Hypnagogic Designs

I think we're doing something wrong

2012-02-16T08:40:00.000-06:00

Matthew and I picked Andrew up from school on Tuesday and when we came home he immediately went over to his toys. Andrew was getting his homework in order and we heard the unmistakable crashing of toys being dumped on the floor. Andrew looked over toward the toy corner and admonished his brother, "Matthew really?"

Nonchalantly and with doe-eyed innocence, Matthew stated his case. "My birthday party is over, we can dump the toys out again."

Eo much for lasting life lessons.

Matthew and Jaxson: BFFs

2012-02-15T07:50:00.000-06:00

Besties Painting

2012-02-14T07:44:00.000-06:00

Matthew's best friend, Jaxson came over for his birthday party this weekend. Nothing else mattered as long as he showed up. Much to everyone's surprise, hanging a large piece of paper on the fence and giving them some tempura paint entertained them for about an hour while the rest of the adults got to engage in grown-up conversation (largely about the kids).
© 2012 Scott Everett

Oh, there you are Perry!

2012-02-13T08:03:00.000-06:00

Hey! Where are Andrew and Matthew?

2012-02-12T19:30:00.001-06:00

The Birthday Boy's name

2012-02-11T11:47:00.001-06:00

Swim lessons

2012-02-09T12:13:00.001-06:00

This week we started swim lessons for both the boys
Andrew has been taking them for a couple years now, but this is matthew's first time. It took Matthew a little while to warm up to the pool; he wouldn't even put his feet in for a little while. Once he did, though he was all smiles.

I just took some soaps with my phone. I didn't want my camera to make me miss his first lesson.

The Climbing Thingy

2012-02-06T11:23:00.002-06:00

I like how the last one shows that having a climbing dome isn't quite enough for the boys. They have to incorporate a balloon into the mix to add to complexity.

© 2012 Scott Everett

Matthew was super-proud of his creation

2012-02-03T02:49:00.000-06:00

Not that he spent long admiring it before he was off doing something else entirely.

© 2012 Scott Everett

Yep, just about every night

2012-02-02T03:46:00.003-06:00

Are you ready to rumble?!?

© 2012 Scott Everett

And they're off!

2012-01-28T02:22:00.002-06:00

Andrew thinks he's a Baylor fan so this year he painted his car green and gold with dragon tattoos. Made sense to me.

Second place!

Pinewood tension

2012-01-27T01:54:00.002-06:00

Moments before the start of the race and the drama is palpable. The boys are on edge, barely waiting to see who will be fastest. Well, most of the boys are ...

© 2012 Scott Everett

Traffic? What traffic?

2012-01-24T08:41:00.000-06:00

Of course I couldn't take them to a park just for pictures

2012-01-19T07:38:00.000-06:00

After I begged and pleaded with them for some portraits I rewarded them with plenty of time to play at the park.

First they played Hide-And-Seek. Matthew rocked at counting and we pretty good at finding Andrew, but totally missed the concept of hiding. He'd wander around until Andrew finished counting and the run as fast as he could while giggling.

Then, well they did the only natural thing left to do. They threw leaves at each other.

Oh what talent!

2012-01-14T09:28:00.001-06:00

Thursday night Matthew had a talent show at school. His class sang a song I still don't know the title of. They had dance moves and everything. Matthew didn't dance so much but he sang his little heart out! And he got to stand next to his best friend Jaxson.

Unfortunately I forgot my camera and had to take these pictures with my phone. Note to self: put the camera back in the car.

Do you know how hard this was to do?

2012-01-13T08:06:00.000-06:00

The dude just doesn't stand still! I couldn't get him to stop for even 1/200 of a second. What a monster!

© 2012 Scott Everett

It's Andrew!

2012-01-12T09:16:00.000-06:00

Brotherly love

2012-01-11T08:13:00.000-06:00

The most fun you can have for $0.88

2012-01-10T07:23:00.000-06:00

Andrew and the Giant Lollipop

2012-01-09T07:59:00.000-06:00

Last week, Andrew went to Chuck E. Cheese with his best friend, Nathan. I presume they had a great time. I was lucky enough to avoid going. I'd like to thank Nathan's parents, Chuck and Anna, for volunteering to descend into the lions' den with the boys.

