Decemberists

December in Santa Cruz! On the plus side, there is no snow. On the minus side, there is no snow. It's been raining a lot here. I'm not sure I'll be able to make it out to cut the grass until March at this rate. At least the grass has started growing more slowly. I did manage to get some wet leaves raked for the boys to jump in.

Our standard-issue plan between 5:20 (when the boys get home) and 6:40 (when we eat) had been to make them run around outside, or I take them to the park. But it's pretty dark by 5:30, so we're all forced to make it work in the house. When we're all stuck in the house, things like this happen, because Momma is the best, and everyone needs her hugs.

We still make it to the park on the weekends. The rate of Duck-flation continues to increase at an increasing rate. There must be 100 ducks there now. Easy. Here is Graham herding them around the pond. He and Finn managed to force them into the water, like two little-boy sheep dogs.

And sometimes we do play in the backyard, even when it is raining. But things don't always go well. Below, at least Finn was having fun. It was mostly my fault because I stuck Graham up there against his will....

If you look carefully behind Graham you can see the edge of our garden. It has become massively overgrown with clover, and some grass, and I think a part of the garden may just stay like that.

A day at the beach

On Thursday I stayed home so that Katie could get some serious work done for a scholarly article that she is trying to get published. Also, the dentist filled my 3 cavities that morning. Don't get me started on that. I made it 32 years without a cavity, and that will have to suffice.

It has been hot lately, so Finn and I headed to the beach after his nap. We live about 35-40 minutes from the Santa Cruz beach. It can be 90 here and 75 there. Also, if it is windy, it can FEEL like 50 there, which is what happened Thursday. COLD! But Finn and I made the best of it. It took him about a half hour to get off of my lap and even run around in the sand, but he got the hang of it. He stayed warm by clutching the small towel that I'd brought for myself. I don't think he ever even dropped it, so you can tell that he is growing up.

Note that it wasn't all fun and games. There was time for quiet reflection while staring at the open ocean.

So, yeah, it was a good day! :)

This kid goes to eleven

Finn: My craziness levels all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and...
Me: Oh, I see. And most kids go up to ten?
Finn: Exactly.
Me: Does that mean you're crazier? Are you any louder?
Finn: Well, I'm one louder, aren't I? It's not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You're on ten then, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on ten on your craziness. Where can you go from there? Where?
Me: I don't know.
Finn: Nowhere. Exactly. What I do is, if I need that extra push over the cliff, you know what I do?
Me: Put it up to eleven.
Finn: Eleven. Exactly. One louder.
Me: Why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?
Finn: [pause] I go to eleven.

Today we had quite a day. Farmer's market, with about a dozen dogs to poke/yell/growl at, then the grocery store, then a pool party at the Kearney Heidgerken's. Whatever level of rambunctiousness that had been attained at previous ages was surpassed today at the swimming pool. It was a grand time. You know, it is not possible to tell your son not to run around the edges of the pool when he doesn't (probably) understand the words "walk, run, fast," or "slow." You just hope for the best.

There was a strange, oh, inversion of sorts. He wouldn't get down off the top pool step (4 inches of water) for 20 minutes, but he thought it was the greatest to dunk his face into the water. I think for many kids, putting their face in is a hard step. For Finn, it was the first thing he did. Only later on did we actually go "swimming" which involved lots of kicking, splashing, and being tossed into the air, with maniacal laughter. He was on full display. He only went all the way under by accident twice, and only once was my fault. It was such a fun time that we didn't take any pictures. How could I when I was in the pool?

Katie is out of town for a few days, so it is just me and the little man. Yesterday and today it was HOT. 90+ degrees. We went to a park in San Jose yesterday at about 2 p.m. (smart), and the first thing Finn said when we got out of the car was "Hot-teh. hot-teh." And it WAS hot-teh. But the farm animals and decent playground equipment made up for it. Here we are cooling off in the car before going home. He enjoys the blinker stick.

Finn really likes black beans, which I think is maybe a little unusual. They are a good source of protein. But they really are a mess. But that is half the fun.

Today was yogurt in the hair, which yielded a bit of a "There's Something About Mary" effect until we washed it away in the pool. I has been interesting being fully in charge for 4 straight days. I actually think it will make it a bit easier for me the next time I have to leave for a conference. When it is just you taking care of him, it is just MORE of everything. Harder, but more fun, since you're his world, not just half of it. But now I don't feel like I'm leaving Katie will an impossible task when I leave. But at the same time, you really miss out on some cool stuff. So maybe it will be harder after all . . . .

Raai-aai-aai-aai-aainn, I don't mind

Of course that's a lyric from The Beatles "Rain," the B-side to 1966's "Paperback Writer" single. But I'm not telling you anything that you didn't already know. (What a great song, by the way.)

It's supposed to rain here all week. I guess that's what we get for not having to shovel any snow. We decided that Finn needed some proper gear for the season, so we got him a raincoat and some hard-soled shoes. The raincoat is pretty much just a windbreaker, but it does the job. He is enjoying the shoes--they're good for stomping. Here we are before we ventured out to go to the farmer's market today:

He was the only little maniac kid there, as the market was a bit of a wet ghost town. But he had a great time running around and jumping in puddles. He also got mud all over his face, hands, and pants. I like to let him explore. I should have brought his boots, though. He was popular with the vendors, which garnered us a lot of free samples. He was furious when it was time to leave.

He is really is growning up fast. 15 months! What has surprised me the most lately is how aware he is of stuff he isn't supposed to do, and how fun it apparently is to try and get a rise out of us. Finn doesn't just bang on the window blinds. No, he'll touch them with one finger, and quickly look at us. Then he'll touch them with his whole hand, and look at us. Then he'll bang them really hard, and then look at us with a big smile! (He isn't supposed to touch them because they can detach and fall down on him.) If you just ignore him, then things escalate to banging more quickly! There are many examples involving the trash, the bookshelf, you name it. I guess I had thought this wasn't something that he would master til he was 2 or 3. I was wrong!

Also, we gave him his first hair cut last weekend, on the front steps. He was getting pretty shaggy along the sides and in back. I think that Katie did a nice job.