Merry Christmas!

Ho Ho Ho! Well we are having a great time here at Grandma and Grandpa's place. It's been a fantastic Christmas and we are thankful to be sharing it with friends and family. The kids have been so pumped on the whole Santa thing. Katie especially. I have been torturing her over the last couple months with naughty and nice behavior conditioning. Literally, it's gotten to the point where I use it every time she has any kind of tantrum... I love it! Last week she was crying at the dinner table and I pretended to see something in the window behind her and I yelled, "LOOK! It's SANTA!" Katie whirled around and stopped crying immediately for fear that Santa would see her misbehaving. Man I love the holidays!

Katie has been trying really hard to be nice so she would get her presents as requested. She has been talking non-stop about 2 items, 1) "Big Head Ariel" (Which is what Katie calls the Ariel head that has long hair, designed for styling, braiding, etc) -- and 2) Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses DVD.

Yesterday, I thought it would be fun to have her write a list for Santa to make sure that he "Didn't Forget" anything. What a dumb idea that was. Katie and I sat down and I helped her spell while she wrote the letter (above.) In the middle of writing the letter, Katie sprung two new gifts on us that we had never heard of before!!! Airel Wedding Dress and a Pink Pen. Needless to say, the pen posed no alarm, but the dress? Ummm, what do we do now?

So Jen hopped in the car and drove to half a dozen stores looking for this thing. She found a Barbie Wedding Dress and we thought we were all set. However, this morning when Katie opened the gift, she promptly told us, "This is the wrong one." *sigh* What's worse is shortly after, she asked me, "Maybe Santa Didn't read my letter..." Her eyes were so big that I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. I explained to her that Santa must have been confused and that if we wrap up the Barbie Dress, that we could send it back to Santa and he would being us the one she wanted. She smiled and appears to be happy with the solution for now...

Last night (Christmas Eve) the kids were like ferrets on crystal meth. Between the cupcakes, the cookies, and the notion that Santa was coming, they had worked themselves into a frenzy. Katie's cousin Nica, had given her and Andy some reindeer food, so I told the kids to go outside and sprinkle it on the ground. While they were doing this, I went around the side of the house and grabbed some of Kari's jingle bells and started ringing them like mad. I then quickly ran back tot he front of the house to find Kate screaming in excitement that she heard Santa outside. It was a classic moment, to see the magic of Christmas in her eyes.

I think all the excitement wore them out because they fell asleep a lot quicker than I expected. Perhaps the rule that "Santa only comes while you are sleeping" had something to do with that as well.

We have a great eve and morning. We are all wiped out and resting right now. Probably some snow play coming up this afternoon. Ill post more pics and stories in the coming days. Merry Christmas to all of you, and Happy Holidays!

Blog-slackage

I have been so busy lately with the new job, gettting out of the old job, fighting this cold, etc, that I haven't been blogging. Sorry! I'll try and do some catch-up over the holidays. Happy Holidays!

Crabby

So we have simply been struck down by colds around here. Our house is a symphony of coughing and sneezing. I think we should have bought stock in Kleenex this year. Hopefully we will get though this things soon as Jen and I are finding it pretty difficult to keep-up under this plague!

Andy continues to be a challenge. His terrible twos are a bit amplified while he is sick. Beyond that, he interacts with the world in a much more physical way than his sister. For example, when Katie gets upset, she is very good at explaining this by folding her arms, sticking out her chin, and saying, "I'm VERY frus-ter-ated with you." Andy on the other hand, will simply kick, cry, and throw things. It's much more challenging to often determine why he is even upset. On top of this, he doesn't articulate with much accuracy right now, and so often times I have to call-in Katie to help translate...

Here's an example. I was showing today and Andy comes into the bathroom, tears streaming down his face, and wailing.

Andy: "Waaaaaaaaa! Waaaaaaaa!"

Shutting off the shower, I come out to find Andy holding a banana in his hands.

Steve: "Andy, what's a matter?"

Andy: "Waaaaaaaaaa!!! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!" (no really)

Steve: "Andy, use your words bud, what is wrong?"

Andy: "Waaaaaa! Bo Kit Da Deee Nana! Waaaa!"

Steve: "Katie? Can you tell me what he is saying?"

Katie: "He's mad because he wants his banana fixed."

Looking down, I realize that Andy's banana is in two pieces, one in each hand, and according to Katie, he wants it put back together...

Steve: "Andy, you want me to fix your banana?"

Andy: (Tears stopping immediately) "Yea."

Steve: "Umm, bud, I don't think I can fix a banana..." (Whooops)

Andy: "Waaaaaaaaaaa!"

