Good bye 2011

Orion, Aka Hamhocks

We survived! The holidays are over, the last day of the year is here and all my family is returning to their homes. The decorations are coming down and soon, only the memories of 2011 will remain. This has been an interesting year for us, and by far the best memory for 2011 will be the birth of Orion. As we go into 2012, I anticipate and welcome new opportunities, new challenges, and new adventures.

Jet lagged uncle Gooch trying to get some sleep

What a great way to end the year, surrounded by family.We had many laughs, lots of great food, drink, and deserts. Apollo added to his repertoire of things "not to say" (courtesy of his aunt Debbie and Uncle Gooch), and kept us all entertained with his naughty and funny phrases.  I offer few words on this post but opted for some snapshots instead of some of the sillier moments of the past week, along with some Apolloisms. Enjoy! 

Gooch and Kim with the four boys

Apollo's phrase of the week was; "I'm gonna spank your big ol' butt!" (Thanks Deb!)

Honorable mention; "Shut Your Pie Hole!" (Thanks Gooch)

YiaYia's Favorite; "I need to check my email." (He gets that from his mom when she try's to get her iPad away from him.)

Apollo's favorite song and dance; written and choreographed by Apollo. Picture Apollo with his hip thrusted to the side, his torso twisted, one hand clenching his butt cheek, hopping in a circle, while singing (and in tune I might add), "Shake my body, and put it in the garbage..."

Gooch, Kim, and Orion 12/30/2011

Apollo, Aden, Alexandra, Orion, and Ian

  May the New Year bring you love, laughter, health and prosperity. Happy New Year everyone!

My Blue Skies

Port Hueneme California 12/26/2004

 
  It was a perfect December winter day in southern California. The kind of day that you could only wish for this time of year.

The sun was shinning bright. The sand was warm as we walked on the beach. There was not a cloud in the sky that day and the air was still. We watched the sun set in the flawless sky, silhouetting the Channel Islands in the soft evening ocean haze.

This was the spot. We were on the beach in Port Hueneme. This is where I would marry Melanie.

Unfortunately, it was not this day that we would exchange our vows. The plan was that 24 hours later, we would return to this spot, with a small group of family and friends, to be wed.

  What a difference a day makes. As we left the hotel late in the afternoon the following day, less than a mile from the beach, the winds picked up and huge black clouds rolled in. The sky's darkened. Lightning appeared on the horizon and glanced off the ocean. The seas were stormy, rough, and riddled with white caps. Waves of white foam crashed upon the shore in a thundering stampede; This was our wedding day. It was clear that the gods were angry. Due to the rapidly declining weather, we made a last minute change and decided to gather in a gazebo to preform the nuptials instead of the beach, as if this meager structure of posts, beams, and palm trees would some how offer a bit of protection from the elements.

Our wedding day;
December 27th, 2004

 We took our places surrounded by our loved ones, standing in front of my brother, Friar Gooch. As Gooch began to speak, the wind became stronger. Palm fronds vibrated and flapped violently overhead, as pieces of palm husk blew past us through the gazebo. Large rain drops began falling and blowing sideways. Now, at this point, had I been a superstitious person, I would have turned and ran. "Save yourself!" echoed through my head as my heart began to race. "This must be sign!" I thought. I am sure Melanie was thinking the same thing, however, we stood our ground and survived the initial onslaught of Mother Natures wrath. We exchanged vows and became husband and wife. As if to mock Mother Nature and her attempt to thwart off our matrimonial union, we all raced to the water and embraced the power of the elements.

The torrential downpour that followed over the next few days caused massive flooding and power outages. El Nino had shown his face in a fury not seen in recent decades.
  Our spirits were not dampened and in a couple days, we headed to Ensenada, Baja California, for little honeymoon with Gooch, his friend Zoe, Ian, Aden, and our newest furry little friend Diego, all in tow.
  This was the start of our married life together: December 27th, 2004. There are many metaphors that we can draw on from this experience as compared to our seven years of marriage. I am typically a "glass half full" kind of person, so the parallels I have made tend to be positive. As Melanie and I have made many plans for our life together, there are few that have come to fruition in the manner we had planned. We have weathered many storms together. Faced many rough seas. We planned for sunny skies but found stormy ones instead.

