What does a mango taste like?

Who can Henry Pick on?

Abuse seems to trickle down hill and unfortunately for Henry he is at the bottom of the hill. Finn is faster the Jake and tackles him, smacks him with wooden spoons, and generally tortures the kid. Jake then crawls over to Henry and climbs in his seat, takes his plug, and lovingly smacks his head over and over. Jake gets excited anytime Finn comes over and Henry gets just as excited any time Jake comes over but eventually it is going to end with crying. You can see the little hands on the chair in the left corner after they have taken his plug and deposited on his shoulder. I love Henry's expression here, a sot of resigned frustration.

Overheard by the neighbors today

"I got roast beef on my wiener daddy!"

"HEY DADDY, I GOT ROAST BEEF ON MY WIENER!"

"OK buddy, why don't you put the roast beef back on your plate and eat it."

"and not have it on my wiener?"

"Yeah, not have it on your wiener anymore."

"OK daddy."

Temporary Insanity

Tonight was a hard night, a really hard night. I think we knew that there would be nights like this but it doesn't make it any easier. Jake is not feeling well and might be in the first stages of the bug Finn and I had, or he might just be pooping a lot for no reason. He has been unhappy tonight, unhappy eating, unhappy being held, unhappy in his crib. Henry has not been going down either and has been crying pretty loud in his baby cage. Finn is doing well but hungry for a bit of attention as we pinball back and forth between the screaming babies. Jake and Finn we are used to but Henry doesn't cry much so when he gets worked up like this it is a bit demoralizing. He has got some teeth coming in and that has to hurt like hell and I understand his crying, and I understand Jake and his wanting to not poop anymore and Finn and his need to get some attention too. I understand all of it but it is still hard. Right now Jake is screaming in his room and Henry is screaming on the other side of the house in his room. Finn is in the middle going to sleep like a champ. Kate had to get away and go to the beach for a bit because it was too much. After a long week tonight was just too much. We have no idea when Scott will ever come home, if he is working, or out for a run, or out to a movie while we manage the screaming and it becomes too much. I feel isolated tonight, like I am on an island in the middle of the ocean and I can't get off it. It's not always like this, I don't want you to think this is so hard all the time, it is tonight. Tonight it is hard, really hard. When Kate needs to get away she feel guilty for leaving me with the boys and so does not really get to de-stress at all. She just trades her overwhelming sense of responsibility in for overwhelming guilt for not being strong enough to endure. I realize that this is coming off way too intense and it is not a life or death thing. If you have kids I think you can relate, it's not that bad over all. but it is too hard right now. I feel guilty even writing this because I know that Mandy is going to read it and feel bad, and I don't want you to feel bad Mandy. It helps to write it out, to get it out of the head and on to the page and as I'm writing there is slience in the house and the screaming has stopped. The boys are asleep and it is getting better. I am feeling better. Can anyone else relate to this feeling of temporary insanity?

PBJ face

Henry likes to dunk under

Scott got a water proof housing for his digital camera so Sunday afternoon we took turns trying to drown our kids for good shots. I think Kate blocking her nose with her upper lip is the funniest thing but these pictures of the boys underwater are pretty cool. Henry is cool with dunking under but Finn is not much of a fan. We are trying to get him used to the water and teaching him to kick and not panic and it is working a bit. He knows that he is going to dunk under at least once each swim time though he tries to negotiate out of it. "Maybe go for a dip and not dunk under?" Henry gets really excited in the water and kicks like crazy. He loves floating around in the lady bug float and smacking the water on his sides. Henry also seems to know to close his mouth under water while Finn isn't grasping that yet. Sunday was a lot of fun by the pool, grilling steaks for lunch and chicken and fish for dinner and seeing what video of the kids underwater looks like.

WHAT....My Helmet......has.......googly eyes!

"WHAT?!!?! Daddy......is off of........work!" This is Finn's new thing. He exclaims What and then does a Christopher Walken impression with the sentence following. He is cracking me up with these. He does it it when he finds a truck, when Kate makes him a lunch, or any time Henry makes a peep: "WHAT?!!? Henry.......is waking..........up!" I will try to get video of this so you can kinda spit your coffee like I do when ever you watch. Oh and his bike helmet has googly eyes. Between the googly eyes and Walken impression this kid has me rolling.

