Saturday, March 8, 2014
Best buds
We know that Harrison and Gavin are best buds and Tucker and Blakely certainly like each other. But aren't these pictures of them just too cute? I think next Friday Harrison might try a sleepover at Gavin's house, they say they are up for it! If it doesn't work, we are one door bell away. He's never slept away from home with a friend before (besides grandmama's house or with her on vacation). He's getting so big!
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Tucker's 18 months Stats
We are already warning Harrison that his little brother may grown up to be bigger than him. And we throw in a reminder that he should be really nice to him now while he's little.
Length: 35" (98th percentile)
Weight: 26lbs 3 oz (55th percentile)
Head: 19.25" (79th percentile)
I know I am biased but this kids is seriously handsome! Watch out ladies!
About 2 weeks ago Tucker started saying his first real word. He said "Shoes." About five days later he said "go" meaning to go and leave the house. About five days later he said "mo" which translates to "remote" for the television. He had learned to mimic "hi" at some point but recently began to say it within context himself; he also formed hello by saying "hi-yo!" It's crazy cute, but he's hard to catch on camera
By far his favorite word, which he has been using for months, is "uh-oh" which is a catch all for anything out of place. He will use it if something breaks or falls, but he will also use it when after he poops (very helpful) and when he needs help pulling two Legos apart.
He is still more aggressive than Harrison every was at this age, but he has learned to respond to our reminders to be gentle and calm his actions. However when he is mad and we aren't responding to him in a way he finds acceptable, he will push, hit and head butt you for attention (especially in your head or face if it is unfortunate enough to be nearby).
When he is not in an aggressive mood, Tucker is super sweet and an easy kid to take care of. When he's tired he will basically tell us he's ready for bed and he is happy to snuggle in with us, read a book or two, listen to couple songs and go straight to bed. This easy going bed time nature is such a relief; Harrison would require three books and truck load of songs along with rocking in our arms until he was on the ledge of sleep... and even then he might get upset when you put him in his crib and you would have to start the singing and rocking again - it was so tiring!
Tucker recently learned to put large Legos together so every day I sit and build with him or he will build by himself. He also enjoys the train set and our animal toys. He doesn't make any animal noises yet, except for "Hoo hoo" which only refers to his owl lovey and "woof woof" which almost only refers to his doggy lovey. But if we look at books and we ask him to point out a specific animal or object he can do it. I've probably mentioned this before but I'll say it again, Tucker (like his brother) loves books, really loves looking at them and having us read to him. This makes me so happy to have two avid readers.
Tucker also takes classes at The Little Gym with me and he has gotten great at climbing on all sorts of things and safely getting down. I was so proud of him recently he learned to walk up an inclined balance beam by holding on to rails on either side of him. Previously this had been a challenge, he would always lose footing, refuse to hold the rails and we would quickly give up. After two runs with a teacher he and I did it over and over until he mastered it and smiled every time.
Which leads me to "focus." Tucker has always been a focused kids. With younger kids, it is common to take away an object they can't have (like a marble) and quickly replace it with another toy. Small children will take the distraction toy because once out of sight the marble is out of mind, they literally think it has disappeared and don't understand that it is just covered by your hand. This rarely ever worked with Tucker, he always seemed to remember the taken object and either continue to cry for it or try to look for it.
This has now morphed into a laser like focus, such as with the beam. He was interested in it and he decided to do it over and over again until he got better at it. This also happened with a small rock-like climbing wall at the gym this week, he was a little awkward on it at first and slipped a few times but on his own he did it over and over until he was going up and down that thing like you wouldn't believe! Although it can occasionally be hard to deal with, we think this is going to be an essential personality trait in him as he grows. Hopefully this will help him in school and almost certainly to help him attain whatever goals he sets for himself.
Length: 35" (98th percentile)
Weight: 26lbs 3 oz (55th percentile)
Head: 19.25" (79th percentile)
I know I am biased but this kids is seriously handsome! Watch out ladies!
