Haiti on My Mind

The Murawski Family is on my mind, as today is their last full day in Haiti, where they've been for the last ten days on a mission trip. I've been keeping track of their progress through reading the blog about the trip. I can't tell you how thankful I am for that blog. Knowing they are safe and doing such great work has helped.

As they are on my mind in particular today I decided to post a couple of pictures of them. The top picture is another one of the shots Mason took when we were back in Virginia for Hope's wedding. I'll put up more of his shots--as well as promised wedding pictures--after I've sorted through them a bit more. I don't want to inundate everybody. The picture above, then, is Kiernan running with his friend Grace. I'm just crazy about this picture.

Next is a picture I took of Kiernan playing with Mason on the beach at Dad and Sandi's house on the York River. What I like about this picture--aside from its essential Abbey Road-ness, of course--is that it captures my brother and my boy playing a game they made up on the spot, a game I'll call The Arrow Game. Kiernan had been drawing planets in the sand--I know, big surprise--and Mason drew an arrow. Just like that Kiernan became interested in drawing arrows. So he would go off and draw an arrow in the sand and get Mason to find it. That was it. That was the game. And it held his attention for a good half hour or so. Nice.

In a previous post I talked about Kiernan going to visit Sandi's kindergarten class one day while we were in Virginia. I meant to post this picture, then, but I forgot, so it's going here. I like this shot of Sandi and my dad and Kiernan. I love how the Murawski boys are following the teacher's directions so well. Gives me a big smile whenever I see it.

Finally, for this post, here's a picture from that same day at school of Sandi and Dad reading to Kiernan in the classroom. I like this picture as it calls to mind a picture I took when Dad was last visiting us in California, and had gone with me to pick up Kiernan from school.

I think I'll put up more pictures from that day in another post.

Imagine All the Things

In keeping with the spirit of my last two posts, in which I related two conversation bits I'd jotted down, here's another little snippet, probably from sometime in May of 2008. It's tiny, but before I get to it, here is a Kiernan quote that appears at the top of the same pad of paper. It appears unrelated to the conversation bit that will follow, and it was written in pen, whereas the conversation bit was written in pencil. So clearly the quote was uttered at a different time.

Here is the quote:

"My parents smell like garlic."

I don't know why on earth I'm sharing this with you all. But there it is.

Onto the conversation bit:

K: Daddy, sometimes I imagine things.

X: Like what?

K: Water and mud. People that are broken. Oranges. Lemons. Chocolate--I LOVE IT!--and you!

--pause--

K: Ice cream in chunks!

--pause--

K: Sometimes I also imagine M-O-M-M-Y going to Book Club.

I'm thinking this mini-conversation took place in the midst of Kiernan going to sleep. It has that kind of twilight feel to it. That sort of drowsy reasoning people employ when they are just about asleep but aren't quite there. It's got that cute element that is the hallmark of a lot of sleeptalking, but it also has that prophetic weirdness that seems to sneak in from time to time in unconscious babbling. I can actually recall, now that I'm typing this, feeling a chill when he said, "People that are broken."

I've gotten that chill a couple of times from things that Kiernan has said. A sort of T.S. Eliot/M. Night Shyamalan [back when he was a coherent filmmaker for a film and a half] chill. Luckily that passes, as a mention of "Chocolate...I love it!" is never far behind.

Incidentally, the picture at the top of this post is one Wendy took at my sister Hope's wedding. It is not directly related to this little anecdote, but it really works for me here.

[Point of Clarification: With regard to the "M-O-M-M-Y" above. Sometimes Kiernan will spell out our names when he is calling out for us as he falls asleep. Other times too, but especially when he's falling asleep. As in, "Mommy...I need some water. M-O-M-M-Y...I NEED SOME WATER!" I haven't quite figured out what logic compels him to spell out our names at these times. I'm working on it. Also, it should be said that he might just as likely have said this same thing about me to Wendy, as I go out to a silly video game playing club one night a week, and Wendy's book club only takes place once every six weeks or so. I just don't want to lay out the impression that Wendy is forever out carousing with her good-for-nothing book loving friends.]

Interesting Words...Part II

As promised, this is the second conversation [snippet] from a pad of paper I found dated May 12, 2008. The first conversation dealt with words. This conversation deals with the planets. This is a little easier for me to set up than the other one because Kiernan is nuts about the Solar System, and most of you know this. He loves the planets, loves to draw and sing about them, and knows far more about them than any adult I've ever met knows about them. [Incidentally, I intend to avoid meeting our friend Rachel Friedman Narr's father in order to keep it that way.]

