How Many 5 year old's could you take

24

Created by OnePlusYou - Funny

Finn now has Camo Dinosaur Pajamas

On loan from he cousins here in Clatskanie. All of his warm clothes and PJs are crossing the plains right now in Tom Tom's car, well our car that Tom Tom is bringing out to us before heading to Hawaii. Until they get here he has provisions from Amanda and if they are all like this then he is set. Does it get any better then Camo Dinosaurs? I submit that it does not!

The beach to the Snow

I am 5000 feet up an hour into to a six hour trip back to Portland with Finn playing with everyone of his trucks on the empty seat in our row. It was an adventure to get from the car to the airplane and a fitting end to an adventure in Hawaii. We have been here for the last six months and we are now heading back to a new house, new housemates and a lot of uncertainty. We spent the morning gathering toys and clothes and getting the bags packed before heading to the beach for one last play in the surf. Finn is now fearless in the water on the day when he is leaving. We was jumping into waves and body a surfing a little even having waves wash over his head as he got up and squealed with joy. While standing the whitewash saying goodbye to some great neighbors I had a Man-of-War wrap completely around my foot. I grabbed Finn and put him out of the water and then walked back in to peel off the jelly fish. It stung immediately and it took me a minute or two to get all the tentacles out. We took that as a cue to head back to the house and as we were walking back I felt the sting move up my leg. After washing off in the outdoor shower I now had a sore leg and really sore groin area. The stinging pain was bad but expected, the pain in my groin was not. Scott said the same thing happened to him when he didn’t get the tentacles off right away and that it goes away in a half hour. It didn’t go away in a half hour and it was a terrible pain. I would focus on the burning sting on my foot to take my mind away from the other pain. Laying on the ground in our room I woke Henry up form his nap with my moaning and after about an hour the pain started to go away. My foot still hurts after four hours but I can live with that. I made it the whole 6 months without getting hit and on the morning we left, as a going away present, I got a fine send off.

Finn and I are now in Clatskanie making our way through the snow and slushy streets. We walked down for coffee this afternoon and went out later in the car to visit some cousins. It is fun for us to be in the snow but for everyone here they are over it. We will go visit Papa tomorrow if we can make it out and then head to Portland later this weekend to make sure I can make it to work next week.

Mele Kaliki Maka

Last night Kate, Finn, Henry, and I drove into Honolulu to see the displays at City buildings. We walked around the Palace and Hale buildings looking at wreath displays and Christmas tree. There was a lighted train and some kiddie rides setup outside and Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus sitting on the wall giving the Shaka. It was beautiful to see all the lights and decorations. The trolley's were giving free rides and there were some light firetrucks driving around. Seemed the quintessential Hawaiian Christmas display and I was glad we got to see it. Thanks Mrs. Ann for the suggestion.

The boys

Henry Jackknifed himself

Henry tried to crawl over the box of cars to get to Finn's lineup and he didn't quite make it the whole way. Got himself a "little stuck" as Finn said.

A Christmas Rash

Finn was taking a bath in the kitchen sink while I was on the other side of the pass through on the computer checking basketball scores. I could see him and hear him as he was playing contently in the water and dumping it into the next sink. He was happy to be in there and I was happy for the time to get caught up. I could see his head but not his hands and during that time he had pulled a scented candle into the sink and with a baby spoon was scooping out large portions of it and mixing it in the bath and on his skin. When I came around the corner to get him out he smelled pine fresh but was covered in soft red wax. I washed the wax off 2 or 3 times and what we were left with were these rashes above. I asked if he ate any of it and he said "No it tastes yucky!" Awesome. So by no you mean yes. There a couple more pictures on the Flickr site. I felt terrible and brought him right away to Scott. It is great having a Dr. in the house for things like these. He had me wash him off again and since it wasn't itching or irritating Finn he said to just watch and see. I read Finn some books and laid him down to bed with the rash already dissipating. When I went to check on him an hour later it was all gone.

While riding our bikes

Kate was in front with the boys in the trailer. Finn asked where daddy was and I said "I am right on your tail Finn!" Finn responded "I don't have a tail daddy, I have a pee pee!"

The Blond one got a haircut

Finn got his haircut yesterday and he went from emo punk kid to boy next door. The difference in his look and demeanor is noticeable. With his long bangs he would get this defiant look that was brooding and frankly a little irritating. We didn't really fully notice it until it was gone with bangs that highlighted it. Now with his short hair he just doesn't have the same weight behind his pouts. I really liked his moppy hair but I like this attitude better.

Merry Christmas

This is so awesome i have to share it.

Waimanalo Christmas Parade

We went to the Waimanalo Christmas Parade and it was the best thing Finn had ever seen. Just wave after wave of Semi truck, dump trucks, garbage trucks, fire trucks, tricked out golf carts, low riders, police cars, funny cars, race cars, and people throwing candy. He was shocked that such a thing existed where all his favorite cars and trucks went by and they threw candy to him. Once one of the funny cars revved the engine and Finn jumped and grabbed my leg and asked me if they would do that again please. I think it scared him and then immediately delighted him. While we were out for breakfast earlier that day we saw a number of semi trucks getting ready and we knew that where ever they were going we had to be there. Finn talked about the parade the rest of the day, if you ask him about it I bet he could give you the run down of what he saw.