OK, so you get the point. We have a lot of Andy moments like that right now. It's kinda funny when you don't have to do it 30 times a day! :)

Midnight Snack

The kids both have nasty colds, its like a sneezing factory around here. Their little faces are getting red and splotchy. Jen is also feeling poorly, and I fear I will likely be next. Go go Airbornne! Tonight as I was doing some late night work, Katie comes out of bed (this is 11ish mind you) and informs Jen and I that we forgot to let her open her Advent calendar window. She was right of course, and not wanting to break a promise of allowing her to open one each day, I decided to let her have at it. I'm surprised she could even taste anything under her cold, but the smile she let out after finishing her little chocolate square was clear proof that the taste buds could tell what was going on.

Street Fair Shennagains

La Jolla had a street fair and parade today so we headed down in the morning to check out the local action. When we got there, we were treated to many youth performances from the local gymnastics, ballet, and jazz dancing kids. Katie was nothing less than mezmerized by all of these demonstrations. Jen and I were also taken aback at how cute many of these kids were all dressed up in their little Christmas outfits. And surprisingly, Andrew managed to sit still through them as well. The kids rode a elephant spinning carnival-ride, and we walked a bit to see the street vendor wares. At the end of out walk, we got some free dixie-cup sized drink samples from "Naked Juice" a health-like drink manufacturer known for thick-pulpy juices. Katie and Andy each tried a sample. Andy (more thrilled about the concept of holding his own cup than anything) made on of those huge sour-puss faces after taking his first sip.

Me: "Do you like it Andy?"

Andy: *Crinkled nose and puckered mouth* "Bad Daddy! Bad!"

Me: "Well, here let me take it then..." *Reaching for the cup*

Andy: "No!"

Me: "Well, do you like it?"

Andy: "Bad Daddy." *Takes another sip, followed by the same repulsive face...*

Andy: "Bad Daddy."

He then proceeded to drink the whole thing and ask for more.

Once we finished with the drinks, we walked the parade set-up area and the kids were delighted by seeing all the kids dressed up in Christmas outfits like nutcrackers and elves. As we were heading back to the car, we saw a gold Mercedes drive slowly by with none other than Santa Claus behind the wheel. He must have been heading to the festivities. Katie and Andy both started jumping and waving. "Hey it's Santa!" they were shouting. Jen and I looked at each other quietly, neither of us wanting to mention anything about why Santa was driving a car...

The kids didn't say anything and so we thought we were out of the woods. About 5 minutes later, as we were just getting to our car, Katie blurts out, "I guess Santa's sleigh is broken..."

Later at the house, I was watching the kids while Jen was at the store. Katie trotted off to the bathroom (as she usually does) and I thought nothing of it. About 5 minutes later she comes out looking worried:

Katie: "Daddy, the toilet is REALLY full with water, all the way up to the top..."

Running to the bathroom, I find a nearly overflowing toilet, and a conspicuously empty roll of toilet paper left hanging on the reel.

Me: Katie, how much toilet paper did you put in there?"

Katie: *matter-of-factly* "Mmmmm, not much."

Me: *Turning off the water* "Not much? It's clogged and overflowing? Exactly how much did you put in?"

Katie: *Innocently thinking* "Welllll, all of it."

The way she said that last line was with such complete innocence and detachment, as if she were answernig a simple math problem. I then educated Katie about how much toilet paper was the right amount. Katie by the way is very interested in dance class. We were going to put her in soccer, but she has since informed us that she would rather do dance. Shocker huh? :)

Advent-tageous

Well, today marks a couple of special events around our household. It's Decemeber 1st! That means it's my sister's birthday! Happy B-day sis! Also, being the first day of the last month of the year, means we have crossed the threshold of the official countdown to Christmas! This year is a special year for this, as we are passing on a tradition of the Advent calendar to our kids for the first time. We sat down this evening with both Katie and Andrew and explained to them the concept of the candy-calendar, adn how we use it to count the days to Christmas. They were both tickled by the concept.

Andrew went first and nearly ripped his #1 window clean-off in his over-zealous approach. I think he was thinking it was like unwrapping a present. He immeadiately popped the chocolate in his mouth (without chekcing to see the molded-shape beneath), and drooled as he said loudly; "Trick A Treat!"

Katie was a bit more elegant with hers. She took her time as she sought out the #1 window. She carefully opened the window, admired the fancy chocolate shape before eating it. As soon as she was finished, she exclaimed, "That was FUN! I want to open ANOTHER one!". She was surprisingly supportive of the notion of waiting until the next day, and I think she 'gets' the idea that the fun is that you get to do one a day until Christmas. It's fun to see them enjoy this tradition. Both Jen and I had parents that gave us these calendars when we were kids.

