Treasures (and also geocaches)

Last night we had a late abandon of our planned Parents Night Out, as both boys had temperatures. But fear not, O suggested "the next Star Wars", so it was on to The Empire Strikes Back. Z actually fell asleep, but O stayed riveted through the whole thing -- though he talked his way right through the whole father reveal, so I had to back up the film to make sure he caught it. Mind. Blown. ("But why?")

Today all of the fevers had broken and the boys were wild, so it was time to get them out of the house so L had at least some shot at a nap. I decided it was time to continue exploring the boys' new geocaching obsession, and a nearby park looked to have multiple secretly just-out-of-sight treasure troves.

Geocaches are often a bit tricky (on a previous visit to this park, we'd wandered around an area that clearly had one, but couldn't find the specific stone/fencepost/nook where it was stashed), but for cache number one today, we had found the right location in about 10 minutes, and 5 minutes later I emerged with a waterproof canister attached to a wooden bird; O and Z were both delighted, commenting on it and wanting to check it out and pose with it for a picture for mommy.

Spot two was a bit trickier; these often depend on both luck and a bit on the accuracy of GPS reporting and your phone's magnetometer; for the latter two, my phone is pretty lame. We walked past some kind of busy bike obstacle course event in progress, but waded around it towards the second tagged spot, and explored at least two wrong paths before finding the correct one. While we were looking, suddenly a beautiful deer walked out of the woods in front of us. I stopped the boys, whispered, and pointed her out to them, and we all looked at each other for a half minute before she hopped away -- it was very special to be able to share that with O and Z. And that sustained us through the remainder of the search; 20 minutes and several more backtracks later, I decided to check an area that was in plain sight, and sure enough, a sneaky puzzle (also bird-shaped) contained our second treasure of the day. The boys had a great time, and it was just so nice to be able to spend it with them in nature and in pursuit of a family goal resulting in a few little shared discoveries.

Nine months a lady

Happy nine months to Eleanor! Unbelievable that she's already grown so much and is already showing the petite personality of happy, smiling, giggling, and vocalizing little girl. Today was her nine month well check; the report card:

• Weight: 19.95 lbs (50th-75th percentile)
• Length: 27.5" (25th-50th percentile)
• Head Circumference: 16.8" (10th-25th percentile)
• Hgb: 12.3 (yes, another random new test metric to figure out - but apparently normal values for L!)

She fell asleep on the way to the appointment, and though she had to wake up and was a little cranky for the doctor, the actual shot she got was responded to with a single cry, then a sigh and snuggle. She slept again in the car as Meh drove to get her Chanukah nails done in a very Chanukah (blue and silver, very nice!) color scheme.

Tonight we had family movie night and chose a film that I had remembered liking very much when I saw it (jeez, probably 15 years ago) but that Meh had never seen, The Iron Giant. While Z was a bit squirmy and O was asking questions roughly every ten seconds, we all enjoyed the film (yes, both Meh and I were crying at parts) -- a very solid recommendation to others, whether you have kids or not. It was also fun to hear so many familiar voices as the animated characters, and I'd forgotten that this was one of the pioneers of computer animation (the robot) meshed with hand-drawn animation (everything else).

Double dates

With Thanksgiving now past us, Z has been focusing on the upcoming month and holiday associated with it - "In December we'll have Christmas!" Er, hm. But at least Chanukah makes the list as well. I do still love the selections (and spellings) that comprise the Z bank holiday calendar; my favorite is "short day", which we figured out to mean days where he has a half day at school.

Movie nights have been a popular non-school-night activity with the boys. Last night we at long last introduced the boys to Star Wars (and despite many online nearly religious debates of correct ordering, we opted to open with Episode IV). O definitively proved himself to be my son by declaring during the opening titles, "This music sounds like Superman!" Both boys had a great time, and O definitively stated that his favorite part "was where they blew up the bad guy space ship". We'll have to slot in the rest of the original trilogy soon; that prequel trilogy is still TBD.

