Garage Band

Riding in the car the other night, Noah was asking me to switch around stations until it landed on a song that he liked.  His preferred genre, according to him, is rock and roll.  Mind you, he lumps pop into the same category.  And hip hop for that matter.  But, this song was rock.  He particularly likes the electric guitar.  His friend, Finn, has a drum set.  So I mentioned maybe they could have a band.

Me:  "Finn could play drums, you could play electric guitar, but who would be the singer?"
Elliot: "ME!!  I want to be the singer!"
Noah:  "You can't even sing yet, Elliot!"
Elliot:  "I can too!  I can  sing the ABC's!"

Oh yeah, this will be some hard core rock.

Savoring

Mandy and I got home about the same time - me from work, her from her mom's.

Me:  *looking at a little ziplock baggie* Noah, what do you have there?
Noah:  Cookies. Mint cookies we got from Grandma.  I have some left because I savored mine.
Me:  How about you Elliot?
Elliot: I didn't savor mine. I ate mine.  My cookies are now in my belly.  Can I have some cookies, Noah?
Noah:  No, Elliot, that's why you savor them.
Elliot:  But I don't like to savor cookies.  I like to eat them.

Good advice

Noah was getting ready to get into the shower tonight when he hopped on the scale and weighed himself. 

"I'm 52 pounds dad!!!  Now you get on and weigh!"  

I did, and read the weight (sheepishly) to Noah.  He said, "WOW, dad, I wish I was as big as you!  You're really big!"  

I laughed at his enthusiasm, and replied, "No you don't.  I need to be lighter and smaller."  

He looked at me and said, "If you want to lose some weight, all you gotta do is quit putting so much food in your mouth."

  

I need to relax more, I guess.

Noah is certainly no Rembrandt yet, but he does have an eye for detail.  This was a picture he drew of me, Mom and Elliot.  

Mandy asked him, "What are those lines?"  Noah said, "Those are the lines on daddy's forehead."

5-year checkup

Noah had his 5-year checkup at the pediatrician's office today.  He was both chatty, and a little nervous at the same time.  The nurse came in and asked him to go with her to get weighed and measured.  He's officially 51 lbs. and 45 1/4 inches in height.  On both counts, he's in the 90-95th percentile for his age.  As the doctor later told us, "He hasn't slowed down a bit, and he's going to be bigger than anyone else in the household."

The nurse brought him back from being measured, and as she was leaving him to get the doctor she told him to get undressed down to his underwear.  Noah looked up and said, "Whaaaat?"  After a little cajoling, he complied, but like most of us who are asked to disrobe in the doctor's office, he got a little more self-conscious.

A huge plus, though, is that our pediatrician is a great doctor, and fantastic with children. He managed to overcome Noah's nerves and have a pretty interesting and humorous conversation with him while Mandy and I just watched and listened.

He asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, and Noah pointed at him and said "I want to be a doctor."  The doc told him we needed more doctors, especially to treat the elderly like him.

"Ok, you big goof, get up on the table."  He pushed the chair towards the tall table to give Noah something to get up on.  Noah told him, "I don't need a chair," and proceeded to hop up on the table like he did it all the time.  The doctor looked at us briefly, and then said, "Well I guess you don't need a chair.  You're like a gymnast."  Noah then told him he was going to gymnastics after the appointment, as if to confirm his diagnosis.  Noah told him how he lifted weights (and how much), and about running on the treadmill, and how his dad could lift a lot more weight than him (what a great kid!).

After a pretty thorough checkup, he proceeded to ask him a bunch of safety questions:
Doc: "What should you wear when you're riding in a car?"
Noah: "A seatbelt."
Doc: "What should you wear while you're riding a bike?"
Noah: "A helmet."
Doc: "What should you wear on your feet while you're riding?"
Noah: "Shoes."
Doc: "That's right, no flip-flops."

He asked a few more questions, then asked, "What should you do if one of your friends wants to show you a gun?"
Noah: "Ummm, let them?"

