Tunnel

We are in 11 inches of snow. People are walking more and smiling more. Instead of going to work people are going sledding. It is snowy but not cold. Just cold enough to have snow. That's the good kind of winter. I have forgotten how much I love shoveling. I shoveled half our block and the steps of John's house because he is kind of old. Nobody owns a shovel here. Nobody owns a shovel and people are really into coffee. I don't know if either is very true.

White

There has been no school this week so we have not gone to Boyer and we probably wont have coop tomorrow. Burmy has been over working on the house design. Today we made a snowman. I feel like Finn should be restless but he doesn't seem too bothered. He is starting to watch videos a little. We have a couple nature videos and an HBO bit with Aaron Neville singing. Yeah, I'm working on finding better stuff.

Birthday Party

We celebrated Finn's Birthday and then it snowed.

Christmas lights in Renton

We went to Renton to see Santa Claus with Dana and Renae. Finn still looks uber tough and asked Santa for a new eye. Santa said he didn't know if he could get him a new eye. Finn said that he better make it happen because brake lines can snap at unfortunate times and that would be a shame to lose control when going at the speed of the love of little boys and girls or whatever powers his sleigh. They seemed to understand eachother. Then we went and got pizza.

The eye

Surgery Day

We went to Swedish Hospital at 5:30 this morning. The children's waiting area got busy fast. There was a Russian woman and her daughter with a translator. Maybe there to surgically correct all of her backwards Rs. Our anesthesiologist had a beard. There was a mixup on the schedule and he said he had been at home reading the paper and talking to his dog when he found out. They cut the left eye muscle on one side and lengthened it on the other to help correct the crossing. They use a scissors. The eye was crossing and the brain was beginning to ignore it which was causing vision to decline. The surgery won't directly improve his vision but it will make it so it doesn't get worse. So, now it is over and the surgery went well. Finn's eye looks like it has been headbutted by a badger but he is doing well. Mostly sleeping and throwing up a little which is common after this surgery. Thanks for all your thoughts and calls.

Monkey

This is Jessica's monkey Japeto.

Sam on the longest pier.

This is in Oceanside where my brother Sam is now living with his girlfriend. There is a playground near here right on the beach. Surfers in bodysuits. Brave sun bathers. An officer saying a dog needs to go back on his leash. Spots on the sidewalk that looked like aging blood.

Carlsbad beach

We visited Jessica in San Diego this last week. I could not live in Southern California but the weather is hard to beat.

Sharing a glass

Blix, Henry, and Finn.

The arroyos

I remember being in Colombia on the coast in the rainy season. The streets would fill with pools of water. A few enterprising people would make bridges out of planks and cinder blocks and charge people a few pesos to cross the street on them.

Painting

This is Finn's teacher Mary Ellen. She is from NY and even though she only weighs 108 she can bench 150. She has Nationals next week. She is great. We have class at Boyer on Mondays and Wednesdays. It is pretty structured with play and music times. Finn has speech therapy too because he does not talk that much. Most days I don't worry about him. He is a magical little creature.

President Obama

After months of checking the Huffington post multiple times a day and watching endless pundits and talking heads, it is over. My friend Stewart said he almost bought an American flag. It is a strange new pride. Maybe it will be a golden age. It seems possible. I met a middle aged german man in Santiago who said "I went to McDonalds and it was very bad." He said it as if he was blaiming me for that and all the rest. Now we have a second chance to not be blaimed for so many problems but maybe even be thanked for coming up with some solutions. Hooray for Barack. Maybe I will buy a flag.

Rubber band found in bushes.

Foraging

Seattle has free grapes. Also apples, pears, dates and endless blackberries for a short time. We gave away candy as is the ritual this evening. Finn spent an hour playing with the ipod. Plugging it in, pushing play, dancing, unplugging, and repeat. Lara asked today at coop if Finn was sad. I said I thought he might be getting a cold even though I did not think he was. He seemed to be his normal self which is sometimes very quiet and sometimes exuberant. I hope he's not sad.

Sculpture Park

Stewert, Blix, Finn and I went to the Olympic sculpture park. You can't touch the art which is one of those really sad parts of life. I like seeing sculptures with a patina of so many caresses. I like it on public maps how the 'you are here' has been rubbed to the bone. They were loading up gigantic traffic cone sculptures. I will miss them. You could touch them.

