Finnster, enjoying Mom’s glasses + neighbor Chris’s tools during the building of the swing set:
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Backyard Builders
We’ve just put the finishing touches on a very busy weekend with the boys. In addition to riding on Thomas the Tank Engine Saturday morning with friends, we built a terrific new play structure/swingset in the backyard (a.k.a. the “Nackyard”).
John and I had been talking for a while about getting some kind of jungle gym or swingset for the guys, and after tons of research, we found one that we thought would be both super-fun and would fit the smallish space we had available for it. It was delivered to us on Thursday in three enormous boxes on a huge pallet, and it was up to us to build the thing. The estimate on the instructions said 5-7 hours, so I figured we’d be doing really well if we doubled that and assumed we’d need two solid days.
After sorting and labeling the hardware, and grouping the lumber into piles, we set to work after lunch on Saturday. We got the skeleton of the base constructed and left the rest ’til Sunday. I got a bright and early start at 8:30, and by 10:00, we’d gotten the climbing wall on, the deck finished, and the swingset support arms up. The boys were anxious to know when it would be finished: “about 30 more minutes, or more like 45?”, asked Finny repeatedly. They were happy to help out by using their own play tools to hammer, saw, and drive screws. We worked through the afternoon after a quick lunch break. Even though we made a deal with Finny that we wouldn’t put up the swings and flags until after naptime, he decided he was too excited to sleep and came out to hang out with us while we finished up. He was so thrilled to help Dad-o put the flags on, test out the swings and trapeze, and do an inaugural run down the slide (belly first!).
By the time Henry woke up from his nap at 3:30, we had the whole thing done, and the guys spent the rest of the afternoon playing their hearts out. Standing on the deck preparing to slide, Henry looked at me and remarked with a grin, “I like this play equipment, Mom-o.” Here’s a gallery of the weekend’s proceedings, and a shot of the finished set. Viva la Nackyard!
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Sir, it seems there’s an owl on your head…
Mealtime greetings from Henry & his stuffed buddies. (As it happens we’ve just retired his “hopper” (clip-on booster) shown here, having promoted him to a big-guy stool. End of a tiny era. :-))
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“Thanks, MrsW!”
The boys have really enjoyed the Curious George book Henry received for his birthday courtesy of our friend Eileen Whitson–popularly known as “MrsW.” I managed to catch the G-Man in the act of telling her thanks–a little endeavor that quickly sidetracked into a bizarre little 2yo’s imaginary tour. (Having just gotten off the train, he’s referencing Finn’s Cheerio-tossing escapades.) Press the gray triangle below to take a quick listen:
[audio:http://www.jnack.com/micronaxx/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/ThanksMrsW.mp3|titles=ThanksMrsW]
(In case the audio player doesn’t work for you–for example, on an iPad–here’s a direct link to the sound file.)
And apropos of nothing, here’s a shot of Henry yesterday gathering flowers while helping the rest of us trim branches & haul them to the street. He’s intense in his craft! đŸ™‚
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No More Tears
Recently I decided to try a new strategy on our histrionics-prone Henry. He really seems to enjoy crying at the drop of a hat to express how he’s feeling about things. Don’t like getting your dipe changed? Bring on the caterwauling! Don’t want to eat what you requested for breakfast? Time for crocodile tears! Feel like protesting before your day at preschool? Cue the shrieking. You see where I’m going with this…
Time for a change, I thought to myself. So this weekend, after Henry cried and screamed his way through having his hair washed (as usual), I talked to him about what it might be like if he chose not to cry. l said, “If you could stay cool and calm during hair washing, things would go so smoothly! And quickly! And you could have a treat like an Oreo or something.” He sort of seemed to understand the no crying = treat idea.
Then I thought it might be worth prepping him with the same idea before preschool on Monday. Lately he’s been crying quite a bit at drop off and sporadically during the day. He can be such a sweetheart but he’s starting to become known as “the kid who cries a lot.” Not great. So on Sunday I talked to him a couple times about preschool, and how he could decide to be a happy guy and not cry at preschool. I reminded him how much fun it was, how Finny was always there to help him out, how he could have Ollie if he needed him, and how much the nice Maestras like him. I said “really, there’s no reason to cry, Henry. Preschool is fun, and it will be even more fun if you decide you don’t want to cry, and that you want to enjoy yourself.”
