DAD, CAN PEOPLE FLY?
04/05/16 09:18 Filed in: children | developmental stages
Conor and I were lying in bed before school. “Dad, can any people fly without things to help them?” No, Conor, only birds can fly. All people need a machine to help them fly. “Like an airplane, helicopter, or a kite?” he quizzed. “That’s right, son,” I said, knowing I was letting him down. “Well, I want to fly,” he squeeked out. “Many, many people want to fly really bad. And that’s why two brothers named Orville and Wilber Wright invented the airplane.” I informed him.Then Conor stood up on the bed. “Dad, you stand over there.” And so I stood, bracing myself. And he jumped! “See dad, I can fly.” Conor always has to have the last word. And that’s when we got him dressed for school and stuffed him into his car seat. We drove. We didn’t fly.
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DAD, WHY IS THE WORLD?
This Saturday’s ice skating class was nothing to write home about. He skated. He fell. He rested. He scuttled on his hands and knees to the exit when the buzzer sounded.
Still, he was very excited about how well he skated. Were we at the same lesson? What? As I unlaced his skates and tugged them off his feet he asked me something quite profound. “Dad, why is the world? And why are we in it? And then a pause and then added the cherry on top, “And why is it spinning?”
“Conor, those are amazing questions. And you know what, nobody really knows the answers.” “Not even you, Dad?” And in that moment, I realized just how tall my son must think I am.
I laughed, “Nope, not even me, buddy. Now let’s go see how Mom’s doing.” And he ran out the locker room door to find mom. I gathered up his equipment and wondered who my boy will be when he grows up.
NO BREAKFAST THIS MORNING
“If you’re not going to eat your cereal, let’s go upstairs and get changed,” I said. Conor didn’t like that. “I am going to eat it. Just not right now.”
“You slept late. There’s no time for later,” I replied sternly. The line in the sand had been drawn. The duel was on. This is where we cue the suspense music.
Conor called my bluff. I turned and walked upstairs to get dressed. He hates being alone. And he left the table to join me. At a distance.
I closed the gap between us and extricated his pajama top. And replaced it with thermals. It’s still cold outside. Even colder than his demeaner towards me right now.
The omnivore was ready to return to the feeding trough after he got dressed so we headed back to the kitchen. He wanted to sit on my lap.
“No time for that now. It’s time to make lunch.” The Mexican stand-off resumed. Conor whimpered, “I’m not eating unless I can sit on your lap.”
“You’d better eat now because when this hotdog is safe in its bun, we’re off to school. Breakfast or no breakfast.”
“Mom gives me 6 chances,” he dared to say. I volleyed, “I’m giving you two. And one chance you already passed up. Time to decide.”
He paused too long. I wrapped him in his coat like a burrito and guided him out the door. “Wait, I haven’t eaten yet,” he pleaded.
He cried louder than John Lennon was singing “Hey Jude” on the radio as we rolled down the street. I guess it’s just one of those teaching moments.
I dropped him off and came back home. All that teaching has made me hungry. Time to eat his breakfast.
HAPPY EASTAH!
Yea, it’s Easter. Happy Easter, everybody. Why did we get up early on Easter again? Church. Oh yeah, church. To remind us why Easter really exists. Thanks.
Conor, just eat your cereal so we can get to church on time. Then we need to get you dressed. I know you think church is boring. Now let’s go.
I know the seat belt is tight. That’s because you just ate breakfast and I can’t figure out how to loosen the straps. Suck in that gut.
Wow, I didn’t know this many people were Catholic, honey. There’s no room for us to sit today. I know you tried to wake us earlier. Happy Easter, remember?
Conor, you’re too heavy to hold. Then again, that cross was mighty heavy for Jesus. Okay, I’ll hold you for the entire mass. Happy Easter.
Father John rocks the sermon like he always does. I wipe the tears of empathy away. Valerie does the same. Conor’s tears are those of boredom and wanting to leave.
Mass is over. The line to say hi to Father John is tremendous. We walk by and high five him. Conor hollers, “Happy Eastah,” with his Bostonian accent. The congregation laughs.
Conor is strapped into his car seat again. The parking garage is a trap and I can’t get out. Conor says, “Mom, I kinda like church. Even though it’s really boring.”
Maybe he was moved by the Holy Spirit. All of us should be now and again. Happy Eastah!
EASTER BUNNY MUST BE HURTIN’
Woke up Saturday with a plan. Easter egg hunt at 9:00am. Not easy to do after a beer hunt the night before. Silly rabbit.
Forgot the Easter basket. Where’s a grocery bag? Ding. Got it. Let’s go honey. Let’s go Conor. That bunny waits for no one at the Quincy Nazarene Church.
300 kids. That’s a lot of competition for some eggs. That Easter bunny must be in a lot of pain. Conor ties his running shoes. Damn, we forgot his helmet.
The whistle blows. The kids charge. No elbowing. No tripping. No crying. I was hoping for a little more drama. No, not really.
Conor checked his bag. Thrilled. Easter booty from the Easter bunny is worth waking up for. Even if he did whine the whole way here.
“Here dad, hold my stuff, I see a bouncy house.” Conor ran off with his friends. Wish I could find a bouncy couch. And take a nap.
Wait, what? We have to rush to ice skating lessons after an ambitious Easter egg hunt? What? Oh yes, here it is in my calendar.
DAD, I ALREADY KNOW EVERYTHING
Yesterday, Conor and I were having a talk and I was trying to tell him that during a full moon, the tide gets really high because of the moon's gravitational pull. He told me, "Dad, I already know everything." I got a bit perturbed at him and said, "You know what Conor, you may think you know everything, but the truth is, you don't. We never stop learning. We can learn something new every single day of our lives." He got quiet for a second, then said, "You know what Dad, I already knew that, too." That boy is too smart for his own britches! I was pissed off and done with the conversation. Conor 1; Dad 0.
MY DAD COULDN'T BREATHE
“What do you mean he can’t breathe?” I asked my sister. “Dad had to go to the hospital but is okay now. But he’s too tired to have the whole family come visit. It’s just too much,” she said as she choked back tears.
Understandable. Conor is 4 years old and exhausts both my wife and me. Imagine what he could do to an 84-year old man with compromised lungs after smoking his whole life.
I bit the bullet. Bought the ticket. And flew from Boston to Austin. My sister and I packed up her car and headed for San Benito.
We gossiped. Griped. Laughed. And wondered. What would life be like if we lived closer. Before you know it, 7 hours had passed. We had arrived.
“Dad, you look great!” I said, since he looked completely normal. “Well, I can breathe again,” Dad said with his usual dry humor.
I called the family to let them know all was okay with Grandpa Texas. We used Facetime so Conor could see him. Conor says, “Hi grandpa Texas. I heard your lungs weren’t feeling well. Are you okay?”
“Sure, I’m okay,” he said as he lifted his arms up in a sign of victory. Conor says, “Good, then dad you can come back home tonight.” I sure do love my boy.
