Categories
Miscellaneous

The Boys’ First Movie in a Movie Theater

We have had quite the exciting day today. At 7:30am, our nanny Coco called and said she couldn’t make it in, since her daughter Tiffy was in labor and was due to give birth. Coco was headed to SF to look after Tyler (a.k.a. the T-Man), Tiffy’s 2 year-old, while Tiffy was in the hospital.

Since we found ourselves in the position of juggling childcare between Mom-o and Dad-o, after our morning meetings we thought we’d treat the guys to a viewing of Pixar’s “Cars 2” at the movie theater. The boys were so excited they couldn’t WAIT to get into the Ocho and head for the show. (We bought tickets online early, so we had about 2 hours of “when do we leave for the movie?” to deal with. And we’ve been hearing Henry say “I’m Mater, Dad-o” for weeks on end!)

This was our first visit to a movie theater with the guys, and we all love the Cars characters, so the four of us were pretty jazzed. Once we got out of the car and walked towards the box office, Finny kept saying “I’m so happy this is my first time seeing a movie at the movie theater! I’m so excited!” Not surprisingly, once we made our way towards the theater, Finny spied the popcorn, so of course we had to get a big bag to snack on. He was very concerned that I was giving too much of it to Henry and Dad-o, and that there wouldn’t be enough left for him (Impossible! It was an enormous bag!)

We settled in to watch the movie (Hen and Finno on booster seats–thanks AMC Mercado!), and both boys were absolutely rapt. Henry got a little freaked when there was fire in one scene, and had to take a couple short breaks, but Finny hung in there for the entire movie, only moving to come sit on my lap halfway through. They both really enjoyed it–and I get the feeling Finny’s going to be asking to go to a lot more movies! The movie, by the way, was a lot of fun–another great flick by the Pixar gang!

Categories
Miscellaneous

Happy Father’s Day

The boys and I treated Dad-o to what I consider a “Big Adventure Father’s Day” this year. The festivities started super-early with our PJ-clad dad (above) opening presents Finny and Henry picked out: tons of fun boxer shorts including the requisite “greatest dad” and “#1 dad”, and a couple of fun T-shirts.

Then after a quick breakfast we climbed into the Ocho and hit the road for Dennis The Menace Park in Monterey. It was a beautiful day, and since the boys woke up so early, we made it to the park by 9am…well before any other families. We had the entire park to ourselves, and in particular the giant (real) steam locomotive that the guys love climbing on. Our busy engineer and conductor spent what must have been almost 90 solid minutes playing on the engine*, with only a quick break for a snack and a very brief tour of the park’s other attractions. If you’re an SJ local and you haven’t gone to this park, make haste! It is well worth the drive. It may be the Best Park Ever.

Soon it was lunchtime, so we drove over to a little cafe for pizza in their beautiful courtyard. As Dad-o was finishing up his pie, Finny and I snuck away for one last secret treat–a quick walk down the street to a French bakery, where we picked up a sackful of delicious little chocolatey and nutty cookies. After a lovely driving tour of the seaside all along the Monterey Peninsula, we headed home.

Our last treat of the day was meeting up with our friends the Wiggins and their kids for a taco picnic at Rolly Slide Park. Everyone was absolutely spent by the end of the day, and after a quick bath, the guys hit the hay and Mom-o and Dad-o were not too far behind.

[ *Engineer Finn just wouldn’t be lured by other stuff: “We’re going to focus on the engine,” he informed me. –J.]

Categories
Babyslang Transient Witticisms

Transient Witticisms (Henry edition)

Not to be left out, G-Man’s contributed some fun bits lately:


  • Language:
    • Henry has taken to answering yes-or-no questions (e.g. “Do you want a snack, yes or no?”) with “Yes or no!”
    • Unfamiliar with shorts, Henry tugs desperately at his hems: “Close down… my pants!!”
    • Henry greeted me rubbing his face: “Seagull… broke my eyeball.” And later: “I’m a goofy ball!” (meaning goofball).
    • “Dad-O may you sit with you, Dad-O?” asks Henry. Quasi-palindromes from a tiny man.
    • A toddler + the word “actually” = A parent-correcting bonanza. (“Watch out for the car, Henry,” I say. “*Jeep*, actually,” he replies.)
  • Henry munches a brown M&M, eyeing the bag’s wooden shelf: “How bout… orange one? Cut it down… from the tree!”  (We’ve consequently dubbed the shelf “The Tree.”)
  • As I’m changing Henry’s diaper, he grabs my passport, shoves it between his toes, and says, “Readin’ the Dad-O book!”
  • Henry sees me shirtless post-workout & runs screaming “No, no!” He later asks, “Dad-O go to Pilates?” Dang, boy, I can take a hint…
  • Apple might describe the little guy’s slap-footed form of locomotion as “I Pad, Shuffle.”
Categories
Babyslang Transient Witticisms