Lo and behold, success! In the car on the way to school, I heard Henry quietly repeating (unprompted!) “I’m not going to cry at preschool.” When we got to school and he was taking his hat and shoes off, he repeated “I’m not going to cry at preschool.” He wailed for a minute when he asked for a snack and I told him we just arrived and it wasn’t snack time yet, but then I encouraged him to go find something fun to do. He quieted right down, went off to play, and after smooches, I departed with zero histrionics! When we came to get the boys yesterday afternoon, I asked Maestra Yolanda how Henry did. She said he had a really good day and she even heard him saying “I’m not going to cry at preschool” a few times. (Apparently he also said “I’m not going to nap at preschool,” but his weary bod won that battle!)
That’s my boy!
[Update: Hen did even better today, not peeping even once in protest when I dropped off the guys! Way to stick the landing, kiddo. As Borat might excitedly say, “Great success!!” –J.]
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Goonie wanna cracker?
In cleaning out my phone* today, I stumbled across some old photos & videos I’d neglected to share. Here’s kind of a nice, quiet post-bath moment with Henry from a few months ago, wherein he explores a bubbly little truck and does his best impression of a parrot.
* What a weird concept, isn’t it? Who knew that telephones would eventually need to be cleaned out (of data) & not just off?
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Motorcars a go-go!
What’s even cooler than riding a cliff-hugging train at 10,000ft? Discovering a pack of vintage railroad motorcars and getting to climb on them!
On the train we happened to sit next to a nice older couple from Nebraska who mentioned that they were in town to drive their motorcar–a retired RR maintenance machine–up the track with a bunch of other enthusiasts. We followed them off the train & got to clamber around their little ride! They told us to come back for the big gathering the next day, so we brought back Patrick & Charlie. The drivers couldn’t have been nicer to all the kids, and we even got to scramble around on a full-sized locomotive. Check out the gallery and little video!
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Rancho Relaxo
Greetings from the Nack family basement (aka kiddie rave-cave). đŸ™‚
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Ice Cream a la Grandpa
Want to get little dudes excited about enduring long trips in planes, planes, and automobiles? Tell them that making ice cream is on the other side!
Apparently Margot’s dad is rather famous for his homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream, and the lads were more than happy to help him whip up a batch–and to “eat the profits” beforehand! Here’s our little gallery.
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St. Elmo Squires
Who knew that the Colorado ghost town of St. Elmo was a huge chipmunk mecca? Some handfuls of seeds helped us play Gulliver to the “chippies” (“I’m a chippymunk!” declares Hen). Check it out!
Margot bought the guys little marshall badges plus a couple of stuffed chipmunks. “Look at that bushy-tailed menace!!” exclaimed Finn upon seeing his. (Apparently he picked up that phrase from Fireman Sam.) Now the little “Menaces” accompany our guys around, with one sometimes making trips to my chin (where it becomes a “chennace”–chin menace).
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Alpine Diesel Delights
We had a blast taking the boys on the Leadville, Colorado, & Southern Railroad as it climbed high above the Arkansas River valley. Check out our visits to the engine, caboose, & more!
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Happy Birthday to Hen!
A birthday wouldn’t be complete without singing and (cup)cake, so thanks to nephew Patrick for documenting the proceedings:
We neglected to mention that just before the festivities, Henry had been forcibly awakened from an epic nap (lest he be up all night). That left him pretty lethargic & unsure what to make of all this fuss. (In the previous gallery you can really see the effect of the cupcake sugar hitting his bloodstream!) It’s also funny to observe Finn’s oversight of the candle-blowing operation. He really had to work at not jumping in and doing the honors himself!
Nostalgic bonus roundup:
- El Segundo Es Uno (notes on Henry at age 1)
- Pics from Hen’s first birthday party
- Hello, Henry!: Pictures from the G-Man’s first days of life
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Numero Dos for El Segundo!
