First ride to the Rec Center

It has finally dawned on me that Seamus is 4. OK, I actually knew that. But it finally dawned on me the kinds of things the other boys were doing at age 4 that he hasn't done yet.
One example is Denis rode down to the rec center and back for the first time at age 2.5 on a tricycle. Liam did the same, if not a little earlier. Seamus has never done it.

This day being a Holiday, freed (as much as possible) from the demands of work, made it the perfect time to rectify the situation.

Now cines Seamus is 4.5 he's well past the trike stage. In fact he's been riding the training-wheel bike all spring/summer. And he's quite good at it. So I decided to take him down on that one.

By now I can predict the sequence of events that unfold after informing a child of this decision:
1. Elation - Wow! I get to ride to the park!
2. Fear - I can't make it down that huge hill!
3. Exhaustion - Man, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be.

Naturally, Seamus flew through the first two of these. But I told him I'd spot him down the hill and he was good to go. I think it helped that the older two rode off by themselves in front of him. Naturally he wants to be like them, so he was off in earnest pursuit.

Getting down the hill was pretty easy. Like the others, at the start he can only really focus on one thing at a time. If he's pedaling, he won't steer straight. If he looks at a car he stops pedaling. If he's going down a hill the feet come off and he freaks. No biggie. Been there.
He made it to the bottom without much drama.

We hung out down at the rec center for a while and watched Mimi finish the race. #4 overall female and first Evendale resident. Same as always. Think she's won that 6 times now.

When it was time to head back I was resigned to impending back pain. You see, while it take a bit of effort on my part slowing them down hills, it takes a hell of a lot more pushing them up. In a crouched position that is certainly damaging nerve endings every time I do it.

But it's good for them. So I do it. Seamus took off up the rec center hill, which is pretty mild, and made it most of the way up. I was impressed. On the hill by Tim's house he struggled. So I pushed him almost all the way.

The next hill is long, but not too steep. I told him I wanted to see how far he could get by himself. To the driveway? Got it! To the mailbox? Sure. To the fire hydrant? You bet. And just like that he was at the top! He made it up 100% by himself. This was a surprise. I think maybe Denis and Liam did at this age, but this was his first ever try. I remember having to work both of them through it over multiple occasions.

The last hill is the huge one. I struggle getting up it! So he didn't stand a chance. He got up to the For Sale sign and lost it. I resigned myself to a long push. But 2 minutes in, with most of the hill still to go, he got his second wind. "Let go, Dad! I want to do it by myself!"

OK, this was new. Neither of the other boys had ever done this. I knew he couldn't make it, but I sure wasn't going to hold him back from trying. And of course he didn't. And I started pushing again. Another minute later he was on his own again. He kept this up the whole way up the hill. Rest a bit, push hard, rest again.

This boy's got a strong spirit. He's the smallest of all. He started the latest, and yet I bet he'll conquer the hill earlier than either brother. He may only weigh 40 pounds, but an awful lot of it is heart!

Stuffed cat naming conventions

Liam has had a 45 year old stuffed cat for a couple years now. He got it from his Great Aunt in Japan. It used to be her childhood toy. She was very generous (she always is) and shared it with Liam. I'm not sure why, but he gave it the name White Muffin.

Now it seems that White Muffin was actually one of a pair of animals (this is starting to sound like Toy Story 2). There was also a black one. On Mimi's last trip to Japan she came home with a black version. Liam, adhering to ANSI stuffed animal naming standards, was quick to christen this one Black Muffin.

So now for his First Communion Liam naturally scored all kinds of loot. Gerry chipped in and got him a toy that he can plug his iPod shuffle into. It sings along to the music, purrs, blinks, etc. It's in the shape of a cat. So the new member of the family?

iMuffin!!

And he thought it up all by himself. Clever.