SS Squidder

Play Date with Gene

2007-01-25T17:11:00.000-08:00

Aidan's best friend at school is a kid named Gene. I think they tend to get each other in trouble. They were basically best friends from the first week of school. Finally we got them together after school. Here are some pictures.

This is Gene very focused on building a lady bug out of an apple, a project Kyra had for them:

This is Gene's younger brother Philip and Breckan.

Aidan making his ladybug:

(Gene's dad is a tennis pro!)

Roboraptor

2007-01-01T17:17:00.000-08:00

Aidan and Breckan's favorite Christmas toy was Roboraptor. A biomechanically fluid, dinosaur robot. Breckan was very scared of it and is still somewhat scared of it. It has a remote control. However, it will sometimes move by itself, if someone hits it on the tail or gets close to its head. The kids love it. It roars, moves forward, backward, side to side, turns around.

This is Aidan and Emily playing with it. This kept these kids focused for an hour with no break. What other toy can match that other than a movie or video game. Their playing included being afraid to get close to it so they used a broom to see what it would do.

Monster House

2006-12-29T13:51:00.000-08:00

We're all about Monsters these days. Breckan's favorite movie is Monster House. Here Breckie is 'a monster':

He got some help from one of his Christmas presents here:

This was the monster on Christmas day:

Setting up the Tree

2006-12-28T05:48:00.000-08:00

These are 'action shots' Aidan took of Breckan and I setting up the Christmas Tree. Aidan isn't one for work, so he'd much rather be the photographer. I couldn't keep Breckan away from the tree stand and wanting to set it up/work it. All photographs courtesy Aidan.

Aidan has taught Breckan how to pose/stand still when Aidan wants to take a picture of him.

This was a new and very simple tree stand.

We got the tree up.

This is Aidan watering the tree. For some reason Breckie was not interested in watering it, on Day One or thereafter.

Last Shots of '06

2006-12-27T18:48:00.000-08:00

Before the Christmas pics are in I wanted to post a last few from the hundreds left in inventory from '06. These are from around Thanksgiving, and Kyra had given them both chocolate bunnies as a Thanksgiving gift. Which is why they are so happy here!

Aidan's Portfolio II

2006-12-23T03:51:00.000-08:00

A plant at a birthday party.

x
Brother Breckan

Dad's laundry room.

Not my best photo.

Aidan's Portfolio

2006-12-21T02:09:00.000-08:00

Aidan has figured out how to use my digital camera. I am very happy with this camera after having problems with 2 Sony digital cameras, one of which was stolen, the other broke of its own accord. Aidan loves taking pictures, and mostly still photographs, although he knows how to take portraits and action shots and will do that from time to time.

Trying for Daily Again?

2006-10-09T03:18:00.000-07:00

We'll give it a shot at daily.

This is Aidan pretending to be a pirate while on a pirate ship at a Pumpkin Patch.

Breckie is Hitler?

2006-09-27T17:17:00.000-07:00

Breckan

2006-09-26T12:08:00.000-07:00

Back from Summer Vacation 9/3/06

2006-09-03T15:43:00.000-07:00

Taking a break...

2006-07-18T05:55:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a break on the pic a day...

Pic a Day: 7/11/06

2006-07-12T04:51:00.000-07:00

Pic a Day: 7/10/06

2006-07-10T14:15:00.000-07:00

Pic a Day: 7/9/06

2006-07-10T14:12:00.000-07:00

Pic a Day: 7/8/06

2006-07-08T12:19:00.000-07:00

Pic a Day: 7/7/06

2006-07-07T02:46:00.000-07:00

Pic a Day: 7/6/06

2006-07-06T02:33:00.000-07:00

(Sort of) Pic a Day: 7/5/06

2006-07-05T05:44:00.000-07:00

I dropped the ball bigtime from 6/29 through 7/4. Unfortunately I don't have enough pics to fill the gap. Breckan can't be photographed most of the time because he wants the camera so he walks straight to the photographer. Aidan thinks he is supposed to fake smile which looks like a scary rictus of pain. Excuses, excuses.

