The sound of silence

 

There are but rare fleeting moments of silence in my world. By silence, I am only referring to the voices that fill my life with much of its chaos; the screams, laughing, crying, and bantering of children; teenagers protesting anything that is asked of them with gasps of disbelief and endless debates of which they have no chance of winning; Melanie's voice calling the teenagers names over and over again (because they act like they cant hear her) which begins to resonate like nails on a blackboard; and the very loud muffled screams of parrots that have claimed the entire garage as their sanctuary. Someone or something is always making noise around me. When the silence comes it is typically 3:00 am, or possibly all the planets have aligned. Either way, it does not last long. When it does, I savor its very essence, and listen to every sound that I can hear that is normally masked in a sonic white wash of the Miles home, only to hear familiar sounds return for a visit like an old friend.

  The wind dances rhythmically through the trees in waves of intensity and frequency. Silent in its own right, she makes her presence known by rustling the thousands of leaves on each individual tree. Joined by all the other trees that surround my house, a symphony is formed; a soft whistling from the fir tree to the west, the chattering elms on the north, fluttering fig leaves, and not to be left out, the clattering palm fronds from the neighbors house across the street. Amongst this gentle background ensemble, high in the trees above comes the melodic twirling of a song bird, interwoven with the calls of humming birds squabbling over the best flowers, their wings beating with ferocity as they zip in and out of the trees, complimented by the warning sounds of the orioles that have staked their claim to the nectar feeder. I close my eyes and breath it all in knowing that at any moment the silence can be broken with the shrill scream of a 2-year-old. Years of construction have taken their toll on my hearing, so I am amazed by what I can still hear and curious about the things that I can not. Ignorance is bliss I suppose.

  Orion has the lungs of a howler monkey it would seem. His voice is loud and powerful. He can hit notes with his 2-year-old voice that can cause china stemware to shatter. It is a game in my house to see who can scream louder and longer between Apollo and Orion. In the end it is Melanie that wins the prize, even though she was not competing. Fortunately for Orion, he has a very sweet talking voice to make up for the shrill screams. He speaks with feeling and expression and always says please and thank you. But my favorite sounds are that of his new found singing voice. His favorite song to sing is the chorus of Real in Rio from the Disney/Pixar movie Rio. His version is "Rio, Rio," he belts out, "All by itself itself." he fades off into a mumble and then repeats. Of course Apollo sings right along with him.
 

Apollo can scream like a school girl when he likes, much to Orion's delight. This always gets him in trouble unless we are at the beach running from waves. Apollo enjoys screaming just to get Orion started. The two of them scream back and forth until someone stops them. We try to encourage other forms of vocal interaction and our favorite game is, 'Orion say;'. Orion will say anything that Apollo asks him to. This game goes for 5 to 10 minutes at a time offering entertainment for all within earshot.
  Orion absolutely adores Apollo and mimics everything he does and says. Its very endearing watching Orion going through the same attitude mannerisms as Apollo; instead of one kid throwing a fit, we now have two. The problem is that Apollo likes to cover his ears when he doesn't like what he is being told. Often he will even announce with a scowl on his face that he is putting his earplugs in. Orion will scowl too and then cover his ears while mumbling under his breath. I have to blame my genetics for this one. I know I sure don't want to listen to someone when I don't agree with them.

  On our most recent motorhome outing, we stayed at Sugarloaf mountain. The campground has very nice showers, so, Melanie left me in charge of Apollo and Orion and went to enjoy 20 minutes alone and a hot shower. I constantly keep my ears and eyes open for these two. I was out side the RV packing things up, while Apollo and Orion were inside playing. I could here them and see them through the doors and windows. Soon, I only heard Orion's voice. I climbed inside the RV, looked around and could only see Orion. I called out to Apollo several times, and there was no answer. I began to think that Apollo slipped outside without me noticing. My heart began to race. "Orion, where did Apollo go?" I asked. "Apollo go door," Orion replied pointing to the bathroom door in the RV.
"Apollo?" I began, "Are you in there?" I did not see any shadows moving under the door nor did I hear anything. I did not want to barge in because I know how much Apollo likes his privacy in the bathroom, and I assumed that if he was in there, he wasn't answering for this reason. "Apollo! If you are in there and don't answer me, I am coming in." I pause to listen..."Apollo?" Still he did not answer so, I opened the door, and there was Apollo seated on the thrown, pants around his ankles and hands over his ears. We looked surprisingly at one another. Without saying a word, I closed the door and backed away, then went about my business. A few minutes later, Apollo emerged from the bathroom and began to play with Orion again.
  When I heard his voice, I returned to the RV and inquired, "Apollo, why did you have your ears covered in the bathroom? Were you trying not to listen to me?"
  "Nope," he replied, "I just didn't want to hear myself poop."

