The Biggest Shark

I don't remember how we got on the topic, but the other night at dinner James wanted us to name all the fish. Becky and I came up with quite an impressive list, I must say. We then started discussing what are fish (sharks) and what are not fish (dolphins). At a certain point, I asked James if he knew that the biggest fish was the whale shark. He disagreed, insisting that the largest fish was the great white shark. We asked him how he knew this, to which he replied that his friend Theo had told him. We said that maybe we could look it up on the computer together or look in his shark book, suggestions that only frustrated James. He was absolutely insistent. In an attempt to end the argument, he simply declared, "I just know more than you guys."

If he thinks that now, what will he think when he's 17!?

Kevin

James has been very interested in the Titanic lately. It started with a YouTube video and then expanded to a book (which we once read three times in one day). While in New Jersey visiting family for Christmas we discovered their science museum had a Titanic exhibit. Eric and James went to see it and had a great time. Later that night I was talking with James. Here's how it went...

Me:      What did you think of the exhibit?
James:  It was amazing and sad.
Me:       It was amazing because it was so big. Why was it sad?
James:  Because a lot of people died.
Me:      They did and that is really sad?
James:  Did they all go to Kevin?
Me:      What do you mean?
James:  When they died did they all go to Kevin? (meaning heaven)
Me:      Yes they did. (smiling)

Snow and icefishing!

Believe it or not, it has been nearly two years since I've had a chance to play in the show! We had one morning last winter when me and my buddy Freddy went sledding, but that melted by afternoon. I've been real excited to get out there, but we left town right as the blizzard hit last month! Fortunately, it's stayed cold enough that all the snow is still here, so I got to play in it yesterday with my daddy. It was fun, but it was too cold even to make a snowman or snowballs!

And I got to do something really cool...go icefishing! My buddy Freddy and his daddy took me and my dad out to a spot here in town. It was real fun to be out on the frozen lake, especially when the dads pulled us around on a sled. I was curious about how ice fishing worked and pretty disappointed that we didn't catch anything. I guess we'll have to go again!

Snow and icefishing!

Music

I have tried, with varying degrees of success, to get James (and now Anna) interested in the same music as me. I'm not sure if this stems from altruism, a desire to share with the kids what I love, or if it's purely selfish: if they like what I like, then I can listen to what I like without a backdrop of whining. What's been remarkable about this is how James' tastes are so well-defined, even at such a young age. He knows what he likes and what he doesn't like. He likes "loud loud loud rock 'n roll" more than any lullaby or ballad, which isn't all that surprising considering his frenetic personality. His idea of rock 'n roll, however, is wildly unpredictable. For example, see my attempt to get him to appreciate arguably the greatest rock 'n roll album of all time:
http://jamessgangloff.blogspot.com/2012/03/some-things-kids-need-to-be-taught.html

Fortunately, we have found some common ground. For a while, James was digging on The Beatles, especially "Hey Jude". We've danced around the house to Andrew Bird and Beirut. At times, he also requested (repeatedly) "Ring the Bells" by his eponymous rock group, James (a song I regularly play and sing to him before bed):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIHsBJPK6ek

He also enjoyed "No Cars Go" by the Arcade Fire:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P77GfpzqDvQ

This one was interesting because it sparked a conversation about why anyone would want to be in a place where there were no cars. James was incredulous, telling me, "I really like cars, you know."

Our perennial favorite, without a doubt, has been Regina Spektor. James' favorite song this month is "Ne Me Quitte Pas" from her newest album:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWXWivwhi14

This is a great, fun tune. At one point, I had played for him her earlier song, another great, "Hotel Song":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzoiQNvwf2E

The lyrics to this one, however, prompted a most difficult question from my 3 year-old: "Daddy, what's cocaine?" Oops.

Lately the kids have both been into the Laurie Berkner Band, a group lead by (you guessed) it Laurie Berkner that sings fun and goofy kids' songs. I like the albums and sing along with the songs, but, as James likes to say, "it's not my favorite." This morning on the way to drop the kids off at their "schooly", I was looking for something a bit more excited. Last week, I had picked up the most recent release from my favorite Canadian post-punk art-rock outfit, Do Make Say Think. James requested some rock 'n roll, so I tried out the first track: ten-plus minutes of jaggedy guitar-driven instrumental. Imagine my surprise when both he and Anna sat, in awe, as I danced (as much as one can while driving) and pumped my fist to the guitar line. They LOVED it! And you can too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9u7LxVcvx8

Summer Vacation

For the second half of July, the family spent a wonderful vacation in South Carolina. James & Anna got to visit with Grandma & Grandpa, play with their cousins Ceci & Caleb, and spend pretty much every day either at the beach or the pool. James was absolutely beside himself to see his beloved older cousins, jumping up and down and yelling "yay!" at the most mundane events. He and Anna both loved the ocean. Anna is fearless: she would just start walking down the beach, into the water, straight out to the sea without hesitation. She was utterly unfazed when the water was too deep for her and she went under, emerging with a huge smile on her face. You can see some of the photographic evidence of the fun here:

Summer Vacation in Charleston!

Good times with Uncle Mark

Uncle Mark came to visit this week. Despite being overwhelmed by the shear amount of energy and patience it takes to handle two toddlers (as I generally feel daily), he was terrific with his niece and nephew. James asked endless questions about pretty much everything his Uncle said and Anna gave her coy smile whenever he made a farting sound.

We spent some time at the pool in this heat wave, where James got to show off his recently-emerged bravery at handling the slide. Uncle Mark caught a few runs on video, along with this very cute photo of a boy in his favorite shark shirt:

The big slide with Uncle Mark

Summer Fun with James & Anna

Often, we create posts of exceptional things that happen with the kids. Today, I'd like to just post some photos of our normal (well, normal for us) routines: taking a bike ride to the farmer's market, playing outside, and playing inside a tent set up in the garage (don't ask why). Of course, the kids look pretty darn cute in all these situations.

There are also some photos of an unexpected adventure...yesterday Jamie's friend Freddy (and his mom) stopped by to invite us to "see the neighbor's train" out in the country. Having nothing else planned for the day, I immediately agreed, imagining that it was a cool model train layout or maybe an extensive collection of toy trains. It turned out to be both and so much more! Our neighbor, Bob, and his hobbiest/enthusiast friends, have taken a little piece of land out in the country and built a 1:8 scale model train that you can ride! There is a half-mile loop, winding through beautiful prairie and woodlands, and well over a mile of track total. James and I even got to drive the train, a first for both of us! Anna seemed mesmerized by the scenery rolling by (we went around 4 times) as well. James and I both thought how much Poppa would love this!

While on one of our excursions, I had what is quite possibly my proudest moment as a parent. Turning from the scenery, apropos of nothing, James declared, "Daddy, I wish I were a hobo."

I replied, "Me too, kid. Me too."

Summer Fun with James and Anna