He is cute, I am not

Today while playing on the floor with his trucks Finn Said " Mommy I enjoy interaction!" The thing is someone on the TV just said that and he was repeating it but it cracked us up. It is true, he enjoys interaction and is always trying to get us to play with him.
A couple of days ago we were in the car coming back from the mall and I was feeling a bit defeated. We had gotten a bill for medical stuff that happened last year and should have been covered by the insurance that Kate had at the time but wasn't. It was the latest in pile of bills that come when you think you might finally be doing well. Anyway I was moody and quiet and trying to explain to Kate why while Finn asked question after question in the back seat. I told him to wait a minute while daddy was talking and he kept asking and asking. I snapped at him "Finn I need you to SHUT UP for 2 minutes!" and even before the words left my mouth I felt like an ass. Finn clammed right up, not saying another word for a minute and then saying to Kate, "Daddy says shut up Finn." I turned and to him and told him I was very sorry for saying that, I was wrong and should not have said that to him. He said "It's OK daddy." Later while we were driving he said "Sometimes daddy says no, and sometimes daddy says shut up." I wanted to cry, I know I will say and do terrible things but knowing that doesn't take the sting out of it when you have just done it.

Incase you were wondering if Finn still knew his cars

Wonder no more

Henry the Elf

Henry sees the decorations and says they are good.

Don't Worry Jesse!

When we head back to Portland and move in with Jesse and Carly we are going to be splitting up the cooking duties, with each person getting a night and each couple getting a night and then one leftover/take-out night. This ad comes to mind when I think of Jesse cooking!

More Cousins

In the last picture we saw my clear weight advantage at a young age but as we got older Doug grew faster then I did. Here we are boxing, or as I remember it, me getting my ass kicked. I have dropped my guard and it looks like Doug has just missed with his haymaker. The look on my face is classic, he missed but I some how still stunned. I think the wind of it might have hobbled me a little. I wasn't much of a fighter but I can take solace in not being a quitter.

Cousins

A little look back at me and my cousin Doug. We are one week apart in age but apparently I am gaining weight a little quicker. It may be because I have both spoons though. I think those were Doug's smokes, that's how he stayed so thin, his pack a day habit. Thanks for sharing this picture Aunt Jamie!

Henry is crawling now!

We have Lakers in HD

Since Fox Sport West is the closet regional sport stations we have Lakers and Clippers in HD. It is a magical thing to turn on the TV and see the Lakers playing. Hearing Stu bemoan the lack of ball movement is music to my ears. Jake is pretty excited about it too, that little guy just loves him some Lakers!

Fully adjusted

As great as it was to have family around for the last two months there is something to said for routine as well. We have all been sleeping in until 8 AM and getting some good naps in between. The boys seem to be fully adjusted to Hawaiian time again and enjoying having their own space to sleep. We have had some great beach time and Kate has gotten away on her own to read and have coffee with no kids. We are settling back into the day to day but still trying to enjoy each moment in the last three weeks we have here. Scott and I are going to get out for a round of golf next week and we might even make it out to the big island for a weekend exploration. We are having a really great time after some struggles early on and we know we will look back on this time and remember how great it was for us and the boys (Jake and Scott included)

But it wasn't a truck

We were all sitting in our bedroom, Kate on the couch with Henry; Finn, Jake and I on the floor watching a little TV and playing with the cars. Jake was exploring the space trying to see what he wasn't supposed to play with and what was OK. I turned to see what Jake was getting into and when I looked back there was a truck coming at me. It hit me in the lip as I was laying on the ground and there was Finn finishing his follow through. I immediately got up and grabbed Finn to take him to timeout. I told him he does not throw trucks and that hurt Daddy when he hit him with the truck.

"You hit me right in the face with that truck and now I have an owie on my lip!"

I put him in his timeout chair and closed the door. He was crying and calling for me saying

"I'm sorry I hit you in the face with the truck daddy!" "i'm sorry I hit the truck in the face with daddy" "I'm sorry, I'm sorry for trucks!"

I waited for him to calm down a bit and for me to calm down as well after taking a matchbox car to the mouth at 3 feet away. Then I went in and sat on the bed and asked him

"Why did you throw the truck at me Finn?"

Crying almost hysterically he responded

" I'm saw saw sorry daddy for for for......Daddy it wasn't a tr tr truck, it was a semi!"

It was all I could do to keep from laughing. He knew he was in trouble and that throwing the truck was wrong but he couldn't let this go on any longer. It wasn't a truck, it was a semi and if he was going to have to face the punishment he wanted the record to clearly reflect the make and model of the thrown vehicle. He apologized for throwing the Semi and at me and told me that we only throw balls. H asked if he could kiss my owie for me and then grabbed my lips with both hands and pulled them to him still sobbing a little bit. I am amazed at how quickly you can go from having a good time to being so angry with him you could scream to fighting back laughing because they are so freaking cute. It is a rollercoaster ride this parenting.