The doctor looked up at us briefly, while Mandy and I were both thinking, "Oh shit, did we just fail the parent test?"  The doctor asked him if he shouldn't get mommy and daddy instead, and tell them.  And just like that we both realized that we had gotten sucked into the "it can't happen to my kid" complacency that can happen when you're not thinking of EVERY. LITTLE. THING. that can happen.

Neither Mandy or I believe that you should exaggerate the risks of childhood dangers, and while we worry constantly about our kids like most parents do, we don't tend to dwell on the randomness that you can't control.  If someone pulls up to our child while he's 50 yards ahead of us, throws him in a van and speeds off, there's not much we can do to prepare for that.  The odds of us getting struck by lightning, multiple times, are better than that scenario.

But, there are times when we're reminded that it's prudent to educate him on the random dangers.   I grew up in a small town, where I didn't know anyone who didn't own guns.  From a very young age, I knew about gun safety.  You don't point a gun at anyone or anything unless you intend to pull the trigger, not even accidentally.  You treat a gun as if it's loaded, always.  There are plenty of 5-year olds who know this by now, but not mine, not in the city.  The doctor mentioned that 30% of households have guns in them, and boys are the most curious about guns.  There will come a time when I introduce him to guns, but until then, we've got some education to do.

We decided it was time for Noah's flu shot, and mine too.  Noah was brave at first, boasting that he wanted to get his before I got mine, but when the nurse got there, he hedged a bit and told me I should go first.  I got mine, and then pulled him up on my lap.  He was nervous, but a lot more brave than I was at his age, facing shots.  I never  like shots.

Towards the end of the exam, the doctor asked him to perform several physical coordination tests, including hopping on one foot.  Noah asked him, "Do you want to see how high I can jump on one foot?" and proceeded to hop a couple of feet into the air, landing on one foot.  The doctor was impressed.  Hell, I was impressed.

When he was summarizing our visit, the doctor told us, "It's pretty rare, but there are times when I see pre-pubescent children with muscular definition and Noah is one of them."  When he's standing, you can clearly see the huge muscles on his legs, from all the climbing, biking, running and jumping that he does.

I haven't been to these appointments in a few years, but it was Veteran's Day, so I had the day off and decided to come.  I'm glad I did.  It was both satisfying to see him becoming such a little man, and sad that he was growing up so quickly.  The only other checkups that stick in my memory is when we weighed Noah when he was just a little baby, and he cried at the top of his lungs when we gave him to the doctors or nurses.  He's not much different these days, either in performance or anxiety, except he doesn't cry.

Noah, checking his own blood pressure.

Stuff they say

I have been bad about blogging lately.  We've just been busy and I have GOT to get better about it, because pretty much every single day the kids make me laugh with things they say.  Or say just the sweetest things to us and to eachother.  And it's time to start blogging it so I don't forget!  Here are a few exhanges/quotes I can remember right now:

Me:  "Elliot, you are a handsome little devil"
E:  "I'm not a handsome little devil!  I'm a handsome BIG devil!"

Noah *while coloring with Elliot*:  "Elliot, don't scribble scrabble on your paper.  You need to always do your personal best"

We were at the pumpkin patch last week and on the hayride.  Elliot wanted to sit at the very back closest to the tractor.  He looked at the man/farmer who was driving it and said to me "That man is a cowboy.  He can ride a horse with a hat.  He is a pard-en-er" (partner is said with 3 syllables and it is pretty much the cutest word, ever!)

Noah:  "I think you are best mom in the whole world, but don't tell the other moms because it might make them feel sad"

Padre & Madre

I came downstairs and asked Noah, "Where is your Padre?".

Noah:  "What is Padre?"
Me: "that means dad in spanish"
Noah:  "Oh I don't know.....How do you say mom in spanish?"
Me: "Madre"
Noah:  "Go find him, Madre"

Turn GREEN!!!!

