Overheard

Trip: Do you love Sponge Bob, Yogi?

Yogi: No.

Trip: You don't? Why not? He's so cool!

Yogi: I like him. I like Sponge Bob. But I don't love him. I don't want to marry him.

Smooth operator

While we were sledding, Yogi asked if we could get some hot cocoa. We'd gotten some on the way up to Snow Valley, so I said no, that one hot chocolate was enough. "But mom!" he said, "I really want hot chocolate. I think it would be so romantic."

Don't know where he gets this stuff.

California Weekend

This past weekend we spent a few hours on Saturday at the beach building sand castles (actually we built the Shire, Rivendell, Mordor, Isengard and Minas Tirith out of sand). Then on Sunday we drove up to Big Bear and had a wonderful time sledding and making a snowman at Snow Valley.

Amazing place.

The downside is that I seriously injured my tailbone on the bumpy sledding run but it was totally worth it.

Happy New Year!

We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Lots of swag for everyone. Yogi's pile literally almost fell over on him at one point.

We created a New Years ritual mash-up by writing up three limiting beliefs and burning them (new age) and then we (Shelley, Hope, Gramma and I) took turns smudging the house (various traditions) as the others sat and rang a meditation bell 108 times to keep away the 108 human weaknesses (Japanese buddhist).

One New Year Day we had our annual pancake party and a bunch of folks came over and ate and talked and had a merry old time.

Two Dogs Fighting

Yogi went to Jinenkan this morning and learned balance. He got a sticker that says "balance." I think about all that I've learned, and what stickers I might receive.

Another milestone: He saw two dogs fighting. "Look - they're stuck together!" And they were. Then they pulled apart, and Yogi exclaimed, "What the..? What was that??"

I explained that the large angry looking thing the dog was now licking was his penis, and that it had been inside the other dog and that was called mating and that's how dogs make puppies.

"You know the Special Hug?" (This was the limited explanation we'd given before about how people make babies.) "Well, that's how dogs to the Special Hug."

"What about humans?"

I explained that humans mostly do it lying down, in a bed for example.

"Do they get stuck together?"

I reassured him that they did not. This seemed to be enough of an explanation for him.

And that's how Yogi had his first real introduction to sex and reproduction.

Yogi Meditates

Yogi has meditated with us occasionally in the morning when he is up at that time. He lasts about 20 seconds, which, if you think about it, is probably more than enough for a six year old consciousness. He's probably meditating all the time in a way.

Yesterday he told me about meditating at school.

He said he was meditating in a blue barrel in the yard. But it was noisy, and it got too hot, so he go out.

Today in my parent mail box at school was a sign that I guess he'd had posted on the barrel. It read, "Yogi is in here. Please, check him before make any sounds. He is meditating."

Moles

Yogi and I were discussing beauty marks.

"They're really just moles," I said, "but people call them beauty marks."

"Do I have handsome marks?" he asked.

Yogi learns Risk

When I picked him up from school today, Yogi informed me that he started his first game of Risk today. He's playing with teacher Nitai and another kid named Noah.

Yay!

Yogi's first dig

Yogi got an excavation kit from the Page Museum at the La Brea tar pits for his birthday. He used most of his free time yesterday to excavate, and has freed all the bones.

He also made his first movie. He shot some tests with his new video camera, and then made a Totoro movie, which consisted of me moving and doing voices for and manipulating some figures he made out of the wax from Laughing Cow cheese while he shot. He's made Totoro, a baby, a boat, a baby bottle and a maraca. We added in a mini monster from one of his toy sets, and that's what the adventure consisted of. He then asked for me to put The Chronicles of Narnia DVD on, and spent the rest of his time before bed shooting the TV playing the DVD. I mentioned video piracy, but he seemed disinterested, preoccupied as he was with shooting.

Yogi words

I'm always impressed with Yogi's use of language. Lately he's been incorporating made-up words. Two that I like especially:

"Oh, mayonnaise!" for dismay.
"Darnicles!" for disappointment.

Today is his first day in Mountain Yard. He is more excited than scared now. At the end of last year he was concerned about kids hitting in mountain yard. But he seems to have resolved that.

His birthday party last Saturday was lots of fun! A dolphin jumper, the big blow up pool and make-your-own treasure boxes kept everybody entertained. We had water melon and ice cream cake from Ben & Jerry's (Yogi selected Half Baked and Banana Splits ice creams, which made for a very complex combo!) Present were Yogi's best friends Trip and Alienor, Keller, Jordan, Oliver, Annika, Julien (all from Play mountain Place,) Brennen and his little sister Gwen (neighbors.)

I can't believe he's six. He's so amazing, funny, smart, compassionate, thoughtful...and so much more. Since the day he was born, I've felt privileged to know him.

Happy Birthday Yogi

Now we are six.

Time sure flies when you're having fun.

I have so much to say, so much love and admiration for this little boy of mine, that I am actually at a loss as to what to say.

We need more pictures!

So here's the news: Yogi is going to Disneyland today with Jonathan. That should be pretty great. I wish I was going with them.

Yogi turned 6 yesterday

Hard to believe. Six years old. Like the Winnie the Pooh story.

Here's how Yogi's day went:
Woke up and had family breakfast, complete with home made granola scones he and John whipped up.

Went to his childcare (park day with Rose) where they made him a birthday banner and had banana splits in honor of the occasion. (They also made an excursion to Denny's, which was not part of the birthday festivities, but contributed to the tummy ache later in the day.)

Picked up by G-Ma and went to the Hawiian restaurant for shave ice.

Met Mom at his favorite restaurant, Mrs. Garcia's in Culver City, for tamales and flan. Opened his gifts from G-Ma (Lord of the Rings audio book and digital video camera.)

As we were leaving the restaurant a stranger stopped us to tell me how beautiful my necklace was - a necklace that Yogi had made. She and Yogi got into "a big talk" about it, as Yogi later recalled.

Got into his mom's car and discovered a present from Rose.

Opened the present at home (two different kinds of launching planes, one a rubber band type and the other spring loaded, and a big box of Kinnex, which are kind of like tinker toys.)

Played with all these new toys with Mommy and Daddy until bedtime.

Daddy read Merlin while Yogi and Mommy fell asleep in Yogi's bed.

What a good birthday day!

The Kid Party is on Saturday. There will be our big blow up pool and a dolphin jumper. He asked for a pirate or Spider Man jumper, which they didn't have, so I hope dolphins work.

We don't know what we're going to get for his birthday yet, partly because he has so much already.

Kate's Wedding

We just got back from a week in Portland Maine visiting with family and seeing my sister get married by the side of a river in Gardiner. It was wonderful (if a bit humid).

Kate asked me (John) to read a poem and Yogi was the ring bearer. Yogi was the ring bearer for Rob Wenk's wedding a few months ago but during that ceremony the best man forgot to give Yogi the rings so he never got to bear the rings (he said that he "un-beared the rings"). Yogi was disappointed by that and was very excited to have another chance to be a ringbearer. He took the job very seriously and commented on a number of occasions about how important he was. In fact on the way home he said that the only reason we went to Maine was so that he could bear the rings!

So we went to the rehearsal and the plan was for Yogi to follow his cousin Susanna (the flower girl) down a hill to the spot where Clint (Kate's fiance) and Clint's brother Todd (the best man) were waiting with the officiant. Yogi had the rings on a ring pillow that Kate had made for our wedding 10 years before. Todd was to untie the rings from the pillow and the ceremony was to continue.

When the wedding happened, Todd and Clint shifted over to the right as the procession arrived. Yogi thought they were walking away from him and had forgotten their cues so he said "Excuse Me!" very loudly. Very, very funny.

Yogi gets along incredibly well with his cousins Suzanna and Johnny who are one year older and one year younger than he respectively. Shelley and I get along incredibly well with my brother Rob and his wife Sue so a good time was had by all.

I must say that the Portland Children's Museum is the best Children's Museum I have ever seen in my life. Every inch is filled with fun, engaging stuff for kids of all ages. Yogi, Suzanna and Johnny spent 6 hours there and didn't even come close to getting bored.

Fun at the Beach

For the past three (or four) weeks we have been spending Saturday afternoons at the beach and its been extraordinary. The water is warm and the waves are big. John has rediscovered body surfing and is wondering why he hasn't been swimming in the ocean every week since we moved here. Yogi loves to play in the waves and his water skills are strong enough for him to have a really great time in the waves.

This is the new thing to document, by the way. Before about two weeks ago, any time Yogi went in the water he would be holding on to John or Shelley (or vice versa). As of now Yogi is independent in the waves. He LOVES the water (just like his Dad did) and loves to fight and ride the waves.

