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? 🙂
Donkey kicks, “Mad Birds,” and “The Biting 4-Year-Old,” oh my! Check out some good times from the Wiggins’ back yard as we helped Juliana celebrate her birthday:
Our boys love music. Especially songs where they can goof on the lyrics (gee, I wonder who they learned that from, Dad-o!). We’ve incorporated many variations of songs into our daily routine, such as:
And then there are songs that we listen to in the car that the kids really get a kick out of:
Being totally unclear on the concept is no barrier to huge enjoyment. 🙂
When Yvonne (our new nanny) and the guys got home from the park this afternoon, she told John and me that Finny told her he was planning on finding a wife, and would therefore need some “date nights.” She mentioned that he might want to start out by first finding a girlfriend. When I was chatting with Finny one-on-one a few minutes later, I asked him about his date night idea:
M: “Yvonne tells me that you need a date night.”
F: “Yeah, but first I need a girlfriend.”
M: “Oh, you do? Where will you find one?”
F: “I’ll look for one on my computer when I get older.”
M: “Oh, ok, that sounds like a good idea. In the meantime, maybe you could find one at school?”
F: “Well, I like Jordan, but she’s big and going to kindergarten, so she won’t be at school anymore.”
M: “Oh, I see. Well, what about Cosita [a 3-year-old at school]?”
F: {furrows brow, looks at me skeptically.}
M: “Oh, too small?”
F: “Yeah, too small.”
M: “Well, when you find one, where will you take her on a date?”
F: “To see a movie. I would like that.”
And so we have a plan for Finny’s first date night.
[Finn tells me, “I’m going to name my wife ‘Off-Of-It.'” When pressed as to why, he tells me, “Well, she’s always going off of things.” Go figure! ;-p See also from last year, “The Marrying Men.” –J.]
Self-proclaimed “bacon devil” Finn & his little bro have a Jack Spratt-style arrangement when it comes to meat: Finn grabs the protein while Henry carbo-loads via buns. This works especially well on “meat hut” sandwiches as Hen quite willingly (and amazingly) parts with his bacon; brotherly sharing at its finest!
In any event, I saw this image and thought of our big guy. (Click to get the full-size version.) Maybe it could make even Henry see the greasy, greasy light. 🙂
A few weeks back Finn took a real shine to Johnny Cash’s version of Soundgarden’s song “Rusty Cage.” I played him the original version and found him captivated by lead singer Chris Cornell’s screeching. That’s led to some Finn-as-Chris-Cornell renderings of popular hits–in this case, Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O (Banana Boat Song)”:
[audio:http://www.jnack.com/micronaxx/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/ChrisCornell.mp3|titles=ChrisCornell]
(MP3 link)
Over the weekend I showed Finn a little bird-puppet animation, after which we had a little career chat:
And here’s the crazier part: I subsequently shared this with one of my new colleagues who asked, “Does he know that my dog is named Pretzel?” I guess I know who (or what) I’ll now be reporting to!
The parenting racket can, on occasion, be a bit lonely: It’s hard to be spontaneous, to go places, to catch up with friends. Every so often, though, it’s great to remember that we’ve got some great friends and, hey, they can come over!
Yesterday we took advantage of the perfect weather to host a little backyard shindig featuring Margot “The Thrill on the Grill” Nack’s expert BBQ stylings & a variety of treats (guacamole, cobbler, and more) from visiting pals. The small fry ran around like crazy, tiring themselves out pretty completely (see the last photo in our little gallery for proof from Finn). Who knows, we just might have to make a habit of this. 🙂
Now listen (no pun intended): I have no illusions that almost anyone would want to sit through 8 minutes of bedtime lunacy involving a bandit-chief raccoon, a banana slug named Bonobo, brother firemen, Kawasaki Ninjas, and Chief McGillicuddy’s “flavor savor”–but just in case that sounds up your alley, press the little triangle below:
And if you’re on a machine (phone, iPad, etc.) that doesn’t have Flash installed, here’s a link to the audio file itself.