Three more days of comfort, laughs and memories to store away. Good Mexican food. And a few prayers that this wouldn’t be the last time I’d see my dad alive.
“Sister Ko, you sure you don’t want me to drive?” “Nah, I’ve got this bro,” my sister said as we left the immigration checkpoint in our rear view mirror. Seven hours blew by and we were back in Austin.
Next day, back in Boston. How does it all go so fast? “Hey Conor. Hey Val, I’m back.” We hugged and we were one again. And now, it’s our turn to breathe easier.
MOM GOES TO IRELAND AND CONOR STARTS DRAWING HIS THOUGHTS
20/01/16 10:29 Filed in: travel | child development
Mom headed to Ireland for her father's 80th birthday yesterday. And Conor has been working out his emotions by drawing pictures. I love it. Last night, we sat in our living room and looked out the front window to watch mom's plane fly by. We live on the ocean and the planes march by our little peninsula every 90 seconds. It's easy to see their logos on their tails and we saw mom fly by like clock work! We waved and hollered and then Conor drew this picture. Hopefully, her plane will keep ascending and won't point its nose down until time to land. But hey, he's barely 4 years old so we'll cut him some slack.
CHRISTMAS IN AUSTIN
2015 is almost over. We are dizzy from recent events. “I know, let’s go to Texas and see the family and try and relax,” I suggested.
Our 4-year old was on-board. My wife was, too. My family in Texas thought it was a fantastic idea. And Jetblue thought so, too.
My family caught us like a safety net below a trapeze artist. It felt good to be scooped up just before our faces hit the proverbial floor.
My Mom fed us lunch. My sister fed us dinner. Our exhaustion began to dissipate. We were loved. And it felt good.
Conor hugged on his grandmom. My sister hugged on my wife. And I hugged anyone that would hug me. Whew.
We visited the old haunts. Sister Ko introduced us to the new haunts. And Conor was loud enough to scare all the haunts.
Santa was good with his presents to Conor. And my wife and I were just happy to lean on each other instead of trading presents.
After filling our coffers with enough love to sustain us a couple of weeks or months, it was time to say goodbye.
My mom and I had a few quiet moments to share our truest feelings. And made a pact to be closer. That’s what love is.
My sister has always believed in me and I guess at this point, she’ll never stop. What a tremendous gift from a sister to her brother.
And my wife? Well, she signed up for all this and she keeps coming back for more. That’s love.
Merry Christmas, ya’ll.
CONOR GETS BITTEN BY OUR OWN PET DOG
I heard our 4-year old come down the stairs. Our little tornado. What I didn’t see was that he stopped to hug our 12-year old dog.
What I didn’t see was that the dog was on the couch, a big ‘no-no.’ I didn’t see Conor reach out to hug him. I didn’t see the bite occur.
I was only 10 feet away. Preparing dinner. Digging in the fridge. Opening a beer. It all happened in a blink of an eye.
The scream was deafening. The blood was everywhere. My son ran to me as I ran to him. I had failed as a dad.
My 4-year old cried to me, “I’m okay, daddy. I’m okay.” I hugged him and pretended that it was all okay. But it wasn’t.
My wife was right there, too. We both missed what was happening. She was grabbing towels to clean the mess. What the hell happened?
She called our neighbor, the nurse. The neighbor ran over. Looked. And said, “Take him to the doctor.” Crap.
25 stitches and 8 hours later, we were on our way home. The next day the dog was at the kennel. 10 days later, the dog was on the one farm where dogs can run to their hearts content with no rules. Forever.
Conor still says he wants his dog back. Other times he says he doesn’t want to be a pet owner anymore. I don’t know what I want.
Conor still hugs dogs. And occasionally asks for a new puppy. I still cringe when he hugs dogs. But I bite my lip. Kids are resilient. Parents, not so much.
KIDS SPEND ONLY 4-7 MINUTES PLAYING OUTSIDE
02/04/15 23:39 Filed in: Health
I just saw this statistic from OnPoint with Tom Ashbrook, a PBS show that I think is one of the most informative shows on the radio.
This statistic is shocking; 4-7 minutes a day playing outside? He points to the fact that it's a lifestyle change that has occurred to this new generation of children. Comes down to three things; more screens, more over-protectiveness and more scheduled time. Whoa. We live just outside of Boston and get an annual pass to the Franklin Zoo. It's convenient because if we don't have anything planned, we can just head over to the zoo where it's pretty safe for our 3-year old to just run outside without fear of running into the street or getting lost in the clothes racks at the local mall. He loves it and we feel that all those fences keep the animals in their areas, and our boy in his area. We still never take our eyes off the boy, but he feels free and as a result, loves the outdoors. Unfortunately, as soon as he comes home, he's asking for that damned iPad to watch Wild Kratts. Sometimes we give in, sometimes we say, 'no' and watch the temper tantrum ensue. But at least for a few hours, he was one with nature and out with us.
CONOR'S EATING SOMEONE ELSE'S LUNCH
05/03/15 23:44 Filed in: child development | food
Just got back from parent/teacher meeting at Conor's school. Among other things, his teacher wanted to talk about Conor's diet. Evidently, Conor isn't satisfied with his own lunch. Yesterday, he sat down with another boy to eat. Conor didn't like what he had because when the other boy went to take a bite out of his bagel, Conor jumped up and took a bite out of the opposite end of the bagel. Busted!
OVER 16,000 KIDS ARE ORPHANED AFTER EBOLA EPIDEMIC
04/03/15 23:50
Today, I met with a company called Diagnostics For All, a nonprofit organization that invents products to help save lives in developing countries. Currently, the company is creating a rapid diagnostics test for Ebola. While studying up on the latest Ebola epidemic in Africa, I learned that over 16,600 kids became orphans as their parents succombed to this deadly virus. It was a sobering thought and I've been thinking about this shocking statistic all day.
SQUIRREL ON WOODPECKER'S BACK TRENDING RIGHT NOW
03/03/15 23:49
My wife showed me this picture about 30 minutes ago. I called BS on the picture and now I'm watching CNN and they are confirming the picture is real. Can't wait to show Conor this in the morning!!
WENT TO SEE THE REAL WILD KRATTS TODAY
Valerie managed to scoop up the last three seats to see the Kratt Brothers today in Lynn, Massachusetts. The Kratt Brothers are Conor's favorite TV show. Chris and Martin go all over the world discovering different types of animals and then imagining what it might be like to have the creature power of the animal they are studying. As soon as they say, "What if…", they turn into cartoon people and then anything is possible. This is the only show Conor watches now and he has learned tons of animal facts. He told me the other day that a group of hippos are called a pod. That the Cheetah is the fastest animal that travels on the ground. And the perigen falcon is the fastest animal on the planet. We checked his facts and they were, of course, correct. We told Conor that we were going to take him to see the Kratt Brothers just before we left this morning. He didn't really get it but if it included getting to watch more Kratt Brothers, he was interested. He asked me if we were going to go to their world. "No," I told him, they're coming to our world. When the lights went down and the animated show started on the screen, he was all in. But when the lights came out and the Kratt Brothers jumped on on stage when the cartoon characters said, "What if…" Conor sat there stone faced. He didn't smile and he didn't cry. He was so puzzled he just sat there. He never looked at me or his mom. He just sat staring at the two Kratts. He eventually warmed up to them and smiled, clapped, raised his hand when they asked questions. But when it was over, he never said a word about what he had just seen. Never wanted to talk about it. He fell asleep on the way home and is still fast asleep and will be until tomorrow morning. I'm not sure if he'll want to talk about it or not. I wonder if he'll see the Kratt Brothers show the same after today. Time will tell.
