Rock Climbing

Our campsite at Agua Caliente was situated right at the base of a rocky mountain. It was the best and worst site in the camp. The best because the boys could be climbing rocks within a couple steps and the worst because the boys could be climbing rocks within a couple of steps. The mountain side was kind of strange because there was a slide of granite/minerals on the bottom half. It looked as if someone had come along and dumped a big load of concrete down the side of the mountain, but it was soft and crumbly and very easy to climb.

The boys could not escape the lure of the mountain and those rocks. The mountain called to them, 'Come. Come and climb my rocks and explore my hillside." When the boys woke up in the morning the first thing out the their mouths was "Can we go climb the rocks?". After breakfast, "Can we go climb the rocks?". When lunch was over, "Can we go climb the rocks?". You get the picture. They probably would have spent the whole day on the mountain side had we allowed them to.

I was very impressed at how well Daniel and Sammy scrambled up and down the rocks, although they managed to get quite a few cuts and scrapes in the process. And they have proudly shown off each and every one of them.

On Saturday morning we climbed all the way to the top of the mountain. Going up wasn't too hard, but I was not too sure how we were going to get back down. Luckily there was a trail leading down the back, so we did not have to resort to slipping and sliding all the way down.

Rock climbing was definitely one of the highlights of the trip for the boys. Really what could be more fun for little boys?

Desert Adventure

We are back home from our camping trip out in Agua Caliente. Besides some bumps, bruises, cuts and scratches (the boy's arms and legs are quite impressive) we survived the weekend without any major injuries. The boys had a blast and fun was had by all, but we are wiped. There is so much to tell, but I have to hit the sack and try and make up about 10 hours of sleep. I will write more as soon as I am able to stop yawning.

No Fooling

Happy April Fool's Day! Actually this is the third April Fool's Day we have had this year. For some reason I kept thinking it was April 1st when in fact it was not. I am not sure why I was so anxious for it to be April 1st. April Fool's Day has never been an important day for me. I can't ever remember fooling anyone on this day or being fooled by someone else. And though it might be fun to fool someone it is usually not very fun for the person being fool. And for Dan it is one of his least favorite days (you don't want to fool with him).

Unlike their parents, Daniel and Sammy found today to be great fun. When I came home early this morning from my workout I could hear two little giggling voices upstairs. As I walked upstairs I could hear Daniel and Sammy trying to 'fool' each other.

'Sammy, are your eyes blue? April Fools!'

'Daniel, is your hair long? April Fools!'

I didn't quite get it but the boys thought it was hilarious. Luckily they don't quite understand the concept.

So today is the first day of April. I really do love this month. The weather is turning beautiful, baseball has started, Dan and my sister will get to celebrate their birthdays (they both were born on the same day and year), Dan asked me to marry him in April eleven years ago, my first rose buds have begun to bloom and sometimes we get to celebrate Easter (although not this year). Now I know why I was so quick to say it was April already. April is a great month.

The Grand Tour

Let me give you the grand tour of our lodgings for our big Walls Family Camp Out 2008.

This is what our lodgings will look like as we arrive at our campsite. We get to spend the next hour or so trying to set it up while making sure the boys don't run off and get lost in this middle of the desert.



If all goes well our tent will look something like this. Hopefully Dan will still be smiling.Plenty of room to stretch out and relax although I am not sure how much relaxing we will get to do.The top is so high that Dan has to stand on his tippee toes to touch the top. No crawling around in this tent. I could do jumping jacks if I wanted to.Handy cup holders, because, well, who doesn't love a convenient cup holder.And the piece de resistance, a storage loft for all those things that need to be stored in a loft.We have room for 4 more in our luxury hotel. Anyone want to come along?

The Annex Building

We have fought the good fight, and lost. Suzy and I have finally acknowledged that our two little boys are no longer quite so little. As this new day dawned in our lives we are preparing for the familial rite of passage that besets us all, the first CAMPING TRIP! Yes, in a mere eleven days we will pile eight arms and legs and more gear than I can imagine into our not so mini-van and head east to Agua Caliente County Park. Being two responsible parents (and wanting to avoid all thinking about what kinds of trouble the boys will be getting into) we are planning everything meticulously. One aspect of the planning was the tent decision. Individually Suzy and I have backpacked more than 'car' camped, so trying to decide on a family tent was a bit of a struggle. So, after conversations, deliberations, and altercations we settled on the Columbia Cougar Flats.