About 2 weeks ago Tucker started saying his first real word. He said "Shoes." About five days later he said "go" meaning to go and leave the house. About five days later he said "mo" which translates to "remote" for the television. He had learned to mimic "hi" at some point but recently began to say it within context himself; he also formed hello by saying "hi-yo!" It's crazy cute, but he's hard to catch on camera
By far his favorite word, which he has been using for months, is "uh-oh" which is a catch all for anything out of place. He will use it if something breaks or falls, but he will also use it when after he poops (very helpful) and when he needs help pulling two Legos apart.
He is still more aggressive than Harrison every was at this age, but he has learned to respond to our reminders to be gentle and calm his actions. However when he is mad and we aren't responding to him in a way he finds acceptable, he will push, hit and head butt you for attention (especially in your head or face if it is unfortunate enough to be nearby).
When he is not in an aggressive mood, Tucker is super sweet and an easy kid to take care of. When he's tired he will basically tell us he's ready for bed and he is happy to snuggle in with us, read a book or two, listen to couple songs and go straight to bed. This easy going bed time nature is such a relief; Harrison would require three books and truck load of songs along with rocking in our arms until he was on the ledge of sleep... and even then he might get upset when you put him in his crib and you would have to start the singing and rocking again - it was so tiring!
Tucker recently learned to put large Legos together so every day I sit and build with him or he will build by himself. He also enjoys the train set and our animal toys. He doesn't make any animal noises yet, except for "Hoo hoo" which only refers to his owl lovey and "woof woof" which almost only refers to his doggy lovey. But if we look at books and we ask him to point out a specific animal or object he can do it. I've probably mentioned this before but I'll say it again, Tucker (like his brother) loves books, really loves looking at them and having us read to him. This makes me so happy to have two avid readers.
Tucker also takes classes at The Little Gym with me and he has gotten great at climbing on all sorts of things and safely getting down. I was so proud of him recently he learned to walk up an inclined balance beam by holding on to rails on either side of him. Previously this had been a challenge, he would always lose footing, refuse to hold the rails and we would quickly give up. After two runs with a teacher he and I did it over and over until he mastered it and smiled every time.
Which leads me to "focus." Tucker has always been a focused kids. With younger kids, it is common to take away an object they can't have (like a marble) and quickly replace it with another toy. Small children will take the distraction toy because once out of sight the marble is out of mind, they literally think it has disappeared and don't understand that it is just covered by your hand. This rarely ever worked with Tucker, he always seemed to remember the taken object and either continue to cry for it or try to look for it.
This has now morphed into a laser like focus, such as with the beam. He was interested in it and he decided to do it over and over again until he got better at it. This also happened with a small rock-like climbing wall at the gym this week, he was a little awkward on it at first and slipped a few times but on his own he did it over and over until he was going up and down that thing like you wouldn't believe! Although it can occasionally be hard to deal with, we think this is going to be an essential personality trait in him as he grows. Hopefully this will help him in school and almost certainly to help him attain whatever goals he sets for himself.
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Valentine's Day
Valentine's day morning Harrison found the little Valentine card and the box of cookies I made for him in front of his door - then he went silent and wouldn't answer us when we called for him from our room. About 2 minutes later he comes in with a little card he had immediately made for me. It's mommy and Harrison. Could a mom ask for anything better?
For our very first Valentine's Day together, Michael made us chocolate fondue, on top of a picnic blanket in his dorm room (so on the four square feet of floor between the two beds). I believe it was the first time I had every really had fondue and I was dazzled. So going forward we very often make fondue on February 14th and this year I did cheese and chocolate with a pork tenderloin in between. I did try to take a photo but I need to stop using my camera phone, either the kids move to fast or something is wrong with it because a lot of photos a rather blurry. In any case, I certainly won over Harrison's love with the chocolate fondue, I think I got a "you're the best mommy ever!" comment thrown in there too!
Harrison is Five!
