Pimp My Trike

Happy Tuesday Readers.  I don't do a lot of product reviews here, mainly because of time but also because of fit.  Daily, I'll get offers to review items which are too large, or too small, or too hot, or too cold, or too hard, or even too comfy, believe it or not.

 I won't take those offers.

However, every once in a while I will receive an offer which is juuuuuuuust right.  And I can't pass it up.  The good folks at the Radio Flyer company made me such an offer recently.  They offered me the opportunity to try out their new Build a Trike service, to put together a custom tricycle for review.  And since I knew a little girl who would LOVE her own new tricycle, I took them up on the offer without hesitation.

And, it certainly helped that it would be a Radio Flyer!  Annabelle already loves her Radio Flyer ride on car which Lukas lovingly gave her for her first birthday.

And, of course, her Radio Flyer wagon which had pretty much supplanted her stroller as her preferred mode of transportation when cruising around the neighborhood.

So, when the boxes arrived, Annabelle was pretty excited to help out.

And couldn't wait until it was finished.

But of course, our little sweetie had to relinquish her seat so that Mrs. LIAYF could finish putting the bike together (yes, she took charge of this project and had the trike together in no time flat.)

Once together it was obvious that the tricycle was constructed with the same solid parts and quality workmanship we had already come to expect from Radio Flyer products.  When selecting the components on the Build-a-Trike website, we were able to choose the colors, the types of tires(we opted for rubber) and a slew of accessories, including a canopy, a handy basket on back roomy enough for our diaper bag, a personalized license plate, and a speaker we can hook our iPhone up too.  Yeah, I know.

In fact, it seemed like the only thing we weren't able to add was a hydraulics system for the back two wheels. Oh, and a sub woofer. We weren't able to get that either.

After getting her new tricycle fully assembled, and waiting the customary several days for the Seattle rain to let up, we were ready to take for Annabelle's inaugural neighborhood ride.

As you can probably tell, she still has a teeeensy bit of growing to do before her feet will reach the pedals. So thankfully there is a handy push handle in back.

As you can also tell, she was thrilled with her new ride.  And, as expected, we received many comments from passersby who were impressed with her tricycle.  Heck, It may even replace her wagon as her preferred mode of neighborhood transportation.

Maybe by then I'll have added those hydraulics.

Full disclosure: Red Tricycle provided us with the tricycle free of charge for my review.  My opinions are not for sale though.  They did not provide us with the red car, or the wagon.  We bought those ourselves and are very happy with all three.

Feeling the Glove

Even though I have expressed it in person, I would like to take this opportunity to wish my dad a Happy 70th Birthday here publicly.  His birthday was a couple of weeks ago, but I haven't posted here in a while so I have been remiss.

Happy Birthday Dad!

As I mentioned in a post I'd written a few years ago, 'Catch 42', my dad and I have made a habit in the past few years of pulling out a baseball and mitts and playing a game of catch.   This has been a terrific way to for us to connect, talk about the grand kids, the farm I grew up on - which he still owns and operates with my brother, and to reminisce about times past.  I really love those opportunities.

One thing I also mentioned in that old post was the fact that I still have my baseball glove from when I played Little League ball.  I bring that and another glove with me when we play catch together.  I won that glove for selling the most candy in a team fundraiser and it's one of my most prized possessions to this day.  My dad was an integral part of my selling that candy, having 'asked' a lot of vendors visiting the farm if they wanted to buy some candy from his kid.  Of course they said yes.

That was 34 years ago, but it seems like yesterday.

Growing up on the family farm my dad was always busy, but we knew he loved us and would do terrific things for us, like making sure his son won a baseball glove. Dad is an terrific guy who, not surprisingly, is admired by everyone who knows him.  And he is also a man who I admire and love dearly.   So, of course, for his 70th birthday I wanted to give him a gift that meant something.

As you might have guessed by now, my dad received a brand new baseball glove of his own from us for his big day.  A fine piece of leather stitched together by the Rawlings Co. Along with a baseball signed by Mrs. LIAYF, myself, and the kids too.