When the fifty plus pound monstrosity arrived via the poor UPS man, our next decision was staring us in the face. Where in the world can we set this thing up to test it? Garage, not tall enough. Family room, too much furniture. Local Park, too wet and muddy. Work it is. Thankfully my work has a great room for this, I was thinking that it would be easy, no problem. I was a bit off in my calculations. There was about a foot gap around each side of spare room after I finished the hour long process of setting this bad boy up. Fifteen by ten feet, two rooms, bay windows, shelving, cup holders and a loft. When standing in it with flat feet I could not reach up and touch the top. Wow. This wasn't how I remembered camping. It theoretically sleeps eight, but I think that with all of our stuff we will still be crowded. Suzy wanted to check it out so I left it up over the weekend and we snuck in with the boys on Saturday. Unfortunately Sammy got lost in one of the rooms, and we haven't found him yet. Hopefully we find him before we leave!

So, if anyone is interested, we will be out in the desert, come and join us. We will have plenty of room for you...

Egg Hunt

Today was the last day of school before Spring Break so both of the boys had their Easter egg hunt at school today. They were both very excited about the prospect of searching for hidden eggs filled with goodies. I also loved Easter as a kid. My sister and I would hide our eggs over and over again until they were all cracked (we always used hard boiled eggs). I also remember finding some eggs that never got found a week or two later that didn't smell very good.

We have already had a couple of egg hunts at our house and I have a feeling we will have plenty more before Easter is over.

Read to Me

I think one of the things I will miss the most when the boys have grown up, besides the hugs, kisses and snuggling, is reading books to them. I love reading to the boys and they love being read to. They are drawn to books like bees to flowers.

Now that Daniel is learning to read I have found him reading books to himself and even reading to Sammy. Even Sammy feels the excitement of this milestone for Daniel as Sammy will run to find me exclaiming excitedly, 'Daniel read a book to me!" As excited as I am for Daniel I am also a little sad knowing that all to soon my reading days will be over. But I am and have taken advantage of the time I do have. I have probably read hundreds of books for hundreds of hours to the boys.

Transitions are never easy, at least for me. I know it will be sad when reading to the boys becomes only a distant memory, but hopefully then I will be reading with the boys. And that might be just as special and enjoyable.

Lego Creation

The name is 'AT Command Base Walker' because it has a detachable ship for tough fighting. It has two drillers in the back. It can drill, blast and move very fast.

Daniel, age 6. Still loving Legos.

Morning Fun

I got a bit of a surprise when I went in to brush the boy's teeth and get them dressed for school this morning. Typically they are in their room saving the world from bad guys or are having an epic Lego battle. This morning, something different. Something strange. What? What is going on in there? These were my thoughts as I approached the door that begins my day. Daniel and Sammy were playing... football. They had a football (some of Sammy's underwear, clean, I hope), they were throwing it around. And sometimes even catching it. I heard Daniel utter these words,

'Okay, Sammy, let's huddle up and figure out how to beat these guys.'

The teams were Baby Bippie (don't ask) versus the Giants, and Daniel and Sammy were on the Baby Bippie side (really, don't ask!). I am pretty sure that those rough and tumble Baby Bippies were winning.

So, to summarize, now that football season is over for months, my boys are expressing an interest. Just when I would love for one of them to want to watch a baseball game with me, they are into football.

Overflowing

Every morning in Daniel's kindergarten class his teacher takes roll call. It goes something like this:

"Good morning, (insert student's name)."
"Good morning, Ms. Foust."
"How are you doing this morning?"
"I am doing..." or "I am feeling..." and then the kids say something like sleepy, excited or whatever they want.

Well, yesterday Daniel replied, "I am feeling very happy!"
"Why are you feeling so happy today?" asked his teacher.
"Because today is overflowing with good things!"

