Pledging Aweegance

It's been forever since we've had a blog update. So I thought I'd send along possibly the cutest flag pledge ever as a peace offering:

Fun at the Fair - now with VIDEO

Today was Noah's first fair experience. He had absolutely no idea what to expect. In fact, when we were talking about it, he thought we were talking about going on the ferry.

When we got there, he got excited. And pushy. And a bit weepy.

Especially when he saw the lines of equally excited (mostly older) kids at the rides. He wanted to ride all of them...even the ones with names like "tilt-a-hurl" or "instant fairground death."

This is when he found out he couldn't ride ALL of them RIGHT NOW.
















But after several earnest conversations, he realized he was cool with just watching. And, we finally did find a ride he (cautiously) enjoyed. Note that he was belted onto his carousel lion, and he INSISTED I hold on to him. Nervous smiles:



All told, he had an incredible time...from petting the baby pigs to doing some pigging out on his own: mango and cherry shave ice, and roasted corn. Yes, in that order.



















Jon

First Day

Well, he started school. Granted, it's pre-school--only two days a week for about three hours, but for Noah, this is it. He has a backpack, a teacher, recess, and snack. I dropped him off in the classroom, where he found the play dough and never looked back. I told him (very carefully) that I was leaving, he would be fine, yada, yada, yada . . . . Didn't phase him one bit. I don't even think he noticed me leave. I was proud of myself--I didn't cry.

I came home, cleaned, checked email, read, drank hot chocolate. It was awesome. I'm really rethinking the three-day-a-week plan.

When I drove through car line, I could see him light up and say "there's my MOM!" He bounded (safely) to the car and hopped in with his teacher in tow. She said he had a great day, and by his account on the way home, she was right. Highlights: Itchy Inchworm, recess (where apparently a boy pushed him, but he--virtuously--did not push back), snack (cheese, graham crackers, grapes--and Mrs. St. Clair wore GLOVES), instruments (yes, he played the drums), and sitting down when the other children did not (wide-eyed innocence).

So, it was a success. He's ready to go back. And I'm looking forward to my next hot chocolate.

Happy 4th Birthday Noah!

Well, my baby is growing up. He's four today. He'll start preschool next week (anyone remember Shirley Jackson's Charles?), he's asking to play soccer again, he's got a memory and directional sense that is better than mine, and he's impossibly cute (though we don't tell him that)! He really seems like he has the best of Jon and of me. I hope he stays that way. I can't believe he's been around for four years--it seems like forever and then it seems like just yesterday!

So, with age comes responsibility. Now that he's four, Noah has official "jobs" to do. We started a new chart last night, and he gets to put up chart pieces for remembering to make his bed and set the table. We're attempting these things just to see how he does with the responsibility. He's trying hard, and that's the main thing. He knows we make the bed in the morning, but I'm making him do more than watch me and throw a few animals back on. In fact, he's been known to remind Jon on Saturdays that they have to make his bed before he goes downstairs (and you know I was secretly snickering under my covers--Jon couldn't very well tell him no after that). But it's slacked off lately, so we're stepping back up. Setting the table is pretty new. He took it very seriously tonight, but we'll see what happens when the novelty wears off. Shouldn't take long!

To our followers...a word...

So, um.

It has come to our attention that the maintenance of this blog has been severely neglected in recent weeks. After an extensive internal review (Krista mentioning this to me politely, multiple times) we have issued a draft report that should address the issue -- hopefully to the satisfaction of all shareholders involved.

I will spare you some of the more exhaustive technical details, but a rough "blueprint" is as follows: Jon will write down more things, and post more pictures.

So...just to catch up:

We went hiking with my brother, illustrated in this completely UNPOSED shot:














Noah ate several mutant-sized raspberries:














And we went camping again, this time with friends from our church and my mom:
















(Noah and his binoculars, pronounced: (bi-NOK-ee-ers)

That's it for now, but hopefully more frequent updates to follow!