As I was sitting at a red stoplight the other day:

Noah: (yelling) "Turn green, light!  Turn Green!  TURN GREEEEN!"  

Me:  "Noah, the light can't hear you."  

Noah: "Well then roll down the windows."

Weekend getaway

Cooped up between work and cold and wet weather, we spontaneously decided on a short road trip to Rocheport last weekend, to ride the Katy Trail along the Missouri River.  We had our usual Saturday pancake breakfast, then told Noah we had a surprise for him.   We packed a change of clothes, put all the bikes in  the van, and headed out, stopping to rent a new movie.  We had hoped it would keep the boys occupied on the way down, but Yogi Bear didn't seem to interest them any.

Elliot finally fell asleep right before we got to Rocheport, and since this would be his only opportunity to nap, I stayed in the car while Mandy and Noah stretched their legs at the Les Bourgeois Winery/Bistro that sits atop the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River.  Noah had energy to spare and had fun running up and down the steep hill.  After a short nap, E woke up and we walked over to the A-Frame, the original winery building.  This place had not changed a bit since I went to college there 25 years ago, and neither had the college kids, who were wearing the same Polo shirts and tailgaiting (with beer) outside the entrance.  I remember college being a bit early for my appreciation of wine too.

Elliot looked ready to beat anyone who tried to take his grape juice away.

Picnic lunch at Les Bourgeois' A-frame

We had a bread, sausage and cheese lunch atop the windy bluffs, then drove down to Rocheport itself and unloaded the bikes.  Mandy took off with Noah who predictably raced ahead.  Elliot and I took a little longer, although he wasn't exactly dawdling.  He is getting really good at his pedal-less bike, but seemed to think the entire trail belonged to him, careening from side to side without regard to the other traffic.  He occasionally scared me by going right up to the steep dropoffs that are on the river side of the trail.

Waiting on Dad

Of course he has to climb the bridge to see the river better.

Noah continued to burn energy like  a rocket, racing his bike against me and Mandy, back and forth. We finally turned around and headed back, a little worried he might burn himself out. Elliot was done by this time and we fortunately had the forsight to bring the CoPilot for him to ride in on the way back.  We played in a playground near the trailhead for awhile, then took a break for some ice cream.  After another round of play, we headed to our next "surprise".

E was willing to accept a lift home

Playing in the train park!

Noah has no fear of jumping off anything

 

Noah has been begging us to go to to a hotel for a few weeks - his idea of the perfect vacation.  Mandy found a last minute cheap deal in Columbia, and we headed there to stay the night.  As we pulled in, and told Noah we were at his next surprise, he couldn't believe it.  "Are we really staying at a hotel, Mommy!?!"  "WOW, this is the best day, EVER!"  He was so happy, you'd have thought we just told him we were going to Disney.
 
We checked in, changed into our swimsuits, and headed for the pool - one of the main reasons that Noah thinks hotels are so cool.  Elliot and Noah both loved it, and my shoulders were sore from catching them both as they jumped over and over.  Afterwards, we changed and headed out to eat dinner.  We hadn't gone very far, and Noah looked ready to pass out.  When Mandy asked him if he was tired, he said, "No, I'm just having trouble keeping my head up straight."  We turned around and headed to the Cracker Barrell by our hotel, and had a high-carb dinner. 

Air E.

Noah can get some distance on his jumps.

I walked back to the hotel with Noah, and we gave both boys a baths, figuring they would go down pretty easily.  As usual, we figured wrong.  One room, one bed and one pull-out couch was not enough room or quiet for them to go down easily or together. We finally split up, and Mandy laid down with E on the bed and I laid with Noah. When they were both asleep, we put Elliot on the couch with Noah.   Mandy and I were  both so tired from the previous couple of days, we decided to go ahead and go to bed.

Passed out. Finally.

