The rest is commentary

While I was out of town, Meh made a point of keeping a notepad at the ready to capture choice comments from the boys. A classic was shared earlier in the blog, but the rest were a fabulous present for my return.

Z: (pretending to be on the phone) Hi, I'm wearing shoes. I went to Michigan and the beach house.

O: The first point I have to tell you is they have gelatin. Next is not to get them. The third is not to eat them. (In regard to some kind of gummy "car snacks")

Z: 3...2...1... emission!

O: What was that book we read last night with the bunny and the old lady? (Goodnight, Moon) I don't like the goodnight nobody page. It's a little scary.

Z: (again pretending to be on the phone) Hello, I am [unintelligible]. I have Shabbat, bye.

O: What did you do yesterday Zachary? Can you tell me all about it?

Z: (one last faux phone conversation) Hi Owen. I think dad and mom went on the airport to London.

Two helpings

Happy Thanksgiving and Chanukah! Unfortunately, Mima had injured her back last week and couldn't leave the house to join the dinner at friends S and J's house, so O and I headed to the local grocery store to pick up an improvised Thanksgiving lunch (they even had some nice reasonably sized rotisserie turkeys) to bring to her. Z and mommy joined us soon after at Mima and Papa's house for the unexpected but very nice Thanksgiving part one. While there, Mima and Papa gave the boys some lovely Chanukah presents, including reversible superhero capes and masks -- a huge hit with all! There were also a vehicle-themed erector set (which the boys, gasp, wanted to immediately build into a fire truck), along with a fun new allegedly drop-proof (the boys almost immediately "tried out" that feature) Android tablet -- thank you to mima and papa for the fabulous gifts!

Later it was on to friends J and S's lovely home for Thanksgiving dinner. I brought challah (big shock), and Meh made both her yummy sweet potato casserole and an excellent dairy-free pavlova. There was an honest-to-goodness kids table for Z, O, and D & D's sons N and B -- not that any of them sat for an extended period. There was running around the family room (J was patiently moving things out of their path) and N helped "show" the boys how their new tablet worked (that is, playing one of the pre-loaded games that he was apparently already familiar with). But in between they did sit nicely at the table and color in some excellent placemat worksheets that J had found, and we had a nice and even mildly relaxing festive meal with friends.

Measured response

Chanukah starts tomorrow night, but today was O's school Chanukah party. Both Meh and I were able to attend with many of O's friends (though a few were already gone for the upcoming Thanksgiving break) and their parents. It was fun if chaotic, with a number of activities: arts and crafts, the kids singing and dancing to "I Have a Little Dreidel" (though they'd apparently not quite learned the entire chorus or any verses yet), decorating cookies (Meh brought her fabulous assortment of sprinkles, dragees, and the like), and then of course presents! The teachers gave each of the kids a fabulous set of measuring cups. O was super thrilled with his present -- in fact, he was so thrilled, that when he and mommy got home from the party, he immediately wanted to bake something (and he insisted on being in an apron while he did it). So they made some yummy sugar cookies (the recipe had been another gift from the teachers), or at least the cookie dough. I think he got bored while it cooled in the freezer -- though he did correctly insist on washing all of his fancy new kitchenware himself. As Meh responded to this last bit, "Yes!"

Chanukah comes earlier

Yes, yes, it's crazy early this year, and the first time in something like a trillion years that Chanukah coincides with the 150 year old Thanksgiving. But really Chanukah arrived even earlier for us, as grandma and J brought a number of gifts for the boys (in addition to their new favorite Museum of Flight space shuttles). Among the many presents was a childhood favorite of daddy's: a plastic bowling set. O was mostly about holding the ball and swatting the pins with it, but eventually he was catching on to the whole rolling thing, and we built out an alley between the kitchen and dining room.

We had such a nice time with grandma and J, but their visit came to a close this morning. There were fun trips to some local parks (where, as usual, the boys primarily wanted to sit in swings or merry-go-rounds and have daddy push them - does that really consume any energy?), playing with games, reading books, baffy time, and general silliness. We miss them already and hope to see grandma and J again soon!

