Categories
Miscellaneous

Small Boys, Big Superpowers

Finny and Henry may not be card-carrying members of the Justice League, but they do have some freakish superpowers.

First, Henry:

  • Infantile super-strength: This is where it all started. For a little baby, his pushing and kicking strength was unbelievable! I got more than a few fat lips from that guy!
  • Choco-location: His uncanny ability to locate chocolate that has not been mentioned nor seen (by him) before
  • “There’s another one after this:” His innate knowledge that the (previously-unseen) video we’re watching will be ending within a few minutes, followed by him presumptively talking about the show we’ll watch next

Now Finny:

  • The Sandman: If Finn gets anywhere near sand (beach, sandbox, the park) he is somehow able to sequester enormous amounts of it in his clothing and then lay down a fine layer of grit ALL OVER the house. And this is AFTER we shake his shoes and clothes out before we walk in the door!
  • The Drunken Master: Finn is able to walk mere millimeters in front of you AT ALL TIMES, thereby preventing you from freely moving about. Regardless of whether he knows your final destination, he somehow manages to be completely in your way the entire time you’re trying to get somewhere.
Categories
Babyslang Transient Witticisms

Transient Witticisms: Food, Music, & More

  • “You don’t have to hold my hand, Finny,” I say.
    “I want to!,” he protests. “There’s a lot of people here & I don’t want to get captured!”
  • “Dad-O, do you see what I’m doing?” asks Finn. “I’m getting my muscles a little bit stronger & heavier so I can do special techniques!”
  • Music
    • I told the kids I’m visiting a guy named Stu today. “A Boy Named Stu??” asked Finn.
    • “Dad-O, when I’m older we’ll get a dog who *won’t* chew kids’ toys, and we’ll name him Paul Simon!”
    • “Pumped-Up Kicks?” Finn says incredulously. “I thought Kix were cereal.”
    • Listening to “Another One Bites The Dust.” Finn: “That Freddie Markery is a weird guy, Dad-O. ‘Hangin’ on the edge of your sink’?”
  • Chow:
    • I’ve raised a 4yo son who, in the middle of McDonald’s & out of the blue, yells “Captain Sullenberger? Captain Cheeseburger!!” I rule. 🙂
    • “When it’s your birthday, do you have to eat real food, or can you just eat cake?” asks a hopeful, birthday-eve Finn.
    • The boys brandish curly straws.
      Henry: “This is my sales tool!”
      Me: “Your… what??”
      Finn: “Yeah, they help managers!”
      (No idea, I swear!)
    • The lads are debating anatomy over breakfast:
      F: “Elephants are meat.”
      H: “Noo!”
      F: “*You’re* meat!”
      H: “But my *bones* are not meat!!”
  • Neighbor kids invite us to their treehouse. “It’s our secret lavatory!” Boy I hope that’s not true.
  • We’re playing pirates out back. “You make me peel potatoes, Dad-O,” says Finn. “I’m your galley sleeve!”
Categories
Videos

Presenting “Truck Show Firemen Everywhere”

The boys love watching homemade YouTube videos where kids show off their Lego collections. For weeks Finn’s been talking about creating “Truck Show Firemen Everywhere” (being very insistent about the specific title)–and now we’ve done it!

So, without further ado, please meet Jim, Nonsense, Sweaty, their “vehicle-shaped” vehicle, and more!

Categories
Photos

Two Scamps, One Lamp

What makes Henry’s bunk beds even more fun at bedtime? A clip-on lamp that lets us read stories in bed! Click for a larger version.

Categories
Videos

A Beach Boardwalk Blast

How does a solo-flying Dad-O manage the Micronaxx? By stuffing them onto rides for some seaside “super-dizzying”! Check out Sunday on the Boardwalk with our friends the Wiggii:

As for the choppers, hens aren’t really known for flying high, are they?

Categories
Photos St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Pat’s!

Henry Seamus, I’m so proud: when Dad-O, forgetting the date, inadvertently dressed the G-Man in a “London, England” t-shirt, the wee Irishman promptly puked all over it. Aww, shucks. 🙂

The Green Beings & I were glad to spend a bit of the day helping friend Harper Hogarty ring in her third birthday, with Finno ensconced in his cool new “Finn” ballcap (a birthday gift from his Liggett GPs). Here’s a handful of photos from the day. (See also St. Patrick’s gone by.)