It happened faster than I ever could have imagined. Our first born Harrison Jay turned five years old! I can't help but be a little sad every time one of their birthdays come around, there is always a part of mama that wants them to stay little. However one of the things that makes me saddest is I almost never get a good birthday picture with them. Tucker's 1st? Nope. Harrison's 5th? Nada. I think Harrison's second birthday was the last time I got a decent photo. Oh well.
Birthday's seem to go on and on all week long, despite my intention to not blow these things out of proportion. Harrison's birthday was on a Tuesday and since it was the middle of the week we needed to mark the occasion so we took him to his favorite restaurant, Red Robin. Free ice cream sundae and birthday song, of course.
At school we brought in cookies and he got to wear that sweet blue and green birthday hat too. Later that week Grandpa, Uncle Jon Jon and cousin Argenta flew up for to celebrate with us. With these special family members visiting then we needed to have Auntie Chyna and her boyfriend as much as possible including a dinner out to Emory's on Silver Lake Sunday night.
Sunday morning Harrison got to invite 8 friends to a birthday party at "Island Time" which is a new play cafe near our house. Frozen yogurt, laser tag, play structure and Chucky E. Cheese style games the kids win tickets from and redeem from a giant prize vending machine! And because lunch and fro-yo wasn't enough I brought cupcakes as well; the kid's got to have a candle to blow out, right?! Actually Harrison didn't really understand that he had turned five on Tuesday, he wouldn't believe it was official until he had his "friend birthday party."
So much fun! But since the venue wasn't really well suited to have extended family come to watch, we instead decided to invite them over Saturday night for a casual family dinner and birthday cake.
By the time I took Grandpa to the airport Monday I was exhausted so when Tucker took his afternoon nap so did mom. But the exhaustion was worth all the fun we had all week long. Happy Birthday Harrison!
Birthday's seem to go on and on all week long, despite my intention to not blow these things out of proportion. Harrison's birthday was on a Tuesday and since it was the middle of the week we needed to mark the occasion so we took him to his favorite restaurant, Red Robin. Free ice cream sundae and birthday song, of course.
At school we brought in cookies and he got to wear that sweet blue and green birthday hat too. Later that week Grandpa, Uncle Jon Jon and cousin Argenta flew up for to celebrate with us. With these special family members visiting then we needed to have Auntie Chyna and her boyfriend as much as possible including a dinner out to Emory's on Silver Lake Sunday night.
By the time I took Grandpa to the airport Monday I was exhausted so when Tucker took his afternoon nap so did mom. But the exhaustion was worth all the fun we had all week long. Happy Birthday Harrison!
Monday, February 3, 2014
Dad (and the Seahawks) Go to the Superbowl!
The Thursday before Super Bowl Sunday I took the boys to the Children's Museum. When we packed up into the car to go home, I picked up my phone and noticed I missed four calls and several texts from Michael saying things like, "call me, as soon as you can." What else do you think but oh no, who has died...
Raina: (phone rings, is picked up)
Michael: Oh, thank goodness it's you... (sound of relief escapes his lips)
Raina: what's going on (trying to contain my dread)
Michael: ... I was just offered a ticket to the Super Bowl, but I have to tell him right now... can I go??
Well duh, of course he can go! There are very few circumstances to which I would reply no to that question. I was happy to let him go! And he was thrilled, excited, barely containing his enthusiasm! Here is a picture of he and James in the airport waiting for their plane to D.C. on Saturday morning!
As is our custom, he sent me a text from the plane right as they were about to take off. He also mentioned in a text that when he left the garage at 4am the light was on in my car. Since the kids were eating breakfast I went out to the garage and realized that I had switched the dome light to "on" last night looking for something and had forgotten to turn it off. A turn of the ignition a moment later confirmed that my battery was dead. Just a couple of weeks earlier during an oil change I was told that my battery life was near it's end so I wasn't surprised it was dead. Bah.
