The other night during T.A.L.B., Finn reminded me that we like our stories to involve policemen rappelling down from helicopters. “Can we talk about the whittle boards?” he asked. I was kind of baffled, and he attempted to clarify: “Yeah, you know, whittle boards. Whittle boards, like this!” and began flapping his wings. Ah, Little Birds! He said, “Now every time I want to hear about whittle boards, I’ll just flap like this!” You’ve got a deal, son. 🙂
Henry Nack: *Not* a fan of having his head fooled with. He’s a pain at hair-washing time, and he can put up a real stink at the barber shop. Yesterday he was in rare (as in, terrible) form there, but behold the transformative power of a lollipop! Can you believe this is the same kid, in photos separated by no more than 10 minutes?
Oh, y’know, just a typical Friday night with party man Hen… 🙂
Finny is our chitty-chatty, super-verbal guy. He loves narrating the adventures of his vehicles and toys, and he’s always happy to meet new folks and fill them in on the important details of his life…like “Hi, I’m Finny. And this is my brother Henry. I’m four, and he’s three. My favorite colors are red, yellow, green, silver, and orange…”
The noticeable thing about all this chatter is that Finny’s always had a hard time correctly pronouncing his R’s. They come out very soft – often sounding like W’s, which is totally common among kids under 5. We’re so used to it, we don’t even really hear it when he says things like “Henwy” or “cahws” (cars). Of course other folks do, which has made us wonder if it’s something that will resolve itself or if we’ll need to take him to speech therapy to get it sorted out.
The great news is, I think he’s sorting it out for himself. And I think going to bilingual Spanish preschool, with all its rolling R’s, has really helped his pronunciation! In the past few weeks, I have noticed more and more hard R’s creeping into his words. He’s actually working so hard he over-pronounces them, and the R’s are comically noticeable since he’s really growling out those R’s! CaRRRRs, HenREE, cARRRpet, TRiscuits, and so on.
I’m sure at some point, the new correctly-pronounced R’s will sound totally normal, but for now, it sounds so unfamiliar to my ear, it’s like listening to someone with a British accent try to sound American!
[Great post, hon. I think it’s time we got Finny his very own keyboard, don’t you? See below.
— Love, Dad-O-in-Seattle (who enjoys getting corrected on his Spanish pronunciation by El Finnstero. 🙂 ) –J.]
The lads seriously enjoy reading the Lego-themed books that Grandma Nack has been sending their way. (In fact, they frequently go around in their “Lego crook” identities of “Hank” & “Butch,” making as sinister & raspy a laugh as the under-5 set can.) Check ’em out:
The funky tandem stroller we bought from our friends the Wiggii often draws questions from parents at the park. Today was no exception, and today Finn overheard that the stroller was made by the company “Phil & Teds.” Apparently he thinks it’s a very influential bunch:
“Dad-O, did you name Uncle Ted after Phil & Ted?”
“Er, no, buddy,” I said, “we named him after my Uncle Ted. You know, he was a policeman in Chicago.”
“Oh.” After a minute or so went by, he followed up: “Was the policeman named after Phil & Ted?”
I politely explained that I don’t think the stroller company was that big a deal in the 1930’s. 🙂
Apropos of nothing, Happy Friday. 🙂
Back in Leadville this summer, I watched our delighted boys bury their cousin Patrick in pillows, turning him into a “sandwich.” I typed away as the guys played, thinking I’d flesh out these bare notes, but somehow I never got around to posting the photos or story. Now I’m left with just a few semi-random bits plus a rather fun gallery of pics. Enjoy. 🙂
“Revenge of the Sandwich”
“Watch this, people!!”
Watch out for the boney feet
Fried Finny
BBQ sauce truck (Trasher); blood truck (?)
Last weekend we took the boys to the annual Scottish Highland Gathering and Games in Pleasanton, so they could witness the majesty of strong men in kilts, bagpiping, sheep dog trials, “hairy coos”, and haggis. We all had a ball.
