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2012-05-01: So, as is per usual for a Tuesday, Zoe and I dropped Niklas off at school this morning and then went to the gym where Zoe tore it up at the playroom. Now, our path to the bus from the gym takes up past the Apple Store. The weather today was fairly decent, so they had the doors propped open. Zoe, being the curious sort that she is, decided to bolt into the open door and run around the display tables a bit. We had a couple of minutes to kill before the bus showed up (thanks, CTA bus tracker app!), so I was cool with that. After twelve or so laps around the iPads, it was time to head out, so I took her by the hand and we started walking toward the exit. We were about ten feet or so from the door when she decided to bolt yet again and show herself out. Unfortunately, high speed Zoe has trouble differentiating between an open door and well cleaned glass wall. Once she stopped crying, she asked "Daddy, what happened?" I told her she ran into a window, but I think what I should have said is that I stopped her from running by using my mind powers. Next time. 2012-05-06: Well, I missed a couple of days worth or updates due to some good excuse that's not laziness or drinking. Here's what's been up, much like Zoe in the five o'clock hour of the morning for some reason. Wednesday: Zoe and I took Niklas to school, then we went to her music class where she updated her dancing style to incorporate kicking. Then we took the car to the dealer for an oil change that devolved into a four and half hour dystopian nightmare that included us walking to Niklas's school and walking back with him to the dealer for some awesome waiting. Let us never speak of it again. Thursday: We did a bunch of stuff. Niklas's afternoon t-ball practice was canceled, so we went to the park in the morning for some batting practice and general running about. We also got Niklas a haircut (at his barber, not the park), grabbed lunch at Michael Diversey's and played with (or, if you're Zoe, tired to eat) some Play-Doh. Friday: Andrya took the day off, so she hung out with Zoe while Niklas was at school in the morning. In the afternoon, we drove over to Indianapolis where we were serenaded by the dulcet tones of Niklas's coughing as he is apparently allergic to leaving the city of Chicago. Saturday: Andrya took the kids to get donuts for breakfast while Josh (Niklas's godfather) and I ran in a half marathon which we managed to finish without dying, so success. Later, we all walked over Victory Field (home of the Indianapolis Indians, the AAA affiliate of the five time World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates) where the kids acquired a couple of stuffed versions of this guy and I got the Indians hat I have coveted since the Pirates got rid of their affiliation with Nashville, who had awful hats. Sunday (today, even): Niklas had a t-ball game this morning at 9:00, so we hit the road from Indy at five Chicago time. Niklas hit the ball really well today and joined his team mates in some high comedy defensive-esque efforts. Zoe took a massive nap today, which she needed after recording her latest album, No Sleep At All in Indy. 2012-05-08: The weather today was super nice, so we headed to the playground (much as Zoe has requested every day since she learned to talk). That was fun. For the kids, I mean; there's not a lot for me to do at the playground other than make sure Zoe doesn't fall off things which, by the way, success. Niklas ran into his friend Catherine from school, so I left him to his own devices lest I mess up his game (I don't really care about messing up his game, the existence of which is purely theoretical at this point, but I will take any excuse to cut the number of children I have to entertain in half). Today was a marked improvement over yesterday when it rained all day and the kids kept throwing all of the cushions off of the couch thereby messing with my efforts to lay down on the couch. By the way, I posted some new pictures on Sunday but I negelected to mention that. So, consider that mentioned. 2012-05-09: So, today in "Ridiculous Things Said By Niklas", there's this: "Daddy, why didn't you pick up my dirty clothes last night?" My response: Andrya is in Zurich until Saturday, which is a drag and also explains how dirty clothes ended up on the floor for nigh twenty hours. Other than that, though, it was a pretty good day. This morning, Niklas had school and Zoe had her music class and then we went to the playground in the afternoon. We also stopped by the weird toy store, which is always a good time. And now, here's the entirety of Zoe's first haircut which was late last year. Timely! 2012-05-10: So, Niklas had t-ball practice with the Braves today. Who is furious that she's not allowed to play t-ball with her brother's team? This lady: The coach had all of the kids gathered together on the mound as he explained to them something like "don't stand five feet from the tee when someone's hitting" or "you shouldn't all chase the ball at once" or whatever. Zoe: I want to go with the coach. Me: I'm sorry, Zoe C, you're not quite big enough yet. Zoe: (throws glove on the ground; stomps off) Nooooooooooooooooo! 