Loving brothers - September 30

And they're off...

Big milestone for the little guy today. The safety net is gone--training wheels are off!

Max has a glide bike (bike with no crank/pedals) designed to teach balance. We got the bike for him probably close to a year ago but he refused to ride it. (I think the absence of instant gratification was the big hurdle - why screw around with that thing when he can get on his black bike and haul a$$?? Which, he did. Frequently. With his friend Luke. Through Santa Clara University.)

***Brief aside - For those of you who are single, take note. A cute boy with an oversize helmet going way too fast on a bike in the middle of a college campus is nothing short of tantamount to fishing in a barrel with dynamite. Both Max and Luke are available for hourly rental.***

Anyway, finally coaxed him into riding old blue by telling him that his TV time was predicated on some practice with it. We went once around the block three times last week (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday) and the improvement each time was remarkable. It went from constant struggle to keep the bike upright to kicking furiously. On Saturday afternoon, we went to the alley behind our house and I let him kick around absent any agenda. He quickly found some very gradual slopes at entrances to driveways and was playing around on them. After a few minutes, I noticed that he had both feet off the ground. I stopped him and pointed out that he was balancing on his own. You could literally see the eureka moment. With a giant smile, he said "Yeah, dad. I'm balancing." From that point forward, he couldn't go fast enough, turn abruptly enough, roll backwards far enough, the list goes on...

Saturday night we talked about the plan for today. Beach in the morning followed by blue bike time in the alley. After which, he would remove the training wheels from his black bike himself and give it a rip. He seemed to be on board.

Took him to the alley this afternoon and he was doing great. He retained everything that he picked up last night and even inadvertently pulled a wheelie, which he tried desperately for 30-minutes to replicate. So, I suggested we roll back to the house and I could ride his black bike with him. "Yeah, dad!" Got to the house and, as discussed, he removed the training wheels himself with a socket wrench. Dad rode the black bike back to the alley (much to the bewilderment of our neighbors) and we horsed around for a few minutes. Max was teaching me how to ride down the slope and noticed that my bike was going faster than his blue one. He said "let me try that" and went down the driveway twice. I suggested that he put his feet on the pedals and pedal. I gave him a quick shove and that was the end of the training wheels. From that point forward, it was literally a dash to keep up with him.

I'm excited because, unbeknownst to him, it opens a whole new realm of options (yes - from his perspective but mostly from mine...). I've been taking him into the mountains the past several weeks to ride single track (dad pushes while he pedals on the way up) and he's gotten quite proficient at descending steep trails on his own. (Sorry, mom. Send me the bill for the vomit on the slacks.) However, the training wheels made navigating the inconsistent terrain challenging. He already knows how to ride off obstacles (he'll instinctively get off the saddle and slide his rear end back to suck up the drop) so the next challenge is to get him to do that while braking. When it's just the two of us, he is a fantastic listener and is extremely coachable. Hoping that it comes quickly--dad's got plans...

We've also got learning to swim on the docket for this winter. Max desperately wants to go surfing with dad and the brothers, as well as go out on a boat. He tells us he's going to work hard on it and, judging from what we've seen thus far, neither of us doubt it.

Max has been more fun than I could imagine and that's saying a lot coming from (I know this is going to be a shock to many of you) one of the most selfish people on the planet. Can't wait until Finn 1.) stops crying and 2.) gets a little older. Best friend #2 is en route...

Stay classy, San Diego...

Big brother Max

Relaxing

Finn - September 25

Finn - September 24

Finn - September 23

Finn - September 21

Finn is starting to smile and make cooing sounds. It is adorable!

Finn - September 15th

Max and Finn - September 13th

Our back yard = my paradise

Future surfer

"In Search of Surf" - outfit received from Mommy's coworker Melissa.

Max is such a big boy. I am so proud of him for so many reasons. He is understanding. He is kind. He is sweet and loving. He is the best big brother to Finn. He is growing up so fast. I love him so much. I try to make sure that he knows that. Every day. I think he knows.

Wedding attire or Halloween costume?

Uncle Scott is soon to get married. The wedding is only a couple of weeks away and we are looking forward to traveling to Whistler, BC for the big event. Well, honestly...traveling is not exactly what we are looking forward to since I can imagine it being nothing short of miserable. However, arriving in Whistler and spending some time away in such a beautiful place, attending the wedding and hanging with family is going to be fun. Anyway, Max is going to be the ring bearer in the wedding. It is very nice of Scott and Amanda to ask Max to handle this important duty. Last week, we all went to the mall to buy a suit for Max. You should know that the word "suit" translated into Swedish is "kostym". You should also know that lately we have been asking Max what he wants to wear for Halloween. He seems very open to wearing the monkey costume he wore last year with the long monkey tail. We just need to make sure it still fits. So back to the suit shopping. We are at the mall, find the store and Brent and Max are in the dressing room trying on a charcoal gray suit, size 4. Max is not too excited to try on the clothes and is clowning around. We try to get him excited by telling him that he will be wearing a suit just like Daddy and how handsome he looks. We ask him "where are you going to wear this suit, Max?" He responds "for Halloween". Then he adds "where is the tail"?!! I then realize that the little guy is very confused. He does not know what a wedding is. He has no clue what it involves being a ring bearer. All he knows is that he is getting new clothes and some events are soon to come, including Halloween. Can it be that our child believes that we are at the mall buying him his Halloween costume? If so, no wonder he is disappointed! The fact is that he is mixing up the word "kostym" (suit) with "costume" as in Halloween costume. We tried to explain the difference and the two events. I am not sure he got it. I will let you all know how it ends...

Finn - 4 weeks old today!

Our little Finn is four weeks old today. It is strange. It seems so long ago when we were at Good Sam's Hospital to welcome him to the world. He has changed so much. His cheeks are becoming a little chubby and he has outgrown his one-piece pyjamas. Our precious Finn - happy four week birthday!

Bath time

This picture is from a few weeks before Finn was born but I just found it. Max and Khai at In-N-Out Burger. We really try to stay away from eating fast food and visit In-N-Out only a few times per year. The burgers sure are good though...

The boys' room

Sleep? What sleep?

I don't seem to remember how difficult it was to establish some sort of sleeping and eating routine when Max was a baby. Was Max a better sleeper? Did he eat more regularly early on? Or, have I just forgotten? I don't know. I am just tired. I can't make sense of how much Finn needs to eat. It varies greatly from one time to another. The sleeping pattern is anywhere from 2 1/2 to 4 hours, although the 4 hour stretch has only happened once at night... He cries. Quite a lot. I think he may have a weaker stomach than Max did and becomes upset during and after feedings. It is not fun. I feel so bad for him. I hope he does better soon resulting in more sleep for all of us.

1 month check up

I took Finn to see Dr. Nancy yesterday. I am happy to report that he is doing great and is gaining weight just fine. He is now weighing 8 pounds, 15 oz and has grown about an inch and a half in length.

We are so thankful for the swing...

Can you really ever have too much power...??

According to Linder, yes. According to Max/dad...debatable...

Our big boy and the best big brother ever!

Finn and a tired Dad