2015: Pokemon

It is about time for a Pokemon post. Nigel has been enthralled with this Japanese character collecting and battling game/TV show/world. Most days, at some point in the day, Nigel is being a Pokemon character, whether Pikachu, Squirtle, Pancham, or any of dozens of others. He has a guide book to the characters in the "Kalos" region, which he has studied to the point that several of its pages are falling out.

Nigel and Dad were playing "Guess that Pokemon" at Nigel's request this morning over breakfast. They would offer clues to a Pokemon character's identity for the other to guess at.

At Wandamere park this afternoon (the one with the big, green, plastic dragon and a few different playgrounds), Nigel and Dad were pretending to have Pokemon battles when a young girl (2nd grade?) climbed up and asked to play along. She was very nice, and soon captured Dad's Buneary character. Having no luck capturing Nigel's ever-changing characters, after some time she switched into Pokemon form and had Dad direct her to try to weaken Nigel for capture. All attempts were unsuccessful, and he remained wild.

In the car on the way home, Nigel told Dad his favorite Pokemon characters are the psychic types (this seems to change) and the cute ones (this never changes, and provides Mom and Dad many lovely cuddles with these cute characters).

2015-04-04: Trip to Las Vegas

The family went down to Las Vegas this weekend to see Leslie and Brian. Nigel was very nervous about meeting the two dogs they now have (two chihuahua mixes: Buttons and Bailey), but loved playing with them and taking them for walks.

What Nigel was most excited about, though, was going swimming in their pool. This being the beginning of April, however, that turned out not to be such an enjoyable experience. Despite a solar pool heating system, the water was pretty cold for swimming. Dad insisted he would get in if Nigel did, and Nigel went through with it, both days, even! The two of them only lasted five or ten minutes in the pool before Nigel huddled up against Dad for warmth and Dad's patience quickly ran out, but it was fun swimming around while it lasted.

The family actually spent more time on the strip than usual, watching the fountain show at Caesar's Palace, visiting the aquarium at Mandalay Bay, and riding the new observation wheel (giant Ferris wheel) across from Caesar's, which was a real highlight of the trip. At 550 feet up, the view was expansive, making the strip generally seem a bit small, although a few of the newest hotels were even taller.

2015-03-28: Salad for the Ants

Years ago, Nigel had been introduced by someone at school or in the neighborhood to the idea of squishing ants. Dad thought this would be a good time to bring up empathy and compassion for smaller creatures. He picked up one of the ants, letting it crawl up his arm. He laughed and told Nigel how much it tickled when those cute little guys ran across his skin. Nigel wanted to try holding an ant, too, so Dad arranged a transfer over to Nigel's arm and they laughed together as it tickled him.
Since that day, Nigel and Dad have been excited to see ants in the upstairs bathroom from time to time, and Nigel always tries to catch them and let them crawl on him. They refer to these as their "ant friends".* Nigel's affection for these small creatures extends to other situations, as well. He likes to provide food for them when seeing colonies on our sidewalk or driveway. His favorite food to provide them is a "salad" of plant leaves and grass, which he piles in a decorative fashion next to an entrance to their nest.

Today marked the return of ants to the driveway for this year, and Nigel prepared them a celebratory feast in honor of the event, saying, "Here you go, ants. A big meal for our good ants, on your first day awake this spring."


*Note that Mom is understandably not so pleased on these occasions to see ants in the bathroom.

2015-03-14: Powers of 10 for Pi Day

Nigel and Dad worked on powers of 10 for Pi day this evening. They talked about the decimal point and about how to move numbers back and forth.

2015-02-28: What Does Mascara Do?

While applying makeup together, Nigel asked Mom, "What does Mascara do?" "It is supposed to make your lashes longer and thicker," she replied. "I don't think it's working," was Nigel's response.

2015-02-26: Long-Range Walkie-Talkies

Nigel and Ashton got out the FRS radios to use as walkie-talkies as they played today, while waiting for Molly to come and pick Ashton up. (Our two families have been carpooling to save trips and better accommodate their schedules, now that Ashton is going to Dancing Moose.) Nigel had the idea to have Ashton keep one of the radios to see if it would reach all the way down to their house, in the end of the circle.

Believe it or not, it actually did reach that far, and Ashton and Nigel talked back and forth excitedly for a good while, until Ashton had to turn his radio off to have dinner. Nigel was nearly bouncing off the walls (and literally bouncing off the furniture) with excitement. "Just think of all the things we could do!," he exclaimed. They have plans to contact each other in the morning over breakfast via the radios.

2015-02-14: Music Appreciation

Nigel recently officially graduated from the Suzuki method Twinkle songs recently, and Mom decided there should be a break from violin for a while. During this time, Dad has been doing a few "music appreciation" days with Nigel, in which they talk a little about a famous composer and listen to some of their more notable compositions.

The first day, Dad selected Johann Sebastian Bach, and played a selection of organ, keyboard and symphonic works by Bach. Nigel showed great taste by really liking Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (and who doesn't?). The second day, Mom and Dad both made selections from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's repertoire, including Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.

Nigel really seems to have been enjoying these sessions. Dad is thinking to move this to a once-a-week practice substitute.