2012-05-11: So, Zoe's all about singing these days. Mostly, she wants to sing the "I Have A Name" song she knows from her music class. She thinks "Jason" and "Andrya" are particularly hilarious names. She'll shout "I have a name" whatever (an actual name, "gentleman", "doggie", "baseball") at you (me) until you (still me, maybe Andrya) sing her the song in appropriate fashion. Another song she's a fan of is "Monkey vs Robot", which explains why she was singing said song today at 2:00 instead of taking a nap. 2012-05-13: Well, Niklas and Zoe had a pretty fun Mother's Day with Andrya today. We kicked things off with an action packed trip to the grocery store as I had neglected to buy important Mother's Day stuff like flowers and the basic elements of food. Andrya was still sleeping off some jet lag when we got back, so that worked out. Then the kids helped me (more accurately, shouted at me to) make some chocolate chip pancakes and they gave Andrya her Mother's Day gifts (a couple of CDs and a pair of shoes that Zoe tried to appropriate for herself). Mostly, though, they just liked hanging out and talking Andrya's ear off about whatever. So, a fine time was had by all. Did I take any pictures this week? Hardly any! 2012-05-14: So, it was super nice again today which means we headed off to the playground. Niklas loves the playground, but Zoe looooooooooves it loves it. The only thing she doesn't like about it is when it's time to go. "Noooooooooo!" says Zoe. "Go to playground!" Again, this is after we have spent nigh an hour running about at the playground. Anyway, we had fun. Zoe went down the slide a few thousand times and Niklas once again displayed his predilection for climbing things. I did some standing around, which I don't object to. 2012-05-15: Well, we broke the sunblock out for the first time this year. "But Jay, haven't you had the kids out in the sun many, many times this year?" I'm sure you're wondering. Shut it. Anyway, I pushed Zoe on a swing for nigh ever while Niklas tried to dig a hole to China (or the middle of the Indian Ocean, more accurately) in the sand box. Then, we went to the beer store. 2012-05-16: Here are some phrases that my children say fairly often: "No, I don't want to" (whatever it is I suggest we do) - Zoe "Daddy, I've got some bad news for you" - Niklas (note that his news is rarely something that would be considered bad) "Want to watch Yo Gabba. YO GABBA!" - Zoe "OK, pigeon. Sit down." - Niklas (this is from a Bugs Bunny cartoon) "Mine!" - Zoe (I'm working on this) "I'm a cyborg! Half man, half machine!" - Niklas (he's not, though) And one from me: "Daddy needs a minute." 2012-05-17: So, today being Thursday, we didn't have anything going on in the morning. Since it was once again exceptionally nice out, we headed for the playground. And then we went to five other ones. I might print up commemorative shirts. To illustrate the impact of a six playground day between generations, I was near fatally exhausted while Niklas chatted on at length and Zoe was literally jumping up and down in her seat at the Goose Island when we stopped there for lunch. Remind me tomorrow to tell you the story of Zoe seeing a cat. 2012-05-22: Well, I've brought the slack for the past few days. Sorry about that. Some jerks with power plants have expected me to do some sort of power plant related stuff. At any rate, the other day, we took the bus to Niklas's tee ball practice. On the way home, Zoe and I were sitting on one side in some center facing seats and Niklas was sitting on the other. There was a lady sitting next to Niklas with one of those pet carrier duffel bags on her lap with a cat inside. "Zoe", I said, "do you see the kitty?" "Where?", she asked. "With the lady next to Niklas." "There's no kitty", she said in her why-are-you-so-silly voice. "She has a kitty in her bag", I replied. She stared at the bag for a minute until she saw the cat through the bag's mesh panel. It was then that Zoe uncorked a squeal of joy the likes of which I had never heard. So, per Zoe, cats in bags are awesome. 2012-05-24: So, this happened today: I failed to get a good picture of the part where she filled her glove with dirt and put it on top of her head, but that happened, too. All, in all, then, it was a good day. We hit the playground this morning before it got too hot (upper 80s are too hot in May, says I) and then ran some errands, one of which took up to the school Niklas will be attending in the fall. He thinks the playground looks cool. 2012-05-27: Well, the holiday weekend has progressed pretty well so far. On Friday, Niklas went to school while Zoe and I blew off the gym and went to the playground. Zoe continued her efforts to master the rock climbing wall and worked on her sidewalk chalk art. She was reasonably successful in both endeavors. Yesterday, Niklas's friend Mason came over in the morning and they tore it up but good. I missed most of it with a prior engagement that was no doubt less exhausting than three hours with two five year old boys. Today, we cooked a bunch of food on the grill and tried to avoid the oppressive heat outside. We did venture out for Niklas's swimming lesson, which was seasonable. Here are some new pictures, including a few of the elusive Niklas. 2012-05-29: The children have not yet learned an appropriate distaste for temperatures over 80 degrees, so they insisted that we go to the playground yesterday. On the plus side, we went fairly early in the morning so it wasn't as hot as it could have been, but on the other hand, it was hot. Still, the kids had a good time. In the afternoon, we went over to Jared and Dana's for a cookout. Zoe's eating habits are rapidly deteriorating (as I think happened to Niklas around this age), so she had a fajita that consisted pretty much of beans and cheese. You are not broke and in college yet, Zoe. Niklas had a great time playing with Aaron and, outside of not eating, Zoe had fun as well. Today, we probably did something but I have been on the phone with the cable company for an hour (with little result!) so I don't know what it may have been. I'll ask Niklas tomorrow. 2012-05-30: So, like her brother before her, Zoe is a big fan of the swings. Unlike Niklas, she's not interested in staying on one for twenty minutes or whatever. Instead, she likes to swing for two or three minutes and switch to another (often identical) swing for a few minutes until she's been on pretty much all the swings ever eight or ten times. This is in no way incredibly annoying. 2012-05-31: Well, as is per usual in Chicago, we followed up our string of 80 or 90 degree days with a cold (mid-40s!), rainy mess. This put the kibosh on our regularly scheduled t-ball practice, but we did do some other stuff. With a report on that, here's Niklas: