Frith O’Steen

So, readers of past entries in the Frith and Decker blog universe will perhaps recall that my son in loopy and loco for fruit. Sadly, he is particularly loopy and loco for fruit that is seasonal, so we can’t always get it for him. But the great thing about that is - when it does come back into season, he is so beside himself that he literally can be motivated to do anything you ask for the promised reward of fruit - specifically, strawberries and blueberries. I blame this addiction largely on his grandpa, my dad. The man is just silly for fruit. And he knows that my little guy is nuts for it too, so he always has some sort of special treat for him when we come over. (Plums, grapes, berries, you name it). It’s actually very sweet - I think sometimes Decker has been intimidated by my dad because of his size, but the two of them have truly bonded over nature’s bounty. Decker knows if he brings an orange to his grandpa that he will peel it for him, and the other night he was willing to do tricks for pieces of strawberry hidden in my dad’s hand! (ie: “Decker - can you be a scarecrow - you can have some strawberry…”, whereupon the child’s arms stick straight out practically before the sentence is finished!).

It is a good motivator though - but you have to be sure you have the goods on hand before you say their name! Today I told Decker it was lunch time and we were gonna have strawberries but we had to put all his toys away first (we were outside). You have never seen a toddler move so swiftly to put away bikes and wagons. He then sat promptly down with his little legs sitting straight out, calling “sooooooos, OFF, mama!” (shoes off, now mommy!). We go inside, and he streaks for the highchair, chanting “sahbeddah” over and over, and I go to the fridge to find….no strawberries. WHAT? I just bought some last night? Where are they where are they where are they? Sean put the groceries away, but maybe I forgot them in the shopping cart? Oh man I am practically ready to load the kid back in the car to go the store just to procure the promised produce, for I know the disappointment and angst that awaits me if I don’t cough them up right now. I call Sean, and he reassures me that he simply had put them in a hard to spot place for Decker (and his mom, thanks very much!). Ok, apoplectics fits averted - strawberries for all!

Kid still won’t eat cheese, peanut butter, or meat - but dang he loves his fruit. No scurvy in this house!

So a couple of weekends ago, I went with my family to catch the Upright Citizens Brigade at the SF Sketchfest over at the Eureka Theatre. The show was awesome - they are so damn funny. I’d gotten to see them once before at their regular location (a theatre under the Gristedi’s grocery store in NY), and it was really cool to see them again. Rachel Dratch and Amy Poehler are hi-larious. Very funny women. (And quick on their feet! Much more fun to watch than the disastrous planned improvs of high school drama days gone by).

Anyway, we had parked in the Embarcadero area, and we were walking over to the Ferry Building to meet my sisters, when we crossed over through the little park across the street from Safeway. From a couple of blocks away, we could hear what sounded exactly like someone jumping up and down on a big box of squeaky toys (which would be my idea for a performance art piece, albeit probably not a very good one). We get closer and realize that the trees there are jam-packed with bright green parrots! I thought they only hung out at the Filbert Steps, but they must be moving out to the birdie suburbs because there were over 100 of them, easily, and they were squawking and picking all the cherry tree blossoms clean off of the trees. I love SF - no way would you see that anywhere else!

Are grumpy. And goopy. And cuddly (so it’s not all bad). And bad sleepers at night(well, so that part sucks). It is pretty funny to watch a little kid try to learn to blow their nose, though. (Sean: “Decker, can you blow into the tissue?” Decker: “BBBBBB” (blows a raspberry into the tissue, leaving us with a damp hand and him still with a runny nose)).

So…I’m a dork and I like to travel overly prepared which means I always bring extraneous stuff like Decker’s medical book etc. Normally, we keep his immunization record in the medical book, and I take it out when we fly (so we won’t lose it). This past trip to Utah however, I forgot to take it out of the book, and I did, in fact, lose the immunization record in transit home to Oakland. I had resigned myself to the idea of having to go through the hassle of getting a new one, and mad at myself for being such a dunce with the last one. Imagine my surprise when I recieved an envelope from our pediatrician’s office last week, containing…Decker’s immunization record, and a letter from Southwest Airlines saying “Our staff found this on one of our planes, can you please return it to the parents?”. A) I’m really impressed that SWA did that, and B) I’m impressed that our pediatrician’s office was so obliging! Who says customer service is dead? (And yes, I suppose it is a little sad that I find stuff like that so cool!)

The title of this is sadly somewhat misleading, as winter breaks are of course a thing of yesteryear. But - the holiday season was full of lots of fun this and thats, so we’ll pretend I took a break nonetheless and here we go…

While in Utah, we went snow shoeing, which was good times as always, but was particularly enhanced by the fact that that was the day that Decker decided to officially bust out with “Ma Ma”! I melted on the spot, and promised him anything he wanted. Dad and Sean also went skiiing one day, and despite near white-out conditions, they apparently enjoyed themselves all the same. Dad and Sean left on a Tuesday, and then we girls all stuck around until Saturday - the same routine, which involves working on upkeeping the house, watching lots of episodes of tv on dvd, and just being goofy with little guy. A nice way to relax, and Decker definitely has a ball hanging out with his aunties and Pammy. (Extra adults to pay attention to him means a little break for his mom, which is very nice as well!).

And now it’s January and despite the rain I am loving a CA winter - everything is green and the temp is mild…my kind of place!

Happy New Year, all!

PS: Here’s a joke to start the New Year right:
What did the Zen master say to the hot dog vendor?
Make me one with everything! HAAAA!

Decker likes to wake up rather early, and that means of course that I will then need to be awake as well. Being awake and being upright are two separate things, and so the compromise we have reached is for me to get him some juice and then he lays on the sofa with me while we watch Sesame Street. Until recently, Decker liked to stretch out on top of me and just kinda doze and cuddle. But the last few days, he snuggles in next to me (both heads on my pillow), and then reaches his little arm around my neck and pulls my head to his chest! It’s so funny - I don’t know if I am filling the role of a stuffed animal or if he just likes playing with my hair or what - but it’s very sweet, if not a little hard on the neck!

So Sean and I went to see “Goblet of Fire” at the midnight show on Thursday night (opening night). And…it was REALLY good. And…we were the only ones there not in highschool or chaperoning highschool students. Very strange to hear all conversations around you primarily focused on how badly you think you messed up on the vocab test that day. (For the guy behind us who admitted to/bragged about (hard to tell) getting a ‘D’ on the last quiz - perhaps being at a midnight movie on a school night was not the best idea? Just saying…).

Anyway - the movie was great and overall I was quite pleased with this latest interpretation. Of course, being a die-hard fan I had some things I would have changed, but the entire product in its whole was great and the acting is the best it’s ever been.

Then I went to see it a second time last night - and going in and being able to appreciate it as just a film (without looking to compare it to the book) - it was like 10 times better! I recommend everyone see it twice at least, so that they can thoroughly enjoy the nuances and details. I plan to see it one more time in IMAX as well - should be fantastic!

Now I’m re-reading book 6, and of course Sean has me addicted to the “Pottercasts” from Leaky Cauldron (podcasts from my favorite website) which poor Decker is being subjected to in the car. (Hey, after listening to “Bert’s Blockbusters” ad infinitum, I think it’s my turn to pick what’s on the radio!). Heh. What can I say? HP is a phenomenon among millions for a reason!

It’s here! It’s here! “Goblet of Fire” (or GOF, for those who enjoy the same geeky fansites that I do) opens tonight at midnight, and Sean and I are going to pretend to be our former childless selves for one evening and attend said late-night viewing! Decker will be slumbering at my folks’ place, none the wiser that his mom and dad are having a blast at the biggest movie event of the year! (YES - bigger than the last Star Wars!).

The tix have already been fandangoed and picked up, and now it’s just a matter of waiting in line and getting a good seat! This film looks like it could be the best yet in the series, and book 4 is still my fave of the 6 so far, so this promises nothing but good times. My only concern - I hope we can stay awake! It’s 2 hours 30 minutes!

Must start pounding the diet soda….

So Decker has been sleeping his new ‘big boy’ bed for about a week and a half now, and seems to have gotten quite used to it and very content sleeping in it. (which is nice for his folks!). Not only is he in a big boy bed now, but he is also officially sleeping with a pillow and blanket (one of his baby quilts- just the right size), and seems to be sleeping much better now that he’s warmer (duh - footie pj’s aren’t all that thermal when the temperature dips at night). Anyway, as I put him down for his nap today, he snuggled in under his blanket, looked up at me and blew me a kiss! Sean had told me that Decker was waving “night night” to him when he put him down in the evenings, but this was a first for me! And…it’s the first time he’s blown me a kiss without prompting! Could’ve melted right there on the spot, but decided to blog instead. Thank you for the kiss, Decker!

It is no wonder I don’t manage to get much down around here. There is nothing in the world as intoxicating and beautiful as a sleeping child. I will fully admit to turning into a big ol’ voyeur and staring at my son as he slumbers. So peaceful and sweet it’s almost heartbreaking. (Partly b/c I know he’ll wake up soon, and I haven’t gotten anything done!). I promise to do this a lot less when he gets older (Decker, I won’t sneak into your house and watch you sleep when you are an adult, despite what that book “I’ll love you forever” has to say about the matter!).