I mean, he (Kiernan...I can't speak for the good Dr. Louis) knows the names of the major moons of the planets, and also can tell you the names of the moons of the Plutoids. No, that's not a word I just made up. Nor is it a new series on Nickelodeon. It's the new name given to Pluto and Eris, which were formerly dwarf planets. And while it's been difficult for me to make the transition, Kiernan has had no trouble with it whatsoever.

Oof. I didn't mean to go all Solar System on you. I just meant to transcribe this little conversation I had with Kiernan a couple months ago (or, rather, that he had with me). So, without further ado...

K: What is your favorite planet?

X: Mercury.

K: I have one. I have two. I have three. Mars. Jupiter. Saturn. You know why? Mars because it's red and rusty. Jupiter because it has big rings, stripes, and a swirling storm. Saturn because it has rings and it is red. What are your three favorites?

X: I have one. Mercury.

K: I'll help you figure out three. Venus because it's hot. Earth because it's our home.

If you are having trouble figuring out what your favorite planet is, or, more to the point, if you find yourself stuck with only one favorite planet, OR if you are having trouble justifying your choice(s) of favorite planet(s)...please do stop by the house. I believe we can help.

I've got to find a way to start charging for this kind of stuff.

Interesting Words

I'm cleaning up my desk tonight and listening to the monitor as Kiernan falls asleep (fingers crossed). I've just come across a pad of paper upon which I scrawled two conversations from a couple of months ago. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I tend to take notes on our conversations with Kiernan. I'm no different than any other parent in that I find the things my boy says and does to be fascinating. Groundbreaking. And brilliant. I am different from many other parents in that I find it necessary to write every one of these things down.

I can kind of already see in my head an image of him as a teenager rolling his eyes about this. Oh well. It's not stopping me.

Anyway, I found this pad of paper. It's from May 12, 2008. In this post and the next I will share these conversations, or rather conversation snippets, with you.

This first one is really kind of out of the blue. I cannot even frame it with context. All I can do is share what I wrote down, on that day in May. So here it is. [As with most of these dialogues, K = Kiernan, and X = me.]

K: Dad, do you like interesting words?

X: Yes. Do you?

K: Yes. Like 'constellation'.

X: I like 'euphemism'.

K: I like 'weird'. Do you?

Again, I have no real context to give you for this conversation. Sorry about that. I share it with you only because I find it incredibly amusing. And I'm just so happy and proud that he loves words so much.

I just love that.

"And Other Things Like That"

We had a great Father's Day. Just so's ya know.

It started out happily, with Kiernan uncharacteristically letting me sleep in until 8:30 in the morning. Yeah, you read that right. 8:30. And yes...around here we consider that sleeping in.

As many of you know, Wendy is out of town on a business trip, so when Kiernan gets up it's 'go time', Father's Day or not. So him sleeping until sometime after seven in the morning was a big deal.

He came in and pounced on me to wake me up and we hit the kitchen for breakfast. Kiernan's favorite cereal is Raisin Bran. Please. I beg you. Don't say anything to him about this. Don't laugh. Don't gasp, "What about Fruit Loops?!?" Even while reading this on your computer at your desk. He'll hear it over the Internet and I'll have to go out and buy Fruit Loops. I'm shocked he hasn't found out about Frosted Flakes yet. And given the fact that his favorite bathroom reading is Calvin and Hobbes, I'm flat out flabbergasted that he hasn't gone on a hunger strike until we produce a box of Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs.

I gave him a bowl of Raisin Bran (with extra raisins), and he gobbled it up. After this he asked to watch a video. I asked which video he'd like to watch, knowing the answer, and then started up his favorite planet dvd (Field Trip to the Planets, if you must know...Hey, something that might be fun for you, if you're looking for something to do, would be to buy that dvd and watch it every day. Every day. Every single day. Also buy the cd and listen to it, and only it, whenever you're in the car...lather, rinse and repeat). While that played I showered and made myself a coffee drink, by which time his video was over and I watched a show myself, relaxing with my latte. It being Sunday morning, I watched my second favorite sports show, "The Sports Reporters". Even though I totally respected Kiernan's time while he watched his planet video, he climbed all over me during my show. Such is Father's Day...thank goodness. We laughed ourselves silly.

