Music together...

Dear Nicky,

This morning I took you guys to Music Together. You had so much fun! The teacher seems kind of a stiff, as do all chicks that put "Miss" in front of their first names, but it was loads of fun nonetheless. You did so well there. Junie too, but she would go off and do her own thing. Met Lillian's dad, who gets along well with June. Nice guy, but this was their last week; they're moving to the City. You and Junie were fascinated by this black kid there. You guys kept rubbing his head and he good naturedly made roaring noises. The grandparents came over in the afternoon for a while and hung out while I went and got some air. I forgot my wallet, so that's all I got.

Love,
Dad

Just us chickens...

Dear Nicky,

Mom's still out of town. So this morning I prepped and fed you guys all by myself, and got you off to school successfully. There seems to be a little confusion about who's giving you the ride to school starting next week. But we'll see. See? They're fighting over you! I took June to get a haircut and man did she flip out. When we came home we walked around the front yard a little to dry off your hair and our neighbor invited us over in the afternoon just to hang out with other kids. It was nice and you guys had a good time. You ate pretty well, then I took you upstairs and bathed you both, and put you to bed. Nothing like going to bed all nice and clean!

Love,
Dad

Paperwork and the like...

Dear Nicky,

Today I paid some bills and cleared out a lot of old papers and organized a bunch of other ones. I also straightened out the bus company, who weren't quite sure what was going on with the extended school year. I also went grocery shopping. I took out the trash. Gave you guys dinner and put you to bed early because that's what you need. So far so good. Last night you were up all night, which meant I was up all night, and now I'm pretty tired but feeling okay. It's just us three little Indians till Sunday when Mom gets back from her trip to Los Angeles.

Love,
Dad

Lucky old laptop...

Dear Nicky,

So this morning my laptop wouldn't start up. It would repeatedly try to start over and over without success. A chill ran up my spine. I managed to connect it to my desktop machine and backed everything up. Then I tried a bunch of different things till finally I fixed it. I'm very happy that it's not messed up. I hope it lasts. Mom came home early tonight and I grilled some chicken outside. You guys ate pretty well. You sure do grind your teeth a lot. It drives me nuts.

Love,
Dad

Back on the Pepcide...

Dear Nicky,

The last few nights you've had trouble sleeping. We thought you might be cold, might be hot, might be sick. But now we think it's just your reflux. Tonight before bed I gave you a snoot of Pepcid and so far it's worked. You haven't so much as peeped. It's still early though, so we'll see. But it's probably the case. Back on Pepcid we go.

Love,
Dad

Memorial Day, 2008...

Dear Nicky,

Stressful day, I'm afraid. Mom went to use a gift certificate I'd given her on Mother's Day, and I took you guys to see the local parade. Junie fussed, of course, quite a bit actually, but you seemed to really enjoy it. Came home, nap time. Woke up, decent lunch, then to Granny's. Played in a baby pool till you had diarrhea. Oh, and you might have a hemorrhoid, too. Junie fussed more. Fuss and stress all day. Sorry.

Love,
Dad

Outdoor furniture and Auntie...

Dear Nicky,

So today I finally set up the furniture on the deck and patio. I unpacked and assembled everything, then cleaned up the huge mess. It took all morning. Earlier, Mom took you to the docs, because she thought you might have another ear infection because you fussed a lot last night; turns out you were just cold. In the afternoon, Mom took you and June to visit Aunt Duchy and your cousins. She picked up Granny along the way. You guys had a blast playing in the little baby pool, and you got a little color. I think it was a fun but long day for you.

Love,
Dad

Bloated...

Dear Nicky,

This morning I waterproofed the deck and patio. Later I did some yardwork. Then we went to the park. I ate a sandwich late in the evening (as far as dinner is concerned), and now I feel bloated.

Love,
Dad

Very productive day...

Dear Nicky,

Junie has another ear infection. I took her to the doc's, got her meds, got her some hash rounds, then went to Home Depot. Later I powerwashed the deck and the patio, cleaned the garbage cans, cleaned the grill, and cleaned the play slides. Man, I'm tired. Tonight I sleep the sleep of the righteous.

Love,
Dad

Washing hands...

Dear Nicky,

This afternoon, when you came home from Stones, you were so happy and glad to see me. It warms my heart. Junie was out for a walk with the nanny, so I had you all to myself for a few minutes. We went into the bathroom to wash your hands, and by golly if you didn't do a great job of it! Stones is really doing great things for you, my boy. Later you ate reasonably well with a fork and were very affectionate all evening, giving me lots of hugs and kisses. I don't know if I've mentioned it, but you've really seemed to have gotten the hang of coming downstairs as well. Very nice!