And Daniel's day was indeed filled to the top and spilling over with good things.

Fridays are Daniel's favorite day, and not just because it means the weekend is here. Fridays are very fun days at school. They have chapel, go to the Park and get to go to the treasure box (a reward system for good behavior). Yesterday was even more special because Daniel received an award in chapel for being loving. Each week the kids study a certain character trait and memorize a Bible verse that relates to that character trait. Then in chapel a child in each class who demonstrates that character trait gets an award. It is suppose to be a surprise, but the kids have figured out that if someone's parent is at chapel it probably means they are getting the award.

I was not surprised at all to learn that Daniel was getting the award for being loving. He is a very loving and affectionate child and often tells his teacher he loves her. Daniel was simply glowing as he walked up to receive his button (award). In addition to this he also got to be a flag bearer during the salute and his class preformed the chapel song (they were so, so cute).

It was a good day... simply overflowing with good things.

Falling Behind

I know, I know, I KNOW. I haven't blogged in a really long time. Really it's not my fault... it's my sister's fault. Chrissie has been encouraging me to start up an arts and crafts blog. I love reading what other people out there in blogland are creating, but I never really though about blogging the going ons of my studio. Well, I finally got it together last month. It is called Handwork Happens. It has been really fun showing off and documenting all my projects, but it has been taking up all my precious blogging time. I have to figure out some way to allocate blogging time between the two. If only I could figure out a way to add a couple more hours onto the day or get the boys to go to sleep at 6:00. I'm thinking... I'm thinking...

Jinxed It

Well, Daniel had a good day yesterday, but crashed around 4Pm, and had a rough night last night. Suzy took to the doctor today, double ear infections, both pretty severe. I guess that might be why he is such a whiner when he is sick, his ears are killing him. Sorry buddy. I should have more faith in your 'toughness'. The good thing about ear infections are they clear up pretty quick with medicine, so the doctor said he should be better by Friday. That means we can go to dinner next week at the Studio Diner to celebrate. Anyone want to join us?

A Little Sun

The weather here in San Diego has been a drag over the last few days. Rainy. Cold. Yuck. I know that things are relative, and where ever you are probably was more cold and/or more rainy, but I pay California taxes for a reason, I want my nice weather. I am a soft, weak person and I can't handle things when the mercury dips below 60.

My response to the cold and rain is exacerbated by the antics of my older child. Daniel is sick. Nothing serious, just a touch of the flu, so he is congested, feverish, achy, you all know the symptoms. Daniel is a terrible sick person. I say that without exaggeration, he is terrible. Ninety-nine percent of the time Daniel is a great kid. Kind hearted, a peace maker, smart, fun loving. When he is sick, yikes, whiny, crying, complaining. Wow. It is put into full focus by how his brother is when he is sick, Sammy roles right through it. Flu?, no problem. Fever?, not too bad. Runny nose?, just find a handy shirt to wipe it on.

Over the weekend I was home alone with Daniel and he was refusing to blow his nose. I don't know why, but he won't blow his nose. He was crying and yelling at me that his nose wouldn't work anymore, it was broken. I told him that it was just plugged and he needed to blow it all out. The response, just more crying and moaning. We haven't had a good nights sleep in three or four days (I have lost track) because Daniel wakes up screaming and crying.

'Help me! Help me! I need to go to the bathroom!'

'Uh, Daniel, why are you yelling, just get out of bed and go.'

'But, I don't want to wake up Sammy!'

At this point I look at Sammy, who is wide awake, of course, because of all the screaming. 'Let's go Daniel.'

This morning it finally happened. Just as the clouds have finally cleared up over San Diego's skies, Daniel finally reached a turning point in his battle with the Black Plague. He got the 'spit-ups', which is what he calls vomit. After helping him through his involuntary examination of his stomach contents, he started feeling better. I am at work right now, but I am hoping, and praying, that when I go home for lunch I will see my normal pleasant little Daniel running around with Sammy protecting their mama from the evil clutches of all the bad guys in the world.

Thankfully it appears that the weather has turned. Too bad it was too late for Suzy and Sammy's trip to Sea World yesterday, but I will leave that story for her...

