Monday, May 21, 2007
Negotiating
On Sunday Nora was changing out the sheets in Pierce’s room and asked him to help her. He politely demurred, claiming he wanted to play instead. Nora, not to be defeated so easily, offered him 50 cents to stay and help. I could hear here instructing him on how to tuck the sheets under the mattress, they both seemed to be enjoying the experience. When they finished Pierce asked, “you’re not really going to pay me, are you?”. Nora insisted that she would, and ultimately did pay him around bedtime.
That evening, after dinner, we tried to sit down to have a little family TV time. A failed attempt due to the number of matchbox cars Pierce had stacked all over the furniture. I asked Pierce to put away all the toys and Pierce made a quick attempt to clear the sofas. As soon as he finished he plopped into the loveseat and declared we were ready.
I pointed out the additional cars he had missed, spread out over the floor.
Pierce: “Dad, I’ll do it tomorrow.”
Me; “No son, please do it now.”
Pierce: “Dad, I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll give you fifty cents if I can do it tomorrow.”
Nice try; I had him clean them up anyway.
-Eric (Dad)
That evening, after dinner, we tried to sit down to have a little family TV time. A failed attempt due to the number of matchbox cars Pierce had stacked all over the furniture. I asked Pierce to put away all the toys and Pierce made a quick attempt to clear the sofas. As soon as he finished he plopped into the loveseat and declared we were ready.
I pointed out the additional cars he had missed, spread out over the floor.
Pierce: “Dad, I’ll do it tomorrow.”
Me; “No son, please do it now.”
Pierce: “Dad, I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll give you fifty cents if I can do it tomorrow.”
Nice try; I had him clean them up anyway.
-Eric (Dad)
New Babysitter
Nora and I went to Billy and Nicole’s birthday party on Saturday night. It was held at a new restaurant owned by one of their friends (Backyard BBQ). Nora asked one of her friend’s daughters, Bridget, if she’d like to baby-sit for us. Of course, Pierce and Anna were very excited.
Bridget is a very nice, capable young woman who got along tremendously with Pierce and Anna. She also managed to become locked out of the house –along with Pierce, Anna and the family dog. Unfortunately, Nora and my contact information were in the house, so she couldn’t call us. Nora and I were pretty surprised when we got home to an empty house.
After taking Pierce and Anna to the park as well as to play with neighbors, Bridget ultimately called her Mom to come pick them up and take them to her house. Anna excitedly told me how they’d driven in a hubcap. Pierce corrected her, explaining that they’d ridden in the back of a quad-cab.
We got them home and in bed by about 10:30 and both kids were exhausted. They slept until 9:00 the next morning.
-Eric (Dad)
Bridget is a very nice, capable young woman who got along tremendously with Pierce and Anna. She also managed to become locked out of the house –along with Pierce, Anna and the family dog. Unfortunately, Nora and my contact information were in the house, so she couldn’t call us. Nora and I were pretty surprised when we got home to an empty house.
After taking Pierce and Anna to the park as well as to play with neighbors, Bridget ultimately called her Mom to come pick them up and take them to her house. Anna excitedly told me how they’d driven in a hubcap. Pierce corrected her, explaining that they’d ridden in the back of a quad-cab.
We got them home and in bed by about 10:30 and both kids were exhausted. They slept until 9:00 the next morning.
-Eric (Dad)
Driveway Movie
On Friday night we had movies under the stars. With my brother-in-law, Billy’s, gracious loan of an LCD projector, I framed out a movie screen using a firing strips and a white sheet, and invited our neighbors over for a showing of Star Wars.
We had a great turnout. Our driveway was filled with lawn chairs and blankets. Everyone brought “movie food” to share and we all gorged on popcorn and candy. Before the sun went down we parents socialized while the kids watched Bugs Bunny cartoons. After the movie started, when the kids needed a break, they played in the backyard. Course, if I’d known that was a possibility I would have cleaned up the dog poop ahead of time…
Nora and I hope to make this a regular summer event. We’ve had a neighbor volunteer their copy of Night at the Museum for the next movie.
