Ollin and Kai.com

I think everyone knows by now, but I suppose we might as well make it official.

We’re expecting another child!

WHAT?!?!

Yes, that is the reaction we’ve been getting.  Don’t feel bad, it was the same reaction we had!!  Of course, we’ve thought that this is the last chance to have that little girl that we’ve wanted, and the boys have actually mentioned having a little brother or sister.  Hopefully, it’s not that they just want another kid to pick on.

Yoosung is due next April.  Thankfully, she’s due a few weeks after the boys’ birthdays.  Otherwise, we’d need standing annual reservations at Chuck E. Cheese’s (for the kids) and the closest mental health facility (for the parents).

Now, all of this means some major family upgrades are in order.  More on that later.

I have a lot of updates and stories that will take some time to get into the blog, but let me start with something a little old.

As many of you know, my wife took the kids on her own to Korea for a few weeks back in September.  I joined her in October and we stayed throughout the month.  I thought it’d be fun to share a list of songs that I put together for the kids (which were burned on a CD) to help them survive the 13 hour plane trip and the countless hours in the car in Korea.

Here’s the list, which is formatted to include the Song Name, the Artist, (and in parenthesis) the kids’ name for the song.

Talk about some mangled lyrics!!  And for those that are curious, the common denominator in the development of the kids’ musical taste is video games.  I can hear the wife scolding me now.  (Seriously, she is scolding me at this moment.) More on this later.

Like most parents with young children, we have been struggling with the issue of sleep for four years now.  But it seems as though we may be turning the corner.

Last week marked a bit of a milestone – the replacement of a crib with a toddler bed.  That means both kids are sharing the same sleeping quarters just feet away from eachother, giving themselves ample opportunity to wake their sibling up for any reason whatsoever (usually revenge).

For a while, we contemplated going for bunk beds, but expecting routine fights over the top bunk put an end to that idea.  Of course, as my wife reminds me, the better option is to buy a bigger house so that each kid can have their own room, but there are some financial realities to account for.

Regardless, we were left with another problem – the kids do not go to sleep at the same time.  After a good start as a sleeper, Kai now hits the sack at about 10 – 10:30pm.  Ollin refuses to go to bed before 11pm.  I hear other parents say that their kids sleep at 7 or 8 and quietly curse myself.  The wife quietly curses me as well.

Just a quick note to document what I consider to be Ollin’s first purposeful treacherous act – intentional mis-direction of his parents.  Here’s how it went down yesterday:

As I am readying myself for work, Ollin gets out of bed and walks into the bedroom and asks, “Can I play Wii?  Can I play the Star Wars game?”

Recalling that this is something that Mom has objected to in the past, and of course not fully wanting to engage, I deflected.  ”Go ask your mother”.  Of course, Ollin skips out and I continue to prepare for work.

A few moments later, Ollin skips back in and cheerfully asks, “Okay, can you please turn on the Wii?”  So, of course, I oblige.

Several minutes pass when Mommy comes into the living room and says, “Ollin, I said no playing before school!”  And then she turns to me, “Why did you turn this on for him?”

So I look to Ollin and then more specifically ask, “Did Mommy say you could play?”

“No.”  He didn’t smirk or look guilty.  He was as emotionless as Lego C-3pO.

So at this point, I’m not sure whether to be angry or proud.  He didn’t directly lie and tell me that Mommy gave him permission to play so early in the morning, but he did take advantage of our lack of communication to get what he wanted.  Treacherous or masterful?

In the end, I had to be angry with myself for making the assumption that he would not “game” us.  Oh yeah, Mommy was mad with me too for being out-smarted by a four-year old.  Another typical day in our household.