Kindergarten Lessons

Daniel is learning an amazing amount of stuff in kindergarten this year. His reading skills are particularly growing at an exponential rate. He is not the only one learning stuff though. Suzy and I are getting many lessons as well. Recently we had to take the boys in for their yearly checkups and needed to figure out how to do that. When do you go? No appointments on Saturday. Daniel has school until 3:15 five days a week. Not wanting to take him out of school (hey, we are paying lots of money for him to go there!) we decided on the late afternoon time slot. This is a big departure for us, typically we try to get the first appointment of the day, to ensure that the doctor hasn't fallen too far behind. Now we were on the other end of the spectrum.

So Suzy gets the boys from school, then they all swing by and pick me up from work (we like to double team them at doctors/dentist appointments) and off we head to downtown La Jolla. We arrive a bit after 4 for our 4:15 appointment (Suzy and I are both like to be early for things) and settle in for the wait. And settle in some more. And settle some more. And settle... you get the picture. Thankfully we had the video Ipod playing Scooby Doo for the boys because boy did we wait. I think that we finally got called out of the waiting room just before 5. Yikes.

Unfortunately that wasn't the end of the waiting. Back to the exam room we settle in. And settle in. This time we mixed it up and played a raucous game of 'I Spy' with the boys. Sammy won, but only because he kept changing colors.

'I Spy something... red!'
'Blue!' - wait wasn't it just red?
'Red'! - rascal!

The exam room wait was also broken up by Daniel's eye and ear exam (both fine, thank goodness) and Sammy's eye exam (he did fine except instead of letters they showed him symbols and he had no idea what the '+' symbol was, also, Daniel was dying to help him, I almost had to physically restrain him from giving hints).

Finally the doctor comes in, and except for the fact that he is a Patriots fan he was great. Easy going, good with the boys, good with us. Both boys are doing great health wise. What a relief, you know that they are fine but getting the expert opinion is always a plus.

So, you parents of small children know what's next. The doctor checks his shot record notes and decides the boys should get a flu shot and Daniel got one more. The boys were prepped. They both were almost looking forward to the shots, and we haven't had problems with them about shots for years. Until the nurse came in and said, 'Okay, I am going to prick your finger to check your iron.' Daniel got this look on his face like, 'No way in heck I am going to let you do that.' He had no idea what she meant by prick, but he was convinced it meant take a big sword and chop that finger right off. The panic set in, and we weren't prepared. You are okay for the shot, but the finger prick is setting you off? The scream that resulted from the finger prick led directly to a massive squirm fest trying to avoid the shots, which made the shots much more painful 'cause he was moving all around. Of course Sammy is sitting in my lap watching all of this. When Daniel finally finished his near death experience and stumbled wearily across the room to a chair Sammy looked at the nurse and said, 'You're not doing that to me!'. So I had to carry Sammy to the torture expert (nurse, who was actually quite good), and restrain his arm so he wouldn't move it around. She pricked, she poked and it was over before he got too far down the path of hysteria. Of course both boys wore the badges of their battle (band-aids) with honor for the next twelve hours. Sammy didn't want to take a bath that night because the water would touch the gaping open wound in his finger from the prick. Of course when the band-aids finally came off there were no marks.

So, what lessons did we as parent learn? Last appointments of the day stink. Don't let one kid watch the other get shots. Don't forget the finger prick when you are prepping the kids for what will happen at the doctor's office. Video Ipods are worth their wait in gold. McDonalds for dinner after traumatic experiences works pretty well. They really are Happy Meals.

Two Down

Daniel now has a rather large gap in his mouth because tonight while Dan was brushing Daniel's teeth, tooth number 2 popped out. For the past week Daniel has been wiggling that thing like crazy and yesterday it was just hanging on by a thread.

Last time making the tooth for money exchange went without a hitch, but I have to say I am a little worried this time. My Dad finished the bunk beds and brought them down on Christmas and Daniel occupies the top bunk. While tucking the boys in tonight, I put Daniel's tooth holder close to the edge of the bed where I can reach it pretty easily, but if he moves it I'm not sure what I will do. I will probably have to climb up there and search around for the little tooth pillow I made. If I happen to wake one or both of the boys up I am not sure how I will explain to them why I climbed up to the top bunk. I am really hoping the tooth is where I left it.

