Movie Milestone

My "little" Max hit another cultural milestone yesterday when he went to see his first movie in a theater. Scott took him to see the new Disney/Pixar flick, Up while I was hosting book club back here at the house (young Henry cooperated by going to bed early and staying asleep).

According to Scott, Max loved the movie. He sat ramrod straight at the end of his too-big chair and took the whole thing in. There was some period of loud talking halfway through, but it was a friendly audience in the giant Alameda theater, and I think Max settled back down fairly quickly. Upon his return home, Max was particularly excited to tell me that he got to eat M&Ms while watching the movie.

I can't believe that my baby is old enough to sit through a film in a movie theater! A new era has begun. The next thing you know, he'll be sneaking into violent, R-rated action flicks with his buddies and then asking to borrow the car so he can take his girlfriend to see the latest date movie. Sigh...

Brothers

Max and Henry are becoming more and more in sync as the days go by. Whenever we go to the park now, they are united in a new and endlessly fascinating pursuit -- stick collection. The two of them will LITERALLY amuse themselves for an hour wandering the park, collecting sticks, exchanging sticks with each other, and locating new sticks. It's both entertaining to watch and somewhat perplexing. Maybe it's because I'm female and because I grew up with a sister, but I can't ever remember being so interested in a lowly piece of wood. Cabbage Patch Kids and stuffed animals? You bet your life! Dusty pieces of fallen tree? Not so much. Is this some early manifestation of the male fascination with weaponry? A genetic impulse toward hunting? Some sort of Freudian phallic extension? Who knows. In the end, I'm just happy that they're having a good time and enjoying being together. Clearly, someone is going to "lose an eye" at some point, but everything worth doing involves an element of danger, right?

Lest I despair that my two boys are missing out on the "softer side" of life, I can take comfort in another current interest they seem to share -- striking yoga poses. Below you can see the two boys in their favorite position -- Downward Dog. You can also see Max attempting to balance in Tree Pose. Pretty damn cute if you ask me...

Chaos -- Gerber Style

Over the past twenty-four hours, the following events have transpired in the Gerber household:

1.) While I was changing Henry's diaper upstairs, Max smashed an avocado all over the kitchen for no apparent reason.

2.) Henry knocked over a table lamp in the living room and shattered a lightbulb.

3.) Max turned on the heat to 85 degrees and it took me several hours to figure out why it was so stinkin' hot in our house.

4.) One of the boys (my money is on Max) set the alarm clock in our bedroom so that Scott and I were awakened at midnight by Gregorian chants playing at ear-splitting volume.

Just another day in the life.

China Beach

Sometimes unexpected outings are the best. After nap time today, we realized that we didn't have a plan for the difficult hours between 3pm and bedtime. After much indecision and bickering (The park? Already went to one this morning. Ice cream? Not hungry. Walking on Park Street? Too hot), we just threw the boys in the car and decided to go for a drive. Using our new Fastrack pass, we zipped across the Bay Bridge and started meandering our way through San Francisco. The boys were happy in the back seat, and the city was sparkling under the unusually warm sun. We cruised by Scott's old office, and the small school where I taught one summer between terms in grad school. Eventually, we ended up at China Beach, a location I last visited over ten years ago when Scott and I were childless and fancy free. Well, we had two children in tow today, and while the experience wasn't exactly fancy free (How did Henry get up those stairs so quickly? What are we going to do now that Max is soaking wet and we don't have a change of clothes?) it was wonderful seeing the location through their eyes. Max and Henry both loved jumping the waves (hence the soaked shorts and t-shirt. After we stripped off the shirt, Max got really sandy and found himself a sharp stick. Does anyone else think that he looks like a boy out of Lord of the Flies?). Max and Dada built a castle out of sand and rocks, and Henry waved hello to everyone on the beach. As we were packing up to leave, we saw three dolphins leaping in the surf. It's hard to imagine a more perfect afternoon. Have I mentioned how much I love California?

Sticks, Rocks, Ducks, and Friends

Another wonderful day at the beach...

Odds and Ends

Since I last posted about the boys, the following things have occurred:

1.) Henry stabbed himself in the eye with a toy car and had to go to the eye doctor (he's fine).
2.) Max seems to have developed Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (freaks out about water on his hands, has to get out of bed at least once to pee even if he JUST PEED in order to fall asleep, has to walk his lawnmower around the block in EXACTLY the same way each and every time and loses it if I suggest a different route, etc).
3.) Henry has determined that a baby can live on bananas, milk, and crackers alone.
4.) Max cried when Scott had to leave the house and go back to work one night. "Why do you have to go back to work, Daddy? Are you going to come home again?" (heartbreaking)
5.) Henry has created a game where you remove the throw pillows from the couch, position them on the floor, sit on them, kick your legs, stand up and reposition the cushions then repeat. Inexplicably, he and Max LOVE this game. I LOVE the fact that it keeps them out of my hair for 15 minutes.
6.) Max now wants to know whether or not any given animal is a predator and what that animal eats. All predators are then classified as "mean" animals even though I've tried to explain a hundred times that these animals aren't mean as such, they're just following through with their biological imperative to hunt.
7.) Henry now says "thank you" ("dank u") when you hand him something. What a polite boy!
8.) In a recent discussion about marriage, Max told me that he wanted to marry me. When I told him that this wouldn't be possible, he concluded that he would marry his friend Hayley instead.
9.) Out of the blue Henry has decided that he will feed himself with a spoon. Dear Lord, what a mess he makes with his oatmeal!

The list could go on and on. These boys are endlessly wonderful and surprising and entertaining! I've included a few photos below to show my loyal followers (Rhona and Nicolle), what we've been up to lately.

The boys ride their tricycles.

Bad to the Bone!

Boys and their Shades (Doesn't Henry look vaguely like Bono?)

Mother's Day Brunch on the Harbor in Alameda.

We're glad to have you here, Grandma Rhona!

Boys explore the native foliage.

So cute from the back!

Eating raisins at the picnic table.

Hanging out with Daddy in the back yard.

What a Difference a Year Makes

Mother's Day 2009

Mother's Day 2008

More Adam Lambert

My mom caught up with Adam on the Jeff and Jer Show this morning in San Diego. You can catch the whole interview at:

http://jeffandjer.star941sandiego.com/pages/mainpage.html?feed=274020&article=5430894

Go, Mom!

Danielle's Mom is Famous!

Those of you who watch American Idol will know that Adam Lambert is one of the final three contestants this season. As it turns out, my mom was his first grade teacher! She was on the Star 94.1 morning show with Jeff and Jer this morning and will be back on again tomorrow speaking with Adam in a "Voices from your Past" sort of segment. If you'd like to hear today's interview check out the podcast link:

http://jeffandjer.star941sandiego.com/pages/jjpodcast.html

Scroll down to today's date and listen to the 7:30 to 8:00 am segment. My mom comes on at 23:09.