Take me out to the ball game...

Clay here. Last night’s events have inspired me to BLOG for the first time.

Last night I asked Koen to go to a Mariners game so the two of us ate dinner and drove over to the ballpark. The M’s have fallen out of contention so of course attendance drops significantly and there are lots of parking spots and open seats. We arrived at the park and bought a ticket for one since Koen is under three years old. We had to take the escalators all the way to the top and Koen could not keep the smile off his face. He was so cute with his little Batman backpack on. It contained 'stacios', his Spiderman glove and a sweatshirt. He was ready for the night.



We walked to our upper deck seats and he sat on my lap for the first two innings. I was pointing out the pitchers and hitters and trying to explain what was going on in two-year old terms. Once he saw the Moose down in the lower section though, it was over. We then moved over a couple of sections to an area that was wide open. It was fun to be the only two occupants of a section. We screamed and threw stacio shells just for the fun of it.



Time came to take the elevator downstairs to the main level. We turned the corner and who was standing there right in Koen’s face? Mariner Moose. Koen froze up and his jaw dropped. He then hid behind me and clutched my inner thigh. I tried to get him to say 'hi' to Moose, but it wasn’t happening and I wasn’t going to push it. So I gave Moose a high five and we moved on. As soon as Koen felt safe he said, “daddy, he’s bigger than you are!”. Yes, with antlers he was probably 6.5 or so.

Seat upgrade time. We walked down to row 10 or so off of 3rd base along with all the other people that didn’t pay to be in that section. Griffey hit a two-run home run and then Koen and I ended up on jumbotron waving for an excruciatingly long time. How long does camerawoman want me to wave and smile at her?



Koen yawns at 8:30 and I knew we should get going but not before we watched the bullpen warm up. Koen and I play catch inside the house almost every day and he likes pitching so I wanted him to see a real life pitcher and hear the snap of a 95 mph fastball. We moved over and Koen got the chance to watch Shawn Kelley warm up from 5 feet away. Koen was truly mesmerized as he hung onto the chain link fence and watched his every move. John Wetteland (Mariners bullpen coach) saw this 2-year old with his Batman backpack hanging on the fence and walked over and gave Koen a baseball. Of course Koen wouldn’t look at him or say thanks but I knew he was thinking it.



As we were walking out of the ballpark, I looked down at my little guy and he had a baseball in one hand and daddy’s finger in the other and all I could do was smile. This was one of those moments that not all dads need or plan for but I was there in the moment and took it all in. I will remember it forever.

As soon as we got to the car and I got him buckled in, he said “you’re a good daddy, dad” followed by “ I love you, daddy”. This is what it’s all about.

Bed, Bath and Batman

Big story of the week: Koen graduated from the crib and moved into a Big Boy Bed!!!

I know, I know...he's almost 3 years old. But you must understand, Koen has never tried to escape the crib...not even once! He likes it in there. In fact, some mornings there is no place he'd rather be with a couple of books and his dog, Scruffy. The time has come, however, mostly because Finn has also far outgrown his bassinet. We've been talking about it for months now, but it's taken us about that long to find the right bed on craig's list!

Anyway, the bedding has yet to arrive, but it's functional and Koen absolutely loves it! Even after a week, he still gets giddy when we talk about going to bed or down for a nap. And, believe it or not, it took him seven days to realize that he can get out of bed by himself! Clay and I found it so funny the first morning he woke up in the bed and called out for us to come get him...his usual morning routine. We wondered how long we should wait before showing him how to crawl out on his own. This could be the end of our peaceful weekend mornings!

Here he is on the very first night. We made a HUGE deal about it, almost ceremonial. And he couldn't have hidden that smile if he'd tried.





And here's another first...Finn took his first bath in the blue tub tonight! Here we are again, way behind schedule. We've been bathing him in the sink until now but he's just getting so big. And now that he's kicking his feet around, he's super slippery and hard to hold! We tried a quick couple of baths in the big tub, as Koen does, but he wanted nothing to do with that. For some reason, it really freaked the little guy out. But tonight's bath was incredibly peaceful, just like it should be.