    He is so my child.


  

Growth spurts

 Youth is magic. Pure and simple magic. After over 5 years watching Apollo grow from birth until now, and then Orion, I am still fascinated and astounded by how they grow, learn, and develop. Everyday my little ones add a little more shape to the essence that forms who they are. The light in their eyes gets brighter and more vibrant, and I feel the wealth of my existence magnified with each passing moment. I love watching them grow together and as individuals.

  Orion has "it"; that thing that cant be explained that just makes everything he does completely adorable. When he is happy, mad, indifferent, playful, tired...it doesn't matter, he does it with style and cuteness. Dont get me wrong, I was completely smitten with Apollo (and still am) with everything that he did, it is just that Orion has that "new puppy" kind of playful charm to him that is infectious and shows no signs of going away. He is the only person in this household that says "please" and "thank you". and he says them both consistently and for anything and everything that he asks for. And the way that he says them is priceless. Apollo, on the other hand (like his father), still feels that "please", "thank you", and "I'm sorry", are all words that show a sign of weakness, and have to be coaxed or pried out of him.

  Life is interesting around here. There is so much going on all the time. It seems chaotic at best. Life has taught me that there may be no tomorrow...no second chances. Consequently, we try to seize every opportunity that we can to do something with our kids. We run them pretty hard and try to keep them active and stimulated. Apollo and Orion both have a great amount of stamina for their ages. They are often up and ready to go by 7:00 am on weekends. We will take them on long bike rides, swimming, shopping, back home, have a water fight, play in the yard, go on an after dinner walk, read stories, work on writing (with Apollo-thanks Melanie) and they will still be going strong at 10:00 pm. Orion will usually fit in a 40 minute to 1 1/2 hour nap, but not Apollo. We consider ourselves lucky if both kids are asleep by 11:00 pm. The next morning they are up early, much to Melanie's chagrin, and ready to go again. Apollo, Orion, and I are often evicted from the bedroom in the mornings so Melanie can get a few more minutes of sleep.

I dont know if is the sunshine, exercise, fresh fruits and vegetables, or a combination of all of them, but both boys are really in full growth spurt mode. Apollo is learning to write and read, and he is really enjoying it. He has an incredible memory and often surprises me with what he knows and remembers. As an example, we were in a FedEx Kinko's making some copies, and Apollo points to the name of the  machine I was using and says, "Hey dada, that machine has the same name as your camera" (Canon). I didn't even know he had looked at or noticed the name plate on my camera before. His brain is like a sponge at the moment. He will not settle for a child's answer for anything. By this I mean, I cant tell him things like, "That's just the way it is" or "That's just how it was made."  I can't even tell him "I don't know." Apollo will get mad and demand that I explain things to him and in detail. He keeps me in check with this behavior. I cant just brush him off with a simple answer.

  Orion is in high gear physically and mentally. I swear he has grown an inch in the past week. The past 3 weeks has been an explosion in the speech department as well. He will repeat any word he hears. Apollo asks him to say all kinds of words and Orion will repeat them right back. The cool part is that Orion adds many of these words to his vocabulary and has really advanced his ability to communicate his needs and desires. I am completely blown away by how fast his language ability has progressed the past few weeks. "I wan' this one", "I wan' try", "I wan' play", "this one mine", "I wan' go ride car", "Marmi (Remi), go outside!", "Dada! No night-night!","Where mama?"... these are but a small sampling of his regular phrases. The show stopper for me is "help me." It absolutely melts my heart to hear him say, "Dada, help me." He will use this phrase when he is climbing up on something, trying to reach something beyond his reach, or if he cant get a toy to work. "Dada, it not working. Help me." I love this.
  What I was not ready for is that Orion really understands what "help me" means. I must admit that I was choked up at one point. Orion started to get sick today and began to cry and fuss. In the sweetest little weakened voice he said, "Dada, tummy oweee..." as he points helplessly at his stomach, "...help me dada, help me."