102" OF SNOW SINCE JANUARY 1ST, 2015
Tonight, the start has started to fall again. we've already had 102 inches since January 1st. It's now March 1st. It's forecasted that 5-7 inches will fall tonight. If this happens, it will set the record for most snowfall in Boston. I may have be a Texan and my wife Irish, but our 3-year old buy is 100% Bostonian with the record books to prove he grew up when he had to walk to school in six feet of snow, uphill…both ways.
CONOR REMEMBERS A DREAM
27/02/15 00:00
Conor woke up crying at about 4:30am this morning. He has been waking up at this time for months now. Sometimes he can go back to sleep. And other times, he comes crying up the stairs and he climbs up into our bed and happily falls back asleep. This is what happened early this morning. Conor comes up the stairs crying and as soon as he reached the top of the bed, he laughed and fell asleep. When he awoke he said, "Wake up daddy, it's morning time. I was a clothes inventor at the back of my pillow." I said, "What? You were a clothes inventor?" "Yes," he said, matter of factly, "I could see myself making clothes at the back of my pillow." I thought it was such a poetic way of saying, "I could see myself making clothes in my dream". I gave him a kiss and he fell back asleep. I kept thinking of his dream and couldn't go back to sleep. Crap.
TIME TO VISIT CONOR'S SCHOOL
25/02/15 23:59
Tonight, we were invited to go to school after work, and let Conor show us what he does during school hours. He started Montessori 5 months ago and we really have no idea what he's doing each day. He comes home and we ask how he liked school and he says he doesn't like it. We ask him what he did and he says, 'nothing'. And if we ask him again, he says it's a secret. Finally, we are going to see him SHOW us what he's been doing.
We arrive and walk into his fantastic classroom and we ask him to show us what his favorite thing. He looks around excitedly and doesn't know where to start. His teacher asks him if he'd like to show us his letters. His eyes light up and he proudly walks over to a big wooden box on a shelf. It's really big and he asks me to help him bring it over to the table. So I do. And when we get back to the table, we take the wooden top off the box and there are all the letters. His teacher asks him to find the letter "a" in the box. Conor's eyes are big and his smile is even bigger. And he looks into the box and pulls out the letter 'a'. He's really proud of himself and his teacher reacts like he's the smartest boy on the planet. Her eyes are as sparkley as his are and they're both having a great time. I realized at that moment that he likes the school a lot more than he ever tells us.
I still wonder why he tells us he doesn't like the 'yellow school' but I only have theories, no real concrete evidence. During the 'parent/child/teacher hour, Conor was really excited to have us there and share his classroom. And then he saw a pretty girl and as if he were 14 years old, he forgot all about his class work and glowed as he watched the little blonde-haired Oliva walk from one end of the class to the other. Instead of showing us where the geometric shapes were kept, Conor pointed out where Olivia kept her lunch box. Seriously? The boy is only three years old. Valerie told his teacher what we witnessed and his teacher said that she was having issues with Conor wanting the attention of the older girls in class. She said that she has to tell the older girls to ignore him when he comes up and tries to talk to them. While I can totally understand this advise, it also seems sort of cruel and may be a reason why he doesn't like the school. He has a thing for the girls but the girls are told to ignore him. So just what is that doing for his self esteem or confidence if all the girls ignore him? And why does this have to start so early?
I never thought of this as being something I would have to worry about at his age. I'll have to do more research to see how normal this is. So that's my theory, that he doesn't like the yellow school because the girls are shutting him down and he's hungry for their attention. I wouldn't want to go to school, either. But, then does a 3-year old think like that? I have no idea.
CONOR, LET'S NOT MAKE THIS HARD TODAY
18/02/15 00:14
Conor was putting on his socks and was taking his own sweet time doing it. I tried to help him and he jerked his foot away and laughed. I said to Conor, "Conor, let's not make this hard," and he replied, "Yeah dad, let's do this the hard way." I could flashback to when I was a kid and I could see my dad's belt clicking through the belt loops just as sure as if it were 45 years ago. I had to grin and was glad that the times have changed. I tickled him and put his socks on for him. He grabbed my neck and hugged me. Done.
BOSTON'S BIGGEST SNOW ON RECORD
02/02/15 00:18
February 2, 2015, the biggest snow on record in Boston. 6 feet of snow fell on Quincy, MA. It was fantastic. And debilitating. And messy. I've never shoveled so much in all my life. I mean, I'm from Texas. Bullshit doesn't get this deep. Okay, that's bullshit. It does but we don't shovel it. We just put more on top of it. When I went out to shovel, Conor wanted to come out and shovel. But about 2 minutes into the shoveling, he would announce it was too cold and go back inside. Who can blame him.
NEVER TAKE A BUS TO NYC FOR THE HOLIDAYS
21/12/14 08:46
Don't ever take the bus to NYC. I just want to start there. It's only 3 1/2 hours to NY. Unless you take a bus. Then it's seven hours. Or it was for us. And Conor sat happily through the whole trip watching "The Wild Kratts." In fact, he wasn't ready to get off the bus because he wanted to watch more TV. The kid is addicted to the screen. As a result, we don't let him watch it very much. And as a result, he can't get enough of it. It's a vicious circle. Anyways, I digress. The bus ride sucked but we finally made it to NY. I forgot the name of the bus company but it dropped us off in the middle of nowhere and we had to haul our suitcases and Conor to our hotel which was about a 1/2 mile away. Yes, we should have taken a taxi but I had had it with public transportation. And so we walked.
The streets of NYC were packed with people and it was fun. But we had to really watch Conor because a little guy could get really lost there! Oh man, we were always holding on to him extra tight.Which did make it a little hard to relax. We saw the decorations at Macy's, FAO Schwartz, Sacks Fifth Avenue, The Disney Store, and Rockefeller Center. We got tickets to see the Christmas Spectacular at Radio Music Hall with the Rocketts. Conor loved it so much he forget to eat his popcorn once the show started. And we spent lots of time Central Park. Conor loved Central Park. He liked the horse and carriage, the playground and the leaves that had been all piled up in pens. He ran and jumped and rolled in the leaves and made it look like so much fun that other kids ran over and joined in.
