Happy Halloween!

I was pretty excited about Halloween this year. Our son is getting to an age where he really enjoys things a lot. That said, I was also a little bit worried that it wouldn't be as great as I remember it being from my own childhood.

Things have changed a lot in our country over the past 30 years. The sense of community that was so prevalent when I was a kid seems to have almost disappeared. It's hard to know your neighbors like you used to. I feared that Halloween, always a favorite of kids, would show clear signs of the strain.

Much to my delight, however, it seems like Halloween is back, and back in style. We started walking around our little neighborhood, and I was pleasantly surprised to find lots of houses with obvious signs of participation. Everybody was in high spirits. Everybody bragged on our kid and how cute he was (always a favorite of any parent). By the end of the night, our Thomas the Tank Engine candy bucket heavy with loot, we drove to our favorite fire station to give a little gift to the guys who couldn't be with their own kids on Halloween, and to get some pictures with the "fy-twucks". Mockbaboy was exhausted, and the fire station trip was a little more like trying to wrestle an alligator than a good photo-op. Nevertheless, we had a great time, and a lot of laughs.

My wife and I drove the short way home with a new sense of faith in humanity. The world hasn't gone completely crazy after all, perhaps. We still live in a great area in a great state with some really great people. My hopes that my son will have as magical a childhood as I did are once again buoyed. We're gonna be alright.

Happy Halloween, everybody.

The Pumpkin Train

I may have written before about my son's fascination with trains. Every day when I get home now, he's replaced our daily routine of looking at pictures of fy-twucks on the computer to looking at pictures of "choo-choo twains".

I've tried to take this interest to the next level, by taking him to train yards and stations on the weekends. It always seems to end the same, though. He loves them from a distance, but they terrify him up-close. For several months it's been this way. So when my wife told me about a "pumpkin train" this weekend, I was a bit hesitant to get too excited about it.

We arrived just in time for the last train of the day. We climbed on board. No tears yet. Eventually, almost imperceptibly at first, the train began to move. A look of alarm briefly crossed Mockbaboy's face, then melted into complete joy - "We wydin' duh twain!!!"










The train drove for about 5 miles, then came to a stop at a small but very neat pumpkin patch. The kids all had a blast. There was a hayride, a spacewalk bouncy thing, and some other smaller stuff to keep them occupied. The little guy and I took a little walk to investigate some of the surroundings.

He picked out a pumpkin that weighed about 400-lbs. He ran all over the place. We finally talked him into getting into the spacewalk. That was a particularly big step for him, and he made it all the way inside and almost bounced a couple of times before he screamed for me to rescue him. We found an old barn and some rusty old farm implements - he had a blast rummaging around and investigating them.

Eventually, we all loaded back up on the train and headed back to the station. One of the conductors offered to let Mockbaboy see the engineer. He made almost made it all the way there before collapsing in a fit of panic. Oh, well. We still have a little work to do, apparently. It was a great day. I got some superb pictures. Fall is finally here, and I couldn't be happier.

The Vaseline Incident

It's been quite a week. So when I got home tonight and found that Mockbaboy was taking a late nap, I gladly jumped at the opportunity to crash briefly myself. I woke up about an hour-and-a-half later, not really knowing where I was. I immediately wondered why the little guy hadn't stirred. I got a little bit worried.

I got up and walked down the hall to his room. I cracked the door ever so slightly and peeked in. He was wide awake, watching Curious George. "Hi, Daddy", he said innocently, standing up in his crib. "Hey buddy"...there was a weird smell in the room, something I couldn't quite put my finger on. Something didn't look quite right, either.

I turned on the light. My son was sort of glowing. Maybe glimmering would be a more accurate description. And he looked wet all over, his hair matted down. Where did all this water come from???

I went over to him and touched his head. In horror, I drew back my hand, now covered in some sort of...goo. This goo covered him. It covered each and every possible surface of the crib. It covered his sheets. It covered all his stuffed animals. It was one of those kinds of messes that only a child can make. The kind of mess that takes lots of time and dedication. The kind that we'll be cleaning up for a long time.

