Laughing and a Whole Bunch of Pictures

Here are a whole bunch of pictures of my recent days. Looking them over I am reminded of these recent days and the fact that I have been laughing a lot more often lately. Not that I wasn't laughing before but I am noticeably more laugh-y and even finding myself funnier lately. Good times. I am enjoying it. As I think about it, this is very true for the day time hours, and there are thankfully many hours of day this time of year. However, at night, I am wayyyy more tired and sleepy so I have no idea if I am laughing. Maybe laughing and smiling makes one sleepy. So, without further ado, my recent days in pictures.

That's Enzo and his new friend at school. I am told they held hands most of the day.

We all went to dinner with Grandma, Grandpa, and Tia K. Here they are looking at animals. The funny moments were when my mom and Enzo growled like lions together with their hands at their mouth like Enzo often does. Tami and I are not sure if the hands represent teeth or whiskers but it's amusing.

Here is The Kid when we went to a favorite place of mine, Santa Teressa Park. We went there for a baptism party.

This is my son. He sat and watched an adult play catch with an older girl. He watched and watched. The cool part was that whenever she caught the ball he would smile big. 

 Tami caught a bug and showed Enzo.

 Ana snacked and enjoyed the world.

There are the ladies sitting on the picnic blanket.

 Ana started playing with sunglasses and being cool. Enzo helped her to put them on.

These kids love playing in their digging pot. Every now and again Tami has to add more dirt to it.

Brushing their teeth before bed. They are so adorable.

 Time to play outside! Then we went to play at Ponderosa Park. Wow! So much to see and do. We saw people playing tennis, volleyball- a new word Enzo now knows from watching them hit what appeared to him to be a "soccer ball" over a "goal," three little league soccer games, a little league baseball game which we sat and watched for a bit as Enzo rooted on both the Indians and the Cardinals teams with "Go Oakland!," an adult cricket game!, a dad teaching two daughters how to play cricket, a man doing Tai Chi, a man playing kick the ball with his kid, a birthday party, a bunch of people playing in the multiple playground areas... and all of this in one park going on at the same time!

 We played kick the ball too.

 And we played kick the ball and run really fast laughing to see if Papi will get to it first or if Enzo would be able to dive on top of it giggling first and the call out "again, again!"

 Beautiful girl, one day before she turns 1.

The kids were totally watching the older girl go down the really big slide for minutes. And then, Enzo went up the relatively giant structure all by himself and then got on and slid down the relatively gargantuan slide all by himself!

 And he loved it.

 And did it over and over again.

And it was a huge slide! Look at that. And when I say all by himself I mean it- I didn't go up on the structure, I played with Ana at the bottom the whole time. Somehow I even managed to not yell out "be careful" or to hold my breath or anything. I am as proud of myself as I am impressed with how this kiddo confidently climbs and slides these days. At my first concern I calmed my self with two thoughts. One, it looks fairly safe and like it would require a bit of purposeful effort to fall from and then I made my mind shut up as the question popped in of what if he tries and I'm way far down.. but no, he will be fine. Two, this is a busy park at a school campus in California, USA where people are happy to sue and if this thing is still standing, well then it must be pretty safe to let my son play on without me guiding him even if he does appear hundreds of feet up in the air without a safety wire or net. And he was perfectly fine and safe and loving it and smiling and going up again and again. Excellent.

 Ana and I played closer to the ground.

Big brother helped fill up the giant custom pinata Grandma and Grandpa got for his sister's birthday. My mom even added her own custom features to it with hand cut out letters and attached butterflies. It came out great.

Tami: Babe! Come look at this! You are not going to like it but you need to see it.
Randy: [Sees daughter on ladder with Enzo behind her talking her through the process.]
            What are you doing letting her on the ladder!?
Tami: She is OK. And Enzo is watching her and telling her to "Be careful Ana."
Randy: Oh good, so I don't have to warn her to be careful then if Enzo is taking care of it.

Then I snapped this photo and promptly removed my daughter from the ladder while quietly thanking my son for looking out for his sister and mentally shaking my fist at the air because my wonderful wife watches this whole thing and then calls me over to look. I guess it is like a free therapy session for a possibly over concerned parent and that somehow makes me laugh.

My beautiful 1 year old with her Papi.

 Tami baked and I decorated. Tami did a couple of the purple flowers that came out the best though. Bottom row, third from the left, and the other two that are similar are Tami's work. We left this all on the island far away from the edge so Monte wouldn't eat them as he did Enzo's 2nd birthday cake. We left him alone for all of 5 minutes... he managed to lick the frosting perfectly clean off of the right inch and a half of the square cake. Luckily the rest of the sweets were far enough out of reach. I think Monte is trying to start a new birthday tradition for himself.

Now for some pictures of Ana's birthday party.

 Most were excited, but at least one grandparent took a nap in the middle of the festivities.

Thankfully, this time, the pinata actually worked!

Getting ready to blow out the candle.

This is supposed to be her first taste of chocolate but she never got past enjoying the frosting.

These next two photos make laugh a lot. Here you see Ana enjoying the reenactment of what she was doing 1 year ago.....

....and that's how we got you Ana.

 My son wanted to play in the car more then he wanted to go anywhere after we enjoyed some time, just the two of us, eating, walking, and looking around in downtown Sunnyvale.

This cracks me up to. I got some packages I had ordered and decided to open them up while hanging out with The Kid who was taking a long time on the potty. He liked my new toy Ducatis too. He was having fun just playing with the bikes inside the boxes. I wouldn't let him open them yet so he made the best with what he had. I figure he and Ana will get to have them eventually but I'm going to keep them for myself for now. One is already at work for my amusement. Not sure where the other will go yet.