Flying Turkey

We've been having a very nice time with Grandma and J visiting for the weekend. Meh departed this morning for Portland, but the boys, grandparents, and I had a full morning: first, just in time for my concert this evening, we picked up my newly tailored tuxedo (talk about delayed use of a birthday present, which Meh had picked out for me, um, nearly 12 months ago - sorry Meh, and thank you!). Then we drove onward to the boys' nirvana, I mean, the Museum of Flight. As Meh and I have independently confirmed, getting the boys into the car is usually at least a fifteen minute stall-fest -- but when I mentioned we were going to see the planes, I can confidently say that I never saw them get their shoes and jackets on quite so quickly.

While our initial route was blocked due to construction, soon enough we did successfully arrive at the museum. As we got out of the car in the parking lot, I saw a cute little prop plane coming in for a landing and pointed it out to the boys. Suddenly, on the parallel runway further from us (but still within a hundred yards), a huge military cargo transport came buzzing in for a landing -- possibly related to the upcoming presidential visit? Anyway, it was quite the sight, and the boys (and J) were already thrilled before we'd even gotten inside.

The museum itself continues to be a big win for the boys, as well as an exercise in zone defense for any adult trying to keep track of them. The boys generally wanted to go in two opposite directions, but somehow the three of us were able to get them to least stay on the same level of the museum. There was running around, climbing into many planes (that they were allowed to; O later continued to ask if he could climb into some of the other planes, even the ones that were suspended from the ceiling), and in general talking about all of their favorites. The museum also had a pre-Thanksgiving art activity that the boys enjoyed, making "turkey rockets": turkeys made from tracing their hands on paper, taped to a cone of paper, then put the cone on top of a soda bottle and squeeze the bottle to launch it. Both boys made one that we're saving for mommy tomorrow.

We crossed over to the annex containing the space shuttle simulator (well, we actually had an extended intermission on the bridge itself, watching traffic go by underneath while snacking) and adjacent to the actual airplanes, and the boys were thrilled and surprised when grandma and J bought them space shuttle toys at the little gift shop. Actually, O was at first super happy and then distressed that he had picked out a different toy than Z -- and one that didn't involve removal from a cardboard box (they still do love/obsess over their unboxing videos). I had to remind him several times that he'd made his choice, these were very generous and nice gifts, and that they should be profusely thanking grandma and J!

At last the boys' stomachs were rumbling and it was time to go grab some lunch. We headed out for the usual, but when we arrived (and had to park blocks away -- this was the mall location, and Christmas shopping is apparently already in full swing) the manager was at the door apologetically turning people away due to "computer issues". So onward to the next closest location, and after all of this, O actually declined to order or eat any lunch. I think he was both exhausted and maybe full of snacks from the museum, but it was still impressive to see him politely turn down the waiter's inquiry for a drink or food. Z meanwhile ate everything on his plate.

I forgot to mention, yesterday was the launch day for a certain video game console I've been working on for the past few years. On Wednesday there were festivities and fireworks through midnight (though as with new years, I was exhausted by 9 pm and headed home), the unveiling of a giant plaque with thousands of names on it (with a tripod-mounted spyglass since it's hung from a second floor atrium balcony), and a big posterboard that everyone signed as they picked up their very own special edition launch console. Hugely exciting to see my third (!) console ship, though the big work remains ahead for my team to help game developers hopefully make hundreds of great games for it!

What the font

As discussed in previous blog posts, Z is a huge fan of words, reading them wherever he goes, and writing them like a champ on both his class work and whenever we have an opportunity to do art at home. Breakfast is punctuated by renditions of cereal box prose, featuring comments like "whole grain oats", "General Mills", and "it says 'Original' there!". Lately we've noticed some variations in how he's been forming his lower case A's, and we finally figured out that Z is emulating some of the various fonts that he sees. This picture is his attempt at some clearly Cheerios font-derived a's -- nice serifs, Z!