"I haven't had a glove since I was a kid!" he said as he slipped it on, smiling, and began to pound his opposite fist into its palm.  You could tell that he was genuinely touched.

Mission Accomplished.

Grandma and Grandpa are visiting this weekend.  If the weather holds, I'm hoping my dad, Lukas, and I can get in a game of catch, and we can help him break in that glove.

After all, Spring is coming...and we have some catching up to do.

That 'Sinking in' Feeling

As parents there will always be times when you wonder what your kid will be like when they are a bit older.  Will they retain those personality traits as teenagers that they are displaying when they are 5 or 6?  Of course most parents will hope they retain some of them, while ditching others.

That being said, Lukas is a spontaneous kid. Yes, even for a 6 year old boy - who are known for being rather spontaneous.  He often tends to get caught up in the moment, and while never ill-intentioned, will do things that even he knows afterwards that he shouldn't do.

For instance, in the moment his curiosity might get the better of him, and he might push a button to see what would happen if he did.  His mind is always working that way, but he doesn't always stop to ask himself what the negative effects might be of such an action.

Scenarios like this will make Mrs. LIAYF and I take pause every once in a while when pondering what his teenage years will be like.

But then again, there will be times when you have moments of  hope and a sense that all the 'educating' you have been doing might actually be paying off.

Mrs. LIAYF had one of those moments this afternoon which she relayed to me a short time ago.  She was driving Lukas and a buddy home from the park when she overheard a conversation they were having in the back seat.  She didn't let on that she could hear EVERYTHING they were saying, but just listened.  A parent can learn a lot that way.

Apparently, Lukas' friend joked that he was going to open the door while the car was driving down the road. Lukas, in turn, told him that he thought the child locks were on so that he couldn't open them.  "Let's see" said the friend, as he laughed and tried to open the car door.  (By the way, yes the child locks were on, and Mrs. LIAYF is pretty sure the friend knew it and was just being goofy.)

"Don't do that!" Lukas implored "There is traffic out there, and you could hurt yourself".

His friend just laughed and said that he would just land on his feet and run off.  "Yeah, that wouldn't happen" Lukas let him know.  "You'd just get hit by a car and hurt.  And I wouldn't want that".  Lukas was plotting too, but he was being reasonable about it.

A short time later they passed a 7-11 convenience store, and the other boy said that they should hop out and run in and grab a load of chocolate bars, which they could eat while in hiding for several days from some unknown evil entity.

"That much chocolate will make you sick"  Lukas let his buddy know.  "You would need to grab some sandwiches too so that you will have some protein to eat."   "Nah, we could just eat chocolate everyday!" his friend insisted, laughing.

"Nope, I would get some sandwiches" Lukas continued.  "If I was hiding out, I would want something healthy to eat."  Of course, he said this with a devious laugh too as the two of them planned their ultimate hideout experience.

As I mentioned, Mrs. LIAYF didn't interrupt them during this exchange, and to her it was obvious that she was not privy to what was being said.  She just listened.  And smiled.

Upon hearing about this exchange, I smiled too.   Every once in a while parent will get a glimpse of their child's inner thought processes.

And for us, when we hear a small part of yourselves ringing through, it reinforces the idea that the things we are saying over and over again, are sinking in.  That maybe, just maybe, the spontaneity we see from him will not completely go away, but will be tempered by a good dose of reason.

That's a pretty good feeling.

My Hot Dog Has A Second Name

We are talking a lot these days with Lukas about appropriate language and the use of so called 'Potty Talk'. In our house, this talk creeps up at inappropriate times, such as at the dinner table.

It should come as a surprise to no one that he is using terms such as poopy-poopy head, stinky fart butt, and penis pants in his excited conversations.  After all, he is 6 years old, in a first grade class consisting of 75% boys, and reading a lot of Captain Underpants books these days.

Yeah, Captain Underpants.  If you haven't heard of the series, they are actually pretty funny early reading books - but the protagonists, 2 third grade boys are, ahem, highly inappropriate in their actions.

We have had a number of conversations with Lukas recently about what words are okay to say out loud, and when.  But it seems like we have been fighting a losing battle.  And when we got word a couple of days ago that he had to spend some quality alone time from class for shouting out some potty talk during quiet time Mrs. LIAYF and I decided it was time to level a bit stronger punishment to get the point across.

No Captain Underpants books for 2 weeks!  BOOM!!

Of course this met with a look of extreme disappointment from our son.  But really, and this is part of our dilemma, he wasn't too devastated by this.  He gets over disappointment quickly.  It's his personality, and will probably serve him well throughout his life.  It's not exactly easy to discipline a boy with this attitude though.

The two week length was an attempt to give it more weight, so we'll see how it goes.

That being said, here's a word of advice to any other parents out there facing a similar situation with their young kids. Try NOT to find related topics funny.

For example, a couple of nights ago after having one such long conversation with our son, I took him up to bed and had him pull out a book to read to me, as part of his nightly routine.  He is getting extra reading time in each evening.  On this particular night I had him pull out a book of his choosing. He picked a title we had recently picked up used.

I knew it was used because there was a name written in Sharpie on the back.  Lukas studied it, then.....busted out laughing.  

Apparently the book most recently belonged to someone with the last name....wait for it....Weaner. 

Sounds like Wiener.

I couldn't help it, I laughed too.  I tried to hold back, but Lukas picked up on that and that made him laugh even more.  "That's NOT funny!" I tried to tell him.  But it was no use.

It was not only funny, but ironic too.

"Why is the word wiener even funny?" Mrs. LIAYF asked me in all seriousness tonight, after Lukas had gone to bed.  I just laughed.  

"Because, it is."  was all I could come up with.  "Because it is."

Super City

Photo credit: The Seattle Times

World Champions!  World Champions! World Champions!

Readers, words can't describe how thrilled I am this Monday morning.

Of course, this is because I was able to watch yesterday, Super Bowl Sunday 2014, as my hometown Seattle Seahawks dominated quarterback legend Payton Manning and his Denver Bronco football team 43-8 in front of hundreds of millions of people watching world wide.

And, better yet, I was able to watch the game with my kids at my side.

We watched together, at home, along with Mrs. LIAYF.  And even though the game was a blowout from the first snap, it didn't get old, or boring, or anti climatic for our family.  We hung on every play.  We relished every moment of this defining victory for this team and this city.

In fact, Lukas was snuggled up in my lap when Malcom Smith, the game MVP, intercepted a Manning pass and took it 69 yards back for the score.  I stood up, still holding him during the play and we danced around our living room screaming "Go! Go! Go!!".  It was amazing.  Similarly, I was holding Annabelle in my arms when the 2nd half kicked off, and we danced around the room with giddy joy as Percy Harvin took the kickoff 87 yards for the score, making it 29-0 Seattle.

She had no idea, of course, what was going on being 15 months old.  But she knew Daddy was excited and yelling, but in a happy way.  Thankfully, I didn't scare her and make her cry.

Lukas doesn't know yet how unbelievably special the moment is.  After all, he is still just six years old.  He doesn't quite understand that I was 11 the last time a major professional sports championship was won by a Seattle team.  That team was the 1979 Seattle Super-Sonics and that team doesn't even exist anymore.

I'm 46 now.  I don't have to tell you, but I will anyway....35 years is a long time to wait celebrate at this level. That Sonics championship is one of my enduring memories from childhood.  Lukas is a lot younger, but I hope that, similarly, one of his fondest memories of childhood is this championship.

Yes, this Superbowl win by the Seahawks is special. And I am so glad I was able to share it with my family. Especially with Lukas.  As a father, I have often wondered if I would get such an opportunity. Winning professional teams are common in some cities, but that hasn't been the case here in Seattle for most of my life.  

This win changes all that, and I hope it is only the beginning.  I want to experience this kind of joy with my family every year.  Even multiple times a year.  Right now that dream doesn't seen so far fetched.

After the game, at around 10pm local time, once the kids were safely in bed I had to make a run to the local grocery store for essentials.  On the way, I passed through my local business district where a few sports bars are located.  Many fans were outside on the sidewalks, in their Seahawks gear for the moment quietly talking among themselves.

As I drove by, I rolled down my window, layed on my horn, pumped my fist out the window, and yelled SEAHAWKS!!! several times.  This got them all screaming once again, and cars passing the other way honking loudly as well.

And for good measure, I did it again on the way home.  I'm still smiling.  I think I will be for a long time.

Seattle:

Jet City

The Emerald City

CHAMPIONSHIP CITY

This is a lot of fun.

A Crushing Dad Thought

I can imagine my eventual demise.

Lukas will be in his late 20's or early 30's and I'll be walking past the leather easy chair that resides in our living room when I'll look over at him mid-flight as he is headed towards me, and it will finally cross my mind that he is a wee bit too big for me to carry to  his bed.  And as I am distracted by this thought for the slightest of moments, I will be unprepared as he is landing in my arms.   As a result, I will fall backwards and be crushed to death as he lands on me full force.

I can honestly say I can imagine this, because it went through my head not 30 minutes ago as I carried my now 6 year old up the stairs to bed, his arms in a Monkey hug around my neck.  He had just, in fact, jumped into my arms moments earlier from the same leather easy chair as I passed by pretending not to notice as he leapt at me.  Of course, I caught him in stride and kept walking before giving a mock look of surprise to find him there in my arms.

It's a game we play.

Only this time his jump and eventual land in my arms came with a particularly heavy thud.  It was this thud that caused me to imagine being crushed to death decades in the future.  That's because this ritual is one of my favorite parts of the day and I just can't imagine ever giving it up.  Certainly not now, and the top of his head already reaches up to my sternum.

Lukas is my oldest, so this is new ground for me.  I wonder how long I can keep this up.

How long can I hold on to little snippets of his youth - like this one?  How long can I reasonably carry my always growing son up that flight of stairs?  Will I tightly hold onto this wonderful slice of nightly joy until it eventually crushes me to death?

Probably not.  I'm fairly certain Lukas will decide at some point that he is too big to be carried to his bed by his father.  I don't want that to be anytime soon though.  Although he IS getting fairly heavy, it's a great leg workout climbing a flight of stairs with a 50lb weight strapped around your neck.  Plus, it's a great bonding moment for both of us, after our respective long days at work and school.

In fact, I'll bet any amount of money right now that he will decide to end our nightly routine before I do.

As sad as I will be when that comes to pass, I suppose it would actually be for the best.

Because, in all seriousness I don't imagine getting crushed to death by your 30 year old son would be a pleasant way to go.

This Old Dad, He Blogged Six

I guess you know you've officially been blogging a long time when your blog anniversary (Blogiversary) passes without your even realizing it.

It's kind of like marriage in that way...only you don't get in trouble for forgetting about your blog.  Thankfully though, Mrs. LIAYF is an amazing wife and I would never forget our wedding anniversary.  Just don't ask me how many years it's been.  Unlike Lukas, my math skills are suspect.

If you have by now figured out that last week was the 6th Blogiversary of 'Luke I am Your Father', and that I completely forgot about it until earlier today you are absolutely correct.

Give yourself a cookie.

If I am not mistaken six years qualifies me for senior status as a dad blogger.  Given that, no one should be surprised about the forgetting thing.  Sometimes I also forget to post here for several days on end too.  I am actually thinking of getting one of those sectioned plastic containers with letters corresponding to the days of the week.  I would leave a note every couple of days reminding me to post something compelling.

All kidding aside, things are going okay here .  I have certainly had my ups and downs as far as content, sometimes posting several entries one month, then just a few the next.  That's actually not about getting old, but about how hectic life has become during any stretch of time.  Thanks for sticking with me.

I actually don't worry about irregular posting because, unlike many of today's blogs, I am not beholden to any bottom line or promise of a revenue stream.  The astute among you will have noticed the lack of advertising.  I write here for fun, if you can believe that. That and the occasional free stuff companies want to send me.  (I will be taking a flying lesson soon thanks to one such company, so look out for the highlights...that is, assuming I survive).

I have been writing here for the past six years, and thankfully it hasn't gotten old yet.  It's especially cool now to look back on posts I wrote about Lukas when he was Annabelle's age and compare our experiences with the two. That's parenting gold right there.

So, since the blog as a platform hasn't become irrelevant and replaced by something shinier and new just yet, I will continue to diligently tell all who will listen how wonderful my wife and kids are, and how amazing it is to be a father.

Thanks for reading all, your support means a lot to me.

Especially those of you who have been here for previous Blogiversaries.

Seattle: Dashing the Hopes of Dashing Dad

Happy Monday readers.   Unless you are a blogger yourself, you might not be aware that there are a ton of other great Dad Blogs out there besides this one.  It's true, and today I would like to introduce you to one such Dad Blog, it's called Dashing Dad, is authored by my blogging buddy Brian, and I enjoy it quite a bit.

Brian is a is a Stay at Home Dad, who is also a runner, thus the title.  As it turns out, we have a lot more than blogging in common as his kids are a boy and a girl who are the same ages as Lukas and Annabelle, plus we both grew up on farms.  I would be downright scary if it weren't for the running thing.  Sadly, I don't run.

Brian often blogs about his running (and walking), such as in this recent post - where he assures his readers that there is no shame is walking during a race pointing out the the best of runners do this all the time.

I'm definitely going to keep that in mind the next time I am chasing one of the kids down the sidewalk.

His posts aren't just about running though, as I have also read a recent post of his where he replaced a leaky sink, giving a pretty detailed step by step.  I am book marking that one for future reference since, as I explain  in one of my recent posts, I will eventually need the advice.

Of course, Brian wouldn't be a Dad Blogger if he didn't also blog about parenting and his kids.  I especially liked this recent post he wrote about his goals for 2014 as a Stay at Home Dad (notice he didn't call them resolutions).  Reading through his archives, it's clear that he is a dedicated and loving father.

Dashing Dad is a very entertaining site that I highly recommend you check out the next time you are craving more content from a dedicated dad and talented writer who loves his kids.  The world will never have enough of these.

You may ask why I am deviating from my normal content to tell you about Dashing Dad.  As it turns out, there is a story behind that.  There's always a story.

As I mentioned, Brian, Dashing Dad, is blogger.  But what I haven't mentioned is that he is also a New Orleans Saints fan. (Let's all pause for a moment of silence for his favorite team, who will be spending this coming Sunday on their couches....watching my Seattle Seahawks put a whooping on the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL's NFC title game before advancing to Super Bowl XLVIII on February 2nd. At least that's what I'm hoping for.)

Fellow Seattle Dad Blogger Daniel over at Post Post Modern Dad (another great Dad Blog) and I had this wager going with Dashing Dad over who would win the Saints vs Seahawks game.  Yes, Seattle won, but Daniel agreed to wager against the spread (I know!), which had Seattle winning by 10 points.  And since they only won by 8 points, technically we lost.

But Brian, being a true gentleman agreed that since his team lost, he would also write about both our blogs as well.   I will share the link once he has it published. And everybody wins!

Well, except the Saints.

Looking for a Ship

I love sea stories.  My book cases are filled with tattered versions of classic fictional tales, travelogues, and non fiction accounts of life, discovery, and war, at sea.  The pages of these books tell grand tales of history, adventure, and discovery, that land lubbers like me can only dream about.  Unless, of course, I am reading about them.

Some of my favorites?  Moby Dick, Kon Tiki, Two Years Before the Mast, Sailing Alone Around the World, and the Mutiny on the Bounty Series by Nordholf and Hall.

Another book I really enjoyed, although I haven't read it for some time is Looking for a Ship by John McPhee, which is an adventure filled account of life at sea as a Merchant Marine aboard the cargo ship the S.S. Stella Lykes as she sails down the Pacific Coast on a 42 day journey.  He encounters among other things, pirates! 

Container Ships, like the Stella Lykes, are prevalent in our port city of Seattle which, if you aren't familiar with our geography sits on Elliot Bay, a part of the Puget Sound.  These ships arrive from all over the world, carrying containers filled with goods the likes of which we can only speculate about.  

As I mentioned, Seattle is surrounded by water.  Not completely surrounded because, of course, that would make us an island.  Again, for the geography challenged, Seattle is not an island.  But there is enough water around so that an ordinary family can actually live in a home with a view of some of it.