As you’ll see from the gallery, there was a lot going on. In addition to the “oreo” cows, we got to see birds of prey like Kayleigh and (li’l) Bob the owls. Kayleigh was an enormous Asian hunting owl, while Bob was just a wee screech owl. We watched the sheep dog trials and met the sheep, and saw some beautiful antique British racing cars, one of which looked very much like Sir Topham Hatt’s. There was also a kids’ area with games and face painting. The lads even got to practice the art of pitching toy sheep stomachs (haggis vessels) into a cauldron!
Everyone was especially enthusiastic about the caber toss, which features enormous, strapping, kilt-clad lads and lasses hoisting what’s essentially a telephone pole up-and-end-over-end before it hits the ground with a loud “thunk!”. Needless to say, the guys wanted to practice their own caber-tossing skills at home with an appropriately sized prop, an aluminum extendable paint-roller pole.
After all that fun, combined with gorging on carnival food and ice cream, the guys completely crashed in the car on the way home. I thought Finny might never wake up!
At this weekend’s Highland Games (a celebration of Celtic culture, especially through throwing heavy objects), our guys were smitten with a pottery-making demonstration from a kindly older lady who says she’s been teaching her art for 40 years. In this little gallery you can see their rather intense focus, and in the video below (in which—fair warning—not much happens), you can see the demo in action:
This morning the guys went to visit Dr. S for their annual check-ups. We’d given them advance notice, so they were pretty excited to go, and hoped to camp out in the “firetruck room”. Instead, we got the “undersea” room with the whale-shaped exam table. You can see from the photo how thrilled they were to strip down and wear “paper towel dresses,” as Finny called them.
As expected, Henry did not enjoy having lights shined up his nose/eyes/ears, and he hated wearing the little hearing test headphones (“too tight!”). However, he was totally calm and cool during the entire exam. Finny, our more even-keeled guy, also did really well, and was unfazed by the blood pressure cuff, poking, prodding, and hearing test. Also as expected, Henry shows signs of allergies, so we are going to get a blood test to determine what, exactly, makes his nose run. For now, the doc says Claritin once a day is fine while he’s sniffly.
Now for the stats. Finny: 44 lbs, 43 inches tall, 90th percentile for height and weight. Hearing and eyesight both good. Henry: 38 inches tall (hooray!), 35 lbs, 50th percentile for height, 70th for weight. Hearing probably good but he couldn’t sit through the whole exam, and eyesight probably good but he was kind of fidgety/uncooperative so it’s hard to say. The doc thinks Finny will ultimately hit 6’1″, and Henry 5’10”, which sounds about right to me!
Dr. S enjoyed hearing the guys spool up narratives about the cars they’d brought along, and Finny’s new bike. Physically and mentally, their development seems right on track (she had them do little hopping and balance tests, too). She also liked hearing about Finny’s ability to help out around the house and get himself dressed. And finally, since I promised them no shots today, we have to come back at the end of the month and get vaccinations/boosters. That will give them plenty of advance notice.
Today was a big day for Mr. Finnegan Nack. He got his first real bicycle!
John and I had been talking recently about getting him one, and when we went to the bike shop today to find a replacement for John’s stolen bike, Finny instantly bee-lined for the kids’ bikes. As soon as he laid eyes on “his” bike (and he referred to it as such), he got on, started to ride, and would not get off. Now, mind you, this is the same kid we’ve had to cajole into riding his pushbike, and who only last week rode his Big Wheel all the way to the park up the street. So when he continued to endlessly ride the little bike around the store, and asked if we could get it, how could we say no?
He LOVES the bike. He proceeded to ride his bike all the way home from the bike shop (just under a mile!), take a quick break for lunch, then hop back on and ride it all around the neighborhood, ride it around and around at Hummingbird Park, which has a circular sidewalk “racetrack,” ride it home, take another quick break for dinner, then ride it up the street to “train track park,” ride it around and around at the park, then ride it all the way home!