Happy tubbing little chub.




Apparently, while Clay was shopping at Target, a rogue pair of Batman jammies jumped into his shopping cart! He claims they were on sale and he couldn't resist. Koen is stoked. I'm not sure he even understands the superhero thing yet. But we told him he looked cool with a cape, and he agrees.







Tidbits:

Koen entered the kitchen for breakfast yesterday morning. On his way to his chair, he passed by Finn in the bouncy seat. He casually greeted him by saying, "Hi Chubbs" and then climbed up to the table. Pretty random...he's never called him that before. Crack up!

Koen has also pulled his very first joke on me, all by himself, totally unprovoked. He got me, too. At that moment, I got a brief glimpse into my future as the only female in a house full of jokers. Hmmmmm.

My favorite moment with Finn right now? When he first wakes me up in the morning. His soft little grunts and lip smacks are so sweet. I peer over the side of the bassinet, and the moment he sees me a huge smile spread across his face. He opens his arms straight out to his sides with his palms facing up (a gesture to say, 'pick me up, Mom'). And always, before picking up this happy little bundle, I can't resist putting my fingers in his palms. He quickly and firmly grips my fingers and his hands are a little bit cool and amazingly soft! Love it, love it!

Koen's phrases:

Koen recently learned how to make himself dizzy and he thinks it's pretty funny. When he does it he says, "Fink I'm busy!" This translates to "I think I'm dizzy". At first, I laughed thinking he was imitating me when I tell him he's 'busy'...usually when he's running around hardly taking a second to catch a breath. I agreed with him, of course, because he IS being busy. So when I found out what he was actually saying, I loved the connotation!

Eleven!!

August 15, 1998.....We said our vows under a canopy of trees, near a small pond, in a beautiful canyon with a goose honking noisily in the background. I wore a white dress, Clay and his brothers wore white tube socks with their tuxes. An ostrich snatched the flower wreath off my little sister's head, causing my high-heeled aunt to jump in the pen and chase it down! You show that bird who's boss, Sinikka!

But it was the most perfect day in my memory...I married my best friend.

Eleven years and two kids later, I couldn't be happier! We went on a date tonight as a foursome. Several babysitting offers were made by various friends, but we turned them down. Our little boys are our buddies and we really wanted to have them with us. So we went out for a fun dinner followed by a much needed trip to Molly Moon's ice cream shop! Red Currant and Mojito Sorbet are the two newbies on the flavor list. Yum!

Here's a shot to commemorate the day. If only our dog would cooperate!



Love you, Clay!

BabyLegs & Handstands

Can I just say how much I love these leggins! I've adored them since Koen was a baby, but always thought they only came in pink for girls...that's all I ever saw. But mine eyes have been opened to the plethora of patterns available! And now Finn has his very own pair of BabyLegs. Thank you 80's for this fashion statement...I love the way my baby's chubby thighs bulge out on top!



We had a family headstand contest the other night. Clay started it and helped Koen do his very first headstand. This was also Clay's first headstand in a very long time....and mine. Luckily, there is no picture to prove that I did it. I think Clay was surprised that I could. Koen thinks he has very tricky parents.






A short story...
We had the PEPS group over to play at our house this morning. Koen and Hannah spent the majority of the morning playing alone in Koen's room. They were playing make believe...driving around in the plastic inflatable car and talking on their 'cell phones'. They even had 'pretend' lunch in Alfdrina.

I went in to check on them and saw Hannah holding the tiny leather camel that Grandpa brought to Koen from Morocco. It had been placed high up on the bookshelf, intentionally out of reach. Hmmmm. Knowing that Hannah is a very determined little girl, I directed most of my 'It's not safe to climb bookshelves' lecture at her. She listened carefully, but her face remained blank and she had no response...neither did Koen.

