Guemes Island Cabin

Conan and I just returned from a week's stay with my parents at the Westenhaver family cabin on Guemes Island. We had a great time fishing, walking the beaches, and just generally hanging around by the seashore. The weather was surprisingly good for late October on the northwest coast, only raining hard on one day; otherwise being generally clear with light breezes in the afternoon after the morning fogs burned away. Conan was thrilled to catch a "Peanut-Butter Fish" (the logical counterpart to the small jellyfish common in the water here), then watched, fascinated, as Poppy filleted it for dinner. We also had fun flying our fish kite (which Conan named "Potluck") off the breakwater in front of the cabin. It really was a wonderful vacation for all of us, and such a treat to be allowed to use the cabin!

Superboy C!

Conan got all dressed up in his finest Superboy outfit today to go to the Bellingham Comic Con. As you can see, he was well prepared to whack any bad guys that might be there.

Play & Imagination

Conan's imagination is really blossoming. His playtime includes lots of chatter, dialog and play acting both with real and imaginary participants in his games. I love it.

Here are a couple of recent examples:



Serving Cake & Ice Cream is one of Conan's favorite games. You can have it in a bowl, on a plate, or in a cone, your choice! Usually it is chocolate or 'nilla, but sometimes it is wild and crazy flavors like sunshine, grass, or purple.



Wee-Haw, ride'em cowboy! Cowboys know a lot about horsies. And they have hats.

Update: Since I had to re-upload both of these, I thought I'd go ahead and add a couple more:



Conan's new fingers come in lots of colors. I had to help him put the last two on, he tried for a really long time to do it himself but his new fingers just aren't as dexterous as his old ones. They do look neat tho!



Here he is combining riding his trike with tying knots in his "catchin' rope". Knots are really interesting to Conan, and he spends a lot of time tying and untying them. He still doesn't pedal his tricycle, but he's getting better at steering while pushing with his feet. And he loves to wear his helmet, whether he's going for a ride or not.

Occupy Bellingham Demonstration

 

On Friday afternoon we went downtown for the Occupy Bellingham demonstration of support for the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York. I brought some extra markers and reusable large white envelopes to make signs. Conan colored his sign, then asked me to "put letters on it" for him. I asked him what he wanted to say, and he shrugged. I suggested something about sharing and he immediately blurted "sharing is good!" I wrote that on his sign and he held it proudly througout the demonstration. I didn't have my camera with me, but with Conan's extreme cuteness he was naturally a favorite of the many photographers out documenting the demonstration, so I knew there were pictures out there. I found this shot posted to the Occupy Bellingham facebook page this afternoon. At the point when this picture was taken, Conan was feeling a bit shy, so I held the sign for him. I'll keep an eye out and maybe another picture (or two!) will show up on the site as more of the photographers share their images.

Fruit Festival 2011

Sunday we went out to Cloud Mountain Farms' fall fruit festival, and it was a blast.  Conan got to eat an ice cream cone, put an apple through a cider press, paint a flowerpot, and pick a pumpkin - in that order.  We also brought home some delicious apples (Karmijn de Sonneville - a variety that's been on the top of my planting wish list for quite some time) and a bunch of nice squash and potatoes.

We also did a bit of dancing.  Conan was very eager to dance, and insistent that I join him, although he's a much better dancer than I am.




By which I mean I can't believe how silly I look. I'm pretty sure I was MUCH more rhythmic and graceful in real life.  But hey, I may look like a total dork, but I look like a total dork dancing with the cutest little dancer anywhere.  And we were having a great time.

 :)

Zoo 2011

Today we went to the zoo!  Conan and I met Jon, Nadege and Chloe and spent the day checking out all the animals.  We had a great time.  One special highlight was seeing the tundra wolves hunting squirrels right next to the viewing spot at their exhibit.  I've never even glimpsed the wolves before, my understanding is that they stay hidden a lot of the time.  But not today!  We also had a lot of fun watching the gorillas.  There was a young one, not exactly a baby - call it a toddler - who was nursing when we arrived at the viewing station.  It was such a sweet and loving moment to see between mama and child.  Very human, for lack of a better word.  Another gorilla came right up to the glass, sat down, and made faces and interacted with the kids for quite some time.  We also enjoyed feeding the birds in the parrot house, watching the elephants being fed, and watching the penguins swimming in their pools.  We saw snakes, toads, lizards (including komodo dragons), turtles, lions, tigers, kangaroos, meerkats, bears, eagles, fish, and lots of different kinds of monkeys.

I'm exhausted, but in a very good way.  It's been a year since we last visited the zoo.  I hope we go again sooner next time!

The kid I don't want

As a parent, I spend a lot of time thinking about what I want for my kid.  I imagine him being talented, charismatic, intelligent, athletic, kind, generous and thoughtful (not to mention tall and good looking).  I want him to have plentiful opportunities, wide-ranging experiences, and lots of fun.  It's fun to let my mind wander to the future, dreaming of the amazing things Conan could do - maybe he'll be an astronaut! maybe he'll be the poet laureate! maybe he'll be a TV chef!

On the flip side, sometimes I think about what I don't want him to be.  Oh, there's the obvious ones that all parents probably have: I don't want him to be a drug addict, or a gun runner, or a pimp, or a tabloid front-page celebrity.  I mean really, I'm his mom: I don't even want him to get dehydrated, let alone arrested.

But that's all in the future.  When I think about the short term, the kid I REALLY don't want him to be is the one that is good and nice and obedient when grown-ups are around, and then mean and spiteful and awful to the other kids the minute they are alone.  The one where his mom thinks he's a little angel and everyone else just rolls their eyes and wonders how she can be so blind.  Maybe even ALL the moms think he's a little angel, and it's only the other kids who know the truth.  I knew kids like that when I was young, and it was horrible.  It was incredible the way they could transform from angels to bullies the minute the adults left the room. 

For the record, let me say right now that I don't think Conan is now, or will ever be, that kid.  He's such a nice little boy.  Everyone says so! 

But then, I'd be the last to know, wouldn't I?