Day 1

Rest easy. The kids are healthy and surviving Fall 2011 Dad Weekend 1. The Blogfather also budgeted time to capture indisputable evidence of children thriving and communicating messages to the Blogmother.

8:40 AM: After a hearty breakfast and 5 attempts at securing Molly's barrette properly, the children eagerly volunteered to participate in a propaganda video countering perceptions about the Blogfather's preference for tardiness. Peer pressure associated with delivering children late to school is just too overwhleming, even for the Blogfather:

10:00 AM: Jack shows the Blogfather his current favorite playground spot - the tennis court.



5:30 PM: Only 30 minutes after an involuntary end to an unplanned late afternoon nap, Molly encourages the Blogmother to have fun - have no concerns, Blogmother:

5:40 PM: Grover crosses Jack's line. Or Jack shows Grover how to jump up and down on the stairs. The blogfather would prefer believing the latter, but the normally mild-mannered Jack seems unusually forceful with Grover and is placed under anger management watch for the weekend.

Bad Grover?

7:10 PM: After a 20-minute battle with his nose and mouth, Jack dislodges spaghetti stuck somewhere in his nose. No picture - however you imagine this is exactly what happened.

Stay tuned for more this weekend, including NFL Sunday Family Time (graciously hosted by the Blogfather) and Escape to Uncle Eric's, which could occur without notice at any time.

Rambling Man (and Ladies)

When fall comes, it only feels right to tromp off for some quieter adventures. Noisy lakes, beaches, and pools are a perfect fit for summer but autumn feels more pensive, more introspective, more solitary. Last week we trouped out to a wetlands area where I (over) promised we'd find frogs and fishies and who knows what other slithery creatures. In went our binoculars for some bird spotting (Molly loves binoculars), on went our rain boots for some muddy mucking. Well, I was off... I picked the wrong trail, returned us to the beginning only to figure out that I had actually picked the right trail and just hadn't gone far enough for the turn-off I was looking for, turned us around again, now almost dragging Molly and carrying my human paper weight. We got about 1/5 of the way down the trail I actually wanted to be on and everyone was ready to call it quits. I was bummed because the grand sum of our creepy crawlies spotting amounted to four banana slugs. No frogs, no herons, not even a stinking lily pad. You know who wasn't bummed? The two people that found a stream at the beginning of the trail  to splash and jump around in and who had plenty of places to run up and play "Boo Bird". The woods were lovely, the air was cool, and the splashing and tromping were just fine... it didn't matter one whit to these guys that I had other plans and we did indeed enjoy our solitary and rejuvenating walk where we got to witness the beautiful old cedars and big ferns not one time, not two times, but four times on our ins and outs. I feel well versed in what that trail has to offer. Nonetheless, I'd still call our early herald of fall a success, albeit of the slightly unplanned variety. Happy autumn.

Yes, Please

I'm officially jinxing myself by writing about this but in an effort to soak up the small details of small people, I am forced to acknowledge this little gem. Like all little tykes, Jack learned no before he learned anything in the affirmative. His "no", often accompanied by a mad dash to the opposite side of the train table because, apparently, nothing bad happens over there, is so funny. He makes a really round "O" with his mouth and shakes his head like his hair is on fire. It's emphatic, to say the least. Perhaps because he thinks saying no too often might cause his brains to fall out of his ears, he has recently learned to say "YES!" with equal enthusiasm. If you ask Jack if he'd like cereal for breakfast, he says "YES" like he's just accepted a gold medal in the Olympics -- he's that excited and he, strangely for him, enunciates it perfectly. Sometimes he opts for an equally well enunciated "I DO!" when you ask him if he'd like to do or go somewhere. It kills me because it's such a happy little embrace of the simple things and he gets all revved up for the smallest detail. I'm sure no crop up more once he realizes that he doesn't need to make a break for it every time I ask him if he wants to wipe marker off his face but, for now, I'm happy for the zesty "YES!".

 I wasn't kidding, this boy loves cereal like there is no tomorrow. 

Grand Stand

I'm trying to make up for lost time... it's been so crazy, busy here (isn't it always? Or is it just that it's always busy and I'm crazy?). Greg came, we went on vacation (and I will post those pictures later), my parents came, school started... and now it's quiet on the home front. We had such a lovely end of summer and when my parents packed their suitcases yesterday, they took our warm 80-degree weather with them in their bags. Fall came as quickly as our house emptied out and while I wish the people hadn't gone, I do welcome our autumn weather and all the accompanying traditions, routines, and sights, sounds, and smells. We did take advantage of our unseasonably warm and sunny weather to explore lots of new places and more thoroughly experience some old favorites. 

Molly wrapped up her first week of school and it went really well. She was excited and eager to be there, no tearful goodbyes, and will actually tell me what happened while she was there. It's a good place for her and she's happy and, whew, it's a good feeling to get the school year off on the right foot. Jack starts his little co-op school tomorrow, and while I'm still trying to suss that place out, I think the teacher is lovely and I'm looking forward to him having a spot of his own. He has spent so much time looking on from the sidelines at big sister's activities, eager to join in but not being able to, so this will give him a place of his own with small people his own age. 

So, there we are. We are back to our foursome -- which means you'll be back to bad camera phone pictures after I give you these from my parents. 