  

The Quest for kindergarten

  In 1973, I entered the public school system. Things were so much different back then. I lived an equal distance away from two elementary schools as a child growing up in Upland, California, yet there was never any question as to which school I would be going to. You were assigned a school based on which street you lived on. Certainly there were private schools, but I had only heard of them while attending elementary school and never knew anyone that went to one...at least not on an elementary level. A picture of nuns smacking kids across the knuckles comes to mind as evidence of the stories that I once heard back in those early days about private schools.

Fast forward exactly 40 years; it is Apollo's turn to enter kindergarten. I cant even tell you which public school Apollo would be assigned to, because I really don't know. We literally have an elementary and middle school about 12 houses away, but they are not public schools, at least not anymore. They have transitioned into charter schools where enrollment is not automatic nor is it guaranteed. For the past two plus years, we had been doing an informal search for where we wanted Apollo to attend school, what type of school, and what curriculum, and programs they would have to offer. The amount of choices were overwhelming; public, charter, magnet, academy, Waldorf, language immersion...etc.
  I deliberately left out homeschooling as this was not an option that we wanted to consider. I confess that I have had very strong opinions against homeschooling as I have worked with and employed people that were home schooled, and have found them extremely socially awkward, and unable to cope with slightly stressful situation, constructive criticism, nor did they have the ability to filter thoughts or emotions when needed. Now, before a lynch mob forms to take exception with my stereotyping comments, I have modified my opinion on homeschooling substantially, as I have seen some incredible kids being home schooled by incredible parents. I admit my sampling of home-schooled adults was small, but no less than 15 individuals, however I can safely say 100% of them fell into the parameters that I have mentioned above. That said, I feel there is a new generation of home schooling parents that are doing it right and making extraordinary efforts to socialize their children. I can certainly see the appeal to wanting to homeschool in light of all the horrors that this world has to offer. Who can blame anyone for wanting to protect their children. Still, for Melanie and I (and our sanity), we have decided against homeschooling. We would, under certain circumstances, reverse that decision, but for now, we will pass.
  One of the things that I was amazed by, was the cost of some of the private schools in our area; Over $20,000 annually for K through 5th, and over $23,000 for 6th-8th! Wow! Yes, some of these schools offer scholarships of upwards of 50% in some cases, but the cost is insane, in my opinion. I do not dispute the fact that these are amazing schools, but at this point I would rather save the money for college.

