The Lindenbergs

The last few days have been very full.

On Saturday morning Pierce had his first basketball game. The team he’s been practicing with was split into Red and Blue teams and they played an official 5-period game. The scoreboard was used, whistles were blown, and the buzzer marked out the periods. It was hilarious. The coaches guided the play from the court and they would pause play if they wanted to illustrate a point or discuss a learning opportunity. Each kid was assigned one person from the opposite team they were responsible for guarding and they weren’t allowed to take the ball away from anyone else.

Most of the kids were terrible, with Pierce probably being one of the worst (I say this with a smile on my face). Pierce is playing in a higher age bracket session and he lacks the focus of most of the other kids. At any given time he was usually facing in the wrong direction or on the wrong side of the court. It didn’t matter, he had a blast. He had an opportunity to shoot a couple of times and catch and throw some passes, so he was doing his best. Coincidentally, Pierce’s red team had the much stronger players and they ended up winning 13-0. Everyone playing had a good time and we parents clapped for everyone and everything. If a kid caught a pass or attempted a shot he got applause. Next week is the last week of the session and another game is scheduled. We’ll definitely plan on taking pictures and video.

My Mom got into town Saturday afternoon and Pierce and Anna came to the airport with me to pick her up. They gave her a very nice welcome with lots of hugs and kisses. They then accompanied her to the restroom before we headed out to the car (don’t ask me why that was necessary). After a couple of hours of visiting Mom treated us to dinner at old Chicago’s (mmmmmmm).

Sunday was Pierce and Anna’s birthday party. We spent the morning getting ready, with Nora putting up decorations while I ran to the store to pick up the cake and some supplies for dinner that night (Nora’s folks and her brother’s family stayed for a cookout). The first part of the birthday party was held at the local fire station. All the birthday attendees got a tour of the station, helped “wash” the fire engines (with dry towels), learned about fire safety, and ultimately got to stand in the basket at the top of the engine’s ladder (a firefighter extended the ladder then lowered it to the ground).

When we got back to our house each kid got to make their own fire engine picture frame and decorate it while I printed pictures we took of each kid at the fire station. We then assembled picture with frame and each attendee got to take home a customized picture in its frame (everyone seemed to like it). Their take home gift bag also included a Nora-made chocolate fire engine on a stick and some other goodies.

Most of the kids stayed at our house for several hours to play. Pierce and Anna unwrapped lots of gifts (they got quite the haul), and of course we had cake and birthday singing. We finished the day up with a BBQ for the family. It was very much a family affair, with Nora and her sister-in-law making stuffed peppers, me cooking chicken and ribs on the grill –with my father-in-law holding a flashlight so I could see, and my Mom, Joann and Nicole making a fresh salad. Mmmmmmm.

Yesterday, Monday, we went to the portrait studio after work to take some group pictures with my Mom. Pierce and Anna were both pretty fidgety, so this probably wasn’t our best effort. But the pictures aren’t bad and we’re glad to have them. We went to dinner in the same mall, at the Rain Forrest Café. Its decorated like a rainforest including animatronic animals and passing thunderstorms. Its one of Pierce and Anna’s favorite restaurants. They got to feed the full size crocodile pennies on the way out.

The last event of the evening was a trip to Toys ‘R Us. Mom had given each kid a gift card and this was their opportunity to do some shopping. Nora and I laid some ground rules ahead of time: Pierce wasn’t allowed to buy a car and Anna wasn’t allowed to buy a princess (no dresses, Barbies, etc.). Both kids were great shoppers and seemed to enjoy looking around. Anna ultimately picked a large Lightning McQueen car (from the movie “Cars”) that talks and makes engine and racing noises. Pierce picked an X-Man’s fighter plane complete with Wolverine action figure (Pierce doesn’t know who the X-Men are). The plane makes lots of noises (of course), shoots missiles, and lights up.

