Kid Quotes

Finn is starting to really say a lot of words, and has even started to put two words together, sometimes. I will prompt him and prompt him to say something, and he'll either ignore me or laugh or say something else. If Madie prompts him though, he parrots her immediately. 

Me: "Finn, say, 'Yes, please.' Say, 'Yes, please!' Say, 'Yes. Please.'"

Madie (after 2 or 3 straight minutes of me begging): "Finn, say, 'Yes, please!'"

Finn: "Yes, please!"

I roll my eyes. 

Madie: "Finn, say, 'Thank you!'"

Finn: "Thank you!"

Madie: "Finn, say, 'Sky!'"

Finn: "Sky"

Madie: "Finn, say, 'Ultraviolet rays cause harmful skin damage!'"

...It's ridiculous.

Today I was reading a list of funny verbal mistakes kids make, like calling blueberries boobies and lobsters mobsters, and the like. Well, Madie has one to add to the list. After dinner Dad suggested playing some music while they cleaned up. 

Madie: "I want to play Comfy Panda."

My mind: Is this some game they came up with while I was gone one night?

Mike: "What?"

Madie: "Comfy Panda. I want to play that."

Mike: "Do you mean Kung Fu Panda?"

Madie: "Yes, Comfy Fu Panda. Comfu Panda. Comfy Fu Panda." 

Hahahahahaha, I was just cracking up in the bathroom the whole time! She never actually nailed it down, but it was so cute!

Happy Valentines Day, from Maine

I snapped this beauty on our way home from church last Sunday. You're welcome.

California Love

Last week, I went on a business trip to our Sacramento facility to implement a recent project I've been working on. I was well aware of the Sacramento facility when I got hired, and once we moved out to Maine I was already looking forward to the first chance I would get to come back out to California. I know a lot of people that complain about California because it 'has too much concrete' or 'the traffic is terrible' or it's 'too liberal'. While it may be those things, it's also a lot of other things, both good and bad. Being a native Californian, I am biased. I love California.

Most of the week was full of meetings and work. But I did make it to Livermore one evening to drop in on some old friends (thank you Atheys, Paradises, and Weltz family for being home!). I also made it out to visit Uncle Paul and Aunt Dena. And ventured out to Old Town Sacramento one evening. I hadn't been here since 4th grade. I meant to take the family here when we lived in Livermore, but we just never made it up. It has a cool wild west feel. This trip was kind of an accidental 'historic' trip. I wasn't planning on visiting Old Town, but it was a spur of the moment idea.

I used Friday as a play day since I traveled on a Sunday and stayed with a friend in Benicia. Apparently, Benicia was the original state capital of California! I knew it had changed a few times, but the details were all fuzzy until last week. I visited some friends at my old work in the morning and was hiking in Muir Woods by the afternoon in the middle of a rain storm. From Thursday night through Saturday morning it had rained up to 8 inches, with more on the way. California's drought has been very bad this year, but this storm looks to have helped ease the pain a bit.

Special thanks to Peter and Doris for letting me stay with them a couple nights and taking care of me. It was an invigorating trip on many fronts. It was obviously nice to get out of the cold, work at a facility where nobody knew me and couldn't pull me aside to talk, be where I consider home, and renew old connections. I'd love to find a way to bring Mal and the kids next time though. I know Mal misses her friends there.

Old Town Sacramento

Old Town landmark.

Sacramento River

Boardwalk

Naan! I miss the different cultures.

Original state capital

Moss-covered oak tree in Muir Woods

Happy to smell the redwoods again

The pocket camera

 My favorite feature of my iPhone is the camera. It's also my biggest disappointment. I love carrying a camera in my pocket that I can whip out to capture a moment with one of our kids, or capture a landscape shot. Then when I get home and upload it to my computer, it's disappointing how poor the quality is. Next phone upgrade is going to be based on camera quality, even if that means switching form an iPhone (sacrifice, I know). 

Here is a recap of January:

Zero degrees to start a beautiful morning along coastal Maine to start the new year.

We got a new niece! Madie really liked holding Mary.

Nothing like bonding while brushing teeth.

We got a dog, thanks to Mallory's brother Levi.

We go way back with Elvis. He is slightly older than Madie and the two have hung out quite a bit.

Finn getting into our snow cave. This cave was about 10 feet tall at its peak. It has significantly shrunk down since, but still stands almost 100% intact in our front yard.

We like to go out into the woods in our backyard and explore. It's been especially adventurous with Elvis.

Let's just say Finn is putting this poor dog through the ringer. He has been hit, slapped, bit, pinched, punched...we won't even go into projectiles. Through it all, Elvis is patient and tolerates Finn. This little boy is just a barbarian.

Madie was loving this ninja cupcake at the Chinese New Year Party we went to.