  By eliminating tuition based private schools, this narrowed our search down a bit further. Charter schools offer a certain amount of appeal to Melanie and I, and we are not totally against the public school system, but we wanted to make sure that we gave Apollo (and Orion, in a few years) the best opportunity to thrive in this rapidly changing world. We explored the world of charter schools, but then we heard about Spanish -immersion schools. This sounded like it might be what we were looking for. Upon asking around, we found that several friends had their children enrolled in the school we were interested in. I interviewed the parents and their kids and become even more interested but still had many concerns. The school teaches all courses in spanish from K-2nd grade and then they slowly start adding in english in the 3rd grade. By the time they finish 8th grade, the students are completely bi-literate, not just bi-lingual.
  In our quest to register for Cali Calmecac Language Academy, we had to also register for another school as Cali always had more applicants than available spaces. Our second choice was the charter school just down the street.
  The registration process began in January. We attended an orientation for the charter school district in which the charter elementary school down our street is part of. Prior to this, I had imagined walking Apollo to school, right down the street. Attending a school in his neighborhood, just as I had done. San Miguel school is a great school and we would be happy having Apollo go there. But honestly, after attending the orientation, Melanie and I both felt like we had just attended a sales meeting. It just seemed weird, and didn't feel right. However, the following day, we registered Apollo for this school and ultimately, he was accepted. Next came registration for Cali Calmecac Language Academy, followed by two mandatory orientation meetings spaced a month apart. Both meetings gave us "points" which increased our odds of getting Apollo in. Although Melanie was not able to attend either of these meetings, I was able to make it and honestly, I was impressed and excited. I didn't feel like I just left a sales pitch for a time share. They laid out their curriculum, showed statistics, told us what was expected from the students and parents, and answered questions. They explained the program, how it works, why it is beneficial, the expected progression of learning, etc.. I am a facts and data person so this was the tangible information that I was looking for. I had made my decision and Melanie was on board as well. We wanted Apollo in Cali.
  The way many of these schools work, is that there is a point system that is used to qualify your child for a space in a particular school. Cali Calmecac has a total of 5 points based on the following criteria; 1 point if your parent works for the school or district, 1 point if your sibling already attends the school, 1 point if you live within the district, and one point for each meeting that you attend. Apollo only received 2 points for the meetings I attended. Basically, all the 5 and 4 points get in. This year the 3 pointers who had siblings in the school got first dibs, but the rest of the 3 pointers went to a lottery system along with the 2 and 1 pointers. On top of this, special consideration is taken in regards to the native language of the student. Each kindergarten class is made up of 50% Spanish only speaking and 50% English only speaking students. So, the lottery is divided into 2 groups accordingly to keep this 50/50 ratio. The lottery was not public and we had to wait for a post card sent in the mail to find out if Apollo got in.

  Two long months went by. Finally, I pulled a card out of the mail that stated; We regret to inform you that Apollo Miles was NOT accepted into Cali Calmecac.What a disappointment. My heart sank. San Miguel is a good school, and it is close to home, small classes, only 425 kids in the entire school...we would make it work.
  Not willing to go down with out a fight, Melanie and I began a campaign which we could have called "Operation: Squeaky Wheel". It began with an email from me to the school admissions department, conveying my disappointment, and how we had hoped that Apollo would get into this school. I went on to convey that we knew several students and that Melanie provided child to care to more than one of these students on a regular basis, which involved picking them up from the school every afternoon...and so on. I asked that Apollo be placed on a waiting list for any openings that may come up.  Melanie followed up with a phone call, and then a couple of "in-person" office visits. We had our friends that had students attending Cali, make it a point to stop in to the office and let them know that they needed Apollo to go to Cali, so that they could ensure that their daycare provider would still be available to them. After a month of this, I sent one last email explaining that Apollo had a kindergarten evaluation date and time set up prior to being denied, and asked if I should still bring him in case an opening became available. The response was short and clear; "There has not been any changes in enrollment, so you do not need to bring Apollo in for an evaluation at this time."

  I had almost given up hope and began to concede to defeat. The week of evaluations came and on Friday of that week, we received a call from Cali that a student was deemed as "not kindergarten ready", creating a vacancy. They asked us to bring Apollo to the school immediately for an evaluation. Melanie rushed Apollo to the school. We were both concerned about this last minute meeting. Apollo can sometimes be extremely shy when meeting a new person and may chose to ignore them. I had such an adrenaline rush thinking of how he may or may not act with the evaluator. I was on the road this particular day and was awaiting news from Melanie. One hour went by...then another 30 minutes. I began to call and text Melanie to see how Apollo did. No reply came. I tried again...nothing. I started to get sick to my stomach thinking that Apollo froze up and they did not let him in and Melanie was avoiding me so she did not have to let me down. 3 hours have now passed. My calls are unanswered, my text's have not been replied to. My messages sent on Facebook have not been replied to either. 5 hours later, I make it back to my office, pull up Facebook to send my wife a nasty message, and there posted on her wall for the whole world to see, before her husband, that Apollo passed his evaluation and was accepted to Cali!!

