When Connor grows up...

So the other day, Connor walks up to me and says, "So, Dad. What do you think I will be doing in 15 years? A) sitting in my pool, in my mansion, counting my money or B) rescuing cheetahs?" Before I could answer he said, "Yep, you guessed it, it's B!" (For the record that's totally what I was going to say).

Over the weekend he and a friend were playing in the boys' room and they built a zoo for his stuffed animals. Here he is describing it, as well as performing a much-advertised show. We got updates about the starting time very minute and then a rather shrill announcement summoning us to the zoo. Enjoy!

Yes!

I've mentioned Connor's habit of giving a big "Yes!" and doing a double fist-pump when something goes his way, so I've videoed him here. I really feel like this should be an internet meme. He's playing it up a bit here, but you'll get the idea I think. Sometimes it's more subtle, even stealth as when he's secretly pleased about things. But one of the great things about is that it is marshalled for happy occasions both big and small. So you could get a "Yes!!" from questions ranging from "Are we going to Italy this summer?" (which implies, will there be a lot of gelato?) to "Can we have a sleepover?"to "Can I have eggnog with dinner?" to "Did I spell 'brain' right?" Anyway, enjoy, and when something goes your way give a Connor "Yes!!!"

Connor plays with gravity and inertia

One thing that the boys' very clever mother has learned to tap into is the power of novelty. This doesn't mean buying them new things all the time, but rather that the well-timed re-introduction of a toy can be very effective and bring much joy to all parties, alleviating some of the "I'm bored!" comments that drive parents nuts. Lately we've pulled out matchbox cars to some good effect, for instance. This is nice for us too because it brings back the old days when we would watch Connor send cars down a ramp for hours at a time.

But Sarah scored a real success last week in bringing out the marble run blocks from the closet. Connor has been playing with them constantly ever since. We are frequently (every 2-3 minutes in some cases) called upon to look at his creations and marvel at his skill in manipulating the effects of gravity. Here he is describing one of his more elaborate setups to date:

All-city

At danger of a braggy post here, but we got the news late last week that Jamie was selected for all-city orchestra! This was a bit of a thing because it was his first audition. As it happened he was sick and home from the school the day of the auditions, but he was determined to go to the audition. It was a blind audition and he admitted to me afterwards that he was pretty nervous about, but said it went really well. I said that sounds great and he replied that he was sure he wouldn't make it, but he wanted to see what the audition was like. When I asked why he didn't think he'd make it he said "Oh, Dad, there are a lot of really good players there!"

So the next day I was home with him when we got the news. I told him and he literally jumped up and down with excitement. So great to see him feeling proud of himself and knowing that he had worked so hard to earn it.

Brave boy

It's funny when one gets clear indications of the kids growing up, beyond the usual physical signs. Jamie has been drawn to climbing walls for some time, but to be honest, it was never much of a success his MO has typically been to wait his turn starting climbing, get to about 10 feet up and paste himself to the wall before coming down. I was rather skeptical then about him waiting in line, seriously for like two hours, at his school's Fall Festival, for the climbing wall. The rest of his friends were running around, playing games, winning candy. For a while I got nervous because I couldn't find him, but there he was just waiting. I was really afraid he was going to have wasted his time, but when his turn came he just zipped up the wall like a pro. Did it twice for good measure.

Hill!

Yes, Houston is very flat. So the other day we took the boys to see Cave of Forgotten Dreams at the Museum of Natural Science. It was a modest success. Jamie was very curious about what it would be like since he understood it was not the usual movie theater and asked all manner of questions about the format, the setup, the program. Connor wanted to know if there would be candy. Then we got in there and they were pretty fidgety at first. This turned into a lot of sighing from Jamie about being bored. Eventually I looked over and Connor had taken his shirt off and Jamie was starting to tickle him. This boded ill and pretty soon I felt I had fought the good fight long enough and took them out. Jamie then pouted because he said he actually was starting to like it. So back in we went. This time Connor got really impatient (he was apparently INCREDIBLY hungry. Because we don't feed them, of course.). But we made it through.

32000 year-old cave paintings, however, cannot compete with man-made hills. By far the best part of the evening for boys when getting to the museum early. Sarah had a meeting with someone so the boys and I had an hour to kill. For boys in the flattest place possible, nothing could be better than the hill by the outdoor theater in the park nearby so off we went. The game was to run down the hill and try and tackle Daddy, so you'll see me getting out of the way at the end, sorry for the shaky camera.

Why doesn't this work?

So Jamie's sudden mastery of riding a bike has taken a toll on Connor, who seems to think that one ought to be able to simply get on a bike and ride it as Jamie appeared to do. So he gets very frustrated with the bicycle for falling over. I have gently tried to indicate that gravity, not the bike, is to blame, but mostly I'm told to keep my ideas to myself. Here's Diddy helping him and making some progress though on the weekend of Jamie's birthday.

Calvin and Hobbes

When we look back over the Fall of 2013, I think it will be viewed as the time of Calvin and Hobbes. The boys discovered this while at the Kressins over the summer. They borrowed an anthology which immediately became simultaneously a source of joy and a bone of contention because they both wanted to read it ALL THE TIME. Eventually we bought two more anthologies (and got a new copy for the Kressins as theirs was decided worn by now) so that any given time everyone could have a Calvin and Hobbes book. And frequently they do. Sarah and I are called in to look at a particular comic at least 4 times a day and many phrases have become stock in trade for them (e.g., Connor frequently says: "Hey Twinkie! Wanna see if there's an after-life?!!" and they can do a great duet of the "I'm so sorry" song).