The fat of the land

I spent the afternoon at Solar Joe's farm on Vashon island. It is always a pleasure to meet genuinely kind and thoughtful people. We raked leaves and mixed it with horse manure for compost. They have three kids with land to run on and chickens to chase. It looks like a great setup. Then back at our ranch we danced.

Holloweenish

It's hard not having pockets. It's great being able to fling fireballs and lift heavy objects. We went to Felix's Montessori party where the pumpkin that won best painted didn't have any paint on it. A little boy dressed like a cowboy said "I'm going to shoot you in the penis." Luckily I was able to protect my genitals with my cape. K and I went to a work party afterward but went home after an hour because Finn was exhausted and unable to fall asleep at the babysitters.

Uncle Burmy

Burmy and Jessica are in town for a week.

Stroller Derby

'House' is a new big word for Finn. You never really notice how many houses there are in a city until you have someone pointing them out to you. We walked past a Greek Orthodox church with lots of tile and chunky stained glass. Finn loves to push the stroller. He wont let you help steer. We stopped by Chip's and pushed balls around with brooms in their new kitchen.

Lincoln Park

Finn and I went to the park with friends. I thought how lucky it is to be a stay at home parent today. We swung, threw rocks in the bay, and played in leaves. It is a good way to spend a Tuesday morning.

Olympics begin

The Olympics have begun. Kendra is pretty in to them. She says she is competing. I heard an athlete say he was "in it to win." I think all Sears portraits should be done by television light. We all watched some of the gymnastics together. It's rare that we make it down to our basement and tv. The reception is part of the problem. Some gymnasts hug with one arm and some hug with two. My Dad hugs with one arm.

Humming Bird

One of my cats caught a hummingbird. Nadia probably. It was injured and tiny. Which is somehow worse. I tossed it in the air and it flapped for a few seconds and then fell back down into my hands like the smallest of bean bags. I left it among our bamboo hoping it would fly off but knowing it was screwed. It's little heart would slow to that of an elephant and then to that of a dandylion and then it would die. It's beak was so long, it's food having to travel farther then its blood. I look for it in the morning but it was gone. It would have been fun to have a funeral, start a miniature graveyard.

Inchworms

Today at the zoo my friend Whitney's son Gabe got mixed up in a game of red light green light. The leader wasn't giving enough time between lights and the game just melted away into a game where you run. I ran into my neighbor Shelby and I introduced Whitney saying "You both have the most messed up mothers I have ever heard." Which is true. I am not very good at introductions. The flowers K sent from Chicago died and on a jog some young girls, maybe 7 or 8, said look we found these inch worms, one is named inch and the other is named incher. I said they should name one millimetero, the great Spanish inchworm acrobat. I said good luck finding more then I sensed a parent in the doorway. I should have looked up and waved while I was leaving but the thought went threw my head of maybe you shouldn't talk to kids of a certain age. Everyone is so suspect. I guess that means I am a pervert. Shit.

Catch up

We went to the Aquarium today. On the walk there Finn was looking at two cops. One said "He looks like he has never seen a couple brothers in uniform." Ha Ha. I guess he hasn't but he is pretty young and besides, was that like a line from a movie you are quoting. It was such a random thing to say. Especially since the cops weren't black. Okay, they were black but it was still strange. Then we petted star fish.
The fence looks nice but my neighbor is "short right now" and may have to pay me his half "when he gets it". Nice.
The five days without K went fine but it is really nice to have her back.

The fence going up

But slowly. We work when Finn is napping mostly. Today we were putting in posts near the bedroom and I walked by the window and he was looking at me. He smiled and then I smiled. Then I would hide and jump in front of the window. He would smile. This went on for a while until I went inside and made lunch. Kendra came home early not feeling well. I have a sinus infection but I like it. It makes me feel alive. You should try it.

Mochi

Sam was in San Diego. He got a little sunburned. He was visiting a "potential sugar mama." She is a ornithologist. K and I went in for genetic testing to find out what kind of albino Finn is. That is if it is just eyes or skin also. The testing would be expensive and since it doesn't matter at this point we decided to skip it for now. Sam is eating Mochi ice for the first time. He didn't like the gelatin skin which surrounds ice cream. I think they are one of the greatest things in the world.

Water and Mud

We went over to Linda's. We picked up Sam and ate at a Mongolian Grill. That's all.

