I don't want to tell you

Both of our boys occasionally are in the "I don't want to tell you" mood. How was school today? "I don't want to tell you, Daddy." How did you hurt your knee? "I don't want to tell you, Daddy." This is, apparently, typical.

But just now Olin took the cake.

"Daddy, I'm hungry. I'm really hungry."
What do you want?
"I don't want to tell you."
Do you want some crackers?
"I DON'T WANT YOU TO TELL ME EITHER!"

(pause)

"DADDY I AM HUNGRY."

(pause)

"DDDDAAAAADDDDDDDDDDDDYYYYYYY I AAAAAM HUUUUUUNNNGRY."

How about some cheese?
"NNNNNOOOOO I don't want to tell you anything."

(stumped)

"Put it in my hands, Daddy."

He stands there, eyes squinted shut, hands out, concentrating.
I get a piece of string cheese, peel the wrapper, put it in his hands.

Smile.

"Thanks, Daddy. That's what I wanted. CHEEEESE!"

I wish I had it on tape.

Rainy Day: Hit the Climbing Gym...

So the whole family went to Planet Granite to get out of the rain. Olin's first time, but he actually took to it quite well. And Anna thought he looked really cute in the shoes...

Perhaps they aren't ethnic Sherpas, but they had a good time. Now we just have the rest of the afternoon...

Super Natural Masquerade at the Academy of Science

We all had a treat last night and went to the Academy of Science for a Halloween party... Max was a Giants pitcher and Olin was Buzz... here is a photo essay:

Step and Upblock: Max Earns his Yellow Belt!

We are very proud of Max today.

After almost exactly 1 year of karate he earned his "solid" yellow belt today! This is the real deal. For the first 9 months he was in "Little Ninjas" where they mostly played around, but 3 months ago his teacher asked him to try Youth Karate, where you actually have to earn your stripes, and most kids start a bit older.

Some of you who have been around Max recently have seen plenty of his moves. But here is a little video of him in action earning his belt. And check out the size of the other kids...

Go Max!

First Day of School (First Take)

Today was Max's first day of kindergarten and Olin's first day of preschool. Max woke and proudly put on his uniform (gray shorts, navy knee socks, white polo and navy v-neck - with the Stuart Hall logo). Seeing him in this uniform brought tears to my eyes. Olin woke up on the wrong side of the bed and was perplexed why he didn't have an "outfit" for school like Max. Max and I headed off to Stuart Hall and Olin screamed bloody murder for 40 minutes. David walked him into MCH and the crying stopped and he was so excited to hang cloths pins on a clothes line (you gotta love montessori). He made it through the day unscathed with no tears..he played, sat in circle, ate lunch and rode the yellow bus to the park. Max and I picked him up at 1:30 and he told us that he ate with Ryan, sat next to Nora and that teacher Brianne didn't go to the park but teacher Kathleen did sit with him on the bus. Oh yes and he told me that he went poop at school and that nobody went with him. I then asked who wiped him. "wipe?" he said..."uh nobody"...nice start to school. At least he didn't have a poopsident.
Max's day was short but sweet. He didn't reveal much except that the whole school had a meeting and the kindergartners stood up and everyone clapped for them. He also said "they told us that they had been waiting for us...and mommy, I already knew that." He also mentioned that they went to heaven today. That one threw me. Heaven? I casually asked. "Yes, Heaven mommy. You know the playground on the top. They call it heaven because it is so high up and so beautiful" (rated one of the top 10 most beautiful playground views in the country- unobstructed view of the bay and golden gate bridge). Turns out it's called Highland but Max still insists it's heaven. His teachers are Mrs. Ivry and Miss Hayes, two young, sweet, pretty women who have a gift to cast a spell over 20 rowdy little 5-6 year old boys. I was so proud of both my little guys today. It was a bittersweet day. Both my babies went to school. Now, mommy is planning a midday trip to the movies -- alone :)

First Day of School Photos: Act 1 (Max)

First we snapped a photo in the back yard:

Max's day started first, so we got him in the car with Anna, and they were off!

Max wonders why Mommy is taking so long...

he explains that he chose the school mostly for the view,

strikes a pose,

and begs Mommy to hurry up!

This is my cubby...

and then he is lost in thought.