We adapted. We found triumph in the face of adversity. Found joy in times of sorry. We found new life born from the ashes of death. We take our blue skies when we can get them, cherish them, rejoice in them and draw on their strength as they depart from us to make way for the new wave of storm clouds. Our resolve has remained strong, our bond strengthened and our love and respect for one another has increased with each storm we have conquered.
  These seven years have brought us many surprises. The biggest and best were Apollo and Orion; how they have blessed our lives and become the glue that binds us. I could not have foreseen them or the many twists and turns we have encountered along the way which brought them into our lives, yet it feels as if these two little ones have always been here and have always been part of us.

   If  I have learned one lesson in seven years of marriage, it is that we are survivors; that we will overcome and conquer. I know I can count on Melanie to be by my side, to follow my lead, or to take the lead when needed. For this I am grateful. I am surrounded by love and this family of mine is my blue skies.

  

A Grinch in the family

    The holidays are here. I admit that I do enjoy this time of year. My reasons are simple; First and foremost is spending time with family, not just my little family, but parents and siblings as well. Second would have to be all the lights and decorations that brighten an otherwise dark and drab period of short days and long nights. Last but to least is the smells of the season. I have been accused of being a super smeller at times and I don't deny that label...it is both a blessing and a curse. I love the scent of fresh cut fir trees, mulled cider, cinnamon, pumpkin pie, and Greek cookies. You probably have to be Greek to know and appreciate the smell of melomakarona (meh-loh-mah-KAH-roh-nah). For those of you that have not experienced these Greek Christmas cookies, especially when freshly baked in the home, just imagine orange and honey, with freshly ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove, all combined together into one amazing cookie. The fragrance will dazzle your senses. Admittedly, for me, these are all distractions to take my mind off of the shorter days, longer nights, and cooler weather. However, once the holidays are over, I am glad to take all the decorations down and get rid of all the evidence of Christmas for another year.  
  The internet has helped to make the holidays a little more enjoyable for me these past few years as well. I hate going to the malls and stores while fighting the crowds, just to settle on purchasing a gift for the sake of purchasing a gift, hoping that the person never suspects that you made an impulse purchase, just because you were so tired of shopping. Fortunately Amazon, Ebay, and most any large store, are all just a click away. I can shop on my own time, find the best price, and a few clicks later, I am done. I don't think I would like the holidays quite so much were it not for the internet.

Orion with a Walmart Santa

  Orion is too small this year to really understand what is going on or to be able to reap havoc upon the Christmas tree. He does, however, enjoy all the lights. Orion adds to the Christmas spirit with his smiles and laughter. It is such an amazing and heartwarming, joyful experience to have a chronically happy baby. This kid is all smiles. I have not experienced a baby that likes to  smile so much, and one that is so easily appeased. If we would have had Orion first, and then Apollo, I would have thought there was something seriously wrong with Apollo. I would have thought he was possessed (or only inherited Melanie's moody genes). Don't get me wrong, Apollo is perfect to me. I enjoy every minute with him and love everything about his personality and how much he keeps me laughing. He was just a lot of work. So far, Orion and Apollo are so completely different, that I often question if they are from the same mother! (Okay, two jabs at Melanie is enough. She is going to beat me now). Orion is bright, alert, curious, and for someone that can not walk or crawl yet, he is constantly in motion. He grabs everything, which makes cooking or eating while holding him, a difficult endeavor. Melanie has resorted to strapping Orion to her back while she works around the house to keep him from grabbing stuff.
  Apollo completely dislikes Santa Claus. I am sure it is because he has such a good memory and was freaked out by last years (uneventful) visit to Santa. After all, an old bearded guy, in a fuzzy red suit and hat, that likes children, and smells of onions and cheese, is a little creepy. I could bypass the whole "Santa picture" thing, were it not for Melanie. Apollo has been protesting Christmas for the past two months now. He is convinced that Uncle Gooch lives in "Christmas" (Switzerland) and he does not want to ever go there to visit him. We have been explaining to him what Christmas is, why we celebrate it, and that it is a "day" and not a "place". We have watched a lot of different holiday movies, some of the classic animated Christmas stories, as well as some birth of Christ stories, to give him a well rounded understanding of Christmas. We have even read books about Christmas and looked at pictures of past Christmas'. Still, Apollo wants nothing to do with Santa Claus, or Christmas. As I am an opportunist, I have pounced upon these phobias like a puma on a lame deer, and used them for my own entertainment.