Categories
Photos

Lego Agonistes

“The amazing thing about parenthood,” I’ve heard it said, “isn’t that adults make children, but that children make adults.” How true that is as I watch our lads slowly tear apart the beautiful, beautiful Lego kits they’ve gotten. Remember that awesome Lego helicopter from Christmas? Now, through the magic of sharing with one’s brother, the chopper’s chopped:

I know it’s all part of the process, and I couldn’t be happier to see Finn creating new vehicles daily. (Some kids just play with assembled Legos as if they were simply regular vehicles–just really fragile ones.) Still… oh, kids, it’s hard on old dad–but I’m growing up. 🙂

Categories
Babyslang Transient Witticisms

Transient Witticisms: Hen-speak

  • Henry’s jealous of Finn’s March birthday.
    H: “I don’t want July! I want a different month!”
    Me: “Like what?”
    H: “Um… San Francisco!”
  • Henry sees the globe on Continental planes: “Those are raccoon airplanes. They have stripey tails!”
  • Hen channels his mom: Rolling on the floor he says, “My back is hurting. I’m doing exercises.” And then, “My back wants truck videos!”
  • Henry’s learning “sorry.”
    H: “Sorry I puked all over, Dad-O.”
    Me: “Oh, you don’t have to be sorry, bud.”
    H: “Sorry I apologized.”
  • “What are *these*, Dad-O?” asks Henry, fingering my forehead wrinkles. Been asking myself that, son.
  • On speakerphone the conf. call system says, “Press the pound key.”
    “Press the palm tree!” grins Henry. “Robot lady said it!”
  • “It’s not Christmas anymore, Mad Birds,” declares Henry. “Take off your party helmets!“
Categories
Miscellaneous

Patrick Number Nein

Oddly enough, both Margot & work with German dudes named Patrick, and we’ve had them over for dinner during recent visits. Finn (logically enough, I suppose) asked, “Is our cousin Patrick a German?” This made me devise a little back-and-forth that delights Finn to no end:


  • Finn (character): “Patrick, are you a German?”
  • Patrick (in cartoonishly thick, Col. Klink accent): “Nooo, I am not! Nein nein nein!”
  • Finn, in disbelief: “W-wait, you said ‘nein’; you are German!”
  • Patrick: “Nooo, I am American! Moin moin!”
  • Finn: “Wait, you said ‘moin,’ too! You’re German!!”
  • Patrick: “Nooo! I ride with Auntie Laura in an Abschleppwagen.”
  • Finn: “What?? Auntie Laura drives a mouse van [minivan], not an abschleppwagen–you crazy German!”

…and so on. 🙂

Categories
Photos Videos

“Time for *Jim* to have a turn!”

My folks & the guys had a literal ball–or three–playing together in the back yard. After scoring a few big bouncy balls at Walgreens, my mom regaled the boys with tales of her illustrious basketball career, and the boys showed off their antics with the “Long Arm” (basically walking together while holding a stick, ending with a pratfall from Finn). We were charmed that the big guy picked up on my parents having actual names besides “Grandma/Grandpa,” and he started cheekily prefacing every toss to Grandpa by saying, “Time for Jim to have a turn!”

Here’s a little gallery of photos, plus a short clip:

Categories
Birthdays Photos

Finny’s Fourth!

We feel so happy & lucky to have gotten to celebrate the Finnster’s Fourth with so many excellent pals (both large & small), and with my folks who trekked all the way from Illinois. We couldn’t have asked for more gorgeous weather–72 with not a cloud in the sky (rather different from last year’s slightly shivery fun). Everyone seemed to enjoy packing away greasy pizza & Margot’s brilliant fire truck cake before taking a whack at the piñata. Thankfully neighborhood “big kids” Dom & Charlotte were able to liberate the candy at last.

Thanks so much to everyone for coming out and partying with us! Here’s a little gallery from the festivities.

Categories
Birthdays Milestones Photos

“Finnegan Nack, Now with Cuatro!”

