Force of nature

Orion is a force of nature. He runs our household...literally! I am not talking about dancing around your average, run-of-the-mill terrible two's tantrum fit. This kid is involved and in charge of everything that goes on in our house. He sees and hears everything and puts himself in the middle of it and barks orders at everyone. In his mind he is helping to cook, vacuum, mop, doing dishes, choosing what we watch on t.v.    Anything that you do, he wants to be involved in and then run things his way. As if this is bad enough, we can't put anything away while he is watching, or he will get it out. It doesn't matter how high we put it either; he will just move furniture around and climb his way up to where he wants to go.
As concerned parents, Melanie and I are constantly on the look out for sharp objects and knifes that are left out, closing doors, latching cupboards, and picking up anything fragile. Since the teenagers in our household have the memory span just shy of that of a goldfish, it is a real task and real concern. Never have I seen, at least in my limited time around children, a kid that gets into that much stuff on a constant basis. Orion goes non-stop from the time he wakes up until his mid day nap, then again from the time he wakes from his nap until about 11:00 pm or so. We try to get him in bed by 8:00pm and have to have all the lights off. He will play in the dark, sing, talk, yell out, try to climb off the bed repeatedly, cry, laugh, slap, pinch, thrash, toss and turn, and head butt, for hours before finally deciding to go to sleep. Then he is awake before 7:00 am and starts the process all over again...it is absolutely tiring.

As I try to write at night after the kids are asleep, I have hardly had a chance of late to do any writing. I am usually asleep before Orion goes down, or I am not that far behind him if he goes first.
  To counter his mayhem, Orion can be the sweetest, most cuddly, fun, and full of laughter kid you can hope for. His smile disarms even the most hostile reaction. His laughter is genuine and everything he does is absolutely adorable.
  Orion is quite the chatterbox now. He knows so many words and small phrases. Many things that he says are still not super clear, but we understand what he is saying most of the time. He also uses hand gestures to get his point across, i.e. patting his hand to his chest while saying "mine".
As yiayia and papa spent a couple weeks with us in March, Orion had the chance to really turn on the charm. Papa has been pretty sick this past year and as a result he is always cold. Orion, always found blankets for papa and would bring them to him and lay them across his lap and say "nigh-nigh". He would also get papa's cane for him whenever he got up and needed to walk. Orion would chase him around the house with the cane yelling "Papa! Papa!"

Comets and Constellations

The sun drops below the hills across the valley bringing the day to a close. A thin layer of dark grey and purple broken clouds streach across the sky partially concealing the last colors of day. Lights begin to flicker on and grow brighter in the distance silhouetting trees and buildings in the dusk.

A wave of cool air ushers its way from the ocean, over the hills and across the valley floor pushing out the warmth that the sun left in its wake. This could have been any one of four evenings in the middle of march that Apollo and I spent together looking for the Panstarrs comet. The moist air and thin clouds prevented us from seeing the comet with our naked eyes, however, we were able to capture it on my camera with long exposures.

Ultimately, it was the quality one-on-one time that I was able to spend with Apollo. We talked about the comet, the stars, sun, moon, planets, and rockets. We talked about Orion, and yiayia and papa (who were visiting at the time) and numerous other things. I enjoy these moments immensely. I learn so much from him during these times and can really appreciate who he is becoming. On our second evening outing, a car pulled up on the all but now deserted stretch of road in front of the regional park by our house. Out hopped a mother and father and their 8-year-old son, whom rushed over to say "hi" to Apollo and I, and introduce himself. The boys mother made small talk for a moment and was happy to learn that we were out looking for the comet as well.  Upon looking up in the sky, the mother pointed to some stars.
 "See those three stars in a row? Thats Orion's belt!" she said enthusiastically.
"It's part of the constellation Orion," replied Apollo, "and my baby brother is named Orion."
"Wow! That's impressive! How did you know that?" said the mother.
"My dad told me." Apollo answered.
"And you have a brother named Ryan?" the mother asked.
"No! His name is O-rion, like the constellation!"Apollo snapped back.
"Mommy, whats a con-sell...a-shun?" whispered the confused 8-year-old.
At this point I could no longer contain my laughter, albeit bad timing.
"Well, with a brother named Orion, what is your name?" came the mothers voice, while ignoring my laughter and her sons question.
"Apollo." he replied.
"Apollo? What a cool name! So you were named after the stars too!" she said excitedly.
"Actually, I was named after the sun, because Apollo is the sun god," came Apollo's reply.
At this point I started laughing again and then apologized to the mother. I explained that I was laughing because I was surprised that Apollo was talking to her because he is usually painfully shy to strangers. I also explained that I was both proud of him listening to what I and been telling him and at the same time embarrassed that he sounded like a know it all.
  Not sounding convinced, the boys mother turned to her son then pointing to the the brightest star in the sky. "See that star? Its actually a planet and I bet it's Venus."
"Actually, thats Jupiter," Apollo clarified.

