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Surf Station Groms:
Below is info updated on a monthly basis, or ,when I get around to it. It's about havin' a kid...This info is about the ultimate grom, a baby. Our newborn Baby is new... although it only indirectly relates to surfing, it will relate at some point ....If you like to read about babies, read on. This log was started in 1998: Hi. Tory Strange here. I 'm the guy that has been doing a lot of the surf reports for 14 years now and of course, love surfing. But a new thing has happened to me that I thought I'd share with whoever wants to read. Got married 2 years ago and my wife and I , after trying to have a baby for over a year, gave up. Well, guess what happens as soon as you give up at that....... So after 9 months and then 30 hours of labor (darn it was hard on me), our first child, Hunter Bryan Strange was born July 2nd. It's totally amazing. To all you young guys out there who have never witnessed a baby being born. It is the most incredible thing you will ever do or see . It's like the best tube ride of your life but it keeps going and going. I was expecting , by after the first weak to be getting high fives and Da-Da-'s from our new son. But all I have witnessed so far is lots of sleep, lots of poop, and mixed in crying and gurgles. the good news is his eyes aren't crossed anymore and that ugly black thing protruding out of his bellybutton is about to fall off. I will post updates on here as they become available. July 12: I believe in basics. you have to have a strong foundation. For this reason I'm starting with the ABC's No silly nursury rhyms that don't make sense for my kid ( have you ever listened to the words of Rock A Bye Baby?), so I'm singin' the ABC song thinking he'll get it. But all I get is this distant stare. ....Maybe it's sinkin' in.... tory Sept. 29 : Been almost 3 months now. A whole lot has changed and a whole lot hasn't. He still basically sleeps. poops, crys and eats. But now the little fella laughs out loud, recognizes Mom and Dad, acts shy sometimes, trys to play the best he can (even though he has little control of his hands and is stuck on his back), and trys to talk (but the words are mostly just squeeks and noises at this point). He's social to a degree, and his favorite game is "rollover" where I help him rollover and back. He has the best Mom in the world who gives him more love than one can imagine. He's already traveled to Hatteras to check out his first East Coast Championships. He tried to go surfin' but I told him it was too soon..... Oct.3 Hunter slept through the night for the first time. Ahhhhhh. First night in over 3 months that we got a full nights sleep. But wait a minute...is it a full nights sleep when ya wake up every few hours wondering if the little critter is ok? Life has changed. Nov. 1 Baby's first Halloween...he stared and never got scared. Other developments this month...Rode his first skateboard, watched the space shuttle go off (live) and experienced his first sickness, a stomach bug we first thought was salmonella poisoning. Went through 68 diapers in 2 days. had it coming out both ends, lost 3 lbs, nearly broke my heart. doctor put him on antibiotics and he bounced right back. Tuff kid. Probably coulda licked it without...Lets see, what else...He met Kelly Slater, met Kennedy (from MTV) and had his first meal at The Blueberry Muffin (although all he had was milk)...He's getting a lot done for not even 4 months old Nov.13: ok, I'll admit it. raising a baby is a FULL TIME job. I've done it and now I have a new respect for moms who stay home and raise their kids. It's harder than my work. More important as well...(what if ya mess up and don't watch for a few moments and the kid slips into the pool) It's heavy. That's all I have to say today. Dec. 4 1998: Hunter B and I had our first phone conversation. Well, actually it was more like me talking then he saying glluugggle-gooo. But it was a conversation. We've been working on this for quite some time. See, everytime I call the house, seems Melissa is holding the baby, so, I have her put the phone up to Hunters ear. And I talk. It has been all one way up to this point. (We've probably had 25 trys before this) But today was a landmark. He talked back. Melissa quit her job at the shop as of yesterday. She's gonna stay home and raise the baby. A lot less stress on everyone. She's the best mom (and wife) a man could ask for. Last week, I took Hunter out and showed him all the trees out where we live. he felt the prickly base of a palm tree, the smooth tecture of a cedar tree, and the rough base of an oak tree. Brings out lots of drool for some reason. Hunter was 5 months old 2 days ago. His mom sang happy birthday to him. Dec. 20, Hunter can say "Da Da" now.... that's about the only word he CAN say...and he says it alot. In fact, says it at just about anything...hmmm. On another historic first , and proving that he does know who da da is (I think) On our phone conversation about a weak ago, Melissa put the phone up to Hunters ear and as soon as he heard my voice he blurted out "Da-Da" Melissa said he had to know it was me. Quite a change from when he used to just try and eat the phone (although he still tries to do that). Last night, Melissa and I wet out, and Hunter cried for a long time after we were gone. Think it's because he has really bonded with his mother. He wouldn't eat either. And he usually LOVES to eat. We were feeling guilty for leaving ...but hey, it's only the second time we've been out in over 5 months, and it was for maybe 3 hours. Once again, boy how life has changed. Dec. 21: Melissa just called from the house, Hunter just rolled from his stomach to his back. He could roll from his back to his stomach before, but never vice versa. Took Hunter to the shop yesterday. He likes to be high up on my shoulders. Problem is, he gets excited and drools slobber into my hair. Then, he pulls my hair with his vice grip hands. I'm already losing my hair, and now it comes out in chunks with giggles and drool. I like to get up early. Charge the day. Surf Report on before the sun comes up. But however hard I charge, Hunter has got me beat. Last night he WOKE UP at 12:30 am, then again at 3:30 am rarin' to go... wouldn't go back to sleep. so I was drinkin coffe at 4:30 am waiting for it to get light enough for me to go do the surf report. I used to think I charged. Jan.1 1999. Was getting ready to go out to the killer new years party when .... Hunter came down sick. Hanging out with his cousins in Maryland, one of them ended up with (we just found out) possible viral pnumonia. Hunter doesn't feel well at all. But he's tough and hanging in there. Better than yesterday . Only puked all over once this morning.(in bed at 4 am, all over me,him , AND the bed). So...needless to say, we stayed home last night. It's better to welcome in the new year by watching the sun rise than drunk in a bar or party at 12:01. Feels better too. See what kids teach you? Hunters Christmas was great. A white Christmas in 3 inches of snow. He would stare and stare at the snow. I wonder what he ws thinking? Got some great presents. But I think he liked the wrapping paper more than the present. In fact, I'm sure of it. He liked it so much he tried to eat it. Oh..been meaning to clear something up. I've changed. Remember when I said no silly nursury rhymns for my kid? (they don't make sense)...well...when your kids upset and crying...you'll say or sing ANYTHING to make him feel better. Doesn't have to make sense. Got a letter from someone just after I had written that saying such, but just blew it off. He was right. Speaking of learning. had a guy in the board room tell me something that has really stuck. We were talking about kids. etc. ...He said to raise your kid well, you really only need 2 things. LOVE and RESPECT. I've been thinking about that. I think he's right. Lots and lots of love....I've been wondering how you teach little kid respect, but I think if you can show them you respect other people, show your spouse respect, etc. He'll mimic you, and everything will fall into place. Whaddayathink? A lot of the problem kids I see, the problem is, they lack respect. Jan. 99... What to do.... Hunter just won't sleep through the night. wants to sleep IN BED with his mommy and daddy. If we put him in his crib, he crys and won't go to sleep unless he's with us. We are getting very little sleep 'cause the little booger kicks all night. then, he wants his pacifier (I call it a "binky", but that's another story), and if he doesn't get it, he crys then too... hmmmm. Moms been sayin he needs to sleep in his own bed, but dad keeps bringin' him in bed with us. After a month or so of this, we agreed to go the hard core route that friends of ours told us about. After he fell asleep last night, we put him in his crib in his own room. He did his usual 12:30 am wake up and cry to have us come get him. But we didn't. He cried. We listened. He cried more. Louder and harder. Almost lost his breath he cried so loud. ...do you know how hard it is as a parent to listen to your baby cry, knowing you can stop it by simply picking him up. But we didn't. Call it tuff love, I guess.... but 10 years from now he won't remember. I don't. And we'll all sleep better in between. .. Took Hunter B. to the Surf trade show. that's where all the manufacturer of surf goods go to sell their goods to the surf shops. Most surf shop buyers are there to buy for the upcoming season. I work for Al Merrick out of Cal. He makes really good surfboards. But if he doesn't sell em, he doesn't make enough money to be able to make boards for the likes of Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, Taylor Knox, etc.,. This show is critical for him. We brought Hunter to the show. We were a little worried because we didn't know how he'd act with all the crowd and noise. Plus, we didn't want him to distract from the work we had to do. ...well, Hunter was a hit! the whole crew at C.I. loved him. and he behaved extremely well. AL played with Hunter (even sitting on the floor in the middle of the booth) and Hunter had a blast. At one point, one of Al's assistants came up with a big order to discuss...Al said, "not now..., I'm playing with Hunter".... now I know why Al Merrick is so successful..., he has his priorities and perspectives all in the right order. Back at home, Hunter B. is getting ready to get mobile. I can just tell. he sits up, then kinda falls over sideways, goes into a stomach push-up postion, then does a fancy roll-over onto his back, kicks his feet three or four times like he's runnin', then will roll back over again. Sometimes he'll fuss at this point, cause he's frustrated that he can't get to where he wants to go. He'll figure it out. He's sleepin' through the night now. Ever since that one night, that we more or less made him. He's an early riser though. I guess to make up for it. Latest he's slept to is 5 am. This morning was 3:30 am. Needless to say, i'm an early riser now too. (his mom and dad take turns, but, (sickly) I like getting up early). So you would think I'd have more time, since I get up so early. Anyone that has a kid will back me up on this one..not so. In fact, those that call the surf report may have noticed some sporaticness with it. I can't seem to get it on as early as I used to. I'm gonna make some kinda changes to take care of that though...gotta take care of the customers. Mid-late Jan., '99.....Took Hunter B. skiin' this past weekend to N Carolina. 