Transient Witticisms (Finn edition)

We enjoy using Twitter to capture fun little bits involving the boys. We used to put tweets alongside the blog, but a few months ago we hit a technical glitch I haven’t been able to resolve. Therefore I thought I’d pull together some good recent bits from the Finnster (Henry to follow!).

  • Meat-loving Finn, learning of Dirt Devil vacuums, reports, “I’m a Bacon Devil! I like to suck up bacon!!”
  • I taught Finn about deodorant this morning. “Is it Dennis the Mennen?” he asks.
  • Safety First: From his Cozy Coupe Finn announces, “I’m locking the door so no bad dudes named Henry get in!”
  • Food:
    • Finn’s turned “Edna St. Vincent Millay” into “Edna Wasabi Sushi Magoo.” #poetaster
    • Beyonce perplexes Finn: “What are ‘Almond Single Ladies?'”
    • Came across Finn dropping yellow & black sawhorse beams into toilet paper tubes. “I’m making a good soup of bananas & chocolate” he reports.
    • We’ve somehow made a 3-year-old who loves, and asks for, “artisanal bread.” Oh my.
  • Baseball:
    • We’re at the SJ Giants game (Finn’s first ballgame!). “Are they part of They Might Be Giants?” he asks.
    • A ballgame stunt involved chipping golf balls into a kiddie pool. Relaying this to Mom later Finn said “They were using a cat pool!” (“kiddie”->”kitty”)
  • “I’m drawing you an American Eagle,” Finn reports. “Is the ‘FUselage’ where the FUel goes?” (Yes, my proto-plane nerd, yes!)
  • Baño:
    • Finn, with a fistful of pull-up, says, “Stay down, regular pants: I’ll pull you up in a minute.”
    • He’s started using the epithet “You *shy bladder*!” to yell at things. (I’m already saving for therapy.)
    • “This is a broken-down BMW,” announces Finn, disassembling a toy car. “Now it’s a BM!!”
    • “Someone’s strummin’ on the old baño!” announces Finn. Fiddle-ee-i-oh!
  • Casually filling a garbage bag with his belongings, Finn announces, “I like living in boxcars. I’m a hobo!”
  • As Finn tucked my iPhone under his blanket tonight, I heard him whisper, “Shh, I love you…“
Categories
Photos

Li’l Luchador

“I’m a big weirdo, Dad-O,” announces our caped crusader. Yes, son, and we couldn’t be happier about that. 🙂

Categories
Milestones

Preschoolhouse Rock

The times, they are a changin’ at the Nack household. One of our nannies, Tiffany, will soon be leaving us because she’s due with her second baby, which means she won’t exactly have time to drive 50 miles to our house twice a week and kick it with the Nack boys during the day. Since Finny’s 3 and potty-trained, we’d been talking about getting him into a preschool soon. Tiffany’s due date has been great motivation to kick the preschool (and daycare for Henry) search in high gear. (As Finny might say, “Step on the gas, Mom-o!”)

We’ve got many friends with kids who are already in preschool, so it’s been easy to find referrals to preschools with flexible schedules and options for pre-preschool little guys like Henry. I’d waded through tons of flyers and brochures, and surfed lots of websites before narrowing down our search to a few options. We’ve now toured two facilities with the boys in tow, to see how they might like the idea of going to “school” a couple days a week.

I think they’re both going to enjoy themselves. During our visits, they’ve taken plenty of initiative–exploring the various play/craft/reading and outdoor play areas, and watching what the other little kids are doing. Finny is really excited about the idea of having his own lunchbag and plastic tupperware box for food. We made a big deal of going to Target and picking out bags and boxes. As we were leaving for this morning’s preschool tour, Finny asked me if he could take his new bag and box! I hated to disappoint him but since it was only an hour-long visit, I told him we didn’t need them today. (“But we’ll need them in a few weeks, buddy!”) As we headed out towards the car, Finny said excitedly “Come ooooon preschool!!!” like he just couldn’t wait to get there. Hen was similarly pumped up, dancing with excitement.

