Family Vacation

Water slide from p wang on Vimeo.

About a month ago, Mommy and Daddy had a relaxing get-away to a swanky oceanfront resort. Quiet meals, scenic hike and rest and relaxation... Sitting on the balcony, overlooking the family pool and Pacific Ocean, we both had a realization: we both kinda missed our boys. Isn't that ironic; we FINALLY get away, and we miss the kids. At this moment, an idea was born. Family vacation to a resort hotel. After a month of research, recommendations and planning, we ended up at a resort near Palm Springs, CA. Its major attraction was a giant kids pool complex, complete with water slides, lazy river and kids pools. The 2 hour drive went pretty fast, Casey talked virtually the whole way; calling out trucks and construction equipment. Upon arrival, we hit the pools. The original plan was for me to take Casey in my lap down the water slide. Once we climbed to the top of the slide, that plan went out the window. Only one rider allowed at a time. Additionally, riders needed to be a min. of 42" tall. Thankfully, Casey wanted to go by himself. And more thankfully, he BARELY cleared the minimum height. When he got to the bottom, his first words were, "Let's go again".. So we did, over and over. We also had a great time in the kids pool. We did lots of Casey bombs, both forward and backwards. We also did Sydney bombs. The little guy had tons of fun jumping into the pool. We spend some time at a friends house. He and his son have quite a car, truck collection; it was one of the highlights of the trip for Casey and Sydney. We also ran into some friends at the resort, so Casey had the added bonus of splashing in the pools with his friend Cassandra. Each night, the boys were so worn out, they fell asleep without a fight. Alas, it wasnt all fun and games. One day as we were leaving the pool area, we momentarily lost sight of Casey. We looked around for him, couldn't immediately find him. We enlisted our friends' help in locating him; no luck. We asked the lifeguards and gate monitors about the missing boy; they put the call out on walkie-talkies and had the hotel staff looking for him. A good 15 minutes passed, and he was finally located. He had exited the pool area, took a 5 minute stroll along the path that led back to our hotel room, somehow deviated off path and ended up in the hotel lobby. Thankfully, this being a hotel resort that caters towards families, a family saw him wandering around alone, and they escorted him to hotel security. Alls well that ends well, but he put a scare into Mommy and Daddy :(

P!ss like a man

I take my job as a father very seriously. I am responsible for teaching my sons. One important skill I am currently teaching him is to "piss like a man". Ie: stand up and pee. Right now, it's about 75-25.. The majority of the time he pees in the potty, he does so sitting down. There are many reasons for this; sometime's he isnt tall enough for his unit to reach the urinal. He also hasn't quite mastered the stance; he thrusts his belly outward, so as to create space below his hose, so he doesn't wet his legs. This isn't the most comfortable position, it actually looks rather taxing on the quads. Tonight, he opted to 'piss like a man'. He climbed up on his step stool, assumed his half-squat position.. and proceeded to pee backwards, between his legs, (picture a center in football hiking the ball back to the quarterback. That's the trajectory I'm talking about). He pretty much hit every target in the bathroom, except the inside of the toilet. Then he says, "Uh oh, I just pissed everywhere!"

Pool Play with a Gift

Last Thursday Casey and Sydney had a fun play date in the pool with their friends Allison, Sammy and their mommy's.  We had a great time swimming, playing, snacking, and more swimming.  After about 2.5 hours it was time to go home for naps. As I was getting Sydney cleaned up and dry I looked back at Casey in the pool to tell him he was next and to come out.  When I looked I saw "chunks" floating around him.  I panicked and told him to get out of the pool. He didn't budge and just had a funny look on his face. I walked up to him as his hand was up at his mouth and he had a strange look on his face.  I said "Oh baby, did you spit up?" and I cleaned his nose and mouth. He then said "Now clean my poop!" :-(

Learning new skills

Today, Daddy Mommy imparted some useful knowledge to Casey. We were on a long walk and suddenly Casey said he needed to go potty. The only problem is that there was no restroom nearby. Have no fear, Daddy Mommy had the solution. She I said, "Daddy will show you how to pee on a bush." Daddy said, "Come on Casey, lets go pee on a bush". Alas, we couldn't find a bush, but managed to find the next best thing... a tree! He was pretty successful; only a few details I still need to work with him on. Such as, you want to aim such that the runoff doesn't flow to your shoes. But other than that, his first attempt at this important life skill was a success... Until.... About 30 minutes later, still on the same walk, he said he needed to go potty again. This time, we were near some stores, and I offered to take him to a potty. He said, "No potty, I want to pee on a bush". So we found another tree. He asked Daddy to go first. So, I demonstrated. When it was his turn, he pulled down his pants and started to go. Everything was going smoothly until he saw a 'roly poly'. Mid flow, all his attention got diverted off the task at hand, and focused on the roly poly. Now, his hose sprayed everywhere; straight down into his underwear and pants, streaming down his leg, soaking up his socks and shoes. With everything wet, we finished and continued the walk home. As he waddled uncomfortably in his wet everything, he says, 'Daddy, carry me'.. And I thought, "Oh he!! no kid, you're all wet. That's nasty."

Cowboy up

Recently, we were invited to a party that had pony rides. Before we left the house, I asked Casey if he wanted to go ride pony's. He said, "Pony Daddy not pony's; there is only one pony". Nice that my three year old is correcting my English... teaching me the difference between singular and plural!

Casey found a sombrero.

Riding...

Thanks to Uncle Ed, the Wang boys can ride as one. We recently inherited Uncle Ed's trail-a-bike. It's a nifty contraption that attaches to a normal bike and allows tandem riding. Add an additional child seat mounted up front, and we have transportation for more occupants than a Smart car. The riding was a little challenging; the added mass and irregular weight distribution created some instabilities. Stupid me chose a path that included a decent incline, so I burned my quads trying to pump us all up the hill. Alas, the maiden voyage was a success, not to mention a hit... Casey now requests to ride 'The Big Bike'

Big Day, Huge... Historic

D-day. June 6th, 1944. Huge day in World War II. Allied troops invaded the beaches of Normandy, France. On very close to the 68th anniversary date of this historic event (June 8th, 2012), we had a historic splash-down in the Wang household. CASEY POOPED IN THE POTTY! For the first time ever! I am in no way trying to compare the significance of these two events; one arguably altered the course of history. Casey dropping a deuce in the potty is definitely reason to celebrate, but there most likely wont be any victory parades celebrating his feat. He did however, earn 5 'money' for his 'efforts'... Now, if I could find someone to pay ME each time I pooped... Another milestone in the adventures of Casey potty training.

Posing next to his accomplishment.
Holding up five fingers to count his payday!
Putting his hard earned money into his piggybank.