21 Months

This kid should probably wear a helmet at all times. 

My little beach boy 

Peaceful...  

Natasha's dress up shoes and trains

 

Diaper change and daddy's phone 

Following his big sister 

 Loving his baby cousin, Evvie

 

Up to no good with his big cousin, Brooks 

Not too small for the tire swing 

 

Wow, today is the 28th and I am actually posting Nikolaus' 21 month post on the exact day!  Nikolaus is a busy boy and is all over the place.  He loves to explore, especially at the park.  He also thinks he can do everything the big kids do.  There definitely have been more bumps and bruises with this kid vs. Natasha.  But, he still loves be cuddled and he doesn't venture too far from us.

 

Nikolaus' likes this month: shoes, hats, swimming and books

Dislikes: smoke detectors, not using real words to talk

 

Tasha Tells It All

Zac: Is your hair in a bun?
Tasha: It's a hair bun, not a hot dog bun.

Addy (Natasha'a friend): What is Nikolaus doing?
Natasha: He is up to no good.

Me: Nikolaus, are you being a bad boy?
Natasha (singing): Bad boys, bad boys whatcha gonna do?
Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?

Tasha: Mommy, did you go shopping?
Me: Yes, I bought some berries for our smoothies.
Tasha: Good job, mom... You remembered!

Tasha: (While playing dress up at Mimi's house) Is Papa coming back?
Mimi: No, honey, Papa is in heaven.
Tasha: Did he pack up all his stuff?  Gotta love her!

Frozen just ended:
Zac: Are you going to watch it again?
Tasha: No.  And you and mommy can't watch it.
Zac (singing): "Let it go..."
Tasha: Okay, you can watch it if you want to.

Tasha: Brooks spilled!
Uncle Matt: What did Brooks spill?
Tasha:  He spilled his pee pee.

Tasha: Mommy, when am I going to be five?  I'm so bored of being four.
Me (in a sarcastic tone): I'm sorry you are so bored of being four.
Tasha: I like being four, but I'm a little bored of it.
Me: Oh, boy.

 Loves her ballet/tap combo class

(we are taking a break from gymnastics to try this out)

 Loved meeting Rapunzel

Her crazy hat that she made for "crazy hat day" at school

Cherry face

 Can't believe her first year of school is over :(

 Tasha and Noe at the mall...last day of school

Meeting and holding her new baby cousin, Everly! 

 Dress up at Mimi's

 

On the go with her Olaf balloon

Meeting and holding Ben's & Ingrid's new baby, Aksel.

 

 Lucky girl, got to hang out with Aksel again... slightly obsessed with babies.
 

She is in heaven

Nikolaus... 18, 19 and almost 20 months

 Stacking and knocking them down

 "Nikolaus, what are you doing up there? 

You are not going to like the taste of that candle. 

 Told you so."

 

 Mama's boy

 

 All wrapped up and watching Frozen

 

 

Working on his ride



Dessert face

 

 

 

Eating calamari and loving it.

 

A boy on the go

 

Life with two kids and keeping up with this blog has definitely been challenging.  Hopefully, I will be able to knock out a couple of new blog posts this month to get everyone (who is still interested) up to date on our family.  Nikolaus is almost 20 months and it has so much fun to watch him grow.  He loves to watch his sister and follow what she does, "monkey see, monkey do."  Even though he loves to watch the movie Frozen and sometimes wears his sister's jewelry and carry around a purse, he is all boy with his collection of sticks and rocks, throwing a ball around and even sticking his finger up his nose while saying "mama, mama" over and over again to get a laugh out of me... it works every time.  He loves to stack cups, roll cars and he is slightly obsessed with garbage trucks. 

Nikolaus is still a great eater, but it seems like he is starting to get a little picky.  It might be that he just likes to graze all day and when it comes down to eating a big meal, he loses interest pretty quickly.  He is also a great sleeper.  I might just keep him in a sleepsack and his crib forever.  Do they make adult size sleepsacks?  With a 3 hour nap and 12+ hours at night, it is no wonder that this boy has so much energy!

Nikolaus's 18-month well check went great.  He is (of course) right on track with his motor development skills, is very social and quite vocal.  However, he only has about 8-10 actual words.  He should have around 20 words and 200 by his 2-year check.  Since he was flirting with the doctor in just a diaper, while dancing and saying "tickle, tickle," she is not concerned about his lack of words.  If only Natasha would lighten up on her talking, so Nikolaus could get a word in.  Here are the stats from his appointment:

Weight: 24 lbs. 9.5oz (60th percentile)
Length: 33 in. (75th percentile)
Head Circumference: 48 1/2 cm (80th percentile)

The one thing that has been a little challenging with Nikolaus is his attachment to me.  He is a mama's boy and he knows it too.  If Zac is holding him and I walk into the room, he wants to come to me.  Once he is in my arms, he gives Zac a little smirk.  It definitely has helped to have Linda here on Thursdays and this fall I am starting MOPS, so Nikolaus will be in their day care while I am at the meetings.  I love the snuggles and the love, but this mama needs a break here and there.  

Disneyland

Glad to be at the "Happiest Place on Earth."

Riding Dumbo with mommy

 Selfie

 

 Lunch after a hot day at Disney

 Daddy and Natasha

 

 

We must have chosen one of the hottest days of the year to take Natasha to Disneyland for her birthday, but the three of us had a great time exploring the park.  Since it was still very crowded (even though we went after all the Spring Break madness), we were only able to enjoy a few rides.  We decided to forgo meeting Elsa and Anna from Frozen, since the wait time was 2 hours... Yes, 2 hours!  Natasha barely managed 20 minutes in the Dumbo line.  I can't imagine spending 2 hours in line with her in the heat.  Hopefully, one day Natasha will be able to meet them.  Maybe once the craze dies down a bit.  They were having a special for SoCal residents on 2-day park-hopper tickets, so I decided to purchase those for Natasha and I.  That way we could check out California Adventure another day with Nikolaus (since he is free).  And that is what we did, three weeks later:

 

 Natasha and Pluto

 Our little tourist

 We met our friends... Tasha and Noe enjoying the Disney Jr. Show

Nikolaus and mommy

 BFFs

 Nikolaus feeling a little bit of freedom

 A little cat nap while we found our next attraction

 Carousel with Noe 

We had such a great time at California Adventure, that I upgraded our park-hopper tickets to season passes.  I guess we are THAT family now... Ha!  However, only Natasha and I have passes and we can only go during the week and we have many blackout dates, which is fine because I don't need to go when what feels like the whole world is there.  We are looking forward to visiting Disney again in the fall.

Natasha also had her 4 year well check.  Everything is great with our not-so-little girl.  The nurse was a little concerned with Natasha's vision during the eye exam, so we will follow up with our family optometrist to see what he thinks.  Here are her stats from the appointment:

Weight: 38.6 lbs. (75th percentile)
Length: 39 1/4" (40-45th percentile)