Mimzilla’s One More Thing…

Larry is off in San Diego at the annual comic convention where more than 120,000 people talk about comics, movies, television, games and other random entertainment — oh, and hopefully spend some money at booths like the AiT/Planet Lar . It’s particularly exciting for us given we’ve had two books recently purchased by big names for live action feature films — MONSTER ATTACK NETWORK was purchased by Disney and HENCH by Danny McBride and Warner Brothers. Not content to keep things simple, rather than renting the cargo van we usually get, I reserved a mini-van. There was some drama when we went to get the car and they initially said they couldn’t take out the seats which is not what I was told over the phone. However, there was a miscommunication and we converted the van into a comic-hauling machine. We knew it was going to be tight getting all the comics, food, shelves, and dollies into the car but as you can see, Larry and Ian did a terrific job packing the car.

This is the third time Larry’s gone to Comic-Con without me and I have to say, I have some pangs of regret for not being there. I suppose I’m romanticizing the event after two years away but I do miss seeing some of my friends and talking about some things other than driving marketable universe, leads, customer satisfaction, and revenue through adobe.com. However, I know SDCC is a lot of work and Walker would completely freak out at all the stimulation so attending would be crazy. So, Larry is there and we’re up here and Walker keeps asking me “Where did Daddy go?” We’ve been talking to Larry a lot on the phone and I’ve been explaining what a trip is and talking about the concept of time.

I shouldn’t be surprised but I’m continually shocked at how fast Walker’s little synapses are putting thoughts together. He’s able to count (albeit inconsistently correct and today he believed the word “number” followed each integer — “1 number, 2 number, 3 number, etc.”), sing his ABC’s, Old McDonald, and Row Row Row Your Boat. He’s forming full sentences, telling me what he does and doesn’t like (which is a mixed blessing) and answering questions. He’s even talking in his sleep. A few nights ago he sang “Mommy”, one night he chatted about the “BEEECH”, another night he repeated “Daddy did it!” and last night he demanded, “No! I do it!”

Speaking of “I DO it!” Walker is emerging into a true two year old. We’ve had a few little tantrums that all stem from frustration when we help him (against his will). I don’t have a lot to complain about as the emotional outbursts are short-lived and relatively infrequent. But one result of trying all these big boy things is that he’s been extremely attached to me. Each morning he’s wanted to sit in my lap until it’s time to start getting ready for work and then he stands in front of the shower and cries. I love the snuggling (and his sweet, soft hands which he likes to put on either side of my face, big hugs, and the little kisses he gives me) but the tears are a bit heart wrenching and it takes monumental effort by Larry to get him distracted. Luckily this morning he was extremely helpful and let me take a shower while he played where I could see him. I’m hoping for the same tomorrow.

He’s also gotten to be a picky eater. Even the old standby of chicken nuggets and hot dogs weren’t working. One day he only ate fruit and three adult-sized servings of yogurt. Yogurt seem to be the favorite food as he’s eaten 9 (yes, 9) 6oz containers in the last three days. Thankfully he eats what Sofiya feeds him and then only eats packaged food (cheese sticks, yogurt, cookies, apple sauce) at home. We met a couple at the zoo with a boy Walker’s age who was having similar food challenges. They said he goes through phases and only ate fruit for two weeks. They found themselves begging him, “You don’t get your blueberries until you eat your pizza,” and then realized how crazy they sounded. I find it fascinating that Walker is the only 2 year old that doesn’t like bread or pasta. We always knew Walker was unique.

Last week Grammie J was on a bike trip (and was a total stud and ascended a 3500ft mountain in less than six miles) so she couldn’t take Walker to swimming. The responsibility fell on my shoulders. We started off by going to Jamba Juice and Walker got his very own smoothie and we shared a blueberry-lemon muffin. Then it was time for swimming. He was so good getting changed and putting everything in his locker. Once we got into the pool it was fantastic. He was amazing — he jumped into the pool, blew bubbles, kicked his feet, paddled is arms and put his whole head underwater. I was so proud of him and as an added bonus, he was so good about taking a shower and getting dressed in the locker room. He is very helpful.

Walker likes to help in a number of ways. He has some chores — he has to put all of his clothes in the “ham PER” and he feeds Rwoar his dry food which entails taking the dustpan and door stop off the top of the container, removing the lid, scooping the kibble into the big bowl, replacing the lid, dustpan and door stop. He’s also expanding his skills to cooking. The Elmo cake was his first creation and yesterday he helped me make soup in the crock pot and today he ran in the kitchen yelling “Hep! Cooook!” after asking for pancakes which he didn’t eat (yes, he had “yo gurt” instead). His memory is good as he has asked me every day for the four days to make him an “Elmo Cke.”