I think he’s feeling like such a big boy to have his own vehicle to ride. He can snap his helmet straps himself, and he’s essentially mastered the coaster brakes already! He loves the little orange plastic bike bell we got him – he rings it all the time while he’s riding. John notes that he also loves braking hard and leaving little skidmarks on the sidewalk (true!). He’s even taken a couple spills and he just dusts himself off and gets back on, which is great (and very unlike Finny!).
I have never really seen him this excited about anything physical – so we are thrilled to see family bike rides in the near future (probably with Henry in the bike trailer, which he really enjoys – he wants me to ring my bike bell constantly, and I hear him laughing his head off back there).
At some point months ago, the guys & I were playing with Matchbox cars, and when they talked about a Ferrari’s engine being under the hood, I explained, “Actually that’s a mid-engine car. See, the engine goes behind the seats; you can tell by these vents here on the sides.”
They were intrigued and asked, “Why don’t we have a mid-engine car?” I chuckled and, not wanting to get into why Dad-O can’t afford a Ferrari, said “Well, those cars tend to be small inside. They’re better for guys with no kids.”
Wouldn’t you know it, this little factoid keeps popping out at the oddest moments:
Despite my attempts to clarify the situation, the real info just isn’t taking. Ah well: I’ll just settle in for a life of cheerfully misinforming the boys, a la Calvin’s dad. 🙂
Toys, schmoys: All a guy needs for comic gold are some food props and a bit of cheek (in every sense).
“Hey Dad-O,” says corn-chip-wielding Finny, affecting a Southern drawl, “Aaah a hayseed! Lookit mah hay!!” And in the second shot below, he’s stuffed his cheeks (Brando-style) full of grapes, then fascinated himself by driving them around his mouth.
On Sunday the lads had a go at milking “Contenta,” a plywood cow on display at San Jose’s History Park. I’m not sure we’d impress our relatives/ancestors back in Ireland yet, but not bad for a first try, I think.
Previously: Eggs, cows, & more on Tommy’s farm.
It’s hardly a secret that our dudes dig all things railroad (note to self: Post birthday Lego pics ASAP!), but even I didn’t know they could get this into “training”: the boys spent easily two hours today attending to “Little Buttercup,” an 1899-vintage steam engine on display at San Jose’s History Park.
No snack breaks, no potty shots could stay these intrepid workers from the greasy completion of their self-appointed rounds. Back and forth they went, toting every filthy bolt, nut, “dipstick,” and piece of wood they could find to “Engine” (as they named “him”). We were aided & abetted by the almost-as-old retirees who patrol the shed (read: drink coffee & grumble about Obamacare). The boys would shove bolts into holes, pile up wood on buffers, etc., and I’d reward them with a booming “Oh, thanks, guys–I feel much better!” Again, this went on for hours… Here’s a little photo gallery.
At last a conductor finally asked us to stop, and the guys were pretty crushed: “I miss Engine!!” they blubbered almost all the way home. (Let’s blame the lack of food & nap a bit, too.) Still, we had a pretty terrific time; Engine now features prominently in T.A.L.B.; and the guys can’t wait to drag Mom-O back to the shed. (Hah, tag, you’re it, hon!)
Oh, that reminds me: Margot is in Europe this week (hence the lads’ free-range filth exploration), and this morning she sent a note detailing her ride on an electric train in Oslo. The guys loved it, as you’d imagine, drawing a fun response from Henry. Here, have a listen:
[audio:http://www.jnack.com/micronaxx/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/WHAT.mp3|titles=WHAT]
(In case the gray triangle above doesn’t work for you, here’s a direct link to the audio file.)
Aerial mayhem with a team of little hams? Yeah, we’ve got that. 🙂
I think my iPhone pretty much nailed this suggestion, don’t you? 🙂