Later that night I get these photos via text:
I called James' wife, who lives next door and was also abandoned for the weekend, and asked her if she would be willing to watch the boys for an hour while I got a new battery and she graciously agreed. I hung up the phone. Then Tucker threw up his breakfast. All of it. And then some more. I called Krissi back and cancelled, I couldn't send sick kids to infect her well ones.
Ok, funny little hiccup to start of the weekend alone. I threw the kids in the bathtub and called AAA from the bathroom to get the car jumped. Kids were clean, a very friendly tech came out to the house, all was well again. Total crisis averted.
James is great at taking photos, he sent this one as well:
Tucker was sick Saturday and most of Sunday so we couldn't really go anywhere. It isn't much fun being housebound, especially for the healthy, older brother, but we survived the boredom. What made things a bit harder was the dishwasher had been on the decline earlier in the week and on Saturday it completely stopped working so I had to wash all the dishes by hand. We couldn't eat out since Tucker was sick and I didn't want the kids to only eat fast food so I stayed busy cleaning all weekend. Dirty dishes and vomit off the floors, high chair, clothes and bedding. Fun times!
More fun photos really start pouring in on Sunday:
Dad is due back last Monday night. Monday morning at 5am, I am awoken by Tucker barking and wheezing... he has croup (again, the sixth time in his life, more or less, I am losing track at this point). To add insult to injury he also soiled himself so awfully I had to give him a quick shower without waking up his brother, then I spent the next 90 minutes soothing him in the rocking chair in front of an open window in the middle of winter (cold air is helpful).
My heart, however, was warmed once I viewed these photos from the stadium, and I just knew dad was having the time of his life:
Sleep deprived, I manage to get Harrison ready for school early, drop him off and drive the 20 minutes to the pediatrician so Tucker could get the steroids necessary to relieve the barking cough and the wheezing associated with the inflammation in his throat.
When Michael finally gets home, the kids are asleep, all is calm and the crazy, long weekend is over. I expected sympathy. Lots of sympathy. And souvenirs.
I was offered only a token amount of sympathy, then he regales me with his own bits of awfulness sandwiched in between the amazing parts of a Seahawks Super Bowl victory.
Overall his trip was awesome. Despite the earliness of a 6am flight to D.C., our travelers received a heroes welcome on the airplane and were given some free drinks and high fives and plenty of football conversation. They walked around Times Square which was shut down to traffic and turned into a giant Super Bowl celebration area for several days. As seen in the earlier photos they had dinner and drinks with Robert and his friend and I'm certain bought Robert a round or two for procuring the tickets for all of them.
Here are some photos from news sources:
The game was a blow out, it was amazing the Broncos scored at all. As Michael says, he actually got to enjoy the half time show because he already knew they were going to win. New York City was awesome. The game itself was awesome. New Jersey (where the game was played) was not-at-all-awesome.
For safety, there was a very large perimeter established around the stadium basically guarded by the U.S. military with large weapons and Humvees. No one could drive or walk to the stadium. No private cars or taxis. Everyone had to either (a) pay about $50 for a seat on a charter bus or (b) pay $5 to ride the train in and out of New Jersey.
Our travelers are well acquainted with the New York area and thought riding the train in was a fine idea. So did many other people. Evidently the New Jersery Transit authority didn't think (literally, they didn't think) that so many people would take the train; the crowds were 3 times the size they planned for, they didn't even staff extra people or run more trains.
On the way in, apparently the crowds were all funneled into windowless areas, crammed shoulder to shoulder all the while wearing enough snow gear to keep them warm through the predicted 20 degree weather. Michael thinks it was as warm as 90 degrees in the waiting area; people started stripping off clothes, women pulled up their shirts and pressed their skin against the tiled walls to cool down. It was down right dangerous in there.
Another news image:
I should really make Michael blog, but the upshot is they had to got off one train in NJ and switch to another to get to the stadium. They went through an emergency exit or employee only type door, down some stairs and it was as if they were magically transported to another time... they had ended up one floor removed where the NJ folks get on the train but none of the people from NY were there. All was calm and running smoothly and our travelers managed to get to the Super Bowl without further delay.