Picky Eater?

I always wonder if eating habits are acquired or genetic. If I were a picky eater, would Noah be predisposed to the same? I once (briefly) had a passing interest in a girl who didn't like fruit. She mentioned this as I was in line with her for a cherry milkshake at the snack shop. I almost fainted. It wasn't like "I don't like lychee." It was "I don't like FRUIT."

As you can imagine, that lone sentence utterly extinguished any embers of doomed romance. (I should add...doomed not just because of the fruit issue, but other...issues.)

Do children ever grow up just "not liking" such a broad category?

Not my child:

Noah + Mango pit = Love. And love can be messy. (click for an up-close view)

Onward...

Ok. So I guess I couldn't keep that glowing review of me up there INDEFINITELY for all the interwebs to see. But it was nice while it lasted.

Time now for some catching up though:

What an amazing camping trip we had with Noah! Amazing that our tent didn't leak more than it did, and amazing that Noah seemed oblivious to the fact that you aren't supposed to have fun when you're camping in the rain. Pictorial proof from our short trip to South Whidbey State Park bears conclusive witness:


There he is, cheerfully eating carrots while his Mom and Dad made glib observations like "Wow, look at the size of that SLUG!!"

Thankfully, the rain did stop for a bit...and we got a chance to look around. It really is a nice campground, and we all found ourselves enjoying the overall experience. And the sun DID come out finally --I kid you not--as we were loading our final bags into the Subaru for the trip home. Noah was looking forward to the ride on the ferry but this happened:


He slept through the ride, woke up as we were driving through Edmonds and demanded, sleepily, when we were going to get on the ferry. When we explained what happened, he didn't believe us at first, and then burst into tears that were, thankfully, short-lived.

Jon and Krista's must-have list for camping with a 3-year old in rainy weather:
1. Mostly waterproof tent
2. Marshmallows

We call them "the two essentials."

Top Ten Reasons I Love Jon (or Happy Birthday to Jon!)

Well, it's Jon's birthday. I wanted to mark the occasion of his 35th year with something special, but I can't really think of anything except this. So here goes--

Top Ten Reasons I Love Jon!

10. Reading is second nature to him . . . and he likes to discuss what he reads

9. He can pull a pretty good latte . . . or an aeropress . . . or even drip

8. He has my sense of humor (so we get to watch Wipeout, MST3K, Psych, and other stuff together)

7. He makes pancakes on Saturday mornings so I can sleep in

6. He likes to play outside

5. He can fix just about anything

4. He has a great singing voice and can play the guitar pretty well

3. The man can cook!

2. He's a pretty fun dad for Noah

1. Because he's my best friend!

The Quotable Noah

Several members of our rapidly growing fan base commented that they particularly like Noah's observations on life in general.

So without much further ado: More Noah randomness...

Noah (at bedtime): Daddy, next week will be Father's Day?
Dad: Yes.
Noah: When is Boy's Day?
Dad: (Channeling generations of parents) EVERY day is Boy's Day...Good night!

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Noah: "Jesus doesn't like coffee" (As I'm brewing up some freshly roasted Nicaraguan organic fair trade beans)

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Noah (praying at supper): "Dear Jesus, thank you for this food. Thank you for me. [unintelligible]. Amen!"

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Mom: Noah -- no whining! Where did you learn to whine like that?
Noah: Miss Nieman. [Miss Nieman is our wonderful children's church teacher...extremely sweet and talented...so Krista and I are highly skeptical.]

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Setup: [Noah runs into our room making fierce sounds...face scrunched up in a little 3-year old scowl. He is completely naked. He dashes in, circles the room, and scampers away.]

Me [puzzled]: Noah, what are you doing?

Noah [patiently]: GROWLING.

###

Would You Rather . . . .

I was testing out one of the games for our teen activity tomorrow night. Noah was a willing participant, so here are his answers.

