July 4th Weekend + bonuses

We really tried to have a summer-y weekend since it was July 4th and all. On Saturday we went to the Mystic Waters Aquatic Center (aka pool) in Des Plaines. Nikko had a great time in the water and splash pads. He wasn't an issue except when he got in line on the toddler dolphin slide, pushed his way to the top past the lifeguard and went down happily. I was glad that the lifeguard didn't ban Nikko from the slide so I kept a vigilant watch on him. Ronin and Audrey took turns being miserable. Ronin's eyes were stinging from the sunblock and water (note to self: don't put sunblock on kids' hands in water parks because they will rub their eyes when water gets in them. I supposedly knew this already) and the bright sun from a 4:30p afternoon was not going well for him. He brightened up when he used the water slide and when we moved to the zero depth pool. Then it was Audrey's turn to get miserable, but her symptoms were a total mystery to us. I have no idea why she was whining and miserable.

Today we went to the Mount Prospect July 4th parade in downtown Mount Prospect. It was HOT with a little breeze. It was sunny. I had a bottle of sunscreen that I applied vigorously to the kids, but I forgot to bring hats and an umbrella. We were all baking in the sun but enjoyed watching the bands and the loud trucks. When the Continental Bakery truck came by, we cheered loudly because they have the best coffee cakes and paczkis around. I saw that employees were handing out free cookies wrapped in plastic so I started cheering wildly and told Denis to get a sample. "Quick, hand me Audrey so I can use her to get stuff!" is what Denis asked in a nutshell, so I scooped her up and tossed her to Denis. It paid off because an employee threw a cookie to us directly. I know it sounds extreme, but seriously, that bakery is the best one around. We love it. Nikko did very well sweating it out in the stroller seat because he saw candy being tossed from car floats and a Sugar Daddy Caramel Stick landed conveniently at his feet. I was going to swap it for a lollipop but Nikko wasn't going to be fooled. It lasted the entire parade and a little bit more at home, and it kept him occupied. Ronin was not thrilled about the parade at first, but became excited when the Metra train came rumbling down the tracks right behind us. They saved us from a cranky Ronin and they weren't even part of the parade. Audrey was also curious about the parade candy so I gave her a lollipop - her first ever - and she happily ate it up, asked for more lollipop, and was granted bliss a second time. I didn't let her have thirds, but she accepted that. We went home and all the kids had a long nap. I let it happen because we planned to take them to see fireworks at 9:30p. When 8:15 rolled around, I looked around at the kids anxiously and wondered if they would last until past 10p. We packed the kids up a little after 9p and headed to a nearby park that was frequented with locals. Nikko was calm and happy and enjoyed the fireworks display. Audrey was nodding off at the end of the show. Ronin was a complete surprise to me because he was frightened by the fireworks and wanted to go home. He wouldn't look in the sky. I held onto him and tried to coax him to watch the show, but he ended up in the back of the stroller with most of his face covered by the stroller shade. He was peeking up at the sky with one eye and it wasn't until the end (of course) that he showed appreciation for the fireworks, even applauded at the end. GO FIGURE.

Over the weekend, Nikko did some things he hasn't done before. I retrieved a box of Cheerios from our pantry just as Nikko came to see what I was doing. I put it in his hands and said, "Give it to Daddy." He trotted straight to Denis and put it emphatically into his hands. I praised Nikko, who came back to me quickly, probably to see if I was going to give him some cheese puffs. Instead, I handed him some crumpled paper from a label and said loudly, "Garbage." Nikko took it to the kitchen sink, opened the right side door beneath, and tossed the paper into the trash. I looked up at Denis, who looked at me, and we both grinned knowing that Nikko had never followed a command so quickly and precisely. What a future we have in store for him. LOL!!! One more thing he did was when we sat at the kitchen table together. Nikko looked up at a paper I pinned to a bulletin board of his classmates on one side, teachers on the other. I took it down and started pointing to classmates. "Who is this?" I'd ask him, then wait for him to pronounce names. "Cate. Madison. Sophie. Lucy. Colin. Faith. Ingrid. Emelia. Aidan. Luca." The last kid on that page was named Dougyoung, but he didn't quite get it and that's ok. I was totally impressed that he was able to name his peers with ease! I think his attention span shortened because he didn't have the same patience when I turned over the paper to point out his teachers. That's ok, he's done it before so I let it go. I've never tested him on his classmates before, and he hasn't forgotten them even though he hasn't seen many of them in four weeks, besides the ones that were in ESY.