Ola, amigo...

Dear Nicky,

In addition to your many other words, you are now officially bilingual, having said "ola" earlier this afternoon. Your nanny Angela taught you. We encourage her to speak Spanish to you kids because it's so good for you to hear different languages. You're such a smart little boy, and I'm so proud of you.

Love,
Dad

Pukey sis...

Dear Nicky,

It was an uneventful day. June ate a lot; you didn't. We went out on the deck for a while and we threw the ball around. But it was so muggy you guys seemed really uncomfortable, so we came back in. Just as well, though, as Junie has a tendency to put everything out there into her mouth. A short while ago she threw up all over her crib and bedsheets. The poor little thing seems okay now, though. You did okay with Rob the PT and very good with the OT Heather. And you didn't throw up, so that's a good thing.

Love, Dad

Fasting Sunday...

Dear Nicky,

You didn't eat very much today, I'm afraid. But I'm trying not to worry; I just want you to get as much nutrition as you can. The rainy weather today prevented us from going to the pool. Mom took you guys briefly to the mall, but June fussed too much so she had to come home. We had a lot of afternoon laughs, then it was time for bed.

Love,
Dad

Hey, let's catch up...

Dear Nicky,

Hi pal, sorry I was too tired the last couple nights to say anything. Earlier this week I was up really late fixing my iBook--which works great again, by the way--and the last couple nights I've just been up late in general. I know I should go to bed earlier but sometimes I just like the quiet time you can only get late at night.

Anyhoo, today was a Saturday, which means yardwork. Today and last week were kind of long yardwork days, four hours each of mowing and maintaining, etc. Usually, they're not that long. You guys ate pretty well, then we went to Borders, where you both kind of fussed a lot, then we went to this dump of a farm store where Mom thought she was going to find some good veggies, but we found nothing of the sort. Since you and your sister didn't take afternoon naps, you ate and went to bed early.

Yesterday, Mom took you for your hearing check, where you did excellently. It seems your hearing is just great, although the doc thinks a tube might be slightly blocked by earwax. He says he's not worried at all about it, as apparently these things happen all the time, so I guess we're all good. It sure is nice that your hearing isn't just okay; it's great.

On Thursday, Mom took you to Stones, where you did really well and stayed happy and engaged the whole time. That makes me a little jealous, since sometimes you don't so well with me, but you do well often enough, so don't worry. You came home and took a nap, then worked with your speech therapist, who won't be around for the next two sessions, so you get a mini-break from her. Lately, I hang out in the other room while you work. It seems to provide less of a distraction to you, which enables you to concentrate more on working with her, which you've done impressively well with the last few times.

Okay, so I think we're all caught up. Tomorrow may bring a trip to the pool; we'll see. We depend on a number of factors, like the weather and whether you kids cooperate. Such is life.

Love,
Dad

Sleep's important...

Dear Nicky,

I haven't gotten enough sleep lately, and now I'm a wreck.

Love,
Dad

Trembly tired...

Dear Nicky,

Sorry, pal, but I'm a little beat tonight. I'll catch you up tomorrow.

Love,
Dad

I'm back, baby...

Dear Nicky,

Well, you kids were handfuls today. I don't know where you get the energy. You both ate pretty well, but your sister's still not really drinking much milk since we switched from baby bottles to sippy cups. When bedtime came, though, you guys were both out like lights. By the way, I'm back on my laptop. Go me!

Love,
Dad

Genius daddy...

Dear Nicky,

So today was a nanny day, which you always seem to enjoy. You also did well with your speech therapist Ellen. While you were working with her, I was working on clearing out some built-up paperwork and getting rid of some junk mail and paying some bills. Then I went to the store, took a shower, got my glasses adjusted, then went back out for some errands, and then it was time for Rob your PT. Now Rob's given us some parallel bars, a walker, and now a children's baby stroller, all in an effort to encourage you to walk. Would you believe the baby stroller is what you've liked the best so far? In other news, the new harddrive for my laptop is here. At nine o'clock, when Mom went up, I went to work. It took me three hours and two attempts to get it to work, but I think it might be okay right now. I opened up my laptop, replaced the old drive, closed it up, started it, and nothing. So I opened it up again, checked everything, put it back together, and now it seems to be working. Y'know, this isn't something easy to do; I just might be a technical genius. And that bodes well for you, my little friend. Ah, who am I kidding? You're probably already smarter than I was at your age,

Love,
Dad

12th anniversary...

Dear Nicky,

Twelve years ago today, Mom and I got married. This evening we went out to dinner to celebrate. A friend of ours from Stones came over to keep an eye on you guys while we were out. Mercifully, you guys were no trouble. We had a nice dinner. Earlier today, you kids had a decent dinner with what I'd consider adequate consumption. For lunch, you barely ate a thing. Yet your energy level was quite significant. Lucky me.

Love,
Dad

Barbecue...