Insult to injury

We went out for breakfast and Finn hit his chin on the table and bit his lip. He was bleeding a little and crying so I picked him up. He was getting heavy so I changed sides and in so doing bumped his head on a wall lamp. Not hard but still. People were watching the crying baby so after I bumped his head I looked up and at least 4 people were wincing slightly. Then he nursed and fell asleep. Finn has a little bit of a cold right now.

Rock

Today we took out the fence and broke out the concrete posts. Then I dug holes for the new fence. To make the fence level I am using metal horse fence and rock for the first two feet. I think it will turn out pretty swell. The weather is perfect today. Then we went over to Mark's house and played guitar hero for the first time. I preferred this rabbit dancing game.

Let them eat dirt

First we were eating pineapple. Then Finn walked over to a flower bed and took a nice forkful of dirt.

Mary Ellen's visit

This is Mary Ellen. She can bench press 125 which is the 2nd best in the nation for her division. She also helps Finn with his vision problems. They mostly just play games. She is kind of great. She is from Brooklyn. Carrie watched Finn and K and I went to the Homestead restaurant down on Alki.

Waffle Baptism

I wonder how old I was before I tried my first waffle. What's not to like in a waffle. I prefer them with nuts or fruit inside. I usually overcook mine I like them crusty. Chip made waffles. Then we went to the zoo. Where do girls learn to make a show of being afraid of spiders? Like around 8 or 9 maybe. Are they really afraid. If there is a group sometimes there almost seems to be a contest to who is more uncomfortable around spiders. This is what I thought about while Finn did laps around this exhibit.

Kendra in Chicago

This would be the first night Finn has spent without Kendra. As you can see things got a little crazy. We ordered pizza and got wasted. I'm still hung over. I just tell other adults that Finn isn't hung over also. He is just teething. They seem to buy it.

Playing with other kids

First time at the wooden castle at Westwood Village today. He was playing this game with another little boy where they would put wood chips on a bench and then knock them off. It is neat to see that leap happening between independent play and this kind of thing. I went with Chip and Quine was chewing on wood chips. Finn looks like a retiree with his hat. Soon he will be asking me for a metal detector.

We switched calling plans so we have new phones. The old ones have been given up to Finn who can make calls to a woman who always says service has been suspended. I hope he learns how to say "service has been suspended" before he can say "juice." We played this German Board game with camel trains. I had no idea there is such a large world of board games. Whitney won. It was Matt's Birthday. Today at the park a mom was pretending to be a monster and chasing her kids. She was really good at it. It made me want to play.

Enrichment

Kendra's pal Jessica is an exotic animal trainer. She owns all kinds of rad things like a kinkajou. By law she has to add new things to their environment periodically. Like a pine cone or a ball. It's called enrichment. I think of that log she had to keep sometimes. Today we added enrichment for Finn. Kendra got a tall file cabinet from work. We played with the drawers, we chased each other around it.
We did go play at High Point community center. A mother said she named her son after a movie character. She said she just liked the name though because the character himself was nerdy and week. I once told a mother "oh, my son's name is Finn too." She informed that they spell his with a ph.

Kendra is 16 times 2.

Kendra doesn't work on her birthday. Instead of working Kendra breakfasts on chocolate croissant and cappuccino. Then she has a massage. This is followed by lunch where she read something or other book. Then we dropped Finn off at his buddy Blix's and K and I got takeout and watched a movie. I think before when we watched Blix for Meisha and Stewert they said they frosted cupcakes. I am now reusing the codes I used in high school for the naughty lil' bits.

The taste of blood

Finn woke up today at 10. We went to Lincoln Park. There were two kids in matching sweat suits similar to what their mother had on. I thought it unfortunate for the kids that their parents dress them like they do themselves. Then I noticed Finn was wearing a pair of cords and a sweater not dissimilar to myself. Poor kid. He ran into a pole and cut his lip. That, my son, what you are tasting, is blood. It's slightly metallic and makes me think of plowed fields. I told him this but he just cried. He doesn't even know what a plowed field is but he knows what blood tastes like now.

Finn is allergic to strawberries. It gives him a rash.