Happy B-day to our Fantastic Four-Year-Old!! We’ve had a great day celebrating the Finnster’s cumpleaños with his Nack grandparents, and we can’t wait to dive into tomorrow’s party, piñata, and fire truck cake. He was so excited about his Lego birthday present that he literally spun out of control, doing a donut by the couch! 😀 We’ll share more photos and videos soon; for now, here’s that moment of ecstasy (click it for larger):

Categories
Babyslang Transient Witticisms

Transient Witticisms: Big men knowin’ some stuff

  • M: “Finny, you are my sunshine.”
    F: “Yeah, and the Lego chopper pilots are *my* sunshine!”
  • Big guys:
    • Finn notices me dawdling on Twitter. “Time for you to hit the shower, Big Man!” he declares.
    • Finn, to Margot’s six-foot-four dad: “Grandpa, when you grow up, you’ll be as tall as a GIANT!!”
    • “I moved Henry’s fragile truck,” Finn tells me from the couch, “so you wouldn’t shatter it with your big ol’ Dad-O butt.” #verbatim
  • “I’m Captain Sully, Dad-O,” Finn advises me from the jungle gym. “I’m watching out for birds so we don’t end up in the Hudson!”
  • Finn’s taken to telling me bedtime stories, then wrapping up with “And THAT, my Dad-O, is the end of that!”
  • Rebuffed by Margot at the park, Finn tells us, “Well, I’m not gonna deal with a person who doesn’t ride the roller coaster!”
  • Bird-like bits:
    • “Dad-O, I found you a new pecker!” declares Finn, brandishing a stick (y’know, for peck-peck-pecking). Sometimes I sure love my life. 🙂
    • After “pecking” the boys with a stick, I discarded it in the driveway. “Oh no, Dad-O,” said Finn, “Don’t let the Ocho run over your pecker!”
  • “Yeah, I know you have to get money to pay for things–like the gazebo.” — Finn, mourning our return to work.
Categories
Miscellaneous

Capitola pix

We celebrated the final days of John’s sabbatical with a President’s Day long weekend at the beach in Capitola. We found a last-minute condo rental, packed our beach gear, and headed out for some fun in the unseasonably warm sunshine.

We all had an absolute ball. The boys spent 90% of their waking hours playing in the sand (the percentage would have been higher had they not awoken at 5a.m. – too dark and cold to go to the beach!). We made sand soup, sand castles, we threw rocks into the waves, walked along beached logs, lazed on our beach blanket, and almost sacrificed wee Crocs to the quicksand. We were even accompanied by a 50-person ukelele concert on Sunday morning! Here’s a little gallery of the proceedings.

Categories
Babyslang Transient Witticisms

Transient Witticisms: Germans, Creatures, & Chaos

  • Deutschland:
    • “Moin moin moin moin moin moin!” says Finn.
      “Could you stop that?” asks Margot.
      “No,” he says, “I’m a German!”
    • “Peanuts are green,” sings Finn, “roses are red… and Germans are crazy!” (Sorry, Germans! :))
    • Henry, just now: “Is Mom-O talking to Germans?”
      Me: “Yep.”
      Finn: “No! Nein nein nein nein!!”
  • Creatures:
    • “I’m a Clark, Dad-O,” Henry reports.
      “You’re a… ‘Clark’?,” I ask.
      “Yeah. In the dark, in a park.” #OneFishTwoFish
    • I overhear Finn yelling at a strange green seed pod: “Get over here, you darn… Boba Fett!”
    • “What’s that guy, Dad-O?”
      “It’s a daddy longlegs.”
      “And that one?”
      “Uh… that’s a daddy fatbutt.”
      I am a tremendous educational resource.
  • Chaos:
    • “You need to look after me, Dad-O,” Finn tells me, “or”–eyes twinkling–“I might have to cause *mayhem*!”
    • Finn helpfully corrects my reading of an ABC book: “M is for ‘Mayhem,’ V is for ‘Volvo,’ and P is for ‘Pee!'”
Categories
Photos

Hola from Capitola

To put a nice cherry on the end of Dad-O’s long & fruitful sabbatical, we cruised over the mountains to nearby Capitola & are enjoying a few days of sand and (meager) sun. We’ll have more pics & vids to share soon, but meanwhile here are a couple of images from today’s trip to Marianne’s Ice Cream in Santa Cruz. I’ve captioned the first, “Sweet inside, sour outside.” 😉

Categories
Transient Witticisms

Transient Witticisms: Fun with Food

  • “What’s inside an avocado, Dad-O?,” wonders Finn.
    “Well, there’s a pit…” I begin.
    “Yeah,” he adds, “and guacamole!!”
  • Thoughtful 2yo Henry, returning from a 9am grocery store run: “Dad-O may you drink some beer, please?”
    NOW it’s a Christmas break.
  • Marching off to grab my beverage, 2yo Henry gleefully announces, “Coke is SPICY, for NOT ME!!”
  • Tonight’s culinary innovation: “Kid on the Cob.” Req. tender thigh of tot, aged 2-3 yrs. Serves large helpings of hilarity, family-style.
  • Margot to Finn on Saturday morning: “Want a corn dog, hon?”
    Finn: “No, I only eat corn dogs on the weekend.”
  • Having learned about farm implements in Galena, Finn asks me, “Is there a big blade in our tummies to mix up the food?”
  • Surprise: your keyboard includes an “ice cream cone” key. This according to 2yo Henry (viewing Volume Up sideways).
  • Finn’s parting comment to Margot as she tucked him in: “I assume there will be breakfast in the morning?” 😀
Categories
Audio Clips

A Carrot for Your Ferret

On Sunday the boys enjoyed meeting both a ferret (Silvio!) and a parrot (Solomon!) at Happy Hollow. During that night’s T.A.L.B., we spooled up some related craziness (complete with inexplicable accent), then hit “record.” Press the little arrow below to give it a listen:

[audio:http://www.jnack.com/micronaxx/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Carrot1.mp3|titles=Carrot]

(Here’s the direct link in case your phone/computer doesn’t support Flash.)

Categories
Miscellaneous

Happy Valentine’s Day

From the Micronaxx basement to your table… 🙂

Categories
Transient Witticisms

Transient Witticisms: A Little Baño Music

We haven’t done a wrap-up like this since October (!), so here’s a belated round-up of the guys’ little sayings since then.

  • Music:
    • I body slam Finno in the laundry room. He sings back, “I fell into a burning ring of hamper…!”
    • I catch Finn singing our neighbor’s name into the tune of “Thunderstruck”: “oohOOWahahAAHow, PAB-LO!”
    • Hipped the boys to AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” via YouTube chopper videos. Henry asks, “What is that baby [Brian Johnson] crying about?”
    • “Foom foom FOOM Foom foom!” Finn sings to Henry this morning. “Reality hits you *hard*, bro!”
    • Finn’s running around, sticking phrases into “Ride of the Valkyries” (e.g. “Open the SANDbox, open the SANDbox…!”) That. Is. My. BOY! 😀
    • Oddest mash-up, courtesy of our son: Peter Gabriel meets Sandra Boyton. “I want to be, your personal Sledgehammer…”
    • Young Henry considers YouTube: “I would like some… Foxy Lady. I would like… more Garth.”
    • After hearing LMFAO’s “Party Anthem,” Finn compulsively claws at his ear: “Get it out!!”
  • El Baño:
    • “Maybe we could come to Guatemala with you, Dad-O,” notes Finn, “but I don’t want the kids to sit on my lap & pee on me.”
    • “Adios, poop!” waves a cheerful Finn. “See ya later when the toilet backs up!”
    • Margot says I’m “guilty as charged.””Yeah,” says Finn, “you’re guilty ASS-charged!!”(“Guilty ass-poop,” adds Henry.)
    • “I’m having a massive poop, Dad-O,” announces wee Henry. “It’s gonna *scare* me!!” (He claims it has arms & legs to hunt him down.)
    • Henry emerges from the basement & finds Mom-O upstairs: “I heard the potty stop so I came up.”
      M: “You’re a smart boy, Hen.”
      H: “Yes I am!”Modest, too. 🙂
    • “Sorry for party rocking, Dad-O,” Henry tells me.
      “Sorry for potty rocking,” corrects Finn.