Is it spring yet??

This has been a rough winter for a California boy. I've only recently brought it up to some Mainers, and they agree that it's been really bad. Some have even commented that it's one of the worst ones in recent years. But, this is what the farmers almanac called for. So, we might as well make the most of it.

Great facial hair.

Check out those lips!

Just reading.

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.

Thinker, Sister, Dancer, Fi

My personal favorite age of kids is 18 months to 3 years old. They are independent enough that they can get around by themselves and communicate with some degree of diplomacy, curious enough to be occupied by the smallest things, very loving, and extremely playful. Finn is at this age right now, and has a bit of all those things above. Madie was so fun at that age as well.

But, Madie blew up that stage once she hit 3 years old...

(again, seriously wish someone would have warned us that 3 was worse than 2)

Having Finn has been such a good thing for Madie though. She loves to help Finn take his jacket & shoes off when we get inside, and help him get down from his booster seat. Although the sibling rivalry stakes have heightened recently, she has been a helpful and loving big sister.

Quick story that a Primary leader shared with me about Madie on Sunday:

Madie, Mumma, and I at Reel Cinema watching "Frozen".

Madie rarely participates in singing in Primary, let alone home. We literally sing two songs every night before bed, and Mal sings all day with the kids, and Madie is a stalwart. She has, however, come around a bit recently. She will join us when we sing "Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star", "I am a Child of God", and "Once there was a Snowman".

At Primary on Sunday, they sang "Once there was a Snowman", and Madie apparently got really excited. After the song, Tiffany Dauk began to tell a story during sharing time about a man that went to the store to buy a few things. When the man got home, he realized that the cashier gave him $10 too much money.

Madie interjected: "Um, I have something to say about that."

Tiffany called on Madie to comment...

"That cashier shouldn't have given that man the $10."

Tiffany said "Well, you are correct Madie. He shouldn't have done that..."

Madie's listening skills and comprehension are getting much better lately, thanks to reading a lot of books and lecturing from Mom & Dad.

The Juggernaut

Some refer to him as brute, wild, thunder beast, or juggernaut. This 18 month old is taking the world by storm, one trot at a time. He is always full throttle. He is a force to be reckoned with, folks.

Funny Finnisms: 

• Today he ran up to the wall, head butted it square-on, and ran away laughing. 
• He currently enjoys putting the tabs of his blankie up his nostrils...not to be funny...just something he does to calm down when he has two fingers in his mouth. 
• He loves running around with his big sister. 
• We've hosted a few scouts from the Red Sox for dinner recently. They are intrigued with Finn's ability to chuck a ball across the room.
• Puzzles intrigue him. 
• His vocabulary is growing every day. New additions include hat, shoe, hello, yes, down, water. 
• If you pose a question, his default answer is always "No". Smart guy.
• If there are stairs or ramps of any type nearby, he can be entertained for hours. 
• He eats just about everything, and doesn't stop! This boy can contend in the big leagues with how much he puts down. 

Scary Finnisms: 

• Quite the temper. If you tell him no he is going to look for something to throw or hit. 
• After all of the abuse Madie has inflicted on him over the past year, he is starting to fight back. He best moves include the bite, the claw, and the open hand slap. We don't encourage fighting at all, but it has brought some 'balance' in the food kingdom. 
• He has some sort of phobia of abandonment. Any time Mal or I walk out the front door he throws a fit.