Today the boys each had an activity with a non-parent. Mima and O had lunch at a shockingly original location before heading onward to the local art museum for a project making a toolbox. O did a fabulous job with his, and though the paint is still drying, he *really* wants to put all of the tools that used to go in a little plastic box into the new toolbox. And Z got to go to his favorite park with former summer camp counselor E, who was visiting from university for the long holiday weekend. When Z had heard about getting to hang out with E a few weeks ago, he was super excited -- so much so that on an art project that came home with the names of people he was thankful for, E showed up. (Fear not, the entire atomic family and grandparents made the list as well.) All in all, an excellent time for the boys, and some good quality time for Meh and me to spend with L as well!

Near sighted

O's class pictures were Thursday, and he was arguably more excited than we were about the big day. Without a word or cue from me, he picked out his own ensemble and came downstairs in the morning looking quite dapper, ready for his pictures. "Wow, I look very good today!" And he knows it. This spells trouble I suspect.

In other news, L continues to be pretty much in love with her brothers, with many smiles and giggles as she watches them and as they all play together.

Today the boys and I had an early guys' movie morning, allegedly at a "sensory-friendly" screening where they would turn down the volume and turn up the lights just a bit. When I bought the tickets, I double checked we had the right screening, and the staff at the ticket counter first had a blank look and then nodded and said "yes, that's the [mumble] screening". As far as I could tell, it turned out to just be a regular showing, but the boys loved every minute of it and did a great job of quietly watching the movie and mowing through an oversized bag of popcorn. Afterwards, there was a giant version of Baymax in the lobby, and Z confirmed for himself that the robot was indeed as huggable as had been depicted in the movie.

Last Prize

Tonight Meh and I had date night, going to see a special screening of a beautiful newly restored print of Meh's favorite unicorn film at a fun city movie theater that serves up food before and during the show. Before and after, the original author of the book (and writer of the screenplay) himself was signing books and memorabilia. We enjoyed the movie (cheesy music, several corny lines, and all!), and then Peter S. Beagle himself took to the stage to answer questions and then help draw raffle of various prizes (artwork, posters, original film cels, etc.).

At the very end, there was one extra special raffle prize whose winner would get to go up on stage with Peter -- and yup, Meh won! She was so excited that she almost bit it getting up onto the stage, but she recovered and was rewarded with a shirt slightly modifying a quote from the movie, and whose explanation was a regaling of the story that somehow Peter Beagle was the first to author a story involving a female unicorn. Meh also picked up a book (unicorn-themed, by a Seattle writer who was at the screening as well) and a cool tote bag that had the entire text of the book printed on it in tiny but legible type, and forming the silhouetted shape of the lead character. What a fun and magical evening!

It's our time down here

It's our last day down on the Oregon coast, where we've been having a fabulous (if exhausting) time with friend L at her parents' amazing beach house along with friends A, J, and their son E. L has been by and large the happy baby that Meh discussed in Bulgaria -- nearly always happy, giving big smiles to all involved. O and Z have surprisingly have slept pretty well in a shared large bed in a separate room from us. O came in both mornings to wake me up by 6:30 or 7, but he and I have had some wonderful times together, including gathering firewood on the beach yesterday evening for a smores bonfire. (And yay, my boy scout days didn't fail me - I could actually still start a decent fire.) Z has been in full artist mode, creating and then hanging a number of crayon-etched creations around the house. (Fear not; the amazing Meh had the foresight to buy and pack, in addition to a full ream of paper and many crayons, some special hanging tape that doesn't take paint off the walls.) Whether it's the noise of the kids or the lack of a fully darkened room, L hasn't always been ready for naps during the day, so yesterday I wore her and hiked out to the local rock made famous by The Goonies -- a wonderful and relaxing stroll (and apparently a big contrast to Meh's experience, apparently battling boys who alternated wanting to go into the ocean or staying high up on the beach avoiding "jellyfish" -- which every little bubble on the sand clearly must be -- oh, each boy also decided on the opposite preference to their brother of ocean vs. bluff). In the evenings, the adults sat and talked, valiantly crowded around my laptop (after a TV DRM fail) to watch the new book-into-TV-series hotness, or spotted the local landmarks in a screening aforementioned 80's film.