-Eric (Dad)
We had a great turnout. Our driveway was filled with lawn chairs and blankets. Everyone brought “movie food” to share and we all gorged on popcorn and candy. Before the sun went down we parents socialized while the kids watched Bugs Bunny cartoons. After the movie started, when the kids needed a break, they played in the backyard. Course, if I’d known that was a possibility I would have cleaned up the dog poop ahead of time…
Nora and I hope to make this a regular summer event. We’ve had a neighbor volunteer their copy of Night at the Museum for the next movie.
-Eric (Dad)
Tooth Fairy
Thursday Nora, Pierce and Anna had a dentist appointment. The timing was good because Pierce had a new front tooth coming in but the old tooth had not yet fallen out. It was very wiggly but was hanging on stubbornly. Growing up I never did the string/door knob/tooth yank trick, and was inclined to try it with Pierce. The dentist removed the old tooth with a minimum of fuss and no tears on Pierce’s part.
The dentist packaged the tooth in a little jewel case to bring home and Pierce excitedly showed it to anyone who would look. That evening he wrote a note for the tooth fairy to put under his pillow with the tooth. It read:
Dear toth fairy
My toth is in a little case Kem gave me.
Pleaz leave it behind so I can use it again.
Thanks
Sincerely
Pierce
-Eric (Dad)
The dentist packaged the tooth in a little jewel case to bring home and Pierce excitedly showed it to anyone who would look. That evening he wrote a note for the tooth fairy to put under his pillow with the tooth. It read:
Dear toth fairy
My toth is in a little case Kem gave me.
Pleaz leave it behind so I can use it again.
Thanks
Sincerely
Pierce
-Eric (Dad)
Monday, May 14, 2007
Mother's Day weekend
An interesting and eventful weekend. The highlights:
Friday after dinner, Pierce and Anna went with me to the Dollar store to buy Mother's Day gifts. There was a lot of foot dragging before we left with lots of protests from Pierce about how he wanted to play. But once we got there they both got very excited and picked out very nice gifts and cards. They were anxious to give them to Nora when we got home but I was able to convince them to leave the presents in the car until Mother's day (they tried to offer a compromise of giving their presents to Nora on Saturday). Since Anna couldn't give her gift to Nora she went on to describe it to her in complete detail.
Friday night we had movie night and watched Son of Flubber, the black and white sequel to the original Absent Minded Professor (think Flubber) movie. Pierce and Anna haven't seen the first movie, but mostly enjoyed it. But I don't think they'll ask to see it again. I was pretty disappointed, it was a pretty poor movie, but I'm hoping to introduce them to the first movie which I remember liking a lot.
Saturday Nora and I had our first engagement as wedding videographers. The experience was very positive. Nora had a reasonable amount of nervousness before getting started but ultimately enjoyed the experience. I think we've got some great footage and will start working on the couple's wedding video when we get back from our annual beach vacation in a couple of weeks. Speaking of the beach vacation, I'm still working on this year's highlight DVD. I'm trying something new for the opening montage -animation. So far the results are pretty good and I'm excited with how its turning out. I'm thinking I'll be taking this project to the wire -its very time-intensive.
Saturday evening we took Nora out to dinner at Outback Steakhouse. Its been awhile since we've been there (we've been going to Texas Roadhouse instead). We got seated very quickly and had a great time. Interestingly, Pierce and Anna tore through their dinners but showed little interest in their bowls of ice cream. Truly an unusual occurrence.
Sunday morning was a lazy one. We let Nora sleep in a little while I got up earlier to get the presents for the kids to give to Nora. Pierce wrote a sincere message in his Mother's Day card and illustrated it and, for the first time, Anna was able to sign her own card (legibly) and write a message with a little help from me. It turns out that she writes most of her letters backwards... We had a morning showing of another movie, Escape to Witch Mountain, which was every bit as good as I remembered it and was a big hit with Pierce and Anna. I'll have to pick up the sequel at the library for a future viewing.