So much happened during Walker’s birthday weekend that I haven’t had a chance to mention the amazing time we had when Larry’s sister’s husband Scott visited. He’d never been to San Francisco before so it was so much fun seeing the city through his eyes. We took him to Twin Peaks (where he enjoyed the city views and those of the well-architected South American woman next to us), drove him around Sea Cliff and Pac Heights (after getting stuck in parade traffic for more than 45 minutes) and ended up at Chrissy Field and our march to the Golden Gate Bridge. I would be remiss if I neglected to mention our venture to Baker Beach and how much fun we had playing in the sand and watching Larry fall into the ocean. I brought extra clothes for Walker but didn’t think to bring a dry set of clothes for Larry…

Note: This entry has taken me waaaay too long to complete but hey, it was a very exciting week!

Walker used to say he was “fourah” when asked how old he is. Now he says “TWO PARTY” — probably because we had be preparing him for the string of events that would celebrate his birthday.

We began on Tuesday morning, the day before his birthday. It was what I consider to be a typical chaotic “working mom” day. I wanted to bake the cake and cupcakes so I had time to decorate them later in the evening. After much deliberation between Duncan Heins and cake/icing from scratch, I concluded it was overachieving enough to ice the yummies with an Elmo face so everyone was going to have to choke down very cute looking deserts from a box. So, the easy preparations began at 6:30 am and Walker was the very capable assistant — pouring the water and oil in the bowl and holding the mixer. He was thrilled to help but even happier to lick the spoon (and he made quite a mess of it). I then fed Walker, got him ready for school, dropped him off at Sofiya’s and raced to work in time to give a presentation to the worldwide marketing organization. (It was well-received with over 100 attendees between the two sessions — more than any previous presentation in the series!) After work I carved out a few moments to go to the gym and then home to feed Walker and put him to bed. At 8:30 pm, I started the Elmo challenge — turning white icing, food coloring, ice-cream cone cupcakes and a 6″ round cake, into a legion of Elmos for Toddlers to scarf down without a second thought. (I think they turned out quite well.)

On what he calls his “happy day,” Walker went to his swimming lesson with Grammy Jane and then to Sofiya’s. At 11:30 Larry and I went over to Sofiya’s with Elmo cupcakes and many memory cataloging devices (e.g. cameras) in hand. Walker was exhausted and overwhelmed. Poor kid lept into Daddy’s arms and just said “home?” the entire time his friends sang to him. He was able to get into the dancing and drum playing but there were some tears when we left. Elmo cupcakes were stashed away to be distributed after lunch and nap but we heard they were a hit. Walker had TWO and Sofiya gave him a third on his way out the door to go home. Luckily he only is able to eat a fraction of these things before he gets tired/distracted.

He was greeted by his Pop Pop, Grammy Jane and Uncle Thayer for his family Two Party. Daddy blew up helium balloons to mark the birthday boy’s house so Walker was very excited to come home. We ordered some pizza and started on the present opening. This was a long process due to the tentative way he tears open the packages and the need to play with each item after opening. The first present was his helium balloon adored tricycle. He was THRILLED and immediately hopped on. He figured out the pedals and pushed himself around. However, we noticed he only seemed to go backwards and there was a clicking sound as he moved. “Are there gears on that thing?” inquired Grammy J. “No, I think Larry put the wheel on backwards,” replies Uncle Thayer in a bemused manner. Well, it was true. The little Dude could only back up until the bike was reassembled with the wheel facing the right direction. (Of course, it had taken Larry hours to put the darn thing together because he had to go out and get critical pieces that were not included in the box and the instructions were as clear as if they were translated from English to Sanskrit and back.) We figure this will be the first in a long line of toy assembly mishaps over the coming years. He continued to open many wonderful presents including a set of musical instruments (he loves to wake us up with a loud blow from a recorder or a few heavy-handed bangs on a drum), a few whale-adorned outfits and stuffed toys, books, a growth chart, a letter set, and a variety of Elmo toys. After present opening, we had another baked good in the shape of Elmo — a big cake! Walker blew out his candles and had even more sugar. Unsurprisingly, Walker had some difficulty going to bed despite being exhausted.

The next few days were uneventful but Walker did talk a lot about wanting more Elmo cupcakes.

Saturday was a special event at the Zoo. In celebration of their 80th birthday, Fisher-Price was sponsoring a birthday party show featuring they’re Little People toy line. We went to the member’s only event at 9am and it was fun to go to the zoo before it officially opened. We all gathered under the big tent and all the kids were wearing the special crowns they distributed. Walker was of course, the cutest child wearing his crown and the “Junior Zookeeper” vest his Daddy gave him for his birthday. The rest of the morning was spent playing on the playground, watching the bears feeding, checking out the baby Gorilla, having 80 cent hot dogs (Walker had one and a half), and buying a history of the SF Zoo written by a 16 year old. Walker was exhausted and was fast asleep in his stroller before we left the zoo grounds.