Today Grandma and J arrived for visit! In addition to a nice lunch with just the grownups (while the boys were at school), they got to see O's classroom and help the boys with baffy time. Though Meh is off to a weekend of choir performances in Portland tomorrow morning, the rest of us are looking forward to a busy schedule of activities, with my orchestra's concert tomorrow night and maybe a visit to the boys' favorite museum in the queue.

Cold play

Today we had a very nice brunch with mima and papa; O was particularly excited to taste some of their yummy Keurig hot chocolate, which was supercharged by adding both whipped cream and sprinkles. Then Meh and we parted ways, with her heading to work and the boys and I off to run a brief errand to pick up groceries. Of course it's never a "brief" errand with the boys, and they were wild enough (thankfully at least sitting still long enough to accept and devour free chocolate chip cookies from the grocery store's bakery) that we clearly needed to find someplace to go burn off energy afterwards. Lately I've been walking them up to Z's elementary school -- the dual benefits of them actually walking (exercise) and going to a playground without swings (more exercise; they're guaranteed to be doing more than just sitting there while I push them) has made it an attractive option. I've also mentioned O's renewed interest in his tricycle, so off the three of us went.

It was, shall we say, an adventure. O continued to want full independence on the tricycle (except when he didn't), and Z wasn't always interested in holding my hand. Somehow we arrived at the park at roughly the same time, at which point the boys ran around like wild men before it was time for snack. I miscalculated just how cold it's gotten; while the boys were fine with their heavy shirts and (somewhat light) jackets, I was freezing. Of course this meant it was time for an extra-leisurely snack. The boys found it super funny when I huddled way down in my jacket -- hah hah. Anyway, some more play time warmed us up, though it was finally time to head back home. Again, getting both boys to head the same direction and rate of speed was a bit of a challenge.

Friday night was the Seattle opening of my friend J's film, and I was excited to be able to take Meh on a date to see it while the boys had a fun evening with their favorite sitter S (seriously -- Z just smiled and said "byyyyye mommy and daddy" when he saw her). I was rooting for a full audience, and was texting live attendance numbers to J as we counted down to showtime; in the end, the theater was at about 90% capacity, hooray! Meh was a big fan of the film itself, even though the theater had to do a restart after accidentally showing the first few minutes with a bunch of the frame clipped. As the end credits rolled, a huge cheer went up from behind us for the assistant editor credit; apparently he's got family and friends in Seattle. It was fun to see the film again on a big screen in my own town, and encouraging to see people flowing into the theater for the next showing as we headed out afterwards. Congrats again to J!

Feeding frenzy

This morning, O declared to me that he likes to take "adventure bites". This (according to him) is apparently a term used by his teachers to describe taking a big bite of something; my guess is that the extra data he missed is that an adventure bite involves trying a food that the kids either don't know or don't strongly like the taste of. Anyway, after announcing this, O then showed me an adventure bite of cereal, and later on, one of candy. I suggested he try one of my sandwich, but he wasn't interested. Of course, he always follows his brother's lead; if I offer him food, he'll ask "did Zachary eat any?"

Mommy's craftiness has been in full force as we begin to prepare for "tiny" (current code name; O insists the baby's full name is "Tiny Tim"). Well, to be clear, I guess I'm still a bit superstitious and declare that anything pink and girl baby themed is really just for if there ever happens to be a girl baby visiting the house. Ptui ptui, salt over the shoulder, etc. Anyway, a number of Alice in Wonderland-themed blankets, bumpers, mobiles, and other decorations are already in production. Meh saw a cute flower-covered lamp in a catalog and decided that she could do it better. I would emphatically agree with the result, though there was the near-tragic moment when she was about 5 flowers short -- thankfully with the UPC sticker in hand from one of the flowers she'd gotten (at another location), I was able to pop off to the local Michaels and find a match. Success, and a fabulous lamp by mommy!