After the game, there was an announcement that there was already a long wait for the trains, everyone should stay in the stadium and enjoy the festivities. Ok. They waited over an hour, walked to the trains and found a four hour wait to get on a train. Unwilling to accept this fate, they talked to security guards and asked around for anyway they could possibly walk out of the stadium far enough to get out of the protective border and get a taxi back to NYC. No dice. Michael tried to talk a bus driver into letting them buy a ticket. Denied again. Then he followed his friends to the next waiting bus and they all just walked on, sat down and pretended to be asleep with hats pulled down. They had no idea where the bus was going or how they would get off, but anything was better than their current predicament.
As it turns out, the bus went through the Lincoln Tunnel and they new they were going into the city. The bus then drove right by their hotel. A minute later, a guy walked up to the bus driver and convinced him to let his friend off the bus who was staying in the city and at that point our travelers leaped up, yelled "Go Seahawks!" and ran off the bus.
The next morning it began snowing and many flights our of JFK were cancelled so James and Michael were actually happy they had flown through D.C. However the car ride back now included a lot of people fleeing the city during a very snowy time. Seven hours later they made it and returned to Seattle.
And souvenirs she shall receive!
Harrison got a cool Marshawn Lynch jersey-like t-shirt and Tucker got a cute Super Bowl bear. Actually Steve and Dreslaine were also at the Super Bowl and brought us back more great swag including a puzzle map of the US with all the team logos in their regions (for H), a Super Bowl Monkey for Tucker and I got a black shirt with a statue of liberty with her arms raised in a touch down pose (so many people have asked me where I got it, thank you!).
Super Bowl XLVIII will definitely go down in the Team Fein history blog book as "memorable." One more quick note, upon the team's return the city threw a tremendous parade for them ending at the stadium. Zaidy, Rae Ann and Harrison stood/sat, shivered in freezing temps to see the victorious players return (Harrison has layers and ski jacket on under that jersey!).
Raina: (phone rings, is picked up)
Michael: Oh, thank goodness it's you... (sound of relief escapes his lips)
Raina: what's going on (trying to contain my dread)
Michael: ... I was just offered a ticket to the Super Bowl, but I have to tell him right now... can I go??
Well duh, of course he can go! There are very few circumstances to which I would reply no to that question. I was happy to let him go! And he was thrilled, excited, barely containing his enthusiasm! Here is a picture of he and James in the airport waiting for their plane to D.C. on Saturday morning!
As is our custom, he sent me a text from the plane right as they were about to take off. He also mentioned in a text that when he left the garage at 4am the light was on in my car. Since the kids were eating breakfast I went out to the garage and realized that I had switched the dome light to "on" last night looking for something and had forgotten to turn it off. A turn of the ignition a moment later confirmed that my battery was dead. Just a couple of weeks earlier during an oil change I was told that my battery life was near it's end so I wasn't surprised it was dead. Bah.
Later that night I get these photos via text:
 |
| dad is notorious for blinking in photos |
Ok, funny little hiccup to start of the weekend alone. I threw the kids in the bathtub and called AAA from the bathroom to get the car jumped. Kids were clean, a very friendly tech came out to the house, all was well again. Total crisis averted.
James is great at taking photos, he sent this one as well:
Tucker was sick Saturday and most of Sunday so we couldn't really go anywhere. It isn't much fun being housebound, especially for the healthy, older brother, but we survived the boredom. What made things a bit harder was the dishwasher had been on the decline earlier in the week and on Saturday it completely stopped working so I had to wash all the dishes by hand. We couldn't eat out since Tucker was sick and I didn't want the kids to only eat fast food so I stayed busy cleaning all weekend. Dirty dishes and vomit off the floors, high chair, clothes and bedding. Fun times!