Daddy decided to let Walker sleep in the stroller for his nap so he walked him home. It was a beautiful day and they both enjoyed the fresh air. I sped home in the car and quickly made a second batch of cake and cupcakes and popped it in the oven. Of course, I went through the whole Elmo decorating dance on Saturday night after Walker went to bed.

After nap Walker wanted to take a ride on his new bike. Walker and I ventured out to the beach with his bike and his wagon filled with sand toys. It was very warm and the tide was high. There were many, many fishermen on the beach and Walker started playing in the sand. He sent me to get water in his bucket a few times but then decided to go with me. We walked up toward the water and he wanted me to pick him up. He’s never even liked to have the waves come over my feet while I hold him so it was notable when he encouraged me to walk forward into the waves. A wave came up and swept past my ankles. Walker smiled. He wanted to stand in the water. I let him down and he stood in the water as a wave receded. A wave came up and he stood his ground. He squealed and giggled. We spent the next thirty minutes playing in the waves. It appears he has overcome his fear of the ocean and I can honestly say that was one of the very, very best times of my entire life.

Sunday was Walker’s friend party and it was lots of fun. He had two little friends come — Malcolm who is also 2 and Lucas who is 15 months. They weren’t sure how to play together but they were all brought together through the tight bonds of Elmo cupcakes. By the end of the party, Walker was running to each of the kids pretending to be a lion. Sofiya came by as well and Walker was a bit perplexed. When she arrived, he knit his little brow and you could see the thought bubble, “How can she be HERE? This is my house. Shouldn’t she be at school?”

Mommy and Daddy had fun as well. We had a few close friends come and even some of our neighbors stopped by. The day couldn’t have been more beautiful — it was sunny and warm so we all hung out on the patio which is a luxury in the Sunset during June. I think Walker really enjoyed his birthday and I know we’ll have great memories of a fun and stress-free second birthday. I’m hoping we are beginning a trend for future years.

Adobe was shut down the week following Walker’s birthday and once again, I had a long list of things to accomplish. Of course, I didn’t get everything done but I can say, I got a bunch of paperwork and errands done. I was also able to get in a bike ride — the first in over a decade. I had a fantastic ride around Lake Merced along the ocean and all the way through Golden Gate Park and back. According to mapmyride.com, it appears the ride was 20.26 miles! And other than having a bit of a sore tush — bike seats are just not comfortable — I never even got sore.

One of the BIG objectives for the week was to clean out the garage. In my mind, that meant going through a bunch of boxes and get donate/sell/toss stuff. While that didn’t happen, we were able to make significant headway. I was able to find a buyer for a new 3′ x 4′ window we never used in our construction project and we rented a U-Haul van and took 500lbs of old junk to the dump (unusable ladders, car seats, file cabinets, etc. Thank goodness 70% of SF garbage gets recycled)!

One highlight was on Independence Day, we took one of many of our on demand bike “rides” (which is not exactly the case as Walker rides for a bit but spends more time walking or being carried). We passed a neighbor’s house and she stopped us to chat about Walker. She invited us to sit in her garden and then proceeded to fill us with wine (mango juice for Walker), cookies, and stories about the 32 years she’s lived on our street. She’s 75 and has seen many kids grow up here. Her own son married a girl who lived across the street. We are finally getting to know our neighbors and feel an even deeper attachment to our wonderful home.

One errand we completed was to purchase an iPhone for Larry. It’s been quite a lot of fun for both the big and little boy as evidenced by the video below. (For the uninitiated, Walker and Larry are playing with the Star Wars Lightsaber applications on the iPhone so they can have a laser sword duel.) You’ll notice that Walker chose this last weekend to begin saying his name which he does with confidence. “What is your name?” “Wa KER!”

Back to work and hopefully shorter, more frequent posts.

I’ve been working on a Birthday blog but I’ve been so busy I haven’t been able to finish it off. Some of you have made requests for blog updates so I thought I’d provide a small video for your viewing pleasure. Last Saturday, Walker took us to the zoo and one of his favorite activities is to run through the tunnels and test out the acoustics. I captured the moment for you to share. (It was the Zoo’s birthday as well so they distributed crowns to celebrate and Walker is donning his “Junior Zookeeper” vest.) You may want to turn down your volume a tad as the small person does pack quite a strong set of lungs.

Also a note: Walker went to his two year old check up and he weighed in at 28lbs 2oz (55%), measured 35″ (70% although they measured him lying down so I think he’s a bit shorter…) and had a head circumference of 48.7cm (55%)