I managed to convince Val to go to B&H Photo, the biggest photo store in the US and maybe the whole world. Val was overwhelmed when we arrived. So was I but that's what I love about it. I could have stayed for hours. But Val kept giving me that look and I think we lasted about 20 minutes. Our favorite place to eat was off the beaten path at Tivoli's. We ate their twice and Conor fell asleep at the booth seating both times. Maybe that's why we liked it so much!
The trip was great but we had to take the bus back so that sucked again. Two days from now we go to Ireland to see the family. One thing for sure, we won't be taking the bus!
CONOR'S FAVORITE NUMBER IS 6009
02/11/14 08:54
Conor has announced that his favorite number is no longer '5'. It is now '6009.' Of course we asked, 'why'. His answer was, 'because I said so." And that's all there is to that story. Our boy is not normal.ENROUTE TO SEE GRANDPA TEXAS
24/10/14 09:00
As you can see from this blog, Conor has been flying ever since he was 6 months old. And he has gotten quite good at it. He's very relaxed and familiar with airplanes now and knows that this is where he'll be sitting for a few hours. We bring the iPad for movies. This is key. He doesn't get a whole lot of opportunity for 'screen time' so airplanes are a special treat. He's a great traveling kid now!
CONOR PACKS HIS SUITCASE TO SEE HIS GRANDPA
23/10/14 10:45
Montessori theory says kids should help with the chores because it gives them confidence. So tonight, when we started packing for a trip to see Grandpa, Conor started packing his own clothes. He emptied his drawer of shirts. Then he moved on to the sock drawer and packed every sock he owned. Then, onto the winter hat drawer. Mind you its 86 degrees in Brownsville, Texas, where he's headed. We waited until he went to bed to redo his packing.
WELLFLEET BAY WILDLIFE SANCTUARY MAKES A BIG SPLASH
12/10/14 13:49
If you live near Cape Cod, you owe it to your family to visit the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. Its tranquil surroundings and beauty overlook Wellfleet Harbor. There's a great trail network that offer you views of panoramic salt marsh, sandy barrier beaches, and pine woodlands. Each is like its own micro-climate and attracts a wide array of wildlife. The sanctuary has an award-winning “green” nature center with numerous exhibits and aquariums. Yesterday, we spent the entire morning learning about sea turtle rescue. Today, we're hiking the outdoor trails and taking photographs of this picture perfect environment.
SHARPENING THE BRAIN WITH PLASTIC
12/10/14 10:56
For over three years I've been interviewing engineers and innovators all over the world about incredible inventions they have introduced to the world. And when I asked them what kind of toys they played with as a kid, they all had one toy in common; Legos.
Our boy just turned three years old and we recently introduced him to Duplos, Lego's big cousin. These are oversized Legos so little kids can't choke on them. It's been an amazing toy for him. In the beginning, he just liked to knock down the blocks I would build. Now, he likes to build towers and see how high he can stack them. He also likes to create big honking airplanes and 'fly' them. He is not yet interested in making animals or buildings. Just airplanes and towers.
I think it's a great foundation tool for;
Problem solving skills
Imagination / Creativity
Coordination / Dexterity
Ability to read / follow directions
Social skills (when building with others)
Within the next couple of years, we'll switch over to traditional Legos, but for now, I'm really enjoying sharing his company as he wants me to play with him building stuff out of Duplos. And let's face it, any time your son asks for you to spend time with him, is an opportunity not to be missed. They grow up way too fast.
CONOR LEARNS ABOUT RESCUING TURTLES ON CAPE COD
12/10/14 10:55
Conor has just turned three years old and already has an insatiable appetite for learning. Today, a volunteer at the Audubon Society is Cape Cod is teaching Conor about the different parts of a turtle shell and how to examine it for defects that might mean one has to call a marine biologist to come to the rescue.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CONOR
09/10/14 10:59
Conor turns three years old today. We had 10 noisy kids and their parents over to the house. Parents had milk and parents had beer and wine. We all had cake. Why is it that ten kids sounds like fifty kids?
WHO'S READING WHO TO SLEEP?
27/09/14 11:01
The hardest thing about reading Conor to sleep is that it is often us that falls asleep first.
A MESS OR ART?
26/09/14 11:05
I came home to this today. At first I was, "What the hell?" And then I decided to call it art, take a picture and relax.
PLAYING MOM AGAINST DAD FOR THE FIRST TIME
18/09/14 11:09
The first words I heard when i got home came from upstairs, "Welcome home, dad." I had never heard Conor say that before. I ran upstairs to give him a big hug. He ran back to the couch and said, "Dad, look." He had figured out how to turn on the TV and get Apple TV up and running and was trying to watch a movie but got stuck in the menu section. "Dad, can you help me? I'm trying to watch a movie." "Conor, you're not supposed to be watching a movie at this hour. Did you ask your mom?" "Yes," he said, matter of factly. "Well, what did she say?" "She said, 'no'," he replied dryly. "That's why I'm asking you. So say yes, and let's get to it." Ha! I said there was no TV on a school night and that we'd be better off playing baseball outside. He said, "No, but do you want to race?" "Yes, let's do it." And we jumped off the couch, held hands and ran down the stairs, and out into the backyard. He jumped in his plastic car with a 'dad handle' on it and I pushed him around the yard as fast as I could. Then we went out on the dirt road in front of the house and we ran down to the end and came back. He never talked about movies until it was time to go to bed. Then he wanted to stay up instead of sleeping so he started asking about movie time. I ignored him.
SECOND DAY OF SCHOOL
09/09/14 11:06
Conor's getting ready for his second day of school. He wants to take pictures of his Irish cousins with him but we insist they stay home and he can tell them how his day went when he comes back home. He regretfully agrees.
CONOR'S FIRST SCHOOL DAY
08/09/14 11:12
Today was Conor's first day of school. His mom and I both dropped him off to see how he would do. We've been impressed with how well he rolls with the punches and we're always curious how he adapts to situations. He was happy to go to the new yellow school but grabbed my leg when he realized we were leaving him in the care of someone else. He wouldn't let go and the teacher was very sweet and asked if it would be okay if she picked him up to take him to his home room. We said it was okay and she took him and he whimpered but went with her.
Two hours later, it was time for the new little kids to go home. But Conor didn't want to leave the fun school. I asked him how his first day of school was. He said, I'm happy and sad. I'm happy because the school is fun. I'm sad because I wanted my mommy and daddy to come, too." I couldn't believe it. He was describing his feelings. Hell, I can't do that to this day. I gave him a big hug and told him he had work to do and dad has work to do and mom has work to do but we all get to play together after our work. He said, "Yeah." And that was that.
CONOR CHANNELING THE SPIRIT OF TOM SAWYER
07/09/14 11:13
We're visiting The Strawberry Banke in Portsmouth, New Hampshire where they've taken a neighborhood from the 1700's and protected it for future generations. Conor got rid of his shoes and socks and decided this was more authentic. I call him Tom Sawyer. HIs Irish grand dad is having a coffee while Conor and I mess around here.
