Reading and Counting with Esther

This post is my opportunity to boast a bit about my oldest daughter, Esther. She will be five in a couple of months, and she is a highly intelligent girl. I suppose that most fathers feel that way toward their daughters, but I have some proof to back it up.

Esther is starting to learn to read now. There are several streets signs that she knows the words for (her current favorite is "No parking at any time"). She is also able to pick out short words with a high degree of accuracy when we are reading books together. Her Mom has been helping her to sound out words, which is fun to see. The kicker for me was yesterday when she was reading the back cover of our Disneyland guide book. When she got to the bottom sentence, she slightly mispronounced the first two words, but the other six were spot on. And I don't think anyone has ever read the back cover to her before!

It is very exciting for me to see my "little girl" beginning to read on her own. I have always loved books. They open up whole worlds of learning, growth, understanding, adventure and imagination. It is a delight for me to see my child taking large steps into those worlds.

Esther is also doing exceptionally well with her numbers. Yesterday in the car, I heard her counting by tens up to one hundred. I mentioned that to her this evening while spending some one-on-one time with her. She didn't understand the concept of counting by tens, but she did proceed to count from 1 to 100 by ones! At this rate, she's going to blow away kindergarten in the fall. :)

I'm also grateful for other strengths about Esther outside of her intelligence. She is developing faith and testimony. We sounded out some words on a take-home item from church. The words are "We were created in Heavenly Father's image." It was a good opportunity for me to explain that Heavenly Father created us in His image, which means that we look like Him. If He were to appear, he would have eyes and ears and nose and tummy and arms and legs, just like us.

I'm also grateful for the times that she is good to her brother and sister. Although they do have their moments (lots of them, in fact), I can tell that they love each other. On her way to bed, she stopped to put a stuffed toy into her little sister's crib (said little sister was quite unhappy about being put to bed earlier this evening, and proceeded to empty the contents of her crib onto the floor in protest). I was touched by this simple gesture, knowing that Esther truly cared about her little sister, and wanted to be sure that she had a stuffed toy to cuddle with.

My other kids are amazing too, but I will post about them another day.

Throwing Rocks in the River

That was my son's favorite part about our recent outing this weekend. Every May, our church has a "Fathers and Sons" outing, where we go camping, talk about the Priesthood, eat good food, and generally have an enjoyable time together. I enjoy the chance to spend some time with my brethren and friends, and also my son. This is the third year I've taken him, and he really seemed to enjoy himself.

The outing is an overnighter. We drove up, stopping to pick up some hot dogs and french fries on the way (I'm not quite ready yet to cook at the place. It's easier to let someone else do it for now). We got there and had our dinner. . .well, at least I did. My son's way of eating his hot dog was to take one bite out of the bun, and then run off to explore and play for awhile. That was no problem, as it gave me time to eat in peace, chat a bit, and put up our tent.

The campsite was up Hobble Creek Canyon, at Balsam Campground. The group camping area is very close to a small stream, which Jayson loved. We walked down the path a short ways to a bridge. He eagerly crossed the bridge, and found some rocks to throw in the river.

Later in the evening, we were able to have some S'mores prior to the evening program. A couple of the brethren had brought enough to share. Jayson was mainly interested in the marshmallows and graham crackers. I was able to cook a nearly perfect marshmallow. I almost lost it in the flames due to its softness, and it did squish out all four sides when I put it between the graham crackers, but alas, it wasn't quite golden brown enough. What can I say? When it comes to S'mores, I'm a perfectionist. But it's the closest to a perfect marshmallow that I've had in a long time.