Lights are coming up around the block, and I need to go snap a few shots to show you the high-lights. I have been traveling for my new job already and am very thankful to be home tonight and to have a nice quiet weekend.

Thanksgiving in SB

So we just got back from a visit to SB to see Nana and Boofin for Thanksgiving. We celebrated an early Christmas, and I was reminded of how nice it is in my home town at this time of year. Warm 70s days, clear skies and the town looking as beautiful as ever. Katie got many new princess presents, as that theme never sees to get old with her. Andy's highlight was a remote control train -- he was mesmerized by that thing and would sit there and watch it indefinitely. The train had a very loud "Choo Choo" speaker sound which caused Daddy to dismantle the whole thing in an attempt to mute the speaker so the rest of us could recover a small amount of sanity. We had a nice traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner. Went to the park and the Sea Center. And got to spend some good quality time with Greatgrandma. Thanks for the fun Nana and Boofin!

A Whale of a Time

During our Santa Barbara visit, we went to the Sea Center our on Stern's Warf. I had never been before and was excited to check out the cool marine biology-style exhibits that I had heard about. Katie, Jen, Andy, Nana and me headed in to check it out. It was really cool. Lots of hands-on exhibits for the kids and cool Channel-Islands information. Both kids were eager to touch and pick-up the sea-life in the various tanks throughout the place. I was pretty surprised when Andy wanted to pet the shark. We had a great time.

Sunstar Fish or Macaroni? you decide.

Andy pets the baby shark.

Humpback hanging in the entry.

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

Yes, he is a handful.

No, he is not as sweet as he looks.

Yes, we love him to death, Even though he is fully into the terrible twos. He's a goofball when the spotlight is on, and a terror when you are tired. After torturing us all day, I finally got him down tonight, and as I was putting him to bed, he says, "I love you daddy." gives me a hug and a kiss, and goes straight to sleep. Yet another chapter in the "parenting is a trip" book I must write one day.

Terrible Twos and Changing Hues

The short days of Fall are clearly here in San Diego. Early sunsets, those strange long shadows, and the full swing of week 11 NFL football are just some of the overbearing reminders that the holidays are nearly here. Yes yes, I mention footbal in order to call attention to the fact that the Bolts just eeked out over the Broncos in a spectacular Sunday night game for the division lead in the NFC West and are creeping up on the conference pole position! Considering that some of my loyal readers are from the fair town of Denver, I must remember to be humble as we round the corner for the San Diego hosted version on December 10th.

It seems that my son has decided to finally enter the terrible 2's. While I thought we would luck out and see his happy-mischievous personality stay dominant, it seems that Andrew has given birth to Mr. "Mine". Today we went to the park to play some soccer and ride bikes. Andy could not get over the concept of sharing the ball, and spent most of his time wailing in jealousy if anyone else tried to kick his toy. Not to mention complete lack of regard for the rules about not using hands! This has pretty much extended to everything -- instant tears whenever he is told 'no', etc etc. Oh well, Katie seems to be taking it pretty well considering she has to deal with him basically trying to abduct anything she touches. I'm continually amazed at her willingness to share and unconditional love for her brother.

Back to another good note, I received a new job position at HP. It's going to be quite a change as I move from marketing product management to strategic business planning and I am excited to take-on this new challenge. I'm changing buildings, bosses, divisions, and roles. Should be an interesting new year. Jen has been awesome and supportive in helping me make these decisions over the past week, and we are both glad to have things ironed out and decided.

Lights, Camera, Action!

So our little Katie has had her first major acting debut in La Jolla this week with back-to-back performances in 2 different shows. On Tuesday she played a "Lady who buys shoes" in her acting workshop class at the La Jolla YMCA. And on Wednesday, she sang in her Preschool Thanksgiving Paegent. She seems to ham it up with much glee. During her performance as the Shoe-Lady, daddy was front and center with the camera, snapping photos like a shutter-bug. Katie actually noticed this during her scene, and instead of continuing with her part, she stopped and began to strike multiple dramatic model poses with large smiles. This set the audience into a roar as the room stopped to give Katie the spotlight (even though she had a rather minor part in the show.) Andrew on the other hand, would wait for nice quiet scenes and then bust out laughing at the top of his lungs any time the actors would do anything remotely funny, "HAHAHAHA HA! Funy Da-Dee! HAHAHAHA!"

Oh yes, they were quite distruptively entertaining.