Our teevee watching out of the way, we prepared for the day proper. We got into our swim suits and headed out to the beach. Kiernan loves the beach. Note that I did not say that he loves swimming, or the water. He loves the beach. He is nuts about playing in the sand. So...off to the beach did we head.

We found ourselves a nice little spot at Topanga State Beach, ate the lunch we'd packed (peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches) and then played in the sand for a few hours. Playing in the sand, incidentally, involves me digging holes and building sand castles and Kiernan jumping in said holes and on top of said castles. Over and over and over again. We also laugh a lot.

I'd love to build a whole sand castle someday, without it being pounced upon by Toddlerzilla. But really, I'm not any good at things like that. I can dig a heck of a moat, mind you, but I get to a certain point in sand castle construction and I have no idea how to make it any better. It has always been thus. So the fact that Kiernan bulldozes every attempt I make at a sand castle is really a welcome development. Really takes the pressure off.

After a few hours we made our way home and, after washing the sand off, spent the remainder of the day reading books and throwing balls. We spent some time on the phone later in the evening, making Father's Day calls and Birthday calls (Mason and Grance) and Mommy calls. Then we hit the sack.

Great Father's Day. The picture at the top of this post is a scan of the card Kiernan made for me at school. It was stapled to a little paper bag, inside of which was a palm-sized rock upon which was written, over Kiernan's awesome and ubiquitous solar system decoration, "My Dad Rocks". The second pic down is a lunch picture; the third a sand castle destruction picture with an air of contemplation. The picture below is a bonus shot of the two of us, not from this day but from the birthday party for Kiernan's friend William a few weeks ago.

The Kiernan and Nana Show

Here's another little slideshow test, this one of Kiernan with his Nana. I love these pictures because the two of them are so in sync. I'm kind of addicted to watching the two of them together in these picture, so in step, expression for expression. The set of pictures opens with a picture from my sister Hope's wedding, a shot of her with my stepdad John and my mom. I realize it doesn't go with the theme of Kiernan and Nana, but I couldn't resist, mainly just because I love the picture of my family. My intention is, of course, to post more shots from the event. Stay tuned for more.

In the meantime enjoy this little teaser from the wedding, followed by the Kiernan and Nana show.

I'm betting you all can guess which of the pictures of the two of them is my favorite.

Duck Day Alternative

Here's an alternate format for the Duck Day slideshow. It's still hosted by Slide.com but it uses the "sliding" format instead of the "collage" format. I got a couple of complaints about the collage thing.

I'm going to update the template of the blog soon, which will give me more options. Stay tuned.

Duck Day Afternoon

Here's a second attempt at a slideshow.

This one was made using a website called Slide.com. I like that I have a bit more control here, but we'll see how it goes.

These pictures come from my dad's house in Virginia. Kiernan's grandmother Sandi is a kindergarten teacher, and every year her class goes through the process of caring for and hatching duck eggs. This spring's ducks arrived just in time for our visit.

The smaller duck, the one Kiernan is holding most of the time, is named Furrball. The bigger duck, Fairutopia. I have no idea how to spell that. Apparently it's a character from a Barbie movie. Looks like there are benefits to having a little boy.

On one day these two ducklings followed Kiernan and Sandi all the way around the house and up the driveway and back. I have video of that. I aspire one day to post video to this blog. I'm going to make a special request to all of you: don't hold your breath. It's taken me freaking years just to figure out picture posting.

Oh well. I'll get there.

In closing, I'd like to dedicate this little entry, and the pictures, to my dad, my stepmom Sandi, and my brother Mason. Tomorrow they embark on a ten day mission trip to Haiti, during which they will be doing all sorts of practical work for the community they'll be visiting. You can read about their upcoming adventure here. Please do send your positive thoughts and prayers their way over the coming days.

In the meantime, enjoy the ducks.

First Slideshow Test

Here's a test of one of the slideshow things I'm trying out. This one is a Picasa thing, done by uploading some pictures to Picasa Web Albums. Works okay but it doesn't give me a lot of control. I want something I can have running constantly, on a sort of loop, and maybe with a little better quality. I will be trying a couple of other programs. I know you care deeply about this.

Onto the above pictures.

The first picture is Kiernan with his friend Grace. She's the daughter of Wendy's business partner, who drove over from West Virginia to visit and do a little business while we were in Virginia at my Dad and Sandi's house.

