Author: The Nack Daddy

Categories
Babyslang

Now bring us the friggy pudding…

What’s the old line about little pitchers…?

Somewhere (we have our theories where), Finn picked up the, ah, charming adjective “friggin’.” It’s hard to know quite how to react to his using what’s not a real curse word but not very polite, either. An example scene:

The boys & I walked to nearby Hummingbird Park for some post-dinner R&R the other evening, and Finn insisted on towing a small wagon laden with all kinds of toys. (Amazingly, and to his credit, he was careful & didn’t lose any.) At the park Henry grew naturally curious & made a move for the wagon.

“Hey!!” shouted Finn. “Dad-O, he’s going to grab my friggin’ wagon!”

Oh boy, I thought, not knowing whether to laugh or apply the brakes. Not wanting to make a stink (and maybe raise the word’s scandalous appeal), I ignored the language & calmly assured him that Henry wouldn’t take the wagon.

“Yeah,” said Finn,” but then he’s gonna grab my friggin’ police car, my friggin’ pirate ship, my friggin’ ice cream truck…”

Man oh man–what to friggin’ do? 😉

Categories
Photos

Memorial Day BBQ

We had a ball celebrating Memorial Day with a ton of pals, both tall & small, in our backyard barbecue. Thanks to everyone who came, contributed food, and kept the little guys from singing their faces off on the grill! Here’s our little gallery. (Thanks to friends Tara & Tom for contributing some shots.)

Categories
Miscellaneous

3 going on 13

How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child. — King Lear

“You know what I was thinking today?” asked Finn as we walked away from our first baseball game.
“Uh, what?” I asked, kind of taken aback. (I’d never heard him initiate that kind of question.)
“You say too much silly stuff, Dad-O. It’s a bunch of jibber jabber.”
Now I was really surprised. “Well, I’m just trying to be funny, bud. You don’t like it?”
“I like it,” Finn replied, trying to humor me, “but… it’s just not cool to listen to.”

And thus a very small fist landed in my solar plexus.

Later in the tub, I broached the issue again.
“You don’t like it when we joke around, Finny?”
“No,” he shook his head. “It’s just too nonsense-y.”

Now, I’m sure that anyone who has kids older than 3 will say that this is about the mildest rejection/rebuke one could experience at the hands of one’s child. Still, though, “the first cut is the deepest,” and it’s hard to hear of one’s uncoolness–especially from such a young guy!

Not to worry, though: Finn’s with me in the gazebo now, firing off streams of jibberish and proudly declaring, “That’s Spanish! I’m talking like a baby speaking Spanish!” There is no escape from the old man’s weird undertow. 🙂

Categories
Photos Videos

Baby Herc

From very early on Margot & I have noticed Henry being a weirdly strong little kid, giving powerful hugs & often trying to climb up things like sinks. Now he’s taken a shine to pulling wagons–often alongside Finn, but just as often containing Finn. One recent evening each one grabbed a wagon & hauled them all the way to the park (nearly half a mile away), and the other day Henry managed to pull Finn some chunk of that distance on his own. Check out the brawny man in action:

Categories
Marathon Photos

More giant tree adventures

If you’re going to drive hundreds of miles with small children, then lie in bed for hours while one jumps excitedly on each of your outstretched arms… well, you could pick a far worse destination than redwood-rich Northern California.

Our trip up to Fortuna, CA saw us…

  • stopping off to drive through the colossal Chandelier Tree
  • picking up a toy ice cream & VW for the boys (“Like… Jose’s Beetle!” says Hen)
  • stopping for lunch beside a monster truck school bus, where the guys climbed onto a forklift (“Driving Guido!” from Cars)
  • losing the ice cream truck at a gas station (big freak-out!!)
  • amazingly, finding the truck at the same station the next day!!*
  • listening to Henry narrate the Avenue of the Giants (“Tree tipped over, Dad-O. Scooper [garbage] truck did it.”)

Without further ado, check out the gallery!