It's ak-shually a Kitty-Kat

Katie has a new shirt that she is very excited about. You can see it in the picture to the right. She is so proud of it that she likes to walk up to people and let them know this. Interestingly, she has a slightly different perspective on this shirt than would the average person. The following is the conversation I had with her when I came home from work, reagrding this fantastick new shirt:

Katie: *Proud and bold" "Daddy, do you like my new shirt?"

Steve: "Why yes Katie, it's really cool, I like that Santa."

Katie: "Ak-shually, it's not a Santa, it just loooooks like a Santa..."

Steve: "Oh really?"

Katie: "Yes, it's ak-shually a Kitty-Kat! See, these are his curly whiskers."

There are lots of things I correct Katie on, pronounciations, manners, etc. but when it comes to stuff like this... no way. I mean, these are ak-shually the lenses of a child -- the ability to see what others are too grown-up to see. So anyhow, if you bump into Katie, I'd recommend commenting to her about what a nice Kitty-Kat shirt she has.

Nature Walk

Well, being in the heart of the subburbs, we dont always have access to the most natural surroundings. However, there are a few trails are suitable nearby where we can see some things other than concrete and lawns. This afternoon we went for a little trek down behind our house. Andy is just getting old enough where he can walk some and Katie is a trailblazer. It was windy and brisk, and we didn't see all that much. Highlights were flowers, dirt and a few bugs and birds. Katie and Andy's favorite was definitely the KitKat Bar we split at the end of the walk. I have a goal to do a lot more camping this year. I took Katie for an overnight last year and I was amazed to find out recently that she remembered just about every detil I could question her about. Hopefully we can get out there a few more times this next go around.

Super Fort

(The above picture was taken in the dark with the night-setting on the camera, hence the ghosting and light streaks. I'm trying to learn how to do cooler things with the camera, it has lots of interesting features and I feel like there is a lot to learn int he creative area of digitial photography.)

We had quite an exciting night tonight as compared to our usual routine. Jennifer and the kids decided to turn the living room into a fort -- complete with pop-up house, catipillar tunnel, and other neat climb-under things. In the house were pillows and beds for each of the kids. We got out the flashlights, turned off the house-lights and played and played. We had never really done this at night with K&A before so they were delighted. There was a good amount of singing for some reason as well. Andy did a very comical rendering of "Itsy bitsy spider" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." Much fun!

Sound Bites

OK, so in the spirit of continuing to 'leverage' ideas from megzo, I have a few sound bytes for you to sample. Enjoy!

Katie - "Part of Your World"

Andy - Counting in Spanish

I can't sleep...

So tonight Katie was having a hard time going to bed. It's not uncommon that both kids resist bedtime, why sleep when you can play right? Usually we have a routine to help this along. Bedtime stories, milks, etc.

Anyways, I put Katie down to bed, tucked her in, started her music, and bid her goodnight. Soon after she comes creeping out to the living room...

Katie: "Daddy, I can't sleep."

Steve: "I know Katie, but you have to try, it's past your bedtime."

*Walks katie back to bed and tucks her in*

Katie: "Daaaaaady, I can't try..."

Steve: *Wistfully* "Just close your eyes and picture princesses and castles..."

*Katie closes her eyes tight for a few seconds*

Katie: "All I see is the color black."

The Black Knight that ALMOST was...

Not often, but occasionally, I find myself having a ‘vision’ of an experience that I would like to make happen for our family. Not like a crazy voodoo-Indian-sweat-house kind of vision, but more like when you imagine ‘exactly’ how you want something to be. For example, this Halloween, I really wanted to make Andy a cool Knight costume. I used to love dressing up as a knight when I was a kid, playing with wooden swords and all of that. So anyway, I decided to inflict this vicarious fantasy on my son this Halloween.

I did some pretty serious preparation for this project. I got a bunch of cardboard from work. Bought some black spraypaint (Oh yeah, it was going to be the cool-evil black night baby!). I went to the toy store and bought a foam sword. I got a tailor’s measuring tape and fully measured Andy from head to toe. I sketched out a full suit of armor. I got down on my hands and knees in the garage and started cutting, and cutting, and cutting. I sweat, I slaved. I finally got a cool helmet and chest-piece made-up. The chest-piece even had these near strings to tie it together – I mean, it was cool! I then painted the helmet black.

Well after all of this work, I decided to try it on my son.

The second I got the helmet on Andy, he totally flipped out – crying, fighting to rip it off. He hated it. I was thinking to myself (ummm, OK this is a problem!) I tried a few more times over the course of the week and got nothing but the same reaction. Dejected, defeated and frustrated with my son, I shelved the costume.

