Love Triangles

I am powerless to her. She calls to me...beckons.  Her voice is soft and soothing. She smells divine; her fragrance ever changing. Her skin glows, reflecting every color in the rainbow. She is mysterious, powerful, every changing yet unbending in her resolve. When I am without her, I long to be with her. When I am with her, I yield to her will. I am part of her, and she is part of me.

  It is this earth, my home. She is my escape. I feel so fortunate that we live in such a beautiful place and can readily enjoy all that she has to offer. I am constantly in awe of her. When I am out riding my road bike, jogging, hiking, or on my mountain bike, I am just blown away by all the splendor and beauty that surrounds me, and it is all right outside my door. Spring time is absolutely incredible here. The wisteria are in full bloom and the smell that permeates the air is intoxicating. As I run or ride my bike, I try to identify all the different flowers that I can smell, often picking up on their scent without ever seeing where the smell is coming from. There are of course, flowers blooming everywhere; both wild and domestic. I am a very visual and sensory type of person so this time of year, spring-time, is borderline sensory overload for me.

  I have come to ponder what makes us love or fall in love with people, places, things. I watch Apollo and Orion. I see some things that are hard wired into them, others learned, or nurtured. Apollo has always had an intense love for all things living. He sees no difference in the life of a snail than that of his pet chickens. He wont throw a leaf into the fire if it still has green on it as he is not convinced that it is completely dead. He will catch flying insects in the house and take them outside and let them go.
  Orion loves his "things". He values his toys, especially flying toys, and often needs to take an entire fleet with him to bed. He values his relationship with people, I think more than any of our other boys. He loves the girls and is a huge flirt. He is our little helper and wants to be involved in everything that we do; cooking, cleaning, working in the yard, on vehicles, etc...he just wants to be apart. My favorite moments are when he says, "Dada, I want to hold you," his arms reaching up to me. When I scoop him up into my arms, he will tell me to go sit on the couch with him, and then will announce to his brother, "Apollo, I need some alone time with my dad." Few things are more rewarding.

  Apollo is nearly 7-years-old now. He has his best friend; Xavier, his love interest; Desea, and his supporting cast of his brother and various other kids that frequent our home. It is funny watching the interactions between the kids. It gives me insight into what they will all be like as young adults. It is funny to see that even at 7, they really aren't that much different than 17-year-old's. The best friend and the girlfriend both competing for time, attention and status.
  "I've known Apollo since I was 5!" Xavier starts.
 "Well I've actually known him longer because I knew him when I was 4!" Desea snaps back.
 "No you haven't"
 "Yes I have!"
 "I know him better than you because he is my best friend!"
 "I know him better because we are getting married!"
Apollo's allegiance swings from one friend to the other; sometimes taking sides of the best friend, other times taking the side of the girlfriend. It is somewhat entertaining to me watching them all get fired up over this topic and watching Apollo try to deal with and balance out the friendships. Someone always ends up getting upset or their feelings hurt, but in the end, they are all playing together. Who knew that this behavior starts at such a young age?

  Orion does not have the love triangle problems yet, but rather sees everyone as his best friend while he is playing with them. He has mastered the art of manipulation however, and often plays his mom and I off of each other, knowing if one says "no", the other might say "yes". Of course if we both say "no" the last one to say it, breaks his little heart. I try to make Melanie out to be the bad guy when I can. "Mama is mean to me!" tears, crying, the whole works. I get to scoop him up and console him, and get to be the hero...never mind that I told him "no" first!
  Once in a while, Orion pulls it off. He has learned that if one of us tells him "no", as long as he doesn't tell the other parent what the first parent said, he might get his way.
One evening, Orion was in the bath with Melanie, and climbed out before her. He came into my room with a towel and his pajamas, and told me he was ready for bed. I dried him off and got him dressed.