  My excitement was quickly overtaken by anger and kind of overshadowed the glory of the moment. Seriously? I had to find out on Facebook the outcome of one of the most important events in Apollo's life to date. I am a grudge holder and I will get even with Melanie for this. I will be bribing her sisters to keep her out of the loop on the birth of her next nephew or niece and not tell Melanie anything until she finds a post about it on Facebook. Maybe then she will realize how irritating this was to me. Okay, I know that her sisters probably wont play along, but I will find a way to return the favor...someday!
  Felicidades Apollo! Su viaje ha comenzado! (In a few years, you can correct my poor Spanish grammar)

  

What keeps me up at night

 I am sleep deprived. There are not enough hours in the day to satisfy my needs. I spread myself thin and ultimately suffer. I don't want to miss out on anything and often find myself forcing my eyes open just trying to stay awake...often for the most trivial things; blogging, listening to a particular song, or searching for information on the internet.

All are things I can do later, but is there really a later? The future is not guaranteed. In an instance, it can all be over, and it is this thought that keeps me awake. Amidst all the wrong reasons to stay awake, I do find some to be quite worthy. This night, it is the sheer power of the wind. I can feel her gentle touch caress the hairs on my legs and arms as she passes through my room, making her way from one window to the next. Outside, the leaves in the trees, chatter in her wake while palm fronds dance in the back ground. I love the wind and the energy she brings. It feels so temporary and I cant stand not indulging her while she is here.
Another guilty pleasure is the mocking bird that has spent the last five nights singing with extreme enthusiasm in hour long performances intermittently throughout the night. I spent over an hour last night listening to him sing in all his splendor at 2:00 am while trying to justify to myself all the sleep I was missing.
  Here I am again, it is 10:30 pm and I am writing instead of sleeping, eye-lids heavy, and yawning. I was up at 5:30 am today, worked ten and a half hours, and found myself surrounded by sleeping boys and my wife all before I feel like my day has even started. The glow from my lap top outlines the features of Orion's face, soft and without expression, as he breaths softly, sleeping next to me. I can't help but smile when I look at him. He is pure energy and the epitome of sweetness. I often feel as if I am solely here for Orion's amusement.

 "DADAAAAA!" Orion screams ecstatically as  he races across the room to meet me when I get home from work, and then asks me to pick him up. I scoop him up in my arms and 'SLAP!' He swings his arm around from his side and plants his palm firmly on my cheek and then will repeatedly slap my face and laugh hysterically all the while. The more I tell him to stop the more he laughs and repeats his antics. I restrain his hands and then he will bite my chest. I pry his mouth off my chest and he will start laughing again and then kick me square in the nuts. Yes pure sweetness this one. As I double over in pain, and drop to my knees while trying not to drop the little Tasmanian devil in my hands, he will put both hands on my face, lean in close and softly say "Dada, dada."As my eyes, now bulging from their sockets from the blow to the jewels, meet his, a smile stretches across his face. His eyes light up with sheer delight, he purses his lips and pulls himself in for a kiss. Get-out-of-jail-free card redeemed.
  I love this age. As I watch Orion sleeping now, I realize that he will soon outgrow the toddler stage and I will really miss it. It wont be long before he no longer sleeps face down with his legs tucked up to his chest in the fetal position. His face will begin to change and so will his body. He will no longer look like a baby. I didn't realize how much I missed Apollo at this age until Orion got here. They are growing up way to fast.
  Five years old is a fun age as well, but it presents a whole new set of challenges, especially with Apollo.  He is so stubborn. His pride already gets in his way and refuses to ask for help. When help is offered, he will cover his ears in defiance. We have to be stern and creative in dealing with him, pointing out that his behavior is inappropriate, and rude. After all, he is starting kindergarten in less than 3 months and will need to learn some coping skills. It is fascinating to see the character traits that are beginning to dominate. My way of dealing with his behavior issues; "Apollo, you are acting stubborn and irrational! You get that from your moms side."
  Apollo has really begun to develop his self awareness. It manifests itself in many ways, from confessing that he is shy to wanting to be associated or not associated with certain words or names.
"Apollo, you are my naughtiest son." I will tell him.
"No I am not. Your hurting my feelings by saying that," he refutes.
"I meant that as a compliment, so I am sorry that it hurt your feelings," I reply. "Your my cutest guy then."
"I am not cute," he replies angrily.
"Your right, you are handsome!" I tell him.
"No I am not handsome!" Apollo snaps back, "I am dangerous!"
I burst into laughter.
"Dada, if you keep laughing at me, I am not going to stay in love with you!" he says with a scowl. Of course at this point I have to laugh even more, and with a bit of mocking sarcasm.
Apollo begins to smirk with the realization of the nonsense of our conversation. "Your being mean dada!" he says as he begins to smile, "You get that from your moms side!"