After thinking about it, I realized that it was pretty foolish of me to expect he would like it. I started to consider that I should certainly be frustrated with myself, and that Andy was merely a victim in this delusional fantasy of mine. I thought about similar things my parents used to try and get me to do that I didn’t like. I am pretty sure all parents and kid’s have this relationship to some degree. Anyhow, it was funny to look back and compare my uber-excited anticipation against the actual outcome. So, no Knight costume this year. But hey, there is always next year right? 

Bye Bye

Well, grandma and grandpa have left and headed back to Colorado, and we are back to just the four of us. We miss you guys already! Grandma and grandpa bring many great things when they visit and we will have to go though some withdrawls as we adjust to thier absence.

Special things we will miss:

- Andy's bedtime buddy.

- Carmel apples, donught holes and special sweets.

- Starbuck's Morning Mochas.

- And of course, the mountains of help around the house and with the kids.

Thanks guys for the great visit, hope you had a safe trip and we will see you soon.

Beauty and the Bat

Well, Halloween is all done! We had quite a traditional night here in San Diego. The kids got dressed up and we took some pictures. Andy was a bat, and Katie was a princess... Princess Lea to be exact. Every time people would see her they would try and guess who she was... "Cinderella? Sleeping Beauty?" and Katie would always say, "I'm Princess Lea!" I watched Star Wars with them a few weeks ago and I think the name stuck in her head more than the image. You can see by her costume that this is little respemblance to Princess Lea. This disconnect left many of our trick-or-treat hosts rather confused.

So we hit about 20 houses. Quite a bit more than previous years. It was chilly here but we used the wagon and a blanket. Katie was real bold as we went to each house. She would ring the bell, bang on the door, and say loudly, "Is there anyone home here?!" meanwhile, Andy would hang back and hide behind my leg, waiting to see if some monster or foo foo (dog) was going to leap out when the door opened. The whole 'scary' houses thing was a bit much for him, but he stayed brave and had the hang of it by the end of the night. The two of them were giggling and squealing in the wagon the whole time as we went from house to house. They were begging for more as we tried to herd them back to the house at the end of the night. At the end of the night they were completely wiped out, as were all the adults.

ARRRRR!

"Swab the deck ya lilly-livered scallywag! Hoist the mainsail or it'll be to Davey Jones locker for ye! It be time to seek out me buried treasure!"

Katie has taken a keen interest in playing 'pirates' lately. I'm not quite sure why. I think it started after I saw Pirates of the Carribean II and then I started talking like a pirate one night. The next thing I know, all Katie wants to do is play pirates all the time. So we decided to go full-bore the other night with hats and swords and the whole shebang. We even made a couch-cushion ship, a treasure map, and gold-lego treasure. There were sharks, and cannons, and much sailing of the high seas. Of course somehow Ariel found her way into the fantasy as well...

Much of the time when we are playing pirates, Katie and I make hooks with our fingers, wincey-faces, and take turns saying "Arrrr!'. (See picture)

Katie: "Arrrr!"

Steve: "Arrrrrr!"

Katie: "We're good pirates though, OK daddy?

Steve: "Arrrrrrrrrrr!"

One... Two... Three... Four...

Tonight in the middle of playing, Katie dropped down and started doing sit-ups while counting out loud, "One, Two, Three, Four..." (Jennifer has been doing sit-ups at home for the past couple months and it appears to be rubbing off some. When I asked her about it, this is what I got...

Steve: What are you doing Katie?

Katie: I'm just umnmm, doing exercise

Steve: Exercise, what's that? (This is actually an honest question!)

Katie: I exercise because it's good for my heart!

No arguments there. Soon after she started her sit-ups, Andy joined in next to her doing the same thing. Apparently, I am living amidst a bunch of health nuts. But don't worry, Im doing my best to hold out against the peer pressure.

It's been a super busy week. Dick and Kari (Jen's parents) are in town, so the house has a lot of activity. We're having a great time. Last night Jen planned a special night out and the grandparents babysat. Jen had booked a special hotel and dinner-night out for us. She got us a place at a local Hyatt (not less than 5 minutes form here, literally we didn't get on a freeway to get there!). The hotel manager happens to be Jen's college friend's husband. When we checked in, we found out that he had upgraded us to the Presidential Suite! I have never stayed at a presidential suite before. It was pretty incredible. The place was enormous, multiple bathrooms, dining room, living room -- I mean it was about as big as our house. We really enjoyed it. We had sushi for dinner and spent the night in the room :)

Drama Queen

So Katie is now in "Theatre Class". As if she needs the training... Anyhow, she has been to about six classes so far. Tonight as we were reading some bedtime stories, she pops up on the bed and bends at the waist, looking at me through her legs and says, "Daddy, what letter am I?" Jen gave me that look of {this is what she learned in class today}

Slightly startled but willing to play the game, I started guessing letters... A, M, O, V, and on and on... After about the 10th guess, Katie started getting slightly frustrated with me. I tried harder but to no avail. Finally, visably flustered, she belts out: "I'm a SQUARE!".