"Dada, can I have some chocolate milk," he asked very sweetly. I did hear him ask his mom while they were in the bath, and I assumed that she told him "no".
"What did mama say?" I asked.
"She said yes."
"Are you sure?"
"She said yes to chocolate milk!"
"You know we don't do chocolate milk at bed time, Orion."
"Yes we do!" tears start forming, "But I'm hungry and mama said yes!"
We did have a big day after all, and Orion did not eat much dinner so I decided that I would indulge him.
"Okay," I said, and climbed out of bed, "I will get you some chocolate milk."
I returned a few minutes later with a sippy-cup of chocolate milk, and handed it to a very happy little boy. I climbed in bed with him and grabbed my lap top. As he lay there next to me contently drinking his milk, Melanie got out of the bath and entered the room.
"Orion! I told him he couldn't have any chocolate milk. It's too late!" Melanie snapped, looking at me knowing full well that I knew better.
Of course I acted surprised and trying to look as serious as I am capable of looking, began to scold him.
 "Orion! why did you lie to me!" I said with my best scowl on my face (this was mostly for Melanie's benefit), "You told me that mama said "yes"! Why would you lie to me!"
His big brown eyes were locked on mine as he continued drinking from his red sippy-cup, now half full, his head snugly laid back in the pillow. He did not even show an ounce of concern for what I just said, nor did he show any remorse.
 Slowly, he pulled the sippy-cup from his lips and with a stone cold, straight face said,
"It's opposite day."

  

500,000 gallons

  There is a place where giant oak trees are silhouetted by the a pastel painted horizon. The sky shedding its last light of day. The trunks and branches, naked, twisted, and majestic. The clouds are dashed across the sky in a lacy network of gray with intense highlights of crimson, orange, salmon, and chartreuse against a deep blue backdrop.

This place, may not be all that extraordinary. It may not even appear as nice to others as it does to me, but for me, I am all about the sensory experience. In this place as I watch the pallet of creator unfold before my eyes, I slip into the greenish-blue, warm, and inviting, glowing pool of water before me. Yeah, maybe it is just the swimming pool at our club, but in this moment, it is paradise.
It is not only the beautiful sky, or the warm water, nor the quiet serenity of a weekday winters eve, but it is that time stands still here: No phones, no computers, no tv, or any other media. Just me, my boys, and 500,000 gallons of warmth all to ourselves.

  The water is steaming in the cool evening air, and Apollo and Orion are laughing, splashing, and climbing all over me. I have a smile on my face that won't go away. This is our time; our random school night in the pool. Melanie soon joins us, and the moment reaches perfection. No incoming text messages, no emails, no Facebook...nothing to distract any of us. Our muscles ( Melanie and I) are  typically sore, and the warm weightless feeling is a welcomed reward. This is our post workout treat and for Apollo and Orion, it is pretty much the best night of the week.

  I find that it is all too easy to become distracted these days. The years are screaming by at an ever accelerating pace, and for me the moments that I find are the most rewarding is the time I spend with my family. Apollo and Orion are growing like weeds! Apollo weighs in at 57 lbs and is 49" tall and lost his first tooth on February 5th. He is so skinny right now and actually lost nearly 2 lbs since Christmas (due to colds, eating less, and increased activity level).Orion weighs 38 lbs and seems to have grown a couple inches overnight. He can now stand in the 3' end of the pool and keep his head above water.
"Orion," I tell him, noticing he is taller, "I can't believe how big you are getting!"
"I am bigger," he replies, "but if you want me to stop getting bigger, you have to stop feeding me." The wisdom of a 3-year-old.

I have found that what my boys value most of all is my time. They just want me to be engaged with them no matter what it is that we do. It can be as simple as reading them a book, sitting with them on the couch watching Polar express for the 40th time, pulling them 37 miles on a bike ride, or playing with them in the pool. It means the world to them...and to me. I am making a conscious effort this year to put my iPhone aside, stay off my lap top more, and to just get out and spend time with them. My guilty pleasure is biking and if it means that I have to pull them all around Sonoma county to indulge them and my passion, then I will do it.