Henry Seamus Nack turned 2 years old today! Since we were flying back to SJ from our weeklong trip to Colorado, we celebrated Henry’s big day on Wednesday in Leadville. His cousins, aunt, and grandparents were there for the festivities–candles, singing, cupcakes, and presents! Here’s a link to the party gallery.
We can hardly believe our little Henry is already two. In many ways, it seems like he’s been with us far longer than a mere 2 years, but in other ways he is still our little bitty guy. It’s been terrific to see his personality bloom this past year, especially when it comes to his ability to use so many words to express himself instead of being thwarted by a lack of vocabulary and constantly seeming frustrated. Although he can be a bit slow to warm up to new acquaintances, once he does, he is a joy to be around–he’s slyly goofy, often breaking into a wry grin when he’s up to something. He’s kind to his big brother, loves all kinds of physical horseplay, and loooooooves his Dad-o. We love it when his blue eyes sparkle and he verbalizes his observations, often asking us questions to help figure things out. Hooray for Henry! We couldn’t love you more, little squirrel!
From the Rocky Mountain Dept. of Wildlife:
- The Liggetts’ neighbor has a ratty wooden trailer hand-painted with the words “Green Wolf Recycling.” Whenever it’s missing we tell the boys that it’s off to pick up some cans. “Yeah, and some green wolves!” notes Finn.
- Years ago in Death Valley, a salty old guy with the voice of Sling Blade told us about bighorn sheep in the area. My friend, struggling to understand, asked, “Did you say, ‘Big Orange Sheep’?” As we see sheep-crossing signs in this area, we love to stay on the lookout for “big orange sheep”!
- With the boys having started Spanish immersion, we’ve been trying to imagine how their animal buddies Leo & Ollie would sound in Spanish. We’ve jokingly decided they’d say “El roar!” and “El hoo!” Patrick & Charlie got a kick out of this, but they really loved helping coin “El beaver!,” the “Spanish” utterance of their stuffed otter. Now imagine four little dudes running around and randomly yelling “El beaver!!,” totally cracking one another up. As Patrick says, “It’s laughing gas!”
Bonus animal bit: Today on the train Finn informed me out of the blue, “Dad-O, if a we had a monkey who liked chips, he’d be a chip-monk!” Right on, little guy. đŸ™‚
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High-altitude happiness
After a smooth journey to Colorado, we arrived in Leadville on Sunday evening. The modes of conveyance have been hits: Finn was so jazzed that “We’re going to fly on a Boeing Constrictor!,” and both guys keep talking about “the rental car” that we’ve dubbed “the eep” (see photo for explanation). I was pretty concerned that the altitude here would ruin their sleep, but happily* I was the only one tossing and turning all night. I keep encouraging the boys to drink plenty of liquids, leading to Finn’s rather sickening mountain hydration plan: “I’ll drink some water [saliva] out of Leo [the lion blankie]’s tail!”
Monday featured Leadville’s charming little Fourth of July parade, followed by a tour of the fire station, free barbecue in an aircraft hangar (“Welcome to North America’s highest airport!”), and backyard s’mores. The cousins are playing together beautifully (so cool to see!), and I’ve captured a gallery showing the proceedings.
*It’s all relative, right?
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Happy July 4th!
Hi, everyone–greetings from 10,000ft (Leadville, CO). I’m typing fast as we’re scrambling around with the guys, having a ball checking out the Independence Day parade, the fire station, free chow at the tiny airport, and more. Despite Henry’s claims on the plane that “I freakin’ out! I like crying, Dad-O!,” both guys were mobile superstars. Here’s just a quick shot of Finny at the airport.
Okay, Henry is climbing the ottoman, preparing to stage dive onto my computer. Bye! đŸ™‚
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James Bond Nano
“Nack… Hen Nack.” đŸ™‚ (compare to the original)
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Monster Kool Bus!
To celebrate Finn & Henry’s first day of preschool, we grabbed burgers & headed to Lowe’s to check out play equipment. Little did we expect to see–and get to ride–the 13-foot-high, 19,000 pound Monster Kool Bus. It’s a 1956 school bus atop huge tires with 25-inch rims. Check out our wild ride!
