Halloween and birthday party

Jack has really enjoyed Halloween this year. In addition to visiting neighborhood displays regularly, he has made several costumes and helped Papa create a pumpkin decoration for our condo. That's a little Playmobil ghost with a goodie bag. One costume was a pumpkin stem (a box painted green with leaves and a bug or two), and the final winner was a mummy outfit with a crown and strips of tea-dyed cloth. We were really sad to see the final decorations in the neighborhood coming down.

Friday night Jack stayed with Nana and Papa and then we went to a birthday party on Saturday. It was held at a "party house" in Daly City, which has a climbing structure with ball pits and bouncing rooms and slides and some dark maze-like rooms. Jack didn't like the height, so he stayed on the lower level. I was inside the structure to encourage him to do more. At one point he ran over and asked me if I was having fun too.

After a pizza lunch, the party moved into an arcade with many games appropriate for four and five-year-olds. At first Jack didn't quite get the game concept, but then he played a game where you turn a wheel to manuveur a beekeeper to catch falling balls that look like bees. The beekeeper has a nozzle that looks like it is belching smoke. Jack asked me "why is he spraying them; he will make them unorganic." Jack caught six bees and won a tiny prize. Now he understands the arcade concept. Another highlight of the party was Jack and Zoe sharing four rides in a "hot dog cart." At one point, we had one token left for this ride that requires two tokens. Zoe also had one token, so they teamed up. A small step towards getting Jack to see Zoe as more than a rival for Emma's friendship.

All in all, I liked this birthday party locale (not as much as I like Glen Canyon Park, of course). They had only one party in the facility at a time. The noise level gets pretty high, but the people were helpful and the pizza was pretty good. The arcade is not video games.

"All small beasts should have bows on their tails"

This is Jack wearing his Egyptian pharoah headdress and pectoral. He loved the King Tut exhibit and soaked up the information in about eight library books about the pyramids, mummies, and Egyptian life, ancient and modern.

Now he has moved on to the Wild West and Native Americans. Tomorrow I will post his Indian headdress costume. While he gets a lot of help executing these artifacts out of cereal box cardboard and paint, he actually does design them.

We've been reading and reading and reading "Finn Family Moomintroll," which Gregory also loved when he was young. Actually, the book Gregory loved had belonged to Alex. Jack has been singing Snugnit's song, "All small beasts should have bows in their tails."

Tuesday Classes

Papa and Jack worked on the clubhouse last Thursday.

Jack did really well today at our two classes: Art at the Zoo in the morning and swimming class in the afternoon. It was ear day at the zoo. Jack participated well in the class, identifying ears from six or so different animals and explaining that he knew the Desert Fox because one had visited Glenridge. He made playdough ears and then a headband with bear ears. He pet the visiting rabbit this week. The teacher remarked on his progress from the first class when he acted shy.

Jack, of course, complains that he does not like swimming class. He announced to Howard, our teacher, that he did not want to put his head under the water. Howard is really great, continually coming up with activities that Jack does want to do. He says it is all about confidence. Jack did put his head under water twice. Once with Howard and once later during the free swim when he did so accidentally. As he says, he did not make a fuss about it. He is good at the aligator crawl and the motor boating across the pool. He is making progress with floating on his back, which really makes him anxious. We just have to keep trying that until he can relax a bit. Homework is to blow bubbles in the bathtub. I think it would be good to encourage him to lie on his back in the tub also.
Have a great week in Canada, Jack and Stacy!

Summer in the City

This was a big week for the Longs--on Tuesday we closed on a building near the Presidio. After much renovation, we'll be lucky to be living there by next June.

As for Jack's week, Tuesday was an art class at the zoo and a swimming lesson in the afternoon. Wednesday we went to the Academy of Sciences with Ericka and her friend Mckinley. Thursday was Papa Day with construction continuing on the clubhouse. The Academy gave Jack an activity book, which Jack worked on as soon as we got home. He's wearing an aligator mask from the book.

After Papa left today, Jack and I played. I tried to get Jack to write his name. Absolute refusal. However, he did agree to write a word. I tried "police," "yucky," and finally, "pirate." Jack proceeded to write the word "pirate" almost perfectly. Maybe that could be his name? (Pirate Cutler Cutler)

July 4th upon arriving at home after a long day in El Cerrito

Angry Scottsman eyebrows June 2009

Carrot juice face! July 2009

Haydens 6th Birthday party. Dahlilah and Jack are on line for a turn at the piñata. June 2009

Clubhouse construction continues

Papa, Nana, and Jack made great progress today on the clubhouse. We created the last of the four footings and then set in place the first of two heavy beams on which the clubhouse will rest.

After the effort of mixing the concrete and shoveling it into the hole for the footing, Jack was tired. While Papa was off buying the beams, Jack decided to rest in the hall. Note his Gama-go blanket and his new Barry Bear.

Jack misses his Daddy and was concerned that Daddy might not be able to call Nana on Sunday when Nana is attending her swimming meet. Not to worry, I'll have my phone should something come up. The Clubhouse project is so great for all of us. Next week Papa will be purchasing more boards.

Carrot juice face!

Jack the Centurion

Jack put the costume on and off and on all day as we went from one activity to another. Here he is in the morning showing the costume to Papa.