Our new friends left shortly after this
  We invited them to join us the next night as it promised to better night to see the comet, however, they were a "no show"... Can you blame them?

Bath time for Power Rangers and Nighloks

 "Bath time boys!" Melanie calls out, her voice weary from a day full of cranky kids.
  Squeals of delight echo through the house as little footsteps scamper down the hall. Apollo has half his clothing stripped off by the time he reaches the door to the bathroom. Orion, unable to remove his own clothing, opts for trying to climb into the bath with his clothes and shoes still on. Melanie quickly scoops him up and starts peeling off his clothing, all the while Orion is kicking his legs back and forth in an effort to help get his pants off quickly, still vocalizing with delight.
  This is our nightly routine and typically the one time during the day when Apollo and Orion are guaranteed to have fun together. The sound of splashing and laughing uncontrollably fills the house. Water begins to cover the bathroom floor saturating the towels laid there for this very reason.
  This is one of the great rewards of fatherhood; watching your sons play, interact, make up games, and form a bond that will last forever.

                      ~

   Orion is shear joy. He is quick to smile, laugh, flirt, and play. There is passion in every step he takes. Music sends him into dance mode instantly, and he will squeal with excitement at the littlest things, yet he is insanely stubborn and prone to melt-downs when he doesn't get his way. The transition into the "terrible two's" has begun and from the sampling of tantrums that he has provided us with, I am sure Orion will surpass Apollo's benchmark of all that is unholy about toddlers.

   Orion is a great communicator. His vocabulary is building rapidly and his words and sentences are becoming clearer. His voice inflections often carry as much meaning as his words can provide. He sees and understands everything. At 19 months, his perception has exceeded that of his teenage brothers. He knows where every phone, cell phone, laptop, iPad, and computer is in our house. He is inseparable with Melanie's cell phone and walks around with it for hours at a time. After weeks of hiding my laptop in different drawers, and Orion always finding it for me, I have resorted to placing items on the top of one of three pieces of furniture in our house that are taller than six feet high, the refrigerator being one of them. I fear that it wont be long before he figures a way to reach on top of the fridge.

                           ~

  Apollo has made his peace with having a younger brother. As Orion has gotten older, Apollo has found that his little brother can be quite fun. Still, Apollo cant help being a big brother. He is both mentor and tormentor. Hero and villain. Protector and persecutor. Overall, Apollo means well, but he sure enjoys creating a bit of chaos. As Power Rangers Samurai is Apollo's favorite super hero show, he often pretends to be the Blue Power Ranger. Orion is sometimes a Power Ranger as well (at Apollo's bidding) and other times he is appointed a Nighlok; The Power Rangers Samurai's enemy.

  "Orion is a Nighlok today." Apollo announces, while swinging a foam sword around in the bath.

"A Nighlok? What kind of Nighlok is he?" I ask.

"Well, he is a weaner Nighlok, because he likes to play with his ding-ding."

Not what I expected to hear, but I have to give him an "A" for creativity.  

Where the heart is

  Not much more than a decade ago, my world was a much simpler place. I had only myself to worry about. I worked my ass off by day, and played hard at night and on weekends. A big part of me wanted time to stop so nothing in my life would change. My biggest challenge in life back then was getting to the drop zone early enough on friday evening to make the sunset load to kick off my weekend. For the next 48 hours, I would literally fall off the radar (pun intended). The summer weekends at Skydive Oregon were incredible. I would turn off my cell phone and forget about work and the outside world. I would jump all day and spend the evenings partying well into the wee hours of the morning with an amazing group of friends. After a few hours of sleep, I would stumble out of my tent or trailer as the first rays of sun light fell across the runway, and would do it all over again.