My boys' mother

“To have a baby is to embrace a future that you cannot control.” Tom French

There is no greater challenge in this life than being a parent. It will fill you with fear and anxiety, push you to your limits of patience and self-control while simultaneously bestowing endless amounts of pride and satisfaction upon you. It is sacrifice and commitment...a life long commitment, of which ultimately you cannot control. No one knows this role better than a mother. I am fortunate enough to have both a great mom of my own and a wife that is a great mom to my children.  
  I take comfort in knowing that Melanie is a stay-at-home mom. We have made great sacrifices to make this happen and to keep it going until at least Orion starts kindergarten. To this end, Melanie has had to reinvent herself, to try to keep her sanity intact. I am not sure that I could do even half of what she does; I would have lost my cool along time ago. The pay off is seeing Apollo and Orion thrive. It is not that they would not have done well in a daycare environment, but to know that the boys are at home gives me great peace-of-mind. 
  As my stories are almost completely from my point of view, by default I often neglect giving Melanie credit where credit is due. In honor of Mother's Day, I am swallowing my pride a bit, and offering up some Melanie love.

  Orion is absolutely charming. He knows how to say 'please' now and uses it to his advantage. He is very serious about saying 'please' too; "Dada, I wan' bite...p'ease. Da...Da...p'ease."  I didn't teach him to say 'please', that was all Melanie, still it is a magical word and the way he says it, just melts my heart, stops me in my track's, and I find my self powerless to do anything but what this little guy is asking me to do. The worst is when I am lying in bed trying to get Orion to go to sleep. He can be thrashing around and throwing a fit because he is not ready to go to bed. As if a switch was turned on, he will stop mid-fit, sit up, look right at me and say; "Da, I wan' mul (milk), p'ease. Da, p'ease." All the while both hands are moving urgently making the sign language sign for 'milk'. Call me a softy, but like I said previously, I am powerless. Off we head down the hall to get him some milk, much to Melanie's dismay. "Da...t'ay que" (thank you-also accredited to Melanie). That is all the justification I need.

Apollo will be starting kindergarten in a few months. I cant believe how fast the time has gone by. It seems only yesterday that he was born. Apollo loves stories and will sit still and listen anytime someone will take the time to read to him. He has taken a real interest in learning how to read. He has been working on the sounds of letters, and sounding out simple words. Once again, I have to give Melanie credit for this one. Melanie is the story reader. I will do my due-diligence and fit in a few stories per week. but she really makes an effort to read chapter books, and also more than one book at a time, nearly everyday. 
  Typically, Apollo will get into our bed and read stories before climbing into his bed to sleep. Several times a week, he will awake during the night and climb back into our bed. I often let hem fall back to sleep, then I carry him back to his own bed. Once in a while, as I am putting him back into his bed, he will start to wake back up and protest. So, I will climb in bed with him for a bit until he is fast asleep. Melanie has often accused me of messing up Apollo's bed when I do this. One particular night, about 2:00 am, I was putting Apollo back into his bed, "Dada," he started, "It's too scary by myself." 
"Okay Apollo, I will get in bed with you for a while," I replied while climbing under the covers with him.
"Okay," came his half-asleep voice, eyes still shut, "but don't trash my bed this time." 
I know where that propaganda came from!
Happy Mothers Day Melanie!