Kids are just hardwired for technology these days.  Here are just a few instances of how technology (and perhaps biology) is leading my kids to do “kid stuff” in ways I could not have imagined as a child:

• Rather than write up a list for Santa, Ollin (currently age 3) records his favorite commercials off the TV with our DVR and then plays them back to me so I am absolutely clear as to what toy(s) he wants.
• Ollin can barely write his name, but he sure knows how to Google his website.
• Kai (currently age 1) knows a sure-fire way to get the attention of his parents – turn off the TV or computer when they are using them.  When he wants to get back at his brother, Kai hides his video game controller.
• After careful observation of me using my iPhone, Ollin defeated the passcode protection I had placed on it so he could play an “Air Hockey” game that he had downloaded from the “App Store”.  Did I mention that he managed to find a way to download the game even though it requires a (different) password?
• Ollin has a habit of leaving me voicemails of him singing his favorite rock tunes.
• Kai knows there is no reason for him to wait to watch his favorite show (alternatively “The Wiggles” or “Pororo”) since it’s available “On Demand” through our cable company.  Or when we are on the road, via my phone on Youtube.  Patience is so 20th Century.
• Ollin has rolled a 200 on Wii Sports bowling.  I believe he hit 6 strikes in a row in that game, so it was not a fluke.

I am already looking forward to the day when FBI agents show up at my door telling me that one of them hacked into the Pentagon and uploaded episodes of “Blues Clues” into the Secretary’s laptop.  Maybe “Blue” can help find Osama!?

There are these strange characters now sprinkled throughout the blog.   I must have fuX0red the transcoding somewhere along my recent back-end upgrade.  Hope to get it fixed soon!

First of all, it has been a long while.  Here are the two reasons why -

1. It’s been much easier to update pictures on Facebook than to create the custom galleries used here.
2. I’ve been damn busy trying to keep up with the two boys!

• But quite a bit has happened the last few months.
• Ollin has progressed from Speed Racer to Star Wars.  While it warms my heart to see him inherit some of the fixations of my youth, I’m not so sure I appreciate being assaulted by foam swords at all hours of the day (and night, because the kid sleeps with his lightsabers).  I also have mixed feelings that he gravitates more to the newer Lucas films than the originals.  I guess Jar-Jar seems less threatening to a 3 year old than to someone in their 30s.  Thankfully, the Clone Wars CG series is more than tolerable.  It’s certainly more entertaining than Spongebob re-runs, even though I have grown to appreciate the yellow porous one.What could turn out to be funny is Ollin’s pretend/role-play usually stars Ollin as the Clone Trooper (specifically, the one who’s gun has “a lot of holes”) and Dad as the evil droid soldier.  Little does he know he understand that those brave Clone Troopers become the evil Storm Troopers.  I hope I’m around when he realizes that Anakin is Darth Vader.  That will be fun.
• Kai’s language skills are definitely coming into play, but he is a man of action and not words.  He flings his body into his desire of the moment, usually head first.  As a result, Kai is one of those boys that has a permanent mark on his face; be it a bruise, a gash, dirt, or chocolate.  Fling-worthy activities for Kai include bowling (with household objects usually), playing guitar, and jamming stuff into hidden spaces for Mom and Dad to find at a later time.  In some cases, the “hidden space” is the trash.  And while we have been lucky to recover some valuable things, like the remote control and cell phone, before they went out to the curb, some others, like valuable parts to my camera, remain missing.  On second thought, Mommy might have put the remote control in the trash.
• Kai is also a fan of whatever Ollin is doing or holding at that very moment.  We frequently see Kai watching Ollin play, processing exactly how he is playing and what he is playing with.  Then you can almost see the brain signal move down into Kai’s body as he makes the move to wrest whatever it is out of Ollin’s hands.  Ollin almost always resists, but Kai doesn’t give up easily.  About half the time, Kai wins the prize, but I credit many of those “wins” to our coaching of Ollin to share, and importantly, to restrain the urge to fight back.  Someday, perhaps when we get to teaching him about capitalism, we will need him to unlearn those lessons.
• One thing that neither boy likes to do is eat.  A common scene in the house these days is seeing Mommy chase the boys around with a spoonful of this or that.  It’s not that they don’t like the food, more so they believe that eating takes away from their playtime.  On many occasions, even the strategic use of french fries fails.  Going out to eat presents the extra challenge of trying to keep the boys at the table in a public space while the food is being prepared.  Kai has defeated many a high-chair, even those with child restraints.  So our criteria for restaurants tends to focus on places with fast service (and fries).  A somewhat sad state of affairs, but tempered by the fact L.A. has such great casual dining.
• More to say as the boy’s birthdays approach . . .