Next is a picture of my current favorite t-shirt. I love that shirt. (Both of these first two pictures are Mason shots.)

The next picture is Kiernan playing ball with his Pap Pap. Next Kiernan striking a pose. Viva La Saturday Night Fever.

Finally there's a picture of me with Kiernan from a few months ago. We're playing this great game called Don't Break The Ice! Kiernan's Nee-Nee gave it to him for Christmas. Of the four "Cootie Games" she gave him, this was the one I was most excited to play.

Dinner Update

Tonight at dinner we had another cute little word-nerd conversation. It's a shorty, but I thought I'd share it.

Kiernan asked for one of his favorite sandwiches for dinner tonight: Peanut butter and Nutella. He has been on about wanting this for the last couple of days, so even though it basically amounts to giving him a Peanut Butter 'n Candy sandwich for dinner, I acquiesce. I make him a half sandwich of that, as well as a Gammy Special (jelly and cream cheese). I'm happy to have him eat the peanut butter, as his refusal to eat almost all meat has me a bit nervous about protein.

He is well into his pb&nutella when he looks at me thoughtfully and asks, "Daddy, what does 'often' mean?"

After a repeat I answer, "It means frequently."

I can almost detect a hint of sarcastic exasperation as he asks, "What does 'frequently' mean?"

I explain that it basically means 'a lot'.

He takes another bite, thinks for a moment, then says, "Daddy...I want you to make this for me more often."

I'm loving this, but is it any wonder my brain feels fried at the end of the day?

Brooklyn Is Not Expanding

In the previous post, wherein I related a couple of lovely anecdotes about how Kiernan questioned the lyrics in the songs I was singing, I mentioned that he had engaged me in a mind-blowing conversation yesterday. Below I shall present the transcript of said conversation.

But first, a little context. As many of you know, Kiernan is into the planets. He is crazy about them. He knows more facts about our Solar System than I ever learned in all of my years of school. I kind of wish that was a humorous exaggeration. It is not. He is just fascinated by the planets and wants to constantly read about them, draw them, and sing about them. He also loves asking questions about them.

Early in the evening we were reading books. He was reading a Solar System book his great aunt JuJu gave him during our recent trip to Denver. I was reading a book by the film director Kevin Smith. Eventually Kiernan realized I was doing something independently, and not paying attention to him. So he started excitedly telling me to look at the pictures in his book. I did so dutifully for awhile until I started to get frustrated. I was reading too, gosh darn it.

I finally said, "Kiernan, do I constantly ask you to look at my book?"

He said, "No. Your book is boring."

Given that my book has the word 'Boring' in its title, I found it difficult to argue this point.

And anyway, he proceeded to jump on my head at this juncture, so any argument I might have employed would have been moot. [Note to Kiernan's Aunt Amy: if you ever have an objection overruled...pounce.]

Anyway, later the two of us were eating dinner. After he had resolved the question of whether or not his daddy rocked and rolled, he ruminated for awhile and then busted out with the following query...

"Daddy, after the sun burns, what will it do after it burns?"

I think I had one of those sitcom moments where the forkful of food hangs in mid-air before your frozen open mouth.

He repeated the question. [In the dialogue that follows, 'X' is yours truly. 'K' is our intrepid Creeping Kid.]

X: "Um...after it burns, it'll go out."

K: "Will we miss the sun?"

[SIDEBAR: I cannot tell you how much I love that question. I cannot tell you how much I love the way my son thinks. The way his mind works. The answer is that the sun will go out when it's done burning, and his follow up question is about us missing The Sun. I love it.]

X: "Um...I don't know how to answer that. I guess so. But that's not gonna happen for a long time."

K: "Where will it go?"

At this point I'm scrambling. As I've intimated, at three and a half years old this kid has forgotten more about the moons of Jupiter than I have ever known about my own planet.

I answer, feebly, "It won't go anywhere. I think it will maybe turn into a black hole."

K: "What will the planets do? Why will it maybe turn into a black hole? What will the planets do if it's a black hole?"

X: "Well, the nature of a black hole is to suck everything in. Black Holes have a lot of gravity, so it will pull everything around it inside." [Forgive me, Stephen Hawking.]

K: "And after it does that, what will the planets do?"

At this point, finally, I was at a total loss. I mean, what do you say to a three and a half year old who has just asked you about the end of existence?

He waited a moment before asking his follow-up question...

"Will Jupiter get stuck?"