In addition to much time in and around the house, we also journeyed to a local beach town's semi-permanent arcade, where the boys enjoyed bumper cars (though O took 'bumper' to heart and kept trying to steer us towards the outer walls) and plenty of freshly made toffee. And there were boxes of new lego vehicles to assemble into creations as well. O and Z also had some nice times playing with their new friend E.

Huge thanks again to L for inviting us, it's been an amazing time -- I won't quite say "peaceful", but definitely a ton of fun! More pictures of the trip can be found here.

Hot pants

O wanted Elsa pajamas; Meh found "sisters forever" fabric featuring both Elsa and Anna, and made a pair of fabulous pajama bottoms. With his choice of top from his existing collection, O has declared that he is now "Lightning Elsa Anna McQueen."

Everything is awesome

O and his school friends have been continuing to try to find opportunities to play outside of school, which has been wonderful to see. He and friend A have playdates frequently on Friday afternoons, and friends M and A have either booked, or expressed interest in booking, future playdates too. When I speak to their parents, they mention their daughters have also apparently started declaring their intent to marry O. When I ask O, he always insists he's going to marry friend J instead. Oh, those pre-school love triangles. Anyway, friend J proactively invited us for dinner last night while I was picking up O -- while I correctly presumed his parents didn't actually know about the invite (and I politely declined), we did go ahead and make plans for today at their house for playing and watching the Lego Movie. Of course, Meh and I were enjoying the bits and pieces we could see (in between interacting with the boys, fetching snacks, negotiating toy sharing, changing L, etc.) more than Z and O were, so into the Netflix queue it goes!

While L was conked out on Meh's shoulder, we noticed that she even sleeps daintily -- notice the extended pinky.

And her little dog too

After O's school yesterday, Meh decided to introduce the boys to the MGM classic Wizard of Oz. (Z actually had a head start; as I mentioned, one of his favorite pinball machines at the museum on Saturday was the Wizard of Oz one; the spinning house and yellow bricks perhaps makes a bit more sense to him now.) Both boys were enthralled. O insists his favorite character is the witch, and he'll even do a little version of her evil laugh if you ask him. Z commented towards the end as Dorothy bids farewell to her Oz friends, "she's sad because she doesn't want to go home". It's been fabulous to hear them both singing the songs; Z's rendition of "We're Off to See the Wizard" is about as magical as a pair of ruby slippers -- I'll have to try to record it. To top it off, Meh has a copy of the original L. Frank Baum book -- we're going to start reading it to the boys, chapter by chapter, tonight! O already saw a few pictures and was wondering why they looked different than in the movie. I tried explaining that the pictures came first, but he was still concerned -- one challenge we have trying to read books to him with illustrations is that he'll immediately start asking questions about the pictures, even if the text would give him in the answer if he'd wait long enough to hear it!

Reinforcing the cliché

Last night, we relived our own new tradition of driving around with mima and papa to view Christmas lights, finding no less than four excellent multimedia displays that featured radio broadcasts synchronized to their displays. The boys really enjoyed it, with Z frequently exclaiming, "Woahhhh... look at all those lights!"

How does a cliché become a cliché? Yes, the traditional observing of a movie and Chinese food was in force today. First we took the boys to a 10 am screening of Disney's newest film, where we met up with friends J and the H family. The previews were fairly extensive, though perhaps not all entirely age appropriate; the upcoming Maleficent was obviously a bit dark and had O asking why she had horns on her head -- though not if she was a "bad guy" (one of his new favorite phrases). The film itself was very fun and O was super entranced; he's been talking about the two princesses ever since. Z on the other hand had a bit of a hard time sitting still, getting the giggles at one point and then a bit upset (unrelated to the movie) at another, so he and I took a break out in the hallway. But both boys definitely mowed through a large popcorn pretty effectively!

