Friday, November 22, 2013

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.



Thursday, November 21, 2013

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.


Thursday, November 7, 2013

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.

Monday, November 4, 2013

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.