Buzz Cuts - Part 5

My wife and daughter went to a Mother-Daughter Banquet last night, so David and I got to have some great Father-Son time.

We started out by mowing grass. David fell asleep on me for about 20 minutes and then it started to rain, so we went inside for supper. David thought it would be cool if we sat on the stools and ate at the counter instead of the table, so we did. Then we tried to do some more mowing but it started raining again. We decided to just head into town and go through the drive through at Dairy Queen. When we got back home we had an awesome time building a train track and playing trains until bedtime.

As the night went on, a simple lesson kept presenting itself to me: Just take an interest in what he finds interesting.

That's pretty simple to understand, but not always that simple to do.

David likes to steer the lawn mower, but he doesn't steer in a way that allows you to mow the grass. He likes to do big circles and nearly run into things before making sharp turns to avoid disaster. But if I am willing to allow him to have some turns steering the lawn mower, he loves riding with me.

David's suggestion to sit at the counter for dinner was something he thought up all on his own. There was a part of me that thought about saying no and making him sit at the table, like normal. But, what was the harm? I said yes and he thought it was incredible that he got to make that decision all on his own.

David loves to build train tracks. I enjoy it too, but not to the same extent that he does. There comes a point when I've had enough and he could keep going all night. When that point comes, I normally sit back and just watch him play, which is fun. But he always begs me to keep playing. Last night I obliged and went back to playing. He loved it.

Taking an interest in what he finds interesting is sometimes an exercise in forcing yourself to do something that doesn't come naturally. It's not always easy and it's not always fun but it's worth it. It communicates how important David is to me and I always want him to know that I think he's special.

Right now, David's interests mostly revolve around playing trains and other toys. He's not into sports, like I want him to be. But, he's only 3 and he will eventually take an interest in those things. Even if he doesn't, I'm always going to be interested in whatever he's interested in. It's worth it!

Spring Resolutions

I have established something of a tradition on this blog by announcing sets of resolutions at the outset of each season, rather than at the beginning of the year as most people do.

I'm a little late in announcing the resolutions for this spring, but summer doesn't officially start until June 21, so there's still quite a bit of time to accomplish the following goals.

1. Spend as much time investing in and leading these people (and dog) as possible.

2. Capture many memories from the lake where we live because this is going to be our last summer there.

3. Learn to surf during our vacation to California. My wife is heavily against this one because of the recent shark attack near San Diego - but I think I'll probably figure out a way around that.

4. Get fishing again!

5. Run! I really want to make a habit of running because I know it's great for my health. I miss the time when I could enjoy physical activity without wondering when the next timeout was so I could catch my breath and get a drink. I need to get myself back into good shape.

6. Grow a mustache that looks something like this!

7. Win the Mountain Dew Challenge - Part Deux. Or, at least still be in the running to win it.

What could you accomplish this spring?

Buzz Cuts - Part 4

The new camera for the church arrived Monday. I took it home last night to get some practice in and ran across this scene on our front deck:


I love that because it let me know David has been playing hard all day. He loves to get dirty, make truck noises, smash into things and hit stuff. (I'm working to correct that last one!)

Princess Diaries - I Can't Believe She's Going to be 6!

Here's the start of another new series. This one's about my daughter and it's called Princess Diaries because, well, she's a princess. And, right now, I wouldn't have it any other way. As she gets older, she may need to be broken of it.

Hanah turns 6 on May 30 and I'm going to try to use the 35 days I have between now and then to share some stories about her and to write some things I hope she'll read later in life and learn from them.

Today's post, however, is about how I cannot believe she's going to be 6. Seriously, what happened to the last 5 years?

Here's one indication of how old Hanah is getting and how she's not a "little" girl any more. She now has a sign on her doorway, in her own handwriting, that reads, "Ask Hanah Before You Come In Her Room." Can you believe that? Just so you know, I still don't ask before going in her room - but I probably will start in a few years!

Here's a picture of Hanah walking with her aunt Kim and Grandpa Weiss last weekend. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but the way she is walking almost made me cry. She is becoming so independent, so able to do things without me or her mom, so grown up. I don't know how a walk can show all those things, but it did.



I hope you enjoy the Princess Diaries!

Looking Forward to May

I can't believe it is almost May and yet I'm so excited for May because there's a lot of awesome stuff happening in May. Then, in June, we're going on vacation and I'm thrilled about that too!

I've already told you about the Mountain Dew Challenge - Part Deux and Mustache May, but here's a list of some of the other great stuff coming up in May, by date:

1 - First Softball game of the season.
1 - Mustache growing begins
3 - First Serve Saturday at Prairie Camp. I'll be taking pictures of this event (hopefully on the new camera I ordered for the church!)
3 - Tyrus Graverson's birthday party
4 - Volunteer Appreciation Night (another event I'll be photographing)
6 - Derry and Janelle's 8th anniversary
11- Mother's Day (and I've got a great surprise for my wife)
25 - Derry preaches with a mustache
27 - My 8th anniversary
30 - Hanah's birthday
31 - Last day of mustache growing

Buzz Cuts - Part 3

I wasn't able to talk David into getting an actual buzz cut, but he did sit still long enough for a trim. So, he and I are both sporting new haircuts this morning.

As you can see, David didn't trust me with the clippers so he thought he should wear his safety goggles.

Beautiful Children

I just wanted to remind all of you how cute my kids are!

Buzz Cuts - Part 2

I haven't been able to talk David into the buzz cuts yet. He keeps saying, "Tomorrow." I don't know where he gets that from.

I've also got some opposition to the cuts because my wife doesn't want a couple of shaved heads in our next family picture, which we plan on having taken in the next few weeks. So, for now, actually getting buzz cuts is postponed.

Don't worry though, that doesn't mean I can't think of other fun stuff to do with David - which, by the way, is the point of this series.

If we get the chance this weekend, maybe even tonight, David and I are going to mow some grass together. He loves to ride on the tractor. He usually falls asleep if I let him ride too long and then I'm stuck trying to steer with one hand and hold him upright with the other. He's only 3 but the kid is getting heavy so my arm usually falls asleep then I have to stop and carry him inside.

I know it sounds like it could be kind of a hassle, but I love it! It's the best way I know of to mow grass.

Buzz Cuts

Here's another series I'd like to start. It's called Buzz Cuts because one of the things my son, David, and I do together is get buzz cuts each spring, as seen above.

I'm having a little trouble talking him into it this year - I think he wants to keep his hair longer. Usually, it's just a one-time thing where we cut our hair once in the spring and then let it grow out again. I just need to figure out how to convince him that his hair will grow back quickly.

David is 3 years old. He was born on October 9, 2004, and our lives have never been the same.

His older sister Hanah, who will turn 6 on May 30, had to make the biggest adjustment upon his arrival, but we all have had to restructure our lives to accommodate this little guy. I don't mean this in a bad way because I would never want to go back to life without him.

David is very impulsive, very outspoken, very enthusiastic and very fun to be with.

In the past few months I have decided and made an effort to try to do more things with him, just the two of us. We've done some fishing and worked on some projects together, but I want to keep it up.

So, I'm going to try to use this series as a way of sharing our experiences, but also as a way of reminding me to think of things I can do with my son.