At first I thought Andrew was going to be defeated by the giant lollipop. Lo and behold, I was right. He made it through about 2/3 of it and had to put it away. I don't think he ever actually finished it. In fact, I don't even remember where we put it so that we wouldn't forget. Hmmm....

© 2012 Scott Everett

Hey, where's Perry?

2012-01-04T08:31:00.000-06:00

Oh, there he is!

While we were at it, Matthew wanted me to photograph his favorite Christmas gifts this year.

© 2012 Scott Everett

Christmas Monsters

2012-01-02T09:09:00.000-06:00

I just asked them to hug each other, not brutalize each other.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-31T08:36:00.000-06:00

Matthew's Christmas

2011-12-30T08:17:00.000-06:00

Andrew's Christmas

2011-12-29T02:34:00.000-06:00

A bit baffled by the Silly Putty, but otherwise he had a wonderful morning.
© 2011 Scott Everett

Making more cookies

2011-12-28T08:35:00.000-06:00

Making cookies

2011-12-27T08:03:00.000-06:00

A message from Santa

2011-12-25T03:14:00.000-06:00

Note: Sir Roger is our Elf on the Shelf. I bet we're one of the few houses that has a knighted elf watching over us.

© 2011 Scott Everett

This might just be blackmail material later.

2011-12-22T08:02:00.000-06:00

Oh, he's hardcore.

2011-12-21T08:57:00.001-06:00

Push!

2011-12-19T07:41:00.001-06:00

I seem to be the only one who questions the wisdom of this game. When I inquired why the smaller boy was pushing the larger, I was met with quizzical expressions.

© 2011 Scott Everett

Breakfast with Santa

2011-12-18T16:59:00.000-06:00

I'm a touch disappointed, they should know how to pose for a photo better than this.

© 2011 Scott Everett

It has only taken 4 years

2011-12-15T07:27:00.001-06:00

But Matthew has finally fallen asleep on the floor. Other than when he was an infant and would sleep in our laps, he has never, never slept anywhere other than a bed... until Tuesday.

Found some of Andrew's photos that needed to be posted

2011-12-14T02:42:00.000-06:00

Andrew took all of these during the World Wide Photowalk in October. Sometimes he really drives me nuts!

© 2011 Scott Everett

Christmas tree decorating

2011-12-11T16:25:00.001-06:00

Oh yeah. We make this look good.

The piece de resistance

Andrew's footage

2011-12-10T07:20:00.004-06:00

I give him a nice pocket camera and this is what he does with it? Oy, he has a lot to learn.

© 2011 Scott Everett

Shhhh ... We're tree hunting.

2011-12-09T03:07:00.001-06:00

I really don't want to complain. We haven't seen significant rain around here in at least 9 months. On the other hand, did the ground have to get soaked the very weekend we went trouncing around a farm?

By the time we were done, the boys' shoes were 3 times their normal size and weight. Those were left in the trunk and Andrew and Matthew rode home without shoes on. They're still talking about it.

© 2011 Scott Everett

What were the chances?

2011-12-07T02:51:00.000-06:00

We were playing in the driveway, "vrooming" his trash truck down the hill when suddenly, out of the blue, came a real live trash truck. He was so excited! What were the chances of that happening? I might have had a bit of a hand in orchestrating it, but we needn't tell him that, right?

© 2011 Scott Everett

You spin me right 'round, baby, right 'round.

2011-12-06T03:13:00.000-06:00

Playing in the driveway, Matthew grabbed my pants and swung me around.

The Cherry cousins

2011-12-05T02:20:00.000-06:00

How very '50s

2011-12-04T18:14:00.000-06:00

The cousins

2011-12-03T03:34:00.000-06:00

The boys

2011-12-02T03:57:00.000-06:00

All four cousins together for one brief, still moment.

I almost single-handedly canceled Christmas this year

2011-11-30T10:32:00.000-06:00

I win Dad of the Year for this year.

A couple years ago my sister gave us the Elf on the Shelf book. Andrew totally bought into it the moment we read it. Since then, we've made a fairly big production of moving Sir Roger (that's right, he's a knighted elf). Sometimes we've forgotten, but it usually coincides with evenings when the kids have been particularly infuriating and we use it as an opportunity to make it up to Santa.