More fun photos really start pouring in on Sunday:
My heart, however, was warmed once I viewed these photos from the stadium, and I just knew dad was having the time of his life:
Sleep deprived, I manage to get Harrison ready for school early, drop him off and drive the 20 minutes to the pediatrician so Tucker could get the steroids necessary to relieve the barking cough and the wheezing associated with the inflammation in his throat.
When Michael finally gets home, the kids are asleep, all is calm and the crazy, long weekend is over. I expected sympathy. Lots of sympathy. And souvenirs.
I was offered only a token amount of sympathy, then he regales me with his own bits of awfulness sandwiched in between the amazing parts of a Seahawks Super Bowl victory.
Overall his trip was awesome. Despite the earliness of a 6am flight to D.C., our travelers received a heroes welcome on the airplane and were given some free drinks and high fives and plenty of football conversation. They walked around Times Square which was shut down to traffic and turned into a giant Super Bowl celebration area for several days. As seen in the earlier photos they had dinner and drinks with Robert and his friend and I'm certain bought Robert a round or two for procuring the tickets for all of them.
Here are some photos from news sources:
The game was a blow out, it was amazing the Broncos scored at all. As Michael says, he actually got to enjoy the half time show because he already knew they were going to win. New York City was awesome. The game itself was awesome. New Jersey (where the game was played) was not-at-all-awesome.
For safety, there was a very large perimeter established around the stadium basically guarded by the U.S. military with large weapons and Humvees. No one could drive or walk to the stadium. No private cars or taxis. Everyone had to either (a) pay about $50 for a seat on a charter bus or (b) pay $5 to ride the train in and out of New Jersey.
Our travelers are well acquainted with the New York area and thought riding the train in was a fine idea. So did many other people. Evidently the New Jersery Transit authority didn't think (literally, they didn't think) that so many people would take the train; the crowds were 3 times the size they planned for, they didn't even staff extra people or run more trains.
On the way in, apparently the crowds were all funneled into windowless areas, crammed shoulder to shoulder all the while wearing enough snow gear to keep them warm through the predicted 20 degree weather. Michael thinks it was as warm as 90 degrees in the waiting area; people started stripping off clothes, women pulled up their shirts and pressed their skin against the tiled walls to cool down. It was down right dangerous in there.
Another news image:
I should really make Michael blog, but the upshot is they had to got off one train in NJ and switch to another to get to the stadium. They went through an emergency exit or employee only type door, down some stairs and it was as if they were magically transported to another time... they had ended up one floor removed where the NJ folks get on the train but none of the people from NY were there. All was calm and running smoothly and our travelers managed to get to the Super Bowl without further delay.
After the game, there was an announcement that there was already a long wait for the trains, everyone should stay in the stadium and enjoy the festivities. Ok. They waited over an hour, walked to the trains and found a four hour wait to get on a train. Unwilling to accept this fate, they talked to security guards and asked around for anyway they could possibly walk out of the stadium far enough to get out of the protective border and get a taxi back to NYC. No dice. Michael tried to talk a bus driver into letting them buy a ticket. Denied again. Then he followed his friends to the next waiting bus and they all just walked on, sat down and pretended to be asleep with hats pulled down. They had no idea where the bus was going or how they would get off, but anything was better than their current predicament.
As it turns out, the bus went through the Lincoln Tunnel and they new they were going into the city. The bus then drove right by their hotel. A minute later, a guy walked up to the bus driver and convinced him to let his friend off the bus who was staying in the city and at that point our travelers leaped up, yelled "Go Seahawks!" and ran off the bus.
The next morning it began snowing and many flights our of JFK were cancelled so James and Michael were actually happy they had flown through D.C. However the car ride back now included a lot of people fleeing the city during a very snowy time. Seven hours later they made it and returned to Seattle.
And souvenirs she shall receive!
Harrison got a cool Marshawn Lynch jersey-like t-shirt and Tucker got a cute Super Bowl bear. Actually Steve and Dreslaine were also at the Super Bowl and brought us back more great swag including a puzzle map of the US with all the team logos in their regions (for H), a Super Bowl Monkey for Tucker and I got a black shirt with a statue of liberty with her arms raised in a touch down pose (so many people have asked me where I got it, thank you!).
