Sprinkler Head

Yesterday was day one of vacation even though we were still at home. We kicked things off with a bike ride around the neighborhood to test Joe's biking skills, which he passed admirably. Next we walked to the pool at the same time the clouds decided to roll in making it a chilly outing, but we did get to eat lunch at the super inexpensive "cantina" before heading home. We got a trip to the Hopkins library to pick up books because ours is under construction and learned that it has a bigger kids play area in which to entertain young ones.  Back at home the kids dug around the garage as usual. This time they got out a bucket to have a foot bath like they have been reading about in Fancy Nancy. Water anything leads to two kids running around in their underwear. Add a sprinkler and it gets really fun!  Clara was making laps to the sprinkler where she would dunk her head and then race back to dry off with a towel.  You can see it here.  When the games were done we had some dinner before bed so we would be well rested for our week at Grand View Lodge!

Six and Four-Year-Old Well Child Appointments

We can report that Birdie's hand, foot, and mouth disease is clearing up nicely in the wake of the bambini's joint annual well-child appointments with Dr. Harrington on Friday afternoon, at which they were pronounced well. Joe weighed in at 51 pounds (77%) and measured 46 3/4" (73%); Birdie, 40 pounds (77%) and 41 3/4" (79%).

If they are charming when flying solo at Dr. Harrington's, they are outrageously so when they are not.  They were a smile a minute, up on the table together, examining all the diagnostic tools on which they could lay hands, answering questions asked of the other one--especially Joe, trying to fill in for Clara's relative language deficit. (Birdie is in the place where she has lots of words and so strings them together to talk around the words she doesn't know. And then Joe hops in with the correction or word she wants and doesn't know.) As always, Dr. H was filled with the perspective that comes from having seen all kinds of kids. We are told that Clara will outgrow the (gross) habit of chewing on her hair, and gentle reminders are the order if the day in the meantime. Also, that as a boy, and one of the youngest in his grade, she wasn't surprised he struggled on the organization of his belongings front and this, too, will be better with time, as he matures. They'll likely grow out of these bad habits and such, in other words, which is good, but of course they will outgrow other--some--endearing trappings of their four and six-year-old selves and that is sad. One doesn't always know what will be a phase that will be over in a relative blink, and what is the start of something that won't fade away. In any case, they are such dear little people and we love them so, maddening ways and all.

Go Twins!

Today at Camp Cousin Nick the big activity was going to a Twins game. Clara was out of school so Nick got to escort both to the game.  They were dropped off a few blocks from the stadium and they found their way to the box office and to their seats.  Lunch was procured and later some ice cream. The Twins even won, but more importantly, Skeeta won the mascot race. The trio walked back downtown and found Ted's building so they could all drive home together.  It was a beautiful day for a game!

Tender Moment

Camp Cousin Nick has had an extra camper simce Tuesday after Birdie was up in Monday night with a fever of over 102. (She came in the big bed and it was like sleeping with a thrashing oven.) Turns out, she has hand, foot, mouth disease (which has an ominous sounding name but is in fact just an annoying virus that until it runs it's course, will give Birdie little blisters in her mouth,or on her hands, or feet, or both). Julie came home early Tuesday to take Birdie to the doctor, and as she was buckling Birdie into the car's backseat, Birdie reached up her hands to Julie's face and said, "I missed you, Mommy." Such a tender little Birdie. Julie pressed her forehead to Birdie's and said, "I missed you, too."

Bird Feeder Acquisition

In other news, we have acquired a bird feeder. Joe has been after us to get one for ages, largely because the Berenstain Bears treehouse is seemingly always surrounded by merrily chirping birds. (When you get right down to it, he and Clara would probably jump at the chance to live down a sunny dirt road deep in Bear Country.) We'd been resisting because unless positioned just so, bird feeders are de facto squirrel feeders, and possibly raccoon feeders, and all other members of the Family Rodenta. We've apparently managed to position it just so because we've had only birds flocking to the feeder, but have they ever been flocking! They are eating us out of house and home, Fans. We've been filling it once a day. The bambini like to hoist themselves up on the deck railing by their forearms and looking the birds from a distance.  Really, they'd like to get closer, but they know that if they tried, the birds would fly further away. But they'd be back. The birds now know what side their birdseed is buttered on.

Who Let the Plumbus Out?

We heard Joe singing in this room Thursday night. What he was singing sounded like "Who let the dogs out?" But instead of dogs, it was plumbus. What is that? Fans, it's plum bus--two words. The bus routes for Camp Kici Yapi are named after fruits: apple, mango, dragon fruit--but not strawberries or blueberries, as Our Hero would tell you. (But dragon fruit makes the cut?) In any case, the campers on each route have a bus cheer. There is a contest for best bus cheer each session. Fans, we are sad to report that the plum bus riders did not win, which you might not be able to imagine after you see this video. The cherry bus won. You just know the cherry bus riders must have had some kind of cheer because the plum bus cheer makes you smile big.

