Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Liska aka Janis Joplin
Sorry for the formatting troubles tonight...not sure what is going on with Blogger, but it is peesing me off.
Anyway, this is the third of three posts today, so go back and read the other two if you have not already...or read them again because they are really really boring. And I know how you like that.
As promised, here are some pics of Liska's earliest rock and roll moves. She has danced before, but I am not quite sure where in the world these came from...I wish I had video, but you will have to just be happy with the stills. Picture these in Rolling Stone or sumpin...Enjoy!
By the way, why am I just now finding out after 20 years that Chris is saying "all my friends are indians, all my friends are brown and red" ????
As I have mentioned in previous posts, my pops is coming down to Tulsa for the weekend...it should be tons of fun as we have both Cajun Fest and MayFest going on this weekend...lots of crawfish, live music and art shows mixed in with Liska's first dance recital and Hagen's second birthday celebration. woohoo!
I hope everyone is doing well!
Much love to all!
jak
Hagen's Birthday Revisited...
Hagen about to dive into his Apple Cake...or maybe asking to blow out the candles one more time!
Hagen hamming it up for his sister...He is always making Liska laugh
Our little surfer boy...can't believe my hat fits him! What a HUGE head!!
The kiddos enjoying the new jupiter jump in the backyard.
Hagen's million dollar smile. At least that is the estimate of future costs for his extremely crooked teeth coupled with a reluctance to brush them. ;-)So, the last time I posted on Hagen's birthday, I not only focused attention on Mother's day as well, I also led off with a pic of Liska...major disrespect for my little homey! But, now that the day is past, I can focus on what a cutie he was all day...
We went to breakfast and made the mistake of telling the manager that it was Hagen's birthday...she said "do you think he wants a cupcake?" We said "No, he is a 2 year old boy...what would he want with a cupcake?" Well, that is what we thought, but we said "sure"...so, she proceeded to bring it right out and he munched on icing and chocolate rather than eating his yummy, pre-paid breakfast...we were thrilled with that executive decision.
After that, we headed over to toys r us to get a jupiter jump. It is a mini version, but both kids (and probably two other little ones) can fit in it and have a great time. It wasn't his birthday present per se, but a good compromise on the $1000 play set that Kat wants to get them...and they loved it as you can tell from the pictures.
We then had a leisurely afternoon of yard work and then Kat's parents came over for a small party. Hagen got the famous Huang apple cake and had a GREAT time blowing out the candles. Each time after he blew out the candles, he said "one more time?" He ended up blowing out the candles three times...what a spoiled boy!
We are planning on having a little less small gathering when my dad comes in this weekend. I am going to do some grilling and we will have Kat's parents back over and have a good ol time. Wish you could be here!
Much love to all!
jak
ANTS!!
This will be my first of three posts today...the next two are of Hagen's birthday pics and Liska's impersonation of Janis Joplin...a couple of must sees!!
First of all though, I was going to write to complain about all the freakin' bugs in this state...we were basically bug free (minus a couple black widow spiders) in Valencia, but now we are constantly inundated by ants and moths and spiders, etc etc etc. Well, this past week, we finally had it....
I woke up and was going to put Hagen into his booster chair and it was COVERED in ants! I thought, geez, what a sloppy kid! He makes such a mess, the ants come in here to dine on his droppings...and by droppings, I mean crumbs, not like, the other kind of droppings...that would be gross.
Then, I went into my office and my entire window sill was FILLED with ants!! And I am fastidiously clean...well, I don't spill nearly as much as Hagen. So, I thought, we have a problem...
THEN, I see that Liska is so comfortable around ants that she has started to name them and collect them...she is like some sort of ant charmer and picks them up and lets them crawl all over her hands and arms...geez louise! I definitely want her to be good with all living things, but that is a bit overboard.
So, my first thought in eradicating this lower life form was to kill off a majority of them with either a poisonous spray or my fancified plastic aardvark (aka the vacuum cleaner)...I started to do that and thought, wait a minute...I can't kill all these guys. I need to leave a few survivors so they can go back and tell their friends about the evil owners of this house...then, I thought, that is silly...they are not that sophisticated in their communication (not to mention their ability to comprehend the cause and effect of the situation)...so, then I thought, why don't I take a couple of the dead ones and attach them to stakes (or, in this case, toothpicks) and leave them there for future interlopers to see as a warning sign that all who pass here will pay a heavy price. Again, a bit of a stretch that they would really "get" it. I mean, I am not playing the ant card here, but they are not known for their intellect.
