Finn-O isn’t the only little Nack who flips out over changes to his sleeping setup: check out Henry making his crib a cackle-rich environment (with an obligatory pause for light inspection):
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Author: The Nack Daddy
One of the highlights of our visit to Yosemite this week was seeing all the tremendous, thundering waterfalls in Yosemite Valley. As we made our way to Yosemite Falls, which consists of the upper and lower falls, Finny proclaimed the upper falls “Dad-o Falls”, and the lower falls “Goonie Falls” since they were smaller than their parent falls up above. We all had a good chuckle at Finny’s observation and nomenclature while we walked through the mist coming off the falls.
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Return of the Light Brigade
We continue to have a ball here in Yosemite, where the weather has gone from cold/rainy to lovely to downright spectacular. While we work through a growing backlog of photos to share, here’s a video from last week. Henry is following in his brother’s footsteps, falling in love with light fixtures just as Finn did at this age. Here’s a little video of our electrical inspection/isometric shoulder workout regime:
Today marks our first full day in the famous wilds of northern California, just a couple miles from the south entrance of Yosemite National Park. We are here celebrating my Mom and Dad’s (a.k.a. Grandma & Grampa Liggett!) 50th anniversary, so the whole Liggett clan is here–me, John and our boys; my sister Laura, her husband, and their two boys, and of course Mom and Dad. Finny and Henry were total champs on the car ride out from San Jose yesterday, alternately snoozing and happily chattering in their carseats.
Today was cold and rainy, but that didn’t stop us from having a really good time. This morning we took a ride on a steam train that was formerly used for logging, which was great fun. Finny was fascinated by the huge, steaming, chuffing engine and the wooden passenger cars we rode in. He sported his Thomas sweatshirt and his acorn hat–both very appropriate to our setting out here in the forest. Henry was happy to be snuggled into the sling and ended up dozing for about half the trip–periodically woken by the steam whistle on the engine. Check out the gallery (HTML).
This afternoon, after a cozy nap in front of the fireplace in our cottage, Finny and Dad-o headed towards the indoor pool at the main lodge for an afternoon of splashing. Henry and I hung out with my folks, sister, and her kids. Then Grampa Liggett, Henry and I sojourned to the grocery store to pick up provisions for dinner in the cottage with the fam.
Tomorrow we’re off to the park itself to ogle the giant sequoia trees, waterfalls, mountains, and other natural wonders. We can’t wait!
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Tilting at Windmills
Some months ago, Finn started taking a real shine to windmills (“Make it turn-turn-turn!!”), even seeing them in any cross-shaped object (e.g. looking at the lights hanging above the Safeway produce stands, “That a bunch of windmills up there!”). Around the same time, Adobe HQ was being outfitted with a bank of new Windspire windmills. Finn has been eyeing them from the freeway, and on Friday the whole family got a chance to see them up close.
Fascinating as the windmills were, I like how Finn keeps his priorities straight at the end. 🙂
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An eventful evening
- Henry can officially sit up! With Mom-O at the store, Finn & I put the little guy down for the evening–or so we thought. He fussed pretty hard, and while Finny & I watched via the “Gooniecam,” the wee man sat up (twice) in his crib. Way to go, buddy!
- Putting a pair of sippy cups at the end of his bed tonight, Finn dubbed them “Cousins! That one Patrick & that one Charlie! Â Patrick the leche. Â Gotta drink some of that Patrick… now drink some Charlie (agua).”
- For the first time I noticed Henry helping to get his shirt on and off. Not to be outdone, Finn grabbed Henry’s discarded shirt and put it over his head unaided. After we squeezed him into it fully, he kicked up the insanity by donning my used black dress socks–thus pairing a crop-top doggie tee with knee-high leggings. As Finn might say, “That a weird lookin’ boy right there!”
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The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Dad-O
After foregoing all work travel for more than a year, I got back in the saddle last week, flying off to Seattle with fellow dad-o “Hoot.” The Finnfatha took my absence in stride, but I like this slightly wistful shot of him amidst my travel paraphernalia:
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Henry 2.0
“Where is the G-Man and what have you done with him??” –J.
John was up in Seattle for a few days this week, and upon spending some time with Henry when he returned, he asked me whether I’d swapped Henry out for a new model! Our littlest dude has undergone some major internal and external development this week. Even I noticed it. He’s much more tuned in to what’s going on around him, he smiles more readily, he’s getting really absorbed in the toys he’s playing with, and even his face looks different…older and more like a little boy than a baby. Oh, and he’s babbling a lot more! He definitely knows who “da da” is, and I swear he tried saying “banana” tonight as I was feeding him one. He said “na na” a couple of times as I was talking to him about it.