Dear Nicky,

So today Mom took you guys over to Granny's for a dip in the pool. You enjoyed being in a floating saucer type of thing for a long time. You love the pool. It promotes a good appetite and good sleeping. Later, Granny, Grandpop, and Uncle Jon came over and we did some cooking on the grill. It was nice. I made hamburgers and hotdogs and corn on the cob. We also had potato salad, some watery casserole Granny made, and Neapolitan ice cream. It was a little hectic because it was right around the end of the day and you and your sister were wanting to go to sleep. Uncle Jon put you on the swing and you had a lot of fun. But I think he did it a little too hard because shortly thereafter you threw up. His bad!

Love,
Dad

Zoo, and no more laptop...

Dear Nicky,

Well, this morning I worked in the yard for quite a while. I mowed the lawn, cleaned out some gutters, killed two yellowjacket nests, pruned, and sprayed some lime on the shrubs and tress. Mom took you and June to the supermarket, the deli, and the jewelry store. When you guys came back we went to the Turtleback Zoo near Stones. It was pretty nice, but some of those barnyard animals really stink. You guys seemed to enjoy it. Then we went to eat at Friendly's. The food was tasty. You and June split some chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, and french fries. June ate some of everything, but you ate mostly french fries. Mom and I had sundaes, but surprisingly you guys weren't too interested. Afterward we went to the community pool to check it out at long last. It looks really nice and wholesome. Back home, we hung out on the deck for a while, then it was time for bed. It was a nice day. In sadder news, my faithful ol' iBook is dead; the hard drive's gone irreparably bad. But I was able to back everything up, so that's good. And maybe I can replace the hard drive and bring it back from the dead. Who knows? Anything is possible.

Love,
Dad

Laptop on its last legs...

Dear Nicky,

Well, you sure were in a pretty good mood all day, even when we left you with Granny for a while so we could take Junie for her one-year checkup. You and I had a lot of laughs just hanging out at the end of the day. In other news, my iBook continues to perform weirdly. It could go at any time.

Love,
Dad

Cleaning people...

Dear Nicky,

So this morning a trio of cleaning people descended upon our house. They were noisy and had a lot of stuff and from what I heard from your nanny afterward, they took a long time. I think they did an okay job, but three people should be able to clean a house pretty fast. We went to Stones really early to get away from them. You napped for a few minutes in the car when we got there; I kept the A/C running, don't worry. You took a fairly lengthy nap this afternoon and for dinner you ate quite a bit of chicken and banana and some Cheezits.

Love,
Dad

The dentist...

Dear Nicky,

Today for the very first time ever, you went to the dentist. He checked you out and gave us advice, but he didn't actually give you a cleaning, because you didn't have enough antibiotic in you. Not that it mattered, because you fussed so hard over a casual exam that a cleaning would've been murder. But this dentist was very nice. We all liked him a lot. Afterward you took a nap for a while, then we went to the mall with Granny for lunch, where you had four slices of pizza. That filled you up, and you barely ate anything else this evening. But you did let Mom give your teeth a nice brushing.

Love,
Dad

Pretty nice day...

Dear Nicky,

You did well with Ellen your speech therapist this morning, even though she was a half hour late. And as usual, in the afternoon with your PT Rob, you were quite resistant. It's like you simply have no interest in walking, which distresses me greatly. In brighter news, you seem to be eating reasonably well lately and napping well. Also, in Dad news, my laptop seems to be working as well as ever. I think all the problems were due to software glitches rather than anything else, which makes me wish I'd tried more things before I opened up the case and spoiled its smooth beauty, although no harm seems to be done. Tomorrow we take you to the dentist. This'll be interesting.

Love,
Dad

Pretty good...

Dear Nicky,

While poor June was tough and hard to handle all day, due to her teething, you were pretty good, and you ate reasonably well, which is always something to be grateful for. You didn't do so good with Rob the PT this morning, but you did do okay with Heather the OT. After Rob left and you guys were napping, I tried once more to get my laptop to work and I was successful enough that I managed to get all my stuff copied off it and on to another disk. Unfortunately, now it doesn't seem to be working very well again. Oh well. Lately, you've taken to crying when I take June up to put her to bed. What's that all about?

Love,
Dad

Fried laptop...

Dear Nicky,

I think we're both glad Mom's finally home. We had a good time alone, but it's better when we're all together. We did okay, though, all by ourselves. You ate pretty well the whole time, and you really pounded some pot roast this evening. In other news, sadly, it looks like my laptop is dead. It was buzzing a lot since yesterday, which indicated a problem with the fan or the hard drive. So I opened it up to take a look, and now it won't start up at all. Guess I should've left well enough alone.

Love,
Dad

Two in one...

Dear Nicky,

This morning I gave you guys a bath at the same time. It was easy yet challenging at the same time. Neither of you went under at any point, nor did I drop either of you. You splashed a lot of water out of the tub, but I think it's okay. You ate sort of okay for the most part, although you sure don't seem to like hamburgers the way I make them. You took close to a four hour nap this afternoon in my bed. Makes me wonder if your bed is really uncomfortable. I may get you one of those eggshell foam things.