I couldn't sleep very well, so I finally got up around 3:00 AM, got a cup of coffee and went for a drive around Columbia.  It had been quite a while since I had been here, and it was a pleasant stroll down memory lane, sparking memories I hadn't thought of in years.  I went through the campus, by a couple of past apartments, my old dorm and the fraternity house I stayed in for a few years, and by a few other memorable places.  Maybe someday, I'll write down a few of those memories before they escape me completely.  I had quite a bit of fun in this town.

I came back around 5:30, and the boys were already up.  We went for breakfast and coffee, then Mandy took the boys swimming again.  We finally got packed up, checked out and headed to Stephens Lake park to let the boys play some more before we went back to KC.  It was a great park, especially for climbing rocks, but it was a cool morning, and we didn't stick around too long.  After grabbing a bite to eat, we headed home. 

Noah DiCaprio yelling, "I'm the king of the world!"

Well, hey there.

As we were leaving, we passed a firetruck and ambulance attending to someone who was lying down on the sidewalk.  As I pointed it out to Mandy, Noah complained that he couldn't see, and as we passed by, we just ignored him thinking it was probably best he didn't see it anyway.  A few minutes later, out of nowhere he said, "I didn't get to see the guy lying down, dead."  I said,  "He's not dead, he's just sick."  Noah said, "Oh, I figured since he wasnt moving he was dead."  For some reason, just the nonchalant way he said it made Mandy and me laugh, and wonder where in the world he comes up with this stuff.

The boys were both asleep a few minutes after we hit the highway, and in a bit of good luck, slept the entire way home. It was a good little getaway.

Best passengers ever. 

Sweet Dreams

One of the best sounds in the world has to be listening to your child belly-laugh in their sleep.

I'm couldn't quite tell what Noah was saying, but it was clear that his mom was doing something to make him laugh.

Funny Elliot

Today in the car Elliot started his own version of telling jokes.

E:  "You know what, mom?"
M:  "What?"
E:  "CAR!" (then laughs wildly)
E:  "you know what, mom?"
M: "What?"
E:  "HAT!" (again laughing cracking himself up)

This continued over and over, each time the punchline being a different random object.  At one point Noah wanted in on the joking and said "You know what, mom?" before I could even say what to Noah, Elliot piped in:  "NO!  I do it!  Stop copying me!"

And then I laughed wildly.

Playing Tag

Noah loves to play tag.  Being chased, and chasing others, has been a favorite since he could run.  The other day we were driving home from school and he informed me that he & his friend, Zaria played tag at recess.  He's mentioned they play tag a lot and I said "You & Zaria must love tag.  You always play tag".  He responded, "Why do we love tag so much, mom?".  I said, "I don't know, why?", then he said "It must be because we get to touch eachother. That's probably why."

Um, I didn't think four year old boys cared about touching girls yet. 

Today I chaperoned a fun field trip and I was assigned Noah & Zaria as my charges.  They really are sweet friends.  Here's a photo of them together.

Post-swim lunch

Back to Saturdays at the YMCA, where we do "boot camp", then go swimming with the boys, then do lunch in the lounge afterwards.  Both boys will be ready for the pool this summer.  Noah's swimming laps in the lane pool, and Elliot's practically swimming for real - he has the stroke down, but can't move fast enough to keep his head out of the water yet.  Not that he minds going under - he's back to being fearless about dunking his own head under the water, causing a few panic-driven lunges by nearby parents to pull him back up.  He bobs up smiling and looking for a high-five.

"All my food is in my tummy now!" - he had a PB&J sandwich, a banana, a string cheese and a bag of cheez-its. The boy can put down some food when he's hungry

"I see, I see!"  It's getting hard to take pictures of E because he wants to see the picture as soon as you raise the camera.  I think that is water still draining out of his nose - he was underwater about half the time we were there.  He bonked his head on the cement climbing out on the ladder.