It works on levels for them and is so beautifully pitched of course, because it is at once so innocent but also tells of childhood rebellion. Jamie took particular delight in one that described the beat-down of the father. Meanwhile I think it has worked its way into Connor's subconscious. He's been laughing in his sleep a lot lately and I am coming to think that it's because he's thinking about Calvin and Hobbes. A clue came last night. We had just been talking about this at dinner and Jamie was still awake later when Connor had fallen asleep. All of the sudden he starts laughing and then saying a bunch of stuff. Jamie was cracking up, but he thinks he heard part of "99 Bottles of Beer on the wall" something they picked up from Calvin and Hobbes. Well, it has certainly increased their cultural literacy, so that's something...

Game time, update

As if to prove the point of the previous post about it sometimes being a little tough to play games, we tried Monopoly again a few nights ago. Everything went Jamie's way from the beginning. Connor and I held on for a while but it was clear where things were headed. Connor got very mad when Jamie referred to himself as "The Winner" at one point, but we pressed on. When Connor landed on Jamie's Park Place with four houses on it though I called things. Connor reacted by waiting until Jamie wasn't looking and snatching away the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, which Jamie had just gotten about two hours before. Connor started to run and that clued Jamie in who followed protesting loudly. Connor then felt prosecuted and ran faster proclaiming his right to the book. Things were really only settled once we got to the table and they could join forces to protest being made to eat.

Connor wins

So in theory, it's really fun playing games with the boys. And sometimes in practice it is too. But it can also be a little challenging. In the first place, they tend to get a little giddy and out of control. Frequently if there are dice, they are hurled across the board in such a fashion as to knock everything off of its place. Then there is the nearly constant "It's my turn!" thing that happens. Also, if there are any kinds of figures, especially ones with guns (Risk, Star Wars Monopoly), then they can be made to battle, which also leads to the scattering of board pieces.

The final problem is, of course, that neither of them likes losing. Who does really? But Connor especially tends to take it really hard. So we're all happy when Connor wins occasionally. Even Jamie seems to recognize sometimes that this is for the greater good. So here's Connor being classy as he is about to win a game of Sorry.

Pleasures, expected and otherwise

In addition to their pleasure at the various delights of the campus I note below, the boys also enjoy several things about Rice. First and foremost is that my office is a treasure trove of candy. There is always some out at the front desk but what they really like is that they have discovered the drawers where the main horde is kept. Coming to my office invariably means getting to raid this, so they are always pretty receptive.

Other things happen that they didn't know about before and add to the fun. For instance, we have a water cooler. Not likely to be a source of much hilarity you are thinking. Well, we were there at the beginning of the semester and Connor announced that he was thirsty. Having nagged at him to ask nicely I took them to the cooler. As we were pouring the water into Connor's cup it gave a prodigious "GLUG" as a water bubble escaped to the top of the jug. Connor's face registered an extraordinary mix of excitement and pleasure and he immediately began laughing that unconstrained, bubbling giggle of his which is really heaven to hear. He enthusiastically called Jamie in and they spent the next few minutes getting it to GLUG again and falling over each other in joy until I, buzzkill that I am, put a stop to the waste of water. Suffice it to say that now getting water and listening to the cooler make its wonderful noise is a big part of the tradition of coming here.

Campus life with boys

I'm posting some pictures here of a day the boys were at Rice with me for part of the day this Fall. The school has been implementing some half days so they've come to work with me a couple of times. This can be very fun, but you have to know what you are in for. In the first place, they will find things to disagree about this. The first is taking the shuttle but from the parking lot to my office. Connor loves this. Jamie does not, I think partially because Connor does. So like everything one must compromise and so we take the shuttle going to the office and not coming back. As a result coming back from the office can last almost indefinitely as there are almost endless things for boys to get into.

Here is a little photo essay on our journey, which took seriously like 45 minutes.

The first stop is the big fountain outside the Baker Institute. Water is, of course, IRRESISTIBLE. I was struck by the similarity of their need to go into the fountain to that of dogs which I see there frequently. There was splashing, running in fear and great laughter. Dogs I think though have the sense not to want to go into the actual fountains, which are quite powerful. Boys have to be told they can't. I think those fountains would have actually borne Connor aloft, which, I confess I would find interesting to see.

 Next, we move onto the Turrell skyspace. Somehow I don't have a picture of this. It's a building with 4 sloping grass slides that can be run up and down and an interior space with a balcony that goes all the way around a sort of open courtyard. This needs to dealt with extensively, first of all because for children of Houston any kind of hill is FASCINATING. So up and down they went. Note that because they are wet from the fountain, grass will now cling to their clothes and skin and dirt will become mud. Win! Then because there are spaces to hide where one can play army and shoot at your brother. If you are the younger one, eventually it will become too intense and you will cry and we will leave.

From here we pass through the Shepherd School of Music. This is a large, open building which is pleasing because one can run in many different directions, seemingly at once, and then collapse unpredictably on the floor to look at the high ceilings. It also has a large staircase. Our boys are fascinated by stairs because we don't have any at home. Here they are very pleased with themselves looking down on me from the balcony.

Next, outside the Shepherd School we find a ledge to be jumped off of in full-on freestylin' boy mode. Experience the boyness. 