Pic a Day: 6/28/06

2006-06-28T02:40:00.000-07:00

Pic a Day: 6/27/06

2006-06-27T10:04:00.000-07:00

Pic a Day: 6/26/06

2006-06-26T05:52:00.000-07:00

Pic a Day: 6/25/06

2006-06-26T05:51:00.000-07:00

Pic a Day: 6/24/06

2006-06-26T05:49:00.000-07:00

Pic a Day: 6/23/06

2006-06-26T05:48:00.000-07:00

Pic a Day: 6/22/06

2006-06-22T03:43:00.000-07:00

Pic a Day: 6/21/06

2006-06-22T03:41:00.000-07:00

Pic a Day: 6/20/06

2006-06-20T04:32:00.000-07:00

Pic a Day: 6/19/06

2006-06-20T04:29:00.000-07:00

Pic a Day #5: 6/18/06

2006-06-19T03:06:00.000-07:00

The Food Car

Aidan saw a snippet on Playhouse Disney recently, although it's been playing on there for over a year now. In it, a parent uses a big loaf of uncut bread, scoops out the middle and then uses celery and carrots, etc. to make a 'food car', which is also for dipping crudites (crudites is one of my most hated words). Last week he decided he really wanted to make a food car. So we did. (We did not have uncut loaf bread so we had to improvise.)

Pic a Day #4: 6/17/06

2006-06-18T17:53:00.000-07:00

Pic a Day #3: 6/16/06

2006-06-16T04:31:00.000-07:00

Pic a Day #2: 6/15/06

2006-06-15T05:43:00.000-07:00

Pic a Day #1: 6/14/06

2006-06-14T04:14:00.000-07:00

New Pics of the Boys

2006-05-25T05:26:00.000-07:00

In our new neighborhood there are three parks in close proximity. I don't mean proximity in the Maine/NH sense of the word, meaning within a 15 minute drive. I mean within 10 city blocks, so if you wanted to you could walk there, but it'd be annoying to walk when the drive would take 3 minutes.

Aidan's favorite of the three, for no apparent reason, is called Fort Scott. These pictures were taken at Fort Scott park. The parents there are obsessed with getting in to schools since it's so hard to get into any schools around here of any kind. They apply to 10-20 schools and get into none. So all they want to know is what school the kid goes to....weird. I guess I should tell them they go to HK Prep. What is HK, they say? I respond, it's the School of Hard Knocks!

Virginia Gold Cup

2006-05-15T05:24:00.000-07:00

Kyra and I took the boys to the Virginia Gold Cup. Held in The Plains, VA, this event is the Kentucky Derby of Steeplechase Racing. The Steeplechase is a horse race where the horse and rider jump over gullies, puddles, small jumps and other obstacles. It also masquerades as an event for rich people to drink lots of champagne and dress up. We got free tickets from a law firm locally that we know. I failed to take pictures of the boys at this event, I suspect due to sunstroke frying my brain.

My Camera is in storage

2006-04-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts. My camera is in storage for the move.

Here are some Easter pics our friends took.

a) Aidan loved Easter. He didn't really remember it from last year. At the end of the day he wanted to know when the next Easter was. He was the oldest at the Easter egg hunt so got them all to himself
b) Breckan was sick so he could have cared less
c) a good time was had by all
d) my hair was styled by the Easter bunny

Aidan

2006-04-06T16:51:00.000-07:00

I know there's been lots of Breckan posts. Nothing against Aidan. I just don't have any good pics right now.

Brecker The Wrecker

2006-04-06T16:43:00.000-07:00

Here is Breckan doing that 'phone' thing. Breckan is into these things

- his 'baby'. Nana Knapp gave Aidan a doll a while ago. Aidan hated it,. Meaning AG didn't ignore it, he actively pushed it away and tried to harm it. Breckan somehow found it around and adopted it. Breckan was holding this and a stuffed dog equally until he left the dog at Target. Now it's just the baby. He sleeps with it.

- Bob the Builder - I covered that in a previous post

- try to drink out of a cup by himself. 4 of out 5 times this is basically pouring water on himself or on the floor

- playing in the Toy Kitchen. This is in Aidan's room and is Aidan's. Breckan likes to turn the dials and such. And make meals.

- above all Breckan likes to clean. He'll pick up small bits off the floor and hand them to Kyra or me and say 'Trash'. Or he'll just try to throw it away himself. He'll try to sweep, mop, scrub and especially vacuum. He is a very hard worker and seemingly obsessed with cleaning.