Saturday with the stars

This past Saturday we had a plan to get up and out of the house by 8 for breakfast and then a trip to see the Dolphin show at the Kahala Resort. It was Kate's day to get up with the kids while I slept in so she was up and out with Henry at 6:00 to get coffee and hang out. Back at 7:30 I got up, having slept in an extra 3 hours from my usual get up time and feeling fairly good. We were still a bit late getting out of the house and our good breakfast place would have been nice at 8 but was now line around the block at 8:45. We picked up breakfast sandwiches and headed across the island. Traffic was pretty clear as we made our way to the opposite corner of the island while passing out food and Kate talked to her parents. The only real problem was that where we were going wasn't over there. Not even close. It was really just around the corner of the island from us. So back we went through Honolulu in now heavier traffic until we started heading up mountain. We had gone to far and had to turn back around, now having been in the car for 2 hours. We finally made it to where we were going with a hungry group and partially to mostly crabby Kate. We got out the stroller and walked around this beautiful hotel and down to the beach. We decided to get Lunch at the super expensive restaraunt on the beach and live it up like rock stars. I got a great steak sandwich, Kate a deluxe burger and a beer. After Lunch we got on our suits and played a little on the beach. Henry slpet, Kate layed out, and Finn and I went to see the Dolphin show. Most of the people there were Eurpopean tourists or Japanese and they thought Finn was pretty much the greatest thing ever. He got his picture taken twice and rubbed on the head at least 20 times. I don't know what Finn will be when he grows up but I have a sneaking suspicion he's going to be big in Japan. After the show we gathered up our stuff and headed back home, making it there in 15 minutes instead of the 2 hours it took coming. Finn was out before we left the hotel and Kate was in a much better mood. It was an adventure and fun and I'm glad we got out. Oh and while we were out Finn and I saw Saeed from Lost. He was just checking into the Hotel as we were coming back with our towels and suits from the car. He was walking righ in front of us but Finn didn't really care. He wanted to go back and see the turtles. That is two lost characters down and filming hasn't even started again. Hurly and Saeed are great but where is that Kate?

This is pretty much how she feels about him

Canurfing

We didn't see Obama but all the time on the beach led us to this great video. There a a couple of people out paddling around on their surfboards each day but most of them have been out in water a lot farther. This kid was going just beyond the break and then catching waves. Looks like and looks like something Mark will be doing when he comes to Visit.

High flier challenge for a new generation

No Obama sightings today but most the the police were out early so he must be out and about the island today. Instead we have video of me being silly with Jake and Finn.

We are on Obama Watch

You may have already heard that Obama is in Hawaii for a vacation with the family but did you know he is our neighbor. Well kinda kitty-corner to us. He is staying at this 10 room mansion on the beach next to the mansion at the end of our street. That one is full of secret service and local police. Our street is crawling with fuzz and Finn couldn't be happier. "That's a Police Cruiser Daddy!" "And that's another one!" "AND ANOTHER ONE!!!!" Yes Finn, there are lots of police cruisers, I see them. THis past weekend I mostly bed bound with a nasty little flu like issue so I haven't been to the beach much but today Finn and I went down there to "Build Sand Castles" and by that I mean try and see and talk to Barack Obama. I was thinking of inviting him over to watch the US men's team playing China since I know he loves the basketball but I chickened out. THe picture above is Finn playing on the beach and the house where the man is staying. You can see the police presence by the trees but no Obama. Maybe tomorrow!

Elmo really tickles him

Baking with the babies

Yesterday Kate made some cookies with the help of Finn and Jake. Finn helped a little and Jake mostly chewed up the box that the Vanilla extract bottle was in but everyone has their role to play. We had the iPod going through the home stereo system and with a number of 80's dance tunes, some butterscotch chips, and a lot of flour we all had a pretty great time. Henry slept through the whole thing in his baby cage oblivious to the dancing, baking, all around mess making. It was one of those times when the iPod is on shuffle and it keeps finding the right songs to keep the party going. Finn was up on a stool "shimming like his momma Kate" and Jake was bouncing to the beat on the floor. things have been a lot easier around here lately. Jake is finding his rhythm going from the only child to the middle child in a matter of days. Those are powerful family dynamics at work and he is adjusting well. He was a little spoiled by his two Grammy's but that is what Grammy's are for right. It is a tough adjustment going from the center of the universe to one of three. We have been giving Jake a lot of one on one time with both Kate and I so that he still gets to be the center for a bit each day. His laugh is infectious and rewarding and he holds on to you like a spider monkey. After his nap yesterday we layed on the couch and he just layed his head on my chest for a couple of minutes as he was waking up and scrunched his fingers on my arm. Henry did this too when i got him up a couple minutes later and I was acutely aware of how lucky i was to get to be here with these boys. We are doing well, having fun and learning each day how to manage the inevitable melt downs. I say we but it is really Kate, she is amazing with the boys. You read her rants on her blog and that is all true and part of it, but it is only part. It's the funnier parts that make for easy writing, but there are parts where she is Athena, Goddess of Wisdom. Moving deftly between the hungry boys knowing who needs what and how to give it to them without the mess that Scott or I make. Or she is Hestia, Goddess of the hearth and home managing 3 baby boys, 2 bigger boys, and 2 boy cats with grace. She is good at this domestic stuff even though she would say it is not for her. I think that is the great thing about this time here so far, when we switch again and I come home with the boys and she goes in the work force it won't be because it is too hard for her or because I could do this any better (I couldn't by the way, not by a long shot). It will be because that is the choice we make, that is the way we want it to be.

Songs in the key of Finn

Catching up

It has been great being back with the boys and Kate. It is more difficult then you think being away while someone you love is having a trying time. I flew back Sunday night after exhausting myself working for my mom at a wedding the night before. Sleeping on the plane was a good chance to get a little rest before starting work again at the pre-dawn hour. It took me until Thursday until I got back into the time zone again but I feel good now. On Wednesday Night we went to the other side of the Island and picked up a bike trailer that we got of Craigslist and Kate and the boys have been getting a lot of play out of that. Work was crazy busy this week with too many people on vacation at one time but it made it go a bit quicker. Throwing up some pictures and videos so click on the tabs to see what is new.

Breakfast babies