Super Bowl XLVIII will definitely go down in the Team Fein history blog book as "memorable." One more quick note, upon the team's return the city threw a tremendous parade for them ending at the stadium. Zaidy, Rae Ann and Harrison stood/sat, shivered in freezing temps to see the victorious players return (Harrison has layers and ski jacket on under that jersey!).
Saturday, January 25, 2014
A Special Fire Safety Video
Last October Harrison and I joined his best friend from school Brady, his big brother Cole and their mother and my friend Kristin to shoot a Fire Safety Video with our favorite Kindie Rock Band, The Recess Monkeys. As Kristin and I watched from the sidelines, the Recess Monkeys invited parents to come out and dance along too. WELL, since I had practiced all these moves with Harrison I was abreast on the choreography and since I love the funky fresh beat I can't help but get my groove on so OF COURSE I wanted to be in the video! And I dragged Kristin in with me (where she promptly did her best to hide behind other, taller adults.
Your children will be watching this Recess Monkey fire safety video in schools, all across the country very soon! And while Harrison and I don't officially get credits at the end, you can find him in a light yellow shirt at 3:06 (but don't blink) and you can find me in the crowd quite a bit starting at 2:38 right behind Drew's head. And if you aren't fans of Recess Monkey yet, they are awesome Kindie Rockers!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjlCvC0VqDM
Your children will be watching this Recess Monkey fire safety video in schools, all across the country very soon! And while Harrison and I don't officially get credits at the end, you can find him in a light yellow shirt at 3:06 (but don't blink) and you can find me in the crowd quite a bit starting at 2:38 right behind Drew's head. And if you aren't fans of Recess Monkey yet, they are awesome Kindie Rockers!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjlCvC0VqDM
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Trapeze
I wasn't much of a "dreamer" as a kid but we often went to the circus and I always wanted to fly on the trapeze. The swinging. The flying through the air. The catching. The bouncing on the giant net. Yes. I have always wanted to do it.
Well, thanks to the wonders of Groupon I recently took up trapeze. It is the most amazing thing I've ever done (next to marrying my husband and birthing my children). After seeing it come up for the tenth time in a couple years on Groupon, I turned to my husband last February and said "Once I lose more baby weight, I am going to do this." He said "ok."
The universe then sent me a new friend, Kristin, mother to Brady who was rapidly becoming Harrison's new best friend at school. After meeting up for a play date, I discovered that Kristin loved to trapeze and had been about eight times in a few years. I now had a partner in crime.
Veteran's Day Weekend I finally went to my first class and caught my "Knee Hang" trick. I immediately bought two more classes, I was already addicted. By November 30th I was back for more and managed to catch my "Heels Off" trick, although one handed (poor dude catching me, you can hear them say I was "late" jumping off the platform).
On Sunday evening (right after the Seahawks won the NFC championship), I donned my Seahawks 12th Man socks, hopped in the car with Kristin and caught my third trick, the "Straddle Whip." It took me some time to figure out the correct position to balance in the straddle upside down and on a couple of practice turns I was sure I would have serious net burns from landing with my face before my torso hit the net!
Oddly I also suffered a "snake bite;" I was whipped by the end of the the rope used to spot a flyer in a harness as I was standing in the safe zone on the sidelines watching. A very experienced flyer came down to land in the net and didn't need to be slowed down on the fall and the rope just whipped through the dude's hands and the tail of it lashed out at me. Evidently it doesn't happen to bystanders often, usually to the dude holding it. Lucky me! Not to worry, I think I literally signed my life away on some legal document.
Notwithstanding minor injuries and a many, many sore muscles and ripped up hands, I LOVE TRAPEZE.
I seriously day dream about it.
I can't get enough.
I refer to it as "trapeze crack." I never want to go to rehab.
Here is the Knee Hang, sorry the first minute nothing is happening, i need to learn how to edit videos properly.