Every time we talk about preschool or I even think about dropping the guys off for the day, I get that clutchy feeling in my chest and a little voice in my heart says “They’re growing up!” I just can’t believe we’ve hit the preschool milestone already. Now I just need to make sure Finny understands that Dad-o and I won’t actually be hanging out with him and his brother while they’re at preschool all day!

[“I’m going to *pee* school, Dad-O!” proclaimed Finn. “I’m gonna pee in the school!” You stay classy, kiddo! –J.]

Categories
Miscellaneous

Finnegan Nack, Jedi Vocalist

Both guys have been singing up a storm these days. I’ll often hear Henry bust out fragments of the ABC song (“A B C D… play with me”–talk about concise!), and I’ll frequently catch Finn making weird little mash-ups (“Bob the Builder, done dirt cheap!!”).

Now Finn has, just like his nutty parents, started spicing up his dialog with little song fragments. Both boys love Fireman Sam, the theme song to which includes the line, “Keeps it cool & calm.” Yesterday as I chased Finn through his room threatening to gobble him up, he wheeled around, threw up his hands like a Jedi knight projecting the Force, and declared, “Keep it coooool & caaaalm!!” It was such a genuine little moment of laugh-panic, I was floored (literally) and haven’t stopped chuckling since.

Categories
Babyslang

Target, Land of Enchantment

Boy, I guess we must go to Target more than I imagined: Henry’s lately started volunteering the opinion that things–anything!–could be gotten at that store. Reading some Richard Scarry tales the other day, he noted–in his halting, weirdly William Shatneresque way–“Dude’s hat… popping off… Got it… at Target.” And later, when Mommy Cat burned up Pa’s shirt with her iron, Hen suggested, “Get another one… at Target.”

Target execs, if you need a sub-3ft pitchman, you know where to reach us (presumably at Target!).

Categories
Videos

Keepin’ cool with Goofy Magoo

Finn’s become quite adept at wielding a hose & ladle. The rest is wet, wet history:

(Incidentally, the video would make you think we’ve been enjoying warm weather, instead of endless unseasonable gloom. I mean, I do enjoy a good cashmere sweater, but I probably shouldn’t be able to wear it in CA in June!)

 

Categories
Photos

Finnyvision

Last week I took Finny to the optometrist for his first eye exam. He didn’t seem to see so well when the nurse at the pediatrician’s office tested him, so they recommended that we see an eye doctor to get a full assessment.

I decided to take Finny to my eye doc, Dr. Feldman. My friend Tara took her twins there and said they did fine, and Dr. Feldman’s got 4 kids of his own, so I figured Finny would do well, too. I spent some time talking to Finny a few days in advance about why we were going, what he could expect, and why we needed to get the exam done. I told him about Dr. Feldman’s office, the fact that he’s my doctor too, and the sorts of things Dr. Feldman would be asking him to do (shining little lights in his eyes, making him look at shapes and letters, stuff like that.)

Once we were at the doctor’s office, Finny was very calm and composed. He followed all Dr. Feldman’s instructions, answered all his questions, and was even quite chatty with the doc. It was really cute to watch him in action–telling Dr. Feldman about the toy trucks he brought, the hat he was wearing, and what we might have for lunch after the exam.

We met Dad-o for lunch at the deli across the plaza from Dr. Feldman’s office, and while we waited, Finny and I debriefed on the whole experience. I asked him what he thought of the little flashlights, the computer, colors and shapes. Finny explained that his favorite part was, and I quote:  “when Feldman asked me to pinch the little animals on the page.” (Which was a cool 3-D vision test to find out if his eyes are working well in tandem, complete with 3-D glasses!). I loved that he referred to the doc as “Feldman”, like they’ve played basketball together at the gym for years! Sometimes I swear he is 3 going on 30. (Happily, his eyesight is also fine, by the way.)

I also love that out of all the toys in the doctor’s post-exam “toybox”, Finny went straight for the goofy green groucho glasses. The kid’s got a real appreciation for prop-based comedy!

Categories
Babyslang

Now bring us the friggy pudding…

What’s the old line about little pitchers…?

Somewhere (we have our theories where), Finn picked up the, ah, charming adjective “friggin’.” It’s hard to know quite how to react to his using what’s not a real curse word but not very polite, either. An example scene:

The boys & I walked to nearby Hummingbird Park for some post-dinner R&R the other evening, and Finn insisted on towing a small wagon laden with all kinds of toys. (Amazingly, and to his credit, he was careful & didn’t lose any.) At the park Henry grew naturally curious & made a move for the wagon.