  Apollo is really in tune with how I spend my time. He makes sure that I balance out any individual interactions with him and his brother. As a 6-year-old, the world is swirling around you so fast and time is judged only in one day increments. I get nightly bedtime reports from Apollo on how I am doing; "Dada," he says with deep concern, almost whining, "How come you never play with me anymore."
"What are talking about Apollo?" I ask very surprised, "I always play with you."
"Yeah, but you tickled Orion for a really long time, and you didn't tickle me, and you always play with him more in the pool," he replies solemnly, "I want you to make me laugh."
"Ummmm, don't you remember why I was tickling Orion?"
"No, you were just tickling him and you never tickle me anymore!"
"Apollo, I was tickle-torturing you when Orion jumped on me so I started tickle-torturing him while you escaped and ran away," I explained, "Do you remember that?"
"Oh yeah! I forgot," he says with a sigh, one hand twirling his hair as he recalls the interaction, staring blankly at the ceiling, "but you tickled him longer so I want to make me laugh right now."
You can imagine with what ensues next, but how it always ends is...
"BOYS! It doesn't sound like you're going to sleep!" Melanie shouts from the other room, moments later appearing in the doorway. "Apollo needs to go to sleep! Why do you always have to get him riled up like this at bed time?"
"I don't know what you are talking about," I reply arrogantly and dripping of sarcasm, " I was just trying to calm the boy down."
To this Apollo bursts into laughter.
"Out!" Melanie demands which is really more of an ultimatum than a statement.
"Good night Apollo," I climb to my feet and head to the door while Melanie's look of disapproval pierces the semi-darkend room.
"Good night dada," Apollo yawns pulling the covers up as he rolls on his side, "I want to go swimming again tomorrow."

Maybe Christmas...means a little bit more

How did the holidays come and go so quickly this year? It's all kind of a blur. One minute we were gearing up for them, the next, they were over.

I truly love Christmas and everything about the season. I mean to say that I could do with out many of the commercial aspects of Christmas, but I love the lights, the decorations, the trees, the smells, the desserts, the movies, and yes, even some of the music. We avoid the malls, and stay out of the stores as much as possible. We don't have cable tv, so we don't have to see all the advertisements. It's kind of nice actually; it gives us the ability to make Christmas into what we want it to be.

I think about how the winter would be without the holidays; so dark and dreary, nothing to look forward to but the spring time which seems so far away. Its a great distraction and when the holidays are over and we can put away the decorations, the shortest days are behind us and spring doesn't seem to be so far off anymore.

  For me, the true magic of Christmas comes from the excitement emanating from Apollo and Orion.
Apollo started counting down the days until Christmas somewhere in the middle of November. He started out by asking (everyday) how many days until Christmas. After a few days of that, he kept track for himself and he would remind me daily how many days were left.

For several years now, I have just selected a tree on my own and brought it home. This year, Apollo (and Melanie) wanted to be a part of it. It started with a phone call from Apollo while I was at work.
"Dada, when are you coming home?"
"Hmmmm, I'm not sure. Why?"
"Because I want to go get a Christmas tree...and mama and Orion want to come too!"
"Okay, let me clean up and I will be home soon."

How could I argue with that? I race home and am greeted by two excited little boys. Orion races up to me and asks, "Are we going to get a tree?"
"Yes we are!" I reply enthusiastically.
Orion looks up at me, eyes wide, and begins shaking his head from side to side, "I don't have a tree," he says solemnly.
"Then lets go get one!!"
"YAY!!!!" Both boys yell in unison while jumping up and down.

Fast forward to Christmas eve (because it felt like fast forward to me!); Apollo and Orion are incredibly excited and wound up. All day, they asked about Santa and his reindeer. Apollo asked about the correlation between Christ and Santa and Christmas, which led to some great conversations.
We Skyped with Uncle Gooch, Aunt Kim, Yiayia, and Papa over in Switzerland, and Uncle Gooch told Apollo about Schmutzli, (a Swiss Christmas icon) Santa's dark helper that carried the naughty kids off to the woods. Apollo was very disturbed by this and wouldn't accept that Schmutzli was real. Of course I teased him about it all day.

 Apollo spent hours watching the NORAD Santa tracker on my computer. He watched as Santa flew over Africa, and Europe, Greenland, Iceland, and South America. Every few minutes he would check the computer to see where Santa was.

As the night closed in, we set out some treats for Santa, some carrots for the reindeer, and then got ready for bed. As I tucked the boys in, I read them the story of How the Grinch stole Christmas. They have heard the story before, but this night they were really listening. They asked many questions. I love the message of this story by-the-way, and Apollo really wanted to understand how after all their presents were stolen, why the "Who's" still sang and celebrated Christmas.