First Day of School Photos: Act 2 (Olin)

When Anna left with Max for Stuart Hall, and Olin realized I was going to take him in a different car, he melted. "All of us go in the car, ALL. OF. US." He screamed the whole car ride, and clutched onto my shoulder like a koala bear as I pulled him out.

I forced the in-front-of-the-door photo op:

Then I signed him in...

Still in koala mode...

I forgot a picture, so labeled his cubby with a "rocket." Then he started to get excited.

Continued with the rockets. His first whiteboard!

And then it was over. He found the snack table. Unassisted, he made himself a plate.

I t0ld him I was leaving, and he just gave me an absent-minded hug. Bye Daddy.

First Day of School Photos: Act 3 (Reunion)

Then Mommy reminds Max they need to pick up Olin. Max is terrified of being late. Mommy, come on!!

Just in time. Olin gets off the school bus, for the first time ever.

He sees Max and Mommy... the happiest kid ever.

Max is so proud of Olin! Look Mommy, he did it!

And the first day of school is a success!!!

Move Over Cake Boss

Olin turned 3 and we celebrated with our close friends the Rudins. David outdid himself and made the best Lightening McQueen cake. Cake Boss would be so nervous if he saw this one. Olin couldn't contain his excitement. He just had to lick it.

Maui Maui

We just returned from a fabulous family vacation in Maui. The trip started off on a crazy note. We overslept and rushed to get out the door and into the car that had been waiting for us for over 30 minutes. Max was so excited about the trip that he got himself dressed and into the car before any of us, smiling the whole time. Olin on the other hand was screaming at the top of his lungs what sounded like mommy mommy from the moment we woke him up. We got into the car and Olin kept screaming mommy mommy.. Max turned to the driver and said " I think he's screaming Maui Maui"...we all had a good laugh and we were off. We had a smooth 4.5 hr flight and the boys were great (thank god for ipads, pods and phones!) When we arrived at our hotel the boys were given toy rockets, cars and stuffed Mantarays. They started dancing around the room yelling "we love Maui..Maui Maui"...The rest of the week was great. Max loved the hotel kids camp and swimming in the pool and Olin loved playing and rolling in the sand, riding the waves with daddy and of course, sleeping on a lounge chair for hours a day. Mommy and Daddy loved the r&r, the people that cleaned our sunglasses and gave us fresh fruit by the pool, the hot famous supermodel in the cabana next to ours...but above all we LOVED that the boys slept through the night in the same bed all week (and now they are finally sharing a room at home!!!)...for the first time we are planning to return to the same vacation spot. I think Max was right...Olin was crying Maui Maui..he must have just known what was to come.

We were eating dinner tonight, four days after we returned from Maui. Out of the blue Max says, Daddy, do you remember when you and mommy were jumping around dancing in circles? We were confused and he clarifies "you know, when we woke up to go to Maui and you two were just dancing around the house because we were so late. that was so funny Daddy"...

Anna Goes Flying

OK, so this isn't about Max or Olin, but still worth posting. For Anna's birthday we took her for a little flight...

Building Germany

David made it home from Germany and clearly the trip had an impact on all. Olin decided to build Germany today with his Legos and told me to come to the living room to check out the volcano. As he was building he picked up a mini lego walkie talkie and held it up to his ear as if making a phone call. "Santa?" he said "me want jet to get to Germany."

Volcanic pergatory

David spent a week working in Germany and then a volcano erupted in Iceland and closed all of the airports in Europe. With canceled flights and no end in site, the boys and I have hunkered down for some real quality time. Olin keeps asking when we're going to Germany (never I hope) and Max wants to watch every low res video on utube of erupting volcanoes...while Olin runs around yelling "me love hot yava." We have tried to spend as much time out of the house as possible and our great friends have taken us in for meals and play dates. This means we've spent lots of time in the car driving all over town. The boys love to fight getting in the car (who's turn to climb in first, climb out first), while they're in the car (over armrests, whose turn it is to sing a song, the volume of the radio)...but with all the screaming we've had some good talks and some funny moments...like Olin and Max belting out Christmas Carols or Train's Soul Sister or yesterday when Max said "Mommy, do you know what Olin wants to be when he grows up? A stop sign. 'cause then can just stand there." I thought to myself, what is the polar opposite of a stop sign? 'Cause Max never just stands there.
Day 12...David's on a plane from Dubai to SFO right now, the skies are about to part.