Top of the world

Last weekend I took Noah to a "restaurant in the clouds".  After Mandy and I came back from our snowshoe trip, I spent a lot of time catching up at work - going in early, leaving late - and she mentioned to me that he had really been missing me all week.  So after attending a baptism on Sunday, I decided to give him some one-on-one time.  Trying to think of something fun to do, I asked him if he wanted to go to a restaurant in the sky.  His first question was, "Is it in the clouds?" I told him it was.  He eagerly said yes.

We headed down to the Hyatt a little before 4:00. I didn't realize the restaurant didn't open until 5:00, so that gave us an hour to kill.  The skywalk system down there links the Hyatt hotel to Crown Center and to Union Station, so it was easy to wander around without him getting too impatient.  It may have been that the Hyatt was hosting a convention called Naka-Con, whose attendees struck us both as a little (ok, a lot) odd, or it may have been that he just seems more attentive when one on one, but he was happy to stick close to me, and wanted to hold my hand as we walked and talked.

We took the skywalk over to the toy store in Crown Center first, and he played a while with the various unique toys they have on display. After that, we visited the "Under the Sea" exhibit, an underwater-themed play area.  We then walked over to the Crown Center hotel itself, and rode the glass elevators to the top. As we went, I pointed out the restaurant we were headed to, another 20 or so stories higher.  We sat around out in front, across the street from the fountains he and Elliot played in so much last summer.  Along the way we talked about nothing in particular - his school, his mom, the planets, his brother and other things important in a 4 year-old's life.

As it neared 5:00, we headed back to the Hyatt and rode the elevator to the top. We were still three minutes early, so we had to stop on the 40th floor for a few minutes, where we took in the city.  Noah was duly impressed, and not nearly as nervous as I was about walking right up to the glass window.

A few minutes later, we were seated in the lounge of Skies restaurant at a table right next to the windows.  The restaurant not only has a great view from its high vantage point, but it also rotates 360 degrees over the course of an hour, allowing you to see the entire city.  Noah was sort of speechless for a while, which is unusual for him, but then he started peppering me with questions as I explained all the things he was looking at.  He saw trains, people playing in the parks, tv towers, and people in the office buildings next door among other things.

I ordered him a raspberry lemonade to get started, and after they brought it out, he didn't speak much until it was gone. I have to admit, I tried it and it was damn good. I didn't see much on the menu that he would probably like, so I ordered some french fries and some sort of chicken appetizer.  Noah took one bite of the fancy cumin-flavored ketchup that came with the "truffle fries", and gave the waitress a weird look that probably made her think he was getting ready to spit it out.  He may have been contemplating it.  She quickly offered to bring him regular ketchup.

Noah must have asked me a thousand questions about different things - the restaurant, how it moved, what we were looking at, etc - and I dutifully answered each one.  It was a fairly quiet place, but Noah doesn't have a "low" volume setting, and I could hear the couple next to us laughing once in a while at some of his questions.  After our appetizers, we split a piece of cheesecake as we watched the sun go down.   After it was done, we sat there for a few minutes and then he said quietly, "I love you, dad." It was one of those moments that make having kids worth everything you've ever had.  He then followed that endearing moment by saying (loudly), "Pay the bill and let's get out of here."  He doesn't like waiting for the check any more than I do, apparently.

We finally got it paid, and I apologized to the couple next to us for interrupting their dinner as we left. The lady said, with real enthusiasm, "No, I loved it, I loved listening to him."  We rode the elevator down and walked through the lobby.  As we were walking through the parking garage towards the car, Noah said, "I had a really fun time with you."

I'm not sure when children begin to retain specific memories - I know it varies. But when I have days like this, when being a dad is so enjoyable and easy, I like to think that he'll remember activities like this as fondly as I know I will.  These days also help remind me that with the smallest investments of time, you can really reach your kids and they can reach you.  Children are naturally curious and in awe of a lot of things that adults find ordinary, and it's fun to rediscover being a child again when you're with them.  In case you don't end up remembering it someday, I had a really fun time too, Noah.