"Noah, would you rather . . .

• be rich or famous? "Famous."


• go to Hawaii or Europe? "Hawaii."


• bridge jump or skydive? "Bridge jump."


• wear red and green plaid pants or yellow pants with white loafers? "Yellow pants with white loafers."


• eat a muskrat or a rattlesnake? "Muskrat . . . no, rattlesnake . . . no, muskrat."


• wrestle an alligator or run with the bulls? "Wrestle an alligator."


• travel to outer space for three months or live on a submarine for three months? "Live on a submarine for three months."


• hike or clean your room? "Hike!"


• eat a live goldfish or a baked earthworm? "Live goldfish."


• coffee or tea? "Hot chocolate."

A few of Noah's favorite things:

Just to bring everyone up to speed on things that we tend to take for granted, I figured that here, as a "blog of record," I should record some of Noah's current favorite things, along with some of my observations. In no particular order:


1. Soccer. For the uninitiated, 3-year old soccer is like no other sport you've had the pleasure of witnessing. While the young players are not up to speed on the technicalities of "the beautiful game," they play it with an exuberance that is entertaining and sometimes tragic. Like the time Noah decided to sit down IN the goal because it was his "tent." Or like the time he chugged up and down the white line on the field in true Thomas the train fashion. Never mind the coach wanted him to stand against the wall. And then there's the time he decided to lounge on his back in the middle of the field, rolling lazily as in an alpine meadow. Often the parents get more exercise than the children.

2. (Old) McDonalds You would think the clown would weird him out, or maybe that's just me hoping. But Noah loves the chicken nuggets as much as I did when I was a kid. I remember the highlight of a field trip to the Arch in St. Louis: not the history, nor the ride up to the top of the Gateway to the West, but the McDonalds on the way home. There was something magical about the way those nuggets all had the same irregular shape, coated with a greasy, crispy coating that yielded to the vaguely sponge-like interior. And the sauce! You just couldn't get stuff like that at home. Now I know why. At Noah's age though, the actual highlight of the visit is the brightly colored plastic hot zone known as the "playground."

More to follow...

Blueberries

Even though they're probably from California and they were just a little tart, we couldn't get enough of these blueberries. All three of us love them, but Jon and Noah can clear a bowl in less than two minutes. If I don't hurry, I don't eat.

They tasted especially good since they were cold, and we're on a mini heat wave here. I'm loving it, though the rest of Seattle seems miserable. It's been something like twelve days with no rain and temperatures near ninety in some places-like our bedrooms at night-the last two days. We took Noah to St. Ed's Park today, and there were a total of two (yes, 2) other children there. A cloudless sky and balmy breeze but where were all the children? With their parents seeking out air conditioning at the mall. Wimps.

Best. Day. Ever.

On a premeditated whim, we decided to take advantage of the incredible weather and explore Lake Wenatchee. We packed light (with a cooler, swimsuits, and towels for us and various books, cars, trucks, sand pail, and shovel, for Noah), and headed off for the Cascades. Needing breakfast, we stopped at the Sultan Bakery for a snack and found out that weekends mean buttermilk bars. I'm not usually a fan of the buttermilk bar, though these are converting me. But there were plenty of other treats to choose from--and choose I did!

• Best part for me: Hanging out at the lake most of the day watching Noah. The air was cool, but the sun was warm. I'm sporting a lovely sunburn, complete with raccoon eyes.

• Best part for Noah: Playing with his cars on the sand and rocks. He built a bridge with driftwood, picked out about twenty rocks "for you, Mama" (and we brought home five), the awesome playground, and finally putting his feet in the water. He lasted longer than me--the water was COLD!

• Best part for Jon: Hmmmmm . . . . Probably much the same as me, minus the burn. He hasn't learned to "bask" like I do. (Maybe that's a good thing for him!) Oh, and the buttermilk bars. How do I know? He stopped on the way home for more!

No complaints...

Today was one of those days that Seattleites try to hide from the rest of the world, because they absolutely sparkle: Clear, light breeze, zero humidity, mid-70s. Krista and I celebrated our anniversary with a nice lunch, a spa treatment for her, some reading time for me, and my favorite: some time to lounge around at the Olympic sculpture park and do absolutely nothing. Oh yes, and Stumptown Coffee on the way home. On days like this, I would be hard-pressed to move anywhere else.

Random things overheard in the Repp household

Dad: (cleverly, at bedtime) Who wants to wear cool dinosaur jammies?
Noah: Not ME!!!

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Noah: Mama, where is the island of Sodor? (Thomas the train reference)
Mom: Oh, I don't know...England, I guess.
Noah: We can go there?
Mom: I don't think so...
Noah: But Jesus wants us to go to Sodor.
Mom: (speechless)
Noah: And we must obey Jesus the FIRST time.

----

Noah: Dad, what kind of pancakes are we having?
Dad: Oh, these are all-whole wheat.
Noah: Awful wheat?

----

Krista to Jon: Do you know of anyone who wants a cat?
Noah (in the bathroom): I DO!!!

BOB the BUILDER!

...And as Noah pranced around the deck table he belted out the words he knew by heart...

BOB the BUILDER!
(...can we fix it?...)
BOB the BUILDER!
(...yes WE CAN!)

I could continue, but he knows the words much better than I, and Bob, that round-headed guru of all things construction has garnered enough free publicity already in this post.

Plus, his relentless can-do cheerfulness can get on my nerves. (Especially when I am arbitrarily assigned the role of one of Bob's many construction helpers. Noah is almost always Bob.)

It could be worse, though. Bob's certainly a spiffed-up, sanitized version of your stereotypical construction dude, thankfully minus the tats, mullet, plumber's crack and potty mouth.

Plus, the guy is an amazing cook. Yes, really. I submit as proof the recipe that Noah dictated to me while we were working on some pancakes one Saturday morning:

Bob the Builder's Chocolate Bread
-Sugar
-Baking Soda
-Brown Sugar
-Chocolate (12)
-Candy
-Chocolate Cookies

Cook for 20 minutes.

Monster Trucks

What I absolutely love about a 3-year old's mind is its amazing elasticity. Noah will instantly imagine scenarios that we have dismissed even before they were thoughts in our aging brains. Example:

Noah is "driving" one of his favorite cars around on the carpet, and asks, "Daddy, what do you call this truck?" Noting the big wheels and testosterone-soaked lettering, I reply, "That's a monster truck, Noah."

Noah: What does a monster truck do?
Me: It rides around...uh...and...runs over other cars.
Noah: What cars?
Me: Oh, just old cars.
Krista (chiming in): Like the red car! (The gracefully aging maroon Ford Escort that Krista refers to as the "mossmobile" due to an unfortunate lichen issue when it was not properly washed)
Me: No...
Krista (getting warmed up): Or the cars at Grandpa's house! (Where assorted Saabs go to die)
Me: ......
Noah: (ponders this) Does Grandpa have a monster truck?
Me and Krista: NO.

Noah is not convinced, and I'm sure he imagines Grandpa firing up his raised 4x4 and doing a couple of spins around the back 40, (maybe after choir practice on a SUNDAY SUNDAY!!!)....

I wonder if he'll remember about the Monster Truck at Christmas...

Catching up

This is the online home of Jon, Krista and Noah Repp. Where we post our own snarky, personal, and possibly humorous and/or deeply moving takes on the events of the day. Noah will contribute posts at a later time, but for now he is happily contributing material.

For those of you complete strangers just stumbling across our blog, we're truly glad you're here. And I mean that in a broad, vague, impersonal and inoffensive way.

For all of you who DO know something about us, or at least you think you do, then we're truly glad you're here too. And we mean that much more personally.

Welcome.