"What is baby brother doing on me?"

  Recently, Melanie and I were headed out on date night. Apollo was going to stay home with his older brothers. Once he realized that we were leaving, he wanted to come along. "Dada, I want to come with you!". "You don't want to come with us Apollo." I replied mockingly. "YES...I...DO!!", he refuted. "But we are going to Christmas, Apollo" I replied while exuding an air of pleasure knowing that he would take the bait. "NO! I don't want to go to Christmas! NO WAY! I am staying here with brothers!" he exclaimed. "But it will be so much fun, you should come with me Apollo." "NO WAY!! I am NOT going to Christmas! I want to stay HERE!"

  Then there are the moments that we need to put a stop to a melt down or attitude problem. "Apollo, if you don't stop freaking out, mama will put you in a 'time out' on Santa's lap!" Apollo will protest with a bit of desperation in his voice, "NOOOOOOOO! I don't like Santa! Mama, don't put me in a time out on Santa's lap!" He will instantly put himself in check though, and start whining about Santa instead of whatever else he was whining about, and in the mean time, Melanie will be putting me in check for making her the bad guy.  I can not convey to you the pleasure I feel when I can get Melanie and Apollo both fired up with just one sentence. It is pure satisfaction.
  Apollo expressed to me this week that he wanted me to take down all the Christmas lights, decorations and the tree, (but leave up the train that is around the tree, of course). "Why do you want me to do that Apollo?", I inquired. "I want you to to take all the Christmas stuff down. I don't want this to be a Christmas house any more; I want you to turn it back into a food house." (whatever that means. I couldn't make this stuff up) he continued. "If you take down the christmas stuff, then Santa won't come to our house."
 "But Apollo", I replied, "If Santa doesn't come, you might not get any presents." "I don't want Santa to bring me presents," Apollo insisted, " I want you to bring me presents!" 
  My favorite Apollo Christmas story for this year, came when reading Dr Suess' "How the Grinch stole Christmas"to him.  About half way through the story, Apollo asked me why the Grinch was stealing all the Christmas presents and trees. When I explained to Apollo that the Grinch didn't like Christmas, and he did not want anybody to celebrate Christmas, he paused for a few seconds and then replied, "Dada, I want to go in that book and live with that Grinch." I'm with Apollo, it would be fun to be the Grinch and steal Christmas. Apollo and I both walk around the house now singing, "Your a mean one, Mr. Grinch." 
  After all was said and done, Melanie got her way and had a picture taken of all her boys with Santa Claus. It took some bribing on our part, and a super nice old man dressed up as Santa, that offered Apollo some words of encouragement... and a sucker. After the pictures were taken, Apollo agreed that Santa was nice, but admitted, "I still don't like him."

Father Christmas, with the boys. 2011

  Here is a quick update on the battle to reprogram Apollo's language. Keep in mind that we have given Apollo alternate words to use in place of the naughty ones:
  While driving down the road, Apollo breaks into song, as he often does, but this time with his own twisted Christmas tune; "Jingle farts, jingle farts, jingle all the farts..." "Apollo!" Melanie interjected, "what did I tell you about using that word?" "Sorry mama," came his reply, and after a brief pause, he began singing again, "Tooter bells, tooter bells, tooters all the bells..."
  