Keep On Swimming

So Joe--and his good buddy Graham--have wrapped their two-week session at the Y's Camp Kici Yapi. We are pretty proud of Our Hero. He navigated some challenges well enough to have had more fun than not, and said he'd go back. He talks about Camp Kici Yapi like it's his camp, like how he talks about Susan Lindgren, his school.

We're especially glad because somewhere toward the end of the first week, we learned that Joe was swimming in a life jacket. We asked why. He told us it was because he didn't take the swimming test--floating on his back and doggie paddling, each for something like five seconds. We did not ask why. We are sad to report that we just assumed our water and swimming loving boy was just being lazy or something, and we expressed some disappointment in him. Early in the second week, when we learned that Joe was just sitting out of swimming, we learned that there was another camper, a bigger kid, who was not being nice to Joe in the water--following Joe about and not letting him out of pool.  This kid was apparently swimming under the divider rope between the shallow and deeper ends of the pool, too, so there was nowhere to avoid this kid in the pool. So Our Hero was just avoiding the pool. Smart; it was tough to blame him once we got our smart on and figured it out. But we were disappointed, too. This was, after all, the boy who was referring to camp as "swimming day camp."

It made us sad, too. There are all kinds of people in the world. Not all of them will be your people and that's o-kay. Our Hero is learning that. But now he is learning that not everyone is nice, at least some of the time, which is a tough part of growing up. It's tough to watch, too. Turns out, you never really stop growing up, and sometimes, it doesn't feel like it ever gets easier. Sometimes people aren't nice to you, or the people you love. And you have to keep swimming, even if you take a breather on the side for a bit. (Hopefully your parents figure it out sooner rather than later, too.)

Monday Blues

Today was a Monday in the classic sense--that is, we're looking forward to Tuesday, let alone Friday. Ted was headed to the home run derby at Target Field after work, so Julie decided to take the bambini out to dinner, by way of the little Target to pick up these two enormous stuffed animals they latched on to last weekend when they were there looking at season's end water toys.  She figured they'd smile, and then she'd smile, too.  It worked.  Joe's new friend is a brown dog he's named Berenice (which is a great name for a dog) and Clara's is a pink teddy named Teddy (which is a great name for a bear, and also some boys).  Berenice and Teddy had to stay in the car while Juie and the bambini were at Noodles.  That's how they missed a whole exchange about weddings: when would Mommy and Daddy have been having a wedding for 10 years? (There is some awareness that Julie and Ted are celebrating 10 years of marriage this year--!!!!!) Would Joe and Clara be there? What is a wedding exactly anyway? Where does it happen? What happens? Could Joe and Clara get married? If not to each other, then when they were older? After they had eaten broccoli to get bigger and bigger and bigger. (This last, a statement of fact from Birdie.) Joe commented he would for sure like the cake at the party after the ceremony and was happy to learn it could be any kind he wanted.  By the time Julie and the bambini were home, it was starting to feel like Tuesday already.

Our Hero Turns Six

Fans, we're back. While we were away, Our Hero turned six.  It's the big time: he'll need to use two hands now to show how old he is. We celebrated on Wednesday with the traditional Ekkers birthday cake (save the--six--gummy bears on top which are a modern addition) and then again on Saturday with a party at The Big Thrill Factory which we think we recall reporting here before is really decidedly not a big thrill if you are under the age of 10.  And still, Grandma Connie and Grandpa Charles made the drive up from Chicago for the party! Although it could be that they just wanted to see The Big Thrill Factory with their own eyes.  Although it was a drop-off party, most of the parents stayed, which made it a little more thrilling for all of those over the age of 10. Also thrilling, the realization that Our Hero and seven of his nearest and dearest would be shepherded about by a "party host": Jack, who took in stride the fact that all the outdoor attractions were unavailable due to the rain that was falling.  In any case, The Big Thrill Factory did not disappoint when it came to the Birthday Boy and his guests.  Big thrills were churned out at high volume. Our Hero loved every one.

Waiting for cake. . .

There it is!

The first thrill was the enormous pizza that was served.

Birdie 1.

Two thrill seekers.

All eight thrill seekers.

Our Hero on the bumper cars.

Second time out for Our Hero, first time out for Birdie (and Ted).

Unlocking the Books

Lately, before reading bedtime stories to the bambini, Julie has been asking Clara to say all of the names of the letters in the title of a book to "unlock" the book. Sometimes she's game and sometimes she gets a little huffy and puffy in which case we just wait (because the book is locked--imagination: sometimes it's a drag). Not always, but sometimes, when Clara names a letter in her name, she will point to herself, or tap her head, or add, "Like me!" She will also point to Julie if she identifies an M for Mommy. Before we know it, she'll know the words, too, and lower case Ls won't be upper case Is and G and H will be totally locked down even though they are next to each other. But it's all very dear in the meantime.

Our Hero, Our Camper

Our Hero had his first day of YMCA day camp today. It's called Kici Yapi. It's out of the Cities a bit, as camp grounds tend to be. Joe takes a bus there with Graham, who is a fellow camper. When Julie asked Joe what he'd done at camp, he said, "Swimming, face painting. . .rode a bus a long time--like an hour!" (Later, he quoted a two hour bus ride.) He allowed that he sat by Graham on the bus, but apparently, there were no words spoken--not even, "This bus ride is, like, five hours long, right?!?!"  Turns out they also made lanyards today and went bouldering. Julie asked if, after they got their faces painted, they went around roaring like tigers and Joe said, "No!" in a you-don't-know-much-Mom tone. (Apparently, not everyone got made up like a tiger.) But Our Hero had fun. He wants to go back tomorrow--in spite of the nine hour bus ride.

Birdie Goes to Her First Twins Game

On Saturday Clara attended her first baseball game with Ted. It was a big game for the Twins, against the Yankees.  Unfortunatly, Birdie's father is a sucker for a promotional giveaway so he ensured they were at the ballpark when gates opened two hours before gametime to secure their Tom Brunansky bobble heads (maybe one day Clara will cherish this memento that today she can't even see on her bookshelf). Ted did have the wherewithal to reserve a spot for lunch in the nice dining area.  When we were seated, Clara was very quiet and still which is what she does when overwhelmed.  Tableclothes and waiters are not the norm yet in her world. But after a lemonade, fries and pizza she warmed up. We even took Tom out to nod at us while we ate (the first picture shown was sent to Julie with the heading "Bobblehead and Birdie head"). After lunch we still had almost an hour before game time and Clara enjoyed watching the mascot TC bear hit softballs in the outfield. But pretty soon she was in Ted's lap and asleep.  She slept through a presentation honoring Derek Jeter on his career, the National Anthem (with fireworks) and the first inning of the game. She finally woke when Ted asked if she wanted ice cream.  So helmet sundaes were procured and it wasn't long before the much anticipated and hyped (by her big brother) mascot race.  Babe the big blue Ox (Daddy's favorite!) won a close race just edging out Skeeta and Wanda. And that was all the girl could take, so they headed home where Clara excitedly told Joe that Babe won the race and that he could have a "bubble head" too!

The Fourth of July is For Friends

This long holiday weekend found the bambini seeing all kinds of friends.  Joe saw his best buddy from Mrs. Dvorak's classroom (who will be missing Our Hero's birthday party next weekend), Karlis, at the playground behind Susan Lindgren.  It was, of course, like seeing what Our Hero was probably like at recess.  We can report that he stood on top of the swing and swung standing up which seems like just the right amount of rebellion for a kindergarten.  They also played hide-and-seek (hiding in the same spots over and over again) and moved mud around.  Joe also saw his best buddy from his KinderCare days, Marco, when Marco, his little sister Liliana, and their parents came over for dinner one evening.  You wouldn't know it had been probably about a year since they'd seen each other except in passing in the KinderCare halls ay pick-up time for their little sisters.

But today, we had a visit from Ms. Anne, Mr. Brent, their two boys, Nathan and Andrew, and their four-week old daughter, Adeline.  Ms. Anne let Birdie hold Adeline and Birdie took right to it.  She got herself situated, and then stuck her arms straight out to receive little Adeline, and listened attentively to Ms. Anne explain all the things Adeline couldn't do--like control her arms or hold her head up or even sit up on her own!  Clara often hangs out with Ms. Anne and Julie when Nathan and Andrew come to play and Adeline is maybe just one more reason to do so.  She's all kinds of lovely.

The Bambini Return!

Fans, we've been talking to the bambini on the phone every night they've been at their Grandparents Trump's and can thus report something many of you, Fans, probably already knew: that the bambini's voices sound the same over the phone. Both are in that higher register of children. But we quickly discovered that one can tell them apart by what they say, the relative sophistication of their speech.

So we've been hearing the blow-by-blow of the bambini's adventures in what is, let's be frank, a veritable Bambini Shangri La: they spent their days going to a Lippenzaner horse show, the children's museum, the Lake Forest beach, the library, a puppet show, and the neighborhood pool. It all came to an end today at the Mauston, Wisconsin McDonald's where we met the Grandparents Trumpmobile but no tears were shed because Grandma Connie and Grandpa Charles will be in Minnesota in just six days!

And now we are motoring north on I-94 having a Frozen sing-a-long.  Love is and open door, Fans, and grandparents like Grandma Connie and Grandpa Charles.