Tubes Await

We met with Nicholas' Ear, Nose & Throat doctor this morning, and he has decided we should go ahead with tubes in both ears. This darn fluid just refuses to go away. At our checkup 3 weeks ago there was only fluid in one ear and the doctor had hoped that the steroid would clear it up, but alas, it's still there and fluid has shown up again in his other ear. I asked the doctor if he was surprised that Nicholas hasn't had ear infections (in his whole life he's had only one very mild one we didn't treat), but he wasn't. Apparently at Nicholas' age you really just see hearing issues, which is how we found the issue back in March. So this coming Monday we'll be having a quick little outpatient surgery to stick them in. I assume this means he'll listen to me all the time now? :)

Happy Birthday, Gavin!

Our friend Gavin Lang (his mom Tammy is one of my friends from Bunko) celebrated his 4th birthday with a construction party at his house today. His parents had even gotten some Bobcats for the afternoon for the kids to climb on. What fun for 4 year old boys, huh?

Looks pretty natural sitting up there...

Did I mention there was also a bounce house?? (Nico is the airborne one on the left)

Aaah...power tools!

Tammy made "dirt" cups with gummy worms in these cute pails. Nicholas managed to snag the last pink one. (Gavin is there on the right)

The Langs are great people and always throw a fun party. We're happy to have them as friends!

Taste of St Louis 2008

Yet another cool annual St Louis party is Taste of St Louis. It's held downtown and has booths from dozens of great restaurants, several stages with live music and tons of people.

Charlotte "I love pasta!" King had many choices.

What is he touching?

Oh I see. The underbelly of HUGE bull!

Boys love trucks. And blue lollipops.

Unfortunately since we didn't get there until 6:00, we missed all the kids activities (petting zoo, art projects etc.). We decided next year we'd go early with the kids, then leave them with a sitter and go by ourselves for the night!

We Love Samples!

Driving home from errands this morning, I saw a sign in our neighborhood that said "Reebok and Adidas Sample Sale". We had to check it out. We are big fans of samples - Trader Joe's, Costco...you name it. And while these samples weren't free, they were a crazy bargain. Unfortunately USC and Arizona are Nike schools and we were too late to get any of the Cardinals gear. Nevertheless, we snatched up some Boston Celtics and Patriots gear for our family out East.

While we have no real pro football allegiance in our house, who doesn't love a funny hat?!? Nicholas has now adopted the Broncos. It was the only thing he wanted, so we ponied up the $3.50. The sample guy is having another sale in a month, then around Christmas he sends all the stuff to Goodwill just to clean out his garage! We're SO there next month!

Fun Friday

Tom was able to get out of work a little early and meet us at "Parties in the Park", a town festival for Olivette (just a few miles north of here). They didn't have a Ferris wheel, but they did have pony rides and a plethora of bounce houses and huge slides for the kids.

Nicholas bounced away for 45 minutes before heading off to a baseball game with Daddy. It was the Cardinals final series of the season.

Albert Pujols hit home run in the game. Nicholas told me all about it: "Mama! I said 'Hit a home run, Albert Pujols!' and HE DID! Just for me!" Aaah we'll miss the Cardinals in the off season. See you in the Spring, Albert Pujols!

Up, Up and Away!

Nicholas Bear

It's no shocker that Nicholas loves pink, and that when confronted with a choice of Care Bears, he'll choose pink every time. We went to the Magic House (the Children's Museum) Kids Flea Market today and this is the one thing that Nicholas wanted to take home. When I was checking out the tag to see if it had a name, he informed me that we should make up one ourselves. When I asked what he'd like to call the bear, he said "Nicholas. Like me!" One difference... Nicholas Bear is apparently a girl. Go figure.

Rocket Park

We have rediscovered a park that is a few miles away. The main feature is a huge rocket ship play structure. The whole thing is that soft squishy surface, perfect for playing and riding a bike. Once Nicholas realized he wouldn't get hurt if he fell, he wanted to ride and ride and ride.

Brentwood Days 2008

There are some definite advantages to living in a small community like Brentwood. One of the biggest is our annual Brentwood Days. We first have an old-fashioned parade with decorated cars, the high school band, the fire trucks, the brownie troop...you get the picture. They throw candy galore and Mardi Gras beads. It's a really fun time for the kids. The parade route runs 3 blocks from our house so we can walk. It was Nicholas' third Brentwood Days and Charlotte's first. Charlotte (the waving fool) had a blast. No one could enjoy standing and waving for 20 minutes more than she. I didn't get a photo to capture her glee...but it was apparent!

Is it coming? Is it coming?

Charlotte LOVES balloons and assumed these were all for her. She was sadly (and quite loudly) disappointed.

I do believe this was a new entry this year. Nicholas loves trolleys.

The orange tractor was a big crowd pleaser

The Brentwood Eagles!

This is only a small fraction of the beads that we collected
Emergency vehicles are always a hit with Nicholas

After the parade and naps, we headed over to the baseball fields, which had been transformed into a huge carnival. There were food booths, craft booths, a huge stage where "Buddy Holly" and "Elvis" performed, and tons of carnival rides. The amazing thing is that the rides are all free. The tab is totally covered by the city. (Yes, I know it's my tax dollars...but I love it!) We had an awesome afternoon. It's nice to be able to walk around and see friends and enjoy being outside.

Nicholas went once on the giant slide with Tom, once with me, and once with our whole family! (How did Tom convince me to take Charlotte on this??)

The most tame of the rides.

This was on the train ride (pulled by a tractor around one of the baseball fields)

Please note that Nicholas was the only one facing BACKWARDS. It was the only one left, and he didn't seem to mind!

Nicholas' first ever ferris wheel ride

The last ride of the day with a friend from the neighborhood, Mary Lewis.

After dinner and a fabulous funnel cake (a once a year Brentwood Days indulgence) we headed home. But no, no. That wasn't the end! Nicholas and Tom headed out for fireworks at 8:30. Last year we had to watch from the car, since he's not a fan of the loud "booms". But I was told that this year "It wasn't that bad, Mama!" and they watched outside. It was a late, late night for our little man!

Such a fun day. If we leave St Louis, this will certainly be something that we will miss!

Ahoy Thar' Matey!

Did you know that today is International Talk Like A Pirate Day! Who knew? Apparently Nicholas!

Fun with Aunt Susan

Thanks to Uncle Russ having a meeting in St Louis and the ridiculous airfare prices between here and Des Moines, we got to have a day with our Aunt Susan! Nicholas wanted to show her the zoo (we have 5 baby tiger cubs), take her to Trader Joe's (a favorite of Nicholas' and somewhere Susan had never been since TJs hasn't made the push into Iowa yet), and play many, many, many rounds of Zingo (a bingo-like game he got for his birthday). She was such a sport and we had a great time together. It was hard to say goodbye!

We found this little gem at a resale shop Charlotte and I were killing time in while waiting to pick up Nicholas. It was a big hit...for both kids!

More Football, Less Success

We've never been much into professional football. Really the only professional level sport we keep track of is baseball. The St Louis Rams haven't made it any easier to adopt the hometown team. But when a carrier gives you great seats for an afternoon game, who turns them down?

Proud ticket holder

Did I mention it was free hat day?

She's trying....she's trying...

Got it!

We won't be buying tickets any time soon, but it was a great afternoon of practically free entertainment for the boys.

I must share that Charlotte and I were snuggling and snoozing on the comfy family room chair when the boys came home. She was laying on her blanket and had gotten SO SWEATY. Tom had a little fun with her hair.