  It was a magical time in my life. Selfish, and self-serving? of course it was. I do miss those days immensely, but I have to say the only thing I would trade that for is my little family. It is more work than I could have ever imagined. I don't think I have had a decent nights sleep in the nearly five years since Apollo was born. I cant remember the last time I took time for just myself. To get a spare moment to write a blog usually only happens late at night or early in the morning while everyone else is sleeping. Being sleep deprived, I am often falling asleep mid sentence while typing, only to wake up to a couple hundred comma's. But the part that is hard to convey is the amazing satisfaction and deep seeded love that I feel when in the presence of my sons. I am greeted daily when I get home from work from giggling boys running and hiding, or wanting me to chase them around the house or yard, just to scoop them up laughing hardily, and have their little arms wrap around my neck and hug me tightly. It is a just reward for the endless sacrifices made on their behalf.
 It is through the light that shines from Apollo and Orion that I can see how lucky I am to have such a beautiful and wonderful wife. I am fortunate enough that she gave me the most precious gift that a man can ask for. My sacrifices pale in comparison to the sacrifices that she has made for me and our sons, and for this I am forever grateful.
  Happy Valentines Day Melanie.

Zip it

There are certain things in a boys life that are in essence a right of passage. As a father, I try to warn Apollo about some of these events when they become age appropriate. It is inevitable that these things will come to pass, and I feel I can lessen the blow by forewarning my boys. This is one such story.
  ~Apollo, when you stumble across this story as a teenager, you will probably be very upset. With a few years of therapy and when you reach your mid to late twenties, hopefully you will forgive me for sharing this.~

  It was a dark and not so stormy night. By his mood, I could tell that Apollo was extra tired. Everything was a travesty. It had been a long day for him; up early, no naps, and full of running and playing. When he gets to this stage, we have learned that the best thing to do, is get him into bed. It was 8:30pm, and normally, this is early for him, but the symptoms told a different story. I took Apollo to his room, and he had brought along with him, his mothers’ Ipad. He was playing a game on it. I asked him to get into his “jammies”, which he did begrudgingly not wanting to stop in the middle of his game.

   It is important to note that Apollo’s pajamas are the full body type with the feet built into them. Apollo never liked these type of pajamas when he was younger. He hated to have his feet covered up. Consequently, we have never put him in these type of pj’s before. I guess that after watching Orion wear the “foot Jammies” every night for so long has changed Apollo’s mind. On a recent trip to Costco, Apollo spotted some “foot Jammies” in his size. “I want these!” he proclaimed with excitement. Wouldn’t you know it, he loves them. Having only two pairs, he is upset when both pairs are dirty and has to wear regular pajamas.

  Once Apollo had his jammies on, he started to play his game again. “Apollo, you need to go use the bathroom before you go to bed,” I told him. Okay, truth be told, I am not that formal with him. That is how Melanie would like me to talk to our boys. In reality I said, “Apollo, you need to go empty your ding-ding.” (Yes, “ding-ding” is what we call...it.) “My ding-ding is NOT full!” Apollo protested. “You need to go and try to empty it anyways. We are going to bed, so you need to at least try,” I replied. After a few minutes of Apollo debating with me, even to the point of almost breaking down in tears, he admitted that he thought Orion, would steal the ipad if he left it in the room. “Then take it with you, Apollo,” I reassured him. Off he went to the restroom, which happens to be right next to his room, with ipad in hand. The door closes. In the meantime, I am wrestling around with Orion on the bed, waiting for Apollo to return. About two minutes had lapsed, and then I hear Apollo yell out in distress, and can hear him jumping up and down. No words, just crying out. This is not unusually, for Apollo if he is extremely tired. The smallest mishap turns into a giant one. What popped into my mind at that moment is that he dropped his moms, ipad in the toilet, and was so upset that he couldn’t think to grab it and pull it out. I am also thinking about the wrath that Melanie will unleash upon me when she finds out that I allowed her ipad to get ruined.