Mom’s going home today (Tuesday). She attending a local tax class, so her goodbyes to the family were this morning. I can’t believe how quickly the visit’s passed. I’ll get to squeeze in a lunch with her before I take her to the airport and should be back in time to start handing out treats to the trick-or-treaters.

-Eric (Dad)

Saturday morning we skipped Pierce’s basketball practice to go to Pierce and Anna’s school for an open house. For about an hour the two of them got to show us all the things they’ve learned to do this year.

Nora and I played tag team, each staying with a kid for a little while, then switching off. Anna drew a poster-sized picture on an easel, washed, dried and put away dishes, and used a thumbtack to create the profile of North America (with a little help from her teacher).

Pierce showed us the “hanging chains”, a game that consists of clusters of 4 beads along a chain. Pierce counted each bead and labeled them using “tags” that had the correct number on it. The chain he showed us went up to “64” so Pierce had to count, recognize and use numbers up to 64. This was a small chain for him; apparently he’s gone as high as 264 -with his next project to be the 1000 hanging chain.

-Eric (Dad)

Yesterday Pierce and Anna both made “books” at school. They used metal insets, metal templates they use to trace out shapes, to create each page. Anna did geometric shapes: circles, ellipses, and a few I’ve never heard of. She even wrote her name across the tops of most of the pages. Pierce’s book was leaf shapes. Each of the shapes has a technical name that he wrote across the bottom of each page. None of the names were familiar to me and I was blown away that he could pronounce them, let alone read them.

Both kid’s books were stapled together with covers that the kids decorated with stickers and drawings. They are both extremely proud of their books and couldn’t wait to show them to me when I got home.

-Eric (Dad)

After dinner last night I suggested we go out for a walk. Pierce and Anna countered with a bike ride offer and Pierce suggested that I wear my rollerblades (he’d seen them in the basement). Unfortunately, this started Anna on an unfortunate chain of events that got her crying. She decided she wanted to skate too. She started running around the house in pretend skates (which worked ok), but when she saw me putting on rollerblades her demands for skates became strident. Now, Anna has never expressed a desire for skates before –so we had none to give her. But it didn’t matter, she wanted them NOW.

She got so carried away that Pierce and I had to go out by ourselves. Nora and she stayed at home and read books. Pierce and I weren’t out long –he had limited interest and the skates were killing my feet (I think I need new liners). When we got back I let Anna wear my skates and I pushed/lifted her around the house. That appeased her, but I was a sweaty mess. Lifting her and the skates was durn heavy. I really didn’t want her to get hurt. Its like she was wearing skies with wheels on the bottom they were so big. We’ve officially added skates to her “list of gifts she’d like to have” list.

After everyone got settled for the evening I put on the Wizard of Oz. It’s been a year or more since we’ve watched it and I don’t think Anna remembered it at all. One of my fondest childhood memories is watching the Wizard of Oz with my family (usually snuggling up against my Mom and Dad because I was scared of the Wizard). Our experience lived up to my expectations –everyone enjoyed it. Pierce really surprised me –on seeing some of the earlier scenes when Dorothy was in Oz he commented that it looked like most of the picture was not real. He had spotted where the sets ended and the backdrops began. I’m sure when I was 5 years old I wasn’t aware of sets and backdrops –amazing.

Anna was most fascinated by the Tin Woodsman (she calls him the gray man). She had a tendency to forget who Dorothy was (sometimes confusing her with the Wicked Witch). Anna watched most of the movie snuggled against me and espousing running commentary about what was going on (at least as she perceived it). Both Pierce and Anna were fascinated with the flying monkeys.

It was my turn to put Anna to bed and she was more than ready. As we were reading our bedtime stories she put her head against the crook of my arm and closed her eyes. Usually, after we turn the lights out, she’ll sit on my lap and we’ll talk about her day. This time she curled into a ball on my lap, put her head on my arm, and said “Dad, don’t move”. Then fell asleep.

-Eric (Dad)

For whatever reason, Pierce has decided he's scared of the dark. He has to have his closet light on, and he ultimately falls asleep with his covers pulled over his head (to keep from seeing the dark).