We set Sir Roger out the night we got home from VA and Matthew got totally wrapped up in it which, in turn, emphasized the excitement for Andrew. Andrew needed that little push this year. Some of his friends have started doubting Santa, but he still wants to believe with all of his heart. The Elf was just the thing to keep it going a little longer.

Probably inevitably, I forgot to move Sir Roger that first night, It wasn't a big deal, as Liz got up before the kids and noticed it right away. I'm sure you can predict what happened next. There she stood, in the middle of the dining room with Sir Roger in hand when she heard Andrew's door open. She had just enough time to place him in a new spot before Andrew made it down to the dining room, but, of course, Sir Roger fell over the moment she placed him by her kitchen computer. She had a choice to make: upright Sir Roger and risk being caught or leave him and potentially ruin the magic of Sir Roger. No matter what she did, she was bound to fail. She chose the former and was caught. Andrew stood in the doorway, mouth agape, his head swirling of the ramifications of what he had just seen: Mommy violating the Prime Directive of Elf on the Shelf mythology, "Never touch the Elf on the Shelf."

Liz quickly dismissed his fears about her moving Sir Roger. She told him that Santa gave her clearance to upright him should he ever fall over, since he can't move except at night. I don't think he completely bought it, but it's working so far.

That was just the first thing I was responsible for yesterday.

I pick Andrew up from school each day that I don't have to go to work, usually Mondays and Tuesdays. Yesterday was no exception.

We talk about his day and upcoming events as we walk back to the car and drive home. I love this time to converse with both the kids, usually with no timeline pressure. This being the Christmas season, we talked about how excited we were and how hard it is to pick the perfect present, as Liz and Andrew had claimed they had already decided for me. Here's a transcript of the conversation, to the best of my recollection.

Me: Andrew, what are you getting me for Christmas?
ACE: I can't tell you, it's a surprise!
Me: Do you think I'll like it?
ACE: Uh-huh!
Me: Why don't you tell me and I'll let you know if I'll like it.
ACE: No, Daddy, that will ruin the surprise.
Me: Don't you want to know what I got you?
ACE: Nope. I'll wait for Christmas for the surprise.
(note: At this point I was convinced we were on the same page)
Me: But if you tell me, I'll make sure it's the right present.
ACE: ...
ACE: It's a lens you can drink out of!
Me: (realizing what just transpired) ...
ACE: (crying)

We were just pulling into the driveway when this conversation wrapped. I quickly pulled Andrew out of the car when we stopped (leaving Matthew strapped in) and held him tightly. Poor guy was traumatized at revealing his secret.

I took full blame for the incident and told him so. I also told him how proud I was that he never even thought to keep his secret from me and quickly told me everything. Usually that's a wonderful attribute, except in the world of gifts and presents. I should have never pressed him, but I still don't think it pushed too hard and assumed we were thinking on the same lines. Andrew's just an honest soul. Lesson learned.

Father. Of. The. Year.

© 2011 Scott Everett

What a trip!

2011-11-29T02:22:00.000-06:00

Other than my well documented dislike of NCAA football, our trip back to VA was pretty good this year. We decided that, since we couldn't go camping around here this fall (drought + campfire = death + dismay), we'd try "camping" at a KOA on our way back east. I think it would have been a wonderful idea if we weren't all completely exhausted by the time we arrived. Well that and the concrete pads that called mattresses might have added up to a less than enthusiastic response from the adults in the family. The boys had fun though. As per usual, breakfast was a marathon event, even with very little food consumed.

Travels with the boys

2011-11-21T15:12:00.002-06:00

Whew! What a long day Saturday was. We got up and were out the door by 5am. We were pushing pretty hard, but let the boys get out every now and then to play / burn off energy. They had fun in Alabama picking up "pine corns."

Hey, what's this?

2011-11-15T17:04:00.000-06:00

http://www.cameronparkzoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ZooStampede-5K-Awards.pdf

Click on it. I dare you. And while you're there, look at the results for the 1-10 year old 5K times.

© 2011 Scott Everett

Whoopsie!

2011-11-14T19:11:00.000-06:00

Liz made a serious faux pas today. You see, she "accidentally" showed Matthew a parkour video at lunch today. Guess what he's been doing this evening all over the house.