  I race to the bathroom door, grab the handle and burst inside. I scan the room for the ipad, all the while Apollo is jumping up and down wailing. I spot the ipad on the counter, safe and dry. Perplexed, I turn to Apollo, “What, what, what!” Still jumping up and down and a look of horror on his face, Apollo brings his right hand around to his stomach level, and points down urgently. I then realize that his jammies are open and zipped up to his ding-ding, where he caught some skin! “Ouch! Okay, hold still!” quickly grabbing the fabric of this pajamas, and the zipper, and with a light tug, he was free. I zipped him up properly, and scooped up my defeated little man, who crumpled onto my shoulder, and carried him to his room to console him.

  The thing is, I have been warning Apollo for over a year, that that this would happen, and he needed to exercise caution when “zipping up”. I did not offer him an “I told you so,” Just held him while he whimpered and told him that he would be okay. I told him that I did this several times when I was his age and that back then, the zippers were all made of metal and did some real damage. Apollo escaped unscathed, with only his pride damaged.

  As Melanie was not at home when this occurred, I forgot to tell her about it that night. A couple days later, I remembered the incident and began to tell her about it while Apollo was in the room with us. “Oh Apollo, I am so sorry that happened to you. Dada told you that this would happen someday,” Melanie said empathetically to Apollo, “It must have been scary for you, huh?”

Apollo turned towards me.

“Zip it, dada! I don’t want to talk about it!” he snapped.

January Friends

 The echoing sound of songbirds squabbling as they dart in and out of the palm trees, bounce off the concrete buildings and asphalt pavement beneath my feet, as I step out of my work truck. If I close my eyes for a moment, I am far away from here... from where I am standing. If only for a second, it is magic. I block out everything else but the sweet melody of those dozen or so, feathered messengers promising that spring time is just around the corner. It is music to my ears; a momentary transcendence from the urban sprawl and sound of cars passing by on the nearby 101 freeway. I open my eyes and find K-mart standing before me. The usual "riff-raff" standing out front, a homeless man sprawled across the sidewalk warming himself in the late morning sun, and the occasional car racing through the parking lot in a hurry to go nowhere. I take a deep breath, hold it in for a moment, and let it out with a sigh, then head across the parking lot.
  Obviously the birds are completely unaffected by their surroundings. I wish I could say the same. I hurry in and out of the store and find that I am mildly irritated at the otherwise uneventful experience. I am not sure if it was the 40% higher price that I had to pay for the item that I needed, the slow moving cashier, or the solemn demeanor of the store employees. Needless to say, I was glad to be out of there and on my way. If not for the store's proximity to my work and the occasional urgent need of my daycare providing spouse in distress, I would avoid this place altogether.

 The day wears on and fades into night, and Apollo and Orion's voice have been reduced to slow and rhythmic slumbering breath, my mind returns to those birds. So excited, vibrant, playful and happy they were.  It reminded me of Apollo and Orion; playing carelessly, and not a worry in the world to trouble their  little minds. They feel safe. They know they are taken care of and every concern they have revolves around what they are feeling at a particular moment. They are not plagued by the daily news, or the burdens of paying bills, juggling finances, career, and family. It would be nice to be that carefree again, and I believe I would be much closer to a carefree state if it were not for my amazing boys. They are the reason I keep doing everything that I do. The pay off is that I get to watch them grow, and I get to be reckless and carefree through them.

  Orion has become quite expressive, when he is not smiling that is. He has a scowl that rivals that of his mother's. He stomps his foot when he is mad, and in cases of extreme discontent, he throws himself to the floor and has a few moves that resemble break dancing! (Foreshadowing the terrible 2's, I assume). But most of the time, he is happy and full of energy. Orion has a strange relationship with our dog Remi. He is the only kid, under 10 years of age, that can get Remi to play with him enthusiastically. Remi turns his nose up at other kids, including Apollo, but for some reason, Orion has the body language that illicit's a response in Remi that sends him into doggie manic mode. As Remi is an only dog now,  he has become selective in what foods he will eat from the floor or from a persons hands. If its not cheese, meat, or meat flavored he is not interested. But for some reason, he will eat all kinds of things that Orion offers him. He will eat a whole pack of graham-crackers, one bite at a time when fed by Orion, but I can offer him a graham-cracker at the same time and Remi will turn his nose up at me. The irony is that Orion is rough on Remi. He is not gentle like Apollo is. He pulls his hair, smacks him, and even lays on top of him and pulls his whiskers. Remi growls, and at times will give Orion a little nibble to back him down. But, as soon as food is involved, the two of them are best friends again.

