monitorhead

Last weekend I watched the kids while Megan went to California to work with some friends at a scrapbooking convention. To help manage the time with my boys, I took them to Blockbuster to rent some videos. As usual, they chose Spiderman The Venom Saga cartoon and The Batman Superman Movie. This began a week-long Batman obsession for Connor. First, he watched the movie repeatedly. Next, he wanted to draw numerous pictures of Batman (with dad’s help). Megan fed the passion by buying a Lego Batman toy as a souvenir. The culmination however was the Batman costume we put together yesterday. I’ll post a picture the next time he dresses up.

This all reminded me of being a kid and wearing my Underoos and a pillow case around my neck, transforming myself into Superman. It doesn’t take much imagination to take on the persona of an unstoppable hero with special powers or abilities. It might seem silly to dress up like a fictional character, but the desire to emulate heroes doesn’t go away with age. It’s just that the heroes change. Just think of all those boys and men out there wearing the jersey of their favorite ball player. That is not too far removed from donning a brightly colored T-shirt with a big ‘S’ emblazoned on the chest. After all, everyone wants to be a Super Hero.

 Loading ...

Connor and I took a ride on the Metro Gold Line today ($3 each for an all day pass).  It is only 2 stops from our house to the stop near Best Buy and Petsmart.  The Gold line runs along the center of 210 freeway in Pasadena.  So, as we sat on the platform awaiting our train, we watched trucks, and cars and buses drive past on the freeway.  The train arrived and the door slid open with a whoosh.  Connor hopped on the train and immediately turned to me and said, "Daddy, hold you!"  So, I picked him up and sat down.  I suppose he was a little unsure about the whole experience, but he seemed to like it afterward.

We spent 20 minutes or so playing at Best Buy.  They have a little station in the center of the store where kids can try out games and computers.  Connor streaked across the dance pad controller of "Dance, Dance Revolution 2" several times, then we proceeded to the television section.  We sat and watched movie trailers and other promo material in one of the home theater setups where they have couches.  Connor really liked the trailer for Stealth, an upcoming movie about a computer controlled jet fighter that goes rogue and tries to kill everyone.  Thinking machines always get struck by lighting and try to kill everyone in the movies (except for Johnny 5 in Short Circuit, he liked people and played with butterflies).  We rounded out the trip by playing the keyboard and pushing a vacuum cleaner.

Next up, Petsmart.  Connor was most interested in the fish and the dogs.  We also looked at birds, rodents (hamsters, mice, rats, and guinea pigs) and cats.  The dogs were all in a big holding area with glass walls so you could see them.  Several attendants stood around supervising as the dogs played.  There was a partition separating the area into two parts.  I couldn’t exactly determine why, but they occasionally passed some of the dogs from one side to the other.  Usually it was smaller dogs, so maybe they were keeping them away from the big dogs.  However, on the small dog side there was also a great dane.  Maybe he just thought he was small like in that old Disney movie, The Ugly Dachsund.  Anyway, when the dogs got too rowdy, the attendant had a hose and would spray the dogs.  It was quite effective.

Finally, we ate some lunch from Togo’s (a sandwich shop like Subway) next to a fountain, took a potty break and then headed back to the train.  Connor got tired of walking and I carried all 40 pounds of him for about 3/4 of a mile to and from the train stations.  Now, he is in his bed "resting" which sounds more like pounding cars against each other.  It was a fun trip and we might take another ride tonight since our pass was good all day.

If you read Megan’s blog, then you know that she has left me…alone with Connor, that is.  Her sister is vacationing for a week and they have made their annual trek to San Diego.  Although, I will complete less work in the next four days, I am looking forward to spending this time with Connor. 

So far, it has been enjoyable.  We took a walk to the park, ate and took a nap.  He even successfully pooped in the potty.  Unfortunately, naptime was not 100% successful since Connor had a little accident and wet the bed.  I have only been on duty for about 7 hours now, so there is still time for interesting developments.

I will probably post a little more frequently this week.  I have extra time while I am at home.  Tomorrow, I plan on taking Connor on the Metro Rail (Megan has our car).  It stops close to a Best Buy and Petsmart.  We can eat lunch at the Togo’s nearby.  I’ll let you know how the outing goes. 

Connor,

Lately, when I get home from work you start asking me to go outside and play basketball (actually, it sounds like "play bak-sik-ball, daddy").  Playing basketball consists of me shooting the ball into the basket and you retrieving the ball when I miss (which is quite regularly).  You are so excited when the ball goes in the hoop.  I know in a few more years you won’t be nearly so impressed with my lousy basketball skills.  For now, it is so enjoyable to just spend the time teaching you how to throw the ball and catch it.

I’m looking forward to all the moments when I get to play games with you as you grow up.  I always liked sports when I was young and I still do.  Hopefully, there are lots of balls to be thrown or kicked, races to be run, and games to be won.

 Love,

 Dad

Connor,

I am amazed at how many things you are aware of at 2 years old.  Most of the time I assume you are oblivious to our grown-up conversations about where we to go that day as you play with your trucks or flop around on the floor.  Then, I’m surprised later when you ask about the mall.  You really are very observant.  We can’t pass a bus or train on the highway without you yelling "yellow bus" or "choo-choo." 

I am excited and a little saddened when I see how quickly you absorb your surroundings and learn the ways of the world.  A couple of situation really made this resonate in me. We were at Best Buy one day to buy a new printer cartridge.  We walked around, played with the keyboards, and looked at the big TVs.   At Best Buy, they are always showing movie trailers and other canned content on the TV sets.  You were so excited to see a "fire-birebuck" (a.k.a firetruck) on one of the TVs.  It turned out to be a clip from Terminator 3, not something I would usually let a 2-year old watch.  Within a few moments, Arnold’s character manages to flip the "fire truck" (which turned out to be a crane) in order to delay his pursuer.  You instantly got very agitated and started yelling "fire-birebuck crash, fire-birebuck crash."  Wanting to shield you from this, I turned the TV off, but you get crying and trying to turn the image back on.  By the time you actually pushed the button, the next clip was on.  You kept mourning the loss of the "fire-birebuck" for the rest of the day.

The second situation happened last week.  Your grandpa Jim had an extended layover in Los Angeles on his way back to Australia.  We met him, Maggie and Rebecca near the airport in Santa Monica at the 3rd St. Promenade, a stretch of shops and restaurants along a street closed to traffic. We stopped at a Border’s Bookstore and browsed the aisles.  You found an airplane book, one covering the design and construction of the Boeing 777.  When it was time to leave, you didn’t want to part with your airplane book.  So we tried to find a more appropriate book for you in the children’s section.  There was only one airplane book. We purchased it and left the store. Within 10 minutes I realized that this book was not the best idea.  The book covered the flying machines from World War II. Although the book was largely illustrated, it contained a few photographs from the war.  One page depicted the bombing at Pearl Harbor.  You fixated on a photograph of a bombed ship in the harbor.  You were convinced it was a crashed airplane and repeatedly cried out, "airplane crash."

Your distress at seeing these images reminded me how calloused we become to the destruction and ruin that is part of life.  You are already becoming acquainted with this.  How long before you accept these things as normal?  I hope you can cling to your innocence a little while longer.