Looking at the traffic on Grand St from the skwalk.

Hanging out near the  some of the fountains in front of Crown Center

Playing with robot spiders in the toy store.

A sign from in front of one of the Hyatt ballrooms - get your "Ninja Weapons of Death" and your "Lolita Tea Party" all in one place. Almost all of the attendees were wearing costumes of some sort, many having to do with animals.  It was a little bizarre.

Waiting for Skies to open, looking north into downtown KC from the 40th floor.

Going, going, gone.  The raspberry lemonade was a big hit. He wanted to know if we could make it at home.

Children's Mercy Hospital.  I pointed out that his mom worked there, and that his brother stayed there when he was sick.  He was really hoping to see the helicopter on the roof fly away.

Checking out the city.

Our fancy candlelight dinner - essentially french fries and chicken pita, at twice the price.  

Watching the sun set

Heading back down.

Raisins

Yesterday I got out some raisins for Elliot as a snack. I asked Noah if he wanted any knowing what the answer would be. Ever since he first ate yogurt covered raisins (last summer I think) he won't eat regular ones.  He said "Mom, I don't like brown raisins. I only like white raisins".  I thought I was being clever with my counter, "Well you say you don't like them, but you used to eat them all the time.  And you like Raisin Bran.  It has brown raisins in it."

"Mom.  Those raisins have salt on them.  That's different"

He may be right

Me:     "Noah, do you want to play basketball this weekend?"

Noah:  "If you try to play basketball, they will yell 'TIME OUT!!!!'  You're too old to play basketball."

Good strategy, Mom...

I came home from a date with Mandy last night as our babysitter was getting Noah out of the bath. 

Me:  "Did you behave for Erin tonight?"

Noah: "Yes."

Me: "Are you still on the "Nice" list, or are you on the "Naughty" list?"

Noah:  "Mommy says I'm on the "pending" list. 

Santa & I are e-mail buddies

I email him regularly updates on Noah's behavior. At the risk of over-sharing, I'm posting this so I don't forget it.

"Mom, email Santa that I didn't want to get my poop out when I was constipated and it was hard and I was nervous and then I got it out just in time. Email Santa that."

Brrrr

Paul & I have held off turning on the upstairs heat so far. We have the heater on downstairs as needed and bundle up in warm jammies and blankets at night. But, this morning it was down to 63 degrees up there. Noah said "BRRRR!!!! It's a good thing I'm wearing my long underwear"

He doesn't have long underwear and not even sure how he knows what they are, but it cracked me up. And prompted me to turn on the heat, finally. If he was cold in his fleece PJ's and chamois blanket, it's too cold.

It's a bear!!!

Even though he’s four, we still use a monitor in Noah’s room. I’m not sure when parents normally stop, but it is hard to hear him from our room, and even though it’s rare, he occasionally gets up at night thinking that it’s morning, and goes downstairs.


As a result, we sometimes hear him talking in his sleep, which is pretty cute, and every once in a while we have to rush in there to talk him down from some nightmare he’s having (monsters, bugs, dinosaurs, etc).

About 3:45 this morning he woke up and I could hear his door open on the monitor, so I jumped out of bed to intercept him. When I ran into him in the hallway, he said “I just wanted you to sleep in my bed, daddy”, as if it were something that just happened to cross his mind in the middle of the night, and he was coming in to get me.

I took him in to the bathroom, then walked him back to his bed and lay down with him so he would go back to sleep. I started to hear him breathing deeply and I was about halfway dozed off myself when he suddenly yelled “Don’t let that polar bear get me daddy!!!!”

Now, it was iffy anyway whether I could get back to sleep after getting up at 3:45 AM, but until then I had a fighting chance. However, I was not expecting any noise as I tried, much less shouting in my ear. I laid there for a few moments, heart now beating fast; wondering where in the world that came from when it occurred to me that I was wearing a big, white polar bear on my chest from the charity run t-shirt that we got last weekend.