimpse of himself in the reflection on the door. He stood there in awe, staring at his reflection and basking in the coolness of the dog on his shirt.

When we got back to the car, Nicco flung his door open, banging the car next to us and setting off its alarm. We felt bad, but were relieved it was a Honda, not a Mercedes parked next to us.

The White Dove of the Desert

San Xavier del Bac is a mission on the Tohono O'Odham settlement, named "Bac" which means "place where the water appears." The mission was created in 1692 by Jesuit missionary and explorer, Eusebio Francisco Kino. The labor used in building the church, including the architect and artisans, is a bit of a mystery. One tower remains incomplete, another mystery. After about 300 years, it is still a fully functioning parrish church, run by the Franciscan Friars. They mostly serve the Tohono O'Odham, but it is open to all.
Nicco and me in front of the church

The natives selling their wares; turquoise, silver, jewelry, ornaments, bead work, other arts and crafts and food. I would have bought an ornament from them for our ornament exchange, but I couldn't quite bring myself to spend $15 on it.

Mini-model of the church and courtyard

Nicco liked all the little alcoves and windows. He wondered why this one was locked. "Is it to keep us safe?"

A saint, presumably Francis or Xavier, guarding a corner of the church grounds. If I knew more about saints and their patronage, I might be able to properly identify this one.

I love the big, heavy mesquite doors. I also liked the snake detail on this door pull.

An artistic detail inside the museum part of the building. A quail family, my favorite!

The bell tower above the shrine. Among the statues, candles, and incense, there was a little toy car. I was curious about (the little boy?) who left that offering.

I like this picture...the stark white building against the bright blue sky (80 degrees today), the green sprigs of the palo verde, and the worn stone of the wall in the foreground. Yay for my photography composition skills!

Pretty little fountain and surrounding wall in the open courtyard.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm thankful for:

*My Dad, who taught me to love football (even though I have largely abandoned it, I am glad he taught me!) to love learning, to struggle through math, to be a good wife.

*My Mom, who taught me to love to read (a less fickle friend than football) to love travel, to be a good mom.

*Papi and Mamie and Tante Zouzou, who taught me that love transcends distance.

*Diana, who shares stories big and small, who taught me not to bite off more than I can chew.

*Danae, who also shares stories, who taught me to appreciate simple things.

*Sheila, who also shares stories, who taught me to be a little more compassionate.

*My aunts and uncles, who are great examples of parents, teachers, and friends.

*My cousins, whose lives I am so happy to share through mini-episodes in e-mail notes, blogs, and vicariously through stories shared with our parents.

*My nieces and nephews, whose successes and failures teach me what to look forward to from my own kid, and whose quirks and personalities please and delight, and never cease to make me giggle.

*My handful of friends, with whom I can share experiences, and lunch once in a while.

*My brothers-in-law, who take care of my sisters and their kids.

*My boys, who taught me what love is.

I am thankful for other blessings too; jobs, home, freedom, faith, but none of those would mean much without the people I share them with.

Sabino Canyon Revisited

We drove out to Sabino Canyon this morning. It was much more pleasant (and crowded) in November than it was in September when I went the first time. Here are some scenes of our ride, hike, and the views along the way.

You can see a small window in the rocks on the ridge across the top of the mountain. That is a natural arch called the "eye of the needle"

Another fun day in the books!

P.S. Dad was amused when he read about the seasons in the visitors center. There was a picture of a snow-dusted prickly pear and a description of "winter," which lasts from late December through January. Yeah, one month of winter...