Finally, I consulted my trusty partner in extermination, Kat, for her advice. She said "just call Terminix". Hmmm...seemed like a compelling idea...simple...but it might just work....I will let you know how that goes.
Hope everyone out there is doing well...a special shout out to Greg as he recovers from his horrific fall...not my story to tell, but you can probably check out the Brown blog that is linked on the left side of my blog to read about that in the near future. Greg, just know we are thinking about you brother and hoping for your speedy recovery...fyi, I did sell my stock in Absolut and Natural Ice, so thanks for the heads up on that. ;-)
Much love to all!
jak
First of all though, I was going to write to complain about all the freakin' bugs in this state...we were basically bug free (minus a couple black widow spiders) in Valencia, but now we are constantly inundated by ants and moths and spiders, etc etc etc. Well, this past week, we finally had it....
I woke up and was going to put Hagen into his booster chair and it was COVERED in ants! I thought, geez, what a sloppy kid! He makes such a mess, the ants come in here to dine on his droppings...and by droppings, I mean crumbs, not like, the other kind of droppings...that would be gross.
Then, I went into my office and my entire window sill was FILLED with ants!! And I am fastidiously clean...well, I don't spill nearly as much as Hagen. So, I thought, we have a problem...
THEN, I see that Liska is so comfortable around ants that she has started to name them and collect them...she is like some sort of ant charmer and picks them up and lets them crawl all over her hands and arms...geez louise! I definitely want her to be good with all living things, but that is a bit overboard.
So, my first thought in eradicating this lower life form was to kill off a majority of them with either a poisonous spray or my fancified plastic aardvark (aka the vacuum cleaner)...I started to do that and thought, wait a minute...I can't kill all these guys. I need to leave a few survivors so they can go back and tell their friends about the evil owners of this house...then, I thought, that is silly...they are not that sophisticated in their communication (not to mention their ability to comprehend the cause and effect of the situation)...so, then I thought, why don't I take a couple of the dead ones and attach them to stakes (or, in this case, toothpicks) and leave them there for future interlopers to see as a warning sign that all who pass here will pay a heavy price. Again, a bit of a stretch that they would really "get" it. I mean, I am not playing the ant card here, but they are not known for their intellect.
Finally, I consulted my trusty partner in extermination, Kat, for her advice. She said "just call Terminix". Hmmm...seemed like a compelling idea...simple...but it might just work....I will let you know how that goes.
Hope everyone out there is doing well...a special shout out to Greg as he recovers from his horrific fall...not my story to tell, but you can probably check out the Brown blog that is linked on the left side of my blog to read about that in the near future. Greg, just know we are thinking about you brother and hoping for your speedy recovery...fyi, I did sell my stock in Absolut and Natural Ice, so thanks for the heads up on that. ;-)
Much love to all!
jak
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Hagen is TWO!
how time flies...it seems like just yesterday that Hagen was a year and 364 days old. And yet, today, he is two. Which, as we all know, means one thing...we are 11% of the way to having him out of the house and on his own! Woohoo!
Just kidding!! I know I have given Hagen some grief on this blog, but the fact of the matter is, he has turned into quite an amazing young man. Though held up to the impossible comparisons with his big sister, he has fared well...he is talking better everyday...knows his colors and shapes and is reading at a 3 year old level. Which is to say, he is not reading, but he is not reading better than most his age. So, he has that going for him. Which is nice.
This year, Hagen is sharing his birthday with Mother's Day...so, we are eschewing a birthday celebration until next weekend when my dad is here...we will focus on Mom for the most part today as she deserves it...raising such wonderful kids with an absentee, deadbeat husband...its quite an amazing feat...I suppose we can give her one day of celebration a year. :-)
So, I am on the bench this week, so will hope to post daily. So, make sure to keep coming back to keep up with what's up here in Tulsa. In the meantime, enjoy these pics of Hagen and of Kat aka "the mom" (and one of Liska just because)
Much love to all!
jak