10 hours or so there and 10 hours or so back. Trouble is, babies don't like to sit in a car seat 10 hours straight, strapped in. But he was pretty good. Slept a lot. People told us before we had him " Oh your life is over, no more traveling. Your gonna have to stay home...See, I haven't gone anywhere in 5 yrears since I had my kid" -- Bullsh....! We haven't slowed down a bit. Just take the baby with us. In the long run, I think he'll be better off with all the new experiences...and his mommy and daddy won't be insane. Of all Hunters great toys, ya know what he likes the most? What could it be...he's got SO MANY. hmmmmm. guess what it is? Paper. yes paper. any kinda paper. a paper bag. notebook paper. the newspaper. anypaper. He likes to get it in both hands, hold it over his head, and rip it. Rip it up into small little pieces, and eat it. (we have to stop him at this point) If I'd of known this, I could have saved a lot of $ on toys. Feb. 24 1999....Starting to get into that accident prone stage. He'll be sitting up, then looks up at you, gets the wobbles and falls over backwards...boom! bumped head on whatever surface he's sitting on. So gotta sit him on a realtively soft surface. + now he's a wiggler and a squirmer. I set him on the couch for a SECOND, turned the other way for a SECOND (used to be able to do this all the time) and BOOM, he's on the floor with a thud. He's tuff though, only crys a little. So mom and I are changing strategies as we are trying to avoid brain damage to the little fella. watch him more...be there when he falls...etc... He is SO CLOSE to crawling now. In fact he has his own way of getting around. He can crawl backwards. plus, he can sit up, scoot aways, sit up, scoot aways, and eventually get to where he wants to go. He likes to go towards the fireplace, the cabinets, anywhere he can get into something. And I'm told wait till he really starts crawling.....hmm, can't wait. The only thing Hunter is behind in (they say not to compare your kid to others, but what parent doesn't) is he can't or won't hold his bottle. Everything else he's far superior (just kidding). No really, he slaps his bottle as we feed him. His hands have no control. yet I know they do because if he drops his binky, he can pick it up and put it back in his mouth. I think he just likes us to feed him. Like feeding the king grapes. Why hold his bottle when we will for him? He likes to bang on it. hmmmm.. and when he gets near a wall, he likes to bang on it. Does it go back to when I was showing him trees? I don't know. but he's a banger. April 4, 1999: Took Hunter to his great Uncles wedding in Savannah this weekend. He only screamed twice during the ceremony. Luckily, it was outside and we were way to the side and I could turn him away before any major interuptions. I used to wonder why people brought their kids to functions like these, but now I know...what else are ya suppose to do? He was personally invited so I guess thats ok. Last week, Melissa finally took a break. Went to Arizona with her mom on a little vacation to see the Grand Canyon, etc. So guess who got to watch the baby for 4 days by himself? And Hunter picked those 4 days to have his two front teeth come in. So of course he was up all night. I had no relief at night. and no sleep either. It was horrible. See ( for those that don't know) when their teeth come in, it's a sharp pain as the teeth actually cut through the gums. Babies don't like pain. What do babies do when they are in pain? You guessed it; cry. And their is really nothing you can do for them. Maybe a little ice rubbed on it, which they don't like at all. their are ointments that go over real well. and other than that, you just have to be there. During the day, grandma and sis took him almost all day while I worked. But I played it up like it was all me when Melissa got back. told her how hard it was, etc. I'm milkin' it for something, I just don't know what. This whole teeth thing has really got me thinking. Seems just yesterday he had no teeth. and a few days before that he was brand new. He's got two on the bottom and now two on the top. they are sharp and bite hard. Gave him an apple yesterday, he bit right in. Next thing you know he'll be walking. hmmmmmmm. May10: Yesterday was Moms day. Melissas first since he was born. Had a great day just doing the simple things... beach, cookout, hottub, and played with the baby most the day. He's got a bellylaugh that just won't quit. Laughs at a lot of things too. Maybe he's gonna be a comedian, I dunno. He's crawlin' all over the place. Doesn't want to be held as much. Wants to get down and go. He went for a boat ride 2 days ago with his uncle Drew...loved it. Saw dolphins and pelicans + plus loves the wind in his face. He's standin' up now. But then gets the wobbles and falls back on his butt. Pulls himself up and does it again. May 24. Jeeeeez. Just when we thought the no-sleep thing was over. Hunter had been sleeping through the night and I thought life was back to normal. Hunter B. has other ideas. Example night was last night: down to bed at 7 pm (usually bedtime for a 10 month old) but he's up at 10 pm, 1:30 am, 2:30 am and then again at 6 am (for the day) hmmm I'm worn out! surf report on 30 minutes late this morning as I couldn't get out of bed (luckily it was flat so those dawn patrol callers didn't miss anything). Melissas digging in her baby sleep book trying to figure it out. We're thinking we may just have to let him cry it out as he may just be getting spoiled cause he crys until we put him in bed with us. hmmm. don't want a spoiled baby. but don't want him to sit in the other room in his crib crying and crying thinking his Mom and Dad don't care. He's too young to use the "spare the rod, spoil the child" rule. Melissa says last night was the last night of doing the same thing (putting him in bed with us) It works great until he starts being the full-on wiggleworm. then he sits up and is ready to play in the middle of the night. Maybe he has a sleeping dis-order. Or maybe he is a play-a-holic. On another note. His first word was said (outside of Da-Da). It was "Boat" He watches them go by on the intercoastal in front of our house. I point them out to him and he stares. the other day he was looking at one and his lips came together and he said "booat". They say it's somewhat significant what the first word is. Melissas was "cookie" and she loves cookies. there you have it. Had our first picnic (in our front yard) with the baby. And Hunter figured out how to feed Kona, our lab. He usually throws food off the table inside and Kona waits patiently beside his highchair for every toss. But at a picnic, Kona can get eye-level and get direct handouts. Kona loves picnics July14, 1999: July 22, 1999: Crazy. That's one word to describe tonight. We moved to the beach a month ago and Hunters is adjusting well to his new environment. But tonight it was the dog that made life crazy. Sure, Hunter pooped in the bathtub and screemed bloody murder when we put him in bed tonight. But it was only because his Uncles Drew and Bo were over for dinner and he wasn't finished playing. I take it he reasoned if they didn't have to go to bed yet, he shouldn't have to either. But Kona, after getting a handout from everyone at the table with her big brown eyes, proceeded to puke on the new carpet at the end of our meal. She also wanted to make sure I could clean up two surfaces so she puked on the tile as well. I immediatly put her out on the porch and began the clean up to ruin my dinner. Just when I was done, we went out on the porch and what did we see? More dog puke! Two piles, with one being the largest dog pile I had ever seen. Was like Mt. Everest, but doggie style. Back to work with the paper towels and 409 and when finished I took Hunter and the dog down the stairs for a walk. Not to drag this on, but the dog puke had dripped through to our new neighbors porch downstairs. I immediatly went back upstairs for the 409 as I didn't want them to bust me. I am alrady afraid they are going to find out it was me who ran over their mailbox. I didn't have these problems when I lived out in the woods with no neighbors. Oh , the tradeoffs we make to live near the ocean. September 20, 1999: Hunters growing up fast. We moved to the beach and he loves it. He loves running towards the ocean. he hasn't figured out yet that the waves roll in and if he times it to when the waves are out when he runs to the waters edge, the next wave will come, and if I wasn't watching run to his side and swoop him up, he'd of fully got plowed over. I try to explain it to him, but he runs back down again. Loves his bulldozer. He's all boy. Goes Vrooom-vrooom with it and puckers his lips. Got him some Hot Wheels. What is it with them?, that every generation has em and kids ALWAYS like em. Hunter loves for us to read to him. He'll have us read the same book over and over. Sometimes more than 5 times in a row. Figure it can't hurt. Helped me in Spanish, the repetition thing, so figured it can only help a kid just learning english. Kona and Hunter B. have a love-hate, kinda rivalry relationship. Hunter will walk around dragging Kona's leash. Kona thinks this means "go for a walk", in which she carries her leash out, so Kona grabs the leash in her mouth and tugs the other way. Hunter tries to pull it away, but Kona is bigger. Hunter crys if Kona wins. But then goes and gets it as soon as Kona drops it. Hunter will run as Kona advances, looking over his shoulder in fear of the oncoming big dog. They are both about the same in wits at this point so it's a riot to watch em. October 3, 1999: After a long summer in the surf business, took Hunter to Maine with the family for a long weekend vacation. We are starting to have to use the word "no" more often now. Hunter has a mind of his own. Very independent. We went and picked Apples in an Orchard. Hunter likes throwing them even though the sign says "no throwing apples" Of course his goofy grandma was throwing apples , so I wonder where he gets it from? We have some big open fields in Maine. I walked with Hunter to the middle of the field late one afternoon. It was cool and sunny. The air is so much cleaner up there. Hunter didn't need toys or objects to keep him entertained, he had flowers, grass, bugs, and weeds. We sat and laid in the field and just hung out for a long