Boatload of videos

Several times over the past few weeks when the kids would be doing something cute, I'd reach for the video camera only to remember that I had videos on there that I didn't want to tape over, knowing full well that by the time I fast forwarded over the precious moments, the kids would cease to be cute and would probably start whining because their father was trying to get them to do what they had been doing only moments ago. So, these are a bunch of videos I've had sitting here since June and I'm posting them to A) provide fodder for the grandparents and B) free up my tape to capture said precious moments.

Highs and Lows

I broke out the "Moonlighting" filter for this one.


Weird day, yesterday. Wife had to work in the morning so I took the kids to my favorite place, Fit4Fun, which is basically a big room with lots of toys for the kids and chairs for the parents. Perfect for a slow morning. And the kids had a blast and played together like adorable angels, as you can see here. Soen drove Sadie all over the place. Every once in a while he'd get out to go to work and she'd follow him. Then they'd get back in and he'd help her get settled and close the gate behind her and they were off again. Cute, right?

Then after their nap they turned into these two monsters who didn't stop whining or crying or fighting all afternoon. Wife and I were counting down the minutes until bedtime.

For me, though, the most memorable part of the day was at dinner when Soen (naked, of course) wiped his butt with his napkin and then put it on the table. And he looked at me like I was crazy because I was having trouble finding the right words to express my confusion and displeasure. Go figure.

Some cool photos

Kindergarten

My smart-aleck kid.

Soen started kindergarten yesterday. We were a little worried that it would be a tough transition for him. Not only is it a new school, but none of his friends from his pre-school were going to be there. And so of course, when he got there, he basically told his mother to scram.

In short, he loves it. He told Wife that he wants to go there every day. And he said it just like he said "Daddy I'm starting to WIIIIIIIN!!!" in the air hockey video below.

Here he is showing off his new Speed Racer lunch box. We thought we were being cool, but of course every kid showed up with their brand new lunch box, too. Luckily only one other kid had a Speed Racer one.

It's funny how excited kids get about some things. Like this lunch box, for example. The dude wouldn't let it out of his grasp. He took it to the pool and wanted a snack--not because he was hungry, but because he wanted to use the hidden compartment in the bottom. I can't say I blame him. It's pretty cool. I still remember my Evel Knievel and Space 1999 lunch boxes. And they didn't even have a secret compartment.

Slip and Slide!

Remember this crazy thing? The Wham-O Corporation finally figured out that people were killing themselves on this thing, and they added cushions. Now it's just pure fun. These were taken during my cousins' visit. I managed to get a good photo of Soen and his cousin Ava, but not Sadie or Ava's sister Michaela.

By the way, in case you're curious about the whole second cousin and first cousin once removed thing--and who isn't?--Wikipedia has a nice page about it.

Poor kitty cats

A brief moment when Jackie is not being mauled by Sadie.

Our cats live outside, full-time. This was a decision we made when we moved down here as we were tired of having cat hair everywhere. This has made the cats especially love-starved, which has made them put up with behavior they normally wouldn't. Take Jackie, for instance. He used to be rather aloof. Now he'll sit there as Sadie destroys him with love. He, unfortunately, is Sadie's favorite. When she sees him, she starts yelling "Meow meow!" although it always comes out as "MAO MAO!" As you can see here, however, he doesn't seem any worse for the wear.

Gromit has had the most astonishing transformation. She used to be... well, a total bitch. Now, she's just an occasional one. She's so incredibly starved for love, she'll endure several minutes of petting before suddenly freaking out and scratching the nearest hand, which is usually Soen's. For some reason Soen has taken a liking to her, although he told me yesterday, "I used to like her all the time. Now I just like her sometimes." That's about right.

Our third cat, Dublin, hasn't changed much. He still--sensibly--doesn't like kids. He'll being sitting there, lying in the sun, and as soon as he hears Sadie he tears off into the garage, with Sadie running and yelling "MAO MAO!" after him.

This photo seems a little more illustrative of their relationship.