Ollin wants to show off his new typing skills, so away he goes:

GVCHV HEDGVFGFVNESHVHJNXKMDCJMCKMDXMNSJNMSHSBNDSJNXMX XN ZXNXZN XM  M CM VCNC  VC C NDB CXV FM,RKJHNKL7YKLNKJL

bfchtxhgfrfhg3wgffhgegbdfbhbgfhygfhy4yhgvh2wghv iuqaygtgf,.dm,bn .n mnbyeyhudhsxhydsgxgfzgvxvsavcsxvsxv x vcxc zazczczcsczv xzxzb afvfcnbzbv7ny7ruc yyagaR`RDG11XVVSC2VQB1B2QWBHEDNBDXNBWANB2NBWBDNFDN 21N 2 TGWETFYTDYRJSDHGFDB12B CW XZ NSNBZXNMJMWQMNWSNMXZNBNNMJM,DMDMCXMNCN XNBXCBXBXB NHGB 

If he keeps this up, I will need to set him up with his own account.

Okay, they’re not mine – but Ollin and Kai’s.  But here are a few of the items that the kids thought were the “greatest thing ever” at one time or another before moving onto something else:

Ollin: 

• Month 2 – 4: Fisher-Price Aquarium Swing (if you have a newborn and aren’t using a swing, you are really missing out!). 
• Month 4 – 6: Mom’s Cell Phone (until he broke it).
• Month 6 – 8: Television Remote Control (and not any old remote control, but the one that actually works).
• Month 8 – 12: The bauble that holds the fireplace gas valve in place.
• Year 1 – 1 1/2:  The steering wheel on any of our cars.
• Year 1 1/2 to 2: Drums, or anything resembling drums (includes pots and pans, coasters, the trash can, daddy’s head).  Drumsticks are often improvised chopsticks or other household devices. 
• Year 2 – 2 1/2:  Youtube and/or Windows Media Player.  I mean the kid will sit on my desk and sort through videos on Youtube and/or his favorite music.  Did I mention he does this without the help of mom or dad?  Scary.  (Here’s an example of one of his favorite clips).
• Year 2 1/2 through 3: Video Games!  The bane of every good parent’s existence.  The “entry drug” was Rock Band, soon to be followed by Wii Play, Wii Music, and a few others.  Luckily, Ollin seems just as entertained with some good old-fashioned sports like basketball and baseball.  Now if we could just keep him from trying to play these in the house!

Kai:

• Month 2 - 4:  Fisher-Price Aquarium Swing.  (Seriously, this thing is Godsend).
• Month 4 - 6:  Television Remote Control.  Oh, he’s advanced! 
• Month 6 - 8:  Balls of all sorts.  Especially if they are rolling.  (To be clear, there was absolutely no question when it came time to perform the Korean Life Destiny Game that he was going to pick the ball.   It doesn’t even matter what kind of ball it is, so long as he can pick it up above his head and spike it).
• Month 8 – 12:  The bauble that holds the fireplace gas valve in place.  (This thing is like crack for kids or something.  What gives?)  In second place:  eating utensils of all sorts.   Not to eat with, but just to play with.   By the way, a bendy straw in the hands of a one year old can be very dangerous!

I’ve been in photographic arrears for awhile now, but this edition of our photographic journey memorializes some important milestones – including:

• Kai’s first birthday!
• Ollin’s third birthday!
• The kids first journey to Disneyland.
• Valentine’s playdate.

For pictures from February, click here:

 For pictures from March, click here:

 

Also for the record:

• For the traditional Korean first birthday “choose your destiny” ceremony, Kai chose the “ball”.  Twice.
• The kids’ first ride at Disneyland was the “Jungle Cruise”.
• The kids’ birthday themes were “Blues Clues” (Kai), and “Curious George” (Ollin).  ”Rock Band” was not available.