time. I don't think you could get better "quality time" than that. I told Hunter he can be anything he wants.. That he can be president of the United States of America, if he so desires. That he is going to be a great person. For that, he put his finger in my stomach and said "Daa?" I told him it was my bellybutton. In Maine, we had a lobster bake, where, we went and picked seaweed from the bank of the bay, pulled it off the rocks, brought back seawater, and put the seaweed on a giant pan over a fire. Then we put corn, eggs, more seaweed, hot dogs, potatoes, more seaweed, then clams and lobsters. The seaweed steams in the salt and ocean taste with the best seafood taste you've ever experienced. It's a tradition with the family in Maine. This was Hunter's first, he likes lobster only sparingly at this point. Went to the fair where Hunter saw pigs, goats, cows, and horses. The horses were his favorite. We saw the clydsdales up close, which are gigantic. The roosters were a little loud for him, and the bunny chewing food in his cage (up close) drew the most puzzed look on Hunters face. Hunter's eating habits are funny. He only wants to sit at the table and eat if everyone else is. Otherwise, he grazes. A very social eater. We have to put food on the table while we watch TV. He'll walk by, take a bite off the table, walk off and play, then come back for another. Back and forth, back and forth till it's gone. He's gonna be great at buffet style parties. Oct. 24, '99 Hunters personality is starting to develop (or is it already there and ya just can't tell?), He likes to show-off. Normally he goes to bed easily at night. but when we have company, he can't stand it and likes to stay up and hang out with everyone. maybe that's it, he's not necessarily a show-off, just sociable. took him to Gypsey Cab today with Melissa. He likes to take the crayons the waitress gives ya and, one at a time, drop em on the floor. He's good though. Not ever a crybaby. Was looking at pictures of Hunter. Noticed he is always happy. He smiles a lot. In fact, now when he sees the camera he knows how to do a "cheese" style smile. He's a ham at times. Other times he's shy. Back to the happiness thing... I attribute it to primarily his mother. She is sooo good with him. Lots of love, and fun, easy, basic teaching. His surrounding family and relatives are all positive and loving as well. What more does a kid need? Never any yelling in the house. and the fact that both parents are together (and showing it in front of him) can't hurt one bit.... Dec, 10, '99 So the big news around here is Hunter is expecting a little sister or brother. I told him but he just kept running around. He'll find out what I meant soon enough. The new little one is due on EXACTLY Hunters due date, just 2 years later. Hunters favorite thing is life at this point is the garbage men. when they come with the big truck down the street he can hardly stand it. He runs and stands on his tippie toes to see over the railing. The garbage men toot the truck horn for him and he loves it. Hopin' he'll change his mind about what he wants to do with his life at this point, 'cause there is no doubt it's to drive one of those big trucks. The other day we had several big trucks workin' out front. Hunter stood on those tippie toes for hours to get a better look. He is really building up his calf muscles.... Feb. 13, 2000. It was bound to happen. Sooner or later your kids gonna know something that you don't. Most would probably say it happens when?...around age10 or so? Well either Hunter is smart or I am dumb (or a combination?), but at 18 months he already showed me up with knowing something I didn't. It started when he got into the puzzles we had hidden under the bed. We put them there because they are for ages 3 and up and since Hunter wasn't 2 yet ,we didn't want to frustrate him with stuff over his head. Well, when he found them we couldn't very well say he couldn't play with them so we let him play with 'em. One was a numbers puzzle which he did well , the other was a alphabet puzzle and he again did well with practice, and lastly was a puzzle with shapes like circles, squares, pentagons and hexagons. After a few days of working with his mother, he got the hang of putting this one together to. He loves his puzzles, coming back to them and playing with them for hours during the day. So dad finally decided to jump in, help, and play with him. His mom asked Hunter where the pentagon was, he picked it out from the dozen or so objects. I asked him where the rectangle was and he picked it out, then mom asked him where the trapezoid was. While I looked at all the shapes and was trying to figure out what a trapezoid looks like, Hunter reaches over and picks it up for the 3 out of 3 nailer. Guess dad is stupid in this regard (never had to take geometry in school), and good for a kid that can't even talk yet. Feb15. So I didn't say before, but Hunter is gonna have a little BROTHER. Gotta say (I can say this at this point) that Melissa and I were hoping for a girl. all we would need is the white picket fence and life would be complete then. we were convinced it was a girl, because before Hunter was born we did the wives tail thing of the Husbands wedding ring tied from the wives hair and dangled 1" over her stomach. It went back and forth indicating a boy. Hunter was a boy. It was 100% accurate. So this time we dangled the wedding ring and it did what it's suppose to do when it's a girl---go round and round. And IT DID. So we were 100% convinced it was a girl. It was right before wasn't it? so we go to do the ultrasound, we are in the room (I wanted a surprise and not know (even with Hunter), but Melissa "has to know" (and I'm not gonna let her know without me)), and the technician says, " ohhhhhh.. Look at that.....Looks like a little boy"... and I said "Wwwwwhhhhhaatt?!"... there you have it, right on the screen, in black and white,... the rest is history... Hunter will have a little brother. April 9th, 2000: Hunters personalitly is really develping. He's happy, fun loving, can take a joke already, is easily amused, likes people, and has a parts of his mommie and daddy which are quite opposite: She is very organized and annal about putting things in perfect order. Makes the bed everyday. Everything matches. I rarely made my bed till I met her (not enough time, and it's just gonna get messy again in the evening anyway), and am very unorganized. We see signs of both of us in Hunter all the time. He lines his toys up in a row-like mom,, but will dump all the puzzle parts (from several different puzzles) out at once and try and do them all at once-like dad. Dad tries to do 10 projects at once too. when we have friends over, like today, Hunter goes off and plays and plays. he especially likes kids a little older than him. Loves to show em the school bus he has in his room. He's talking more and more, and runs everywhere, rarely walking. His new (about 3 months now) favorite game is "pillows" where I throw him up in the air onto a pre-fluffed up pile of pillows on the bed. whenever I come home in the evening, he runs and points at the bedroom and yells "illloows?!" of which he won't leave me alone till I take him back there and through him around some. we go all different ways, high in the air, low and plowing into the pillows, with a twist, on his back, and "psych" where I act like I'm throwing him but stop and don't throw him after counting to 3 and he's convinced he's about to fly. he likes the fake out. Once he's flown a bunch, he likes to hide under the pillows, poke his head out and say "Booo" upon which the now scared me falls to the ground next to the bed. He hides in the pillows while I sneak around to the other side of the bed and when he looks one way for me I say "boo" back from the other side of the bed. he immediatly hides again and next time up he goes "Booo" to me, upon which it's my turn to hide. We can go back and forth with this for 30 minutes at a time. (which is a long time when you think about it) He likes to actually get scared a little , and understands it's all in fun. the other day, Hunter was walking up and down an old longboard I keep on my deck. I think he likes it and I point to the surfers often. think he's gonna be ready to give it a try this summer. He saw his uncle Bo paddle out the other day from the beach, and I got the feeling he really wanted to go out there. He kept pointing an pointing. I told him we were gonna work on his swimming some first. Last summer I pushed him into a few waves in real shallow water, but he couldn't even stand on land yet, so how was he to stand up in the water? think he'll be ready to try a little this summer though. He's not even 2 yet so I don't want to rush things. and really, if he doesn't want to do it, that's fine. Surfing is great, but no sense in limiting yourself to 1 sport.... April 21st, 2000: The ups and downs of life have Hunter and his mother in Maryland for a few weeks. she's up there because her mom has a scare going on with breat cancer right now. too early to tell all the details, and won't get into it here, but Hunters mom figured the best thing to do was to be there. We also figured before surgery, Hunter could help cheer everyone up up there. It's been over a week now, and heard from Melissa and G-ma and sounds like Hunter is doing his job. Grandmas love grandchildren. Two year olds have a unique way of keeping a house happy, even if it's by acting like a two year old. Melissa is having some contractions and I'm worried about the flight back. She had to get a waiver from the doctor as she is not supose to fly this far along in her pregnacy. With the reduced air pressure in the cabin, Carson T. could pop out early right on the jet, on the ride home. Who would hold Hunter on the 747, while his brother comes into the world? Hope there is a doctor on the flight. Good grief. June 6th : So Hunters little brother still has not come. His mom is ready for sure. She is due in only a few weeks, but she says this little guy is coming early. Hunter has been having so much fun lately. Construction going on at the end of our street. Was thinking to myself the other day, if I was a millionaire and wanted to do something GREAT for my son who has a fascination with big trucks and heavy construction equipment, I could not have paid for a better show than what goes on around here on a daily basis. Not only are they building a house right next door, with all the heavy equipment that goes with building a large, near oceanfront house, but there are 3, count em 3, heavy duty giant crawler backhoes with big scoopers on the front to dig piles of earth. these things are so big and heavy that the asphalt on the road crumbles and buckles in with permanent scares as they drive down our street. Plus, we have a huge bulldozer to boot. And, On top of that, huge dumptrucks regularly come by, tip up and empty their load. A loader with a digger on