gabe

The Easter Dinosaur

My sister-in-law, Carol, sent us some Easter chocolates with a dinosaur on the box and Cora asked me about the Easter Dinosaur.

I do not endorse fictitious holiday symbols that are a misguided attempt by parents to create "wonder" and for stores to cash-in on a cuddly character for marketing.   I understand.  Cadbury is not going to sell more chocolate if they are peddled by a biblical figure.

This isn't me protesting against commercialism.  I simply don't like the hype and I don't enjoy the charade of being a parent and having to manufacture the 'fun' of the Easter Bunny.

I can support the Easter Dinosaur though.  The naughty or nice list is believably enforced by a reptilian carnivore.  And Jurassic Park did for dinosaurs what Jaws did to sharks.  I think they could use some good publicity.  At least dinosaurs laid eggs.

We have been going to the beach often.  As I sit here on the couch, I can't wait to go back.  The last few trips we have met up with our friends, the Briens.  We have relatively low expectations when we travel to the ocean.  As Cole says: good weather, good waves and no jellyfish are all we need to make us happy; and to be honest, even the days with jellyfish aren't that bad.  But to be able to play in the surf with friends and watch our kids together is a dream.

Gabe loves to put his hands in his mouth.  I really hope he isn't teething yet.  I can't figure out another reason why he would be drooling like a great dane and trying to see if both fists will fit in his maw.  He will even put his hands deep in his gob causing him to cough and sputter.  His eyes water up and we wonder if his hands really taste as nice as he thinks they do.

He can support his head well enough that we have been putting him in the backpack carrier on walks.  It is the first step to getting him out hiking.  I think he is as excited as I am.

This year, Easter weekend public holiday here in Australia is five days long.  We get Good Friday off and since ANZAC Day falls on Monday, we celebrate Easter Monday on Tuesday.  Two more days to eat egg-shaped chocolate, grill meat over fire, and enjoy the exfoliating properties of beach sand as I apply more sunscreen.

Good Day Sunshine

I just wrote a post about tag on another blog I am a member of. If you are interested, click on this.

I am a Beatles fan (for those of you who do not recognize the genius of John, Paul and George, the very name of this blog is the title of a song on Sgt. Pepper's). This also makes my children Beatles fans. Maybe?

Your taste in music has roots in the culture you are brought up in. The seven notes (major notes with whole steps between them) of the western musical scale do not seem to adequately express music played with sitar and shamisen. There are schools of Korean drumming that baffle me with their use of meter. It seems to make sense if you grew up listening to it--though my parents might still be baffled why I took an interest in rap music.

With that said it is still surprising to me when the songs I truly love are also liked by my kids. I love hearing the kids sing along as I'm driving and when they request a song to be played again. They seem to really like songs with the word "sun" in them: Good Day Sunshine (Beatles), Here Comes the Sun (Beatles), You Are My Sunshine, Island in the Sun (Weezer), Keep on the Sunny Side, etc... I may test my theory further by exposing them to Blister in the Sun (Violent Femmes) and Aquarius-Let the Sunshine In (Fifth Dimension).

...I hope you don't mind that I put down in words

How wonderful life is while you're in the world

"Your Song"

-Elton John

We were driving home from the museum and Cora asked me "what does that mean?" I was thinking at the time how wonderfully sweet it is that she might have an inkling of the themes of love and gratitude in the song. But upon further reflection, she also asked me why Dora says "Glay-see-os" (Gracias) and other items of interest that had nothing to do with poignant sentimentality.

Speaking of the museum. Cora and I walked into GoMA yesterday afternoon and found they had installed a three-story potato-sack slide. You can ride it for free! As if going to the museum for free and feasting your brain on art wasn't good enough, they now provide adrenaline-inducing entertainment. I have no idea how long it will remain there, but I am going to take my co-workers this week.

Cole modelling wings he wanted me to tape to his back

Cole attends a Judo class on Saturday mornings which is good for both of us. He gets physical activity and experience dealing with listening, winning and losing. I get to watch him learn and I have to sit on the side of the mat with my mouth shut.

(Cole is the second from the right)

Gabe is still a good sleeper. I keep mentioning it because it has to end some time. We don't know why we are currently blessed with a baby who enjoys sleep as much as we do, but we remain thankful and aware of its fleeting nature.

He is also getting more vocal lately. Mostly one syllable cooing and other tonal utterances, but it is clearly a form of communication that we respond with equally (and increasingly) ridiculous noises in an attempt to speak baby.