Having repeated this activity multiple times we are prepared to head for the parking lot. Now, the dampness from the fountain has become annoying and we complain to Daddy about being wet. Clearly my fault. We must, however, not hurry through the parking lot because there are many license plates from different states to be noted. Often Jamie will notice an exotic one, say Oregon and call it out. 15 seconds later, Connor who is trailing behind, and who has already marveled at Jamie's find, will see the same plate and call out "Ooohh!!! Look!! I found Oregon!!" This prompts Jamie's older brother voice to say wearily, "Connooo', I already found that one." Connor claims it's a different one and bad feelings ensue. 

And then we are back at the car and ready to move on.

Cello update

Lots of blogging to get to, so hopefully many updates to come on this Fall, but I'll start with some cello playing. Here's Jamie doing Weber's Hunter's Chorus. We are in a really good place with cello these days. The more complex the song the more Jamie wants to play it and the more dogged he has gotten about trying to learn it. We have had the happy conundrum a few times lately of needing to tell him multiple times that he has to stop practicing because it's past bed time. The other night I was helping Connor with something and I heard Jamie start playing. I asked Sarah if she had told him to practice, and no, she hadn't he just did it on his own. Joy! And as goes Jamie, so goes Connor so he has gotten so much better about practicing too.

Identity issues

So Jamie was clearly in a thoughtful mood after school yesterday. I took them to get ice cream to celebrate the first day of school. Out of nowhere, he began talking about our jobs. Then he said, "Dad, you remember how you once said maybe you would get a pickup truck? [it was just a passing moment of post-tenure imagining] It would be strange if you went to Rice in a pickup truck, especially if it was purple [my favorite color he knows]." Connor agreed. Then he went on, "I mean, no offense, but you're not the biggest guy in the world. All the other coaches at Westbury Little League, Coach Steven, Coach Darrell, Coach Jim, they're all much bigger than you and drive trucks, so it kind of makes sense. I think you would look funny getting out of a big truck." A big truck goes by and Connor says "Yeah like that one!" Jamie laughed and agreed. So there it is, no truck for little Daddy.

Back to school

OK, so back to school means back to blogging. To be honest I've been fearing the first day of school. Jamie was so anti-school by the end of last year and all summer he's been dreading its approach. He scowls at "Back to school" promotions at the store. One of his good friends shifted to home-schooling last year and so he is convinced it's our fault that he has to go at all. For his part, I think Connor, left to his own devices would like school just fine, but he goes along with Jamie of course. Also, it means he has to get out of bed before 9, which never makes him happy.

But the morning wasn't as bad as feared. Jamie didn't put up much of a fight and Connor wasn't too angry about getting out of bed. Here they are going into school:

I was so happy when the got in the car and were in great moods. Jamie immediately said "I LOVE my teacher!!!" He never said anything close to that all year and contrasted it with last year when they had tests all day the first day. Connor has a substitute while he teacher is on maternity leave but he said the sub made him a helper and added "I know everyone in my class!" So happy boys. Today was a little bit of a battle because neither wanted to get up, but so far we are already off to a better start.

Swim boys

The boys have been doing great in swimming. Connor has been swimming in first heats, so he's against the better swimmers in his age group but has been plugging right along. In both meets so far he's gotten second place as a part of the "A-team" relay and then 6th in the individual free-style. He is extremely frustrated because he wants a first-place ribbon. He said after the last meet "I've never been first in my WHOLE LIFE!!" My efforts to remind him that this consisted of a total of 4 meets to date were for nought. We've got the last meet of the season tomorrow, so fingers crossed.

Jamie meanwhile has been plugging along. He moved up an age group now so he is swimming against 10 yos but has soldiered on and done a great job. The amount they have those kids swim is incredible so I'm really proud of him for keeping it up. I swam two lengths (25m) as a part of the father/son relay races at our pool on the 4th and I can tell you I was sucking wind by the end. Granted I also nearly swam myself out of my swim trunks I was going so hard. We never had a chance in Connor's but Jamie got to me in good order and I hustled and we won the heat. Jamie was very pleased, I got a bottle of wine and some respect, but it didn't help with Connor's first-place envy a bit.

Jamie's best stroke is the breaststroke so here he is at the last meet. He got 5th here, but it was second heat of three so there were some tough kids in there. You can judge from the time of the video that it's not to bad a time for 25m.

Unfortunately, I can't get video of Connor because I have to volunteer during the first half of these endless meets so we can leave by 9:00.

Here's another of Jamie practicing at the pool in Tuscany. One thing you can note is that he has a good racing dive. He's actually better at it than a number of the older kids. You can also enjoy the scenery a bit here. This pool was very much the center of the boys' lives in Tuscany. The first week we were there, it was freezing cold but they were undeterred!

Long trip!

So the boys were great on the long trip back from Italy. Fortunately, after the last time I have a pretty good idea about what to expect and when there are likely to be breakdowns. Just like last year really, we had a long early morning drive before the first flight. Jamie had wanted to sleep and been very uncomfortable last time so this year I had them all set with pillows so they could be comfy. It helped that we had a bigger car too, so he could not touch Connor, which, when he's trying to sleep, invariably infuriates him. So they both sacked out for most of the 3-hour drive to the airport in Rome.

Getting on the plane was a bit of an adventure, because you have to stand in 20 lines. Once I finally got our boarding passes I realized we weren't sitting together. I think here my bit of Italian worked well. I was as nice and charming as I could be in talking to the agent at the desk in Italian and she smiled, ripped our passes and gave us three seats on the bulkhead so we had loads of room. The boys were great for the 10-hour plane ride. Connor is a little tougher because he doesn't quite have the patience to watch movies a lot and he got fidgety for a while, but in the end we made it, and, as always, when we were getting off they were complemented on what good travelers they were.