Heels Off:
P.S. I haven't nailed landings yet (enjoy my "ooof!"?). You can't really practice them because it's not the same until you are in someone's arms and released and once you catch your trick, you're lesson is basically over. They did teach me the basics of my next trick, so stay tuned for the "splits!"
Well, thanks to the wonders of Groupon I recently took up trapeze. It is the most amazing thing I've ever done (next to marrying my husband and birthing my children). After seeing it come up for the tenth time in a couple years on Groupon, I turned to my husband last February and said "Once I lose more baby weight, I am going to do this." He said "ok."
The universe then sent me a new friend, Kristin, mother to Brady who was rapidly becoming Harrison's new best friend at school. After meeting up for a play date, I discovered that Kristin loved to trapeze and had been about eight times in a few years. I now had a partner in crime.
Veteran's Day Weekend I finally went to my first class and caught my "Knee Hang" trick. I immediately bought two more classes, I was already addicted. By November 30th I was back for more and managed to catch my "Heels Off" trick, although one handed (poor dude catching me, you can hear them say I was "late" jumping off the platform).
On Sunday evening (right after the Seahawks won the NFC championship), I donned my Seahawks 12th Man socks, hopped in the car with Kristin and caught my third trick, the "Straddle Whip." It took me some time to figure out the correct position to balance in the straddle upside down and on a couple of practice turns I was sure I would have serious net burns from landing with my face before my torso hit the net!
Oddly I also suffered a "snake bite;" I was whipped by the end of the the rope used to spot a flyer in a harness as I was standing in the safe zone on the sidelines watching. A very experienced flyer came down to land in the net and didn't need to be slowed down on the fall and the rope just whipped through the dude's hands and the tail of it lashed out at me. Evidently it doesn't happen to bystanders often, usually to the dude holding it. Lucky me! Not to worry, I think I literally signed my life away on some legal document.
Notwithstanding minor injuries and a many, many sore muscles and ripped up hands, I LOVE TRAPEZE.
I seriously day dream about it.
I can't get enough.
I refer to it as "trapeze crack." I never want to go to rehab.
Here is the Knee Hang, sorry the first minute nothing is happening, i need to learn how to edit videos properly.
Straddle Whip:
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Harrison & Long Beach, WA
Grandmama and Zaidy graciously invited us to join the whole family in Long Beach, Washington for New Year's however it wasn't going to work for various reasons. When they asked, "Well, how about just Harrison?" we realized that would work if he was up for it. With Harrison, you have to psych him up for anything new, especially if we are not going to be there. We told him how there was a beach, a boardwalk, his extended family, movies and lots of adventures. He was very interested but came to us with a list of demands requests which included (but were not limited to) a night of pizza for dinner and his new movies he got for Christmas. Deal.
There were a lot of night adventures on the beach with Zaidy and the new headlamps received for Christmas, a lot of time in the heated pool wherein he really advanced his swimming skills, running up and down the boardwalk, a trip to a light house, eating fish 'n' chips from a boat (converted like a food truck) and overall just a LOT of fun. He said he was ready to come home, but to be honest once he was home he may have regretted that decision.
This is why Harrison is not with us in the previously posted New Year's Eve photo. Although we missed having him with us (the house was SO quiet!), we are glad he had so much fun and bonded with his aunts, uncle and grandparents.
There were a lot of night adventures on the beach with Zaidy and the new headlamps received for Christmas, a lot of time in the heated pool wherein he really advanced his swimming skills, running up and down the boardwalk, a trip to a light house, eating fish 'n' chips from a boat (converted like a food truck) and overall just a LOT of fun. He said he was ready to come home, but to be honest once he was home he may have regretted that decision.
This is why Harrison is not with us in the previously posted New Year's Eve photo. Although we missed having him with us (the house was SO quiet!), we are glad he had so much fun and bonded with his aunts, uncle and grandparents.
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| The Fish 'n' Chips boat |
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