I just got back from a wonderful trip to New York City to visit Unkee and Fufu! Notice that I say I and not we. Yes, this was my first time away from Niva for over 24 hours (it was Thursday through Sunday). It was nice to get a break but every time I saw a kid about her age, I did yearn for my Cute Stuff. Although Niva had to stay in Austin, Texas with Daddy and Momo, Flat Niva got to paint NYC red! Some of her activities included:
Enjoying pork buns at Momofuku Ssam, one of the top 50 restaurants in the world
Meeting her namesake, my dear Niva Auntie (and her son Kushal)
Resting well at Fufu's hotel, the Hilton Fashion District
A bike ride through Central Park
Tearing up Huevos Chilangas at La Esquina brunch with the kids
On her way to the...
subway!
Mmmm, that Bomba Chocolate was the BOMB! Can you see your reflection in this plate? (BTW, lots of magnificent food was consumed on this trip)
A little bit of discount shopping was done
And of course lots of great bonding time with Unkee and Fufu! Hooray!
Flat Niva was pooooped by the end of the trip!
I was so happy to see the 3D Niva. This is my sweet girl 1 minute before she dumped a bowl of blueberries and that cup of yogurt all over the floor....great to be back!
I think I witnessed the beginning of tall tales of a toddler today. Niva and I made our way down to the last Children's Day Art Park downtown. As soon as we found our seat, the emcee aka Womba the Clown plopped down right next to us to engage in some pre-show clownly chitchat. Niva J. Bonzek immediately buried her head into my armpit and would not look at Womba at all! It was such a pitiful sight!
Talk to me again and I will bust you up, clown!
HOWEVER when we got home, Daddy asked what she liked best about Art Park. Niva declared, "Clown! I give clown high five!" Then, the embellishments followed-- "I give clown fist bump! fist bump! I dump milk on clown's head!" Excuse me?? She couldn't stop talking about her best friend the clown! What is going through this child's head?
Did you know that Niva J. Bonzek is kind of a big kid now? Yesterday, we sat in on a class at her soon-to-be preschool. It appears that Niva is going to have to work on her preschool etiquette. First of all, we were there during snack time. As the other kids sweetly sat and ate their snack, Niva took one nibble and peaced out from the snack table to wander around the room. Teacher Ms. Maria said this is not proper snacktime protocol. Next, Niva also tried to take her shoes off. Then, she tried to jump into this baby pool which had the magnetic letters for that day's activities. So basically, Niva thought preschool was an extension of the playgrounds that she is so used to spending time at...it looks like she has lots to learn about the preschool way!
What? You mean I'm NOT the boss of preschool??!
Another indication that she is becoming her own person is that I have finally become comfortable enough to put her in the care of someone else...while she is awake and while I am several miles away. Today, she spent her first day at KidSpa while Mommy ran an errand for an hour. That place is awesome...and it is open until after midnight! Date nights, here we come!
Because this is my blog and I can brag, I am pleased to say that Niva J passed her 2 year appointment with flying colors! Dr. Mouser informed us that we answered every question that she asked correctly (and she says she doesn't say that often). A few of these questions include:
how many servings of fruits per day (if palm of the hand is a serving)? 3
how many servings of veggies? 2
how many ounces of juice does she drink per day? zero
how many minutes of TV/screen time does she get per day? zero
how many times per week do we go out to eat? 1 (Mom shuts the kitchen down on Saturday nights)
do we eat our meals together? yes, but not lunch (Mom's lunchtime=Niva's naptime=ME time)
how many hours of active play does she have per day? 2-3 hours
does she have at least 50 words in her vocabulary? welllll, with words like dalmatian, dandelion, vinca, Vivaldi, and Statue of Liberty, I had to tell Dr. Mouser that I think it's more like a thousand words for our little parrot....don't mind me and my proud self, Dr. M!
does she scribble from side to side or in circles? this is one we may have to work on...although she does scribble occasionally, Niva is not so interested in coloring-- she prefers to run in the opposite direction of crayons and paper
Oh, and the latest measurements are: 35 inches (90%), 30 lbs (75%). To top it all off, this evening she went swimming with Daddy wearing her new floaties. According to Dad, she was a swimming champ and swam just about the length of the pool, wow! Okay, one more brag: this kid spelled her name at dinner. Daddy's and my jaw dropped. Yeah boieeeeee!!
Five years ago yesterday, the priest at our wedding bestowed upon us a blessing of children. I remember thinking to myself at that moment, "What! I ain't havin' no stinky booty kids! Peh!" Wow, I sure do regret that. So fast forward five years later and we just had the most wonderful anniversary with our sweet Niva. Our anniversary shares a date with Bastille Day so it was just a big party all around!
There were hula hoops...
...and a puppet show! (that's Niva waving hi to the puppets)
Niva was eager to get on the dance floor...that's my kid!
Our little sunshine and a sunset reminiscent of that wonderful night!
Bonus pictures of the day:
Niva's Sweet 2 car is now up and running!
The gift for anniversary #5 is wood. Niva is excited that it scored a new guitar in the house for her to strum!
Today, Niva accurately counted for the first time! Usually when she sees multiple items (like 3 school buses driving down the street), she yell out her numbers from 1 to 10 regardless of how many items are there . However, today she counted exactly 4 raspberries! I was so proud of her, she was rewarded with "a boogie woogie dance" with mom which she LOVED. Still, her favorite thing to count is jumps on the bed:
Bonus pictures of the day:
I've said it before and I will say it again: Austin is so awesome! This summer, there has been a free recurring weekly event for the kids called Children's Day Art Park...musical performers, storytellers, clowns, arts and crafts, and lots of other fun stuff! Yesterday, we shared the fun with our friends Caelyn and ChaCha...
Niva's got a thing for holding her friends' hands. It's cute until said friend decides they don't want to be dragged around by another kid!
Guess what's in that cup? That's right, it's 10 cent lemonade...how could you tell?
and wanted to attempt it too starting on Niva's 2nd birthday. Since I was wearing makeup yesterday, we did our photo shoot a day late. It was a war but we got some shots (after a bribe for stickers of course). I am interested to see how we age together in the years to come..
People tell me all the time that we look alike but I really don't see it!
Hopefully, we won't be getting dual mugshots anytime soon.
Daddy got in on the action too. By that time, it was like giving a cat a bath!