On the way out, O was insistent that he open the theater door. They had what looked like that spray-on-snow on the glass doors, but when O went to push the door, his hand slid through what looked more like shaving cream. He wasn't quite ready for the slipperiness, and went sliding into the door, covering half his face and jacket with the stuff. So back into the bathroom we went, while Meh and Z were in the car wondering what had happened to us. Anyway, afterwards we headed onward to enjoy some tasty Chinese food at a local establishment - alas, no adventure bites from the boys this time around. And then, a full morning out of the way, it was time for a December 25 nap!

Mister O's Wild Ride

Today when we dropped off mommy at work, O suggested we go to the "park by the pool". Impressive that he still remembers where we used to have swimming lessons many months ago. I luckily had a towel in the trunk to wipe down the damp slides and swings (another mom who showed up soon afterwards had a towel of her own; in this area I suppose we train ourselves that the odds are ever in our favor of rain or mist), and the boys had a great time swinging, running around, and yes, riding these dinosaurs mounted on industrial springs. O in particular apparently wanted to both test out some of his personal whiplash theories and see the images from my camera as I was taking them: Tonight was one of our favorite activities at the local community center: a parents' night out! The boys had a great time apparently running around in the gym "with a bunch of balls" (said Owen), then having dinner (pizza, which I don't think either of them actually ate), dessert (which they emphatically did eat, actually bringing it home in the car with us), and the beginning of a movie. Alas, mommy and I are such party animals that their film (which we emphatically approved of) was actually just starting when we showed up at the end of our date. Ah well, we'll have to bust out the DVD for the boys again soon -- but they and we all had a fabulous time!

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!

Mischief of one kind and another

Happy Halloween! We actually got to have a dry run early this year, as friends Z and A had a Halloween party at their house on Saturday night. I was all adventurous and brought the boys solo (Meh had a choir concert) -- they were a bit overwhelmed to arrive and discover not only an awesomely decorated house (laser lights, music, giant spiders with webs, and Halloween-themed everything [including hand towels in the bathroom!]) but also that they were the only boys in a sea of like ten little girls. We walked into the play room where they were doing arts and crafts jack-o-lanterns, and O was mystified that there were no cars in sight. But the boys had a good time overall, snacking on fun Halloween-themed foods (deviled eggs with spiders made of olives on top, cookies that looked like fingers, etc.) and watching a motion-activated skeleton on the piano start singing a song every time they walked past. O got to realize his months-long-ambition to be Buzz Lightyear, while Z reprised his Max (of Where the Wild Things Are) costume from last year. O thought that was it for the Buzz outfit, and was already requesting to dress up like a Power Ranger for "real" Halloween -- even though we're fairly convinced he still doesn't have much idea of what Power Rangers actually look like. (He and some of his friends "play" Power Rangers at school, which from his descriptions sounds mostly like something between tag and cops & robbers.) Thankfully I talked him into a second showing of Buzz.

Today was Halloween proper, and we fully celebrated the occasion. Of course, the day had to start with awesome mommy-created Halloween-themed lunches for the boys. I wore my costume to work (one of the few - c'mon, coworkers!) and had to resist the urge to constantly reenact the condescending Wonka internet meme. Mommy and O came to visit me at work, where there was trick or treating around our central cafeteria area as well as one of those little trains making a circle around campus -- alas, there weren't many train cars and the line was moving painfully slowly. O persisted for quite a while but eventually did grow bored, so we moved on to candy collection and snacks. In the meantime, Z marched in the school parade in full Max attire.