Do I really need a television when I have a kid like this?

The Songish Inquisition

Kiernan and I had a mind-blowing conversation at dinner yesterday. At least for me it was mind-blowing. I'm sure for him it was simply de rigueur.

But this post isn't about that. I'll post later about that conversation, since I took notes on it. Poor kid. His dad loves writing, and he is incredibly articulate...he's in for a life of Daddy taking notes while he speaks. Like he's growing up as the White House Press Secretary or something. Well, except for the little difference that Kiernan tends to tell the truth when he talks.

ZING!

Anyway, this post is about a couple of other minor, mini-conversations we had yesterday. They both center around songs. They aren't really conversations at all. Just questions he was asking.

The first took place at school. As I've said before, when I pick him up from school we usually hang out for awhile and read a book or two. After reading a book yesterday I was ready to get going, and I said, by way of conveying this, "Okay...time to hit the road, Jack!"

Then as I stood I proceeded to sing the song. I got to the "What you say?" part and the questions started.

"Who said 'What you say'?"

I think I answered that Ray Charles said it.

"Why did he say that?"

I think I said that he was surprised she was asking him to leave.

"Why does he have to leave?"

And on and on.

Later in the evening, for reasons I cannot fathom, I started singing, "Your momma don't dance and your daddy don't rock 'n roll." I really have no idea why. I sing all the time and often am not even aware I am doing it.

After a few minutes Kiernan asked, "Daddy...do you Rock and Roll?"

Great question. I chose to answer in the affirmative. I mean, I don't go out on the town and hit all the clubs. Or...well...any of them actually. I almost never go to concerts. I rarely go to bars. But seriously, after all, I totally rock at the game Rock Band. So I figure that deserves a yes.

Next he asked, "Does Mommy dance?"

That was easy to answer. "Of course. She dances with you."

About half an hour later, out of nowhere, Kiernan asked, "Why do they say, 'your daddy don't rock 'n roll'?"

I thought for a split second before answering.

"They are saying his parents aren't cool. This used to be a concern with parents and kids. Thankfully, for you, it won't be."

With a smile on my face and a heart full of smugness, I went on eating my dinner.

I can't wait to hear what my parents have to say about it.

UPDATE: Something just occurred to me as I reread this entry before sending out the update notification. His question about who said "What you say?" in the song is an interesting one. Keep in mind, I was singing the song; we weren't listening to a recording of it. I was singing it somewhat normally, no funny voices or anything. Yet somehow he still was able to suss out that the question was asked by a different character. I don't know why I find that so fascinating, but suddenly I do.

A Helping Hand

I'm still working on solving my little slide show conundrum (The Slideshow Conundrum...another of the lost novels of Robert Ludlum), but I had to share a little moment real quick.

I was just in Kiernan's room for the seventy-fifth time tonight. He should have been asleep awhile ago, but he's fighting it. I've done several water deliveries, a comprehensive full-body light tickle, as well as a couple fairly extensive Spider Patrols (more on that subject in a later post). I was on the verge of getting truly annoyed when, during my last water delivery, Kiernan very groggily said,
"Dad. I need help. I need help falling asleep."

My heart melted as he flopped down to his pillow, eyelids so heavy. I knelt beside his bed and stroked his hair. He was asleep in less than a minute.

Here's a Mason pic of Kiernan napping during our recent trip to Virginia.

Good Intentions and a Duck

I've got a ton of pictures to post from our recent three year tour of Europe, Scandinavia, and the Sub Continent...okay, it was only three weeks. And it only included stints in Colorado and Virginia. But it felt kind of like three years.

I have no idea how to best post all of these pictures. Maybe I'll do a slideshow using some Internet pic posting site, that is if I can resist the urge to comment five paragraphs per picture. Let's hope I can resist that urge, or else, again, I will put off posting the pictures forever. And you people deserve to see them. Especially the ones taken by my uber-talented brother, Mason. I'm open to suggestions. Let me amend that. I'm open to suggestions that do not involve opening MySpace or Facebook accounts.

In the meantime, here's two pictures that struck my fancy as I quickly sifted through the trip photos looking for some shots to print out for my monthly letters to Kiernan's great-grandparents. Enjoy them as a teaser.

The top shot is Kiernan rocking the easel while visiting his grandmother Sandi's kindergarten class. The bottom shot is him enjoying the company of the duckling Furrball...once a denizen of said class.