I voiced my concern that the tooth fairy might have a hard time trying to find the tooth up on the top bunk, but both the boys seemed confident that since the tooth fairy flies she will have no problem making the exchange. I guess they have more faith in the tooth fairy than I do. Wish me luck!

Birthday Letter

Every year my Mom writes the sweetest birthday card for they boys. They always make me bawl like a baby as a remember all the things the boys have done and how they have grown and changed over the year. So here is this year's...

Dear Daniel,

Look at you now... going to Kindergarten everyday, learning to read and write, riding a big Schwinn bike, going snorkeling in search of humuhumunukunukus and sea turtles, chasing crabs with Papa, drawing pictures for stories you write about secret passages under bedroom floors, wanting to play drums and play in the snow, building Lego sets designed for 7-14 year olds, playing computer games, helping to read books like 'Burger Boy' and 'Three Little Ghosties (sitting on posties, eating burnt toasties), climbing tide pool rocks, memorizing lots of Bible verses, and coming to visit Tutu and Papa without Mama and Dada!

What hasn't changed is that you are still full of LOTS of love and snuggles. So here's to Daniel on January 15, 2008 - - HAPPY, happy Birthday to YOU!!

Are you crying too?

Poor Daniel

Daniel has caught a nasty stomach bug that is raging through the classes of City Tree. He has thrown up 6 times in the past two hours. Poor thing. After the last bout of retching Daniel said he thought it would be fun staying home from school today, but decided he would much rather go to school than feel like he is now.

At least I was not surprised at all. I was pretty resigned to the boys getting this bug. Yesterday while dropping Daniel off at class one of his classmates spilled her breakfast in the hall. Unbelievably her mother cleaned her up and then dropped her off in class. Daniel's teacher asked the principal if that was okay and the principal said that was definitely NOT okay and they sent her home. So when Daniel woke up this morning saying his stomach was not feeling well I was not shocked at all. I'm just glad Daniel didn't get sick at school.

I have been washing my hands like crazy, but this thing seems to be highly contagious. I fully expect Sammy to get it next. And then probably me or Dan or both. Oh well, what can you do? Poor Daniel. Poor, poor Daniel.

Six Year Old

Yesterday we celebrated Daniel's 6th birthday. Has it really been another year already? Can Daniel really be 6? I mean I have memories from when I was six years old. It doesn't seem that long ago that I was 6. Time sure does fly when you're having fun. And this past year has been fun. Daniel his grown and changed so much. He has become much more independent and mature. He is getting his adult teeth and starting to read. Although he has changed a lot during his 5th year of life Daniel is still very much the same. He still loves to play with Legos and sleeps with his Blipie and Spot. He loves reading and is a sweet, snugly boy. And thankfully he still lets me hug and kiss him.

We took Daniel to Legoland on Saturday for his birthday. Tutu and Papa met us there. We had so much fun, the weather was great and it wasn't crowded. Since Daniel had school yesterday we celebrated by going to Studio Diner, Daniel's favorite restaurant. Daniel was spoiled with lots of Lego presents. He is definitely in Lego heaven right now. I have to say that I am glad the flow of new toys is finally at an end, what with Sammy's birthday, Christmas and then Daniel's birthday. I think I will have to do some 'cleaning' and donate some of the plethora of older toys we have.

So now I have a 4 year old and a 6 year old. The best boys in the world. I am blessed.

Year End Review

2007 has been an exciting year for the Walls family. I think I will title it "2007: The Year of Change". I guess every year is filled with change especially when you have young children, but this year brought about many changes and much adjustment.