DAD, YOU ARE GREAT...
04/09/14 11:18
Conor says to me today, "Dad…You….are….a great………….turkey." He paused just long enough for me to think he was going to say something that a dad can only hope his son might say. After all, he was about to tell me I was a great something. But, 'turkey'? We had recently watched Free Birds and that's what he took from that movie. Oh, well.
GRANDDAD COMES TO VISIT
03/09/14 11:20
Conor's granddad from Ireland came to visit on Friday. We headed up to Portsmouth, New Hamphire and the two have gotten along famously from the beginning. Grand dad is 78 years old and can shockingly keep up with the 2-3/4 year old. I've been impressed. Conor had not seen his granddad in over a year but took to him immediately. It's great to see that little boy connect so easily.
LOBSTER BOY
01/09/14 11:22
I brought home two lobsters tonight as they were on sale for $5.99 a piece. Funny, I realized that by living on the ocean, Conor has seen enough lobsters to not be scared of them anymore. He played with them for a couple of minutes, then got bored and rode his bicycle around, trying to scare them. That's my little beach boy! Now let's eat.
DANCING WITH THE INNOCENT
27/08/14 11:24
Summer evenings with a carefree little boy and a loving wife, and living on the Atlantic ocean. These are those perfect little moments that make it all worthwhile.
WE READ TWO STORIES EVERY NIGHT
15/08/14 11:27
A dad once told me that the key to staying close to your kids is to read to them every day. I like this advice. And I have read to Conor every night of his life unless I was away on business. And even then, a couple of times I made a video of me reading and sent it to him. Tonight, we're cracking open a new book, Rudyard Kipling's, "Just so Stories." My dad read me this book when I was a kid and I loved it. I think there might be something to the advice from that dad because my son and I are extremely close. Then again, he's only two years old. Still plenty of time for him to decide I don't know crap.
THIS IS OUR COVERED WAGON AS WE DISCOVER THE NATIONAL PARKS
20/06/14 11:29
Lots of exploring during our 14 day discovery of Yosemite, Sequoia, and King's Canyon National Parks. This was our covered wagon. We didn't have any,"Are we there yet" questions but Conor was always saying, "Dad, dad, dad, I have a question." And when I would say, "What is it, Conor?" He would say things, like, "The sun is out." Or, This is a really, really long drive." Or, "Mommy is scared of heights."
BACKPACKING IN YOSEMITE
19/06/14 08:38
These backpack things are great for kids and hiking. Maybe too great! Conor doesn't want to walk anywhere. He likes the free ride in the back. We just hiked 2 miles uphill…both ways, I believe, to the Lower Falls in Yosemite National Park today. I'm smiling on the outside, but I'm really tired on the inside. Conor and my wife are doing just fine. Cryke.
"HI"
18/06/14 11:31
A 14 day vacation is just what the family needed. It takes about six days just to untether from work. It's amazing how much time we spend thinking of work even when we're not at the office. It took six days for me to finally unplug. It took Valerie about nine days. She thought it might not happen at all. The best part of the holiday is when you finally unplug and look around and the whole world is waiting to say, "hi!"
CLEARLY, CONOR IS HAVING A GREAT TIME
17/06/14 11:37
Mineral King, CA is 26 miles from the closest county road. Deep in the Sequoia National Park, in the middle of nowhere, with no one to play with but Mom and Dad, Conor has found a way to chase butterflies, roll in the dirt and dig for bugs. Now that's a perfect holiday.
PLEASE SIR, MAY I HAVE SOME MORE?
16/06/14 11:39
This is Conor after he extricated himself from the burned out redwood tree that had fallen over in the Mariposa Grove. Another one of my favorite pictures of him. It sums up his innocence and energy in one snapshot.
RUNNING IN YOSEMITE
15/06/14 11:41
This was how we saw Conor most of our vacation. A blur, running through the hotel porches, the trails, the meadows and the streams.
4:30AM ON OUR WAY TO YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK
13/06/14 19:10
It's 4:30am but you'd never know it. We were so ready for our vacation to Yosemite National Park. We're going to spend 5 days with my sister, her husband and my Aunt Elaine and Uncle Cleve. Conor is up and ready to go!
EXCUSE ME PEOPLE BUT I HAVE AN AUNT TO CATCH
13/06/14 19:04
This is one of my favorite pictures as it shows just how brave and confident Conor can be. He deplanes with no one around him as if he owns the plane. He was focused. It's time to see his Auntie Katherine!
EL CAPITAN WITH MY LITTLE CAPTAIN PULLING AT MY LEG
13/06/14 18:37
Taking a picture of El Capitan in Yosemite while your 2-year old is pulling at your leg so you'll play with him is not an easy task. Still, I really like this picture that miraculously turned out pretty cool.
DAD, THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE SUN
15/04/14 21:50
Today, we were driving to a party for one of our two year-old’s friends and after a long winter he exclaimed, “Daddy, there’s something wrong with the sun! It’s too bright.” And he covered his eyes from the sun shining into his window. Priceless.
CONOR IS READY FOR HOOPS
15/04/14 21:40 Filed in: sports | child development
At the beginning of the year, we joined the YMCA as a family. We started swimming lessons and soccer lessons. And this is where Conor was introduced to basketball as he'd walk to soccer class. He seemed especially connected to this so we stopped in the other day (during a birthday party at the Y) and he got to watch and even shoot a few baskets. I'm making a note to myself to get him a basketball hoop for the backyard as summer approaches.
YIKES, MY BABY'S REGRESSING
12/04/14 22:10 Filed in: child development | boys
Conor keeps teetering between wanting to be a baby and in the next sentence, “I’m a big boy.” He wants to be held and 5 minutes later he doesn’t even want a hug. He’s not exactly sure what he wants these days.
Here’s an interesting article from my trusty website; babycenter.com entitled, ‘Why Regression Happens.’
"Learning new skills is often "two steps forward, one step back." Regression is common in 2-year-olds partly because there are just so many new skills to juggle. They're also vulnerable to stresses that make them want to go back to familiar territory (diapers instead of that new potty) because it's more comforting. Be patient with little setbacks and remember that they're not permanent.
Well, that's good to know because I thought I may have done something wrong or dropped him on his head. I always like hearing that everybody's in the same boat as me. For better or worse, at least we're all doing well or we're all miserable. I just like the company.
DIRECTING A VIDEO WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY
12/04/14 22:07
This Saturday morning, I woke up excitedly to shoot a music video for an organization that I feel unusually close to, Urban Edge. It's an organization that helps those with limited income find clean, safe and comfortable housing. These people are selfless, in my opinion, in ways I could only hope I could be.
This particular day, I am going to shoot a music video based on a song I wrote for this organization. It was really fun working with Malik (my music director), his daughter, Alyssia, his wife, friends and singers that came out to volunteer their talents for this special video that marks the 40 years that Urban Edge has been looking out for those in the community, giving them the respect and hope that we all deserve as fellow human beings.