“Hey!!” shouted Finn. “Dad-O, he’s going to grab my friggin’ wagon!”

Oh boy, I thought, not knowing whether to laugh or apply the brakes. Not wanting to make a stink (and maybe raise the word’s scandalous appeal), I ignored the language & calmly assured him that Henry wouldn’t take the wagon.

“Yeah,” said Finn,” but then he’s gonna grab my friggin’ police car, my friggin’ pirate ship, my friggin’ ice cream truck…”

Man oh man–what to friggin’ do? 😉

Categories
Photos

Memorial Day BBQ

We had a ball celebrating Memorial Day with a ton of pals, both tall & small, in our backyard barbecue. Thanks to everyone who came, contributed food, and kept the little guys from singing their faces off on the grill! Here’s our little gallery. (Thanks to friends Tara & Tom for contributing some shots.)

Categories
Miscellaneous

3 going on 13

How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child. — King Lear

“You know what I was thinking today?” asked Finn as we walked away from our first baseball game.
“Uh, what?” I asked, kind of taken aback. (I’d never heard him initiate that kind of question.)
“You say too much silly stuff, Dad-O. It’s a bunch of jibber jabber.”
Now I was really surprised. “Well, I’m just trying to be funny, bud. You don’t like it?”
“I like it,” Finn replied, trying to humor me, “but… it’s just not cool to listen to.”

And thus a very small fist landed in my solar plexus.

Later in the tub, I broached the issue again.
“You don’t like it when we joke around, Finny?”
“No,” he shook his head. “It’s just too nonsense-y.”

Now, I’m sure that anyone who has kids older than 3 will say that this is about the mildest rejection/rebuke one could experience at the hands of one’s child. Still, though, “the first cut is the deepest,” and it’s hard to hear of one’s uncoolness–especially from such a young guy!

Not to worry, though: Finn’s with me in the gazebo now, firing off streams of jibberish and proudly declaring, “That’s Spanish! I’m talking like a baby speaking Spanish!” There is no escape from the old man’s weird undertow. 🙂

Categories
Miscellaneous

Busted!

John has been away in Germany all week, so I have been solo-parenting. This sometimes means that the guys get to watch a little more TV than normal because it lets me get a few things done around the house either before I leave for work or before the kids go to bed. They’d watched a couple pre-bedtime episodes of “Mighty Machines” (so Mom-o could clean up the kitchen and get laundry going without stumbling over toddlers!), a program they really enjoy. Basically they’re 30 minute-long shows about various gigantic vehicles in action–in mines, at airports and fire stations, in forests, and at cement plants. To say the guys love Mighty Machines is an understatement.

Last night, our last solo-mom night, Henry had already gone to bed, and Finny approached me.

F: “I want to watch Mighty Machines before bed!”
M: “I don’t think so, buddy. It’s pretty late, and besides, you’ve watched a lot of TV this week already. I think we’ll skip TV tonight.”
F: “But I want to watch TV before bed every night like you and Dad-o do.”
M: Speechless. Sort of ashamed, and embarrassed! Thinking about what a lame role model I am! Seriously reconsidering my TV-watching habits!

BUSTED.

Categories
Babyslang

Deciphering Finny

Sometimes I think we need to hire some of the WWII Navajo Wind Talkers or build our own Enigma machine to decipher what exactly Finny is talking (or not talking!) about these days. Recently, while I was getting ready for work, Finny and Henry were poking around our bedroom, and Finny exclaimed, “I want to play with that Scramble under the couch!” My response: “Whaaaat? What is Scramble? Can you describe what you’re talking about?” He said “The little pieces with letters on them that go in this big box. It’s right here under the couch.” It was then I figured out he was talking about the Scrabble game under the bed!

Sometimes, the challenge is not even to decipher the words coming out of Finny’s mouth, but the things he’s feeling when he chooses not to use words. This has become more common lately, as he tries to noverbally exert his will in various situations. He’ll grump around because he wants you to bow to his bossy demands, or he doesn’t want to do something he knows he should (like ask for things politely). He’s trying to see whether he can get away with being rude and bossy instead of polite (short answer: NO.).