In an effort to address the situation, I suggested we play hide-and-seek one evening. One of Pierce and Anna's favorite games is to play hide-in-seek upstairs with the lights out. We haven't done it in awhile, and I thought doing so might make Pierce more comfortable in the dark. We had a blast (though certain little girls, who shall remain nameless, were know to flip on lights in rooms where she was "seeking"). We had a great time, and I think the activity helped with Pierce's issue -for a little while.

Unfortunately, the effect seems to have worn off. The other night, on waking from a nightmare, he lay in his bed and called for Nora. Last night, as I was putting him to bed, I encouraged him to get out of bed and come see us if he needed us. His response? "But I'm scared of the dark". I explained that he was big now, and that I thought he could do it if he tried. This morning Nora and I awoke to find Pierce in our bed. The good news: he came to our room when something bothered him. The bad news: I didn't really expect him to come to our room and stay...

-Eric (Dad)

I don’t know if it’s empirically true, but I think I tend to write more about Pierce in this Blog than Anna. Its not that she’s less interesting, its just that its harder to describe what she’s doing without sounding like a totally smitten Dad.

Anna’s really blossoming into an even more wonderful kid. On Sunday morning, very early, Pierce had a nightmare. On waking, he lay in his bed he moaned, “Mom,.. mom.. mom…”. Anna popped awake, went into his room and comforted him. “Don’t worry Pierce, you’ll be alright. I’ll go get Mom”. She then dashed into our room –“Mom, Pierce needs you. Follow me!”. She then proceeded to escort Nora to Pierce’s room.

Last Friday afternoon we went back to the portrait studio to have some pictures of the entire Hundelt side of the family taken. Nora’s folks, as well as her brother’s family joined us. We pretty much filled the entire portrait studio. Anna was NOT enthusiastic about the idea of taking more pictures (we had family pics taken last week). I think she mostly did not want to be in “picture clothes”. Despite her protests, once the camera was pointed at the group I think her smile was the biggest. Not only did she enthusiastically sit through our large group shot, she also did smaller sittings with the grandparents and with her brother and cousins.

The ultimate compliment came as we were checking out of the portrait studio. Nora picked up the previous week’s pictures and the attendant, on seeing the portraits of Anna, asked if we’d sign a release so that they could blow up one of the pictures to hang on the studio’s wall as a display. Of course we said yes (it was good for a $5.00 discount). It will be interesting to see if they actually use her picture.

-Eric (Dad)

The family went to Worlds of Fun (our local amusement park) last Sunday. As usual, we had a great time. The weather was perfect. Anna’s now old enough where she’s pretty self-sufficient; no more strollers or food bring-alongs (like milk). Pierce and Anna both claimed the Caterpillar Roller Coaster as their favorite ride (I’m so proud).

We had an interesting hiccup this year. Just after our arrival, the entire park lost power. Pierce and Anna were literally on their first ride of the day when everything just “quit”. The park was down for an hour, which was a bit challenging. Have you ever been to a theme park where every activity is based on electricity? Pierce and Anna were able to sit in some of the stationary “car” rides, as well as place chase and hide-and-seek with some of the staff (and me). So they had a good time. I think mostly Nora was bored.

Pierce had an opportunity to the “mini” bumper cars and it turns out he’s a very proficient driver. He and I were originally going to do the full-size bumper cars together. But Pierce came up about an inch shy of the required height. He was understandably upset, but recovered pretty quickly. About mid-afternoon you could see that Anna was running out of her “first-wind”, all of a sudden waiting in line became a real challenge. Fortunately it didn’t last too long.

I think my favorite part of the afternoon was the Taxis. They’re gas-powered “Model-Ts” set on a metal track. Pierce and I loaded into one, with Nora and Anna taking a separate car. Pierce did all the driving, with me as a passenger. Anna couldn’t reach the gas pedal, so Nora took care of that area while Anna steered. You can’t imagine the smiles these two had after the ride was over.

-Eric (Dad)