Mmmmkay. That's not fair, that was a trick question. She then proceeded to show me circle, line and triangle. Finally she finished with her grand finalie, the elephant. Complete with trumpet sounds and side-to-side tromping. Good stuff. Coming soon to a theatre near you.

Slideshow!

So this morning I was checking megzo.com and I saw that my brother-in-law had uploaded thier latest slideshow of their summer photos. Fully inspired, I decided to take a crack at one for us as well. (Sorry Woody for ripping-off yet another great idea of yours, but you get full credit of course!) I really want to thank Woody and Tanya for getting me hooked on Blogging, I must admit, I am getting a lot out of it.

You can see it by clicking on the link in the "Slideshows" section on the right, or by clicking on the title screen in this post. Hope you like it.

Halloween Party Hardy

Well, I have been talking about hosting a Halloween party for the little ones for a few years now. I finally got organized and we had a great time on Friday night. We had 7 mommies and 13 kids all five and under. We had five stations: cupcake decorating, pumpkin pizzas, spooky coloring, haunted photo frames, and candy corn popcorn hands! I cleaned out the garage and brought in the patio furniture. It reminded me of my childhood Chicago neigborhood potlucks in the Jeide's garage.

Of course, my friends helped me make a feast and we attempted to put on costumes. As you can see from the pictures, I think we totaled 10 kids at once. Ryan and Dylan had thier Thomas and James' costumes on for maybe a minute and Will had already left the party. Well, we tried and I am sure we will try again next year. Thanks to all of you for making it a great time. You are wonderful friends.

Who's Older

We are heading out to Katie's Open House for Preschool. We took pictures b/c it was a gorgeous October Santa Ana night. While I know that Andrew has now surpassed his sister in weight, I can't believe how similar they look in age in these photos. Adorable, huh?

DAEPS!

Andy has gotten pur-ty onrey lately when it comes to eating his dinner. Typically, he will eat any fruits put in front of him, and adamantly refuses to touch anything in the meat or veggie department. The kid is huge and healthy so we haven't been too forceful with him as of late on this stuff, but it's starting to get a bit unmanageable, so tonight I started craking-down a bit more. Tonight's dinner was typical, Andy ate all his grapes (pronounced "Daeps" in Andy-speak.) I then tried to get him to eat his chicken and corn...

Steve: "Good job on those grapes Andy, how about you eat some of that Chicken now?"

Andy: "NOOOO DADDY! I wa DAEPS!"

Steve: *firm now* "Andrew, you have to eat your chicken first, then I'll give you all the grapes you want..."

Andy: *insta-tears* "NOOOO DADDY! I wa DAAAAAEPS!!! *kicking sobbing*

Steve: "Katie and I are going to have Ice Cream now Andy, you can have some too, if you eat your chicken..."

Andy: "DAAAAAAAAAAEPS!!!"

Steve: *sigh*

At least Katie has been a fatastic eater lately. They both have flopped roles in this area. Katie now eats everything and then proceeds to show me her muscles and boast about her "EN-R-GY." I suppose we should be thankful that were not getting tag-teamed.

Scuba Aruba

I wonder how many pictures we capture of each other during our brief time on this planet. It seems like we take quite a few of them. Some of them seem to get lost, or tossed or just filed away in a cabniet or a hard drive. Then there are some that we cling to, that we find 'special' -- these are the photos that seem to truly capture more than just the moment, the preserve people, feelings, experiences. They touch us in special ways. What is even more interesting is that the value of these pictures seems to change over time. Some photos that I used to love, now seem 'ho hum', and some that I never appreciated, I now find incredibly powerful.

This is a picture that I keep on my desk at work. I have had it here for about a year now. I find myself appreciating it more each day. That's me and my dad of course (please forgive the image quality, this is a copy of a copy.) We took this together in Aruba on a scuba trip with mom and Tanya around 1994... 12 years ago. Much has changed in all of our lives since then. I remember the trip well, dad was lugging scuba tanks around and diving with us down to 93' to see shipwrecks and denziens of the deep. The hand-signs we are making are supposed to sign-out "Too Cool", which was unquestionably the signature catch-phrase from that vacation. Good times.

