Denver

We spent 3 days in Denver visiting Grandma and Jackson, a friend Evan made in Vietnam. I hit it off with Jackson's parents, whom I had met in Saigon in December. Adorable Jackson is about 6 months younger than Evan but he holds his own when they interact. We all went out for Vietnamese food one night. Here is (left to right) Jackson's mom, Laurie, Jackson, Evan, and myself:

Laurie maintains an awesome blog that puts mine to shame. Check out her blog post on the adventures of Evan and Jackson in Denver.

Evan's big acquisition in Denver was a pair of "crocs", which are plastic shoes that sell for something like 100 times their production cost but are nevertheless a rage among kids (especially in "granola" states like Colorado). These were a gift from Grandma, and Evan was so cute in the shoe store marching up to the mirror and excitedly evaluating the color of croc he was trying on. He settled on green. Here is a picture of Evan and Grandma on Grandma's balcony:

For the trip home, I did my best to prepare Evan to sleep on the plane home. He got a good nap so as to not be overtired, he got some play time in, and he had a good meal and big cup of milk. My best plans did not play out, though, as the excitement of the trip caught up with him and he squirmed the entire flight - struggling to fall asleep. Thankfully, the adjacent seat was empty and the surrounding passengers friendly. Evan fell asleep within seconds of getting into his car seat on the ride home.

The Fifth Flight

Yesterday was Evan's fifth flight of his life (and first domestic). I carefully booked a big plane on a less busy day but it was still 100% full. When we boarded, I eyed the person in the seat in front of me and I just knew, from his Bose noise cancelling headphones and designer sunglasses that he was a recliner. Sure enough, his seat went all the way back the moment the wheels came up. This did not give Evan and me much space since 1) the guy in front of me was in my lap and 2) Evan was in my lap and he has big belly. To make things worse, my neighbor was beefy, so things were tight.

In all, the flight was just fine. Evan ate through all the snacks I brought, read his books, played with his toys, and played with me. It turned out to be a great one-on-one bonding experience. Evan was laughing out loud at one game we played and I was just waiting for somebody to complain about Evan being too happy. My neighboring passengers were quite friendly and patient with Evan's offers of cantaloupe.

I tagged all my bags and Evan to make sure nothing would get misplaced:

The Moms' Club Picnic

I took Evan to the Moms' Club picnic today, at Will Rogers State Park near Santa Monica. The picnic was nice and a great chance to meet other moms in the club I have joined (along with the dads). I got to see live polo being played for the first time, too.

Evan did just fine but was a bit overwhelmed with the crowd and all there was to see. He also got two head wounds - one from falling in the dirt and one from a stick (he and another kid wanted the same stick and it seems Evan lost). These "wounds" were just scrapes really, and Evan took it all pretty much in stride.

My big observation is that as dad member of the Mom's club, I was naturally assigned a "dad" job (grilling). What did not dawn on me immediately was that all the other dads had a mom around to help watch the kids. I, on the other hand, was challenged with grilling and watching Evan simultaneously. So, from now on I need to remember what "hat" I'm wearing in a given situation and make sure I don't get take on too much.

Teddy Bear Antics

Normally I don't blog until the evening but I could not resist. Evan had a hard time going down for his afternoon nap today so I spent a little time reading (his entire collection of) books sitting in my lap. His attention span allows for 1-3 minutes per book so it did not take too long. I then put him in the crib and helped him get settled down. He took his big bear and propped him up carefully against the side of the crib. Cool enough, I think. Then, Evan stood up, did a u-turn and sat down in the bear's lap. That is one of the cutest things I have seen in a long time.

I did not want to spoil the moment with a photo, though I suspect it will be repeated.

The Jell-O Meltdown

Ok, so Evan is running a little fever today - possibly teething (canines are coming in) or possibly an ear infection or possibly something else. So, he's been crabby. But he absolutely perked up (started hopping up and down in his high chair) when I offered Jell-O. He set to work happily using his spoon and digging it out of the glass it was in (reused baby food jar). Eventually he got frustrated and started using his fingers. Then he put his whole hand in. I started laughing and Evan completely melted down. Unconsolable. I thought he had his hand stuck but it came right out. Evan sobbed and sobbed and only calmed down when I picked him up in his sticky state and held him for a bit. Either this a part of normal emotional development or Evan has some trauma in his past involving something like Jell-O. Any ideas?

My Cup

I dug through my things in the garage and found the plate, bowl, and cup that I had used as a baby. Now, 38 years later, Evan can use the same things. Will they last until he has kids?

Recent Happenings

I have not mentioned that I'm breaking new ground. Earlier this week, I got word that I had been accepted, evidently after a secret vote, in to the Westchester MOMS club - the first dad to be admitted. It's good to have a truly local network of parents I can get to know, and hopefully more dads will join. Yesterday, I attended a playground meeting at Sand Dune park in Manhattan Beach. They have a nice playground and a huge sand dune. Evan wanted nothing to do with the toddler area so I let him play on the bigger kids' equipment instead.

When changing Evan yesterday, I tried to calm him down with a song (he's been really restless during diaper changes lately). To my surprise, as I sung "Itsy Bitsy Spider" (terribly), Evan started with the correct hand gestures. I guess he has been learning it in day care!

I noticed that Evan's 12 month clothes are getting noticeably tight - so he's definitely growing.

At dinner, I offered Evan 2 million Dong (about $140) to eat a piece of arugula but he did not go for it. A million just isn't what it used to be. I'm not sure Evan really understood my offer anyway.