Recovery weekend

Back from my last (planned) travel of 2013, it was super nice to have a family weekend together. We went to the park together, we snuggled at home together, we played on toy cars (shock of shocks), and we even got to go see our favorite local geek a cappella group give an excellent concert (bonus points: they had optional child care available at the venue; O spent most of the concert playing in their well-equipped-with-toys Sunday school playroom). Even though they're often busy and sometimes more exhausting than the work week, I wouldn't trade our family weekends for anything -- it is very good to be home!

Extended technique

Z brings home his school work in his backpack nearly daily; he calls it "table work", and will frequently recount it among his day's full schedule: "first we'll have table work, then recess, then lunch, then P.E., then get on the yellow bus..." We see a fabulous progression of his handwriting, counting/numeric comparisons, and overall reading and math comprehension. We also get to see some of Z's creativity in action -- here was an assignment he brought home this week. I love how he extended the drawings to add legs (and apparently dresses?) to the characters. We also had him bring home what I think was originally supposed to be a connect-the-dots of a turtle that he insists is now a giraffe, and he drew a tall tree next to it that the giraffe is "eating".

Many of his table work assignments have the standard "name:" and "date:" fields at the top, which he dutifully fills out each time. It's been interesting to see that on assignments that don't have these fields, he's been occasionally adding them and a blank line (not actually filled in with his name) to the top. Z definitely prefers a certain level of consistency/formality to his school papers!

Z's class photos came back today, and they did not disappoint -- not pictured here is the "extended" 3/4 length pose version we also got, where you can see that his sweater's sleeves were long enough that they were completely covering and obscuring his hands. But such a cute and handsome smile from our kindergartener!

Back in my day...

When you return to a place you haven't been to in a while, you tend to immediately notice the changes. So while I was only a mile or two north of where I live for basically all of my Los Angeles time at college, it was a bit of shell shock when I drove into a downtown LA that had somehow gone upscale in my absence. Granted, my time there even predated the Staples Center, but now there's this whole entertainment complex thing attached to it. And crazy constantly-expanding affordable light rail service, which I (gasp) actually even used as a convenient way to meet up with friends one evening. Though hey, at least the traffic and driving patterns have stayed pretty consistent.

Anyway, it's been a very productive and good trip to Los Angeles; as with New York, I thankfully got to spend some time with college friends in between lectures (both giving and attending), meetings, learning about new technologies, and catching up with the latest from many professional contacts and friends. I got to catch up with a number of friends from both college and post-college, including friends J and A and their son L (who is close to O's age and really reminded me of him; J reports that he was still asking a few days later when I'd come back to read more stories, so I must've made a somewhat positive impression). And I even got to go see my friend J's excellent new documentary film in an honest-to-goodness first run mainstream movie theater as an anonymous patron -- there was spontaneous applause at the credits! Congrats to J, looking forward to the Seattle premiere next week! But even more than that, definitely looking forward to and ready to be heading home tonight, to snuggle with the family first thing tomorrow morning with the boys wake up.

Play Date

With the weather beginning to turn cold and wet, it's important to be consistently expanding the repertoire of kid-friendly entertainment options. Meh had work today, so it was time to find a choice that involved an at least mildly constrained/enclosed play space. Enter this epic indoor playground with attached hipster-friendly food service (something seems inherently wrong about a playground serving craft beers, but who am I to complain?) and big screen TVs broadcasting college football, and we had a winner.

The source of the recommendation was even able to join us, as O's class friend J came out for play time with his dad M. (J had been talking about bringing O here for some time.) Needless to say, big win; the boys could hardly be bothered to sit for food, preferring to run, climb, hop, nest (Z found a particularly isolated corner of a giant tunnel; it took me a few minutes to relocate him, though when he spotted me he smiled and talked about daddy in the tunnel), and pneumatically launch foam balls at each other and other crazy kids. Here's a video I grabbed; somehow the audio didn't make it onto Flickr, but I'm sure you can imagine the placid quiet that would accompany this scene: I'm off to Los Angeles this evening for two (no, make that three) conferences. The boys were a bit concerned to hear that I'd be gone (Meh perhaps more so?), though O was quick to add that I should bring them back presents of chocolate. Time will tell.