Disney Download

Had some extra time, thought I drop in a few more shots from the Disneyland Trip...

Katie and Andy in "awe" at the first room on "It's a Small World"

Andy enjoys a 'float' in the Hilton pool.

Katie and Mommy share a fun moment with Pooh. Andy... not so fun.

Katie listens to Bell recount some of her adventures.

Ariel Ariel Ariel. "Daddy, I want to see Ariel with Legs!"

The Kids get into some mischief in Toon Town.

God is in My Heart

(Photo: Katie and Daddy at Disneyland enjoying some hard-earned Mickey Dees Fries)

Katie had her school "Open House" this week. I hustled home form work on Monday so we could drive to LaJolla and meet her teachers and see her classroom. On the drive over, Katie was quietly and playfully singing one of the song-prayers she learned at her school. Curious as to what she was learning, I decided to ask a few questions...

Steve: "Katie, who is God?"

Katie: "God is in our hearts."

Steve: "Is he anywhere else?"

Katie: "Yes, God is everywhere. He's in our hearts and he's up in the sky. but sometimes I don't like God being in my heart."

Steve: "No? Why is that?"

Katie: "I just don't like God being in my heart sometimes. I can't see him there."

We're working on name writing this week. Katie can write her name now, shes got the basics down -- "A's" are often a challenge, but the reast of the letters are coming along nicely. She likes to draw, and is very interested in learning how to draw people. Last night we continued to read James and the Giant Peach. We're about 13 chapters into it. I think she likes it, however she seems to fall asleep on me after about 10 minutes of reading each night...

The Greatest Place on Earth

Well, we just got back from one heck of a trip to Disneyland! We got up at 6am on Saturday, packed the kids int he car and hustled up to Anaheim to visit Mikey's Magic Kingdom. We seem to have really good luck on these Disney Trips (this is our second with the year) and when I say "good luck" it's because the success of our trips is largely based on the number of Princesses that we are able to find for Katie to meet. Last time we went to a special restaurant (Ariel's Grotto) where ALL the princesses come up and talk to you at your table, so we had a lot to live up to on this trip.

We got into the park just about 8am. We hit the new-ish 'Buzz-Lightyear" ride and also the rocket-ship ride before we headed back into Fantasyland for the story-book stuff. The lines were super short at the early hour and we were rollin. (Daddy was bummin that the kids were still to small for Space Mountain and Star Tours. Only 2 more inches!!!!) We quickly rode about 6 more rides before the rest of the crowds started to file into the park. We had less than 5 minute waits on most stuff, and walked right on to "It's a Small World" which turned out to be Andy's favorite. I think that's because he was a little traumatized by Pinnochio and Snow White's rides. Those things are pretty dark, with lots of loud noises!

We then headed to a new section called "Princess Fantasy Faire". You can imagine that Katie liked this section very much. It was a kid friendly area that had Princesses to visit, and a show with kid-interactive events, coloring, eating, etc. We stood in line for about an hour for this and daddy and mommy were highly questioning the potential value. Once we got inside, were were grateful that we had, as Katie got to spend quality time with Belle, Jasmine, Mulan and Cinderella. She was really lovin it. Daddy took about 300 pictures.

We then met Mikey in toontown, rode Pirates of the Carribean, met Pooh in Frontierland, and of course, met Ariel at Triton's Grotto. While we were standing in line for most of the rids, Andy could see the train going around the park. At first he was fascinated by the train, and then after a while it became an obsession. We finally rode the train as he was unable to focus on anything else. Oh yeah, and we went to this special Halloween event called "Woody's Halloween Roundup" where we met Woody and Jessie and got to do some singing and Dancing. There was a game with about 20 kids called "Pass the Pumpkin" which was a lot like musical chairs. Katie played while Andy colored. Katie was the first kid stuck with the pumkin and was knocked out in round 1. It was pretty funny.

It was an action packed day and the kids seemed to have a great time. We were all wiped out by the time we got to the hotel. I had to share a bed with Andy so while Jen and Katie slept like rocks, I spent most of the night taking kung-fu kicks to the ribs from my son. Andy actualy kicked me so hard during the night that he shot himself off the bed and smacked his face on a table! I'm tellin ya, they are big kicks. We went swimming this morning and then headed home where the kids took some long naps. Whew, were beat now!

Steve

PS - On a side note, my brother-in-law Woody ran a half-marathon today in Colorado. Hope it went well Woody! We were rooting for you from Cali!