These are truly welcome changes. He went through a really rough phase for the past couple months–very clingy and fussy and averse to changes in his environment. But happily, those days are over and he’s really quite a pleasure to be around and to observe. He saw his brother making “fish lips” the other day at the dinner table and made them right back! He also seems to understand when something is silly and laughs right along with the rest of us. And his demeanor, which is far calmer than it was before, is fantastic. It’s just so nice to see him fiddling with toys and keeping himself contented with far less intervention necessary from Mom-o and Dad-o.
Oh, and last but not least, today was the first day that Henry has not tried to eat the book I’m trying to read him–he was actually interested in looking at and turning the pages himself!
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American Crawler
These days Henry’s activities are less locomotion, more frustration–but boy, the little guy is trying hard. He’s kind of at odds & ends all the time, not yet having figured out how to crawl, not content to sit still, and not able to stand unaided. He bobs and weaves like crazy, often tipping onto his face (with a predictable reaction). I snapped a few pics (HTML) of him working like mad to get that butt up in the air. Soon enough, I’m sure, we’ll be chasing both dudes.
Bonus photo: Henry was chanting “CoCoCoCo!”–right up until I started trying to record him with my phone, naturally.
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Swingin’ for Leo
In addition to taking some great pix during their visit, our friend Adolfo captured a video of me plus our three boys in the park. Note Finn & Henry’s subtle but impassioned battle for control of the lion-buddy. 🙂
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“Gahweetawings & Salutations”
Our local “Finnish dialect” is evolving, with our big guy getting better able to pronounce things–not to mention more apt to deliberately contort them. (“Lion” is “Looen” this week. (“What’s that looen doin’??”) Here’s the Finnster from a few weeks ago:
[audio:http://www.jnack.com/micronaxx/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Gahweetawings.mp3|titles=Gahweetawings]
And here he is talking earlier this week:
[audio:http://www.jnack.com/micronaxx/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Greetings-Salutations.mp3|titles=Greetings & Salutations]
Off to practice “Constantinople & Timbuktu” (from Hop on Pop),
J.
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Dept. of Corrections
Finn has taken to “correcting” my pronunciations of various words, carefully and patiently sounding them out so I can hear the “right” way. Examples:
- I say “Carousel;” he says “CARROT-sell!”
- I say “Lanterns;” he says “LAMP-turns!”
More as Dad-O’s education proceeds. 😉
Yesterday all the Nack boys big and small took a trip to “Tom the Barber” for haircuts. It was Henry’s first trim, and he dealt pretty well with all the strange new sensations while sitting in Dad-o’s lap. Finn was an old pro, seeming very relaxed and self-assured as Tom gave his locks a much-needed chippity-chop. Here is a fun little gallery of the proceedings. Dad-o was the last to go, and since Tom had to run his kid’s baseball glove to him at Little League, Dad-o got trimmed up by Tom’s brother while Mom-o and the guys headed home for some lunch.
All three dudes look neat, clean, and handsome as ever. We even got a little “First Haircut” certificate and keepsake lock of Henry’s hair to take with us.
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Solo with the Sea-Moose
Dateline San Jose: I’m pleased to report that Dad-O and the boys remain alive and well during our first Mom-free weekend!
Yesterday we took Margot to the airport so that she could join her pals in Seattle for a jazz fest & some good times. Finn is convinced she’s off to see “Pilates ladies” plus “Hip Cat and Minnie,” jazz-loving characters from one of his books.
The passage of time was helped immeasurably by the presence of our pals Adolfo, Romina, and 18-month-old Bruno, visiting from Buenos Aires. The weather being perfect, we enjoyed a park picnic with “Meat Hut” sandwiches and later a trip to our favorite pizza place. Bruno was bowled over by all the Thomas paraphernalia at our house, the park, and Target, waving like a little madman at the trains. He dubbed Finn’s chocolate milk bottle “Coca (Cola),” so Finn & I have been playing “Coca, coca!” for the last 24 hours. The three boys even got special fireman sticker-badges from the crew who backed their big red rig up to the sandwich shop.
