Wednesday, November 23, 2011

traveling man


Tim handled the two long flights very well.  We were stuck in the middle section with no windows, but it didn't seem to matter to him at all.  He got a little annoyed when he had to wait to watch The Smurfs until we'd taken off.  He was oblivious to the sleeping people around us and laughed very loud several times in the quietest part of the night and because he was wearing headphones his "Are we on the ground?" questions were also very loud.  He told us that "this airplane was much better than Gramps's."  He didn't sleep very much; neither did we.


The tube was a big hit for the first twenty minutes of so.  Then the jet lag kicked in and at the same time the Piccadilly line was shut down for repairs and we had to walk to another station.  Getting back on the tube was a nightmare.  He screamed, turned bright red, shouted, kicked and just generally had a major meltdown.  It was a fairly full train and I couldn't help but think that the other passengers, aware of his American accent, were thinking that Americans are horrible parents.  I wanted to tell everyone around us that he'd just traveled all night from the US and was beyond exhausted. 

The fit continued when we got off the train and headed up the stairs to the street, but stopped immediately when he saw The Clock Tower.  He was duely impressed.  He then noticed the boats ont he Thames, which and dozens of doubled decker buses.  It was worth the journey.
We're four days into the vacation, and Tim is still suffering from jet lag.  His appetitie seemed to return today, but he still hasn't sorted out his sleeping patterns (so neither have we) and falls asleep wherever he happens to be when it hits.  Jenny and Neville's cat Bruce has become a good friend.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Tim and I went to a farm out east of Fort Collins with Addie, Emily and Matt today to sit in the pumpkin patch.  Tim loves Charlie Brown's Halloween DVD in which Linus waits for the Great Pumpkin on Halloween night in a pumpkin patch.  Fortunately, there were other things to do like a corn maze and jumping castle.  Otherwise, Tim would have been mightily disappointed.


addie in a bouncy fort

tim and addie in the corn maze with corn

tim, addie, matt and emily with the young pigs

the great pumpkin and a very funny face

strong boy


tricks on the jumping castle

Friday, October 14, 2011

dress-up

Tim and Addie have been playing dress-up for several months at her house because she has things with which to play dress-up, like princess dresses.  One day, Tim switched from wanting to be Cinderella, to wanting to be Aladdin, so I have started to collect some dress-up items.  Having Halloween around the corner has made that easier.  I found a used 'Woody' costume and he wore it every day for a week.  Mom bought him this brand new 'Buzz' costume (he got the wings for Christmas last year) to wear for trick-or-treating.  She gave it to him early when she heard that he'd started enjoying dress-up.

 posing with his hand on his laser button, just like the 'real' buzz, and looking fierce

I found an old crown that I used to use when my students read and acted out Beowulf and am working on putting together a Prince Charming for Tim when he's playing with Addie and wants to be something other than a princess.  I got to teach my 3 year old son how to hold up his skirts when going up and down stairs so that he wouldn't trip.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

running man

zoom

zoom

sometimes he sits still

about to throw parachute buzz lightyear

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

sleep? no sank you




03:14.  That’s AM, mind you. 

Hey, guys.  I want to watch a movie. 


Silence
Mommy!
Silence
Mom!  I want to watch a movie.

Tim, shhhhh.  What’s wrong.

Nosing ('th' is either pronounced like an 's' in snake or a d, depending on where it falls in the word and what vowel follows it).  I want to watch a movie.

It’s the middle of the night, Tim.  You’re not watching a movie.  Go back to sleep. 

I don’t want to go back to sleep.  I want my music.

Okay.

Dis Old Man, please.