We had to fly through Charlotte, so we got the bags, rechecked, got some food and headed to the gate. I put Connor's sweatshirt on the ground and made a cozy area for him to sleep. He promptly sacked out, face down, on his stomach for an hour. He was NOT pleased when I had to wake him up to get on the plane, but then fell asleep as soon as we were in the air. Being smart now, I positioned myself in the middle seat of the three so Jamie could put his head on me without touching Connor, so he actually slept most of the time. Later Connor admitted that he had no memory of the second plane whatsoever.

Our friend picked us up in Houston and brought us home. I suspect that if the pool had been open they would have asked to go to the pool, but there one request was some time snuggly with the guinea pigs, whom they had missed terribly. I didn't have the wherewithal to get a picture then, but here is a similar scene the next day.

Connor is a joiner

Well, more than the rest of us I think. Last year he won camper of the week once, basically entirely on the strength of the incredible enthusiasm with which he sung, belted out even, the camp song. Last week we went to see the Westbury 12yo All-Stars play. Jamie was of course very interested to see these kids, some of whose younger brothers we know, playing so impressively. Eventually their attention wandered. Jamie went off to play with a bunch of kids from WLL. I love seeing them have sort of free-range, unstructured time like this.

Connor meanwhile starting throwing a tee-ball against the wall, which he likes doing a lot now. I had my eye on him and then game but was startled and at first alarmed to see him surrounded by a bunch of big kids from the Bellaire All-Stars who were there watching the game. They were all laughing and at first I was worried they were making fun of him, but it turned out they were being really sweet and having a kind of mini-game with him at the center pitching. Very cute.

But as the game when on, it turned into one of the best Little League games I've evr seen and Connor especially got really into it. We were up 11-4, then gave up 10 runs in the 5th to go into the 6th down 14-11. We rally and Connor is chanting along with everyone "West-bur-y, West-bur-y!!!!!" With 2 strikes and 2 outs a Westbury kid hits a three run homer to put us up 15-14. Pandemonium in the stands, cats hugging dogs. Jamie's mouth was just hanging open and Connor was freaking out. Then Post Oak hits a 2 out, 2 strike homer to win it in the bottom of the 6th. Heartbreaking. Connor took it really hard. At first he was just in stunned disbelief, then he started bawling in the car and really didn't shake it off before falling asleep. It was the first of many talks likely about sports fandom being primarily about heartbreak.

Connor does the awesome dance

I think Connor has a good bit of performer in him. Here he is dropping an original number, choreography, lyrics and all. This is just in the courtyard of where we stayed in Tuscany. There's not too much I can really say about it in terms of explanation, so just enjoy...

Everyone's a critic

Jamie went to see one of our good friends in a dance recital recently. Now, as a rule, this is not the kind of thing that is of the least interest to him I'm afraid, but he went along pretty good naturedly and seemed a bit amused by the whole thing. The girls were all about 4-5 so the choreography was pretty basic and there was definitely a range of skill levels and attention spans, which Jamie noticed. He said Alana, our friend "is pretty much the best one out there. The rest of them or just sort of lurching around!"

Concert footage

Here is some footage from the season ending cello concert. I don't have Jamie's solo recital ready to go but this is fun because it features Connor speaking. They polled all the cellists in the school on various topics (including cello being better than violin) and between songs announced the results, so that's what he's talking about. Enjoy...

Connor and the creatures

So we had sort of an epic day on the day before the 4th that involved quite a lot of creature excitement for our young animal lover, Connor. It started with a dead squirrel in front of our house. This might not seem promising but a large vulture was right in street working on it. There is a Wild Kratts episode about the turkey vulture and you need to understand that for Connor to see an animal from the Wild Kratts is like seeing Robert Redford or some movie star for the rest of us. So here is Connor dropping some knowledge about the vulture:

Then we went off to the beach, which went pretty well. To enjoy Galveston several things have to be in your favor and they were this day. There was astonishing little traffic, it was not excruciatingly hot, and the beach was pretty empty. Next, there was really not that much seaweed in the water, which makes a big difference. And the water temperature was really pretty perfect. The beach we went to is very shallow and has soft sand too so the boys could play in the waves without getting in very deep so it was pretty ideal. Jamie, as usual, got very uncomfortable about the sand, but then a game of whiffle ball helped him move on. He liked it because it was windy so the ball curved. He knows I won't let him throw a curve ball til he's 16 so this was a big thrill. 

After getting from the beach, I realized it was the first night in a while we've had things sorted so early, so we cozied up and watched the rest of this movie about saving these three whales trapped in the ice in Alaska. It was cute and they both liked it, except one of the whales, the baby named Bam-Bam, dies. Connor seemed really not to register it when it happened but then when the others were free he said "Where's Bam-Bam???" We had to break it to him. He waited about 5 minutes and began sobbing, just sobbing. I toyed with going the cycle of life route, but instead offered to buy him a stuffed animal whale for his birthday. "You can name him Bam-Bam Connor," Jamie said, "so you can remember him in your heart." 

Boys love rain

Here is a quick video of Jamie in a torrential downpour. It meant that we could not go swimming, so what is a boy to do? Go get drenched in it of course! 