Adolfo & Romina are the South American Margot & me when it comes to playing with words, and they always refer to Henry as “Henry Seamus”–though not knowing Irish pronunciations (how would they?), they’ve been pronouncing the latter “Sea-Moose.” Conjures up quite a visual, doesn’t it? And when I I told them that “Seamus” means “James,” they had big fun dubbing the little guy “Enrique Jaime,” saying the name makes him a shoo-in to star on a Mexican telenovela. 🙂
In any case, the boys are just stirring from their naps, and Margot should be touching down in a few hours. We can’t wait to see & share all the photos Adolfo snapped.
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Amazing Grace & Leo
“I once was lost but now am found…” — Leo, Lion Buddy to the Stars
Finny, Dad-O, and our beloved, dirty-tailed little friend had quite a scare last Saturday. The three of us had headed to local hardware store/child sensory bombardment theater OSH, dubbed “GOSH” by Finn. After spending an inordinate (but delightful) amount of time inspecting sprinklers (“That a little windmill! Make it turn-turn-turn!”), spoingy hoses (“That look like Mom-O!”–presumably in the hair department), and more, we departed to get wood at Home Depot. Well, Finn and I departed, that is. Getting out of the car, I got that gut-turning feeling: Where is the little buddy??
Back we drove as fast as the Ocho would carry us, making a beeline for the shopping carts (no Leo) and Customer Service (no sign of him). Having a team of backup “stunt Leos” strategically cached around our house, I’d already begun prepping Finn with a story about how “maybe a dude brought him back to our house,” calling Margot to prepare a swap. We retraced our steps, checked everywhere, but no dice. And then, at the last minute… our cashier said she’d seen someone throw Leo in the garbage!
An lo, there was much rejoicing! Finn gave Leo a giant “skeez,” hugging his buddy all the way home. Given the little guy’s condition, we did arrange a quick swap (“Oh, Leo has to take a bath”) to a cleaner version. Whew–all’s well that ends well. And thanks again, cashier-lady, wherever you may be.
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Men in Trees
Sometimes with kids, a friend once told me, “The days are long by the years are short.” Last Monday, though, I think Finn & would’ve been content to spend all night watching a team of tree trimmers ply their trade among some nearby telephone wires. It was a beautiful spring evening, and having passed the crew on my way home, I rushed in to tell Finn the news. He wolfed down the remains of his dinner, and we spent the next hour or so watching & narrating the proceedings: “That truck have little feet… What that dude in the cherry picker doing?… Dude got a leaf blower!”… and so on, Finn said, taking little breaks to “help” scoop up woodchips using dual spatulas.
I kept hearing Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” playing in my head. The only thing better would be to have Henry and Margot along for the ride, though I think it’ll be a bit before the little guy can handle the roar of a wood chipper. 🙂
[Click for a larger image.]
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Caped Crusader!
Fun: Birthday party in the park with pals and cupcakes.
Ultra-mega-fun: Birthday party in the park with pals and cupcakes and a free cape!
Superheroic Finn & a whole posse of little partygoers were the happy recipients of stylin’ felt capes–complete with their big initials–thanks to fellow Las Madres tot Mabel and her mom Elizabeth. Â Thanks, guys!
[Click for a larger version.]
Hey, everyone–Happy Easter! Â We’ve been having fun revving the boys up through the sugary goodness of marshmallow peeps, and little Henry has been enjoying his new stuffed bunny Rusty (hand-knit by Grandma Nack). With the lads ping-ponging around like Superballs, I’ll keep things brief, but here’s a little gallery (HTML) of the action.
Wishing you great blessings today,
The Nack Fam
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Dirty Dipes (Done Dirt Cheap!)
With apologies to AC/DC, I’ve gotten Finn hooked on describing diaper-changing time as “Dirty Dipes (Done Dirt Cheap!)”. Here, take a listen (click the little arrow below):[audio:http://www.jnack.com/micronaxx/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/DoneDirtCheap.mp3|titles=DoneDirtCheap]
With the weather improving & our outside time increasing, of course his feet are getting dirtier–leading to sessions where we sing about “Dirty (Domen)dites.” Lots o’ fun.
By the way, I left the audio unedited as I kind of enjoy the way Finn’s verbal stylings resemble early flying machines: they often start out strong enough, only to derail hilariously. 🙂
Finn has been really into giraffes lately, loving to watch all kinds of YouTube clips about them. He especially loves how their super-long tongues can scrape leaves off of “beating sticks” on trees. This has led to lots of horse–er, giraffe–play involving the zookeeper (Dad-O) and the strings of his hoodie sweatshirt: