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And Einstein had a problem with split infinitives

November 11, 2009

Yesterday was one of Besh’s eye doctor check-ups. Due to a cataract, we go every few months and do an eye patch routine daily. This was the first time I was able to go and it was great to see Besh fly through the tests since he knows the whole routine.

After doing the initial screening we went back to see the doctor. He did some additional tests including one where the doctor held up a small cube with various pictures, moved it around, and asked Besh to identify the picture. Besh was excited to do each one.

“Car! Flower! Birthday cake!”

Once he was done, the doctor looked at Besh and said, “Besh, that was fantastic! You’re a genius!” Besh grinned.

“Yes I is!”

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Couple different anecdotes – mama’s on the blog

November 9, 2009

[Note from Ryan--This was actually done on April 13, but I just realized it was never approved. Going to work with Sara to make sure she has access to blog here for the exciting months to come!]

Hi all!  Ryan hooked me up so that I can contribute now.  Hopefully, it will just help us remember even more fun stuff.

So two, tiny stories for my debut – both from this morning.  Gamaw (Ryan’s mom) was in town for the weekend.  She has a VW bug (consequently, all VW bugs are known as “Gamaw cars”).  Besh has a miniature model of one.  When he woke up this morning and realized she was heading back to California, he suspended his Gamaw car on a plastic drumstick (so that it looked like wings).  He then said, “this is Gamaw’s airplane.  It’s taking Gamaw back to California.”

The second event happened on the drive to school this morning.  Besh has known the Spanish words for the colors red, blue, green and yellow for over a year.  Today, we passed by Chuck E. Cheese and he said, “Mommy – that’s the yellow Chuck E. Cheese.  There’s a yellow Chuck E. Cheese and a purple one.  That’s the amarillo (sp?!) one.”  Then, he thought about it for  a second and said, “what’s the Spanish word for purple?”  We asked his wonderful teacher when we got to school.  We now know the word is “morado (sp?!)”.

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The welcome home and life lessons from a three-year-old

November 3, 2009

Two stories, but more connected than you’d think.

First, after a long, difficult business trip to India, I finally made it home Saturday afternoon. Thanks to a slightly early arrival, my getting a seat in the first row of economy, and hightailing it down to the baggage claim, I managed to make it down the stairs a few seconds before Sara and Besh walked in the door. I saw them just as Besh turned his head to me. I noticed he had a large silver troy trumpet in his hand, but all I could look at was his giant grin as he started running toward me.

I’m guessing the trumpet threw him off balance, because a few steps toward me and he tripped hard. He caught the brunt of the fall with his free hand and the trumpet, but even as I was rushing toward him I saw he never lost his grin and got right back up and ran the rest of the way to me. It was just about the best hug ever.

After a hazy weekend (on my part, thanks jetlag!) we got back into our routine. Yesterday before dinner, while Besh was having some patch time (I think I’ve mentioned before he has to wear a patch every day to help strengthen one eye) he wanted to watch his Broadway video upstairs. So up we went. One of the lengthier scenes he likes to watch is a clip from Coco, a musical from 1969 starring Katharine Hepburn. The scene shows Coco (Hepburn) becoming upset when the woman she has in a way adopted shuns Coco’s life of all work and instead goes off with her soon-to-be-fiance. Coco is upset and launches into a song (well, as close to a song as Hepburn could manage).

Besh: “Daddy? Why is Coco so sad?”

Me: “Well, Coco wanted to have dinner with that girl but the girl went to have dinner with that boy.”

“Oh. That’s not why she’s sad.”

“It isn’t?”

“No.”

“Why do you think she’s sad?”

“I think she’s sad because she doesn’t have love in her heart.”

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Questions only a toddler can ask (plus bonus movie)

October 13, 2009

Toddlers get away with asking any kind of question or making all sorts of observations.  Case in point: last night at dinner we were all sitting at the table eating when Sara was beset from one of those third trimester stomach pains resulting from, you know, a whole person being inside of her.  It’s been happening a lot these past few weeks, so Sara let out one of those musical sighs and put her head down on her arm.

Besher got off his chair and put his hand on Sara’s arm.

“Mommy, are you laughing or crying?”

As for the bonus movie, the cast of Hairspray appeared on a UK TV show last Friday, which marks the only official video I could find of, as Besh calls her, “our Tracy.”  Wanted to share with those of you who’ve been following the Hairspray saga so you could see how great Chloe Hart is in the role.  I think the performance is great, but also just a bit low energy–probably due to this being taped on a Friday which means the cast had just pulled a double on Thursday (matinee and evening show) and they haven’t had the benefit of a 2 hour show that leads up to this finale.  But still a great performance.  The woman who plays Penny in this clip (woman who comes in at about 1:20) was the cast member who played Brenda when we saw it–a tiny part but memorable because she was one of the women singing directly to Besh during the finale the second night we saw it.

The clip also has Brian Conley as Edna, so another nice momento since he’s leaving the show soon.

The lip synching is a bit off, but the audio quality is good.  I’m just glad we have something to save/link for the future given everything that’s happened.  Enjoy!

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Keeping the good trike

October 12, 2009

This morning Sara was dropping off Besh at school and loaded down with bags.  It was our week for classroom snacks plus Sara had a bag of spades and brushes we’d bought for the upcoming dinosaur bone excavation for the class (because most scientists know that dinosaur bones are frequently found in pre-school sand pits).  Since Sara had so many bags, she asked Besh to carry his lunch box inside.

As soon as they went through the gate, Besh ran to his favorite trike with his lunch box in his hand.

Sara: “Besh, can you please bring your lunchbox inside?”

Besh: “No, I want you to do it because I want to keep this trike.”

Daschel, another boy in his class was standing nearby.  By way of background, Daschel is a bit older than Besh and he has an older brother.  I think these things combined so that Daschel would sometimes call Besh a baby for some things.  Besh did not like this, but he told Daschel at some point and then it stopped.

Daschel: “That’s okay, Besher.  I’ll hold the trike for you until you come back.”

Besher ran from the trike over to Sara, glowing.

“Daschel is going to hold the trike for me!  AND Daschel doesn’t call me a baby anymore!”

This was apparently very funny to both Besh and Daschel, as they both started laughing and then proceeded to call each other Baby Besher and Baby Daschel.  Proving that male bonding has a genetic basis in insults.

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Costume pajamas and freaking out

October 10, 2009

This one is straight from Sara:

I just had to share another quick Besh story.  Besh has been asking for “costume pajamas” for a week or so now.  It took us a long time to figure out that costume pajamas are pjs with feet.  We’re still not sure why he calls them costume pajamas but, somehow, it has to do with Abe [son of the now infamous Todd -- Ryan].  We haven’t gotten the whole story.

At any rate, I went out today to get Besh some costume pajamas – partly because he’s been asking so nicely and partly because his feet are so cold in the morning (he still doesn’t sleep under the covers).  I showed them to him after school so he could pick which ones he liked.  After being very sweet and very grateful (“Mommy, I LOVE them!  Thank you”), he said that we needed to get some for his baby brother.  He said, “When he gets here, he will be so little.  He will need his own.”

I asked if he would help me pick them out.  And he said, “Oh yes, of course!  I would love to.”

What a sweet boy!

In another very short and funny story, as we were discussing Besh’s birthday party (we’re trying to figure it all out now), he told me, “if someone else blows out my candles, I will freak out!”

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Special delivery from London

October 9, 2009

As I mentioned previously, our friend Todd from California was coming into town and bringing something for Besh from Chloe.  In case you’ve missed the last few posts, Chloe Hart is one of the greatest people on the planet (granted, I’m a bit biased since I’ll think that of anyone who can make Besh literally scream with happiness).    Last night we all met up at Rudy’s for some BBQ and Todd was finally able to give his surprise to Besh (who had seen him holding something and definitely wanted to know what it was).

Todd: “Besh, you know how you went to London?”

Besh: “Oh yes.”

“Do you remember what show you saw in London?”

Big grin.  ”Tracy!  Hairspray!”

“That’s right!  And I was in London and I went and saw Hairpsray too.  And then I went and saw Tracy and told her that I knew you.  She remembered and she signed this for you!  Do you want to see what it says?”

“Yes!”

“It says, ‘To Besh, with lots of love, Chloe.’  Pretty cool, right?”

The item in question was a London theater map, a fold-out paper with ads for shows and a map of all the different theaters, which Todd had already told us was the only paper he had on him when he went to see Chloe.  Besh stared at the map, a grin on his face and his eyes wide.  Then he turned flipped it over and held up the map for me to see.

Besh: “And look, Daddy!  It has the Lion Show too!”

Here’s a picture so you can see what I mean.

I think, as with almost everything Tracy/Chloe related these days, this will sink in over time and I have no doubt he’ll be showing this off to many visitors.  Still very awesome and just affirms everything we already knew about Chloe.

Now, one more story I need to share that has less to do with Besh than Todd, but it’s just too funny to keep to myself.  So after Todd spoke with Chloe and got the autograph, he then said he wanted to take a picture with her and he had his Blackberry with him but he didn’t really know how to use the camera.  Chloe said she did and proceeded to get into the right mode, Todd held out the phone and got a nice picture of the two of them together.

The funny part?  Todd is one of the guys who invented the cell phone camera.  He’ll protest this of course and try to give you some mumbo jumbo on how he just worked on the light sensors and software and yadda yadda.  It’s bull–he’s one of the inventors.  And Chloe knew more on how to use it.

So there you go, Chloe Hart is not just wickedly talented but she also is an electronics genius.

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Surprises for Besh (and a bit more Hairspray)

October 1, 2009

One of the coolest things about seeing a toddler develop is when formerly alien concepts suddenly click.  I’m not sure when that happened with Besh, but I recently noticed it.  There was a time when I would try to build up some suspense with a surprise but he would forget or not understand that the surprise element was part of the fun.  Now he totally gets it, as I saw last night when Sara asked Besh what he wanted for lunch.

Sara: “Do you want turkey or something else?”

Besh: “I want a surprise for lunch.”

“Okay.  A surprise!”

“But don’t tell me, okay?  Because it’s a surprise.”

And then there’s also the spontaneous surprise.  Like yesterday when I came home.  I stopped off at Fry’s to return some unused electric converters from the trip to London and saw something on clearance that I knew I had to get for Besh.  Quick background: a few weeks before we went to London Besh finally understood how to interact with and play the Wii.  Not only is it fun to watch him play and discover (and get really, really good at bowling and ping pong) but it’s also a good activity for him while he has his patch on (he has issues with one eye so we patch the good eye every day to try and force the weaker eye to be used–it’s had good results so far but we may have to do this for up to 2 years).  He also really likes the movie Cars (with the main character, Lightning McQueen, one of his all-time favorites).

Me (once I got home): “Besh, I have a surprise for you!”

Besh (small grin, eyes a bit wide): “What?  What is it?”

“You have been such a big boy at school and at home and you’ve done such a good job playing the Wii and wearing your patch that I got you a surprise present.”  I reach into my laptop bag and pull out the Cars video game for the Wii.  ”You see this?  We can play this on the Wii and you can drive around as Lightning McQueen and go ‘Ka-Pow! Ka-Pow!’”

Besh stares at the box for a second, then his grin turns enormous and his eyes go supernova.  He jumps from the couch to the floor and practically explodes with excitement.  He actually flapped his arms like a bird.

“I GET TO BE LIGHTNING MCQUEEN!  I’M SO EXCITED!  I’M SO EXCITED!”

He ran up and gave me a hug.

“CanweplaynowIwanttoplaynowCanweplaynow?!?!”

So we played a bit (I’m guessing we’ll play more) last night.

Then Sara and I got an email from our friend Todd.  He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area but had a work trip outside of London.  After reading about Besh’s Hairspray adventure and subsequent email from Tracy/Chloe, he and a co-worker trained into London to see Hairspray last night.  He braved the teaming crowd of schoolkids after the show at the stage door and managed to tell Chloe that he was a close friend of Besh’s and how much it meant to him (and Besh’s parents) that she sent the email.  According to reports she was thrilled to be reminded of Besh and how fond she was of him.

As luck would also have it, Todd is going to be in Austin next weekend.  Knowing this, he got Chloe to sign something for Besh, but asked us (so I’m asking all of you too) not to tell Besh so that he can be surprised.

Based on the reaction to the Cars video game, I’m thinking we’re going to need earplugs and Todd may want to be sitting down when he gives the surprise to Besh.

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If possible, we’re even bigger Hairspray fans now

September 24, 2009

Last night before bedtime, Besh wanted to watch a few videos.  It’s a bedtime tradition/stall where he watches a few videos before bath.  Watching videos consists of him watching a YouTube window while I have a browser on the other side on news, Facebook, whatever (thank goodness for widescreen monitors).

For some odd reason, I opened my window to this blog’s dashboard and happened to notice a “1″ next to Comments meaning there was an unapproved comment on the site.  I clicked on the link and was beyond shocked to discover a comment from none other than Chloe Hart (Tracy in London’s Hairspray).

How she found the site, I don’t know.  I’m guessing it’s because I posted a link on the Hairspray in London fan page on Facebook and the admin there either works on the show or has access to the cast (since they promote contests for tickets, autographs, etc.).  When the shock faded I almost screamed, “OH.  MY.  GOD.”

Besh: “What?”

Sara (downstairs): “What?”

Me: “Besh–you got an email from Chloe!  From Tracy!”

Besher blinked and then his eyes got so big I thought they would pop out.

Besh: “WHAT?!?!”

Sara had me call her on our phone (it has an intercom feature) while I read them both the comment.  I’m not sure about how the various blog formats show information, so in an effort to preserve Ms. Hart’s privacy I won’t publish the comment itself but this is the text of it:

Helloooo!

Well, its Chloe here, the girl who plays Tracy! This blog has just made my life! It makes me sooo happy to be able to put a smile on peoples faces, especially someone as adorable as Besh!

I remember him very clearly with his adorable texan accent!

I would love to send you a signed picture of me for him if you would like that? So just email me your address and I will do it for you!

Thank-you again for writing this and making me smile! You have a very special boy! :)

Lots of Tracy Love!! Chloe xxxxxx

After reading to Besh he jumped off my lap and started leaping around the room like a rocket about to blast-off.  He immediately launched into a custom medley of the entire soundtrack to Hairspray.  Sara and I were shocked and amazed.  We’ve been attending theater for most of our lives and we’ve had occasional brushes with stars of shows, but nothing like this.  To paraphrase something Sara posted, how can you not become the biggest fans of people who put that much joy into the heart of a three-year-old?

In a world where all too often talented people become celebrities that we later learn aren’t good people at heart, it’s refreshing, relieving and astounding to discover incredibly talented people with more goodwill in their small finger than all the Kanyes, Britneys, and Mileys out there.

Despite my fears that Besh wouldn’t sleep for a week, he did finally calm down for his bath and night time.  And with a promise that he would dream about Tracy, he went right to sleep.  A promise he kept.

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On hugs and puppies (sorry, couldn’t fit rainbows in)

September 23, 2009

Two cute stories.

First, yesterday I was asking Besh about the now famous hug.  Mostly to keep the memory fresh, since I didn’t have a camera on me at the time (yes, I’m horrible).

Me: “Besh, do you remember who you met after the show the second time we saw Hairspray?”

Besh: “Oh yes.  Tracy and Tracy’s mommy!”

“And what did Tracy do when you met her?”

“She picked me up and gave me a big hug!”

“That’s right!”

“I saved it.  It’s right here.  It’s here in my body.  I keep it.”

A few minutes later I was in the kitchen and he walked up and hugged me.

“Daddy, that’s a hug from Tracy.  Now you have it in your body!”

I promptly gave it right back.

Second, a story from a while ago that I forgot to blog in all the commotion leading up to the trip.  This was a conversation that Sara had with Besh in the car a few weeks ago.

Besh: “I want a puppy.”

Sara: “Well, you’re getting a baby brother in a few months.  Let’s see how that goes first.”

“Actually, I’d rather have a puppy.”

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