Awards

Here's a picture of our "civilized" little boy doing the pledge. What cracked me up about this was that they turned around to face the American flag to do the Pledge of Allegiance and then rotated 90 degrees to the right to face the Texas flag and do that Pledge of Allegiance. We live in Texas. Sometimes that still amazes me.

Both boys did really well in school of course and got the highest academic honor roll. Connor in particularly seemed very pleased with himself about it, so it was nice to see him feeling proud of himself. One of Jamie's buddies from baseball did too so I proclaimed "baseball-playing nerds" and he's been proudly repeating it since. Here's Jamie with his award:

Finally, here's a cute one of the bunny with a buddy from class at their international food festival. Our boys do not, repeat DO NOT wear hats:

Really?

So I just had lunch with Jamie. We sat outside and a couple of his friends joined us and it was a very random funny conversation in which we talked about playing basketball with bb's, cheerleaders (pros and cons), and blowing buildings up (all pros).

Before his friends joined us, Jamie informed me that he and a girl from his class had been chosen to represent the class at the awards ceremony tomorrow. I asked what that meant and he said they would read "some pledge or something." Then I asked why it was him and he said his teacher had chosen them because they were "civilized" (he made the airquotes). If only she knew...

Sweet big brother

So Connor got sick this weekend. It was strange, we were at baseball (that part is very not strange) and Jamie had an early game, Connor a later one), when in seemingly a moment he got a fever and felt terrible. So he came home and slept for an hour and had some Tylenol and felt well enough to go to the pool for a bit. But it was clear he wasn't himself and by the time we came home it was clear he was still not well. So we decided to cozy up the couch and watch a movie for a bit. Jamie, without any prompting asked Connor if he wanted his pillow and blanket and went to get them and set everything up for the bunny to get comfy.

Turns out it was strep throat, so while antibiotics have him feeling much better already, he had to stay at home today per school rules. Ideal really, get to stay home but feel healthy. This was cruel for Jamie who had to deal with the usual case of the Mondays while watching a chipper Connor stay home. But he didn't hold it against him. When Sarah picked him up the first thing he asked was how Connor was. Then she asked him how his day was and he said "Lonely. I missed Connor. When I went to lunch I thought 'Ooo, I can see Connor. But then I realized he wasn't there."

Not saying he does it all the time, but he can be a sweet brother.

The pattern holds

Jamie did it again. For the past 2 years we've been wanting to get Jamie riding a bike and just gotten nowhere with it. Wouldn't really try. Lately, however, a few things have changed. For one, ee has been very into his scooter. Sarah was just reflecting on how different he seems from the timid toddler we knew him as. He goes zipping around on the scooter fearlessly going down slopes (that's all we have in Houston, no hills) and practicing tricks. So he's been more comfy on wheels and this has led to a desire for a skateboard. We said not until you can ride a bike, so that was extra motivation. We also have some friends whose 4-year-old can ride a bike so that was some motivation.

So, being Jamie, he just up and rode a bike one day. I think it was Sunday. Up until then he could pedal a couple of times and then put his feet down. Then that day he told me to come out and see how far he could go and I watched him pedal down the driveway as if it was no problem. I don't think he even realized it, until I told him could now ride a bike.

He's a bunny and he knows it

Connor has taken to a kind of graffiti art lately. He finds bits of paper and secretly writes short words or phrases. Every so often I come across a piece of paper in my office at work with "I do not understand!!!" scrawled across it, in his unmistakable hand. Here was his attack on the shopping list:

Don't tell!!

So Connor has this group of 5 and 6 yos he hangs around with at Westbury Little League. One of the reasons we like it there is that they can be off the chain in a relatively safe, consequence-free environment with lots of adults around who know them. From their perspective, the best thing is that they are building a giant water retention/parkscape right behind the fields so there are dirt piles everywhere. Joy! One of the favorites they've named "Mt. Husker" for Jamie's team, the Cornhuskers.

So as soon as we get to WLL, if Connor isn't involved in baseball activities, he finds his buddies and off they go. We call them the Pesky Cat Gang, taking the term from one of our favorite books, Mr. Pusskins. Pesky Cat Gang gets Mr. Pusskins to go places he isn't meant to go, and do things he isn't meant to do.

At one point during one of Jamie's games, Sarah overhears Connor telling the PCG, "Let's play animal habitats!" There is discussion about which habitat, but Connor successfully pushes them towards one of his favorites, the Indonesian rain forest. When they agreed he gave a classic Connor double fist pump and "YES!!!" Off they ran to play. A few minutes later, Connor came back alone. In a stage whisper he excitedly told Sarah that he was being the caracal in the habitat game. "Even though there are no caracals in the Indonesian rain forest!!!!!!!" Then, seriously, "Don't tell Mom!" She assured him she wouldn't but he felt the need to reiterate: "Really, Mom!. Do. Not. Tell!!!" And then off he rain. Sarah, I am happy to report, has said nothing still.

Connor world

We've been talking for a while about Connor world and he himself seems to have embraced it, as well as his "Bunny" nickname. The other day we were walking to a friend's house and more or less out of nowhere he said, "Dad, let me tell you how all the bunnies came to earth from Connor-world. They got in my bunny-shaped space ship with me and flew to earth. Then when we got out, as soon as I turned around they were gone. That's how the bunnies scattered everywhere."

Live like Connor

Basically, I recommend it. It's a way of going through the world living in the present and getting the most out of every situation. Connor was sick this week. Not too bad but a fever and a stiff neck, basically the "Connor virus" we call it. Now, Jamie for whatever reason isn't much into the Zoo these days, but Connor animal lover that he is, most certainly is, so with a day to spend together Tuesday I figured I'd take him. By the time we got there the parking lot was completely full of buses so we had to park in a garage in the Medical Center. Not much opportunity for fun there you're thinking.

We get out of the car, and walk to the elevator and the fun begins.
Connor: "Oooh!! Can I press the down button?"
We get in the elevator.
Connor: "Can I press the number too??!!" Normally in elevators, you see the boys have to share the button pushing so one pushes up/down the other pushes the number, so this was bonus time.
We get out of the elevator and see an escalator.
Connor: "Yay!! Escalator! Dad can we ride it?" I say yes. Connor, with fist pump "YEAH!!"
We ride the escalator up and down a few times. Eventually we get off the escalator and he sees a revolving door.
Connor: "Ooooh, I LOVE these!" He proceeds to attempt to go through the wrong way. So we go around the revolving door a few times amidst much giggling. Then we get outside and we see a...
"RAMP!!!" Connor runs up and down the ramp. So basically just getting out of the building was full of joy. We should all live like Connor.

Cheetah power!

OK, we did it again. We took Connor into a competitive situation and underestimated him. In this case, it was a birthday party at a laser tag place. Connor had never been to laser tag before, so Sarah kind of explained it to him and indicated clearly that it was a competition. I guess Connor got it. There were 14 kids in the party including some older siblings who are teenagers. Connor, playing under the nom-de-guerre "Cheetah" won the entire event. By a lot. I have some statistics to back up my claims of his dominance. He fired 790 beams, tagging other players 80 times, while only being tagged himself 38 times. He seems to have preyed on two other players in particular, getting the unfortunate "Dan" 29 times and crowd favorite "Rainbow Girl" 17 times. Combined the two only tagged him 15 times.

How to explain this performance? One, he is an intense little fellow. Two, as he often points out, bunnies are small, fast and hard to catch.

That's what they pay me for

Yes, this is another baseball story. Can't be helped, that's our life these days. A couple of weeks ago Jamie's team was playing. We were playing a team that doesn't hit it particularly hard, but makes a lot of contact so I was loading up the infield a little. Connor didn't know it, of course, but for the first time I put Jamie, who is very reliable now, at third base. As it happened the other team had runners at second and third and one out, so it looked like it might turn into a pretty big inning for them. The batter then popped one up to third. Jamie settled comfortably under it, looked it in his glove and then glanced at third to see that the runner had already left. So he calmly stepped on the base for an inning-ending double play. We went on to win a close game.

Unbeknownst to me when this happened, amidst great rejoicing in the stands, Connor turned to Sarah and said, "Mom. Dad knows. Where. To. Play. Jamie!!! That's why he's the coach!!" Props from the six-year-old! Score!

Game face!

Connor has one. Last summer I told the story of Connor's sudden, unexpected intensity on the starting blocks of his first swim race. I now see this for the pattern it is. Connor seems to have another gear when it is game time. He has shifted up to a more competitive baseball division this Spring, so they actually keep score and standings, even though there is still also a definite developmental focus.

It seems that to get Connor's interest things have to count. To be fair, by the end of last season he took his at-bats fairly seriously, but it was nothing compared to this year. Out he comes from the dugout striding purposefully to home plate, where there used to be a wandering, looping path. Where he used to sort of situate himself anywhere in the vicinity of home plate, facing more or less towards the pitcher, bat akimbo, now he parks himself in the batter's box, raps the plate with the bat 4-5 times and locks into his stance, eyes steady on the pitcher. Honestly, I would pay money just to see this even before he swings. He's hitting the ball about 50% of his times up which for his age group is pretty good, and hitting it hard sometimes too.

Playing in the field is a bit more of an adventure. When he's in the outfield, there's very little we can do to keep him focused. It would appear that he is choreographing a future solo dance recital of some kind, because he sees this as the time to rehearse an interesting routine in front of an audience. It's evidently a free-form, interpretative kind of dance. When he's in the infield though, he's shown better focus. There is a bit of wiggling and playing in the dirt to combat, but the other night at third he dived to stop a ground ball, which turned out to be foul. And then he fielded a ground ball and knew to try to tag the kid coming to third. Kid turned out to be a little too fast and was by him before Connor could get the tag down, but still he knew what to do.

Thanks Jamie!

I had an affirming conversation with Jamie the other day. We were in the car and he heard something about old players in the NBA and asked how old the oldest player was. I answered 40. He thought minute and said, "I don't think that that's so old." I agreed. Then he said, "I mean you're 41 and you're really good at basketball!" Now, granted he's seen me play maybe twice and I don't think he paid very close attention, to say the least, but I'll take it!

Actually, it's funny they are always angling to come with me to my Thursday night pickup basketball games. It is mainly because they like the vending machine there. Also, there are some ramps and places to hide so they get very into that, not watching Daddy play. As it happens, this is at a church gym and there is a seniors line-dancing class going on at the same time, and they get very dressed in Western gear and pouffy skirts. The boys went to watch and found it more or less the funniest thing they'd ever seen.

Foons!

One thing we have always loved about the boys are their funny mispronunciations of things. They are getting few and far between these days and they both speak beautifully. One of the few remaining is Connor's rendering of "hotel" as "hootel."

Jamie used to have a tough time with "sp" sounds, saying them as "f". We still talk about looking for parking "fots." Going through email archives I found this from March 2007, when he was 3. Sarah wrote:

On the way to school, Jamie said, "It's spring!" (pronouncing spring nicely). Then, "Mom, I can say SPOON. 'Cause I'm such a big boy." I said, "Jamie! How wonderful! Did you work on that at school, or with Daddy?" "I practiced in my room." And he really did say it perfectly! No more foons. 

In retrospect, it's totally Jamie, to practice something alone in his room until he got it right.

I got it!

So Jamie's been playing on a select baseball team since last summer. In one sense that sounds impressive and really it is. The kid who started playing when he was 7 was a million miles away from even being on a field with these kids. On the other hand, we are playing up in a 10U group and so have been getting slaughtered regularly. Jamie bears this all just fine and seems to know he is a little over his head and so plugs away doing what he can. He has actually adapted to kid pitching quite well. One sign of his improvement came last weekend. With this group he plays pretty much right and left field and has learned the position well.

In this case there were two outs in what had been a brutal inning, of which we generally have one a game. Lots of runs had scores, balls had been dropped, throws gone awry, etc. And then a ball came arcing towards Jamie in right. In his telling his first thought was "uh-oh, I gotta catch this, I gotta catch this!" Now keep in mind that he has never caught a fly of any kind in a game at any level though he's caught plenty in practices. Fortunately, the ball came pretty much right at him and he stuck is glove out and THUMP! in it landed for a much-needed out #3. There was much rejoicing. Really, there was.

Cello update

Well, he's done it again. We always said Jamie's usual method of doing things, that is to say not doing them at all until he was very good at it, wouldn't work with music, but weirdly he's managed it. He is suddenly flying through songs in cello at a rate his teacher referred to today as "almost unprecedented." He has now gotten through the songs that she had given him until the end of May to do and is still rolling. He was still in beginning strings the first month of this year and now she says she may move him to Performing Strings (the big show here) at the beginning of next year. Typical Jamie.

Really, though to give him credit, he has been quite dogged about it. He does not like doing review practice, and he does not like doing exercises, but he does like learning songs. He has been laboring away for the past month on Bach's "Minuet #2" and actually will pull out his cello unbidden and sit down to work on it. This song seems to have been sort of a turning point for him because he says he wants to play it because he likes it. Then the other day, he informed us that the only thing he wanted for his birthday and Christmas was his own cello. Seriously. His teacher laughed at this and said, "Ha, ha, your kids chose the most expensive instrument there is." Ha ha indeed.

Meanwhile Connor has started the upward march as well, passing two of the "Twinkle Twinkle" variations, and maybe another 1 or 2 today. The main Twinkle theme gave him some trouble because he got to the middle part and just kept looping it, so he would get stuck in Twinkle purgatory. Apparently, on one of his failed attempts, the entire class was rooting for him. His teacher said all the other kids had their fingers crossed as he started and there was a collective groan as he made the misstep. But he persevered too and has moved on. Hasn't asked for his own cello yet, but it's a matter of time it seems.

Battleship!

How have we not done this before? We took the boys to the San Jacinto Battlefield today and to see the USS Texas. First we went up the 500 column (elevator to the top), with which they were moderately impressed. Far better was jumping off a stone wall, yelling "Geronimo!" Or sometimes for Connor: "I'm a man!!!" Then they bravely endured a nice nature walk and amused themselves by terrorizing ant hills, while Sarah and I looked at birds.

By far the highlight was the Texas though. First there was the hill.

Now as you look at this picture of sheer joy on Connor's face, remember that just the day before he had been so sick he could barely get off the couch. Next remember that about a half-hour before, he had been so tired he almost couldn't carry on with the nature walk, which was really far too long, in case I didn't make that point clearly before. But for Houston boys, used to the oppressive flatness of the land, any hill is a cause for intense joy. They took turns shouting "This one's for you Mom/Dad" and barreling down the hill straight into us.

The Texas itself was great too. First there is much climbing to be done, always popular. But best of all was that the gun turrets mostly still work. I can be pretty specific because there are a lot on there and they tried just about everyone moving aft down the starboard side and then forward back up the port side.

Project bedtime

So the bedtime ritual with the boys is complex and we've come to understand that it is their direct goal to make it so, all the better to delay the actual going to sleep. So at sometime as close to 7 as possible, in theory, they get into pajamas. At that point they are both entitled to cereal. Connor sometimes wants this, but Jamie always, and almost always two bowls. Then there is book reading with mommy or daddy, during which time Jamie consumes several cheesesticks. If they manage it, one of them can play Angry Birds or something on one of the phones while the other one is being read to. Failing this, while Jamie is being read to Connor will attempt to engage the non-reading parent in some activity including, but not limited to, legos, swordfighting, reading another book, playing a board game, or playing animals of some kind. Jamie may try this as well, but more often stands next to the reading area and throws a super ball against the back door, which he does habitually now, kind of like Steve McQueen in The Great Escape.

Then they brush teeth and head to bed to read books there by themselves. Connor makes several repeat appearances. Then, they go to the bathroom. At this point, on the very cusp of being in bed to go to sleep, they invariably ask if they can sit out with us for a few minutes. This is very much to be desired because it delays the whole program. As a result, when they do achieve this they are a) very willing to snuggle, having sensed that this makes us more likely to say yes, and b) willing to watch a few minutes of whatever we might be watching.

And thus it is that the two Costello boys, who could not possibly care less about clothing if it is not a t-shirt and pair of shorts, have become fans of the show Project Runway. They have watched just a few episodes of the current season but are quite into it. Connor was sick today and spent a good part of the day asking if we could all watch the Project Runway finale. I'm slightly at a loss as to what they like about it. I think part of it is the competition. They are compelled by the one winner/one person kicked off reality format and are very interested in who they think will win, who we think will win, etc., and make a point to ask about the results of the episode they saw when they wake up the next day.

Our wee Scots boy

Connor just proved he's got a little Celt in him. He was playing the Wii, and started moaning and saying "Owww.." Sarah asked what was wrong and he said his right arm really hurt. She said, "Is that a Wii injury?" to which he replied "No, it's a BIG injury!"

Confusing advice

So, on the topic of Jamie being brave, from the previous post, I thought I would also add that he has a lot to figure out with sports and advice from his parents. As with baseball, he spent the Fall playing on a soccer team that had to play a lot of older kids and it was rough at times but Jamie kept his head up and plugged away.

At halftime of one game he reported to me that one of the kids on the other team had been talking some trash. So I asked what he had done and he said he gave it right back to the kid. "Good," I said, feeling pleased at his spunk, "we don't start that stuff, but we also don't back down."

Later he reported this to Sarah, who asked what he had done. When he told her, she said,while of course understanding his reaction, "Well, that was wrong sweetie. Just because someone else has bad sportsmanship doesn't make it OK for us to have it."

Of course, we're both right to an extent, though Sarah more so, and Jamie seemed able to deal with that contradiction. Ultimately, I suspect he'll keep our advice in mind, but sort it out for himself.

Brave, snuggly Jamie

Jamie has become such a pleasant, sweet little boy. Not that he ever wasn't those things, but as many of you remember he was a bit, shall we say, prickly as a baby and a toddler. Then he went through a phase during the first years he was in school when he got very self-conscious about showing affection with us, especially in sight of the school. Well, those days are over. We tell people who didn't know him then, that when he was smaller he could be a real challenge at times and they just look at us like we're nuts and say "Him??!!"

He has such an easy affectionate manner now. He is always happy to have a hug, doesn't really matter where (well, perhaps not on the baseball field but otherwise). Whenever we say we love him, he very naturally answers "I love you too!" Especially now that it's cold, he frequently asks "Can we read a book on the couch and snuggle?" Or if he's watching a show, "Can you snuggle with me?" Sometimes, in real moments of benevolence he's even affectionate with Connor.

But we're also so often impressed with his bravery. Since last summer he's been playing on a traveling baseball team. For a few reasons they are playing up so he's been facing kids from 11 and under teams, some of whom are literally twice his size. It's kid pitch now and some of these kids can really fire it in there. But he just stands in and takes his cuts. In this picture he's standing at first base after knocking in two runs with a hard hit ball off a kid throwing gas.

Last night I sort of watched him marshal his resources in real time. He's playing in a rec basketball league at a nearby church and it was his first pracitice. When walked in there were kids and balls everywhere and it was a kind of chaotic, sensory overload scene that Jamie has never liked and that would frankly overwhelem anybody. A lot of the kids were older as well. He immediately, quietly, said, "I don't want to be here. I want to go home." And then "I don't want to play on this basketball team." I was a little extra worried because I couldn't stay because I had to go to a Little League board meeting. So we hung out for a while and met his coach and the rest of the kids on the team. They started to head to a hoop and I gave a little pep talk about how I always feel playing basketball with new people and, not because of the pep talk I'm sure, I could literally see him gathering himself. I sort of hung out with him for a little bit in the layup line and he said very nicely, "It's OK Dad, you can go."
Of course, at the point I didn't want to for anything in the world, but I dutifully marched off with my heart in my throat.

Books in bed

So our bedtime routine, all things being normal, is that we read books with the boys until about 8 and then they go to read books in bed for about 1/2 hour. With Jamie, voracious reader that he has become, this means that we hear absolutely nothing from him until we say lights out, at which point, invariably, he asks if he can finish his page and we, invariably, say yes. With Connor on the other hand, you really never know what's going to happen. Very frequently there are encore performances in the living room of one manner or other. Then there are times when he plays noisily with legos, trying to engage the reading Jamie and only annoying him in the process. Other times he goes into that particularly intense, silent play with his Playmobil dinosaurse. Other times he gets into bed and falls asleep in two seconds. Sometimes he gets into bed and falls asleep with a book on his face. Once in a while he gets lucky and gets to go up and read with Jamie.

Yesterday, I turned the corner into the room and found this:

It would be difficult to convey the intensity with which he was engaged with The Little Engine That Could. Sarah tried to ask him a couple of things and he just sort of blew her off and couldn't take his eyes from the page. He didn't quite finish before lights out and very seriously asked for a bookmark so he could pick it up in the morning. It's a page-turner folks.

Bunny homework

So Connor is in first grade now and has been adjusting to a moderate amount of homework. He gemerally does pretty well. It comes in packets that have to be turned in at the end of the week and he's motivated to do as much as possible early in the week to get it out of the way so that's meant that Thursday night doesn't have to be too painful.

One assignment the boys both get is a list of words, which they have to use in a sentence. Connor had this for the first time this week and got the concept immediately and churned out the following sentences. I transcribe them exactly here, and I think they give you a nice little window into Connor-world:

(Around) Look around you.
(Find) We need to find our Guinea Pigs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Food) Me and My Dad our goin to get food at the store.
(Grow) We our growing Planets in our garden
(Under) I play weth my guinea Pigs under the table.
(Water) Me and my family go to the Bech we go under water.