Orion asked one last time, "When is Santa coming to our house?"
"Tonight! but he won't come until your asleep!"
"When you see him, can you tell him that I want a rocket, a plane, and a jet," his face was beaming.
"If I see him, I will tell him!"
Orion closed his eyes tightly, grinning from ear-to ear. "Dada," he says, eyes still closed and a smile still on his face, "I'm smiling because I am thinking that Santa is coming here!"

'Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas,' he thought, 'means a little bit more.'

In the frosty air

The air is cold...bitter cold. Each breath stings as I inhale, then turns to a heavy fog when I exhale. Even 5 1/2 years removed from this place is not enough to make me miss the sub-freezing temperatures. Still, Bend holds a special place in my heart. I met my wife here. Apollo was born here.   I made some of my best memories here.

I anxiously make my way to the front door of a house that my GPS has led me to. Apollo and Orion are as excited as I am, or even more, if that is possible.

"Ring the door bell Orion," I say to my three-year-old, as he reaches for the button then pulls his finger back hesitantly. Reassured, his little finger presses the button. The muffled sound of a door bell, rings from the inside of the house.

"Answer the door!" I hear a voice that I remember well, calling out to her kids, "your cousins are here!" I can here the clamoring of little footsteps making their way to the door.

The door swings open and two young boys are staring out, their faces lit up with nervous smiles. Apollo and Orion are smiling nervously back at these two, vaguely familiar, strangers. Its been a year and a half since we have all seen each other. Apollo remembers everyone, but is still a bit shy and acts coy. I scoop up each boy and hug them, as I step into the house. They giggle and are a bit apprehensive of me. Linkin is certainly too young at 3 years old to remember me, however 7-year-old Kingston does. He makes a comment about my shaved head no doubt remembering that I had hair the last time he saw me. I haven't even made my way to Kaitlin (whom is now 16) or Michelle and Aaron, when the 4 little boys scurry off together to play. I was surprised that there was no "warm up" period. They acted as if they see each other daily.

It was good to be back home.

There may not be any blood relation between any of us, however, Aaron and I spent the better part of a decade working side-by-side for 8 to 10 hours a day, often working out of town and sharing a hotel room. On weekends and evenings, our families typically hung out together for dinner and fun times.
You either learn to love or hate someone if you spend that much time with them. 
Aaron and I became brothers. We had some of the best times together. We shared some hard times...and somehow we survived the dull day to day workload by solving the worlds problems.

One of the hardest things about picking up and leaving Bend in 2009, was leaving behind Aaron and his family. I had just assumed that our kids would grow up together, like cousins, that we would continue to work together, invent the next "must have" item that would afford us notoriety and an easier lifestyle. The down turn in economy forced my hand though, and things changed. We did what we needed to do to survive, to provide for our family...we made some hard decisions. "Regrets, I have a few" (just to add a cheesy cliche song lyric in there).

 I often think about how our lives would be different had we stayed in Bend. Would we have had Orion? Would I still be installing tile? So many questions. But then I think of all the positive things that we have had happen here in California. So many adventures, warmer climate, different scenery and lifestyle. I am thankful for all of it.

                     The compromise is that we now have to travel
to see loved ones and family. There is always too little time and we always feel rushed. I think this is the hardest part for me; trying to balance time with everyone that we love. Alas, we do what we can, when we can. I wish my boys could grow up with cousins, both blood and chosen. But for now, I will settle for short visits and long road trips.

After just 40 hours in Bend, an afternoon of playing in the snow with the boys and their cousins, staying up until well after mid night two nights in a row, it was time to get back in the truck and make the 470 mile drive back to Santa Rosa.
  Misery certainly loves company and we enjoyed the company that we kept when living in Bend. Wishing we could spend a few more days, we solemnly headed for the highway. We passed by our old house on the way out of town. Apollo asked if we could move back to our snow house. After contemplating our answer of "No, we cannot," he asked, "Can we come back at Christmas then? I want to play in the snow again with our cousins."
  If it were only that simple. Until next time.
 

Say Something

It's snack time. 

A daily ritual for elementary school aged kids, except this day things were going to be slightly different. Apollo approached his teacher, showed him his origami book and then announced, "This is my origami book. I am going to show the class how to make a giraffe. I need you pass out paper to everyone." 

  Fortunately, Maestro Brooks is adaptable and obliged Apollo, passed out paper, and let him teach the class. 