Bob the Builder

2006-03-25T15:47:00.000-08:00

Breckan has hit his Bob the Builder phase. Aidan had this but it was probably about three months long and it wasn't his favorite thing. It was among his favorites. For Breckan, one senses it's something more. First, Breckan can only say a few things. Most of them are listed here:

- hot
- daddy
- mama
- Veronica ( his nanny)
- sit
- book
- baby
- Bob the Builder

Although he can say Bob the Builder he cannot say eat, his word for foot is 'bhat', and he shakes his head or nods to imply yes or no.

Aidan was a fan of trucks. Breckan is also; his favorite book is "Steve and the Mighty Loader".

Tickles

2006-03-15T16:24:00.000-08:00

Breckan Smile

2006-03-10T18:16:00.000-08:00

This is one of his many smiles. He has some expressions that Aidan never had. For example, he has the

the "what, i can't believe what I'm seeing" straight face expression of wonder with underlying 'of course i've seen this before and i am enjoying pretending i haven't' mini-smile
are you kidding, you're going to give me what I want? with the underlying 'i guess my crying fit worked' smirk
the wide smile called 'i can't wait to beat on you until i can provoke you to beat me up, which is what i will really enjoy'

When Breckan is not in desperate straights, he pretty much is happy and you have a feeling he's got the world by the tail and not a shred of self-doubt. However, when he doesn't have Dad then he's desperate (a phase).

That's Why We're All Here

2006-03-09T05:05:00.001-08:00

It's the pictures! Here are Aidan and Breckan in the hotel in Florida. Breckan is pretty hard to take a picture of normally. Once he notices there's a camera in dad's hands, he bull rushes me to try and get to me/it before the picture snaps. Thus most of my pics of him are the top of his head.

Aidan on the other hand will pose for a picture. However, he doesn't really like to pose. Right now Aidan is definitely into trying to optimize/increase the things he likes (candy, movies, not going to bed) and not doing the things he doesn't like to do (eat real meals, get dressed, go to school).

Thoughts on Aidan & Breckan

2006-03-04T16:58:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest things going on with the boys

Aidan

when you ask him how something good tastes he says either 'good' or 'delicious', it's weird hearing him say delicious
Aidan's favorite shows is SpongeBob Squarepants which I actually like a lot too
Aidan wants to do wrestling with Dad a lot more than I do
Aidan's favorite food is chocolate, grapes, melon, oranges, broccoli
Aidan's favorite movie is Robots

Breckan

He is still not saying much that clearly. Except for the last 2 days when he has called Dad 'Mama', he is pretty good at saying Mama, Dada, Brother, up, down, bath, book, done
His coolest thing is nodding or shaking his head. If you ask him a yes no question he'll either nod or shake his head depending on what he wants
His favorite game in Cranium Hullabaloo
He likes to throw things away

Emily's Unslumber Party

2006-02-28T08:35:00.000-08:00

Aidan's closest friend who is a girl is Emily Plofchan. Her mother Tami decided on a pajama party where all the kids show up wearing pajamas and with a pillow for a pillow fight and a blanket. Kind of a cool idea. Anyway, here are some pics of Aidan's friends

A good time was had by all. The goodie bag Aidan brought home had 2 plastic dinosaurs, a candy necklace, a balloon shooting whistle, and some stickers.

Our Trip to Naples

2006-02-25T09:03:00.000-08:00

Long time, no blog.

We had a decent trip down to Florida just recently for Ava Charlotte Willow Dolley's 3rd birthday. She is my niece. It was in Joyce 'Mimi' Fekete's house in Bonita Springs, FL.

Here are the lowlights:
a) Aidan retains his streak of vomiting on every air vacation outside of New England. This includes last year's Naples trip, our trip to Charlotte, NC, and of course this trip. He vomited just getting off the plane in St. Louis (one other time it was in a hotel elevator, and another was at the gate while waiting in the airport for a flight)

b) Aidan got stung by something at the beach. As he is highly allergic, he went into anaphylactic shock.

This included his eyes swelling up so he couldn't see, crying/screaming, and fighting/hitting me which is part of the symptomatology. I won't go into the whole story but suffice it to say it was not good. All's well that ends well

c) Kyra was sick; traffic was terrible; Breckan did not travel well, I won't go on.

However, the weather was great, the company was great, the hotel was great. Stan and Deb did a great job taking care of Breckan ( which is not easy ) when I had to take care of Aidan. Shelley did a great job saving us with pizza when we arrived after a pretty bad travel day. It was also nice to see that each morning Aidan's first thought was to go have breakfast with Grams and Grandpops.