It's firefighter Matthew!

2011-11-14T14:34:00.000-06:00

What to do?

2011-11-08T22:26:00.000-06:00

I was just talking to Liz and we both have the same dilemma. As much as the grammar snob and concerned parent in me wants to correct his pronunciation, it's so incredibly cute when he says, "lellow."

Hallowe'en Hijinks.

2011-11-02T01:01:00.000-05:00

Action shots are cool.

2011-10-29T03:28:00.000-05:00

But here's what really happens during the soccer game.

And take a bow, Andrew!

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

2011-10-27T11:04:00.000-05:00

Overheard this morning – first grade teacher to students

"Um, you need to stop talking. The bell has rang." (note the rang with enough twang to shoot a bull’s eye at 100 paces)

If this is the best we can do, we deserve to be where we are right now.

It was all I could do not to call her out in front of the same kids and the words “Are you kidding me” did come out of my mouth, but I was too far away to be heard. If you are teaching my kids, I am not asking too much that you should be able to speak the language you are imparting.

Liz
© 2011 Scott Everett

Brave Little Cub Scout

2011-10-27T02:48:00.001-05:00

Andrew hiking around the legendary "Goatman" cave. Every Scout at Camp Tahuaya knows about Goatman; the ancient creature created by the trampling of a mid-19th century herder by a pack of supernatural goats. He was disturbed from his lair by a settler years later and has roamed the camp ever since, seeking revenge with a particular affinity and taste for Tiger Cubs.

Soccer season

2011-10-26T02:29:00.000-05:00

Oh, brother!

2011-10-25T22:02:00.000-05:00

Wow, Matthew is a handful. I don't remember Andrew this ... um ... active. Just today Liz was talking to her mom when she notice, well, nothing. It was too quiet. Eerily quiet. Un-Matthew quiet. She found him in the living room changing the settings on her iPod.

Liz finished talking to her mom and went into the kitchen to cook dinner when it got awfully calm again. A bit curious, she came back into the living room and this time discovered him recalibrating my monitor.

I was at Andrew's soccer practice, so when I came home and she told me this I had to show her what I discovered. This afternoon I got a receipt from iTunes for the purchase of the Mighty Eagle in the game Angry Birds. I didn't buy it, I know Andrew didn't buy it, and Matthew was the first person I
saw using it. It probably wouldn't hold up in a court of law, but I'm convinced.

I know he's a great little boy and just acting like a 3 1/2 year old, but at times I'd just like him to slow down for a minute.

Matthew by the window.

2011-10-25T02:28:00.000-05:00

Guess which pumpkin belongs to which boy.

2011-10-24T16:21:00.002-05:00

Coming through (Jr.)!

2011-10-20T01:06:00.000-05:00

Coming through!

2011-10-19T02:03:00.001-05:00

You title these, I have no idea.

2011-10-18T01:58:00.004-05:00

I don;t remember what he was upset about.

2011-10-17T02:50:00.001-05:00

Not that it matters. These photos were taken within a 2 minute span.

Headshots for everyone!

2011-10-16T02:06:00.000-05:00

Red must be much worse

2011-10-15T20:20:00.000-05:00

"Matthew, did you draw on the carpet with the blue crayon?"

"No."

"Matthew . . ."

"Yes ... but I didn't use the red one."

Better A or B (twice)?

2011-10-15T02:26:00.000-05:00

Matthew at the park

2011-10-14T01:21:00.000-05:00

This summer, Matthew loved going to the park with me after our daily run. Lately, he hasn't been so interested. He usually wants to come straight home after we run. I still offer, though.

He asked me to take a photo of his foot on top of mine. He really didn't need to stomp on it, though.

Of course I wouldn't forget Matthew.

2011-10-13T01:10:00.001-05:00

He's such a ham that he would not let me break out the camera without taking pictures of him.

He asked me to take a picture of his hand.

So the first term is over, and ...

2011-10-12T00:05:00.000-05:00

I'm finally getting around to posting images from Andrew's first day at school. He loves second grade and it's doing well for him.

Andrew and his best friend Sydne:

I can do anything my brother can.