Easter Sunday

We celebrated the resurrection of God's own son with ribs, home spun mac n cheese, coleslaw, and corn bread. Mark, San San, Ben, Sarah, and lil' Chile came over. It rained and the wind was fierce. It didn't matter though because we had soul food and enough boiled eggs to stage the Passion Play. It turned out really well this year. I think next year might be a themed passion play like "Tropical Island" or "Killer Bees". This is the fourth year I think. It started on an Easter back in North Dakota or Nodiggity Dakota as everyone calls it. No one calls it that. Got to bag it up.

Happy Easter.

Leap Day

I went around picture taking with Finn in the morning. I have reconnected with taking an interview a day. It helps keep me present. Sometimes I feel like having a child makes you disappear at least a little. Sometimes a lot. You're just chasing chubby little limbs and changing diapers and then you finally stop and while tying your shoes and you realize that you can see through your ankles. Luckily I often didn't often feel completely present and solid with my life before having him so I can't really blame some fading on him.
While Finn was taking a nap I wrote. It's the first time since my computer crashed. I wonder what my first rejection is going to be. I am working on the ice breaker story. That would be a great rejection.
More than once someone has mentioned a computer crashing and I have a quick barcode scan of a thought about being 4 or 5 and having a race car birthday cake and drinking orange crush.

Crush. Crash. Orange mustache. How y'all like it when I freestyle?
This evening we went to a wii party with Kenda's coworkers. I met one of her pharmacists husband who can't taste.

Details

Burmy and I worked through some details today of the studio project. We went to Costco first. You can buy six pounds of gummy bears there. Burmy did and they weren't as magical as I remember them. Do you know what is magical? Mo's chocolate bacon bar. Wow. Magic. Magic with diced bacon pieces. I am afraid of going to go get the permit for the studio. It will be expensive. They will want more information than I have. I will have to return and pay more money. It will be worth it though because I will have somewhere to store the equipment I plan to procure to make my own bacon chocolate.
I have an ice cream maker. Hmmmm........

Dinner and Games

We played games over at the McBride estate. The spinach hummus turned out rad but the blueberry pork chops were disappointing. Whit and I have decided to cook every Monday at noon. Lovely.
Kendra redeemed herself with a strong showing in the Wyet Erp game.

Hidden donuts

Mary Ellen came over today from the Boyer clinic. She comes every other week now until Finn turns 18 months and then he will go to classes at the clinic. She says he is doing great and may be in the class as a 'typical' Because of his nystagmis he may be eligible to free college tuition. So life may always be a plump blur past a couple feet but you might get to learn about other blurry things for free which is really kind of great.
He spent ten minutes this afternoon moving his stacking rings to under the couch.

Science Center

Finn and I went to the Science Center today with Finn and Henry. It is sort of a child paradise with a hundred things to hit and climb on. I was excited about seeing the naked mole rats. They also have animitronic dinosaurs and even a butterfly park. There was a kid who's shirt said troublemaker is my middle name. Are you setting up a child by this shirt or is it just a shirt? His mom read her book and ignored him while he teared around the babes. I didn't catch her middle name.

Samples at Trader Joe's are the perfect size for a baby meal. Okay, two.

Cat is the winner

Finn and I went to the library today and we found this great children's story called "I want to eat a child". A baby alligator refuses to eat his normal breakfast of bananas because he wants to eat a child. When he gets his chance the child tickles him and throws him in the river. That is when the moral is learned about eating what you have. The last line is "Then I will get Big so I can eat a child." It is pretty great. There was a mother there with her son and I told her the plot and she said her son likes bananas. I told her if he keeps eating them then he will get big enough to eat a child too....you know....like the book....Is this thing on......just flew in and boy are my arms tired?

Finn said his first word and the winner is......Cat. I asked him if he said cat. I said it a few times and then he said it once more in a sort of experimental way. He was petting Nadia and said cat. Rad.

Walking without mittens

I heard something interesting on NPR last night about how people who have short term memory problems benefit greatly by taking photos of important events in the day. This seems obvious but it made profound differences in there lives. I suppose we lose so much of what we don't document. Especially if we really are just our memories. Then again, we are also what we forget.

Finn won't keep his mittens on. This makes walks shorter. I met Stewart's Dad today and he told me about all these projects from how to display a missle being launched to making truckers go without sleep. He also watched over 400 movies last year. He is pretty neat. To top it off he is English. Finn got cold on the walk and I had to carry him all snuggled in. He is getting so big for this.