I KNOW we are going to have a better time next year and one that will top all of them.

The 40 Year Old Man

2006-02-05T06:47:00.000-08:00

Breckan has a hair pattern of a 40 year old man. He has a long wispy flux of hair on the top of his head (perfect for the comb-over) right in front of a bald spot. He also has puffs of hair on the outside over his ears, and a receding hairline in the back. I swear he looks 40 sometimes.

Latest on Breck: still amazingly independent - that's not even the word. What is the word when he refuses all help? Another new one is that he's a worker...likes to put things away, throw trash in the trash, and more on that later....

As you can see one of them in this picture, he's got a whole range of smirks, grins, and other sly faces that Aidan had none of.

Train, Train, Go Away, Please Come Back Another Day

2006-01-23T04:25:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, someone gave Aidan a do-it-yourself train to make. It looked colorful and interesting. Kyra got it out one evening as a project for Aidan and me. Apparently there's one toy company left that does not manufacture in China, and these were the folks who made this. No plastic involved. Rather we were to mix our own PLASTER (how throwback is that), pour it in a mold, and let it sit. Then continue on etc. etc.

Kyra took over the final phase which was painting, as something for Aidan and her. Then on the last, last day Kyra did all the finishing touches.

Extended Family Pictures

2006-01-14T17:59:00.000-08:00

This is the last set of pics I'll post from Christmas. These are a set of folks outside our nuclear family.

This is Aunt Jane -- my aunt and Godmother. She gets the award for #1 Gift Giver and frankly apparently missed the Charlotte/Deborah lame gift giver gene. This is her gift-world, we just live in it.

This is Kari -- Aidan and Breckan's cousin. Kari's mother is Lily and her father is Kyra's brother Collin. Here she is at Tom and Dianne's house. She speaks English and Spanish.

This is a picture of Aidan and his cousin Courtney Dutton. Courtney and Aidan play very well together. I think this is a combination of a) Courtney looking for someone fun to play with, b) Aidan looking for someone he can act crazy with and get into trouble with, c) they both love to run around.

Cousin Ava

2006-01-06T18:29:00.000-08:00

Pirate Pete

2006-01-02T17:56:00.000-08:00

Here is Kyra's brother Colin who definitely amused the kids with his rendition of a real pirate. When Aidan was a baby, he never called Colin by his name. He decided Colin's name was "Bobot" (rhymes with robot).

Aidan & Nana

2005-12-31T05:44:00.000-08:00

Aidan had lots of fun in NH with his Nana. Apparently, she took him skiing for the first time. Here are some pictures of them together...

In this shot, my camera thought I wanted to take a picture of the paper plate. Hence the bad lighting for the hug....

Presents

2005-12-28T03:18:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of Christmas presents for Aidan and Breckan:

As readers will know, Aidan and my alter egos are a couple of pirates named Captain Scolliwog and Blackbeard. Nana was clever enough to find some pirate gear to outfit us with. Here's the Captain about ready to make someone walk the plank.

Breckan wasn't really sure what it was all about. He did have a lot of fun walking around and getting into stuff:

Aidan's favorite toy by a long margin was a car repair kit. It came with a drill and three drill bits. One must take apart and put back together an entire car which requires using 2 of the 3 bits and remembering how all the pieces fit and when. Apparently after I left he was given a fake turntable and headphones, some kind of kid's DJ setup, which is extremely loud.
Here's Aidan looking philosophical about the whole thing:

Wild Turkey?

2005-12-26T12:09:00.000-08:00

No, not that Wild Turkey. This Wild Turkey:

Over the Christmas Holiday, a flock of wild turkeys landed in the back yard of my folks' next door neighbors. One of the turkeys strayed on landing and landed in their back yard. He/she was a bit disconcerted because there's a fence between the yards. So he ran headlong into the fence quite a bit:

Then he/she backed up and flew over it.

Apparently, the State of Maine has re-introduced wild turkeys into the wild. This happened sometime in the last 5 years I think. From what I've heard, the turkeys have flourished. They are now doing so well you can get in a lottery for a license to hunt them.

Trip to Art Museum

2005-12-20T03:10:00.000-08:00

Aidan and I have been going to the National Museum of Art and the Hirschorn Museum since he was a baby. The National Museum is closer to our house, so we've done that one more. The Hirschorn opens earlier on Sundays (10AM vs 10:30). Which was important when I was taking care of Aidan on Sundays and about to lose my mind if he'd been up since 6 that morning. In those days I had to carry him all the time because I had not learned about strollers. Any way, we all went to the museum last Sunday.