2011-10-11T01:44:00.000-05:00

You rock!

2011-10-10T02:41:00.000-05:00

Andrew rocks Waco!

Matthew: contained

2011-10-09T01:39:00.001-05:00

Andrew's summer

2011-10-08T02:31:00.000-05:00

Andrew's summer was marked by bicycle riding. We spent a couple intensive weeks at the park for him to learn how to ride, but in the end he was overjoyed when he could ride without falling.

Look out!

Well, I'm back!

2011-10-07T16:30:00.000-05:00

Finally got my computer back up and running. Well, I actually bought all new equipment, but it's working nonetheless.

We spent a lot of time at the park this summer riding bikes. Matthew seemed to tire of it fairly quickly. I can't say I blame him -- it was 105-110°F all summer long.

Can you think of a better way to cool off than spitting water on the ground?

The apple don't fall far from the tree

2011-10-03T23:22:00.002-05:00

Sorry I can't imbed, but you need to see this video of Andrew.

Edit 10/7/11: Got it imbedded

I taught him everything I know. from Scott Everett on Vimeo.

We have been vindicated

2011-09-01T08:05:00.001-05:00

We spent almost the entire year in 1st grade arguing with Andrew's teacher about his reading level. At the beginning of the year, he was assessed to be reading at a grade level of 1.2. We knew he was reading higher than that, but were assured he would raise his level throughout the year.

Then came the rules.

If you haven't heard by now, Andrew is a stickler for rules. All rules must be obeyed. If there aren't enough rules, he's happy to make up some more. Playing any game with him is akin to playing some sort of Communist Party Calvinball.

His teacher suggested that the kids read each book up to 5 times to ensure that they comprehended it a were ready for a quiz. To Andrew's ears, that meant each book must be read exactly 5 times. We actually had several arguments with him about his readiness for quizzes even though he hadn't read his book a sufficient number of times (I don't think we ever won). Because he took so long to read each book and wasn't really interested in the ones made available, he wasn't moved along the way he needed to be and ended the year at grade 1.7. We knew he was reeding and enjoying more complex books at home, but the school wouldn't move him along.

We kept on doing what we had been and seriously upgraded his complexity over the summer; not only in what he is reading, but also in what we read (or refuse to read) to him. It seems to have paid off. This year he has been pre-assessed as reading at a 4th grade level and Is the only one in his class reading chapter books. He seems pretty excited about the books available to him this year and we are expecting much better from the school.

---

On a side note, my computer's been dead for a couple weeks. I hope to order parts next week and have it up and running again soon thereafter. There won't be photos until then.

Andrew's cake

2011-08-10T02:13:00.000-05:00

I don't even know if he noticed what it was.

How hard is it for both of them to look at the camera at the same time?

2011-07-30T01:57:00.000-05:00

Matthew loves his, too.

2011-07-29T01:53:00.000-05:00

Though it hasn't required so much effort thus far.

Not cool at all

2011-07-28T21:10:00.000-05:00

Just this past week Matthew has started calling us Mom and Dad. Andrew still calls us Momma and Daddy. This certainly isn't cool.

It took some convincing, but Andrew loves his bike now.

2011-07-28T01:54:00.001-05:00

Sure, we were out riding bikes

2011-07-27T01:43:00.003-05:00

But that doesn't mean Matthew can't scavenge for cool things.

Matthew was too cute for me not to do this.

2011-07-26T02:03:00.000-05:00

Matthew has the longest eyelashes

2011-07-25T04:00:00.000-05:00

I'll have to try again later, but I still can't believe his eyelashes.

Rocking the Razor Scooter

2011-07-25T02:03:00.001-05:00

Thanks Grammy and Grampy! He loves his scooter and has entirely defaced our street with chalk stripes.

Project for Matthew

2011-07-24T03:33:00.000-05:00

These last couple trips to the zoo have been multitasking events. Not only did I go there to entertain the kids, but we are also making a lamp for Matthew's room. Liz found a website that does custom lamps & shades (I don't have the link right now). She wanted to incorporate some abstractions on zoo animals for Matthew's new lamp, so I grabbed some textures from the zoo. We should be receiving the lamp shortly and I'll update when it arrives.

Zoo pt 3

2011-07-23T03:29:00.001-05:00

...and there were animals there, too.