In the evening, everyone got back into their costumes and it was time for some trick-or-treating! Meh and I were the unlikely pair of Willy Wonka and Violet Beauregard. Mima and papa (Indiana Jones) joined up with us as well for the first half of the loop around our neighborhood:

The prize for coolest Halloween costume in the neighborhood went to a little two-year-old Ghostbuster (complete with custom made outfit and proton pack), whose mom had somehow modded an actual Ecto-1 vehicle out of a motorized kids cart for him to ride between houses. It was pumping out the Ray Charles Ghostbusters theme and was a hit with all of the parents (though most of the kids I'm guessing had no idea what it was about).

Of course the evening had to wrap up with a recounting of the candy, as well as choosing two choice pieces to eat this evening. O appeared to take the slightly larger haul, though both of them will likely have Halloween candy to last through the new year. Z was particularly careful in evaluating each piece of candy before choosing a bat-shaped lollipop. Happy Halloween once again -- far more pictures here.

Lost and found

We set out today with an aggressive itinerary of errands to run; after dropping off mommy at work, the boys and I headed to the barber shop for synchronized kids haircuts. Z actually got to start his trim first, and O happily sat watching Cars for perhaps the bazillionth time. Then once O started his hair cut in the adjacent chair, Z got a super case of the giggles and flinches -- just in time for the poor stylist to start trying to trim the back of his neck. She was mildly stressed about accidentally shaving him bald as his head and arms kept jumping around, though she did a great job and Z eventually emerged with a well executed big boy haircut, though also with the back of his shirt covered with hair from all of the squirming. O has continued to be super shy around people he doesn't know and kept nagging me to ask the barber for a lollipop (but refusing to ask her himself, even though she was completely hearing everything he said). Alas, our barber shop has stopped stocking lollipops -- I'll have to start remembering to pack them for future trips.

Before heading onward to lunch, we had to go grab some groceries. On the drive there, Z started saying "Where'd bunny go?" I was able to sort out that his favorite toy magna doodle's four little animal stamp magnets had fallen out of their holders. When we got to the store, I found a few in the door well and another under his seat -- but no bunny. I moved all of the seats around, looked in all of the nooks and crannies, but no dice. Z was asking about bunny for much of the rest of the afternoon with increasing concern, and I felt like I was living the live action version of one of the boys' old favorite books. Finally, after picking up mommy at work, I stopped back at the barber shop on the way home, and sure enough, in the middle of the parking lot I spotted a tiny little yellow plastic bunny magnet -- intact, though from the scratches in the magnetic surface I think probably run over once or twice. Z was super happy, and our very own version of Knuffle Bunny ended, much like the book, with a happy ending.

He's a pirate

With huge thanks to friend R for the heads up in advance, after a tasty brunch with mima, papa, and Uncle J this morning, we headed onward with Uncle J to visit two tall ships temporarily docked at a nearby pier. The boys were super excited; O insisted on wearing his full pirate getup (we had to talk him out of wearing it into the restaurant), complete with hook hand. They were nearly onboard the Hawaiian Chieftain before we'd even gotten out the camera. The timing worked out well and we got to say hi to R, M, and their son J, who were also aboard. These ships apparently sail the Pacific coast from their Grays Harbor home, teaching people about 18th/19th century seafaring life. Oh, and also starring in practically every film that requires a ship of the vague general period; the second ship we boarded, the Lady Washington, was featured in Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Trek: Generations, and the Once Upon a Time TV show. Meh was of course pleased to follow in the steps of Jack Sparrow, while I was happy to occupy the same bridge as Jean-Luc Picard. (dorks)

The boys had an excellent time exploring the ships, looking over the edge of the ship at the water (I had to remove O's hat for fear it and/or he would go overboard). And O was very intent on operating most of the ship using his hook. More pictures of the boys and their plunder here.

Second Run

Sunday was Z's first film screening, and O was extremely excited to hear that he'd get his opportunity to experience some movie magic today! Same movie, different audience: Meh and he had an excellent time. (Well, Meh indicated the film itself was fairly weak compared with Pixar quality, but she had fun watching it with O.) O apparently was good about sitting still through almost all of the film, only getting a bit bored and climbing around for the last few minutes.