Eating Oranges

2005-12-17T11:40:00.000-08:00

These guys are having some oranges. They've never eaten oranges much. I think Veronica is getting them into oranges. Aidan seems to like them as much as Breckie which suprises me. Please ignore Aidan's hair - he got a Terrible haircut that I am going to try and fix next week.

Aidanito

2005-12-13T18:06:00.000-08:00

This is the most beautiful boy:

Bernie Bunny Seal of Approval

2005-12-12T21:09:00.000-08:00

Here is Aidan eating some of his favorite Macaroni and Cheese.

I love this kid!!

I took the following pictures of the box of Mac & Cheese to test the 'Macro Mode' on the new digital camera. That mode is for precise close ups at very close range.

I love this camera!!

Christmas Brunch

2005-12-11T14:43:00.000-08:00

Today, we went to visit our friends the LaCounts. Their new son, Gabriel, is quite a little guy. He is an excellent eater and sleeper and looks like both Mom and like Pops. They treated us to a Christmas Brunch.

Here are some pics of their family

My son the wookie

2005-12-11T06:11:00.000-08:00

How would you describe a Wookie's words or talking? A gruff woof? A pleading bark? A guttural groan? I prefer a doglike cry. In any case, my son is a Wookie.

Here is the most famous Wookie, Chewbacca:

Here is my son, Breckan:

Most of Breckan's communication are loud, wookie-style plaintive dog groans. Also like Wookies he is tough, unafraid, loyal, and throws his weight around.

Quick Pic 2

2005-12-08T09:46:00.000-08:00

Quick Pic

2005-11-30T19:18:00.000-08:00

The New Camera

2005-11-25T17:31:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics with the new Camera. The camera is a Nikon Coolpix S1. It has a 5.1 megapixel lens which is nothing special. What's interesting about it is that there is no telescoping lens...the lens is inside the camera body, which means it can't break like the Sony broke. Also, there's no viewfinder...the LED monitor on the back is the viewfinder.

These test shots seem a little 'green'. That will give me something to work on. The picture above is Breckan in his new Carharrt bib overalls. And Mom.

New X Games Event?

2005-11-22T18:41:00.000-08:00

Kyra has come up with the term 'Xtreme Tubbing' to describe what Breckan has invented to do in the tub. Although I haven't seen the whole range of tricks, the one I did see included Breckan throwing himself bodily against the side of the tub. Since he is wet, and the tub is wet, he basically mashes and then slides down the side--apparently feeling no pain. I will try to capture some Extreme Tubbing when the new camera shows up. This is classic Breck. Aidan splashed around. But he never went mano-a-mano with the tub structure itself.

Visiting Ava

2005-11-21T17:35:00.000-08:00

I went to visit Ava last week in Maine. BUT MY CAMERA BROKE. So I'm having to resort to some older pics while I am waiting for the new camera to show up.

Here is an older picture of Ava, the picture is almost a year old. She was super when I went over to hang out.

Somewhere in Maine

2005-11-17T19:21:00.000-08:00

I visited Dog Corner, Maine tonight. There was no corner (it was more of a bend) and there was no dog. Oh well, it sounds like a cool place.

No time to blog tonight. Here's a pic of AG Wigglesworth. No he is not flipping me the bird. This is one of his attempts at a 'goofy face'.

Breckan Reprise

2005-11-16T15:34:00.000-08:00

Here's a current picture of Breckan. No changes in personality. His words right now are dog, book, daddy, this. Other sounds include uh, aaaaah, bah, aaadaha, boo. He still has dimples.

Aidan is an EarthBender

2005-11-15T16:39:00.000-08:00

OK, have you heard of Avatar? No? Well, this is a relatively new kids show (it's really fun for all ages) on Nickelodeon. It has a growing fan base. The premise of the show is that in this anime world, there are four castes or civilizations, each with a focus on an earth element: air, water, fire, and earth. Within these communities, the special people can develop skills to physically control and move these elements through the air. Thus, the people from the Fire Nation can become Firebenders, etc.

!Nations!

*Fire: The Firenation consists of the Firebenders. They are ruthless and brave. Firebenders seek power and greatness. Disrespect is not approved in their kind.