2007 started with Daniel turning 5 and a fun filled day at Legoland with Tutu, Papa and Nana. Also in January Sammy graduated from his crib to a big boy bed. Sammy took a big step when he joined Daniel in Teacher Laurie's preschool class at the beginning of February. The spring was filled with fun trips to Disneyland, the East Coast to see lots of relatives, a four day backpacking trip in the San Jacinto Mountains for me and a family retreat with our church in our local mountains. In June Daniel graduated from preschool. A week later the boys and I were in Oregon visiting my sister and her family. We moved Daniel into Sammy's room and reclaimed the studio/computer room. We spent the summer swimming at the pool, Daniel in summer camps at City Tree and both boys attending VBS at church (I got to have a full week with no boys for the mornings, Yippee!). We ended our summer with an amazing trip to Hawaii where we stayed at a beach house on Oahu. The boys got to meet their great grandparents and a plethora of other Hawaiian relatives. At the end of August I celebrated my 33rd birthday (am I really that old?) and Dan and I celebrated 10 years of marriage (has it really been that long?) In September Daniel started full time Kindergarten and Sammy started preschool at City Tree. Since I found myself with so much free time on my hands (yeah right!) I started working a little bit for my old company. Dan and my Dad trained for a bike tour from Rosarito Beach to Ensenada that they both completed in 3 hours and 5 minutes, not too bad. October saw tragedy in San Diego as fires raged throughout the county, but was also a time of celebration as Sammy turned 4 years old. We got to spend Thanksgiving with my sister and her girls. Daniel lost his first tooth. Just a few days ago the boys took their first trip to L.A. with my parents all by themselves. Dan and I got to spend three days in the house all alone (simply wonderful).

We will ring in the New Year with root beer floats and mint chip shakes, yum. We sure did fill the year with fun memories and can't wait to see what this next year holds in store for the Walls family. Stay safe and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

The stockings have been opened and the boys are dancing around anxiously in front of the Christmas tree. Santa has indeed come! Merry Chirstmas everyone. Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Baby it's Cold Outside...

It was in the thirties when I woke up this morning and let me tell you it was C-O-L-D! It could have snowed if there was rain...well probably not, but it was cold. I mean this is San Diego, the finest city, the city of sand and sun and temperatures in the thirties just will not do. The rain and chilly weather are making it feel like Christmas is looming near and I guess it is just around the corner. Our house is looking quite festive. We have decked the halls and trimmed the tree. The stockings are hung by the chimney and the lights outside are aglow. Yes, there is definitely Christmas in the air although we are more coughy, sniffly and hard of hearing than merry and bright.

This year we splurged and bought a noble fire instead of the cheaper douglas fir for our Christmas tree and boy am I glad. The extra ten bucks is worth all the time saved vacuuming up dropped needles. I know I say this every year, BUT... I think this is the best Christmas tree yet. The boys loved decorating the house and tree, although they were a little anxious to get everything out and start in on the fun before the adults were quite ready.

So it is beginning to look and feel a lot like Christmas, although I wouldn't mind if it felt a little less like Christmas, maybe by 20 or 25 degrees. Jack frost has been nipping at my nose too often these mornings.

One Down...

Daniel was so excited this morning as he told me the news that the tooth fairy had come during the night, took his tooth and left a dollar in its place. Last night I whipped up a little tooth fairy pillow to house the lost tooth. I did not want to risk Daniel or Sammy waking up as the tooth fairy searched around desperately for that little tooth.

It turns out that Daniel was not the only one to lose his first tooth yesterday. Two of his classmates also lost their first tooth, all within an hour of each other. Daniel's teacher told me that Daniel actually pulled his out during library time and boy was he excited. Sammy seemed just as thrilled and ran around telling all his friends at school. Sammy was going to try and stay up so he could catch a glimpse of the tooth fairy, but was fast asleep when she made her appearance.

I was a little nervous as I snuck into their room last night to make the exchange. Sammy is such a light sleeper. But I got in and got out, no problem. Daniel's other bottom front tooth is loose so it will probably not be too long till the tooth fairy makes a return visit. One down, many more to go.

A Late Night Visitor

We had a visitor tonight. Inflation has reared its ugly head once again, because when this visitor used to come to my house all I got was a 'Bright Shiny Penny!' (Make sure you use fake enthusiasm when you say 'Bright Shiny Penny!'). Daniel made out with a whole dollar! Kids today, they just don't know how good they have it!