Sunday was hot and sunny. After the movie, Nora met her Mom and sister-in-law for brunch while the kids, neighbors and I played in the sprinklers. Nora bought a couple of water toys that we also hooked up (the wiggly worm sprayer and the wading pool got heavy usage). Everyone was outside for hours.
Anna was in a funky mood on Sunday and it got worse as the day progressed. I think she set a personal record for the number of timeouts she received. Violations included playing with the water hose after she was told not to, throwing grass, sitting on the curb (on our high traffic street) and insisting that Nora give her the earring she had received from me as a Mothers Day gift. You could tell from the look in her eyes she was bound and determined to test the limits. It ultimately culminated in me putting her to bed at 4:00 in the afternoon (bath and pajamas included). I had the expectation that she'd wake around dinner and then we put her back to bed after she ate, but she never woke up. This morning (Monday) she awoke in a much, much better mood.
-Eric (Dad)
Friday after dinner, Pierce and Anna went with me to the Dollar store to buy Mother's Day gifts. There was a lot of foot dragging before we left with lots of protests from Pierce about how he wanted to play. But once we got there they both got very excited and picked out very nice gifts and cards. They were anxious to give them to Nora when we got home but I was able to convince them to leave the presents in the car until Mother's day (they tried to offer a compromise of giving their presents to Nora on Saturday). Since Anna couldn't give her gift to Nora she went on to describe it to her in complete detail.
Friday night we had movie night and watched Son of Flubber, the black and white sequel to the original Absent Minded Professor (think Flubber) movie. Pierce and Anna haven't seen the first movie, but mostly enjoyed it. But I don't think they'll ask to see it again. I was pretty disappointed, it was a pretty poor movie, but I'm hoping to introduce them to the first movie which I remember liking a lot.
Saturday Nora and I had our first engagement as wedding videographers. The experience was very positive. Nora had a reasonable amount of nervousness before getting started but ultimately enjoyed the experience. I think we've got some great footage and will start working on the couple's wedding video when we get back from our annual beach vacation in a couple of weeks. Speaking of the beach vacation, I'm still working on this year's highlight DVD. I'm trying something new for the opening montage -animation. So far the results are pretty good and I'm excited with how its turning out. I'm thinking I'll be taking this project to the wire -its very time-intensive.
Saturday evening we took Nora out to dinner at Outback Steakhouse. Its been awhile since we've been there (we've been going to Texas Roadhouse instead). We got seated very quickly and had a great time. Interestingly, Pierce and Anna tore through their dinners but showed little interest in their bowls of ice cream. Truly an unusual occurrence.
Sunday morning was a lazy one. We let Nora sleep in a little while I got up earlier to get the presents for the kids to give to Nora. Pierce wrote a sincere message in his Mother's Day card and illustrated it and, for the first time, Anna was able to sign her own card (legibly) and write a message with a little help from me. It turns out that she writes most of her letters backwards... We had a morning showing of another movie, Escape to Witch Mountain, which was every bit as good as I remembered it and was a big hit with Pierce and Anna. I'll have to pick up the sequel at the library for a future viewing.
Sunday was hot and sunny. After the movie, Nora met her Mom and sister-in-law for brunch while the kids, neighbors and I played in the sprinklers. Nora bought a couple of water toys that we also hooked up (the wiggly worm sprayer and the wading pool got heavy usage). Everyone was outside for hours.