Today was so much fun. And seeing Malik connect with his 8 year old daughter and his 18 month old son while working at the same time, was truly inspiring. Another benchmark for me to try to be an even better dad.
UPSET ABOUT HIS UPSET STOMACH
Conor is two and a half years old and tonight is the first time I've ever seen him get an upset stomach and lose his cookies. He started off by telling me, 'Daddy, tummy.' No other explanation than that. I rubbed it and thought he was just showing me how far it sticks out because it is rather round. He waited about five minutes and said again, "Daddy, tummy." I think I heard some gas but what's new there? So I rubbed his tummy and asked him if it felt okay. He said, "no'. So I sat on the bed with him and we talked about Curious George and how Curious George likes to visit the chocolate factory. Then Conor put his little hand up to his mouth and said, "Daddy, my mouth!" and his eyes looked so scared. I figured it out immediately. I grabbed a towel and he was still looking scared. I told him that it was okay to let whatever was inside come right out of his mouth and that it would be okay. He did! And it went everywhere. Of course he started crying and his mom had grabbed him by the time he threw up and poor thing was covered in hotdogs and milk. She was a real trooper and took him downstairs for a bath.
I still remember how scared I was when I was a little boy and I had to throw up. I thought I was going to die. Seriously. It was the worst feeling I had ever felt. To be able to breathe again after that was quite a surprise. Conor threw up two more times that night and there was major cleanup necessary. We took his temperature and he was normal. The next morning he was completely fine and we returned to normalcy…whatever that is!
CONNECTING WITH MY BOY
28/03/14 22:19
As Conor gets older, we can find more things to do together. Its sometimes hard for me to think of ways for us to connect as I try to gage where he is in his developmental stages. I tend to reach beyond his capacity and then have to dial back the activities. But I think he likes the fact that I push the envelope of what is possible for him to do.
THAT'S MY LUNCH
21/03/14 22:22
I get concerned when the teachers tell Val and I that Conor didn't eat any of his lunch. That doesn't sound like my son! So I checked his hot dogs and discovered they were 97% fat free. That's the problem right there! Now he goes to school with Fenway Franks and I steam them instead of grill them. He eats them like candy all over again. Whew, that's my boy.
DADDY, I WANT TO HELP FIX THE TOILET
17/03/14 22:26
It was 10:30 at night and Conor had just gone to bed. I took the opportunity to fix the leaky toilet. When Conor saw me walk by with the tools, he popped up and said, "Dad, I want to help." I told him to go back to bed. He insisted on helping me. So I scooped him up as I heard my wife mumble, "Softy," and we went to work. His job was to hand me the tools and hold the flashlight. He did everything I asked him to do. It was amazing. "He's only two years old," I kept telling myself. He didn't act like a toddler, but like a son helping his dad. Wise beyond his years, I marveled at his self-discipline to hold that flashlight in one place instead of swirling it around trying to make his own light show. And how he would wait for his next request from me instead of trying to make waves in the toilet water. I felt especially close to my Conor tonight. He is my lucky charm!
SEVEN SIGNS THAT YOUR PRESCHOOLER LOVES YOU
19/02/14 22:35
I thought this was a great article from Babycenter.com.
7 signs that your preschooler loves you:
She acts up: You turn away to chat with a friend on the playground and your preschooler starts grabbing toys and throwing sand. If she doesn't have your positive attention, she'll take negative attention over nothing at all. "I call this the law of the soggy potato chip," says Karp. "In your child's eyes, a soggy potato chip is better than no potato chip." Frustrating as it can be, this behavior is another sign of how important you are to your child.
You're his role model: As in toddlerhood, your child likes to copy exactly what you do – but this modeling has become more advanced. You'll see him "making an important call" while hammering away at his "computer" or even cursing while driving his ride-on car (oops). "To your child, you are a rock star," says Karp.
She makes verbal declarations of love: Finally! At 3 or 4, many children begin to express their love with actual words. You may hear "I love you, Mommy" or "Your skin is so soft" or even "I want to marry you and be together forever." They all mean the same thing.
He comforts you: Your preschooler may surprise you with his empathy. Perhaps he offers you his special blanket when he sees you in tears or gives you a kiss when you hurt yourself. He's aping how you treat him when he gets hurt or upset. This is partly a survival technique, says Acredolo. You are your child's world, and he doesn't like that world disrupted, so he's trying to set things right. But it's also pretty darn loving.
She tries to hurt you with words: Love shouldn't hurt, but when it comes to our kids, sometimes it does. If you disappoint your preschooler or hurt her feelings, she may lash out with an insult like "Mommy's a poophead" or even the dreaded "I hate you!" It's not fun to hear, but – yes, really – it's more evidence of how much your child cares for you. Karp explains: "An insult is a more concise way of saying, You matter so much to me that you can make me more upset than anyone else, so I want to hurt you back."
He gives you gifts: You may receive a flower plucked from the front yard, a sparkly rock, a crayoned self-portrait, or a "chocolate marshmallow sundae" created out of bathwater and bubbles. Your preschooler's funny and touching gifts are a way for him to show you that you're special.
She celebrates your return: After time apart, your preschooler is likely to give you the VIP treatment, hugging you and showing off her accomplishments. Bonus: This will happen even if she was screaming when you left!
FOUR DAYS SINCE MOM'S BEEN GONE
11/02/14 22:38
Conor and I have been testing the limits of father and son while mom’s been away on vacation to see her sister’s family and new baby. Taking care of the boy on my own has been fun and challenging. He’s been a lot of fun and because he can talk so well, we can have conversations but still, they’re limited.
Just like when mom was home, we play with the wooden Thomas train set every night. We bought some additional knock-off train tracks this weekend at Toys R Us to make more complicated set-ups. Every night we create a new set-up.
Swimming lessons at the Y are on Sunday mornings so we did that and we stayed in the pool for a whole hour. Hallelujuh for the YMCA. An hour. Did I say we got to spend an hour in the pool playing? Because for that hour he wasn’t asking to watch a movie. A movie. Daddy, I want to watch a movie. Which is the same as other kids saying they want to watch TV. Except we don’t watch TV. We have netflix and we watch it on the TV or the iPad. So he just says, ‘movie’.
As an only child so far, Dad is Conor’s best play friend so he wants me to sit with him and play trains. Which is fine for about 15-20 minutes, but 45 minutes is a tad long for dad to sit and play trains.
Conor also doesn’t like going to sleep. I pick him up at 5:15 and we come home and eat immediately. He’s hungry as a horse when we get home and last night he ate 2 hotdogs (with bun), 2 yogurts, 3 strawberries and a bowl of cereal. I know, it’s not nutritional but hey, it’s father and son, so pipe down. After that, we play with trains for 45 minutes. After that, it’s time to get into pjs, brush teeth and read 2 stories and go to bed. Well, that’s the plan. But at 7:30, he’s not ready for bed. at 8:30, we’re still reading stories. at 9:30, I’m over it and Conor is running around wanting milk, water, cereal, etc… anything but bed. By 10pm, I’m ready to chain him to the bed but he’s too cute for that so I just ignore him and mutter, “bed.” Eventually, I fall asleep or he does. Or both of us do.