Disneyland for the first time

Sixteen and one half hours in the car, 970 miles driven, 19 miles of walking (2 or 3 miles with kids on our shoulders), three and one half days, and a small fortune later, our whirlwind Disneyland trip has come to a close. We have been planning a trip to Disneyland for several months now, ever since we found out that they opened Cars Land; a portion of the park devoted to the Disney/Pixar animated Cars movies. These are Apollo's all time favorite movies. His 5th birthday was a natural time to want to take him on this new adventure.
  It has been 10 or 11 years since Melanie and I first took Ian and Aden to Disneyland, so it was now time to brave the crowds and take Apollo and Orion for their first time. Let me just say here that growing up 40 minutes from Disneyland afforded us the opportunity to go to Disneyland several times a year while we were growing up. I have always loved Disneyland, but I can tell you that I have a new appreciation and love for this place. As an adult, I see the theme park in a whole new light. I am amazed by the the flora and fauna that has been so meticulously thought out and executed, the attention to detail in every inch of the park, the incredible construction and mechanics that bring the park to life, to the shows and performers. As a father, I am beside myself watching the magic and bewilderment in my sons eyes as they experience the magic of Disneyland for the first time.

  Although we ran out of time to do all the things that we wanted to do, I can not be more pleased with how much fun we had. We arrived at our hotel at 9:30 pm on Friday night, just in time to see the Disney fireworks as we were checking into our room. It took some time to get the boys to unwind and go to sleep. 7 am Saturday morning, Apollo awakes and hops out of bed. He walks across the room and pulls back the curtains to look for the sun. "It's morning time! Let's go to Radiator Springs!" He exclaimed jumping up and down. We drug Melanie and Orion out of bed, got dressed and by 9am, we were walking through the gates of California Adventure.

 Yes, in Apollo's mind, we were going to Radiator Springs from the Cars movie. That was the whole purpose of the trip. He didn't even know what Disneyland was until a week before we left, and honestly, he wasn't interested in going there until we told him that Tinker Bell lived in Disneyland. And yes, he has a crush on Tinker Bell.

I am so amused by Apollo and what he chooses to be afraid of. Upon entering Cars Land, we saw a life size "Mater" tow truck that talked and moved. Apollo had no problem going up to him, standing next to him and having his picture taken. It was the same thing when he saw Lighting McQueen.  Both wished Apollo a happy birthday by the way. But when it came to Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, or Goofy, he wanted nothing to do with them and would go out of his way to make sure we avoided them. We ended up right in the path of Pinocchio at one point and could not avoid him. Apollo took off running and hid behind a concession display, and circled around it to keep it in between him and Pinocchio. Other four and five-year-olds were hugging and 'high-five'ing him, but not my kid.
 Then came the roller coasters! Apollo has zero fear of roller coasters. The bigger and the faster, the better. It never crossed his mind to be afraid... not even a little bit. At 44 inches tall, Apollo can ride most of the rides at Disney and California Adventure, with a few exceptions. In California Adventures, there is a roller coaster called California Screaming. It is fast and wild. When we came across it, Apollo watched a few cars "launch", and then watched them go all the way around the track, and then go completely upside down in a loop. "I want to go on that ride! Lets go, lets go LETS GO!" He squealed with delight. The reference I made to "launch" is very accurate. The cars are launched with a catapult system reminiscent of an aircraft carrier. Apollo thought that looked fun; Zero to sixty in half a second.
 

We raced over to the line to California Screaming, where I spotted the height marker. It was set to 48 inches. I thought I was disappointed, but when I showed it to Apollo and told him he had to be that tall to ride, he hurried over to it, and as he took his last step towards the sign and realized that he was too short, the spring in his step disappeared, his head dropped and the excitement ran away from his face. Few things are harder for me to swallow than to see that look of disappointment on my sons face.
  All was not lost though. We did ride the Matterhorn, Grizzly River Run white water rapids, Soaring over California (3 times of course), and Radiator Springs Racers. All of which were very exciting for Apollo.


While we road the big kid rides, Melanie took Orion on some of the little kid rides. At one point she terrified Orion by taking him into see "Its Tough to be a Bug" in 3D, in which Orion was pressed tightly against his mom and quivering with fright in certain parts. I guess giant 3D spiders are pretty scary for a 21-month-old. Poor kid is probably scarred for life.
  I would have to say that Orion's favorite rides were "Ariel's Undersea Adventure" and "Its a small World."  Orion was completely fascinated with the animated characters. Orion has the adrenalin gene in him as well and liked the wilder kids rides, too. He took one 40-minute nap all day, and both the boys were very charming the entire time, even the second day that we spent in the parks, Apollo and Orion were exceptionally well behaved.