* Finn recounted the experience rather breathlessly to Mom-O: “I was just so excited about it, I couldn’t even give the truck a smooch!!”

Categories
Marathon Videos

Greetings from inside a giant tree!

We all had a ball cruising the Avenue of the Giants following Margot’s half marathon, just listening to Henry’s mind being blown as he tried to count redwoods: “3! 2! 6! 10!… 3!!” We’ll have more photos to share soon, but in the meantime, behold Margot’s surgical piloting of a large German car through an even larger redwood:

Categories
Photos

“Smoochas Gracias”–aka Eustachian Invasion!

Lately our guys have been enjoying “weirdo smeech” (plural of smooch), a little gross-out trick where we make our tongues into second “lips,” then give each other big wet kisses. During a recent session our little “ear, nose, & throat” men followed by giving me a crazy oral exam: check it out!

Categories
Photos

Dr. Livingston, I presume?

Camo-clad Henry “walks with the big dogs in the tall grass,” so to speak–only in our case we’re seeking neighborhood cats (“Gato licking! {slurp!}”).

Categories
Videos

A perfect day

Downside: Our sewer pipe went haywire, necessitating some expensive driveway surgery (“Double Double, Toilet Trouble!” as Finn declared).

Upside: The boys got a bay window seat to jackhammering plus a garbage truck PLUS a scooper truck! Great morning for tots, or the GREATEST morning?? 🙂

Ever since, the boys have been playing “busy workers” as Henry says. “I’m Adam!” the little guy proclaims, while Finn adds, “I’m Uncle Louie!” (I enjoy imagining my own Uncle Louie being their jackhammering hero.)

Categories
Photos

A Very Happy Mother’s Day

When I think back to a little over three years ago, there’s no way I would have ever guessed what my life would be like. Sure, I hoped I would have at least one kid, but there’s just no imagining what motherhood will ultimately be like. I feel so lucky to be the mother of Finny and Henry. They constantly surprise, amaze, and yes, sometimes frustrate me…all of which have expanded and deepened the definition of who I am, and what family means to me. I couldn’t ask for greater gifts than my two boys and my wonderful husband, their Dad-o. I knew soon after meeting him that I wanted him to be the dad to my kids. Viva Dad-o, and viva los Micronaxx!

Categories
Miscellaneous

Natural Philosophies

A recent cosmological discussion at Chez Nack:

Me: “Did you have a good weekend, Finny?”
F: “Yeah!… Are the days hooked together?”
Me: “Yep. The days & nights hook together like train cars.”
F: “Yeah! And they’re pulled by a big engine–a Sky Engine!”

Not to be left out, Henry pointed at a very diffused sun & said, “Look like… big truck!” So now maybe we’ll have a great debate of prime movers, Sky Engines vs. Sky Trucks. 🙂

Categories
Marathon Photos

Mom-o’s 13.1 Miles!

This weekend was action packed! All four of us drove up to the beautiful redwood forests of Northern California so I could compete in the half-marathon I’d trained for. All three of my guys came to cheer me on and cavort amongst the giant trees.

It was a fantastic weekend. Sunday was race day, and it couldn’t have been any better. The sun was shining, the air was cool, and the course, along the famous Avenue of the Giants, was beautiful. My training paid off, and I finished the race even faster than my target pace. I felt great almost the entire race, only starting to feel tired and a bit sore during the last couple of miles. The last mile went by quickly, with tons of folks from my Team in Training support team cheering me on, and then as I caught a glimpse of John, Finny, and Henry close to the finish line. Here’s a gallery of pics from race day. And for all of you who supported me, both morally and with donations to LLS, your name made it onto my jersey so you were right there with me the entire time!

My experience with Team In Training was fantastic–the training, coaching, support, and inspiration of our honorees made for a truly memorable experience. It just couldn’t have been any better, and I am proud to have participated on behalf of blood cancer patients and their families, whose lives and experiences are affected by the research, time, money, and support they receive from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Categories
Audio Clips

“Love You, Beh Beh!”

