November Pics and Vids

Well, Geoffrey has had something like three cakes and four parties. We pretty much maxed him out on birthday celebration. In this month's photos, you will find lots of pics of Geoff celebrating. There is also a series of pictures of Jacob and Geoffrey cooperating (totally spontaneous, I did no coaching) to use a water fountain. It's pretty impressive.

In addition, I loaded four more videos. Most of them need no explanation. The one below is a small taste of the major goofball that Geoffrey can be.

Geoffrey's Birthday

It was three years ago today that Geoffrey Shannon Curtis Wortham was born at Barnes Jewish Hospital in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Today, we had a little party at his school. They have a tradition where the birthday person gets to pick a classmate to be the sun. The birthday person holds a globe and walks around the 'sun' as many times as they are years old. The class then sings happy birthday and then everybody had cup cakes.

When we got home tonight, we presented Geoffrey with a cake and sang him happy birthday. Geoffrey is very modest. He didn't really accept that today was HIS special day until nearly bedtime. Geoffrey put in his PJs, brushed his teeth, and climbed into bed with Mom. When I finally got Jacob ready for bed, he decided that he wanted to lay in Mom and Dad's bed in the middle between Mom and Geoff. Geoffrey really didn't want to give up his spot and Mom reiterated that it was Geoff's birthday and that he should be able to choose. While Jacob was fussing with me about this, I heard Geoffrey say, "It's my birthday, it is."

Geoff loves his brother very much and usually just gives in when Jacob indicates that he wants something other that what Geoffrey wants. I was very proud to see him stick up for himself.

Geoffrey on beans and Jacob on robot heads.

I had a really great talk with Jacob on the way home tonight. We were talking about weird diseases you can get from malnutrition (rickets, scurvy and the like). He told me about knockyourheadoff. Apparently, this is a rare condition where you have a fall or something and knock you head off. He went on to tell me how they replace your head with a robot head complete with painted on hair. I asked Jacob what they do with your real head, do they perhaps put it on a robot body? He said, "No, they just throw it in the garbage." Awesome!

The pic is Geoffrey snapping beans with mom. You can check out the video with his how-to here.

Updates and changes

Hey everybody. I forgot to mention last time that I have posted the pictures for October. Also, I uploaded a couple of videos to our YouTube page. In addition to that, I have added some links there on the right. They should be pretty straight forward. The only one that might need a little unpacking is that last one. There is a service called Bot-a-blog that will send you e-mails when a blog that you are following gets updated. Seemed pretty handy so I created an account and added a link. If you click on that link, it will take you to a website where you can input your e-mail address. From that moment on, when this site gets updated you will get an e-mail. Pretty cool, huh?

Helper

A colleague and I have discussed some characteristics of our children that drive us nuts but that we will be proud of when they are older. Geoffrey is stubborn and independent, traits that he shares with my friends daughter. When he is on his own, these traits will make him strong person who will not be easily swayed by the influence of others. Right now they make him an unmanageable pain in the neck. Last night he was moving a step ladder into the living room to get something from the top of the entertainment center. Realizing what was happening, I went in there and got it for him. He made me put it back so that he could get it himself. He will frequently ignore your advice and make his own mistakes. The best you can do sometimes is to remind him of those mistakes.

The picture that accompanies this post is of Geoffrey and Grandpa carrying stuff out to Grandma & Grandpa's truck. While he is nearly unmovable, his is at least not inconsiderate. Minnieland, where the boys go for daycare, gives out suckers on Friday afternoon. On the couple of occasions where Jacob is not there when I pick Geoffrey up, Geoffrey always gets extra suckers for Jacob. This weekend, he was very concerned when he heard Grandma and Grandpa talking about the dogs being too distracted to eat. He chased one of their dogs around the kitchen with it's food bowl making every attempt to get it to eat. Back to the photo. Geoffrey is always willing to lend a hand. In fact, he can be kinda pushy about it, helping people against their will. This picture is Geoffrey, helping Grandpa.

Loves to cook

That's Geoff. He loves to cook. He's actually quite pushy about it. Saturday, he and mom made oatmeal. Check out the videos. Their called Geoffrey cooking and Geoffrey, the critic. It should make you smile a bit

Fall of '06

I just uploaded pics back to September of 2006. Check it out.

That's enough for tonight. More later.

Further Jacob talent

This evening, Pizza and Movie night, Jacob built a ship from loose parts. Kelly had already gone to bed so when he said he wanted to show her, I suggested that we take a picture of it and show her in the morning. Jacob thought this was a great idea. This way she could 'hear' it. "Hear it?", I thought. I took the picture and Jacob wanted to see it move. I told him that the picture I took wouldn't move but that I would take another one that would. The rest of the story was captured on video.

Photos from summer

Hey, everybody. I forgot to mention last time that I have also uploaded a bunch more photos to our web gallery. I have pictures from the rest of summer as well as pics from our trip to Arkansas. In addition, I have uploaded pictures as far back as February of 2007. I expect to keep 'em coming until I run out of space.

Click here to check out all the new pics.