  There is a story behind this, but before I get to it, Apollo, for those that know him like we do, this is kind of a big deal. We used to think Apollo was shy, and in ways he is sort of shy, but we have come to understand that he is more motivated by what makes him feel comfortable vs uncomfortable. By this I mean, where as most people have the desire to please others or to  have some sort of social reciprocity, Apollo just does not care to talk, interact, or respond to you if he does not feel inclined to. Melanie sums up his not wanting to interact with someone as, "I don't care if you like me, and I don't want to talk to you...Sorry about your luck." He  really seems to care less what others think of him.

 It has been a challenge for us as parents to convince him that when someone talks to him, the polite thing to do is acknowledge them and at the very least, say something!

  Apollo is well into first grade and he is doing great. Many of his fears and concerns that he had about entering the first grade have all but faded from his mind. I am quite impressed by his level of comprehension of the Spanish language already. He breaks out singing Spanish songs at random times, and will throw out Spanish phrases on a whim. He does a fair job of reading and writing Spanish, but I am even more surprised by his desire and ability to read in English. He has not yet had any English lessons and will not until the 3rd grade, but he is eager to pick up a book (written in English) and sound out the words. It is amazing to watch his little brain soak up so much knowledge. We are thankful for the opportunity that he has to attend a Spanish immersion school. 

  During his first parent-teacher conference of the year, his teacher expressed concern that Apollo sometimes seems to let his mind wander. He does not always stay engaged with the class. He has the perfect teacher for this as he recognizes this in Apollo and then will give him gentle promptings, to which Apollo responds well to and then will jump back in. I am thankful with the level of attention that Maestro Brooks gives to our son. He has taken the time to email Melanie and myself to ask about Apollo, looking for ways to engage him better. We have told Maestro Brooks to enjoy the quiet reserved Apollo, because when he comes all the way out of his shell, he will want to put him back. 

  In our conference, Maestro Brooks asked what Apollo's interests were, and we told him that right now he is obsessed with origami. This sparked his interest and he asked if Apollo might like to teach the class how to make an origami animal sometime, as a way to get him to open up a little more in class. He asked us to have him pick something out and practice it, and he would set up some time in a few weeks to have Apollo teach the class how to make the animal that he selected.

  Later that evening, Melanie discussed this with Apollo and asked if he would like to do this sometime. "Yes," he said, not acting totally interested in the idea.

Unbeknownst to us, Apollo took his origami book to school the very next day, and decided that would be the day he was going to teach origami.

Orion is the bigger talker out of the two boys. Let me qualify that by saying, Apollo talked just as much as Orion at this age, and I think Apollo may have had a bigger vocabulary, at least earlier on he did, but as I explained, Apollo my chose to not talk or respond to you at any given moment. Orion, by contrast, is very engaging and will answer and respond to everything. He listens to every conversation in the house and will involve himself in that conversation.

  I cannot tell you how much I enjoy this aspect of Orion. It brings me an immense amount of pleasure to converse with him. The best part is that he has adorable facial expressions and head movements that go long with his talking....                 Upon coming home one evening from work to a house full of kids and every toy that we own strewn out across the floor, I was faced with two choices; freak out that the house was such a mess, or engage the kids who are all excitedly screaming "Dada's home!!" (Yes, even the kids that Melanie watches, call me dada)...                       I chose to play along. "Raise your hand if your naughty!" I announce, raising my hand in the air looking at the five kids running and screaming through the house. As all the other kids laughed and pointed at, and accused each other of being naughty, Orion stops in his tracks, looks at me very sincerely and says "Dada," shaking his head from side to side, "I'm not naughty."

  "You're not?" I ask while trying to hold back my smile.

"Uh-uh," he replies, still shaking his head from side to side, looking even more serious just so I know there is no mistake to-be-made, "I'm not." Truth be told, Orion is correct, he does not have a naughty bone in his body, which is way more than I can say for the other four kids that day, including Apollo.

  Apollo has taught Orion the word "special" and uses it in the context of "this toy is very special to me, so I don't want you to play with it." While tucking Orion into bed one evening, I told him that he was very special to me. "Dada," he says, "Apollo is very special to me." He loves his big brother even though Apollo pesters him constantly. 

Apollo does have his moments though: Upon putting the boys to bed one night, Orion was crying when I left the room, and saying,  "I'm scared!" Suddenly the crying stopped. I walked by the room to peak in to see what was happening. Orion saw me and called out,

 "Dada! Apollo made me happy!" 

Apollo had climbed into bed with his brother and held him until he fell asleep.

  Orion does a great job communicating. He speaks very clearly, knows what he wants to say, and if he does not know the word, he does a great job of describing what he means, explaining it, or even showing you. One thing that he is very verbal about is the fact that he does not like to wear pull-ups at night. He has been potty trained for a long time now, however, he does wet the bed on occasion still, so we put a pull up on him at night. It is a constant battle for me. Instead of fighting with him about it every night, I wait until he falls asleep and then I put a pull-up on him. Every morning he gets mad that he has a "diaper" on. The best part about it, is that he blames Melanie for putting it on him. I, of course, let him believe that his mom did it. The nights that he does pee in his sleep is usually when he has stayed up too late, and/or had chocolate milk before bed. One Friday evening, he stayed up late as Melanie and I were out and Aden was in charge. Orion probably conned Aden into giving him several cups of chocolate milk.   It was after 11pm when Orion finally fell asleep and I was able to put a pull up on him. At 6:00am the next morning (I was already gone from the house) Orion woke up Melanie. "Mama," he began, "I need new clothes!"

"Why?" she asked, (really meaning,"why are you awake already?"). Orion awoke in the middle of the night and had climbed int bed with us. Melanie reached over to him and felt that he (and the bed) were wet.

"I need new clothes," he added, "because I am melting."

 Watching my boys grow, learn and develop their own distinct personalities, has been the highlight of parenting for me. From Apollo's humor, introspection, and even his temper and occasional naughtiness, to Orion's sweetness and desire to communicate by responding to every question, I never find a dull moment with them. While at times I wish they wouldn't talk so much, I am always thankful that they do talk and do it so well, even if it is excessive...and yes, they both even talk in their sleep.

  

A month of adventures

"Oooh! That water sounds beautiful!" Apollo exclaims, as the trail nears a section of stream where the water is babbling and bubbling over a collection of river rocks protruding from the water, "That's my favorite water sound."

  It is in these moments where a parents return-on-investment far exceeds their greatest expectations. At least for me it does. I am fortunate enough to have a wife that shares my love for the outdoors, loves to explore, camp, hike, search tide pools, turn over logs and rocks, all in the name of finding critters and sharing knowledge of the world with Apollo and Orion. Did I mention she (Melanie) is nearly an expert in all things bugs?

 This summer has been one of the best in quite some time for all the aforementioned reasons. I am not sure if we have had more adventures than normal, or that the boys are old enough to actually enjoy them, allowing us as parents to enjoy ourselves. The past month has been even more extraordinary as we have been camping nearly every weekend. It seems that we have been on a roll of endless adventures. I can't remember the last time I sat in front of the tv, watched a movie, or even worked on a blog or book for that matter. I am not complaining though, as the memories we make, give my life true purpose and meaning while enriching the lives of our boys.

  Somehow, we have also managed to turn our adventures and active lives into a lifestyle that the boys see as normal, and that is an accomplishment to be proud of. I love that we can get on our bikes and ride over 30 miles, pulling the boys the entire way, and they see it as a normal day. Hiking and turning over logs and rocks looking for bugs, lizards, frogs, salamanders, and scorpions...it's just what we do. I think the boys assume everyone does the same things that we do.

Apollo and Orion don't lament not being able to spend the day on the couch watching cartoons and playing video games. They just accept that we spend our family days together... outside. If it's warm weather, we usually end our day at the pool, swimming. But first we may check the boys into the clubs' day care while Melanie and I sneak off for a run or to swim some laps, returning to collect the them before they had a chance to miss us. They get some socializing and play time with other kids, and we get our adult time and a workout in. In the end, we look like heroes by finishing the day in the pool with them...a perfect way to cool down after a day of bike riding or hiking.

As part of exploring, we also teach our boys how to respect nature; returning the critters unharmed where we found them, placing the logs and rocks back in place, and leaving the area looking like we found it. 