Love,
Dad

New cleaning lady...

Dear Nicky,

Today a new cleaning lady came over. She was here for a long time and really did a good job. I got Junie a pair of shoes. You guys ate well, a nice early dinner, then went wild till bedtime. Sheesh!

Love,
Dad

A fall day in May...?

Dear Nicky,

This morning it was in the 40's. And it's May! It was cold, then later it started to rain. Junie was fussy all day, maybe it's her teeth or allergies. My allergies have been pretty bad, and you've been congested for a week. I ran some errands and got your fluoride prescription filled. I got a bunch of crayons for you guys; good thing I got the washable kind, since you decided to scribble all over the walls. You guys both ate well for dinner and went to bed very easily, despite your meltdown when I put Junie to bed first.

Love,
Dad

Slightly runny nose...

Dear Nicky,

You had a little bit of a runny nose today, so I guess you probably have another cold. We got all your bloodwork results today and basically everything looks good. Your thyroid was a touch high, which is better than low, but it was so slight it could've just been the result of being upset by the blood drawing itself. CBC and metabolic all good. Celiac was negative, but one marker did show up, which makes the doc want to repeat the test in one year. You must've had a good lunch because you ate nothing for dinner. Junie and I went to Target and Borders today. The lawn guys came and really cleaned up the yard. It looks good.

Love,
Dad

Another quiet day...

Dear Nicky,

Not much to report today. Bath, Sunday School, nap, lunch, hanging out, dinner, bed. It rained most of the day so we didn't really go out. But it was nice and mellow.

Love,
Dad

Fundraiser...

Dear Nicky,

Today was a nice day. You had a great time at Music Together. I powerwashed the balcony and the railings on the deck. I wanted to do the deck itself, but as I was getting ready to do so, a million tree helicopters blew all over the place, making quite a mess and foiling my idea of cleaning the deck. I fixed a handle on the balcony door. Then we all went for a walk. When we came back, we handed you off to Robin the sitter while we got dressed up and went to this fundraiser. It was nice. Drinks, snack, good speaker. Then we came home by way of Mickey D's.

Love,
Dad

Rainy, quiet Friday...

Dear Nicky,

And so ends another school week. They tell us you're eating pretty well during lunch. You're walking around the place more. And this afternoon you even made it down a couple steps by yourself. It was rainy and quiet here today. I ate a bunch of carbs and took an afternoon nap. It's good sleeping weather, that's for sure.

Love,
Dad

Bills...

Dear Nicky,

So today I paid a ton of bills. Not much else was going on. It was a quiet sort of day and I had too much coffee. But, darn it if I didn't feel pretty good today. Could it have been the coffee? You need a fresh pair of spare pants for tomorrow.

Love,
Dad

Playtime...

Dear Nicky,

This afternoon we went down the street to a neighbor's house for a neighborhood play party for all the kids. You guys had a lot of fun, and you know what, so did I. I think it was really nice that we were invited. You guys wore yourselves out and went to bed really easy. Nice!

Love,
Dad

Sorry to stick you...

Dear Nicky,

Today you had your three year checkup at Doc Mock's office. I went and got you early out of Stones. You guys had a fire drill today. Everything went well and you are very healthy and doing well healthwise. The doc gave us a couple of scrips for some further tests, one for a neck X-ray, the other for some bloodwork. Since Mom was with us and your nanny had June back at the house and we had some time, we decided to go get the bloodwork done. It was not very pleasant. This one phlebotomist tried once on each arm with no success. You were screaming bloody blue murder. You have very deep veins, which are hard to get. Then they got this other phlebotomist to try and she got you good on the first try. You were stuck deep and hard a total of three times. We hated to hear you cry; it breaks our heart. But when you need bloodwork done, you need bloodwork done. When we got home, we got Junie and went to Friendly's to get some dinner and ice cream. Neither one of you kids ate very much, but at least you made a mess someplace other than home. Back home, we immediately put you both in the tub, where, toward the end of the bath, you took a big dump in the water. Later, we put you to sleep, and without Pepcid, which the doc thinks you might have outgrown, so we're going to try doing without it. We'll see.

Love,
Dad

Home from school...

Dear Nicky,

Today we kept you home from school because you slept poorly and had a little fever. You seemed okay over the course of the day, but it was definitely a challenge having both you and Junie stuck inside on a cold and rainy day.

Love,
Dad

Mom's special day...

Dear Nicky,

Today was Mother's Day, and I think we made it a nice one for Mom. Everyone was pretty well behaved and it was nice day all around. I made her breakfast, cleaned the house while she took you guys on a walk, you guys napped, then after lunch we went to a park, then Granny's, where you ate pretty well. Then home, Pepcid, and bed. Nice and easy.