Anna was in a funky mood on Sunday and it got worse as the day progressed. I think she set a personal record for the number of timeouts she received. Violations included playing with the water hose after she was told not to, throwing grass, sitting on the curb (on our high traffic street) and insisting that Nora give her the earring she had received from me as a Mothers Day gift. You could tell from the look in her eyes she was bound and determined to test the limits. It ultimately culminated in me putting her to bed at 4:00 in the afternoon (bath and pajamas included). I had the expectation that she'd wake around dinner and then we put her back to bed after she ate, but she never woke up. This morning (Monday) she awoke in a much, much better mood.
-Eric (Dad)
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Anna Sparkles
This has been a good week for Anna stories. Two of the better ones:
This weekend was very warm. We broke out the hose, wading pool, slip-n-slide, and sprayer hose. I had just cut the grass, so both Pierce and Anna were sopping wet and covered with grass. It didn't matter they were outside playing for hours. The wading pool was a favorite of Anna's and she'd regularly run back and stand in it (I don't care how warm it was outside, the water in that pool was freezing). The pool was also swimming in cut grass and Anna kept insisting I come over and keep her company.
On one such trip to the pool, as Anna stood in water that came up to her thighs, she spontaneously put her left hand in the middle of her chest and began reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, "I pledge allegiance to the flag..." then looked at me expectantly.
I complimented her on her start and made a couple of "modifications". I put her left hand down and put her right hand on her heart (instead of her chest). "OK sweetheart, now let's hear it".
"OK Dad," says Anna, "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America..." Anna drops her hands to her sides and stops. "Do you know the rest of it honey?" ask I. "Sure Dad!"
Anna's left hand comes back to the middle of her chest, "Amen."
Second story:
Early Monday morning both Pierce and Anna come in to visit while I'm still in bed. Pierce is drawing on his L-MAX and Anna is deeply engrossed in his efforts. Pierce regularly awakens me to show me his pictures and Anna keeps asking to see. Impatient to see one of Pierce's efforts, she edges in a little too close while he's working and bumps his drawing...
"Anna! You made me mess up, I'm trying to draw a car!"
"I'm sorry Pierce," says Anna.
"I'm very made at you Anna," declares Pierce.
Anna replies, "Well I'm very sad. You shouldn't be so mad at me Pierce, I didn't do it on purpose."
Ya know, I wish more adults in this world were as capable of expressing themselves.
Pierce promptly forgave her.
-Eric (Dad)
This weekend was very warm. We broke out the hose, wading pool, slip-n-slide, and sprayer hose. I had just cut the grass, so both Pierce and Anna were sopping wet and covered with grass. It didn't matter they were outside playing for hours. The wading pool was a favorite of Anna's and she'd regularly run back and stand in it (I don't care how warm it was outside, the water in that pool was freezing). The pool was also swimming in cut grass and Anna kept insisting I come over and keep her company.
On one such trip to the pool, as Anna stood in water that came up to her thighs, she spontaneously put her left hand in the middle of her chest and began reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, "I pledge allegiance to the flag..." then looked at me expectantly.
I complimented her on her start and made a couple of "modifications". I put her left hand down and put her right hand on her heart (instead of her chest). "OK sweetheart, now let's hear it".
"OK Dad," says Anna, "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America..." Anna drops her hands to her sides and stops. "Do you know the rest of it honey?" ask I. "Sure Dad!"
Anna's left hand comes back to the middle of her chest, "Amen."
Second story:
Early Monday morning both Pierce and Anna come in to visit while I'm still in bed. Pierce is drawing on his L-MAX and Anna is deeply engrossed in his efforts. Pierce regularly awakens me to show me his pictures and Anna keeps asking to see. Impatient to see one of Pierce's efforts, she edges in a little too close while he's working and bumps his drawing...
"Anna! You made me mess up, I'm trying to draw a car!"
"I'm sorry Pierce," says Anna.
"I'm very made at you Anna," declares Pierce.
Anna replies, "Well I'm very sad. You shouldn't be so mad at me Pierce, I didn't do it on purpose."
Ya know, I wish more adults in this world were as capable of expressing themselves.
Pierce promptly forgave her.
-Eric (Dad)
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