Birdsong

A large flock of red-wing blackbirds arrived about a week ago, and have been hanging around our birdfeeder ever since, singing for their suppers.  You can't see them in this video, but you can sure hear them!



Our wetland is a perfect nesting area for the red-wings, so we generally get to enjoy hearing their songs all summer, though not in the numbers we have currently!  These are probably migrants and will continue heading north in coming weeks. It's sure nice that they stopped to sing for us for a time.

Whew.

It's been a while since I got around to updating the blog, and of course now it's harder than ever because I feel like I have to "catch up" all the things that have passed before I can post the current stuff.  I'm not going to do it though.  I'm going to summarize the last few weeks and then move on; I'll go back and expand on some of these later if I find the time.  I just have to break the log-jam and move ahead now, or I never will!

So, since the last time I posted, the following exciting and important things have happened:

• Cary turned 40, and we celebrated with a grand party on January 19th.  Friends came from far and wide and we had a terrific weekend - not just the big party Saturday night, but also great visits and huge breakfasts and dinner feasts on Friday and Sunday as well.  'twas truly an EVENT.
• On January 23rd, my Dad suffered a hemhorragic stroke and was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.  I joined him, my mom, and my aunt Pam there for the next three days while they tested him to ensure that there was no further danger (luckily, it seems to have been a one-off event) and then further tests to determine the extent of the damage.  Again, we were very fortunate: he suffered no damage to his physical abilities, no loss of memory regarding his life or relationships, no change of personality.  What he did lose was his ability to read, do math, and some aphasia that effects his ability to remember the correct words for things.  He's home now and making great improvements in all these areas through cognitive therapy.
• February 1st we went to Olympia for a visit with the Taylors and Eric and Miriam.  We spent a fun few days with them and especially enjoyed visiting the health club pool and the new Olympia Children's Museum.  Except for the part where we brought the flu with us (and then left it behind for them to enjoy - sorry guys!) it was a great visit.
• Feb 5th we drove from Olympia to Portland where I attended the Organicology conference while Conan and Cary explored the city for 5 days.  The conference was good, but the boys had a lot more fun than I did; they went to the zoo, the children's museum, Powells, several parks, the farmer's market, and generally had a great time riding the streetcars and the train, not to mention the gondola!
• Back home again lastSunday night, we settled back into our regular weekday routine and Conan resumed his swimming lessons, which are going very well.  He's really turning into a water baby, and loves jumping in and paddling around with his water wings on.  He even puts his face in the water sometimes!
• Last night we hosted a party for Charlotte's 35th birthday, which was great fun.  We even had Karaoke!  Everyone took a turn, including the children: highlights included Cohen's rendition of the ABC song, Conan belting out Twinkle Twinkle, and a group effort on Down by the Bay.  

So, there you have it.  Eventually I'll get the pictures off the camera from our time in Portland and Olympia, and there may even be some pictures from the birthday parties.  I have a lot of thoughts about Dad's stroke and the wake-up call that has been for me; it feels like I've entered a new phase of life, similar to leaving home or becoming a parent myself.  It's the Age of Knowing That Your Parents Could Die, with a side order of Recognizing Your Own Mortality.  I'm not ready to write that yet though, it's still percolating in my brain.  

And now, as a reward to anyone who actually read all the above, here's a video of another milestone: Conan has mastered the juicer.

Correction

Conan is a very precise guy.  He spends a lot of time correcting me on various things, both important and completely unimportant.  If, for instance, I say "Time to get in the car" I'm very likely to get told  "Its a van, not a car!"

"Did you have a snack?" "No, it was an apple!"
"Where did you leave your shoes?"  "They are boots, not shoes!"
"Did you eat your toast?" "It was a bagel, not toast!"
"Put on your coat." "Its not a coat, its a raincoat!"
"You're wearing your shirt backwards." "No, I'm wearing three shirts backwards!"
"Do you want your blanket?" "Its not a blanket, its a quilt!"
"Did you color that picture?" "No, I drawed it!"
"All the kids will be there." "No, not all the kids in the whole world! Just the ones we know!"

Sometimes it gets to be too much.  The other night I had really had it, so I said "OK, look, I need for you to stop always correcting me. Please."

His response?

"I don't ALWAYS correct you. I only SOMETIMES correct you!"

... whimper ...

Finished!

2012 book of Conan is all done and ordered! Grandparents and great grandparents can expect to receive their copy around the 15th. In the meantime, I believe the link below will take you to an online version if you'd like a preview.

Click here to view this photo book larger

A boy and his Kitty

Tiberius and Conan have forged a strong bond. Conan caries Tiberius around constantly and frequently sings to him. I finally caught the cuteness on video! Surprisingly, Tiberius seems to really enjoy the attention and even purrs while being manhandled and forcibly snuggled. It's very sweet.

Conan is 4!

We had a party on Saturday with lots of friends and family.  I can hardly believe it's been four years already!




 The party featured balloons, party hats & favors, a cake decorated with toy cars and a monster truck (Conan picked the design himself), a game of pin the tail on the donkey, temporary tattoos for everyone, face painting (which turned into finger painting because we forgot the paintbrushes - not that the kids seemed to care), photos with a fun circus-themed cutout (painted by my talented cousin Heather), punch with dinosaur ice cubes, and of course, presents!

 We held the party at the Fairhaven Park Pavillion, which is a multi-use public building right by the playground. Unfortunately, it was a very cold, stormy day with too much wind and rain for playing outside. The kids had lots of fun running around inside, bopping each other in the heads with balloons and generally having a grand time playing together.

 All in all, it was a fun smorgasboard of awesome stuff. Theme parties are for babies, right?  No-one can deny that Conan is a big boy now!

Two Good Stories

Driving in the car with Conan, I motioned another driver to go ahead and pull out in front of me. "Go ahead, you're clear" I said aloud.
"What?" asked Conan. "Who are you talking to, Mama?"
"Oh, that car wanted to pull out in front of us. I was telling him it was OK to go."
"He can hear you?"
"No, he can't, but sometimes I talk out loud to the other cars anyway."
"Oh."
He thought about this for a few moments, then piped up again.
"Well, Papa usually says 'DAMMIT' when people pull out in front of him."

******

We were discussing bears one evening at dinner.  I told Conan the story of how a bear had once broken into our car when his Papa and I were camping at Yosemite, before he was born.  He wanted to know what happened to the bear.
"Well, the park rangers scared it away," I said.
"Oh.  Couldn't warriors have scared the bear away?" he asked.
"Yeah, I suppose warriors could have.  But the rangers were there, so they took care of it."
"Warriors could do it. Uncle Eric could have done it!"
"Uh, yeah, well, I suppose he could have..."
"You should have called Uncle Eric!" he insisted.
"I'm not sure..." I started.
"Because! Uncle Eric is a warrior!" He was getting really excited now.  I was baffled.
Papa stepped in. "Lawyer.  You mean lawyer.  Uncle Eric is a lawyer."
But Conan wasn't convinced. Arms folded across his chest and a stubborn look on his face, he stood firm.
"No! That is not a word! Uncle Eric is a warrior!"