As you can imagine, Suzy is beside herself with Mommy level five excitment. Daniel is pretty excited too. We caught him gazing into the bathroom mirror tonight. This is his quote,

"I look old, maybe... 13!"

The teenage years have begun. Wish us luck.

Advent Breakfast

The Christmas season has officially begun! December 1st already, and I can hardly believe it. Today definitely had a wintery, Christmasy feeling to it. A storm blew in yesterday bringing us much needed rain and it is cold and blustery outside. Every year our church starts off the advent season with an advent breakfast for the kids. Food, singing, crafts and fellowship was enjoyed by all.

December is probably my favorite time of year (although I could do without the endless coughing, sneezing and runny noses). I love all the sounds, sights and smells of the Christmas season. I love how people open their hearts at this time and are just so giving. I love the Christmas story and celebrating the birth of Christ. It really is all so awesome!

Welcome to the World, Baby Girl

Claire Ariella

Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2007

1:44 PM

8 lb 9 oz.20.5"

I am so excited! Dan's longtime friend and coworker and his wife welcomed their first child into the world today. A baby girl! I haven't seen any pictures yet, but I am sure she is as sweet as pie. It seems as if we have been waiting for the arrival of this baby for a long time. It is a very big deal at Dan's work because of the six families in the company there are 9 boy offspring and no girls. Until today at 1:44 p.m. that is. I think Claire with be doted on very much.

I made these adorable little shoes for Claire. Are they not the cutest things ever! They were so easy to put together and such fun to embellish. I can't wait to see that sweet, sweet baby. Do you think her parents will let me keep her for a little bit. Just a day or week or two or three...?

Congratutions, John and Galit!

Wibbly, Wobbly Tooth

Daniel has his very first loose tooth, and according to the dentist, who we saw last week, that tooth is not long for the world.

Maybe a month of so ago, while brushing Daniel's teeth, I noticed that his left front tooth was a tiny bit wiggly. Now it is loose enough that I feel a little bit queasy when I see his tooth wiggle around. Last week Daniel told me that while playing with his loose tooth he head a little crack. I didn't let on that I was a little grossed out by that bit of info. Yep, I don't think it will be too long before the tooth fairy makes a visit to our house.

This is such a big milestone. If not for Daniel, for me. It seems strange that I have a kid old enough to be loosing his baby teeth. For the past six years, so much has revolved around teeth coming in, not falling out. Daniel was an extremely early teether. He got his first tooth at only three months old, and had all his teeth, minus molars, by nine months.

Daniel was not an easy teether. Each and every tooth caused both Daniel and us much pain. I am still not sure who suffered more. When Daniel's molars came in, he whined for a month straight and would wake up in the middle of the night crying and nothing we did could soothe him. Sammy was a much better teether, but nevertheless I was ecstatic when his last second molar made its appearance.

So far this loose tooth doesn't seem to bother Daniel, but only time will tell. I know it can't be too comfortable having a wobbly tooth while trying to eat, so we will have to see how Daniel copes.

I just can't believe we are already at this stage. I can't imagine Daniel with a missing tooth. I can remember having loose and missing teeth. Really, Daniel can't be that old. Can he?

Super Chargers

This is by no means a sports blog, and I have no intention of changing that, but I think that sports can offer life lessons if you are paying attention.

As you can probably determine by the title of this blog entry I am a fan of a football team called the San Diego Chargers. Last year this team had a great season, won fourteen games and only lost three. They even had the MVP playing for them, LaDainian Tomlinson, who set numerous NFL records during an amazing season. Unfortunately they are not playing as well this year. Currently they have won four and lost four, and yesterday's game was a debacle. What has changed and how can I use this in my life? What are the life lessons?

Well, one thing that has not changed is the players. They are almost exactly the same, just a year older. If they were an old team then you could then have an 'ah ha' moment, and say the team got old. That theory won't hold water too well due to the fact that they are not an old team, by NFL standards they would actually be considered a young team. So we will have to look elsewhere. Coaching.