Exploring the arboretum... I also just noticed that Molly wore this rainbow dress an awful lot during the week. 

Jack and Jill, er Molly, went up the hill.

Coolness can be achieved when you're under three feet tall.

Speedy lady.

Less speedy but very enthusiastic man.

The intrepid adventurers.

Checking in with mamacita.

Break-taking.

Little legs get tuckered out.

Off to see the fishies at the aquarium.

Grammy-sitting.

Seal watching.

We got in lots of bike-riding practice...

which often conveniently end at the playground.

Showing off the monkey skills on the monkey bars.

Fancy footwork.

Ferrying ourselves over to Bainbridge Island.

Pensive man at our rocky beach picnic.

Thanks for coming out M&D! Seattle misses you and the sun!

(Soon To Be) Teen Angel

My girl has gone and done growed up. Sort of right before my eyes, I've watched Molly magically transform into this very capable little preschooler who is less little each day. All around me are signs that she's crossing that hard-to-spot-but-very-much-there boundary from Mom's little girl (although in good daughter form, she's very much a daddy's girl) to my kid (my child, actually, she informed me the other day -- "Mom, I'm your child not your kiddo"). She keeps doing things that I have known she will eventually master but am still surprised when it actually happens. And it's the sort of successes that are due to hard work and determination not just doing something because her legs are finally long enough or her hair finally grew in enough. No, these are bona fide accomplishments because of her effort or overcoming her own risk aversion. We're both transitioning right now as I enter my new phase of life as a school mom. Our summer has been dotted with school picnics and potlucks and it's an interesting place to be, handing off your child to someone to play a role that so far, John and I have done ourselves. If finally mastering the monkey bars is a measure of readiness, though, she's passed her entrance exam and off she'll go to school this week. But it's more than that; it's something about all the pieces that she's putting into place in different areas of her life that have me getting choked up these days. It's that she is dying to take the school bus and that she really wants a bunk bed -- and I can see on the horizon that it will happen one day. It's that, with a lot of spelling help, she's writing notes and messages to people that make some sort of sense. It's getting over her nervousness at putting her head underwater and swimming on her own or biking without needing someone to help her stop on downhills. It's that she cut her doll's hair into a crew cut today because she "needed a little trim off the bottom" (wait, that got me teary for a different reason).

It's hard to describe this transition into bigger kid but it's there. It's like the leaps forward just get bigger and bigger and effort pays off. It's priceless to watch her face when she's done it -- when she's figured it out on her own or gotten over some internal road block. It's an amazing gift that I don't even think she knows she gives.

Oh Brother

Whew... we've been determined to not let the summer end without a big old bang. It's been a little crazy around these parts and we've loved loved loved every minute of it -- even when Jack has been wailing in the back seat to get him the heck out of his throne, I know he secretly loves long car rides. I just know it. And speaking of second children who are male and drool a lot still (just kidding, Jack's getting much better), Greg came to visit us at the end of August. If you will permit me to say that I loved something one more time, I'll use that card up right now (until the next post anyway). It was a great visit and we are thankful for his lack of grumpiness even though he endured hellish travel (not even Irene-related), and it was also much, much too short a visit. Not only does he have more friends in Seattle than I do, so we got to meet lots of new people who also have some short stuffs running around, but he was game for whatever my slightly manic, very overtired children decided to subject him to. Now, you might say "but of course he did, that's what uncles are for" and I would agree with you... to a point. We have superb uncles in our family but I don't think it is in their job description to have a very large toddler/small bear/mini Michelin man using them for human trampolines. I know this because I've been bounced on and I don't allow it anymore because IT HURTS. Add a big sister into the mix and well, sorry Meg, but we're sending Greg slightly misshapen. And yes, I just stood there taking pictures instead of helping him out. Aside from the internal injuries, though, we really did have a super duper time.

Oops. Isn't everybody having fun?

 We went to see Mt. St. Helens. Maybe this a slightly more interesting trip for adults than kids (although there was a great ramp to run up and down on  in the visitor center so I'm sure they ultimately agreed that the three hour drive was worth it for them, too). 

The mountain men are excited for what I thought would be a short but not quite as short as it turned out to be hike. 

Molly was off and running quickly...

for about thirty seconds. And then she just liked the dirt. 

Then I made her move another four feet.

Jack, apparently, had sympathy fatigue and decided to join the chorus and let us know that he was all done, too. The boy can speak but he felt the need to sign that he was all done just to really get his point across. I get great enjoyment out of doing stuff to/with my kids that I just know  they will be so glad they did in twenty years. Thankfully, it wasn't all tortured marches around dusty (but really fascinating) places...

After being inspired by a very cool thingamajig that we saw one night, Molly helped Greg build Jack one for his birthday. She's super helpful running around like a crazy loon with a drill. Seriously, where is Captain Safety when you need him?

Oh, there he is... supervising (apparently). 

Molly did actually help... sort of. 

And watched in awe.

And then tackled her own project (in proper attire, of course).

But now, thanks to these two, we have a very cool ramp for Jack's cars. 

We know all you far away aunts and uncles have busy lives but thank you for seeing us whenever and wherever you can. Here, there, everywhere -- we love seeing you all on any coast, in any place. Eric and Mary, well, you're just stuck with us sneaking up on you weekly.

Next up: Our min-vacation to the Oregon coast.