Jayson got to stay up well past his bedtime, but he still wasn't too thrilled about going to sleep. I finally calmed him down by laying down and resting him on my chest. He's big enough that I won't be able to do that much longer. It was also a good reminder that my big son is still a very little boy, not even three years old yet (although he's getting close). He slept like a rock after that. I didn't sleep as well, but at least I didn't sleep on any rocks. :)

When we got up the next morning, Brother Swenson was already there preparing breakfast for everyone. Jayson and I both enjoyed the pancakes. We went and threw rocks in the river again for a little while before I took down the tent and prepared to go home. Jayson was a good little helper. When, I took the sleeping bags up to the car, he came behind me, carrying one of the pillows. Unfortunately, the pants I brought for him are still a little bit too big for him (and I don't say that very often when it comes to his clothes!). They came loose halfway across the parking lot. As I was putting the sleeping bags in the trunk, I heard Jayson say, "Daddy, my pants!" I turned around to see him holding the pillow with both hands, and with his pants down to his knees, exposing his diaper. Once I was through chuckling, I helped him with his pants.

I'm glad that I have the opportunity once a year to share this special time with my son. It also gives my wife and my girls a chance to spend a special "girl's night" with Grandma Chris, which I know they look forward to.

"Daddy Sunday"

In my church, we dedicate the first Sunday of each month as a special day for fasting and prayer, as well as giving what we would have spent on food to the poor. In a recent article in a church magazine, I learned about the idea of a "Daddy Sunday." Basically, each fast Sunday is an opportunity to have a personal interview with each of my children, talk to them, listen to anything they want to talk about, play with them, and have a prayer with them. When I read the article, I felt the inspiration of the Spirit that this was a good thing for me to do with my own children, and get the habit started while they are still young. So I tried it today.

Not a whole lot of talking went on. My oldest wanted to play with a phonics book that we have, so we went over a number of the words in there. It's amazing how well she is learning to read. She will be well prepared for kindergarten in the fall. My son chose to play Candyland with me. We didn't exactly play by the rules, but it doesn't matter, because we had fun. My youngest (almost 20 months now) didn't have much to say, but did enjoy playing with a large sombrero that we have around the house. I put it on my head, and then she came and took it off and put it onto her head. When she came to get it, she said, "Hat!"

I really enjoyed the experience. It's nice to have a dedicated time when I can spend one-on-one time with my children, and teach them things as directed by the Holy Spirit. Hopefully they will learn that they can talk with Daddy about anything. Although this may not be super-critical now, it may well be when they get older. I love my children, and I want to be there for them as much as I am able.

One other unrelated event. My son has a very good aim with balls, fortunately. He finished dinner before the rest of us and got down. Unbeknownst to anyone else, he picked up one of the super-bouncy balls that we have around the house. I was calmly eating my dinner when I heard the ball bounce on the floor. As I turned to look, I saw the ball arc across the entire dinner table and land on the far side on the kitchen floor. I am glad that he threw it hard enough to clear the table, rather than landing in the dish of baked beans in the middle. That would have been a mess. Although I am pleased with his growing sporting skills, I firmly requested that he never repeat the stunt. There is a time and place for that sort of thing, and the dinner table is neither the time nor the place!

You Can Do Magic

Well, tonight was pack meeting. I didn't get a lot of time to prepare or practice magic beforehand (the last week has been insanely busy), but things went well. I had to drop one of my originally planned five tricks due to a prop malfunction this morning, but I still had four in my bag of tricks (okay, so it was my backpack, close enough). I slipped up a bit on two of the tricks, but the other two went off without a hitch. The last one had several people in the audience (including grown-ups) mystified as to how I did it. It's magic, of course!

My wife also came to pack meeting to support me in my first-ever magic show. It really meant a lot to me that she came. I appreciated it greatly. It was also nice to see my youngest roaming the halls and aisles. I regularly bring my oldest two with me to pack meeting as my "helpers" (as well as to give their mother a break), but the youngest rarely comes. She came toddling up to me, pointed at the cheap top hat I was wearing as part of my magician costume, and said, "Hat!" Of course, I've been saying the same thing to her for months every time I put a hat on her head. :)

I actually enjoyed myself while I was doing my short show at pack meeting. It was a nice way to start out: 4 tricks, a small audience, and inexpensive props, mostly things I could find around the house. Not bad for an amateur magician just starting out! It was also very rewarding to try something new and find that I am pretty good at it! Although my sleight-of-hand needs some work, my patter was very good. Magic seems like a very good fit for my personality.