The movie theater adventure was preceded with O's dental appointment; Meh reported that he did amazing with the whole process, paying good attention to the dentist and hygienist throughout. He scored a new green toothbrush featuring Tigger. One of the boys' favorite parts of our dentist is that at the end of the appointment they get a token and can feed it into bubblegum-style machines for a variety of prizes. O picked out a fabulous purple ring, and then very politely asked for another token so he could get a present for his brother. Such a thoughtful boy! He clutched the dentist bag all through the movie, as you can see in the picture.

Premiere Screening

Zachary's birthday present from mima and papa was for them to take him to see the new (and highly anticipated by both boys) Disney film "Planes". He had an excellent time, apparently chowing through an entire theater-sized bucket of popcorn. When I asked him afterwards what the movie was about, he answered "toys". Sure, I can see that. (And sure enough, we've already queued up the franchise's toys, likely to bring along on our upcoming trip to Whidbey Island.) Later he indicated the film had jetways, which I thought was interesting since what purpose would those serve with anthropomorphic planes? But regardless, he had a fabulous time in his first full film since "mommy and me" infant screenings. Happy birthday once more, Mister Z!

O and Z: The Musical

The boys have gradually been introduced to a few live action films over the past few months, and their favorite at the moment is Annie. Special thanks to Grandma and J for sending it to O for his birthday; his interest had actually started with a mix CD that Meh had helped contribute to for a friend's baby shower a few months ago. Anyway, both boys have quickly been picking up on the tunes and lyrics, and have their favorites that they request in both the car and now on the TV. Z even has a number of new quotes in his arsenal, but the sing-along is by far my favorite:

Scary Movie 3

Yesterday O invented a new drink, taking his Halloween candy choice of the day (a lollipop) and discovering that not only did it fit nicely into the straw of his drinking cup, but that he could drink juice around/through it, making it extra sweet. "I like it, it's a little bit yummy!"

O and Z's favorite film series du jour is Toy Story (we're pleased they've moved on from Cars a bit). Z's toothbrush needed replacement, and he happily picked out Buzz Lightyear one when we went to the store -- and then both boys were very excited to spot the Toy Story 3 DVD in the video aisle (we only had the first two films). Many mornings (when we stumble downstairs at 5:30 or 6 in the morning) Z will now query which one we should watch: "Toy Story 1, Toy Story 2, or Toy Story 3?". If I ask him to choose he says, "one with the spaceman, Buzz Lightyear" - note that Buzz is of course in all three of them.

Both boys will then happily snuggle with the nearly-still-asleep daddy and/or mommy and watch at least the opening sequence. But when it's early enough, we tend to make it a good 20 to 30 minutes into the movie before the kids want to go play something else. The last few times, I've noticed O start to get concerned with a certain sequence, and this morning as it approached, he actually put his hands over his eyes and ears and told me "I don't like this part!" Such a cute little sensitive man! Granted, I've also caught Meh occasionally sitting on the ottoman, pulled in by one of the many heartrending scenes in the film. Darn those tear-jerker Pixar montage sequences!

Haircuts for two bits

The rare weekend with both of us in town and both at home is now in progress. Somehow I think the boys save their more challenging days for the two parent days, which I guess is a good thing? But anyway, both were looking a bit shaggy, so it was time for haircuts -- and rather than take them one at a time as I did for the last outing, we figured we'd try the two boys at once. I called ahead and the timing worked out well -- neither had a long wait. Z enjoyed a bit of his favorite film (yes, still Cars 2), but then decided he much preferred the real thing, turning toward the window to watch passing cars on the busy street. They both did an awesome job at the hair salon and got to pick out lollipops for their efforts; alas, O fell apart in the car when he decided he really wanted Z's more than his own. Suffice it to say naptime soon followed!