Last night, Finny was terribly grouchy, whiny, and petulant (without giving me anything to go on), and he was raising a big stink about wanting to watch one of his fire engine videos. I refused on the grounds that he had been a totally grumpy handfull all night long, so I wasn’t rewarding that with a video. He was unhappy about it, but seemingly went to bed quietly after we read a book. An hour or so later I heard him moaning and crying in bed, and when I went down to check on him, he wouldn’t explain why he was crying…but I figured out he was still upset about the video.

Tonight, after a prolonged late-afternoon doctor visit where he was a total gem, he asked about the fire truck video, and told me he would not cry, whine, fight, or kick like he did last night, and that he would be good so we could watch the video. I was impressed that my 3 year-old boy had sorted through last night’s episode and decided at last to verbalize his feelings. It just lightens my heart when we make tangible progress through these kinds of rough patches.

[“These tiles don’t want to be obedient!” said Finn the other day, mashing the Scrabble set. “They just want to friggin’ *panic*!” Oh boy: we tell Finn not to “panic” when he’s emotionally derailing, and as for the language–well, more on that in a bit. –J.]

Categories
Photos Videos

Baby Herc

From very early on Margot & I have noticed Henry being a weirdly strong little kid, giving powerful hugs & often trying to climb up things like sinks. Now he’s taken a shine to pulling wagons–often alongside Finn, but just as often containing Finn. One recent evening each one grabbed a wagon & hauled them all the way to the park (nearly half a mile away), and the other day Henry managed to pull Finn some chunk of that distance on his own. Check out the brawny man in action:

Categories
Marathon Photos

More giant tree adventures

If you’re going to drive hundreds of miles with small children, then lie in bed for hours while one jumps excitedly on each of your outstretched arms… well, you could pick a far worse destination than redwood-rich Northern California.

Our trip up to Fortuna, CA saw us…

  • stopping off to drive through the colossal Chandelier Tree
  • picking up a toy ice cream & VW for the boys (“Like… Jose’s Beetle!” says Hen)
  • stopping for lunch beside a monster truck school bus, where the guys climbed onto a forklift (“Driving Guido!” from Cars)
  • losing the ice cream truck at a gas station (big freak-out!!)
  • amazingly, finding the truck at the same station the next day!!*
  • listening to Henry narrate the Avenue of the Giants (“Tree tipped over, Dad-O. Scooper [garbage] truck did it.”)

Without further ado, check out the gallery!

* Finn recounted the experience rather breathlessly to Mom-O: “I was just so excited about it, I couldn’t even give the truck a smooch!!”

Categories
Marathon Videos

Greetings from inside a giant tree!

We all had a ball cruising the Avenue of the Giants following Margot’s half marathon, just listening to Henry’s mind being blown as he tried to count redwoods: “3! 2! 6! 10!… 3!!” We’ll have more photos to share soon, but in the meantime, behold Margot’s surgical piloting of a large German car through an even larger redwood:

Categories
Photos

“Smoochas Gracias”–aka Eustachian Invasion!

Lately our guys have been enjoying “weirdo smeech” (plural of smooch), a little gross-out trick where we make our tongues into second “lips,” then give each other big wet kisses. During a recent session our little “ear, nose, & throat” men followed by giving me a crazy oral exam: check it out!

Categories
Miscellaneous

Declarations of Independence

Boy oh boy, there are a lot of decisions being made around our house these days. Mr. 3-year-old Finny is testing out boundaries like it’s his job (which, I suppose, it is!). Never shy with an opinion, he’s started experimenting with if/then statements as well as linking together completely disparate ideas or actions. Here are a few examples:

“I will get out of bed now, but I want to stay in my peej (pajamas) for a little while. I will get dressed after breakfast.”

“If Henry’s going to play with my ice cream truck, I’m not going to go into the kitchen with you.”

“I am going to play with my legos over here, and you should go into the kitchen and clean up.”

“First, I am going to eat my banana chips. Then I will eat my toast, and if I am still hungry, I might want a little yogurt.”

“I want to play in the backyard, so we should skip bath tonight.”

He’s also still quite interested in freestyling when it comes to his bedtime routine. This has evolved to a regular little ritual. Finny and Dad-o do “talk a little bit,” then he and I do our song. After I say goodnight and leave the room, Finny gets up, goes to the bathroom (even though he just did that at bathtime), then goes back to bed. The other night he took it a few steps further and after a few minutes of overhearing him rustling around in his room, I opened the door to find the bathroom lights on, his bedroom lights on, his bedroom door open, and him standing in the middle of the rug, seemingly trying to decide what to do next! We settled on a minute of backrubbing, followed by his committment to staying in bed.