On Wednesday, the day of his 2nd birthday, we went to the McKenna Children’s Museum in New Braunfels. Nina and Niko have been several times, but this would be my first and I was excited because everything is miniaturized for the little ones. Well, I was impressed with all the different activities Niko could participate in; his favorite was the kitchen! He enjoyed opening and closing the mini refrigerator, turning the burners on; don’t worry, they were just lights, putting the dishes in the sink, and inspecting all the food. There was even a toddler area for kids 3 and younger and the three of took refuge in there to escape the bigger kids who have absolutely no respect for anybody else; there was a school group at the museum. The entrance to the toddler area was a swinging door and Niko must’ve open and closed it a thousand times. I am sure that had I called the names of Hayden, Aiden, and Jayden, at least half the kids would’ve looked up at me! I am glad Niko is a Niko and it’s not a common name.
On Thursday, we had breakfast tacos at Las Palapas, which is a local Mexican restaurant franchise. Between the three of, we ordered 7 tacos and came home with half of one left! If you ask me, I would say they have best breakfast tacos in the area. Afterward, we went to a zoo, but not the San Antonio zoo; there is a zoo in New Braunfels called the Animal World Snake Farm and Zoo. I have driven by many times, but was afraid to go in because of the word snakes! It’s actually about 30 minutes from where we live and about a 10 minute drive from where we had breakfast. So, they did have snakes and also other animals; but not as much as the San Antonio zoo. I am not complaining, I enjoyed it and so did Nina and Niko. Niko even touched a pig in the petting zoo. His favorite part was seeing and hearing the birds; they were loud! Oh, he really wanted to get in all the cages; the look on his face when we said NO was priceless.
On Friday, we stayed home because it rained all day and besides eating, we played and we watched Despicable Me 3 and Ratatouille. Its funny because when we watch movies, he always screams too turn it off because he wants Moana! Well, I win this one since I am the holder of the remote and the operator of the DVD player! You know something, I enjoy watching the animated movies probably a lot more than Niko; I find myself pausing it when we leave the room. Hey, on Thursday, we watched Shrek and I am looking forward to seeing the 3 other Shreks!
On Saturday, we again stayed home because this was the day we celebrated with my brother (Uncle Evan), my parents (Niko calls them amma and ampa), my mother’s sister (Niko calls her Bobi), and Nina’s mother (Niko calls her grandma Sally). Niko was excited for the company especially Uncle Evan, but he called in tired; I told Niko when we woke up from his nap that Uncle Evan wasn’t coming because he hadn’t taken his nap yet and he understood. Yes, my brother is 45 years old and takes naps and so do I. I napped on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday and it was awesome. Before we ate lunch and because the weather was perfect, I took Niko outside and we cleaned his bike and stroller; the cars got wet also, I got wet, Nina got wet when she came outside, and of course, Niko got wet. I was impressed that Niko couldn’t just hold the hose and nozzle, but he could squeeze the nozzle to get the water out. So, after his nap, is when we wanted the people to come over and celebrate with us. We had chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with sprinkles, watermelon, and pizza! When we do something, I always tell him that he is going to have the time of his life and Nina always makes fun of me for saying that because he’s has had a of days where its been the times his life! He loves being in the spotlight for attention, showing off his latest talent, narrating everything he does, and ordering people to do stuff! Basically, he enjoyed playing with the old folks and its always nice because Nina and I can sit back and relax; at least for a few minutes. I am not being paid anything from Melissa and Doug, but Niko has really enjoyed all the puzzles we have gotten from hem; he got a latch puzzle with several different kinds of latches from my parents. He already has a letter, number, colors, and an animal puzzle from them. Coming soon is a shape puzzle. In our not yet given to him supply toys is hand puppets and lacing beads (we actually gave him the beads on Sunday and he already knows what to do; have I mentioned he is only 2 years old) from that same company. We also have other toys not from that company stashed for future Niko.
Today, we went to Landa Park in New Braunfels. We rode a little train around the park for the 1st time; now, my parents claim they took me when I was much younger to Landa Park and rode the train, but I have no memory of it. After the train ride, we let Niko loose in the toddler playground; he loves driving the firetruck and climbing on the play-set. I tried to get him to slide down the multiple slides, but we wanted no part of it.
Tomorrow, we are taking Niko to the doctor for his 2-year check-up! I think that very soon, we will be able to turn him around in the car seat.