I definitely don't plan on this being my last magic show! Now I just need to make some time to learn and practice some more tricks. Although four tricks was about right for pack meeting, I'd like to have a bit more to work with for my next show. When will my next show be? Well, I don't know. Sometime. :)

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

I have always enjoyed magic shows. I loved them as a kid, and I still love them as a grown-up. They help me to remember my childhood sense of wonder and amazement, when it seemed like magic was everywhere in the world.

I have had a passing interest in learning magic, even to the point of purchasing a couple of books, but I have never taken it any further than that. Until now.

See, I am the Cubmaster for the Scout troop of my church group, and this month's theme is "Abracadabra". Pack meeting is coming up on Tuesday, and I would like very much to be able to perform some simple tricks for the boys and their families. Basically, this feels like a good excuse for me to do something that I have wanted to do for some time, but have never quite gotten around to doing.

I used a good portion of my lunch hour yesterday obtaining some items that I will need for my performance. I will also be able to find many of the items around the house. Honestly, I was amazed at the number of items I will need for just five simple tricks. I have a feeling that this is going to be another one of those not-so-inexpensive hobbies (like my costuming hobby, but more on that another time).

Now I just need to find some time to practice. Ah yes, the trickiest part. Actually trying something new, with the possibility that I will fail the first few times. Scary stuff. But rewarding, nonetheless. Life is about trying new things and yes, making mistakes and learning from them. Perhaps that is the greatest magic of all.

And even if my magic performance fails miserably, there is one magic trick that I know I can do for sure.

I can help make the refreshments disappear!

It's a Small World After All

Although ironically, that was the only ride that was closed when we went to Disneyland last week. They're doing an extensive remodel this year. I was concerned that my son would be disconsolate (since "Boat Ride" was his favorite on our last trip to Mickey Mouse country). Fortunately, he found a new favorite ride in Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters. We must have gone on the ride at least 10 times. My oldest daughter liked it too. The youngest didn't seem to have an opinion one way or the other. In fact, my son was still talking about the ride today (specifically, that he wanted to go on it again).

It was an interesting trip in many ways. I really enjoyed the first two days (the second day was my wife's birthday). The third day was awful. The fourth day was a little bit better, but still kind of blah. The fifth day, I recovered a bit. The sixth day, we came home. I can tell that I'm getting older. This is the first time that I've ever been glad to come home from Disneyland.

When I was younger, I would go to Disneyland with my mother from time to time. I always wondered why she would often sit and "people watch" while I went on the rides. Now that I am getting into my 30's, I am beginning to understand. To quote the immortal Indiana Jones, "It's not the years. It's the mileage." I was pretty wiped out a couple of days, while the kids were still raring to go. Of course, the extra poundage I'm carrying around these days doesn't help any. I really need to get on the weight loss program, and work off some of that delicious, hi-fat, low-nutrition food that I ate on vacation. :)

Oh, and we got to go on one more "ride" on the way back on Saturday. Descending into the airport, we hit a patch of turbulence. Airplane travel doesn't usually bother me, but my stomach ended up partway up my throat, while my head was down where my stomach usually is.

Still, all in all, a good vacation. I am looking forward to going back to work tomorrow and sift through the mountain of email that will be waiting for me. I'm thinking we might even go back to Disneyland when the kids are of a more appropriate age.

Early 2012, perhaps.

A Daddy's Reward Moment

As those of you who are parents know, it can be the toughest job you'll ever love. There is much of frustration, irritation, tiredness, and endless demands. But there are also those handful of moments that make it all worth it. I had one of those moments tonight.

I had just finished putting my two girls (ages 4 1/2 and 19 months) down for the night, and snuggling them into bed. I told them I loved them. I then poked my head above the youngest's crib and said, "I love you. Good night." She looked at me with a neutral expression for a moment, and then smiled, showing me all four of her teeth on the top. She raised her right hand, waved at me, and said "Bye!" in her little toddler voice. Excuse me for a moment while my heart melts.

As frustrating as they can be at times, I wouldn't send them back for the world. Or as my Grandpa so eloquently put it, "I wouldn't sell you for a million dollars, and I wouldn't pay a nickel for another one just like you."