I called for my wife. We both just stood there, looking down at the little grinning halfling that had wrought this destruction. All we could do was laugh. Well, laugh and take pictures with my cell phone.

He cried when I put him in the tub. He cried even more when Mockbamom tried diligently but unsuccessfully to scrape the Vaseline out of his hair. Eventually we gave up and ate dinner, his hair plastered to his head in a most unnatural fashion.

Thank goodness for the web. We looked up "how to get Vaseline out of hair", and found that this is a favorite of a lot of kids. Corn starch was the apparent antidote. We took turns alternately holding him in place in the kitchen and scrubbing the white powder into his locks. He cried again when I had to put him back in the tub to wash out the corn starch. It was only modestly successful. This is going to take a while, apparently. I think we are going to cancel his scheduled hair cut appointment for tomorrow. Unless, of course, they have some magical secret for getting out Vaseline. Never a dull moment, right?

Our Day at the Zoo

I took the day off. I had been at a conference, of sorts, in Atlanta, and had missed out on some quality time with the little man.

We went to a "Tots at the Zoo" class together. Mockbamom decided to stay behind to get some quality alone time - much-deserved.

We arrived just in time. We went to the little classroom reserved for us. There were four children with four parents. My little boy was way more interested in the plastic dinosaurs and animals in the plastic bins at the back of the room than he was in anything our poor tour guide had to say. Nevertheless, I took the opportunity to try and train him to be polite.

Today's lesson was about frogs and toads - every boy's favorite. Mockbaboy adored all of them. He stared into the big aquarium filled with turtles, frogs, and toads, as if communicating with all of them. He was pretty excited. He got especially worked up when one of the turtles started swimming toward him.

We eventually all made our way out into the larger zoo exhibits. Our focus on toads and frogs was soon lost - the kids (all boys, incidentally) were far too interested in the large cats, otters, and ferrets. Eventually, the class broke up and we were left to our own devices.

We made a good effort at seeing more of the zoo until Mockbaboy decided it was time to ride the carousel and the zoo train. The carousel was a blast. By the time we were on the train, he was about done with the whole thing. He was tired, a little hot, and the train whistle kept scaring him. It did give me an opportunity to let him lean on me, under my arm, as I stroked his curly hair. Life would be a void experience for me without such moments.

We slowly made our way to the concession stand for drinks, then out to the car. We'd had a great afternoon together. I've decided it isn't about what we do. It is simply about spending time together. I will cherish today in the special part of my heart reserved for exactly these sorts of moments. I will remember stroking his little innocent head on the train for the rest of my life. This is truly what my life is about. I can't wait for our next little outing.

Our Beach Boy

I had to go to Florida for a work-related deal last week, and the family came with me. The little guy loved the beach this time - it sort of scared him last time I think. A giant sandbox for his trucks...what's not to love, right?I've been wanting to get some good B&W shots with my 35mm camera, and so we planned a photo shoot for the last day...the only day my schedule would allow it. Of course, this meant that a narrow strip of heavy rain absolutely covered the Florida panhandle all day. I had just about given up when the weather broke just long enough to allow me to get some good pictures. Hope you all enjoy.

Mockbaboy's First Haircut

Saturday was a bittersweet day for Mockbadad and Mockbamom. Our little son had his first haircut. I don't know why it was hard. Maybe it is because you feel responsible for every bruise, every cut - literally every little curly blond hair on their heads. We had a bit of a sick feeling in our guts when we took him.

As always, he took it all in stride. No tears, no fighting, no screaming - he just sat there and let it happen. Well, to be entirely accurate, he was identifying each and every character on the "Cars" barber drape they put on him.

"Daddy look! There's Nitenin' Aqueen ("Lightnin' McQueen")! There's Mater!" The lady doing the cutting - she was superb, incidentally - had to laugh. We saved every single hair, of course. I bet she's never had a customer she didn't have to clean up after.

He looked great afterwards. And after the obligatory Fy-Twuck hunt, we went to celebrate at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Don Pepe. He picked at his enchilada and rice. He devoured the fried ice cream.