one end and a dumper on the other rounds out our couldn't pay for even if I wanted to show. It's quite impressive. and this has been going on for months in some form or another. Hunter must think this is how life is. Heavy duty construction equipment always in your backyard. Don't know what he's going to think when one day they are no where to be found. On another subject...I wonder how much the real subtle forms of raising your kid matter. I like the idea of teaching kids to make decisions at an early age. don't know why I feel this way, and it could be wrong. but when I open the refrigerator with him in my arm to get him some juice, I ask him if he wants orange, or grape. He tells me what he wants. this is a small thing, and I'm sure many would just grab a juice and give it to their kid. Making him decide what he wants, then receiving the consequence of his choice is probably a good thing, I guess. On the down side of this, he already know what he wants in other forms of choices. He can say beach, and by golly he wants to go to the beach. When we are not going to the beach, he crys. It's only for a short time though, and I think he has to learn (like the old Mick Jagger song) that you can't always get what you want... I know parents that dictate everything to their children though, and run the house very sternly. Guess we'll find out 10, 20 and 30 years from now, which child rearin' way turns out what... June 21, 2000.... Oh boy, a lot has happened in the past week. I'll get right to the meat of it. June 19 about 4 pm Melissa finally says "this is it" . Looks like Hunters little brother is on the way. The contractions start at around 15 minutes apart, and by 5 pm they are at 5 minutes. They stayed this way for 2 hours so we were off to the hospital. Ya feel helpless as a guy when your wife and soulmate is in labor. They are in great pain, but what can you do? And you know it's only going to get worse. We ordered an epidural which helps tremendously with the pain. Why not take advantage of what modern medicine has to offer? It worked so good last time, I almost wanted one myself. The pain had to be intense until the epidural kicked in . the type of pain that is beyond words. A womans private parts are literally being pried apart. they gotta reach 10 centimeters. Normally they are less than 1. Carsons head was 13 centimeters, and it has to come out. Somthin's gotta give. Guys, to get you to relate (since we don't have what women have), it'd be like having something larger than a softball come out your nostril. or butt, or whatever you want to imagine. Got the picture? So the labor goes on and on. finally we turn on the TV. You'll try anything to get your mind off the pain. the Lakers and Pacers are goin' at it. The finals, 5 minutes left is when we tune in. the baby starts comin'. Indiana ties it up. The doctor says push. Melissa is doing her best. It's almost mid-night. We wonder if he'll be born before midnight. One nurse had said 4 am. We learn later Carson is a basketball fan and wanted to catch the end of the game. The game is getting exciting, and the baby is moving down the birth canal. the doctor says push. 5 seconds left in the game. I wasn't watching (I swear), but I see Melissa cock her head to the side just before the baby comes out. The doctors head was in her way and she couldn't see the game. the babys head comes out. Just the head, nothing more. the doctor says push, as she pulls on Carsons head and Melissa pushes from the other end. At this point I'm about ready to pass out. This is the most incredible moment in all of creation. Melissa pushes one last time. the baby pops out. The doctor holds up Carson T. Strange. I look up at him and behind him I see Shaq on the TV holding up the World Championship Trophy. The Lakers had won. It's 1 minute to midnight. The doctor and Shaq are both holding up great things... but I knew ours was greater. Tears of joy fill the room. What a great moment!!! August 4th, 2000. The first thing that I realized about having 2 kids (vs.one) is that all of a sudden TIME shrinks. there is never enough time to get done the stuff you need to get done. New parents say that about one, but one plus one = more than two when having two kids. Dunno where the time goes but from the time ya wake up (which may begin at 3 am) till the time you plop your head on the pillow at night, it's go, go , go. and the day is over so fast. think that's where the people get that saying that everyone keeps telling me "Enjoy this time, they grow up so fast!" Don't know how ya have the time to enjoy anything, no time to be mellow. Was gonna write a lot more in this log, wanted to cover both kids lives more, but once again time has gobbled up the days, this is the first chance to write without sacrificing some other project or thing that needs to get done. Carson is the coolest kid, we all love him so, but the poor kid has colic. For those that don't know, colic is when they cry all the time. It's brought on by intestinal problems which create pain in the stomach. First ya try changing the formulas, then medicine. but it all takes time. Right now he is crying some more. Needless to say it makes mom and dad miserable at times. + little brother gets streesed out when the new additions does nothing but cry. It's not all bad though, Carson snaps out of it some, and we know it's just a matter of time before he outgrows this, but until then, it's all-nighers split between mom and dad taking care of him and I gotta say, his moms been the best. She gets stressed out, but shes' the one that handles the nighttime best. September 4th, 2000 For a while last month, this whole raisin' two kids thing was , for the first time, straining Hunter and Carson's mom and Dad to the limits. Even our whole relationship. For a short while, it wasn't fun. It just gets to be too much. Cryin' kids all night, no sleep, no private life, no more goin' out with the wife. good grief. but things are better now. I can see light at the end of the tunnel. so can mom. It's just rough sometimes when the kids (I swear) seem like they play tag team at night. One crys and mom's awake with him, then just when he is getting to sleep, he must someone figure how to "tag" the other one cuz then the other one is all of a sudden awake, so mom has to deal with that one. don't know how she does it sometimes. I take over when I can, and both of us drink lots more coffee in the morning than we used to. Think i need to go back and re-read where we were with Hunter at this point cuz I dunno. Carson smiles and drools and I think in a way it a shame with 2 cuz ya don't get into every little new thing they are doing. So much is happening with the older one, it's hard to appreciate the little things going on with the new arrival. think we need to stop and smell the roses sometimes. I catch Carsons mom doing that as I think she knows this is very liekly our last so she wants to savor each moment with the baby, while he is still a baby. But then on the other hand we want him to grow up some so he'll at least sleep though the night. Such I guess is the paradox of being a parent. September 24th, 2000 So this whole kid thing has got to make you laugh. sometimes even out loud. the other morning, I went into Hunters room just after daybreak, and being a good Dad changed his diaper...but what did I find? Dogfood. yes, Kona's (our labs) dogfood was in Hunters diaper. been there all night. Made me think..wonder what it feels like to sleep with dogfood in your pants all night. Guess when you're a 2 year old you put it there on purpose and really don't care... September 25th, 2000 Wife says I need to talk about Carson some. Don't want to leave out the new addition. what comes to mind when I first think of Carson? I wrote in his book.... (see Melissa has a book of the kids that we write in and post pictures so we can capture as much of this prescious time as possible). Well, I wrote that Carson would be mellower than his older brother. don't know why I think that, but I do. think it has something to do with being the second child. the parents are mellower - not freakin' on everything...so the kid has to pick up on that. think he'll be a "go with the flow" kinda guy. he sure smiles a lot. Now that his coliic is somewhat under control (thank God for modern medicine) he's the way he should be had he not had that horrible colic thing. He's so happy. we are thinkin' Hunters a mama's boy and Carson is a daddy's boy. One reason is Hunter wakes up like his mom... seemingly on the wrong side of bed to put it nicely... + they really have a really special bond. Like only a mom and son can have. Carson wakes up like his dad.. all smiles. Carsons downside is his new invention: the diaper blow-out. Don't matter what kind of diaper it is: Carson can blow it out. I'm not gonna get into details here, but he's already a champ in that department. November 16th Carson is growing up soo fast. I hold him up and he acts like he wants to walk. He's rarein' to go. He stares at his brother a lot too. Think he's gonna do things real quick. I think he's already tryin' to catch up with big brother. He sure is mellow too. He does't cry for you to come get him, just fusses a little to let you know he's there and would like to be somewhere else but stuck on his back in his crib for another hour. We get him even though he's not cryin' cuz we know what he wants. Now Hunter is growin' like a weed and already knows what he wants. He likes Kipper, Winnie the Poo, Spot, and his all-time favorite: the construction video. This video shows nothing but bulldozers, cranes and loaders plowin' away. It's Hunters favorite and he can watch it over and over. Recently, he discovered cartoons on TV. He cries when the commercials come on. I told him I feel the same way. His mom said she can tell he's all boy cuz the other day a Barbie commercial came on and Hunter didn't know what to do. He stared and stared. Then he went over and hugged his mom as if to say "Ma-ma, I'm scared, it doesn't have wheels" January 6th, 2001 Chrsitmas came and went. another year gone by.....boy time goes by fast doesn't it? I spoke with an old man one time, and he told me that as you get older time goes by not in days, weeks, or months, but the years go by in big CHUNKS. wow. it's scary sometimes to think about how fast these first few years are going by, and where it all leads from here. What I wanted to talk about in this writing (not to change the subject) is, throw-up. I think I am seeing that the first few years of a babies life you deal with many bodily functions but it is probably safe to say that we deal with what comes out the rear most. We'll, as they get past age 2 , it shifts to what comes out the mouth. Hunters not even potty trained yet, and already we are dealin' with lots of throw-up. He currently has the flu, ya see, and, the other morning he threw up 4 times. Only a parent can relate that when your little one that you love so much is puking, you do anything to make them feel better including holding them when it's dripping off their chin. This , of course, leaves spitty-up on your shoulder, and sometimes, on a good session, down your back as well. So the other morning, after changing my T-shirt two times already , Hunter had got sick yet again. I was tired, burnt out, hadn't had any sleep, but held him anyway , (of course). Well , I was running late for work and didn't think of much as I went out the door. That afternoon, after lunch, I was in the board room and someone ask me what kind of new design was that on the back of my white Al Merrick T-Shirt. I looked on my right shoulder and saw a big purplish/yellow glob. I pulled my shirt forward and this glob had rolled down my back in a rather pretty (but gross at the same time) pattern. It was puke. then the smell hit me ( I had been oblivious to it after dealing with it for days) Good grief, I was wearing puke. Parenthood. Feb.3rd 2001 Let the battles begin! It actually started several weeks ago. This is an important thing in the study of psychology of people. Anyone with a brother or sister probably wonders when the first sibling fight began. Well it started for Hunter (2 1/2) well before it started for Carson (7 months). Hunter has one way fights as Carson is now crawling and when he gets near Hunters trucks...oh boy! Don't mess with my trucks is what Hunter tries to say, but he can't talk very well so he says "Mine" and "Ma-Ma hold baby?" (cuz he knows if Ma-Ma is holding the baby, the baby will be away from his trucks). Sometimes Hunter just yells at Carson. Where did he learn to be so mean? I thought being mean and jealosy were things taught, but apparently they are inborn. I guess our job is to teach otherwise. At the same time, Hunter can offer Carson a toy of his to play with upon occasion, to which we are so amazed and praise him for such (to try and reward this kind of behavior so he'll do it some more). So Hunter has inborn good traits as well. Now Carson is just a laid back dude. Hunter can be yelling right to his face and he'll break out in a big smile. I think he's just so stoked that his older brother is giving him attention, any kind. Carson watches Hunter zoom around on his mini dump truck in awe. His mouth will be wide open, ready to catch any flies swarming around the room. Hunter could care less. In fact he yells at Carson if he catches him staring at him too much. Carson just grins. The funniest thing, though, is when Carson gets in his walker and can actually zoom around the room, chasing Hunter. Then the shoe is on the other foot. Carson runs right into Hunter, running over his toes, then Hunter yells, "Carson boo-boo!". As if now we are supposed to put Carson in time-out now. So now Hunter has started to put his hands under Carson's wheels, then of course Carson runs them over. Then Hunter yells "Boo-boo" again, hoping upon hope that now his little brother will get in trouble. Sibling rivalry. It's already started.... July1st, 2001 So the biggest thing/difference about 2 kids vs 1 is that all of a sudden time shrinks. Time becomes so valuable. there just isn't much of it anymore. What happened? I can't explain it, but now there is not even enough time to write this anymore. It's been 5 months already. Been meaning to for the past several months, as I think it'd be cool to have a log of someone's entire life (well the first part anyway) but each time I meant to write, something else was going on. The time to do stuff is just so rare now, it seems. So thinking of this, guess ya just have to make time. Reprioritize. It can be done. this log of the boys is more important than work, keeping up the house, surf reports, etc.. Now, about the boys. Carson is walking now, and Hunter is fascinated with trains, of all things. Hunter is now potty trained. (boy was that fun) . I laughed when his mom thought we were done when he made it through the night, dry, 3 nights in a row. A month later, last night made it been 3 nights in a row wet. Hunters 3rd Birthday is tomorrow. all the family is here (just about) and it's Hunter festival week (as the family calls it) once again. boy, I don't remember a Tory festival week around my birthday. Never heard of any such a thing, but it's really fun, and a great reason to get together. And what better reason, than to celebrate a little ones life? Carson doesn't feel left out as we've rolled it all into a month of birthday parties and family get togethers. It started June 19th when Carson turned 1. It peaks after their birthdays on the 4th of July with all the fireworks. Hope these kids don't get too spoiled or confident as it looks like they'll grow up thinking this whole 4th of July thing is just for them. Right now I'm goin' along with all this, as it's all in fun, but someday these boys will have to realize it's not all for them, and someone will need to explain what the 4th is really for, and that life isn't one big party. But then on the other hand... what if we could go through life like this... and it really could be one big party... hmmm... that's a fun dream.... Oct.9th, 2001, 1:10 am... Hunter is sick. He's got bronchitis and a touch of pnumonia,doctor says. He crawled into bed with us again tonight, and his thrashing around won't let me sleep. I tried waking him up to give him the Motrin I have given him each night for the past week but to no avail. this breaks the sweat, the sheets get wet, and then he's o.k. He wouldn't let me, and I didn't want to do the 30 minute fight to get him to take it, so I let him take over the bed. Can't sleep on the couch so here I am. Carson is sick too. Thoses green slimmy snot balls that run down into his mouth are from a sinus infection, doctor says. $80. for the prescriptions and they will be good to go, doctor says. The boys have changed so much since the last time I wrote, maybe moreso than at anytime. So much to say, don't know where to start..... Their separate personalities are becoming so evident. Carson is a people person. He comes up to ya and just gives a hug. He laughs, rolls around, and is generally a goofball. He already seems like he's gonna be the class clown - however a class clown would act at age 1. He loves to be silly and just goof. Hunter is more serious. He's a thinker. And don't know why, but at the time of this writing, his personality is such that he's grumpy a lot. He wakes up very grumpy many times, and you can't kid with him to snap him out of it. Oh when he's in the mood, he can laugh and have a good time, it's just getting him there... It seems for every bit of fun, he's got to balance that with an equal amount of grump. My hope is instead of a 50-50 split between the 2, maybe I can talk fun more and make it 60-40. then 70-30, and so on till he's more of a fun-loving person. And by writing this, it's made me realize 2 things: 1. that the parent can't really change the childs personality - it's built in. They are what they are, no matter how you want them to be. and 2. maybe if I tried harder. See, many times we change the subject cuz he wants to do the same thing all the time "Daddy want to play trucks?" he asks, for the 8th time that morning. "No, Daddy's got to do his work on the computer." I'd say for the 7th time back. Maybe he's grumpy cuz I'm always sayin' "no" I can't do this with you. Could it be because he's frustrated? I worry about all the stuff these kids are exposed too. Sept 11th and me being glued to the TV for days following with the kids runnin' around in the living room has had to have some background effect on them. It may be years before we know what though.. Although life is uneasy right now, overall these boys have it good. Hunter is not into his trains as much anymore, because the beach renouishment out back of the house has a free construction site show going on all day, every day. They love bulldozers and graple loaders. Carson too. and Carson is so into everything, it truely is amazing. the other day, we caught him blowing bubbles on the porch. No really blowing bubbles. Straight from his mouth, no need for the ring. Seems he drank the bubble blowin' stuff and every time he opened his mouth to talk, bubbles would come out. It really was so funny (and he thought it the funniest). Yes we were worried about pumpin his stomach, and if what he drank would harm him, but he (and thus us) was laughing so much cuz the bubbles kept coming out, that all we could all do was laugh (which made more bubble come out, thus more laughter, thus more bubbbles, thus more...) Class clown. Was going to end on that for this writing, but had to tell another Carson story. This kid is obsessed with the Kona's dog food. He wants to eat it. Seems he sees Kona eating it, and thinks Kona is so cool that he has to do it too. As much as we try to stop it, we catch him with mouths full of her food all the time. He won't eat his (human) food we put on the table (oh, that's another funny story - spit out, put back in the mouth, spit out, put back in the mouth), but we'll go out on the porch, he'll have a brown mouth full , and be chewin away. And when we take it out, he cries he wants it so bad. What a goof! Now, you say.. can't we be better parents and watch him better? How's he get bubbles in his mouth, and dog food, and... (so many other things) in his mouth so often??? It is so hard to watch this kid every second, and it only takes a second for him to be at/into something else again. there is 24 hours a day, and ya simply can't keep your eyes on him for every one of those minutes/seconds. But for all this crazyness with this kid, I think if I had a choice, I'd keep him ONE foreever. It's just so much fun. There is no choice though, we are going to do the grow up thing, and we are well into the journey... December 24, 2001 It's Christmas Eve and such a joyous time around the house. The is the first year that 3 year old Hunter has really figured out what is going on. He's been counting down the days 'till Christmas and we have learned to use the bribery of "you better be good so Santa will bring you presents" to our full advantage as he wants a new dumptruck soo bad we think he's gonna wet his potty trained underwear when he talks about it. And Carson, he doesn't know what's going on. I busted him with another mouthful of Kona dogfood in his mouth this morning. He stores it in his cheeks for a later swallowing. I made him spit it out (of course all over the kitchen floor) and had him stick his tongue out as I tried to wipe the inside of his mouth out with a paper towel. That goes over real well with Carson. It's hard to reach those brown chewed up pieces way on the back of his tounge. I'm thinking about writing the dog food company to see if they've done any studies on human consumption. What happens to a human raised on dog food? will he bark? good grief. So tomorrow is Jesus's birthday. I hope Hunter and Carson will eventually learn the real meaning of Christmas. Who thought of this Santa Claus thing? And why are we teaching it when we know it's not ture? It sure is setting up some difficult re-teaching times in the years ahead. Think Santa Claus must be part of the retailers conspiracy to get us all to spend lots of $ during the slow winter months. Opps, wait a minute, I'm a retailer. good grief, guess I'm part of this whole American Capitalistic mess. On second thought though, it's not such a mess after all. Christmas and the fun and joy of it all is quite fun. this is all for now.... April 21st, 2002 Holy cow. where did all the time go?!? Was trying to keep a monthly log but boy 'O boy ya stay so busy with 2 boys (and trying to earn a living to stay ahead for what is to come) that ya look up and 4 months goes by. goodness. well, anyway, back to the subject matter. these kids. mygoodness are things moving and changing along. Both boys are really developing their respective personalities and you can see it more when you have 2 kids. They are so different. if we had just one, we wouldn't know how different each can be, as we wouldn't have a brother or sister to compare to. Hunter is sensitive, sweet, shy, and plays by his own drummer - meaning he is into what he is into, and doesn't let anyone else dictate. Carson is so sweet, is a ruff-tuff powder puff, is very social, and goes along with whatever is happening. they are both 2 peas in a pod when they get together and although they'll fight with each other a little, for the most part they are each others best friend. Hunter was so quiet at school that the teacher was concerned. I don't think she knew he could talk, but the truth is, he's just real shy. I guess at this age it's so hard to tell. I don't think we'll have trouble with Carson not talking in school. We took our second trip to Marineland today. The kids just love seeing the dolphins and fish from the underwater tank perspective. Hunter wasn't scared of the sea lions like he was last time. It's interesting to watch them change and grow, as time goes on... Fathers Day, June 16, 2002 The best Fathers Day thing happened to me yesterday, the day before fathers day. I came home from a hectic day at the shop and the wife and kids were on the beach. I threw on an update on the surf report and headed down to say hi to the family. So what were the two boys (who couldn't swim before, and were at times affraid of the water) doing when i got there? Rolling around in the shorebreak with waves sloppin' 'em around and them loving it! It was so cool to see the change. I couldn't of been more proud, and stoked to see Hunter letting the waves break over his head and him pop up smiling. This is the same kid who just two weeks ago would cling to me in the pool and near panic if tried to let him go or teach him to swim. Carson was a little more on the inside with plummer butt as his trucks kept falling off. We thought for a long time he was going to pass Hunter in learning to swim cuz he shows no fear and Hunter was such a wimp about it (before). Hunter is not yet 4, and he's on his way, with the best Fathers day present I could get! I think a lot of times since a dad can't spend so much time with the kids on a day to day basis, that it may appear the dad isn't as into the small things, or doesn't even notice. I think there can be just as strong of a feeling of love and pride from a dad as any feelings a parent can muster. August 26th, 2002: Hunter caught his first fish today. He was scared of it and didn't even touch it. It was a little brem fresh water fish. We threw it back. Carson was there and I think will be even more interested is fishin'. He is 100% boy. He is such a goof ball. At 2 years old he just goofs and goofs. Life is so fun to him. He's definitely a people person. Hunter is more shy and reserved. Carson is tryin' to keep up with Hunters new found ability to swim. He swims like a fish... across the pool now, back and forth. He learned to get thrown today, way up in the air, plunge underwater, swim up to the surface and back to Daddy. He smiles the whole time. The other day we were swimmin' together and I had one of those moments that only a parent can know... Here's this little creation in my arms, less than 40 pounds, just starting out life...learning everything.. his eyes and smile were so big..his eyelashes were so long and wet, stuck together, his skin so soft and brown, his teeth so small and very white. Total trust in the water. It's a great feeling being a parent. And such a responsibility... November 20th, 2002: So much has happend in the past few months. Several times I thought "I gotta write this down" this down. Then of course, something would happen and I wouldn't. Think we have for sure missed some great moments that are gone forever. One of the BIG questions is... where did they go? And along those lines (of where did the fun go) is a disclosure here, that although this writing is about the kids, I'm waiting on the results of a test to make sure my health is o.k. I'm confident things will be fine, but all this has made me think of what the big things in life are. Number 1 being where are we all going when this great journey is over. We'll all face it one day, but when kids are involved, so much more is at stake. Taking care of the kids is so paramont to a parent. When thinking of such, keeping the family together becomes so important, even if it's in the next lifetime. My faith in God is the source for comfort. But back to the subject matter, the kids. They are coming along so well. Both Melissa and I, and the kids grandparents are so proud. Hunter had been becoming such a pistal in the morning and even other times but I think we figured it out. He was being neglected as his younger brother is so outgoing and hogs Mama, so Hunter felt frustrated. When a 4 your old is frustrated but doesn't know how to show it, what happens? (can you say B-R-A-T) . He wasn't really being a brat, ...what would happen is, Carson would wake up first, call his Mama, she'd come get him (Hunter was still asleep) and they'd sit on the couch together. Well when Hunter would wake up, he'd come into the living room and see his Mama all taken up with his little brother. He didn't know how to handle it, and what we were doing wrong was when he'd fuss, we'd fuss back. (We originally didn't know why this kid would wake up and come into the room, and start fussin' -apparently for no reason) And so the downward spiral to start the day would begin. All this was solved with, you guessed it, love and attention. Isn't this what we all want? Melissa makes a point of spending some special time with each child each day, and ya know what? They behave so much better. Kids are really easy to figure out if ya just sit back and think about what the problem is. 99% of all problems can be solved with love. Melissa and I decided that, based on his recent performances, Carson is going to be the class clown. He is so funny! He will roll his eyes to make you laugh (at age 2!), and is so full of life and laughter we can hardly keep up sometimes. What a really special kid. Sometimes he'll run around the house and say "I am so happy...I am so happy!" Gosh it's great to be a kid... December 13th, 2002, 4:45 am So Hunter has this new thing (well not so new) where he comes and climbs in bed with us in the middle of the night. No big deal, I love the kid. well about an hour ago I was sleeping peacefully next to him when I felt this warm sensation in my sleep running up my side. I started to roll away but it was moving rather fast. Then I realized.... I was getting whizzed on! I won't go into all the comotion that followed, but the bottom line is he's back sleepin' in my bed with his mom while I'm up. Something about sleeping on top of pee with a towel over it... "We'll take care of it in the morning, honey." It's just not condusive to sleep. It's o.k., but I still can't sleep. I'm teaching the boys karate. I took classes for 12 years and used to teach. And I know how valuable the martial arts can be to skinny little boys. I was only seldom harassed by the school bully, but after I took the martial arts, my high scool days were so much more fun. I had confidense, which kept the bullys away. When you stand up to them, they really don't know how to take you. They are in a no-win situation. If they beat you up, it's expected. But if they don't beat you up, and the little kid that is standing up to them actually does come through and beats up the bully, well he's gonna be REALLY embarrassed. I avoided several fights in high school by having confidense in my abilities, and standing up to the bully. So back to the very beginnings of teaching these boys about confidense. It'll take years and years, and after 7 lessons, we have made only slightly better than "0" headway. At 2 and 4, and not knowing your right from your left, we have oh so very far to go. The good new is they know the "chumbee" ready stance that you start with, and they like the classes. That is about the extent of how far we have come. I keep the after diner classes to about 5 - 10 minutes, cuz after that, their little minds start to wonder. Plus it needs to stay fun if they are gonna stick with it. Last night was a prime example as I had left the TV on by mistake. Hunter started watching out of the corner of his eye while I was trying to teach stepping in a front stance. When he started totally staring at the TV and not listening to any of his intructors commands, I knew it was time to end class. I tried turning off the TV, but try doing that to a 4 year old who is now engulfed in it. Good grief, I can't compete with a good cartoon. March 14th, 2003: You can learn a lot from your kids. This is foreign to me as I always thought I was supose to do the teaching. I realized it works in reverse just the other day when I went out to get the morning paper. My son Hunter ask if he could go. "Sure" I said, as I walked down the stairs. I had my morning coffeee with me and we walked outside. Hunter didn't want to go back inside, so I sat on a chair out in front of the house. I figured I'd just open the paper and read a little while Hunter did whatever he wanted to do. He came over and sat by me. I peered over the top of my paper to see what he was doing... and he was doing nothing. Just sitting there. He was just sitting there next to me, doing nothing. So I put the paper down. I just looked at what he was looking at, which was nothing, and everything. A long silence took place. In my usual busy morning I relalized he was just happy to be with me and hangin'. Finally he said "Look at those birds Daddy." "That's a pigeon" he followed up. "Look! A cat!" he said again. Then he commented on the ants about our feet. And the wet dew on the bushes. And the morning sky with it's colors... all the things I take for granted and am too busy to notice as I have too much work too do (I always think). Hunter just likes the simple things. The things that allow you to relax. I like that. March 25th, 2003 Hunter, our oldest got sick the other day. His litttle brother Carson was all energetic and wanted to do something but with mom keeping Hunter inside he didn't have anywhere to go. His mom suggested I take him with me when I went to work. At first I thought no, as it would cramp my style as I have so much to do when I am going about my business day. But on second thought, I thought how I hardly ever do anything with just Carson. He seems overshadowed by first born Hunter. Even his mom says I don't spend as much time, or even write as much about Carson. So Carson and I got in my jeep and went crusin' . At first I selfishely thought I'd just take him with me whereever I went . Surely he'd be happy, I tried to assure myself. I had so much to do , I didn't have time to let babysitting a 2 year old slow me down. We are opening another surf shop and I had 2 places to go look at used glass counters for the new store. I had errands to run plus look at a house as an investment. All this before goin' to the shop to check on things plus I can't be gone too long as the surf reports need to be updated regularly. But as soon as we get in the jeep Carson starts chitter-chattering about going to the park. He nearly crys as we drive by the playground at the pier. I felt for the little fella, and decided I'd take him to a real good park downtown. "How would you like to go to the merry-go-round?" I asked. Carsons face lit up. We went to Davenport Park on the North side of town and I will never forget as long as I live the look on Carsons face when the horsie he was sitting on started going up and down as it started to go round-n-round. He was so happy! Afterward we got on the swing sets and I swung him so high in the busket swing the lines go slack at the top. He laughed and laughed. He just loves attention, action, and doin' stuff. He climbed the monkey bars and afterwards we went out to lunch. He ate a hot dog and french fries, feeding me some and laughing as I bit them off close to his fingers. On the way home he told me how much fun he had. "I had fun Daddy" he said. I have thought about that day several times since then. I think I had every bit as much fun, if not more, than 2 year old Carson. I want to spend more time with this special little boy. August 12th, 2003 Ohmygosh I cannot believe how much time has passed by since last time I wrote. I have been meaning to.... as so many times something would happen in our lives and I'd think "I just gotta write that down" ... Time goes by, I don't, and the moment is lost for eternity. These 2 boys are growin'; and learning and so full of life and are discovering new stuff everyday, it' SO MUCH FUN to be around and watch. Why just yesterday, Melissa and I had Hunter at The Beachcomber for dinner. It was outside, and a beautiful day. We are sitting at the table and Hunter leans back....looks up at the sky...stares for a while...and this 5 year old says "My, it sure is a big world we are in" It was at that moment Melissa and I were witnessing him "discover" that he was a person in this world, and how big and grand this world we live in is! Recently Carson and I have been bonding. We've been rolling around on the carpet, wrestling, tickling, piggybackriding, and steamrolling over each other. He comes up to me a few times a day and says "Daddy, I wanna do upside down , spin-spin, and ding-dong". (Ding-dong is where I hold him by his feet upside down, and swing him back and forth like a big ding-dong grandfather clock) He is so much fun, it's worth stoping work to play. Carson crys when I stop to finally go back to work. He'd like to play all day. September 7th Carson is such a lover. I was carrying him back from the beach the other day (he can be such a lazy bones kid) and he looked at me, and with our noses almost touching, he said "Daddy... I love you." I about melted. He then said, "And I love mommy too." "And Hunter, and Kona." Then he started listing everything he loves. A lady that's walks her dog by our house everyday was walking her 2 dogs and he pointed too them and said "And I love those 2 dogs too." This kid is such a lover. He really seems to love everyone, and it seems everyone either loves or likes him. October 2nd, 2003 Carson is so funny. I can imagine if you watch enough cartoons, at age 3, it'd be hard to differentiate between reality and fiction. The other day, I watched him take off running and while running he kept looking over his shoulder at the back of his feet. I ask him what he was doing and he explained some jibberish (sometimes he's hard to understand). Later on it hit me. He really thought that if he ran fast enough flames would shoot out his feet, out the back of his heels, just like in the cartoons. I gotta get him away from that TV... October 23rd 4:30 am Up and at 'em early. And I have noticed Hunter is the same way. He gets up naturally before sunrise on most days. Sometimes we have to tell him "it's still nighttime" and to go back to bed. Carson is usually more of a sleeper. When he first wakes up he likes to watch cartoons and drink some juice and chocolate milk to get his wits about him. Neither one is much of a talker real early. And I swear I can see them bigger some mornings when they wake up. I tell their mama the boys grew overnight and she just looks at me funny. November 12 Hunter is so much different than Carson. Carson is so warm and Hunter is more aloof. At times I've worried about Hunter. But lately Hunter is showing reasons for his differentness. At age 5, he just wrote and illustrated a book. Now keep in mind he doesn't know how to put the letters of his alphabet into words yet, but so here is how he did it: He came to his mom and gave her several pieces of paper and ask her to staple them together because he wanted to write a book. Then he drew pictures on each of the pages. Then he told his mom over and over about the pictures and what was going on in his book. (It's a story about a pumpkin and how the sun shined and made a root next to the pumkin grow and days later a huge strawberry emerged.) He was so excited about it that this shy kid read it to his class at school a few days later. His teacher wants to get it laminated. His mom wrote the words in his book for him, and it really does look pretty good. I think I shouldn't worry about Hunter. He is his own individual who will do his own thing, and this boy may grow up to be a writer, artist, combination of both, or probably a lot more.. January 5th, 2004 Another year has passed and it reminds me how fast these kids are growing up already. Others warn ya about it, then ya see it with your own eyes. I can already see a time when it won't seem right carrying them around like a baby. For Hunter, that time is already happening. He's 5, and much more lanky than his little brother. He gets heavy real fast. And these two boys have made me believe in "nature over nurture". They couldn't be more different, and yet they were brought up with the same love and attention. It's truely amazing how different they are, and yet in many ways alike. Oh so many thoughts I'd write a book if I got started, so this will be it for now.... February 15th, 2004 Hunter rode his bike without training wheels for the first time today. He was SO STOKED! He was smiling so big and seeing the sense of accomplishment on my sons face was one of the highlights of my life. I can't think of anything better at this moment. Maybe I couldn't even if I kept thinking and thinking. He crashed several times, but kept getting back up and doing it again and again. I ran to go get the video camera and got some of it on film. He's 5 now and I am so proud of him. March 8th So many times at night I go into the boys rooms just to check on them after they are sleeping. Sometimes I just stare at this miracle of a creation. They sleep so soundly. Each day they look a little bigger - and they probably are. Carson usually sleeps sideways on his bed. Sometimes Hunter will crawl out of his bed and sleep on the floor. I either put him back in his bed or pull covers around him or under him so he's not on the bare carpet. I think Hunter would sleep without any covers many times if we let him. Carson sleeps with his mouth wide open. It is such a great thing to watch them sleep. March 9th Carson is so into super hero's. We decided to take him to see the big stuff at Universal Studio theme park. He was so excited by just the thought of it. Keep in mind he is 3. When we were going down I-4 on the way there, (after 5.5 hours on the road as there was major traffic accicents/back-ups) we saw a billboard of Spiderman while on the drive. Carson spotted it and just started screaming. Screaming and kicking his feet in happiness. And we hadn't even gotten to the park yet.... March 15th, 2004 It's amazing how much you can learn from your kids. 3 year old Carson reminded me of such today. In a hurry to get off to work, I was going to skip the kiss good-byes and blow off to work. I said good-bye as I picked up my stuff and headed down the stairs. Carson shouted out "Daddy... DADDY!!!" , so I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked up just as he made it to the top of the stairs. He didn't say anything, but just held his hands out wide. Real wide as if to give me a hug. He was so small, but looked so great. His eyes are big and brown, with the longest eyelashes. He has such innocence. I was at the bottom of the stairs looking up. I put down my stuff and climbed up. I picked up Carson and gave him a big, long hug. He said "I love you Daddy" and gave me a kiss. I told him I loved him too, and this time went around and kissed everyone in the house before leaving. I think that's the last time I'll ever leave in a hurry like that. Sometimes 3 year olds know the most... June 6th, 2004 Where did the past few months go? Once again, boy does it go fast... Carsons personality is really developing. His imagination is part of the reason, I think. Let me post something his mom wrote about him: Right now he is(acting like) a dog. (Scooby costume) He also likes to be a cat, he does that with no costume. He also has good friends, Honor and Zack Whacker. Yesterday Carson's sister came over too and 12 other friends, They all played hide and seek. Should we be worried?! Hunter just goes along with it and calls Carson Honor when he says that's who he is. Then he calls me Melissa. I let Honor come over a lot because he has really good manners, eats all his dinner, and does any chore I ask. Melissa. I think this grand imagination is not harmful, and in fact probably healthy. At least "Honor", his imaginary friend who he calls himself, is a really good (and honorable) guy. June 7th: We are getting a pool built and the boys can't wait. Hunter has become quite the swimmer already and both are taking swimming lessons. I think they will be much more comfortable learning to surf if they become very good/great swimmers first. Hence my going