*Water: The Waternation consists of the Waterbenders. They are curious and sometimes shy. Waterbenders often wish to help others in need.

*Earth: The Earthnation consists of the Earthbenders. They are stiff and somewhat ill-tempered. Earthbenders, though, can be brave and kind.

*Air: The Airnation consists of the Airbenders. The Airnation was believed to be destroyed by Firebenders. On Avatar Island, young explorers learn the art of Airbending. Airbenders can be serious or fun-loving, curious or ill-tempered.

The guiding force that keep these people at bay is a single human called the Avatar. When one Avatar dies, another is born (like the Dalai Lama). The Avatar is the only human who can master all bending skills. Long story short, Avatar Rokku dies, Avatar Eng is born. But Eng gets trapped in an iceberg for 100 years. He pops out of the Iceberg and then the world is in mayhem. Here is a picture of Eng (he is supposed to look excited in this and full of pep, not evil as one might imagine looking at this picture).

Aidan thinks he is an Earthbender. One of the moves Earthbenders like to do is stomp on the ground really hard, which--fortunately for them--always dislodges a soccer ball-size mini-boulder, which they then kick at their foe. All while standing on the other leg. This is like the left jab of the Earthbending world. Here's Aidan showing the first part of this move:

Stop Clowning Around

2005-11-14T16:03:00.000-08:00

Here's Aidan looking clownish

It was Breckan's Party, too

2005-11-11T14:40:00.000-08:00

The birthday party pics were all Aidan-centric. So here' s a pic of Breckan during the party. He didn't have that much fun in the beginning but it grew on him. This picture also serves to give notice of my new hairstyle or lack of style, or lack of hair.

The older I get the more my face starts looking like Jim Carey or so I have heard.

This photo is courtesy of Bob Polin. The shirt is courtesy CustomInk where they make any shirt you want. Like the one I am wearing in honor of Jimmy Neutron.

Courtesy of Dean Hacker..this rates the worth of my blog based on the value of links others' have made to it

2005-11-10T16:48:00.000-08:00

My blog is worth $0.00.
How much is your blog worth?

Halloween Pics of Breckan Andrew

2005-11-09T18:51:00.000-08:00

I don't want this Holiday to get away from me. I can't believe I haven't posted any pics of this yet. The good news is that I have some great pics of Breck. The bad news is I have no pics of Aidan so I will have to try and get some from Nana.

Here's the Li'l Pirate:

Here is the Li'l Pirate checking out some of his hard-won Pirate's Plunder:

By the way, Kyra hates the expression 'Li'l' as a cutesy form of Little. Not sure why but everyone has their pet peeves. Fortunately for her, my amusement at using it every possible way I could to annoy her kind of flamed out by 2001, a mere six years after we met.

Polin-o-rama at Gymboree

2005-11-08T17:37:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of the Polin family at Aidan's 4th Birthday Party. The above picture is (left to right) Mark and Matty Polin. It was great having these folks at the party. Let me wax philosophic on Matt and Mark a bit (these views do not represent those of his parents, or anyone else but me!).

Matt: I think Matt has made it through the terrible two phase and is certainly maturing. I think he's less aggressive, which is nice. There was a time when he was protective of his turf like an Original Gangster. Now he seems just alert and interested. He's always -- to me -- had a fun and affecting sense of humor, always ready to laugh and take the joke to the next level. So that's still there, and is great to be around. He has a new trait of being protective of his brother, which is amazingly cute. This kid is getting better with age, and definitely has a mind of his own. He is alert, open-minded, ready for fun, active, and intense.

Mark: Mark seems amazingly smart to me. He's kind of quiet, and observant. Seems to be phlegmatic in the face of all that's going on around him, including Matt. To me he looks a ton like Talia Mitre and that side of the family. Apparently he's got the Mitre brains. I guess I should just start calling him Dr. Mark.

Gymboree Venue for Birthday Party

2005-11-01T16:44:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure why I thought Gymboree was a children's bookstore and clothing store. Aidan and Breckan just had their 4th/1st birthday party at a Gymboree. There were no books. There were no clothes. It was not a store. I guess Gymboree could use some help marketing....Why? Because Gymboree is a clothing chain. But there was no cross-merchandising of the clothes in the play area. Oh well. Whatever.

The Gymboree was a play center where everyone takes their shoes off and wears socks. There's lots of slides, jumps, play boats, jungle gyms, etc. Kind of a fuzzy mini playground built for 2-6 year olds.