Later, as Koen and I sat and ate lunch together, he told me a story about how he wanted to show Hannah his little camel. Something about a chair...then something about 'way up high'. Pretty soon I realized that the very culprit of the climbing crime was my own son. I looked at him in amazement. He's never even attempted this sort of thing (at least not that I've seen)! He also took care to remove the evidence by putting his tiny desk chair back in its place.

As I revisited my lecture about climbing safety, telling him that it's not O.K. to stand on chairs, I suddenly realized how often I grab a dining chair to reach something in our high cupboards. He's learned from me. Oops.




Another short story...
This afternoon, I took Finn over to visit our 96 year old neighbor, Maxine. She had brought me a bag of apples from her tree, so with them I made my very first apple pie! It actually turned out, to my surprise...so I took her a piece. Anyway, Finn, the baby who always has a gummy smile for anyone who looks his way, would not smile at her. He cautiously studied her face, with a concerned look on his. She really wanted to hold him, so we sat in her living room and she snuggled him on her lap. And for the very first time, he looked scared. It was sweet and sad. He sat on her lap, his eyes fixated on mine as if to say, "Mommy, take me back!" And the whole time she had him, he focused on me without blinking...almost as if he thought any blink of his eyes would make me disappear. When I noticed his bottom lip poke out, forming his signature 'pouty face', I reached out and rescued him. Sweet boy. He's starting to figure who his 'peeps' are.


Extra tidbits...
Finn is the slobberiest baby I've ever met! The kid can soak through a drool bib in about 10 minutes flat! Lately, anything he can get his hands on goes in his mouth...it's non-stop! And you should see my shoulders when I hold him upright. He has a thing for sucking on my shirt...it starts the second his mouth makes contact with my shoulder. He makes sweet sucking sounds and you know he's completely content. After a few minutes, my whole shoulder is wet! I give up...glamour is over rated anyway! Check out the bubbles on his chin. This is how he looks 70% of the time. I don't remember Koen ever drooling this much!

Scenic Beach State Park

Several 'Firsts' to report over the weekend:

1. Finn's first ever camping trip (also, first night sleeping away from home)

2. Our first time camping with two kids

3. Clay's first time building a campfire (he begs to differ)...ha, ha

4. My first time riding in the car with a 70 lb dog on my lap...for two hours!

5. Koen's first campfire hobo dinner

We went camping with a few of our PEPS group friends. In light of the fact that most of us have infants, we chose to camp somewhat close to home. Scenic Beach Park was our final destination. This was car camping, mind you...with flushing toilets, running water, and a playground for the kids. Very cushy.

Anyway, the kids had a fabulous time getting super dirty. Koen was tickled to know that his friends were sleeping in tents, just feet away from ours. We ate hobo dinners full of potatoes, carrots, onions and ground bison! Of course, we wrapped up the night with scrumptious s'mores. Clay has the perfect technique. Even though I'd already roasted and eaten more than I should've, I dared him to make one of his specialties for me. How could I resist? He kept parading the finished product around, showing off its crispy, golden shell, and gooey, melty innards. I won't give away the entire recipe...you'll just have to come camping with us sometime! :)

That evening, after saying goodnight to the group, we sat as a little family of four around our very own campfire. Koen in Clay's arms, Finn in mine. It was peaceful and lovely. Definitely a moment to lock into the memory vault.


The littlest camper



Koen helped pitch the tent.





It's a good little fire! Nice job, Dad.



Oski is digging for oysters. Find us a pearl, old boy!




Our ghetto ride. Would you believe that Monty, our faithful old Montero, decided to officially call it quits the night before our big trip! Nothing would stand in our way, however! We crammed all our stuff...and the dog (we must love you, Osk)...into our Civic, and made the drive, minding the large bumps along the way!

How stoked does our dog look? Yes, this is where he sat for two hours. Clay took his turn holding him on the way home.



This was just the beginning of many exciting camping trips to come!