We each had a great haircut with Marion, who reported on the chickens and ducks her mother had when she was a kid at the Chenery Street house. Ask Jack about the duck who hatched out a chicken. Jack sits so still when Marion cuts his hair. She really means it when she says he is her favorite customer. She has ordered a book for him.

The play date was great this time. Jack played a lot with Theo and they alternated politely on that bouncey motorcycle thing. Theo asked Jack to alert him when there is a problem in the road and Jack of course got really into that game, yelling, "stop, there is a drawbridge that is going up." Then they did some climbing and then waited their turn on the tire swing. Theo's mother Judy is just great.

We came home, had lunch (Jack's was yogurt and Cinnabunnies and pineapple), read, and played until time to go to swimming. Jack enjoyed the swim and again got a little further under water than he would have liked but did just fine recovering. We practiced floating with his hands on the bottom and his legs on the surface. He seemed to like that. On the way home, I kept talking to him and telling him not to fall asleep. It got to be a game and he did in fact stay awake. Should be tired tonight.

Jack's Animals and Stories

Jack's many stuffed animals have interesting names. Here are the ones I can remember:

Ducky Loose (duck wearing a bunny costume, ears and tail)

Ohio (bunny with necklace)

Cutler the Polar Bear (formerly known as Cotter the Polar Bear)

Cutler the Giraffe (formerly known as Cotter the Giraffe)

Bears: Little Bear

Gertie, the dog

Betina, the doll with the striped clothes

Ricky, the Spanish Boy

This week, Jack explained to me how he is going to sell the extra eggs once the chickens arrive and start producing. Eggs will be $1.00 apiece. There will be a weekly free day; however, there will be a long line on free days and Nana will have to wait in line with everyone else.

Hide and Seek

We've been playing lots of Hide and Seek here at Sea Ranch. Papa had the best hiding spot--in the closet in the upstairs bathroom. How could he fit in there?

When Jack hides, he usually calls out to tell us where he is going to hide.

When Papa and Nana got tired or busy, Jack hid the big green ball and then looked for it. He looked in all the hiding spots before going to where he had hidden the ball.

Jack with Omar and Lucy at Omars birthday party April 2009

Jack with stache! May 2009

Jack the diver! 5/29/09

New family names

Jack has been insisting on being called "Jack Cutler Cutler" for some time. Yesterday I asked him why the two Cutlers? "I don't like Stevenson or Long, so I've named myself Jack Cutler Cutler."

"But Stevenson and Long are our family names," said I.

"I've renamed the family. It's Cutler now." Clear enough?

That's Jack Cutler Cutler at the playground where he and his friends stripped off their shirts on Wednesday.

Thursday Play and Swim

Remember the chronicle of assembling the lego helicopter? On his next visit, Jack took much of it apart and began inventing his own machines for the rescue workers. In the photo, he is working to balance the fuselage so it doesn't tip forward or backward. He is studying fulcrums.

Later, Jack and Alex played on our bed and I made lunch, which Jack dictated: a pear and yogurt with granola. Back to the lego set, which he left reluctantly when it was time to go to our swim date.

On the way to the pool, we encountered two ambulances--one clanking pass as we came to an intersection and one stalled in the middle of the road with its engine cover up. Shortly afterwards, I noted Jack had fallen asleep.

Jack really enjoys standing in water up to his chin, jumping up and down and feeling the water support him. He and his friend Omar use a ladder that is lain across the pool as monkey bars. Again, Jack can feel the water supporting him and let his feet drift up. Today he put his whole face in the water twice--once by accident and the second time on purpose. Then he began jumping to me from the side of the pool. At first he wanted me close to the wall, but then he got bolder and more aggressive. He jumped again and again, rushing to get back out of the water so he could jump again. He's on his way as a swimmer!

Jack's new roller skates!

Jack at Four

A whole year undocumented on this Blog! Let's do better.

When Alex and I returned from our vacation to Portugal and Spain, Jack gave me a loving welcome. We just wanted to hold each other for a while. For two days, we have given each other extra hugs.

Thursday, Jack came to our new apartment on Pacific Avenue. As we entered the front door, Jack told me that that awful fuzzy green floral thing in the window looks like a brain. He was eager to get to work on the lego helicopter set that Stacy bought for us. But first, he ran down to the bedroom calling "I want to see the ships"!

We worked together on the legos, with me groaning frequently about how hard it was. Jack put together the shark and the little man and helped with the first few pieces of the life raft. We took several breaks and eventually succeeded and did some high fives. Back in our office/bedroom, Jack discovered my stapler and proceeded to make two little books which he had me label: "Natural Earthquakes, Witness to Disaster" by Jack Cutler and "Forest Fires and Fire Safety" by Jack Cutler. Each book has little drawings on each page. I told him these are his first two books and that he will write many books.

Jack spontaneously told me that when he is grown up, he is going to live in his house (meaning 864 Chenery Street). He loves his home. But today, he wanted to stay at our house until time to go swimming. And swimming was a huge success: Jack discovered he could stand up in the second half of the pool, though the water is up to his chin. But with his water wings, he can jump up and down and really enjoy the water without my holding him. At last he is really moving in the water by himself. Next week maybe he will get his face wet.

The photo is of Jack dressed in his Zoo Keeper costume in our bedroom. Is he beautiful or what?