You can see Finn start to beam, and amazingly the only upset was when Henry realized the ride was over. Now when he sees the video he says, “I crying, ‘Do it again!'”
Our in-bus video doesn’t give a complete sense of the crazy spinning sensation we got. Here’s another video (from a different location) taken by someone else:
We capped off the adventure by getting the each guy one little monster school bus toy. They’ve been popping wheelies ever since!
Oh, and parents, the bus will be at Lowe’s through July 6th, 2011 (weekdays 4-9pm, weekends 10am-9pm); 5 bucks per person.
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¡Escuela de Verano!
Yesterday was the boys’ first day of preschool at Pasitos! Clearly our soft-pitch sales job this past week worked, because they were up earlier than usual this morning and raring to get to school. Bags and lunches were packed, paperwork was in hand, hats were donned, buddies were grabbed, and we were off by 8a.m.
I had planned on 2 things today: 1. Hanging around the classroom for quite awhile this morning to ease the guys’ transition from home to school and downplay the drama, and 2. receiving one or more phone calls that Henry or Finny were crying inconsolably and one of us needed to come get them (we were warned this is fairly common during the transition period). What a surprise that neither plan came to fruition!
As I finished up the paperwork and stashed the boys’ belongings in the appropriate cubbies, both boys were already very busy playing and chatting with the teacher. I stuck around for maybe 10 more minutes, then gave each boy a smooch and took off–it was clear they were doing just fine! The phone never rang with a call from Pasitos, so we figured the day must have gone well. I think John and I were actually more nervous/worried about school than the boys!
When we arrived to pick them up, they were playing outside, and Finny ran to the gate, so excited to see us. His voice wavered quite a bit when he said “I’m so happy to see you!” It was a thin line between crying and smiling, but I think he was just really overwhelmed with how relieved he was when he saw us. Henry was holding Ollie and playing ball, and was also very happy to see Dad-o strolling in.
The teacher assured us the boys had a good day. Both had napped and played well. She also remarked that Henry didn’t like having his diaper changed (no surprise to me, I guess I should’ve mentioned that!), and that he ate a lot (I guess he really took advantage of snacktime!). At some point Henry started crying pretty hard for Ollie (we tried to talk him into only having Ollie at nap time, but I guess he didn’t want to give him up upon waking). Finny stepped in and told the teachers what Henry wanted, and once they handed Ollie to him, he was fine. “Ollie saved the day,” she said.
So all in all, a very good first day of school, and I think the boys are looking forward to going back. Just now as I was putting Finny to bed, he said “I don’t understand Spanish yet. I think I will learn Spanish when I grow up to be a man. In about a week or so, I’ll be grown up and will learn it then.”
Update: Here’s our little video recap with the lads:
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My Inner Child
Yesterday the Finnfatha & I tried a little “Freaky Friday”-style role reversal: as I tried to get him to nap a bit (okay, to let me nap, too), we decided that he was the dad-o & I was the kid. As I laid on the couch he relished bringing me blankets: “I’m putting them onto your chest & stuffing them under your chin, like a bib!” When he eventually laid down at the other end of the couch, he noticed that his “Looen” Leo was MIA.
“Kid!” he said. “Your looen is missing! I think he’s in the basement!” (meaning I’d need to get up and open the safety gate)
“Oh Dad-O,” I said in falsetto, “It’s okay. I don’t need my looen right now.”
“Yes you do, kid!” he insisted. “If you don’t have him you’ll cry and cry!”
Oh boy. So up I got, opened the gate, laid back down & shut my eyes. Soon, through the floor, I could hear Finn cackling to himself. Up the stairs he came, laughing all the way. As he came to the doorway he said, “Ki-iiiid, I have a surprise for yo-oou!!”
With my eyes still shut, and with some nervousness, I asked, “Um… is it a looen?”
“It’s NOT a looen,” he declared triumphantly, “It’s a DIPE!!” And running over, he placed a (thankfully unused!) diaper on my chest (and thankfully not elsewhere!).
[PS: As I was finishing this post, Henry spied me Googling for pictures of diapers. Now he’s convinced that this crazy diaper-helmet kid is Finny. “It’s *not* Finny!” protests his bro, to no avail. –J.]