Zoo pt 2

2011-07-22T03:25:00.000-05:00

Still running around, even after we returned (zoo pt 1)

2011-07-21T03:05:00.003-05:00

We got back home on Sunday and I had arranged with one of Andrew's friends (and his mom) to meet at the zoo the next day. Sure, the kids were tired, but they were used to doing something every day and I thought that scheduling something in the morning and then taking the afternoon off would be a nice way to come down after a long vacation.

Andrew, Eliot, Lucy, and Matthew had a blast. We need to do that more often.

Modern tourism

2011-07-20T02:52:00.001-05:00

The Hermitage was a pretty cool home to tour except for 3 things: there was a medical emergency on the second floor and we weren't able to go up (not their fault); it was way too expensive ($18 for adults and $8 for kids); and they promoted the audio tour.

I guess being from the DC area, I'm a bit spoiled and feel that every museum like this should have free admission and funding out of our tax dollars. We were a bit taken aback by the cost.

The audio tour was something else. I decided after the first couple of exhibits that I wasn't going to listen. Not that it was that bad, nor was it uninformative. I just felt as if it took the experience away from me. Rather than feeling like a biographer researching Andrew Jackson in the mid-19th century, I was constantly reminded of the laziness and sloth of our lives some 166 years later. To paraphrase a line from the tour, "Imagine yourself walking these grounds with Andrew Jackson himself." How can I with some disembodied voice communicating with me over these electrical transducers?

That said, the kids ate it up. There was a special tour with separate numbers for the kids, narrated by Jackson's pet parrot, Poli (or Pol, as he called her). Andrew still spouts off some of the things he learned that day and seemed to have a blast. Matthew was as attentive as one could expect a three year old to be. He'd listen for a while, run for a while, hear his brother talk about Poli and request the headphones again...

Huzzah!

2011-07-19T10:22:00.002-05:00

Pedicures

2011-07-19T02:52:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago, Liz went in and had a manicure and a pedicure. Well, of course, as soon as she came home the boys wanted to do it too. She happily helped them out with the assistance of some tempura paint.

What a long trip

2011-07-13T03:26:00.000-05:00

Last week we met the Cherrys in Nashville, TN and hung out for a while. I didn't get any photos during the stay, even thought we went to the Children's Museum, the Gaylord Hotel Gardens, and downtown Nashville. I'm kicking myself now.

We stopped in at The Hermitage, Andrew Jackson's home on our way back. Andrew loved learning about President Jackson through the audio tour, narrated by his parrot Poli. Matthew latched onto the fact that he is dead, even though he confused the former president's name with his brother and his best friend's names. He kept saying that "Jackson and Andrew are dead."

Even though we were there at the worst possible time for photography, I decided to see what I could do anyway.

Andrew "posing" for a photo:

A guy offered to take this photo for us. It took me a few moments to actually extricate myself from my camera and teach him how to use it. It's a good thing it was a simple frame, he looked a bit confused.

Even thought it's been hot, we've still gone to the zoo.

2011-07-12T02:15:00.000-05:00

It's (almost) tolerable in the early morning.

Matthew's first pics!

2011-07-02T01:34:00.000-05:00

Matthew officially inherited the binocular camera the other day. He went on a tear, snapping photos of everything. I still love to see what they see.

But Matthew liked the orange

2011-07-01T01:32:00.000-05:00

Nothing better on a hot day.

2011-06-30T01:13:00.000-05:00

Who doesn't love Fla-Vor-Ice?

Been a while, eh?

2011-06-29T01:12:00.001-05:00

Got my computer problems settled (for now). I haven't taken too many photos of the boys in the last couple weeks. We've been rather busy and all over, plus I didn't want a huge backlog with my main system being down. I'll catch up soon.

Here are a couple of Matthew from Andrew's field day at school.

He was running around the house like this

2011-06-10T19:48:00.001-05:00

Yelling, "My Pull-Up hat!"

Bye bye, #1

2011-06-08T02:13:00.000-05:00

Last day of First Grade

2011-06-07T02:01:00.000-05:00

Andrew took his camera to school on the last day and had the chance to take photos of all of his friends. They turned out great and I think he had a blast with it.