“You call Mom-O ‘Peanut,'” noted Finn the other day, “and she calls you ‘Peanut,’ and sometimes she calls you ‘Beh Beh’!” (A few days earlier I’d read him a note to me that Margot left, signed, “Love you, Beh Beh” (as in “baby”).) Henry immediately chimed in with “Love you, Beh Beh!,” and now he inserts it as a total non-sequitur in other conversations. I caught one such episode in the tub the other night. Press the gray arrow to hear it:
[audio:http://www.jnack.com/micronaxx/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/LoveYouBehBeh.mp3|titles=LoveYouBehBeh]

Categories
Easter Photos

Easter on the Beach

Yesterday our guys experienced their first taste (literally & figuratively) of the ocean! Henry has been insistently talking about “seaside” (prominently featured in a Thomas story), so it was great to experience the real thing. We visited Natural Bridges State Beach with young pals Cyrus & Hazel, their parents Michael & Juliana, and their visiting friends Konrad, Lisa, and young Max. The boys had a ball wading (with assistance) into the onrushing surf, and though their jaws were chattering (“I’m a helicopter! AhBaBaBaBa…” shivered Finn), we had to drag them out for periodic drying/warming sessions.

Here’s our little gallery, kicking off with Henry’s “Young Man and the Sea” routine.

Categories
Easter Photos

Happy Easter!

Greetings from Mom-O & The Bunnymen!

(Click for larger version)

Categories
Photos

Big ol’ jet air-a-liner

This is your captain speaking. Please, remain calm. Air sickness bags are conveniently located in the seat pocket in front of you. Now please, sit back and enjoy flying the Micronaxx Skies!

Captured yesterday at the Hiller Aviation Museum. (Click for a larger version.)

Categories
Videos

Tubthumpers

Finn was rocking some major hat hair this evening, and we compared his ‘do that of a horned owl. He wanted to inspect it one more time before it got washed away, and as we lacked a mirror, I fired up my phone’s video camera. Check out the results, including a rhythmic bead-popping duet (sort of the lowest-key Stomp performance ever):

Categories
Babyslang

Henry’s Petting Zoo

Little Hen is, let’s say, not shy in expressing his wishes, especially now that he can toss some words around. Lately he conveys his desire to be held by saying, “Dad-O, hold you??*” We’re trying to teach him to have a little patience, but he’s wily: Seeking to draw me nearer his high chair, he’ll offer to pet us. Example:

H: “Pet… Dad-O??”
Me: “Uh… you want to pet me?”
H: “Nah” (meaning “Yah”).
Me: “Uh, okay,” cautiously extending an arm.
H: (seizing the moment & the arm) “Dad-O, hold you??”

He can be trying, this kid, especially as he tends to burst into tears (which he helpfully notes as “Cryin’?! Fussin’?!”) if gratification is delayed. Ah, but then he can be so nice: As we’ve sung in the dark at bedtime the last few nights, he’s combined elements of just-read Pat the Bunny, caressing my stubbly throat & chin and saying, “Pet, Dad-O… soft, face…” What a guy, what a guy; I think we’ll keep him. 🙂

*Nearly every phrase features little pauses, then rises with the tone of an urgent, somewhat pained question.

Categories
Photos

Testify, little brother!

G-Man gets ecstatic for fro-yo. 🙂

Categories
Photos

Basement Naxx

We were delighted this week to see our friends Adolfo, Romina, & Bruno as they visited from Argentina (“Argentunafish”). As I was still in Germany on Thursday, Margot reported that after dinner the boys played in the basement & “spoke the universal language of Thomas.” (Bruno is a *big* Toby fan.)

Yesterday the guys came over again & we enjoyed some more basement time before having a “meat hut” picnic in the park, complete with some impromptu face-painting. We’ll have more photos & maybe a video to share soon; in the meantime, here’s a great shot Adolfo captured of me & the G-Man (click for a larger version).