Best of 2008

It is that time of year when everyone likes to list off their favorites for others to admire and make fun of. I like looking at others so I will throw something out there to be criticized as well:


Favorite Albums of 2008

Ra Ra Riot - Rhumb tree

Santogold - Santogold

Coldplay - Viva La Vida

It was a good year for music for me and the three albums above I really really like. Dying is Fine by Ra Ra Riot is probably the most listened to song for me this year. I found it on a KCRW podcast and for some reason I just gravitated towards it. Finn and I have had a number of living room dance parties to the Santogold album and it got me listening to more R&B. As for Cold Play that is just good times that album. It isn't groundbreaking or new but it is great to listen to and a look at Last.fm on my account shows that I listened to that album more then any other. I really like the new Counting Crows cd and just this last couple of weeks I have been listening to Bon Iver thanks to Ben and Jen. Good call guys.

Books:

I don't really get to read books that come out this year because I usually get them second hand or check them out and there just isn't that great availability for the new stuff. I will list the top three books that I read this year instead of the top three books that came out this year.

Fiction

The Amazing Adventures of Kaviler and Clay - Michael Chabon

The Brother K - David James Duncan

A Million Pieces - James Frey

The top two books were recommendations from John and Matt and so far they have a great track record for books. Both recommended The Road last year and that book is by far the most impactful book I have read. I enjoyed Brothers for the story telling as well as the proximity to where I grew up. While I wasn't ever into comic books the Chabon book made that world come alive and made me want to read comics.

Non-Fiction

Simply Christian - N.T. Wright

Last Season - Phil Jackson

The Struggle for Iran - Christopher De Beguille

An eclectic group of books there but probably captures me pretty well. Faith, basketball, and Culture. It was hard to read about the snake bit Lakers season but really great as well. The N. T. Wright book is simple and profound, laying out what it means when we say Christian in a way reminiscent of C. S. Lewis. The struggle for Iran was an interesting look at a country that I hear about all the time but know little about. The book focused on the transition between a secular Iran into a Religious state.

I don't have any movies that I can think of right now so I will bring this post to an end. Please respond with any of your favorites or give me the link to your own lists.

North East Goodness

Here is the house that we will be living in starting in January. Casa de RitRoh will be lively and spacious with room for visitors to sleep in real beds. No more Blow up mattresses for Mark and Kendra, congratulations kids you get a real room. Please get your reservations in early as we are already starting to get requests for prime spring and summer time spots and we want to make sure that you get the dates your looking for. Can you tell I'm a little excited about the new place, just a little.

This moment, here, now

With all of us up at 5:30 this morning we walked to the beach and watched the sun rise. Finn played int he sand letting the warm water run up to his feat and then running back up to where Kate and I were sitting with Henry. The boys slept great last night and we felt pretty energized to get the most out of these last three weeks together in Hawaii. My brother recently told me about how him and his wife were really content in the moment and that has encouraged me to find that for myself. That sense of being fully engaged in what is happening right here and right now and letting the future live a little out of the spotlight a bit. Like I said we are really keyed for that right now but we will see how long that lasts. Things like this need constant watering to grow.

Transition away from transition

Four more weeks in Hawaii and then Finn and I will be heading back to Portland. It has been a good and tough time in Hawaii. Working from home has been wonderful, seeing Jake grow and being part of this formative time of his life has been and honor but not being able to get away and having 3 kids 2 and under has been tough. We had grand plans of financial gains that have gone largely unrealized but we have had relational gains that more then make up them. It has been harder then we thought it was going to be but we would do it again in a heartbeat. As the time is moving towards our departure though we can't help but look forward to the new, to the horizon. We will be moving in with friends in a 5 bedroom house is trendy North East Portland. A block from the Max and a great park and walking distance to two Breweries, if that isn't heaven I am not sure what is. We are in for tough times working out our lives in the midst of another family. trying to learn the steps to a new dance when we all have different tunes in mind. As usual communication is going to be key, as is thick skin and short memories. For Kate the opportunity to set up house is what she is looking forward to most. To have rooms that she can't arrange and re-arrange is necessary for a sense of home and she is already diagraming our room without seeing the room. For the last couple of transitions we have found that things don't work out the way we think they are going to and we know this next one will follow suit. We want to be more aware of our expectations and how we manage and communicate those. We want to have more contentment in the now even if it doesn't look like what we imagined from farther away. We have found that contentment in Hawaii after some false starts and frustrations and I think we are in a good place going in. I hope more then anything that the transitions are coming to an end for a while. I have a terrible sense of displacement and want to find where I fit now. I'm ready to pause in the stream now, to let the silt settle so i can see the bottom, see where I have been and maybe get a better picture of where we are going.