Love,
Dad

Very affectionate...

Dear Nicky,

I guess you finally realized you missed me while you were gone, because you were very affectionate today. You're also a little clingy, which makes me wonder why. In the afternoon, Granny came by with some food, a delicious pot roast, which you've enjoyed in the past. I went out briefly and returned to find that she had given you some chocolate cookies to eat less than an hour before dinner time. Sure enough, it spoiled your appetite. "All done!" you proclaimed the moment anything was placed in front of you. Thanks a lot, Granny!

Love,
Dad

Summer Stones...

Dear Nicky,

So today was our first day of the Stones summer session, which starts later than the regular school year class. I was a little worried about how you'd do because you fell asleep in the car, which usually means you're going to be a little cranky at Stones. But we got there early and I just let you nap on me till you woke up on your own, and you woke up in a fine mood and did well in all your classes. But it was my turn to bring the bagels, but I forgot, so I was embarassed a little, but no big deal.

Love,
Dad

Alone again...

Dear Nicky,

Mom left for RWA this morning. It's just the three of us till she comes back on Sunday. Try to take it easy on me, okay? Tomorrow we go to Stones summer session. Wonder what that's gonna be like.

Love,
Dad

Slightly off...?

Dear Nicky,

I'm thinking you're a little jetlagged or perhaps still tired from your trip. You seemed somewhat anxious and overly sensitive today. And today at seven, both you and your sister went insane crying. I'll give you lots of love and reassurance tomorrow.

Love,
Dad

Welcome home...

Dear Nicky,

Your flight was late coming in, but it was great to see you again and hug and kiss you. The thing was, you kids were absolutely exhausted from your trip. Mom was able to give me the details about what an awesome time you guys had. When we got you home, we fed you and I played with you a little, but it was past your bedtime, and you were out by the time your head hit my chest. We'll have more fun when you're better rested.

Love,
Dad

Soon...

Dear Nicky,

I'm back and soon we'll all be together again.

Love,
Dad

Counting the minutes...

Dear Nicky,

I can't wait till you're in my arms again, you and the rest of my little family. My time here in Los Angeles has been a lot of fun, but it's been bittersweet too, without my loved ones here to share it with me. Time apart is good, I really believe that. For a parent, it allows them time to rest and relax and remember that they're individuals, and it's also good because it refreshes the good memories of their loved ones and brushes off the cobwebs of the more drudgery times. Soon we'll be together again.

Love,
Dad

So happy...

Dear Nicky,

Mom tells me even though she's not getting nearly the support she was assured from her family while in Florida, you guys are having the time of your lives, playing, eating, sleeping, everything's great. We'll have to go to the shore over Labor Day so you can have more fun. I love and miss you so much!

Love,
Dad

Gosh, I miss you...

Dear Nicky,

I've missed you since the moment we parted, but today it really hit me hard, like an ache all day long. I know you're having a wonderful time, which makes me smile when I think of you laughing and playing at the beach. I hope you still remember me.

Love,
Dad

Happy Fourth, 2007...

Dear Nicky,

Happy Fourth of July! I just talked to Mom and she went on and on about how much fun you're having at the beach and with all your cousins and how well you're eating. That makes me so happy and I wish I were there, but it's good to be apart once in a while too, because it clarifies my love for you, my sweet boy. I can just see you laughing and laughing.

Love,
Dad

Hickory burger...

Dear Nicky,

I hope you're having a great time with the beach. I'll bet you are. Today I went and had a burger at the Apple Pan, a tiny diner high up on Pico in LA. It was crowded and I had to wait to get a seat, but I got one and had a good burger, maybe the best burger, and a slice of apple pie with ice cream. It was great. Maybe we can go there together someday and have something to eat.

Love,
Dad

Miss you a lot...

Dear Nicky,

Didn't have a chance to call you guys today. I'm sure you're having a great time, though. You, Junie, Mom, Granny and Grandad, Aunt Dutchie, Aunt Za, your girl cousins, Granny's family... The beach, the ocean, the sun, everybody must be making a ton of fuss over you. Don't tell Mom but I wish I were there. Los Angeles is a lot of fun, though. This evening I went to Pink's Hot Dogs for dinner. I got a chilli cheese dog with onions and some cheese fries. It was gosh-darn delicious!

Love,
Dad

I'm in LA...

Dear Nicky,

This morning I woke up at 5:00 and went to the airport and got on a flight to Los Angeles. It was a long, tiring flight but the hotel is nice, even though they're a little on the slow side. After I got here I went for a really walk and now I'm super beat. Did I mention I almost my toe yesterday at the hardware store parking lot. It looks really awful, but it's getting better. I hear you're having the time of your life at the beach, that you love the ocean, and that you're sleeping and eating better than you have in long time. Let's all get some rest and relaxation this week.

Love,
Dad