The Chargers had their top offensive and defensive coaches leave to take jobs elsewhere, they then fired their head coach. Their top three coaches from last year were all allowed, or encouraged, to leave. Why did they fire their head coach you ask? Good question, the head coach and the General Manager (usually the head coach's boss, also the guy who obtains the players through one method or another) did not get along. At all. One of the excuses for the firing was the lack of success in the playoffs. You see, one of the three losses last year was in their first game of the playoffs against New England. It was an ugly game, lots of poor plays by the players, but the Chargers still had a great shot to win it. But they didn't.

Still haven't gotten to any of the life lessons! Get to the point! Hey, you get what you pay for with this blog. If I want to write a dissertation you will just have to suffer through it. Either that or stop reading.

Life Lesson #1: Leadership Counts
Same players, worse performance, leadership seems to matter. As I was coming into work this morning I was thinking that the same thing applies to my boys. My boys are who they are, my job as a parent is to give them their best chance to succeed. Daniel and Sammy are very different from each other, they both have their strengths and weaknesses, but different strengths and weaknesses. Suzy and I have a job that requires we help the boys figure those strengths and weaknesses out, and how to emphasize the strengths, and be able to handle the weaknesses. If we do a good job with that then the boys will have a better chance at growing up to be productive members of society. If we do a bad job, then they will have more hurdles to overcome. Leadership matters. It can help, or it can hold back.

Life Lesson #2: Don't Overreact
The Chargers partly fired their coach because they weren't winning in the playoffs. They had an amazingly successful year, but lost at the end and that was too bitter of a pill for the management to swallow. Now they are paying for it. My boys really are good kids. Ninety plus percent of the time they behave just how I would want them to. One of my flaws as a parent is that I overreact to the less than ten percent of the time when exceptions occur. I need to be better about appreciating and enjoying the ninety plus percent of the time. Things aren't always going to go perfectly, as a parent I should be able to handle the 'blips' and move on. Don't overreact, don't hold a grudge. The Bible says don't let the sun go down on your anger.

Life Lesson #3: Stay Calm
It seems to me that disasters happen not as a result of one thing going wrong, but a series of things going wrong, one leading to the next until you are standing in a Tijuana jail thinking you had one too many shots of tequila. The Chargers lost their playoff game, they then lost their offensive and defensive coordinators, and then they lost their head coach. If they had stayed calm and dealt with the situations is a dispassionate manner they may have had more success in navigating that difficult time. Instead they acted in the heat of the moment, and now are paying the price. One of the areas that I struggle most with as a parent is staying calm. Nipping problems in the bud, so that they don't become full disasters. Staying calm in the moment. Easier said than done.


So, if you are still reading that means a couple of things, you weren't turned off by the sports analogies, you survived my preachy blogging, or you are my wife. Congratulations on any of those three things. I hope that people out there who don't enjoy sports now better understand that sports can offer things beyond the superficial. At least for me they can lead to reflection, and hopefully some improvements in my parenting. Go Chargers!

Jack-O-Lantern

This year Tutu and Papa got to join in the fun of carving the Halloween pumpkins. I don't know who enjoyed it more, Tutu and Papa who probably haven't carved a pumpkin in a while or Dan and I who got to sit back and watch the slimy mess from a distance. Actually, with Tutu directing, the boys and surrounding environment stayed impressively clean. Tutu is the queen of clean!

I would have to say Papa probably enjoyed the whole process the most. He meticulously cut and carved those two pumpkins into masterpieces.

The boys enjoyed digging into the mushy insides and cleaning out all the seeds and pulp. Even Daniel who tends to shy away from slimy, messy things dove right in. We let Daniel draw a face for his pumpkin, but he drew a complicated Halloween scene instead of eyes, a nose and a mouth. Papa and I looked at each other not quite knowing what to say. How do you tell a five year old there is no way you are going to try and carve his pumpkin masterpiece? Tutu came to the rescue showing Daniel some faces he could choose from a magazine. He seemed content enough with that idea and picked a face. Sammy picked a cat face.

After the pumpkins were finished being transformed into Halloween jack-o-lanterns we brought them outside and lit them up. So cute!

Can't wait for Halloween!