Love,
Dad

Mom and Dad go to the movies...

Dear Nicky,

This morning, Mom took you guys to Music Together and I went to Target to get some stuff. I got these cabinet locks that are supposed to be childproof, but they suck because they're not quality made. When you guys came back, you took a nap, sort of ate lunch, then we went to Granny's to drop off her Mother's Day present. Uncle Matt showed up too, but we had to leave quickly to meet your sitter for the evening. She hadn't yet arrived when we got home, so went next door to our neighbors where they had a blow-up moonwalk play house type of thing. You played in that for a few minutes and really seemed to like it. Then the sitter came and we dropped you guys off into her hands while Mom and I went and got Mexican food and saw the movie Iron Man. The movie was not quite as spectacular as I had hoped, but it was okay. We also bought a couple books at Barnes and Noble, then we came home to find you guys comfortably asleep.

Love,
Dad

An early evening...

Dear Nicky,

I think you had another good day at Stones today. You came home in the best mood. Mom and I let you guys run wild for a little while, then gave you some pizza for dinner. Both of you went to bed without much trouble. Lately you've been sleeping pretty great, so I sure hope that continues. Mom had insomnia last night and has just now gone to bed herself. I think I'll turn in early too. It's cold and rainy out, good weather for sleeping.

Love,
Dad

A day like others...

Dear Nicky,

Nothing major going on today, an ordinary day. They gave you this little plant thing at Stones to give to Mom. Nice of them. We had a lot of laughs before bedtime. We did our imitation of the laughing baby from YouTube and the father that goes, "Biiiiinnng!" You know your ASL alphabet pretty darn well, by the way.

Love,
Dad

Groceries...

Dear Nicky,

This afternoon when you came home, after you had your snack and milk, we all went to the supermarket and got some basic stuff, except for chicken; I'll get a fresher one tomorrow. You pulled Junie's hair with surprising intensity. I'm surprised she didn't totally flip out. At one point I thought you lost your glasses, but Junie had snatched them off your face and was wearing them. You guys are royal pains sometimes, but I adore you.

Love,
Dad

Tests...

Dear Nicky,

So today I had a bunch of tests done. I had an echo, bloodwork, and an EKG. I fasted the whole night before and even though I've eaten, I feel tired and dizzy and have felt so all day. I'm so tired all the time, Nick. I just don't understand it. Plus, I'm taking Lipitor again, which makes me feel like my hands are falling off my wrists.

Love,
Dad

At the zoo...

Dear Nicky,

Today at Stones you guys went to the zoo. It sounds like you had a great time. You saw lots of animals, ate hot dogs, and rode on a train. Junie and I went to the store and spent some time on the swings. When you came home you were really tired but you ate okay and went to sleep easy. We had a lot of laughs with some tickling beforehand. Your laugh is like music.

Love,
Dad

Lamb for dinner...

Dear Nicky,

It was a pretty quiet day. You guys got a nice bath in the morning, then you fell asleep in my arms listening to music when it was time for your nap. While this was happening I did some work in the yard, which has really taken a beating this past winter. Later we went to Granny's and we had a nice lamb dinner with asparagus, and you know what that means.

Love,
Dad

Burgers and catchup...

Dear Nicky,

So today was an okay day. You guys went to Music Together, then napped, hardly ate any lunch. Granny and Grandaddy came over briefly, then we went to the Target in Union and the Barnes and Noble in Springfield, then drove around some for fun. Then we went to Cheeburger Cheeburger down in the center of town. You guys ate some fries and some ice cream. When we got home we gave you the last of the antibiotic and put you to bed. Last couple nights you've been sleeping pretty well, knock wood.

Yesterday I had another IEP meeting. It went very well. I snuck a peek at you during your classtime and you seemed very happy. It was me, Gerry, Donna, Kathy, and your teacher. It went very well and you have some very ambitious goals ahead of you. Your teacher also mentioned how impressed they all were when you came into the program knowing your ABCs and numbers. Very nice. Then later in the day June was all fussy and screaming her head off and we were all exhausted. But today was better.

Love,
Dad

Yet another IEP...

Dear Nicky,

I'm just beat right now, I'll tell you later. But it went great, as usual.

Love,
Dad

A Stones visit...

Dear Nicky,

This morning I forgot to give you your antibiotic, so I drove to Stones to give it to you. It was so great to see you in your element. You looked so alert and happy and active. I stuck around and chatted with the group. It was nice to see everybody again. Then they started talking about Oprah and that was my cue to bounce. I did some yard work later, received you when got home, and changed too poopy diapers. Must be that durn antibiotic.

Love,
Dad