And, we are lucky enough to be one of those families.   Looking out our kitchen windows, or upstairs in Lukas' room, we can see the Puget Sound in all it's glory.   And also passing ships.  They pass by day and night, in all weather, in all seasons.  They even pass by on Holidays.  In fact, I saw one pass on Christmas Day.  I wondered if there was a tree aboard.

They're not coming by constantly, but enough so that Lukas and I have taken to playing a game around witnessing them.    If we happen to be looking out the window at just the right time, day or night, and see one of these ships pass by we will call out...

"Ship Spotting!"

This will earn the spotter a point on our chalk board.  I have no idea what score will constitute an eventual victory, but recently I was running ahead by enough that Lukas decided to expand the definition of a 'ship' to include sail boats.  On that afternoon there happened to be several out on the sound and visible with the naked eye.   

His number of chalk marks immediately shot past mine.   "That sneaky little cheater" I thought to myself.  I protested a little,  but eventually decided that I wasn't going to begrudge him his points, especially since we hadn't actually defined what a ship was beforehand.

And it's not about winning, right?  Right.

I'm confident that I'll catch up eventually anyway.  As a matter of fact just a couple of days ago I spied a large container ship silently slipping past my vantage point as I prepared lunch in my kitchen.  

Lukas wasn't around for me to call out "Ship Spotting", so I just watched it as it passed by, thought of McPhee's  many adventures, and wondered if this particular crew were off to experience some grand adventure.  Perhaps in some remote location.

But then I realized it was just headed south, and there's nowhere down there for them to stop.  

Except Tacoma.

image credit: Bryan Bloss West Seattle Blog

Repeat, Repeat, the Sounds of Joy!

As I have mentioned in recent posts, It's been a lot of fun around our house lately.

I distinctly remember when Lukas was a baby/toddler. Partly because I can read about it in my archives, but also because it sticks out in my mind as period that was filled with so much laughter and joy.  It is true that small children are bundles of joy.  And he certainly was.

He still is, but it's different seeing a tiny soul learn to laugh, joke, and appreciate humor for the first time.  It certainly serves to help parents forget about all the other unsavory stuff they have to deal with.  I'm referring, of course, to stuff that is usually gooey in one way or another.

I mentioned in a recent post that Annabelle is now now fully mobile, but I don't think I've yet mentioned how much of a little ham she has now become.  Well, she's actually a big ham in a little package, but I think you got my meaning.

She brings that same joy to the household, all over again.

A little Ham?  Or a big one?

She squeals with happiness a lot these days.  This must mean we are doing SOMETHING right.  Often these squeals of happiness take place while we're playing a game.  By the way, she loves Monopoly but has yet to master it enough to beat yours truly.  She usually just throws the pieces on the ground while I am 'Passing Go' and accumulating high priced real estate.  I'm a mogul like that.

Other games she also loves, but is much better at include 'Climbing the Stairs While Laughing at Daddy (Who is Chasing After Me)', Leather Shoe in My Mouth Tug of War',  'Drag Me  Across the Wood Floor While I Pretend to Get Away', and 'All Done! Just Kidding Sucka'.

Of course these games bring about a lot of high pitched squeals of joy.  This is often accompanied by a thumping of her chest with one forearm and a closed fist, which is oddly reminiscent of athletes who have just accomplished something of note, ie: an in your face windmill jam.

Plus, these sounds of joy from our 14 month old little ham are not limited to games alone.  Just the other day for instance I arrived at her day care to pick her up.  There is a hallway leading to an open doorway which opens into her room.

Upon arriving I glanced down the hallway, and saw her wandering by the door.  She paused, looked my way, and upon seeing me let out what can only be described as a shriek of happiness. She then toddled quickly to the gate with an enormous smile and held up her hands.  "Dada!"  She called.

I'll have to admit, her joy at seeing her daddy arrive was pretty cool.   But, of course this is nothing new to me.  Lukas has been doing this for over 6 years.

What a lucky guy I am.  I love ham, and I get to eat it  up every day.