2012-01-07: Helping Aunt Blaire Move

Nigel, Mom and Dad all helped Aunt Blaire and Uncle Brandon move from his mom's house, in Eagle Mountain, to an apartment in Midvale. Nigel enjoyed helping to move things out of the house and into the moving truck.

He really wanted to ride in the moving truck, so Dad took him around the neighborhood briefly in it before leaving to head up to Midvale.

2012-01-07: I get to play in the snow

Amidst a dismal season for snow, with only a single, small accumulation to date, a few inches fell last night. From their bedroom, Mom and Dad heard Nigel awake, peek out his blinds, then begin chanting, "I get to play in the snow, I get to play in the snow..."

He went in to get Dad and took him back to his room to show him that it was winter (in his words).

New Year's Eve 2011

The family had planned to go down to the Blacks' house for Grandma's traditional holiday breakfast, but KariAnn and Uncle Kerry got sick, so we went to Grandpa's house, instead. Nigel enjoyed the breakfast, even including the cinnamon apples, to an extent. He kept trying to play fetch with Tiki, throwing dog toys inside, which were not interesting enough to distract Tiki from all the foods she was smelling, so Dad and Grandpa finally took the two of them out in the backyard, then to Curtis Park.

Nigel liked having turns with the throwing arm for a while, then went off to play at the playground and tromp through leaves. Afterward, he got back on his bike, but went up the hill, rather than down, and went almost all the way to the Foothill Village driveway before turning around. He went back down pretty fast, and on the grassy hill, coasted very fast through almost the whole steep part! Then, Dad and Grandpa were able to talk him into practicing his coasting on a concrete path that was almost the perfect steepness for coasting.

Nigel stayed on his bike, riding around and playing, almost the whole way back, with many diversions to practice riding and coasting along the way.

2011-12-27: Shadie's Dangerous Adventure

Nigel loves to hear stories. Lately, he has requested the story of Shadie's dangerous adventure many times. It goes something like this:

Mom and Dad lived at Aspen Hills apartment complex. Shadie loved to lie in her bed atop the white dresser, next to an upstairs window, so she could look out. She would watch people, dogs and cats, but her favorite things to watch were the birds. She loved the birds, and would sometimes talk to them through the window. When she was outside, she would often sit on the doorstep, and sometimes she would venture over to a big rock and stand atop.

One evening, Shadie didn't come in for dinner. That wasn't too unusual, as either the front or back door was often open during nice weather so she could go in and out as she pleased. At bedtime, she still hadn't been seen, so the door was closed for the night. Mom and Dad didn't know if Shadie was inside and hiding or outside. The next morning, though, she didn't come down for breakfast. Dad called for her, but there was no sign of her. Dad thought she might be feeling sick and hiding. They took a quick look through the apartment before leaving for work, but didn't see her.

All day long, Dad worried about Shadie, whether she had been shut outside and had run off during the night. That evening, Mom and Dad looked all around for her: in all the closets, under the bed, in all the backyards, all through the courtyard, and even walked throughout the apartment complex looking and calling for her. There was no sign of her, and Mom and Dad were feeling even more worried.

The next day, Dad made posters to advertise the missing cat. The posters had pictures of Shadie on them with her name and a short description of her, and asked anyone to call if they saw her. Dad put the posters up all around the apartment complex, in hopes that someone would see Shadie and call.

Hearing nothing for the next two days, Mom and Dad started to think Shadie wasn't going to come back. They felt very sad that she was gone. Then, someone called and said they thought they had seen Shadie behind the apartments one day. Mom and Dad felt excited at the thought of finding her again. The caller also told Mom and Dad about hidden entrances to go under the apartment buildings. That evening, after work, Mom and Dad went searching again. Dad found the entrance to go under their apartment building and climbed down in with a flashlight. It was very dark down there. He called for her, but she didn't answer. Finally, he saw her with the light and went to get her. She was very well hidden, and only her gleaming eyes gave away her position. Dad picked her up and handed her out to Mom, who was waiting at the entrance, then Dad climbed out and they took Shadie back home.

Shadie was very hungry and thirsty, and had been gone for several days. She was also very dirty - her fur looked black in places. Mom and Dad fed her and gave her a drink, and then gave her a bath (which may have been Shadie's least fun part of the whole ordeal). Mom and Dad felt very relieved to have her back home.

2011-12-13: Lucia

To celebrate Lucia, Mom and Nigel baked Luciakatten (Lucia cats), and Nigel put on all the raisins. The two of them picked Dad up from work and then went to Mom's work Christmas party, at Wheeler Farm. Nigel was very tired, as this was his second day in a row without a nap (he is getting to the point of not needing one on a regular basis), and he ran around almost non-stop.

Nigel loves hearing stories about past family events, but now always wants to be part of the stories. He often inserts himself driving his blue convertible car with white stripes, or flying his green plane. He plays many of the parts (flower girl and pilot in the "Honeymoon Vacation" story, rescuer in "Shadie's Dangerous Adventure", etc.), and wants to be featured in each scene. This night, while driving home after the Christmas party, Nigel said he made the "Lost Cat" posters for "Shadie's Dangerous Adventure", and said his phone number was, "Nine-nine-nine, two-two-two, one-hundred-and-two."

2011-12-13: How does Santa do it?

Mom: Nigel wants to know why santa goes down the chimney. He wouldnt get so dirty going through the door. Also how does the sleigh fly?
Dad: Awesome. The chimney is always open, the doors are sometimes locked. Also, the sleigh flies just the same way superheros do (but because of the reindeer, not a cape).

2011-12-02: Playing Games

Tonight, Nigel had some very definite ideas of games he wanted to play. He played in the tub with a boat and practiced "setting sail". He then blasted Baby Sara(h) off to fly around. Lastly, when in bed, he cooked dinner for Woofer and Blanket and his other friends. "Frozen peas, carrots, mashed potatoes and lots of other stuff," he said.