They had a staff of two who worked there. The staff played fun sing-song kids music, and did activities of singing and imagining. I wasn't sure they needed structured play, but the kids seemed to enjoy it as much as the playground experience.

A fun, fun, fun party place. Thank you Gymboree. Chuck E Cheese is no match for you -- I think Chuck E Cheese is dirty, loud, ersatz, funky throwback to arcades in the 1970's where I suspect every member is either doing drugs, dealing drugs, skipping school, or brain dead from playing to many video games.

Charlotte Trip: II

2005-10-31T15:30:00.000-08:00

We're in the middle of a deluge of kid events and the photos that go with them. I'm going to wrap up the Charlotte trip so I can move on this week to Aidan & Breckan's birthday party yesterday and then of course Halloween.

Here's a pic of all four boys when we were in Charlotte. From left to right: Harrison, Christopher, Aidan and William.

This was taken at The Pumpkin Patch. Dana & Shawn kept us busy all weekend long. Here's a chronology:

We got there Saturdaa little later than expected due to Dad oversleeping.

Once there, Aidan jumped right in because the boys have a big Thomas the Train table in their living room. They have all of the specific Thomas trains, except like four. Will can name all of them. The trains kept Aidan entranced the entire weekend. Monday morning as we were leaving Aidan was still playing trains.

Then the Pumpkin Patch, including group sliding.

Saturday night they watched a movie and the grownups went out to eat. I got a lot of education into Veggie Tales last weekend. It was nice for Aidan to have some fellow Veggie Tales fans to engage with.

Sunday we hung out around the house and carved pumpkins:

The boys played super and took long naps. More movies. Big dinner.

Overall, it was a great trip. It was really good for Aidan.

Our Trip to Charlotte: I

2005-10-29T14:41:00.000-07:00

Aidan and I flew to Charlotte to see AG's Godmother Dana Saylors. She has three boys and Aidan did a great job having fun with them and giving them a change of pace for the weekend. Here are some pics and more details about this great trip to follow.

Harrison is explaining something to Aidan:

The youngest and cutest, Will Graham:

Captain Scolliwog

2005-10-29T14:31:00.000-07:00

Here's the Captain eating some chocolate cake. Yes, it's a bit of his pirate's plunder.
Courtesy of Aunt Shelley, we were ready this year for The 'Talk Like a Pirate' Day. Why limit it to just one day is what I'm saying. Of course, some days me wooden leg be actin' up....
The Captain noticed me complaining about me wooden leg and me glass eye. Captain Scolliwog--in a good instance of pirate one-upmanship -- explained that what was bothering him was his wooden eye!

Fryeburg Fair is coming

2005-10-29T14:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's Marvelous Marvin Hagler. Sparring with my Uncle Jim. They met when Marvelous visited the Fryeburg Fair. Jim is one of the organizer's of Maine's oldest and largest agricultural fair. The Fryeburg Fair is also known as The Blue Ribbon Classic.

My friend Bob has always been amused that one of the big events is the Pig Scramble. Local kids get a chance to chase greased piglets around a ring and bag them into a gunny sack. If the kid succeeds, they get to KEEP THE PIG. When I was in grade school and the sign up sheet came around I never signed up. I was afraid of getting in trouble by coming home with a live pig.

This year, Captain Scolliwog and I will be going to the Fair! I've tried to tell the Captain that there is no such thing as green cotton candy but he's not buying it.

Breckan Retrospective: I

2005-10-29T14:25:00.000-07:00

Breckan is now a year old today. Good time for a pictorial retrospective. His full name--according to Captain Scolliwog-- is Breckan 'Spike' 'SuperTank' 'Tank' Andrew Dolley. The nickname Spike was given to him by the nurses in neonatal intensive care unit because his hair stood straight up.

When Breckito came out, he was strangely silent. Aidan was crying at the top of his lungs from second one, so when Breckan was born I actually thought something was wrong because he was so silent. As you may remember, Breckan had a lot of trouble breathing. He didn't breath on his own. After a few days his breathing got stronger and after a week we all went home from the hospital.

This is a picture of Breckan not long after getting home.

