Hodge Podge About Nicholas

We’ve had a very busy week. We’ve had some visitors, did some visiting of our own, and Nicholas got his first pair of well-fitting shoes. When we returned to Russia for our last trip, we had to guess what his shoe size was. Based on the sizes of friends’ kids his age, we chose a pair of size 7 shoes. We were a little off, which explains why he hated when we put his shoes on. Nicholas is a 7 ½ WIDE. We let him try on a few different pairs and settled on a nice washable pair. We figured he should have a nice, quality shoe for his first fitted pair. Now there are no more problems when it comes time to put on his shoes. Problem solved.

My regular blog readers know about Nicholas’ love-hate relationship with the cats. In fact, I have documented evidence of his love for Isabella. She, on the other hand, appears to be going to her “happy place” and tolerates his affection. She looks like she is trying to get as close to the step as possible.







We were sure once he saw a dog up close he’d have the same warm, fuzzy feelings for it. We were wrong!!! Evan’s older sister’s family has a small, harmless dog named Jake. We were more concerned with Jake’s well-being before the meeting. We wondered if Nicholas would want to kiss him or smack him in the butt like he does Gabby. Instead, Nicholas screamed bloody murder every time he saw Jake. We aren’t sure whether Jake licked him, or it was just his near proximity, but Nicholas was terrified. We were shocked. I guess we’re going to have to slowly get him comfortable with dogs, since many people we know have one as a pet.

Someone Nicholas does love is his “Papa”. We are working on changing over to the American word – “Daddy”, but for now Nicholas yells, “Papa!!!” whenever Evan walks into the room. I am so happy to see their bond form and deepen each day. What I didn’t expect (but was not surprised about) was to see them turn into twins. I dressed Nicholas today and then smiled when Evan walked down the stairs a short while later.





We actually left the house like this today. Then my mom informed me that I also had a green shirt on. I didn’t even realize that, but I do want to go on record that I got dressed first!!!

Nicholas continues to increase his vocabulary. He is getting really good at repeating words. But, I don’t think he is quite ready for reading yet.



Nicholas loves his Nana and says her name several times a day. He even calls the green tractor in this book, “Nana’s tractor”. You didn’t know that my mom owned a tractor, did you? Well, neither did she until Nicholas told her.



Tomorrow is Nicholas' first cookout and the weathermen are forecasting rain. Hopefully, it will stay away. He loves a good hot dog!

More pictures to come.

Kristin