Nature vs. Nurture

Before having one, I often wondered about the gentrification and Nature vs. Nurture theories when it came to raising a child. Theoretically speaking the idea of nurturing a childs ideas and following their interests made perfect sense. When Maxwell came I made sure that he had plenty of none gender specific toys as well as feminine and masculine things to play with. I even saved one of my Cabbage Patch Babies for him.

While he loves on his baby doll, only periodically, and sleeps with his froggy every night, it seems that all he really wants to do is play with cars, trucks, trains, his tools and his dump trucks.

I know that most of it is because he watches his daddy, at work and at play, and sees other kids doing the same at the play park. But it has made me really curious as to what is really going on inside his mind.

A friend and I were recently discussing the Nature vs. Nurture theory while watching Max play. We have decided that much of what children do is based purely on instinct. He has a natural drive to do what the universe has choosen as masculine things. I can only hope that as he gets a little older his interests will shift, as I am sure they will many times over, and he will learn to love all sorts of activities.

But just to show you where his head is at these days, here are a few self explanatory photos.

 He is all boy!!

I am sure that Uncle Dan would argue that digging ditches and excavating is good, hard, respectable work.

Grampa Tom 1935-2011

This morning we had to say goodbye to Max's Grampa Tom.

On Friday morning he had a heartattack and early this morning the decision was made to turn off lifesupport. He lived a long life and had some wonderful children in Mike, Bobby, Matt, Terry and Judy.

We are already regretting that we didn't have him come down for another visit. We were waiting for Max's birthday so that he could join us in the fun. Sadly, we won't have that opportunity.

I remember how much he enjoyed being with Max in April and I am glad that Max got to know him a little, even if he won't really remember. Tom sure did love his grandchildren and his great grandchildren. I was filled with mixed emotions of regret and happiness when Terry told me that Tom had several pictures of Max on his nightstand. After a hard life, it all came down to looking at pictures of his grandchildren at the end of everyday.

Cuteness!

I just wanted to post a picture of Max and Jake from last weeks excursion to Farrell McWhirter Farm Park. Bridget and I both love the open spaces for running and playing and the animal interaction. She took a great picture of the boys while on a nature walk lead by Jake. They are sitting on a bench carved out of a fallen tree. She sent it to me with the greatest caption!

"Jake, why are our moms so weird?"

I am sure they will be asking themselves that for a long time to come! Thanks for the great picture Bridge. I am so glad we are on this journey at the same time! I couldn't ask for a better friend.

A Day Out With Thomas

For those of you who don't know, we live in Snoqualmie and there is the Northwest Railway Museum in town. It is kind of like our playground. Max and I or Max and Daddy often walk there to play and climb on some of the trains. Well this past weekend we had the best play date ever!

Thomas the Tank Engine was in town!

We bought our tickets about 6 weeks ago and watched them stuck to the fridge, counting down the days. Of course, Maxwell didn't really get what we were talking about when we first told him about riding Thomas. So we just stopped talking about it, but Terry and I just kept getting more and more excited. We wondered how Max would react when he first saw Thomas!

Well, we cheated! We knew that Thomas would have to be shunted to the museum sometime on Thursday so Max and Daddy walked over after Max's nap and checked him out up close and personal. Of course there was a cover over Thomas's face, but Max knew exactly who he was. So we patiently waited another 2 days until it was our turn for A Day Out With Thomas!

 While waiting to board the train there was a clown. She and Max had a stare down contest. Max wasn't to sure about her, but she did give him a Thomas sticker. So she couldn't be all that bad.

Here we are waiting in line to board the train. Max isn't quite sure what we are doing he just likes being on daddies shoulders.

 This is us right after getting on the train.

 Daddy being crafty with the camera out the window.

Max waving as we got underway. He was pretty excited.

The train goes toward Snoqualmie Falls and it was amazing to see it up close. Right now they are replacing the 100 year old turbines, from the electrical power generator, so Max got a double treat. He got to watch the big loaders, diggers and crane move stuff around. The view of the falls is pretty obstructed by all the trees, but at one point there was a clear shot of the Snoqualmie River.

 Absolutely breathtaking! My picture does not do it justice.

 Along the side of the railway there were a few old tracks stacked up. It was kind of sad to see how quickly we forget how important the railroad used to be.

This is one of the original buildings on the site of the Snoqualmie Falls electrical facility. It was great to see the history behind our town.

But back to Max and the Thomas train. After we disembarked we stopped for pictures with Thomas and even got to ride a motor coach. It was super fun!

This was a professional shot that we just had to buy. Look at Max's smile! Does it get any better?

After the train ride we let Max play with the train tables they had set up. Since we got our hand-me-down train table at home, Max has not stopped playing with it. He knew exactly what to do here.