True to Your Tastes

Halloween is getting closer and the kids are certinly becoming more excited with the notion of trick-or-treating and dressing up. With the house decorated form head to toe in pumpkins and ghosts, it's hard to make a turn without being reminded that the best holidy of the year is upon us! I say that because it's a common misonception (I believe) that most people think Christmas or birthdays are the kid's favorites, but when you weigh in the candy and the dressing-up, it seems to me that Halloween seems to usually comes out on top... at least that's what my daughter tells me.

Today Katie was extra good during school. She showed some special-ness as well during somewhat of a sociological experiment (if you ask me) that happened during school snack time. The teachers had 4 kinds of apples (Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, etc.) and each child was asked to taste each of them, and then reply as to wheather they liked them or not. The teachers then created a chart, with "YES" and "NO" under each apple type for each child. When Jennifer picked up Katie form class, the chart was being scrutinized by many of the mothers who were also there picking up thier kids. Every single child had replied "YES" to every kind of apple on the list... it was a huge pages of YESes. Every child except one child of course. You guessd it, Katie had decided that she did not like one type of apple, the Granny Smiths. She made this clear to the teachers. My first response to Jen's recounting of the story was, "Ummm, why is our kid differnt?" -- Jen quickly them pointed out that Katie had spoken up (in front of her peers) and elected to be different, and true to her tastes. She certinly knows what she wants.

After that, Jennifer decided to take Katie to the local deli where they sell quite an impressive array of decorated cookies. You know, the big kind, shaped like animals and so forth. Katie decided she wanted one of the Jack-O-Lantern cookies, completely orange with green frosting on top. She was very speicifc that she wanted one that was smiling.

When they got home (I worked form home today), Katie ran to show me her cookie. She was very proud of it.

Katie: Daddy, look at my Jack-O-Lantern cookie!

Steve: Wow Katie, that thing is awesome!

Katie: I KNOW! I'm going to save it and share it with Andrew when he gets up from his nap!

Steve: That's very nice of you. Why do you want to share it with Andrew?

Katie: Ummm, because he loves cookies *speaking with big eyes*. And I love my brother.

Awwww. Sure enough, as soon as Andy got up, she broke the cookie in half and gave Andy a big peice. He was thrilled and smild-wide as he tried to jam the thing in his mouth.

Katie: *Positioning herself directly in his face* Do you like it Andrew!?! Is't this nice of you?

Steve: You mean isn't that nice of YOU Katie...

Katie: Yes, isn't that nice of YOU Andrew? I love you Andrew. *hug*

Andrew: Ank you Ta-Teee.

Steve: *chuckles*

2 Years Ago Today

It's funny how you can't see change when it happens slowly. When I look at these pictures of K&A (taken two years ago today) the thing that surprises me most is just how tiny they were.

Katie and Andy are finnally getting to the point where they are starting to like to 'play' together. Mostly instigated by Katie, they are starting to join in pretend fantasies (like playing 'school'.) Katie is growing immensely articulate, while Andy seems consumed with mainly two words, "WHY" and "MINE". It's a fun chapter right now, and with the kids entertaining themselves a little more, it gives Jen and I a little more time to breathe... more blogging!

*dashes from computer to the sounds of screams*

(OK I just had to break up a brawl, Andy smacked Katie in the face with a book so he's currently in time out.)

...oh yeah, and they fight a lot more too.

It only takes a second...

While every child is different, and every parent is different, there are still some things that all families share in common. One of those common experiences is that no matter what kind of parent you are, at some point in your child's life, you will say the words, "I only turned my back for a second!"

Tonight I was preparing Andy for his bath. He had a frightening diaper, so I proceeded to remove it and clean him of course. As I am standing up and taking the diaper out to the garage, I turn my back on the little rascal for probably 15 seconds. I left him in the hallway with his shirt on. Well, I guess seeing the warm bath with all the fun bubbles, was too much of a lure for Andy to resist. Or more likely, he didn't even think that going in the bath with a shirt on was something that was a no-no. Or maybe he just didn't realize he had his shirt on. For whatever reason, he went for it. When I got back to the bathroom, I found what you see in the picture above.

Steve: "DUDE! You can't wear your shirt in the bathtub Andy!"

Andy: "Why Daddy?"

I quickly snapped a shot and just laughed at him. Katie and Jen found it pretty funny as well.

Later as I was posting this I began to think about his response, "Why Daddy?" That's actually a good question. Why? Why not? I mean, we are washing the kid and the shirt at the same time. Everything is clean. It's kinda fun to boot. Why indeed... man these kids are smart.