 Apollo has become very aware of nature husbandry, so-much-so, that he has gotten upset when someone throws rocks into the water, worried that a fish will get hurt. I have had to explain to him on more than one occasion that the odds of that happening are pretty slim.

The boys will randomly recall moments from our adventures and their faces will completely light up as they recount them to me. I feel an overwhelming amount of satisfaction in those moments, however, my best memories come from the times when the boys made me laugh the hardest. A favorite moment (captured in a photo in this post) is when an alligator lizard latched onto Melanie's thumb and Apollo and Orion burst into laughter at the carnage. Another favorite memory of mine has to do with Apollo's personality manifesting in such a way as to make his dad very proud. I found an exoskeleton of a cicada (thanks for the bug ID Melanie). Both boys wanted to hold it, and since Orion asked first, I placed it in his hand. Apollo became impatient and kept trying to take the exoskeleton from Orion, which started an argument of course:

"Apollo! Your going to hurt him!"

"He's not even alive Orion."

"Yes he is!"

"No he isn't!"

"Yes! he IS alive, Apollo!"

In a glowing instance of part genius, part smart ass, and 100% Apollo, Apollo furls his brow and spouts off to Orion, "Wake him up then, Orion!"

Summer ends, 1st grade begins

Why does summer seem to go by so fast? Its back to school for Apollo, which means a well deserved break for Melanie, read as: one less kid to contend with for 6 1/2 hours a day, but the school routine is kinda cutting into our summer fun. I am already lamenting the shorter days, earlier bed times, cooler weather, less time in the sun, and fewer evenings in the pool.
 
 

Apollo is a 1st grader now. This is his second year in a Spanish immersion program. Thus far, although he has some apprehensions about school in general, he is a good student. Apollo is very bright, and I am always blown away with how perceptive and insightful he is about things. There are some areas for concern however. Yes, I like to believe that my kids are perfect, and to me, they very much are, but I cant deny that I see character traits that will not fit in the mold that society has prepared for him. For this I am actually thankful. I want my kids to be different, but they need to learn to navigate around the "mold" to come out ahead. The real challenge is for us as parents: How do we help him be the person that he is, and at the same time help him to "fit in" with his peer group? Its not that he is awkward in any way, it is a simple matter of who he chooses to interact with and how. We try to help him find words for what he is feeling and ways for him to address those feelings.
  My favorite thing (and sometimes least favorite) about Apollo is that he can mimic and impersonate anyone. My personal favorite is when he impersonates me, especially me laughing. Once he starts in, I can't can't contain my own laughter. Apollo feeds off of this and mocks me even more. He has quite a talent for this. As much as I enjoy this behavior, his constant mimicry of Orion is aggravating after a while. Apparently he does this with his friends as well...at school, at the health club...anywhere, ALL the time. It will be interesting to see how well this is plays out for him. It border lines on being a bully at times.

We are considering getting him into theater as an outlet for his comedic talents. In the mean time, Melanie has informed me that I will be the one making the visits to the school for all behavioral matters...she blames my genetics after all.

  While Apollo is busy being a comedian/quasi-bully, Orion is busy saying the cutest and sweetest things. "See Apollo, I told ya!" - making a point to show his brother he was right.
 "I like chocolate milk because it tastes good,"- when asked why he always wants chocolate milk.
 "Dada, I want you to throw me in the sky like an airplane,"-every time we are in the pool together.
 "HEY! Mama put a baby diaper on me!" - Upon waking up in the morning and finding a pull-up on that wasn't there when he went to sleep. He gets very angry about this. (I am the one that puts them on him, but I let his mom take fall)
"Is it time to wake up yet?"-while prying my eyes open at 6am, "The sun is up, dada!"

My personal favorite for the past month was a conversation I had with Orion while lying in bed with him one night tucking him in. "Orion, you're getting so big!" I stated.
"I'm not big! I'm little!" he snapped back in protest.
Surprised by this I asked, "Don't you want to get big like Apollo?"
"No. I want to stay little," he replied.
"Why do you want to stay little?"
"Because, I'm dada's baby!" he answered, the meaning deeper than the words could convey.
A lump formed in my throat as I reassured him, "Orion, you will always be dada's baby. Even when you are as big as dada."
His grip tightened around my arm and within minutes he was fast asleep. I think 3-years-old is my favorite age.