It's a Tie Fighter

We learned something very important about Jacob recently. In a conversation where I was describing some of Jacob's more eccentric behavior to our friend, Sean, he suggested that Jacob might be a gestalt learner. I pitched this to Kelly who began to do research on the subject. The gestalt learner put her onto the Visual Spacial learner. The descriptions of this learning style were shockingly accurate. These are people who think in pictures. When they describe things, they do so using imagery and complete pictures. The tend to be a bit aloof in a classroom where they tend to seem behind until, all of a sudden, they nail it. When they learn something, it is locked in. They have no need for repetition and memorization. Their favorite toys are those that can be used to create. They have little use for 'single purpose toys'. For example, a car is just that. Unless you use it to create a larger story, it doesn't really do anything else. Legos, on the other hand, can be anything. When they create, it is usually with a great deal of rather exact detail. They are recreating something whole and intact in their brain. As a result, they often have rather exact mental images of how encounters and events are supposed to go and frequently get let down. They don't like loud noise, but love live performances. Occupationally, they are often artists and architects.

School started

Well, the time has come. Jacob started school. As of this writing he has finished one week of kindergarten. His class mascot is a frog and his teacher is Ms. Majeski. After his first day he was asking us when he was going to be able to go back. We'll see how long that lasts.

Jacob's first pun

We are packing tonight. Getting ready for our trip. I am on the couch folding laundry and Kelly is fixing some issue at her work. Jacob comes into the room laughing. He says, "Hey look! Crocs and socks!" This is both a clever rhyme and a play on Dr. Suess' famous and frustrating Fox in Socks, a book that Geoffrey makes us read about every other night.

Miscommunications

This evening, Kelly and I were sitting in the living room having a little grown up quiet time. Jacob and Geoffrey were playing in the other room. Their voices were gradually rising and eventually we hear Jacob yell, "I can't understand what you're talking about!"

The humor of this is, of course, that Geoffrey frequently has his pacifier (his kiss-it) in his mouth and mumbles a bit.

In other news, Geoff reports that, "Tate hurt me. He's a bad guy."

Photographs

Okay, I just finished posting a selection of photographs going back to May of 2007. Come check it out.

In more family related news, Geoffrey is nearly potty trained. Whoo-hoo! We should save enough on diapers and pull-ups to make up for the rise in gas prices.

Pics to date

Hey everybody. I would like to announce the grand opening of our blog and web gallery. I have uploaded pics back to January for your viewing pleasure. Please, feel free to mosey on over to our photo gallery. I will continue to post updates both to here and there as time permits. Share, enjoy, and have a great day.

Geoffrey & the broom horse

Geoffrey showing off his equestrian talents.

On the patio, Having dinner.

Taking a picture of Dad taking a picture

IMG_6291
Originally uploaded by shongzah

Okay, so maybe it was a bad idea. My dad was in town and we decided to pop up to D.C. and take in the sites. It was the only Saturday he was going to be here. So what if D.C. was under a heat advisory. We went to the National Museum of Natural History and saw dinosaurs. The boys were impressed. Then we walked westward along the mall. We saw the Washington Monument, the WWII Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. We then hitched a ride on the D.C. metro and went to the Friendship Arch.

The Washington Monument is so giant. It is really had to say just how giant it is. Aside from it's sheer size, there is not much else about it.
The World War II Memorial, while overdue, was done well. There is not a lot of stuff to stare at. There is a central pool with a row of fountains. On north and south sides of the oval (like parenthesis) are a couple of semi-circles of Art Deco columns each with a bronze wreath and the name of a participating state or territory. The east side is open to the Washington Monument and on the west side is another pool, this one is quiet and still. Above it is semi-circle of granite set with a field of bronze stars that reflect in the pool. Below it, written in the granite it says, "Here we mark the price of freedom".

The most sublime and patriotic moment of our trip was our arrival at the Lincoln Memorial. I have always admired Lincoln as a symbol of what is best in America. He embodies all of that stuff that we say we believe in. You know, that "all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights" and "...with liberty and justice for all." I am sometimes accused of not being very patriotic. The truth is, that I am deeply devoted to those ideals and when my country fails to live up to them I am painfully disappointed. Lincoln stands out as a principled leader who took bold steps to extend those ideals to a long neglected segment of U.S. citizens. He also seemed to care deeply about the blood shed during the war.

You have two choices when it comes to entering the Lincoln Memorial. The first is right up the steps in front. We had a stroller in tow, so we took the second, up the elevator in the museum under the Memorial. We emerged from the elevator facing a light colored stone wall in a space to the south of the center of the Memorial. Turning right we entered the larger section of the building that houses the statue of Lincoln. It was so sudden and long awaited that I just stood there in silent awe. It was worth every sweaty mile.

Entrances & Exits

Rosencrantz: Did you ever think of yourself as actually dead, lying in a box with a lid on it?
Guildenstern: No.
Rosencrantz: Nor do I, really. It's silly to be depressed by it. I mean, one thinks of it like being alive in a box. One keeps forgetting to take into account the fact that one is dead, which should make all the difference, shouldn't it? I mean, you'd never *know* you were in a box, would you? It would be just like you were asleep in a box. Not that I'd like to sleep in a box, mind you. Not without any air. You'd wake up dead for a start, and then where would you be? In a box. That's the bit I don't like, frankly. That's why I don't think of it. Because you'd be helpless, wouldn't you? Stuffed in a box like that. I mean, you'd be in there forever, even taking into account the fact that you're dead. It isn't a pleasant thought. Especially if you're dead, really. Ask yourself, if I asked you straight off, "I'm going to stuff you in this box. Now, would you rather be alive or dead?" naturally, you'd prefer to be alive. Life in a box is better than no life at all, I expect. You'd have a chance, at least. You could lie there thinking, "Well, at least I'm not dead. In a minute somebody is going to bang on the lid, and tell me to come out." [bangs on lid]
Rosencrantz: "Hey you! What's your name? Come out of there!"
Guildenstern: [long pause] I think I'm going to kill you.