The other thing we do down at the beach is build sand castles. We have an impressive array of sand toys and we always make at least one sandcastle. What we do depends on the state of the tide. If it is coming in we are working idealistically against an implacable enemy who is bound to destroy our castle eventually. If it is going out we can create dams and elaborate moat structures.

On Sunday afternoons we have been going to Stoner Pool which is also great. Yogi really loves swimming.

Yogi is almost six!

More things that Yogi said

I have trouble keeping up with my effort to record the things that Yogi says that amuse and delight us. But here's a good one.

The other day we were at Gramma's house. Gramma lives in San Diego, and so we bring our dog Sam so he won't be alone. But Sam was not feeling too well this last visit due to a flea bite (he's allergic.) We were returning to Gramma's house to drop off my uncle before going shopping and I said to Yogi that I just wanted to run in to make sure that Sam hadn't done anything bad.

He thought about this for a moment, and then said, "What, like kill the cat?"

This reminds me of a post that my mom has to make...

The Typical Post

Completely insane that its been five months since the last post to this blog. Time flies.

The Beauty and the Ugliness

I am looking out the window of my office as the golden, magic hour sunlight hits the mountains and the few clouds and the palm trees and the ugly ugly buildings.

This place is very beautiful but it is marred by so much (SO MUCH) man made ugliness it boggles the mind.

Now I am not at all one of those people that thinks that all ugliness is man made or that man made stuff is all ugly. It's just that something about Los Angeles encourages or allows or generally leads builders to create shit ugly buidings that last about 15 years rather than beautiful buildings that last forever.

Even the new Cathedral looks like crap. The Getty is crap. There are nice buildings here but 98% is crap.

That's all for today.

"All are divine, but some don't know it yet!"

"All are divine, but some don't know it yet!"

Just bumping along browsing other blogs I came across this brand new one and was touched and intrigued by what it was saying about education and children and the intersection of the two.

Commitment

I have this obsession with conciousness.

Maybe obsession is too strong a word, maybe facination.

Maybe that's the wrong word. I mean I certainly find the topic facinating but at the same time it makes me nauseous. To look inside my own mind and my own sense of myself with my own mind and sense of myself is dizzying. I mean its so very very strange that I exist. When I say I don't mean the body that you see. That is completely unbelievable as well but what I mean is the continous silent, multilayered, multitracked monologue that is me.

Isn't it weird?

The reason it came up was I was sitting down to write a little bloggy blog and didn't have anything to blog about but I made a commitment to myself to write a little bloggy blog everyday. That made me think about commitment. Like promises and stuff like that. Where do those things live? I mean they live in the realm of language, right? We make them up and then they live in our minds as if they are real. Yet they can't be measured and weighed like a car or an apple or a lion.

So they don't have any objective reality.

They are made of the stuff of dreams.

Nothingness or maybe chemical electrical patterns in our brains.

Yet these things - commitments, promises, ideals - make more of a difference than lions and tigers and bears nowadays. More and more we live in a world that is filled with things but what is really important and moving is the ideas behind those thing.

At least that's what I believe.

Perhaps that's why I'm a big supporter of the First Amendment and I'm not so hot on the Second.

Dorky Dads

I was hanging out with Yogi a few weeks ago, playing with him and getting as excited and enthusiastic about something as he was (which is pretty darn excited and enthusiastic) when it hit me. I was acting like a dork.

Now I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the way I was acting (and continue to act). I believe that its appropriate to relate to children as they relate to you and one of the many gifts that children give is their wonder and enthusiasm. Cliched and mushy as that sounds it is true. The world is fresh and new in the eyes of a child and when you experience the world that way, or are reminded to at least try, the whole experience of living is transformed.

But then it backfires on you.

Usually.

What I realized was that my enthusiasm and excitement, traits that I (by all reports) had myself at the age of five, were re-developed for Yogi. Before he was born I was cool. Not nasty, pessimistic cool but pretty cool nonetheless. Now here I was acting like a big goofball.

The irony is that the person who will most likely be most embarrassed and distainful of my newly developed dorkiness is Yogi. In about 6 or 7 years, maybe sooner, he will wish that I was as cool as I used to be. By then I will be so used to being a dad that it won't be possible for me to reform and any attempts at reaquiring coolness will be seen as pathetic by my young tween.

Oh well.