My wife called last night and said I looked tired. Is the pope Catholic?
LOLLIPOPS!
15/01/14 22:40
Conor is a picky eater but there's some foods that he particularly loves that just aren't kids' foods. Here's a lollipop lamb chop that he will fight tooth and nail to get. The other is artichokes. Other than that, he just likes hot dogs and mac and cheese. Ha!
IT'S NOT DEFIANCE, THE TESTING IS HEALTHY
At 2 years old, Conor is in full swing of testing Valerie and me. Just last night, I told him to stop jumping up the stairs so he wouldn’t accidently fall. He jumped up the next stair and looked back, grinning. I repeated my request and it triggered him to jump up the next step and turn around, grinning. I wondered if I should put him in a timeout for disobeying or pick him up and get him out of the ‘hot’ area.
According to Susanne Ayers Denham, a developmental psychologist, kids aren’t being defiant when they ‘test’ us. She points out that toddlers are trying to grapple with the rules of the family. They’re still trying to figure out if you need to be there to correct them each time and how they can ‘own’ the rule so they follow it even when you’re not there.
When you figure that this ‘testing’ coincides with their increasing need to be independent, it’s hard to read when a child needs to be reprimanded and when a child needs some room to learn and grow. I find this line increasingly blurry and need a constant dose of psychologists to remind me that my amazing son is following human instincts and isn’t just trying to be a pain in the ass on any given day. So thank you, Susanne, for your help today.
DON'T CHOKE ON THAT CANDY CANE, FROSTY
25/12/13 22:46
My next door neighbor is a fireman and told me that during Christmas time, firemen all over the country get an onslaught of phone calls of kids choking on candy canes. He told me of a kid just last week who had swallowed his candy cane and it got stuck sideways in his throat. His parents called 911 and were in a panic. The fire department arrived and the little boy was crying. His parents were still screaming and begging the firemen to do something. The commander noticed the boy was crying and knew the boy wasn’t choking. He told everyone to settle down and he started talking to the boy. When the ambulance arrived, they too did nothing but talk to the boy. The parents kept wanting someone to do something. But the firemen and the EMT knew that eventually, the candy cane would melt and the boy would be fine. They just stood by in case the candy cane moved and got lodged and cut off the wind pipe. The thing to remember is, if a person is able to cry or scream, they’re not choking. They are breathing and they may be uncomfortable but they are fine.
PACKING FOR TRIP TO GERMANY
09/12/13 00:00
I let Conor sleep this morning while I packed for my trip to Germany. When we headed down for breakfast I grabbed my suitcase. He said, "daddy, leave your suitcase upstairs." I asked him why but he did not look up. I put my suitcase down and we went downstairs for breakfast. He didn't say a word as we headed off to daycare. Not even when I sang "Jingle Bells." I don think he's very happy with me. It makes me sad.
CHRISTMAS TREE HANGING
03/12/13 20:46
"Honey, hang that wooden lobster in the trap a little bit higher, Conor keeps taking it down and trying to pull the lobster out." Man, decorating the tree isn't as simple and fast as it used to be. It takes a lot of thought with a 2-year old. "Conor, give me back that tin star. It's too sharp to be running around the living room with." Everything 3 feet and under has to be child proof. "Val, put that plastic reindeer way low. Conor will take it off but he can't hurt himself with it." Yeah, Decorating the Christmas tree is a whole new ball of wax now. But it's fun watching him stare at the tree and say, "Look mommy, it's a Christmas tree. Look Daddy, blue lights." And then he sits in his tiny rocking chair and just stares at it. Until he spots a Christmas ornament that he wants to play with. Then he gets out of his chair and yanks it off the tree. "Look Daddy, it's a Christmas tree on a Christmas tree. Ha, ha." He giggles as he studies the plastic Christmas tree we got in Austin 3 years ago when visiting Mom in the middle of summer.
DIRECTING A VIDEO FOR GE IN ATLANTA
20/11/13 20:51
Today is day two of directing a film for GE in Atlanta. While I’m working, I’m having a great time with my colleagues, DP and crew. But when I get back to my hotel, I wish I were home with my hilarious Conor. Oh well, I ‘ll be home tomorrow night and can give him a big squeeze. In the meantime, it has been good seeing some old friends in the evening after a day of shooting. And while I try not to bore them with stories about Conor, I can’t help but go there at least a little bit. Hey, it’s what parents do. He’s the best thing I’ve ever done and a little bragging is only natural.
WE FINALLY GET TO VISIT MIMI IN TEXAS
17/11/13 20:53
Conor visited his grandmother for the 4th time in his life. He’s old enough to interact with her now. It was really great to see them getting along so good.
CONOR'S MAKING FRENCH TOAST FOR DAD TODAY
14/11/13 21:00
I just keep getting surprised at how much our boy is growing up. He’s already helping dad with maintenance projects around the house and now with breakfast and dinner, too. HIs favorite kitchen tool is the ‘patchula.’
AND ON THAT FARM HE HAD A HORSE
13/11/13 21:03
I wonder what it is in kids that draws them to animals? Kids seem to be more interested in books and movies that have animals as characters than books about people. Just look at the popularity of Mickey Mouse. Conor loves to go to farms and see the horses, pigs, sheep and cows. We visit farms more than the mall. Well, I suppose that's a good thing for everyone.
HOW TO RECOGNIZE MILESTONES IN YOUR CHILD'S DEVELOPMENT
23/10/13 21:03
BabyCenter is great at sending Valerie and I weekly milestones that give us a benchmark for where Conor should be in his development. Today, this arrived in my mailbox and it's right on; Every day, your preschooler's brain is discovering new concepts that are soon reflected in his fast-growing vocabulary. Words like "over there," "on top of," "over," and "under" are a big leap forward because they show he understands how things relate to one another in space. You can reinforce this understanding by using simple directionals when you talk to him: "Where do birds live? Up in the sky! Where do bugs live? Under the ground." I really love this feature. If interested in tracking your child's developmental milestones, visit here; BabyCenter.
I THINK I SEE THE LION DAD
20/10/13 21:10
Conor and I went to the Franklin Zoo in Boston today. We had a great time together, exploring every inch of the park. He was scared of the leopard as it paced around in it’s enclosure. We were super close. And he was also scared of the gorilla when it looked over and started staring at us. He said, “Daddy, Conor scared. Let’s go.” And so we did.
There was this really cool lion exhibit where it looks as though a safari jeep has crashed through the 3 inch glass and is now resting in the lion’s den. Conor loved it. Here he is looking for the lion. Pretty serious.