The highlight for me would have to be the "World of Color" water and light show. I was so impressed by the mechanics of, and technicality of the show. Without going into detail, I will say that it is simply amazing.
  We capped our trip off by spending Sunday evening (in the house I grew up in) with my parents, sister Debbie, nieces Alex and Vanessa, my Uncle Tasso, and a few friends. We had dinner and birthday cake, a short visit, a restless night sleep, and then it was time to head home.
 
  I could write for days just to share story after story of my experiences with Apollo, Orion, and Melanie at Disneyland. I think overall, as amusing and fun (for Melanie and I at least) the stories would be, I think it would be a disservice to the underlying and most important experience of all; spending quality time with my family. There is nothing like a few short days together to bring you closer as a family. Although the boys, especially Orion, may not remember a whole lot about this family adventure, they are sure to feel the affects of it for months to come, and an unseen bond will be strengthened for a lifetime.

Happy 5th Birthday Apollo!

A thick musk of unfamiliar smells hung in the air as we entered the overstocked little store. The isle ways were narrow, crowded with merchandise, and seemingly cluttered. There was hardly enough room to pass another person in the isle with out being pressed against the shelves and brushing shoulder with the person as they passed. Boxes of fresh, exotic produce were placed hap-hazardly on any available spot on the floor, leaving just a foot path in between them. Spices and incense sweetened the air as I walked down one of the isles, but then the air soured with hints of moth balls, dried fish, and an earthy must from the likes of mushrooms and dried roots. An older asian lady tended the register and greeted customers as they entered the store, "Come in, come in".  Her asian accent was thick and her english broken. Her face was weathered, and aged. Her wrinkles were deep and told the story of a life of hard work. This was the first time we had set foot in this little Thai market. From the moment we stepped inside, it felt as if we were transported to another county.
  Apollo scurried up and down the isles looking at and touching everything that he found remotely interesting. There was candy, treats, snacks and bizarre foods. "Dada...I'm Hungry." he said over and over. Out of all the things that Apollo could have chose in that store to eat, I turned just in time to see him reach out with both hands, grab a large, flat, dark green, leafy vegetable, tear it in half and shove it in his mouth, chew and swallow. "Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum! Delicioso!" he announced licking his lips. I am of course laughing out loud, both out of embarrassment and disbelief. I could feel the expressionless eyes of the asian lady fall upon my back as I positioned myself to block her view of Apollo so she wouldn't know that he just ate some of her produce.

  Apollo really is an anomaly. He loves fruits and vegetables. Not that most kids don't love fruit, but he often prefers vegetables over most other foods. This is the kid that does not like french fries. He will also choose raisin bran cereal over fruit loops when given the choice.
He is not a picky eater either, he just seems to prefer healthy foods over junk foods. He eats stuff right from our garden without prompting or provocation. I have watched him break off pieces of spinach, bok choy, Kale, and Swiss chard right from the plants growing in our garden, for a "little snack" while playing in the yard. Because of this, we deliberately plant grape tomatoes and peas for both the boys to help themselves to as they see fit. When the figs, plums, and persimmons ripen on the trees, Apollo and Orion will pick them from the trees and eat them all day long. I love that we can grow these foods and have them available to the boys to eat as they ripen.

Apollo's love for fruits and vegetables is a testament to the kind of person that he is. He is unique in many ways. He has a love for all things living. I have seen his little heart break when other kids kill a bug or even a snail. He is fascinated by even the tiniest creatures. He likes to know how things work and why. He loves the stars, the sun, the moon, and all things space. He dreams of flying. He has empathy and compassion for all those in his inner circle. He can torment his little brother all day, yet become panicked when Orion is in perceived danger. Apollo loves to be tickled to the point of uncontrollable laughter and then beg for more. He is stubborn, contemplative, insightful, passionate, goal driven, and affectionate. He has a wild imagination. To him, everything in life is an adventure. He is my son and I am proud to be his father. Happy 5th Birthday Apollo!!! You are amazing, and fill my life with joy!