Child Labor: A Little Green Thumb

Recently, we have made a decision to get something out of our investment in Parker's Childhood. Honestly, we have been operating in the red; changing diapers, feeding and clothing him, buying him toys and books, and giving him the lavish amount of candy that he demands on a daily basis. So, we put him to work. He is now the Chief Landscaper of the Hansen Estate.

Making Mountains out of Mole Hills

To be honest with you, I don't really know if he is getting up or going down either. He may be digging a whole. Really I just don't know.

Football Star

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the great hope for American soccer, Parker Adam Hansen. (He'll be a real threat just as soon as he can learn how to keep himself from pooping in his pants after running full tilt for 15 minutes.)

And Still They are not Safe

To the innocent creatures caged, Parker & Cooper appear quite docile and meek. However, the rabbits should count themselves amongst the most blessed of all creatures, having shelter and refuge from two demons whose fury and anger knows no bounds. If there were indeed no separation between the aggressor and the potential victims, these demons would attach with great ferocity (or maybe they would just run away scared of the little bunnies, really that is probably more likely than not).

Parker's Unspoken Truths - Part One

"My dad is an architect, (really he is an intern architect, which means that he gets to draw stairs, windows and urinals for a living) and a darn adequate one at that. And while I share his same talents, (and anal obsession for perfection at the expense of others sanity) I have a greater sense of ambition. To me, designing buildings is only one step above building with legos, or tinker toys (and let's face it, any two year old can do that). I want to create things that move, and move fast, things that make a lot of noise and call attention to itself, things that have complex pieces and need more advance methods of assembly to be put together; something like sports cars or school buses. And just to make my dad feel better about all of this, and to remind him how lucky he is to have me for his son I'm going to let him think that he is teaching me everything I need to know about design and building (but don't worry, I won't listen to any of it.)"

Running Punks

Recently I told Parker that Patrick and I were going to run a 15K in November and would start training in earnest. He burst into a fit of laughter that immediately brought him to tears! (The nerve of that little punk!) "Daddy," he said, "you better start running now, it might take you till then to finish." (It stung, but then again the truth always does.) "Tell you what," he continued, "Copper and I will run it for you, and spare you the embarrassment."

Patterns of Perfection

For those of you who don't know me, I am just a wee bit OCD. And a little bit anal retentive as well. I like these clean and simple, not complicated. Straight lines are better than curves, and so on. Simplicity if beauty. I suppose I was brainwashed in architecture school, or maybe it is just true that architects are right, all of the time, about everything. Whatever it is, my tendencies are to further the indoctrination and help others see the world as I do, a chaos waiting for someone to subdivide it and put it in the appropriate folder. So all I need to say further is that I am proud of my son, who is already picking up on the fact that chairs, when lined against the wall in perfect repetition, have a certain type of beauty to them.

Hunting for Quality, not Quantity

Don't get me wrong, Parker is faster than spider-man, but when it comes to hunting for Easter Eggs he moves very slowly. He likes to look for the eggs in spots where he knows they are least likely to be smashed or cracked by the other children who are all looking to get more Easter eggs than everyone else. Parker simply wants to find the best, the coolest, and most impressive egg and then he will flaunt it, and taunt them. Perhaps he appreciates all of the time craftsmen and Easter Bunnies put in to making those amazing eggs, or maybe he is just conserving his energy for the best part of the hunt, the inevitable destruction of all things Easter Egg.