Breckan Retrospective: II

2005-10-29T14:24:00.000-07:00

Breckan was always a big baby. OK, well he wasn't as big as this baby:

But Breckan was off the charts for height and weight. His grip was ultra strong. He would crawl through the wall and ask questions later. He was indestructible. When he was recently in Maine, Uncle Kurt nicknamed him 'Tank'. Somehow this was morphed by those uninitiated in the art of nicknaming as 'The Tank'. (My philosophy has always been that the nickname should be fewer syllables than the actual name). At some point, Tank became SuperTank. Here's a recent picture of the real Tank. (He's lost some weight at the request of the NFL Scouts):

Breckan Retrospective: III

2005-10-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

Breckan's personality traits (note: these opinion may not reflect those of his mother, past results are not an indicator of future performance) are:

a) Breckan wants the next thing in his sightline that he doesn't currently have. Aidan wasn't really like that. Aidan did want to be held a lot/constantly. Breckan is not caught up so much in being held as he is a 'grass is greener on the other side' kind of a kid. Which means he's usually reaching or pointing for something out of his grasp.

b) AG always wanted Dad over Mom. Breckan is pretty much an equal opportunity employer. He'll usually prefer being held by the one currently not holding him.

c) Breck seems pretty oblivious to praise. His desire to talk, walk, throw a ball seem completely endogenous and part of some mysterious outcome he is going for. This shows up in perhaps his most obvious trait of wanting control of his food. He almost refuses to be fed unless he is holding a spoon feeding himself simultaneously. He will not accept someone putting something in his mouth. He is willing to quash his desire for food, clamp his mouth shut, until the feeder gives up, and then he can try to feed himself. This may sound stubborn, but does not seem to be. He seems devoid of emotion: he's just decided he is going to be feeding himself and so he amuses himself in other ways while clamping his mouth shut until the feeder gives up. Often he can be distracted into swallowing food surreptitiously put on his lips.

d) He is kind of the hail-fellow well met. He is always waving, smiling at strangers, grunting hello, and seems pretty much ready for whatever party is 'in play'. I have never seen him shy. Here he is giving a hearty hello to some passerby:

Fryeburg Fair Trip

2005-10-29T14:22:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from my trip with Aidan to the Fryeburg Fair.

1. Why do they call it a recorder?

Here's Aidan in the Rental Car area of the Portland International Jetport, playing a recorder given to him by Grams. I would have thought that some pseudo-governmental, anachronistic, I-can't-believe-our-interests-are-best-served-by-Pat-Buchanan organization like the NEA would have mandated that the recorder be called something else to let school children not get confused. The recorder also featured a prominent Made in China sticker. As if that was something that denoted quality? Check out this example of that unique Chinese manufacturing.

2. Criss Cross Applesauce.

Here's Aidan looking old (to me). Of course just yesterday he was a colic-y baby making me sleep deprived and insane. Aidan calls this sitting pose Criss Cross Applesauce. He calls it yoga.

His school , Northeast Stars, has yoga two days a week and from what I hear Aidan loves it. The first thing he asks when he gets to school is if there is yoga that day. He tells his mom he only wants to go to school if yoga is that day. This is sitting in National Airport in DC.

3. Jocasta Carr, Movie Star

Here is Gram's reading to Aidan. This is a whale book. We also had Truck Song and Jocasta Carr, Move Star.

Jocasta Carr was pretty good. Here's a link to the first lines of childrens' picture books, which is kind of interesting. I have to admit I still can't get over Aidan's cousin Ava who is gifted and at 2 years old could read any of Aidan's books by herself. She also likes to carry around spices. I asked her if she wanted some Celery Salt, and said "No, I have Garlic Powder". She likes the spices because they're at eye level in the pantry and she likes reading the labels, including small print.

Courtney Dutton

2005-10-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

During our trip to the Fryeburg Fair, Aidan had a chance to spend time with two of his favorite family peers: Ava Dolley and Courtney Dutton. I did not get any pics of Ava :(. Here are some of Courtney. I think the word on Courtney is that she is amazingly cute, friendly and outgoing, likes to have fun, can be difficult from time to time (who can't?).

Courtney and Aidan, during the brief time they had together, played super together. Here's a pic of that.

I think these close out the Fair pics. Hopefully next year I can do a better job of highlighting some of the Fair-specific dynamics include the eating tour that Casey Dutton, Chris Dutton, and Kurt Fekete have designed to basically clog a single artery in one day.

Intro to the SS Squidder

2005-10-29T14:15:00.000-07:00

A sister blog to the SS Rockstape, I'll use this one to post pictures of my kids and also some family news....

Like this one from Halloween 2004