along with spending the big bucks to buy a pool. July 4th, 2004: We were driving through a town that has a water tower in it. The kids were in the back seat. Carson speaks up and says (while looking in the sky towards the water tower) "Mom, I see a baked potatoe..." July 28th Carson has one of the most loving personalities I think I have ever met. And that includes all ages, yet Carson is only 4. A prime example happened just yesterday when I was working in my office and Carson was drawing his daddy pictures. He drew a picture of his mom, and it had a big smile on it. He drew a picture of his dad with a big smile, a picture of his brother with a big smile, and I ask him to draw a picture of himself, and he drew himself with a big smile. I wanted to see what a frowny face picture looked like from my little boy, so I asked him to draw a picture of a mean, bad guy. He went back and got his pen out again and began to draw. He came in with another picture of a big smiley faced person. I asked him who it was and he said it was "A bad guy who is happy." This little boy has such an optimistic personality he can't even draw anything but a smile! What a great quality for a 4 year old. Maybe I should all take a lesson from this! August 10th, 2004 I just looked at the boys as they slept. They are growing up so much! They are finally quite now. Hunter looks so much bigger. He's lanky and growing taller. He looks so much bigger compared to Carson, who is still just a little boy. Hunter started kindergarten today. His mom cried. I think a lot of moms cried at that school. No more staying at home with the baby. What will they do? Today started the start of at least a 13 year journey through elemetary school all the way through high school. Hopefully more education after that. So even more than over a decade of education... with the end result being they are not the young child they are now. wow. I can see how a mom would cry. August 15th A few days of school behind the boys and on this rainy Sunday the boys stayed home and played in the house. They play so well together. Occasional fights but they wouldn't be brothers without them. I think it's good to have a day with nothing structured or planned. They'll get enough structured stuff in school, which resumes again tomorrow morning. Oct. 4th, 2004 Time keeps a marching on. We've blown through summer and 4 hurricanes have hit our state this year. I sent Carson, Hunter and their mom away after the first one (Charley). When Francis looke like it might get close, I put them on a plane to Maryland. The strategy worked perfectly as it was good they were gone, and it was good I was here to save the house after the roof peeled back. The extensive water damage was minimized by my neighbors and I getting on the roof and repairing it during the storm. The boys were excited to be home... and when they heard another one was coming they were excited that they would get to stay during the next one. When Hurricane Jeanne hit, Carson and Hunter were so excited when the lights went out. "Yea! The lights are out! Grab your flashlight Carson" I heard Hunter say at 3 in the afternoon. We are so blessed because about the time the no lights thing was getting old, the power came back on. We ran outside in 50+ mph winds during the storm (probably not a smart thing to do) for kicks as I tried to keep the whole hurricane thing kind of light for these young boys. My hair is another shade of grey after all these hurricanes, but I'm sure the boys are still taking life not to stressful at this point in their young age. Oct. 26th. Hunter brought home his first report card. He got all "S"s for "Satisfactory". I guess they don't give out letter grades yet in kindergarten. From what I am told, he tries real hard to do what the teacher says. He's kind of a teachers pet kind a kid at this point. He doesn't like getting in trouble. At home, he quite bossy with Carson, his younger brother. So much so that when Melissa and I were watching football the other night we figured out the perfect job for Hunter. He would make a great referee! He could tell Carson what's right and what's wrong all day long if he was an official referee. It's a good thing (for Hunter) that Carson is so good natured about it. He let's Hunter boss him around all day and just takes it in stride. Sometimes I wonder if he's really listening to him though... January 1st, 2005: Another year has passed and so much has happened and is happening I don't know how I'll write it all down. Life is just so good. And so fun. These boys are so entertaining and fun to watch grow. Their spirits are so alive and sweet. We took the train to Maryland and on Christmas we were going through the mountains in N.C. on the way. It was snowing and 4 year old Carson, stairing out the window, looking at all the white stuff, and said to his mom: "This is what Christmas is all about." I think this kid is a genious sometimes. Januarly 2nd: I feel I've missed communicating so much that happened in the last part of 2004. The boys are changing and growning so. Hunter is maturing and doing so much better than a year ago in his "people skills" department. It's great to watch the change. Carson just loves people and likes to hang and play with just about anyone. Yesterday his friend Evan was over and he near cried when he left (we'll actuallly he did cry when he left). He just wants to play with good friends and is so genuinely sad to see them go. I think we could all learn from this example. Jan. 3rd: We went camping as a family for the first time this past fall. I think it was November. The kids just loved it. I didn't sleep at all as the ground is just so hard in the state park here. Melissa was great as usual, and the boys loved the fire and just sitting around it talking story. Speaking of stories... I was wrestling with Carson the other day, and I got on top of him as we wrestled around. I was stairing down into his eyes as we slowed down and he looked back at my face and ran his finger across my forehead and said "Daddy, what's this?" touching my wrinkled forehead. I didn't know how to tell him that those wrinkles were from the age, the sun, and worrying how I was going to take care of him, his mommy, and his brother. So I just jokingly said "That's Daddies wrinkles", and began tickling him to change the subject... April 10th, 2005 The world for these 2 little boys is changing so fast...and changing in directions that none of us would of thought when we started out 2005. A prominent surfer couple is getting a divorce, with 2 children a little older than Hunter and Carson. The man walked out on his kids and wife, for another woman. The kids lives are shattered forever. Hunter and Carson are oblivious to this of course, but their mom and dad aren't. It has made each of us realize how fragile a family can be.
So I was driving to the airport to pick up Hunter and Carsons mom. I like spending time alone with the boys in the car for a while because we can talk with no distractions. It's about an hour drive. I kept the radio off and Hunter fell asleep. So just Carson and I were talking. I like to talk about the Lord with Carson because he seems so in
So I was playing on the bed yesterday with the two boys. The cleaning April 23rd Any parent of teenagers would probbably be able to identify with a May 1st: It's the little things that bring true joy as a parent. The preacher talked about this in church today. And I saw it first hand when we went ot the park for a Sunday afternoon hang out. Hunter has always been not as physical as other boys his age. I was one of the smallest kids in my class and Hunter still isn't large even though we held him back going
A so funny story: So I am sitting in my "home office" one day..
Oh...here we go... I guess one of Carson's pre-kindergarten classmates has an older brother or somthing cuz the kid came to school "shooting birds". Carson always see's the positive in everybody, so even though this kid was flicking off his classmates, Carson thought the best of the individual. He came home that afternoon with his bird finger high in the sky. His mom asks him what in the world he was doing. He tells her (in all seriousness) that if someone points their finger at you like this, they love God... because that finger is the tallest, and is closest to heaven. End of discussion.
If Carson Strange ever ends up becoming a successfull pro surfer, this will be the day that goes down his his infamy as he falling in love with surfing. Today he was SO STOKED on riding waves! He has ridden waves before...but today he was hooked! Listen to some of his comments: "Mom, I just love surfing!" "I had the most fun of my entire life!" And on the way back to the beach this evening for another session on his bodyboard he was telling me over and over about a double up wave that shot him out... "I was going so fast daddy!" he said as he jumped up and down on the way to the beach. He's so giddy about it, he reminds me of when I first started. Occasionally I lose that stoke after 35 years of surfing. Looks like this 4 year old is going to bring back a whole new era of it...
Mid June, 2005:
So a few days after Carson was so stoked on surfing...I took him back and he ate it. He went underwater and got scared when it held him down. He cried and cried and I think that's gonna do it for a while. It made him (and me) realize that.. at around 30 pounds or so
June 20th:
Carson�s Birthday was yesterday and we had all the family over and his mom baked him a home made cake. It was the second one for him actually because his birthday was on a Sunday but he had his friends over on Saturday with one B-Day cake and song then, and the second cake and song on Sunday evening. It had been such a wonderfully day (it was Father day and we mixed that in too). Carson later told me it was his "best Birthday yet". Anyway... At the singing of his "happy birthday" song with all the family there.. near the end of the song.. Carson got the warmest look about him. He was smiling SO BIG and near glowing. But even more than that. I just knew he was so happy and feeling the love we all have for him. I hid my tears as I was just so happy that he was so happy. And I had never seen that kind of expression on anyones face. It was one of utter happiness. So tonight... while I was tucking him him. I asked him what he was thinking.. I brought him back to the time. I sang him part of the song as I tucked him in. Then I said "Carson.. what were you thinking when you smiled so big and we were singin to you?" I just had to know... Then he answered and softly said: "God".
Sometime in late June, 2005: I took them to the beach tonight... the steady onshore wind felt so
The 2 boys are turning into...well... 2 boys. I know they have always been boys..but they were babies at one time, and toddlers, and little boys..but some of the actions of late have made me think of...well, 2
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