 Max doesn't care that he did not have one of the engines, he was content to play with any of the cargo cars or buses.

He probably would have stayed and played all day long!

The next few shots impressed both Terry and myself at Max's aptitude.

 What is kind of unclear in this picture is Max's hand on the crank of Cranky. There is a hook and string and Max is winding it up with his hand.

 Terry and I were shocked when we first saw Max do this, shocked and proud! Is it advanced for his age? I don't know, but it gets better.

Here he is turning the turntable crank on the Tidmouth Shed train table.

We had a great day! We enjoyed every minute of it! We might even have to do it again next year it was so much fun. We will just have to see if he still loves Thomas as much as he does now.

A Friend Goes Home

Shortly after posting my last I went online to Facebook to tell all my friends about the new stuff that I had posted. I rarely check Facebook and only use it to tell people about Max. But technology can be a good thing when friends drift apart and life takes you on different paths.

I sadly discovered that a friend of mine from Junior High, just lost her father yesterday to a sudden heart attack.  Ron was like a father to me during a really difficult period of my life. I have so many fond memories of him that I hardly know where to begin. I think I spent more time at Ron and Jeri's house then I did at my own. I was always welcome and made to feel like family. I was even there when their real family came for visits.

Ron even came to rescue me once in Florida one summer. Then, let me stay with them until I could get back home to California. They had moved to Florida shortly after discovering that Ron had Scleroderma to help ease the pain of the cold winters in Lake Tahoe. I remember the doctors not giving Ron a very good prognosis for survival when I was about 12. Boy, did he sure prove them wrong! Everyday was a blessing.

My mom and I even drove one year to Michigan to see them. They moved back home to be closer to both Ron and Jerilyn's family, after being told again that Ron's condition had worsened. It is amazing how a person can start in one place and travel the country meeting people and changing lives along the way. We had a great visit and I left hoping it wouldn't be the last time we would see each other. Sadly, it would be. That was over 16 years ago and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about Ron and Jeri and how they helped an awkward pre-teen how to understand life and her place in it.

Ron leaves behind a wonderful wife and best friend in Jerilyn, daughter Rebecca, two grandchildren and lots of family and friends. They were one of the only couples that I know that was truly, happily married and would be celebrating their 41st wedding anniversary on Max's Birthday, August 14th. Please mark that day on your calenders and remember to tell the person that you love, how much they mean to you. Life is to short for missed opportunities!

Thanks Ronald, I am sorry I never got to tell you how much you meant to me. I love you. You will be missed. Have a safe trip home.

A Visit to Enumclaw

*gratuitous nudity ahead*

Max is going to hate me when he gets older!

A couple of weeks ago we went to Enumclaw to see our friends Poppa Richard, Aunty Lucy and their son Anthony for his birthday. Anthony and his girlfriend Nicky were leaving for Italy the next day so we wanted to be sure and say, Hello, Bon Voyage and Happy Birthday!

We had a great time at their house, Lucy is an amazing hostess, and Max really loves exploring, checking out the horses, playing in the pond and playing on the tractors and the Duellywopper. What more could a boy want but a house in the woods and a place to run?

 This is Max laying across the rock bridge checking out the fishes.

I kept telling him not to pet the fishes but everytime he stuck his fingers in the water they swam up to check him out.

The whole time we were checking out the fishes a frog was calling and Max was trying to figure out where it was coming from. He has great hearing!

This big boy has been living at their place for a few years now. True to form, hanging out in the lily pads.

Just up the bank from the pond is a fairy house.  Max walked right upt to see if anybody was home.

 What are smart and polite boy to knock on the door before...

...trying to let himself in, Goldilocks style!

Lucy made traditional Swiss bratwurst for dinner and we had a picnic outside. (I can't wait for Schwingfest for more Swiss brats! YUM!) After dinner we hung out on the nice new patio furniture and watched the outdoor TV.

 This is Poppa Richard tweaking Max's ears.

Big boys watching "Swamp Loggers" laughing about the need for a translator or subtitles.

The weather was amazing and Lucy kept encouraging us to take Max's diaper off to see if he would figure out what the stuff in between his legs was for. So we did! I think he found it rather liberating. He did not however, figure out what his parts are for. While naked and standing in front of the new outdoor coffee table, Max just up and peed and paid no attention to it. I quickly hosed things off and cleaned up to make sure we would be invited back again.

Here are some great pictures of Max in the buff!

 Here he is calling daddy over to go check out the tractor.

 High stepping through the grass.

Look at how he carries his water. Under the arm style!

No visit is complete without a ride in the duelywopper!

Thanks Aunty Lucy we had a great time and can't wait to see Anthony and Nicky back from Italy, safe and sound, with great pictures and lots of stories.

Looking forward to Schwingen this year also!