 Orion continues to amaze us with what he comprehends and how he communicates his needs. He will do simple tasks that are asked of him because he understands what is being asked. My new favorite words that he has learned this month so far are, 'noodles' and 'Apollo.'
Orion moment of the week: While signing for milk, he says, "I wan' mull!" (I want milk). I do as ordered, pour milk in a sippy cup and slide it across the counter to Orion. A scowl forms across his brow, he shakes his head slightly from side-to-side, "No!...Cocow!" he demands, pushing his cup back to me. Cocow=Chocolate.

   I love the stages that both boys are at, but the fact that Apollo is now capable of carrying on long conversations which adds a new level to our relationship. He wants to know about everything, and has a great memory, but it is the drama and random comments that keep me laughing.
 With an extremely serious look on his face, and an 'official' tone to his voice, Apollo cocks his head to one side and says, "Dada, Xavier's house and school are both broken, so he wont be coming back to our house for a while."
I begin to chuckle, "what?" I ask wondering where this is leading.

"Dada, I'm serious, so you can't laugh, okay?" shaking his slightly cocked head slowly from side-to-side but keeping his eyes locked with mine, "you cant laugh. It's very serious."

"Okay," I agreed, fighting back the laughter, then excused myself to the next room so I could burst into laughter. Of course none of what he said was true. It was just a random story concocted by his friend, Xavier, but Apollo was so sincere because he truly believed he wouldn't see his friend for a while.
 Apollo moment of the week: On a recent after hours trip to my office, Apollo was asking me about my two computer screens and what was on each one and why. I was busy doing something and when I turned around, he was entering numbers into a spread sheet. "What are you doing Apollo?" I enquired. Apollo replied very matter-of-factly "I'm making money."

The Alpha and Omega

 It has been three years since I started this blog. A lot has changed in that time. I started the blog as a way to share my experiences from my perspective raising Apollo, with my family and friends. At that time, I never thought there would be an Orion. One kid was more than enough for me and I never expected that to change, yet here we are with another little miracle turning our lives upside down.
  I originally named the blog Apple G after the name that Apollo was calling himself at 20 months old. It has come time to rename the blog to honor both Apollo and Orion since Orion has unexpectedly joined our little family and has graced the pages of my blog for 2 years now (pregnancy included).

  To understand the new name for the blog, Alpha and Omega, let me explain how we picked the names, Apollo and Orion. When picking a name for Apollo before he was born, we wanted a Greek name to pay homage to my Greek heritage. It was hard to pick between traditional Greek names, and family Greek names. We wanted a name that would stand out but not be too strange. Greek mythology was the key; we found the name Apollo, and it was perfect.
  When Orion came along and we learned that we were having another boy, we decided that we would need to find another name with the same parameters that would go along with Apollo. After all, we couldn't have Ian, Aden, Apollo, and Steve ( or Phil, or Mike, or Dave.) As all three older boys had vowels for their first letter of their names, it seemed only natural that we would need another name that started with a vowel as well.

When we came across the name Orion, it was equally as perfect. It came from Greek mythology, had the same amount of syllables as Apollo, started with a vowel, and since Apollo was my firstborn and Orion would be my last, they aligned themselves with the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet; Alpha and Omega. It may sound a little silly, but these are actually all the things we considered in picking Orion's name.
                     ~
  So here it is, 2013; new blog title, new adventures and new beginnings. 2012 was a pivotal year for us. We started the year thinking that we may pick up and move again.
As the year unfolded, we decided to stick around until at least Ian and Aden were out of high school, and look for new and creative ways to change some of the things that made us think about moving in the first place while taking advantage of where we live. As we go forward, I will shed some light on our newest quest as they begin to unfold.

 We closed out 2012 with a camping trip to the coast to celebrate our 8 year anniversary and at the same time reflect on the year that ended and talk about the year to come. With a new perspective, new adventures, and amazing children that shape each and everyday, we welcome the new year with open arms.
Happy New Year!