Tuesday, July 27, 2010

D-fence!

One of Jamie's favorite things about or visit to Nana and Pops was playing checkers. Jamie enjoys games greatly and is getting better. The problem is that he has no concept of playing defense. In tic-tac-toe, for instance, he just barrels ahead trying to get three in a row, regardless of what his opponent is doing and this is pretty much how he approaches chess and checkers.

He did, however, reveal an interesting strategy yesterday after camp. It seems they have been playing dodge-ball at camp and he LOVES it. He excitedly told his strategy: "I like to wait at the back until all my teammates are out and then I am the only hope." I think that this is the combination of a)time spent with Luke Skywalker and Star Wars and b) our games of freeze tag in the back yard. When we played with a couple of Jamie's friends and Connor I would make sure to freeze everybody except one so that that person got to save everybody else. It started as way to get Connor some cred with the big boys but Jamie in particular really likes be the last hope.

Swimming with my homies

When I look back on this summer with the boys, I will definitely picture them against the backdrop of a pool. While Sarah was gone and the boys weren't in camp we got into a good rhythm during the day. We would either go to the Zoo or do some errands in the morning, come back for lunch and then watch a little TV in the early afternoon while it was still hot. Then we went to the Y where I would work out while they went to the kid's area.

Then we would ether go out to the pool at the Y or come home and go to our pool for the rest of the afternoon. Each has its virtues so we tended to switch back and forth to avoid excessive repetition. The boys have been playing really nicely at the pool, and actually doing it together sometimes. Connor really loves it when the stand on the edge of the pool inside an inner tube and jump in simultaneously. Sometimes they also jump into the center of the tube when it's in the water. Connor is actually very good at this, except every so often he misses, hits the edge of the tube and bounces off head over heels into the water.

This freaks him out a bit, of course, but he has gotten so brave. He still wears a swim vest but is working hard on swimming with his face under water, which is a big milestone. Just before Sarah got back he started jumping in the water by himself too. He had never done it, but one day we went tot he pool and as soon as I got the vest on him and told him it was OK to get in, he just launched himself. I think he was emboldened during our visit to Nonni and Diddy's. There, too, we went to a pool every afternoon and it had a short (~6 feet) water slide. Jamie, of course, was all over it, going down feet first, head first, on his tummy on his back, you name it. Connor clearly wanted to do it but I didn't know if he could bring himself to actually take the plunge. But after some hemming and hawing and encouragement from Jamie ("Just go Connoooo!") he did and came tumbling out of the slide with really shocking velocity. I caught him and he looked a little freaked and cried and said he didn't want to do it again. But by the time we'd gotten to the side of the pool (about 3 seconds) he was ready to go again and never looked back.

At the Y pool there is a gently sloped shallow area and the boys also loved running into this and then splashing headfirst and swimming to me. We did this for hours and hours. It developed a kind of ritual aspect for Connor. It started when he would stand outside the pool and ask me to count for him to go. I did this with my fingers because it was noisy. So I would count to increasingly high numbers and off he would go. By the time we got to about 25 he got bored waiting so he started saying "count to this" and holding up his fingers in various strange hand shapes. So I would have to replicate that shape exactly or else he would not go and soon become angry with me. I think it must have looked a little like I was holding up gang signs to him. Hey, Connor is street. And he speaks French.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Fly boys

The boys and I had a great visit to Nonni and Diddy's last week. As almost always happens when we travel the boys were complemented for their good behavior on the plane. They really are very good travelers. When we were sitting waiting to taxi away from the gate Connor started saying "Daddaaaa? Are we blasting off yet??!!!" Jamie of course, having snagged the window seat, said with his wise, impatient older brother voice: "No Connooo. We're still on the ground."

Then when we did blast off it was rather a bumpy ride for the first few minutes. I wasn't sure how they would react but they loved it, especially Connor. The bigger the bump the more heartily he would laugh. He started calling it the "Humpty-Dumpties." The whole ride back, which was rather smoother, he kept asking for more and bigger humpty-dumpties.

Anyway, on the way up, as we were bucking around during "blast-off," Jamie, with a great big grin, suddenly says, not at all quietly, "It's OK everyone, don't panic!!!" This actually broke the tension on the plane a bit and there was general mirth, which encouraged them both to keep saying it to even greater hilarity.

Their positive attitude to travel is helped of course by the fact that the answer to almost any question concerning snacks or treats is a big yes. Jamie got a packet of Skittles, which featured a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory style promotion by which if you find a golden skittle you win $10,000. Jamie was immediately obsessed and convinced he would find one (I'm afraid this optimism comes from his mother). He was so sweet about it though. There is a Star Wars lego set of the Battle of Endor that he wants for his birthday. He knows it costs $100 so he said he would just take that and then give Sarah and I the rest. Then he thought about and said, "I could probably buy 10 Battle of Endors! Then I'd give you the rest!"