And then the Tubes

And Down The Hill

And the first Bunny Hill

And the first Snowman

And Max Sleds

Day in the park

Finally a video of Max without the training wheels... (and Anna and Olin):

Publish Post

Focus, Olin?

Anna is away this weekend and I'm hanging with the boys.

We've talked about how Max loves karate, but we haven't talked about One Martial Arts, where he goes, is as much about building character as it is about martial arts. There are regular themes per class which repeat, and the children learn about respect, focus, balance, and things like that.

We've also talked about the funny things Olin says. He usually says what Max says, not always with complete understanding. And he loves to try and impress Max. And Max loves to teach. All together this can get pretty funny.

So I came home from work today, and this was the conversation they were having, word for word:

Max, standing and talking directly to Olin, who is sitting:
What does focus mean?

Olin, extremely proud of himself:
Control of your body!

This sounds a little like "Conchol Ova Botty!," complete with plenty of spittle.

Max, shaking his head in exasperation:
No, focus means "Pay attention."
He looked at Olin again, earnestly, and tried:
What does family mean?

Olin, extremely proud of himself:
Control of your body!

And so on. A little while later Olin was at the table while Max ate (Olin eats nothing) playing with action figures. One of the action figures said to the other: "Do you miss Mommy," in a sing-song voice, and the other replied sheepishly, "Yeeeaaaaahhh." And Max ate. And Olin enacted his little drama. And I just watched in wonder.

They kill me. Every day.

A Trifecta Week for Max

Now that he's five, Max keeps surprising us. He plays with Olin for longer periods without trying to torture him. He rolls his eyes at my jokes. He thinks certain shirts are cool. He's practically a teenager. But this week, he knocked it out of the park.

First, swimming. Tuesday he passed his "Guppy Test" and a blue ribbon. We had no idea this was coming and he was so proud (and so were we)!

Then Thursday. He's been taking karate for a while now, which Anna got him into because she likes the outfit. No seriously, it is a wonderful place he goes to and he absolutely loves it. He told us this week that he wants to practice karate for the rest of his life. And this week he earned his (junior) yellow belt. Next time you see him ask him to see it!

And then today. He's been using training wheels since he got his "big bike" when he was four, and he's been clearly ready to lose them for a while, but every time I took them off he wanted them back on right away. Today I took them off, and without hesitation, he biked for over an hour, managing to stop by himself, and only needing a little 'push' to get moving. He was so proud, again! The best part was the third time he fell he skinned his elbow. And he was upset, but then I told him that *no one* has ever ridden his bike all the way home (from the practice lot) the first time they take off their training wheels. And he said "Daddy. Daddy. I can do it!"

A ribbon, a belt, and a skinned elbow. Nice week, Max. We're proud of you. And please slow down. We can't keep up.

The 4 Stages of Ghostses

We've talked before about Olin being afraid of bizarre things -- pigeons (from across the playground), park horses (months after we saw one), and the "scary robot man" (storm trooper on Halloween). Firemen. Another example is ghosts. He thinks they are everywhere. But we are very proud of him, since he finally reached what I'll call the 4th Stage of Ghostses. Here are the stages:

Stage 1: Fear of things resembling ghostses
Max figured out that by making a "oooooooooh" sound, and that alone, he can terrify Olin. Since it is so easy, he does it constantly, sometimes, for variety saying "Boo" instead. Not an exaggerated or scary "Boo," but a simple casual-tone "Boo." And Olin screams.

Stage 2: Second-order fear of ghostses
Max subsequently figures out that by drawing a squiggly line on his Magna-doodle, in the shape of a ghost, and holding it up to Olin, Olin will scream. "Mommy, Ghostses! Ghostses! Ghostses!" Screaming continues.

Stage 3: Third-order fear of ghostses
Olin is getting better at drawing. He can close shapes himself, somewhat representational. He realizes he can draw a ghost. He concentrates, draws a ghosts, holds it up and stares at it. And screams. "Ghost! Ghostses! Mommy!"

Stage 4: Becoming a ghostses
This video says it all. Max and Olin, being ghosts together. Max can't scare Olin, Olin follows him down the hall saying a hilariously understated "Boo."

He is cured.