Hey, we don't say that!

  Winter is definitely upon us; at least as far as northern California is concerned. I awoke early this morning with the intention of waking up Apollo to watch the Lunar eclipse with me. After bundling up, I stepped outside to look at the moon. The air was crisp and heavy. My breath escaped in a puff of fog that drifted slowly in the air for a moment, before fading into the dark of the night. Yup, I thought I was going to die...then I remembered that we used to live in Bend Oregon, and the cold I was feeling was probably 10 degrees warmer than their high temperature would be later this same day. Some how, this made me feel a little warmer inside. Still, it was bitter cold. I opted not to awaken Apollo, and instead chose to be miserable by myself.

  It is hard to find time to sit and write these days. Apollo needs a lot of interaction. He often feels as he is competing for attention with Orion, so I go out of my way to make him feel extra special. It is interesting to watch Apollo's body language when Orion gets thrown into the mix. As soon as I pick up Orion, I see Apollo look at me and I can almost envision the wheels turning in his head as he plans a strategy to get me to put Orion back down. This will often involve climbing on to my lap, trying to wiggle his way in-between Orion and myself and putting his head or a toy in front of my face to block my view of his baby brother. When we call yiayia and papa on Skype, Apollo will act completely uninterested and he won't talk or be very engaging. As soon as we turn the camera towards Orion, it is a whole different story. Apollo will run across the room, and get in between the computer and Orion; "Thats my yiayia!" From these stories, it may sound like we don't pay enough attention to Apollo. The opposite is actually true. We go to great lengths to make sure we pay extra specially attention to him. Mel and I both spend one on one time with Apollo and we also involve him with helping out with his baby brother.
  As I was writing the paragraph above, I heard Melanie's muffled voice down the hall. That could mean only one thing at 7:30am. I hurried down the hall. Knowing that Apollo was awake, as I entered the room, I called to him, "Come on Apollo, lets leave mama alone." "Your too late", came an obviously irritated mother, "he already woke me up and the baby!" (Typical weekend morning). As I looked at Apollo to see his reaction, he stated very solemnly, "Mama and me are being mad at each other." As any father would do to try to diffuse the situation, I burst into laughter. I chuckled about this all morning.

 I love the unexpected laughs Apollo gives me. There is a certain naughtiness that comes with the three year old mentality and I am man enough to admit that I can totally relate to it. It is all about cause and effect, and testing the waters. Your own words are regurgitated back at you with an air of defiance. Sarcasm is well developed, and an integral part of nearly every comment. And every action deserves a very dramatic reaction. We are in the process of setting some boundaries with Apollo, especially in regards to inappropriate language. Butt, stupid, fart, and poop...all words he picked up from his big brothers and their friend, are used in abundance. It is worse than potty training to get them to stop using these words and phrases, especially when he thinks it is so funny, and it always makes his brothers laugh. You can imagine our horror when in the grocery he spots off with, "Your butt stinks!" or, "Mama, your a farter!" and then bursts into laughter. Yes, this has happened...several times. I am sure you can imagine the looks we get. We are making progress with adjusting his language, mostly by explaining to him how it is bad manners and that he can hurt peoples feelings with his words, and when he uses those words it sounds very ugly and offensive. Actually, what is really working is the fact that he loses a favorite toy for a week when ever he uses one of these words.

   Apollo is fully aware that these words are inappropriate. The funny part to me is that as soon as he says a word that he knows he shouldn't have used, he will very mockingly do an impersonation of my voice by trying to talk in a deep serious tone, while putting a scowl on his face, "Hey! we don't say that" and promptly start laughing.
    Of course with all the bad there is a greater amount of good. Apollos vocabulary is extensive. On occasion, there is a word he can not quite pronounce. Apollo will alter the word to his liking, and the resulting word is often hilarious. Part of learning manners, is learning not to interrupt. "Apollo, your interrupting me!", to which he will smugly reply, "No! Your inter corrupting me!"