NIH STOPS THERAPY DOGS FROM HELPING CHILDREN
17/10/13 21:19
Keeping therapy dogs from visiting children during the government shutdown is totally not necessary. I used to be a therapy dog volunteer and would take my dog to visit kids in the hospital, juvenile homes and senior citizen homes. It was all volunteer work and the government had nothing to do with it.
The excuse the government gives is that this particular community of service dogs has to see government veterinarians. Well, these dogs don’t have to see vets every day. Only if its time for shots or the dog needs medical help. Otherwise, these dogs are perfectly able to visit sick children in the hospital.
I think the government is trying to shut everything down so that we see how much the American people need them. But I see it as just the opposite. I see how much we rely on them and should change the system so that they don’t have so many touch points in our lives so that whichever government party is in the White House, they can’t tell the rest of us Americans what we can and can’t do. And who is suffering right now? The children. And that makes me frustrated and sad.
READ CNN ARTICLE HERE. - See more at: http://dadsdecoded.com/blog/index_files/archive-oct-2013.html#sthash.csgaEp8K.dpuf
CONOR THINKS I HUNG THE MOON
There’s something special about a dad and his son that just seems to make the world make sense. I feel like all the stuff i learned once upon a time has a purpose again. And if my son doesn’t like that I’m always imparting bits of trivial knowledge into his brain, he doesn’t show it. In fact, he acts like he relishes it. He’s only two but I thought he might like to know that the moon is only 270,000 miles from Earth. And when i took a picture of it this weekend with a powerful Nikon lens, I pointed out the acne spots were really places where asteroids collided with the moon. He laughed and clapped. I never really thought of it that way but I decided it was funny and thought applause was in order. I mean it really must have been quite a sight to see two foreign bodies crash into each other 270,000 miles away. I mean, it’s not like anyone got hurt or anything. He was playing with the wheel of my bike this weekend and as it spun, I explained that once an object is in motion it will continue that motion until an opposite force makes it stop. He rubbed his finger along the rubber until it stopped. He laughed. I said, “exactly”. Then he realized he burned his finger on the spinning rubber and he lifted his finger for me to kiss and make better. I did as told and he smiled. I didn’t tell him of the phenomenon ‘placebo effect’ because that would ruin everything.
It’s a brief time that my son is a little boy thinking that his dad hung the moon. I’m going to milk it for everything it’s worth. - See more at: http://dadsdecoded.com/blog/index_files/archive-oct-2013.html#sthash.csgaEp8K.dpuf
PANCAKES HAVE NEVER BEEN SO MUCH FUN
Conor doesn’t like when I ignore him in the morning when making breakfast. But if I include him in the process, he’s happy as a clam in mud.
CONOR GOES TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM. AGAIN.
Today, it got a little breezy in the back when Conor was admitted to Children’s hospital because of a super painful stomach cramp.
I got a call from Conor’s daycare that he had been crying for an hour, holding his stomach and saying that it hurt. They had tried to call once and now was trying again. I jumped in the car and headed to pick him up. Only two days before, he had the same issue and we took him to the hospital to get checked out. But because he was no longer in pain, they decided to just watch and see.
Today, we headed straight to Children’s Hospital and had him checked again. This time, thoroughly. It started with x-rays which he hated but it wasn’t painful. It was just a scary looking room with a big machine that looked like a monster. They really need to get in there and paint that room to look like something fun. It wouldn’t be hard at all. Then, they sent us all upstairs so he could have an ultrasound. He was so over that x-ray room that he wasn’t pleased to have to lie down and have jelly rubbed on his tummy so they could slide that plastic paddle around on his tummy. So he cried crocodile tears even though the procedure was painless.
Eventually, they decided he may just be really constipated so they gave him an enema to make him poo. He cried some more but was so tired from the other two experiences that he was resigned to let the nurse do her thing and he just laid on the pillow and cried. Valerie and I felt bad for him but we had seen him in pain when his stomach would cramp up so this didn’t seem like such a difficult decision. And now we are pretty sure he’ll be okay.
CONOR HAS AN ODD REQUEST OF HIS DOCTOR
10/10/13 21:36
After five hours of poking and prodding at Children’s Hospital, arguably the best hospital for children in the world, the doctor gave Conor a little package of graham crackers and an apple juice to fill his hungry little tummy. Whereby Conor, at 2-years old looked up at the doctor and said, “I want some hummus, please.” The doctor doubled over in laughter and said in all the years she’d been treating children, she’d never heard such a request. She apologized for not having any hummus then left as laughter echoed down the hall. It was a good ending to a long day at the hospital. Conor was okay after all and his extreme stomach ache was simply due to an extreme case of constipation. Ouch.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR 2-YEAR OLD SON
09/10/13 21:53
Happy birthday to our 2-year old, Conor. It has been an amazing journey so far. It’s funny how I look at pictures of him from when he was 6 months and realize how different he looks. To me, seeing him every day of his life, he looks the very same. How can that be? This morning, he awoke to three presents waiting downstairs for him. When we wished him a happy birthday, he broke into song and sung happy birthday to himself. It was hilarious. This is the balance bike that I blogged about two years ago when Conor was just born and now that he’s two, we’re going to see if this way of learning to ride without pedals actually works. - See more at: http://dadsdecoded.com/blog/index_files/archive-oct-2013.html#sthash.csgaEp8K.dpuf
READING STORIES TO MY SON WHILE ON THE ROAD
Foresight of my 10 days away from Conor motivated me to drag out the video camera and the tripod and read some of Conor's favorite stories before I left for Stockholm on business. This one is called Holler Loudly and I love hearing my son try to say, "Loudly". I called my wife to see how the two of them were doing and she said that Conor had started to ask about me on a regular basis so she played these videos on the TV and he calmed down and settled into half a dozen videos that I have stored in the section called, "The Reading Corner."
CONOR MIMICS DAD TRYING TO READ AN INSTRUCTION MANUAL
14/09/13 21:59
MY KID IS A GOAT
Recently, my wife and I took our 21 month old son to the Berkshire Mountains to visit the Hancock Shaker Village. Here, they have a small farm for visitors to see how the Shakers used to live. Our son was intrigued with the cows, goats, pigs and chickens. And when the staff invited Conor into the field to play with the goats, Conor glowed. And after about three minutes in the pen, he turned into a goat himself.
"There is some indication that having a good imagination translates into more creativity as an adult. But even more intriguing--and the idea getting the most attention in labs these days--is a possible connection between pretend play and the ability to get along socially in the world. In particular, researchers are investigating whether pretend play facilitates the development of children's theory of mind--the ability to understand that others have thoughts and feeling all their own."
From an article in the American Psychological Association entitled "The Power of Pretending" by Beth Azar
CONOR AND DAD SING, "GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE"
16/07/13 16:02
Conor and Dad singing, "George of the Jungle" from steve kolander on Vimeo.
Conor's at a great age now where he can understand me better and try to carry on a conversation. He's a little parrot these days and very good at mimicking and learning. Here we are learning the "George Of The Jungle" song.