hiking with dad

Tim loves to go hiking with Paul. It's becoming a regular activity; they walk from the parking lot at the foot of the foothills up one of several trails near Horsetooth rock. Tim 'hikes' for some of it and lets Paul carry him in the carrier that goes on Paul's back like a backpack for long stretches. They observe nature: the clouds, the rocks, the birds, sometimes a deer, the reservoir, the bugs. It's a wonderful activity. I believe that Neville used to do the same thing with Paul when he was a boy. It's a great family tradition.


checking out the camera


above horsetooth resevoir


tim's backpack holding his water and 'fruit candy' snack


this backpack belonged to paul, who used it as a child when he hiked with his father, neville









A recent conversation:

I want to play Flight Simulator.

Okay, but you’ll have to wait until Daddy gets home.

I want to play Flight Simulator NOW.

You need to get some patience.

I want some patience NOW!

memory

Jenny and Neville bought Timothy the game Memory for Christmas, and the first time I played it with him was almost the last time. It takes a lot of patience to teach a three-year-old the basics of turning over the card so all can see it, turning over only one at a time, turning the card back over when a match isn't found, and turning over only two cards. Melissa was here and can attest to the way my words were clipped and the agonized tone in my voice when the game finally ended. However, Tim doesn't have to be taught most things more than once before he understands what must be done. He struggles actually doing it at times, but we all do. This is a great game and one of my favorites from my childhood.


where's another top?


gonna go again



in typical ocd fashion, tim has to organize his winning cards before he can take his turn

happy birthday

a recent favorite photo

Tim rode the express train of presents from Christmas to his birthday, and by the time the day finally arrived, he was indifferent. That doesn't mean that he didn't have one hell of a ride.

Because his Aunt Melissa was here and left on the 9th, we decided to have Tim's party before she departed. There is a family restaurant in town called Chuck E Cheese that serves pizza and is tailor-made for children's parties. One large area is dedicated to birthday parties with long tables and a stage with larger-than-life sized animatronic muppets that perform songs and do a birthday show. My parents opted out of the event; it's loud, full of running screaming-with-laughter-most-of-the-time kids, and the food isn't made for an adult pallet. So it was just Paul, Melissa, Timothy, Luke and me. Because of this, we didn't book a party and sat in the other part of the room, which is filled with every kind of imaginable arcade game. This suited Tim just fine.


extreme concentration on a video game


playing with aunt melissa


riding the monster truck

He checked out the other room, barely even glanced at the birthday parties in full swing, and spent his time with his Dad and Melissa pushing buttons, pulling levers, bopping gopher heads, driving cars, and flying planes. Tim loved it from the minute we walked in the door, and Paul was pleasently surprised to find some games he wanted to try. I'd prepped him and Melissa for a place only a child could love. To be fair, it's been cleaned up since I last visited it about twenty-five years ago. It's a lot like Pizza Planet in Toy Story but without the outer space theme (for those of you who know that movie as well as we know it.)

From there, we went to Mom and Dad's for cake, ice cream and more presents. Tim had opened his gifts from Paul's side of the family at home that morning on Skype so that Jenny and Neville could be part of the festivities. Mom baked a peanut butter cake with peanut butter frosting for Tim and topped it with a Buzz Lightyear action figure. Tim likes the idea of cake but not the reality, so little of that was consumed, but he plowed through his ice cream with relish. Mom also had a cake for adults because she didn't think we'd like the peanut butter. I did. The minute that cake hit my mouth, I was transported back to my own childhood birthdays. Delicious.


his cake with buzz still reigning over the table


toy story dominated


blowing out his candles, the yellow one is for luke


Tim received gifts from our neighbor, so the birthday bonanza continued. And he even got to celebrate the day after his birthday because he had nursery school. I brought in blueberry muffins, alphabet cookies (store bought as required) a Mickey Mouse balloon and candles. The kids sang to him and he got to wear a crown.

He knows he's three now and will hold out his fingers appropriately. However, I don't think he's connected birthdays with being born yet. That's okay. It'll come. He came home from school on Tuesday and told me that today was Tuesday and that it began with a 'T'. A few weeks ago, he came home and put out his hand and said, "Hello, I am Timothy Attridge." We shook hands and I said my name and nice to meet you. They do a good job at his school, especially since he's only there for two mornings a week.

Thanks to everyone out there for celebrating his third birthday with him. He loved the cards, presents and e-cards.

sing along books

This morning, Timothy spent some time with one of Luke's birthday books that Gran and Grand-da gave to him. He knows most of the songs well enough to sing along with them. Hopefully, he will be able to teach them to Luke.

best friends

Melissa is back for a surprise visit after just three months. Tim warmed to her immediately, acting as though she'd never been gone.


reading a book together not long after getting home from the airport