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Niko (unsurprisingly) had three costume options. The first was a Pug costume from the Kodamas. (The Kodamas are in Halloween dress-up mode year round.) The Pug costume was worn several days before Halloween and was hilarous! Both Molly and Niko wore it.  Niko deemed it “too hot” at one point and the ensuing chaos while trying to get it off did not allow for any photos. Second try was a lion from Grandma Pat. Niko loves pretending that he is a lion.  His “roar” is quite entertaining.  However as you can see below, Niko seems to have equated the lion costume with “a coat and hat” and he really doesn’t like coats or hats. (You can imagine what it is like getting him bundled up to take the dog for a walk.) Fortunately Jul had also bought him a Bam Bam costume. Bam Bam seemed particularly fitting given his propensity to…errr…bang things. We managed to get him into this costume with limited drama. Molly was Pebbles so it was a regular Flinstone Halloween. Couple of anecdotes from his first trick-or-treat experience:

• Niko insisted on carrying his candy bag even once it weighted more than him. The bag was taller than him, so he basically just dragged it around all night.  He also insisted on running at all times meaning the night was filled with face-plants.
• Neither Niko nor Molly seemed to get the idea of the screen door that opens out. So each house would end up in a stand-off between Molly and Niko (standing with their faces pressed up against the door) and the homeowners (hoping to open the door).
• Once the stand-off was settled, the first question people would typically ask would be, “And who are you?” (Meaning, “Who are you dressed as?”) Molly would answer “Well, I am Molly, and this is Nicholas.”
• Despite not understanding the physics of a screen-door, they seemed to have a plan worked out, where Niko would act cute and distract home owners, while Molly grabbed handfuls.

Something truely remarkable happened tonight. I believe the world will be a better place for you as a result. You don’t understand yet, but you will. 

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A couple days after we arrived, Niko turned two. This of course warranted a party. The entire family came over. I believe this is what Jul meant when she said, “I want to be closer to family.” We even got to see the Kodama family, who trekked down from Boston (which I think is up near Canada). I don’t remember much of the party because it was during the Michigan game but I’m told it was a blast. (In my defense, they do publish these schedules like a year in advance.)

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• Wherwa, used in place of “Where,” words following must be said without any space, as in, “Oh! Mom! Wherwaisduhwadiebug? Wherwaisduhcar“
• He seems to have gotten a couple words mixed up in the, “Oh, Dad, what that could be?” I always follow this question by correcting him, which only gets me a look of exasperation. Then he repeats it his way, as if to say, “silly Dad, mixing up the words.” I think he might win this one.
• All sentences must start with “Oh!” as in “Oh! Look at dat! An airplane!” It is a very exciting world out there.