And then there is this picture. If you look close in the reflection of the door you will see my face. I did, but I didn't know it was mine. I smiled at the guy because he looked friendly and he smiled back and then I looked closer and it was me. The illusion made more sense in person then in the photo I took after to try and explain this to someone, anyone. Analyzing the event afterwards I realized that in that brief moment, perhaps two seconds long, while believing the illusion that a) I had thought how nice it was to see a smiling face, b) I realized that the guy had a beard too, c) I liked how he was dressed and looked closer to verify the smiley guy behind the window in the hall was actually wearing a nice purple shirt.. and tie?.. just like... OH! That is me! And then it all made sense. Good times.

My Baby Girl is 1

My lovely Ana is one year old! Here is a picture taken of her at the one year anniversary, to the minute, of her birth. The camera's clock is a little off but we went by our atomic clock. We had a great day, a great birthday celebration, and a great weekend. I took over 800 pictures this weekend. That's a lot even for me.  I'll post them soon- tonight I am just basking in the  pleasure of my family, all happily asleep, after a long and happy birthday.

On this photo, besides my beautiful Ana Uku, you can see in the background the actual-size-painting of Tami's belly with Ana in there just days before the big day. She has grown a lot since that painting.

Also, besides so many excellent details of the weekend, my daughter and I hung out a little more after this 1 year old photo was taken. I carried her around for a while and she started playing with my left ear. And then, she kissed it! Maybe she licked it, it's hard to say. But it made me laugh unexpectedly and that made her laugh and that made her do it again and a happy laughing slobbery giggly cycle began and repeated several glorious times.

I love you Ana. Your Mami and I are so grateful for your existence. Our lives are richer and more beautiful with you. Enzo's is too. Thank you for being part of our experience. Happy birthday.

Portraits Came In

Family portraits came in from Phyllis, my mother-in-law. Here are two of the photos.

Feeling a Groove

 (My Ducati is in there, on the left.)
I just got down from Skyline and I am in a nice groove. Wind feels good on my arms as I sit here typing this at a coffee shop. Tami told me I needed to go on a ride before dinner; good advice, good medicine. First I took the Norton around town to run some errands and then I grabbed the Ducati for a ride. For the first few minutes I kept trying to figure out what I wanted to achieve on the ride. What ride or stop to make? Then I convinced myself to just ride and not worry about it. I found myself on the freeway and really liking the feeling. Often I avoid freeways and get into the hills but the freeway felt so good I just kept cruising and headed north on 280 until I took the Woodside exit and then got in a few mountain twisties to go with the freeway steady cruising. And I feel good. I feel neutral.

In other news... My daughter climbed up onto the toy rocking motorcycle all by herself today for the first time. I just watched and held Enzo back from helping her to see if she could and she did it. Neat. She is really maturing, for an adorable baby. One year old is just a week away. One of the coolest new things with her is she comes in for kisses now all by her own initiative. It is awesome! She leans in smiling to get a kiss on her head or face. Today she went back and forth between me and her Mami for several. I loved it. If you didn't know what she was doing you might think she was about to bump your head but she stops and gets a kiss. Lovely.

Enzo takes care of Ana as best he can for a two year old so long as she doesn't happen to have the toy he wants which isn't easy because most toys she picks up become instantly more interesting to him. In the sweetest voice he will say "You ok Ana?" "You need help Ana?" That last question he asked this morning and then tried to lift her onto the couch when he saw she wanted up. After a struggle, "Papi, you help? Ana wants on sofa."

He is using more and more words. Now he will tell me "That Spanish" or "Yes, that English." I find that interesting; him classifying words. I am also very aware now that when we teach or do something with our children then we must affect the lives of other families because their play is affecting ours. Because of kids he plays with my son now knows how to, and does this at least once a day, be a lion and growl. Today he even play acted excited as he ran around from an imaginary fire. These are two things I don't think we played at home before he brought these into our house. Which is also funny because we have toy fire trucks but we haven't put out any fires yet. I wonder if other kids are playing baseball and making waffles at home and those parents are thinking "when did you learn 'let's go Oakland!' and how to mix food ingredients?"






Ana, mostly quiet, is definitely understanding so much more now. She is such a little person and so happy and smiley. And adorable to kiss. Sometimes when I pick her up she rests one arm on my shoulder and pats my shoulder a few times. It's sweet. I am very lucky to be part of this.

14 Years of Riding

Today is the 14th anniversary of me riding home on my first motorcycle. I feel kind of motorcycle-y all over just thinking about it. It's a good day. I took a few moments to just glance over some photos from rides over the years.

The feeling of riding is a fantastic, remarkable, beautiful experience worthy of poetry. I see the photos and I remember great experiences of discovery, gravity, calculation, physical and mental exertion, awe, appreciation, companionship, solitude, exhilaration, contemplation, inertia, centripetal force, belonging to nature, embracing existence. Such moments are worthy of poetry I can not write and gratitude which I give freely.

I wonder though, how one gets interested in motorcycles in the first place. All my evidence of love for the ride comes from experience of riding. But like so many kids I wanted a motorcycle well before I ever sat on one, rode one, or had a realistic chance to experience one. I noticed and pointed out motorcycles on the street like so many other kids do. I watched with wrapped attention movies where motorcycles raced through a scene. I imagined myself on a motorcycle riding through the unpaved land along the highway outside the car window on long drives before I had even driven a car. What is the attraction of the ride and of the motorcycle that lures us in? Once in, it is clear how we remain in, but what brings us in for the first real taste?

I don't know for certain but it starts pretty young in some cases, I can attest to that. And it does not go away upon achieving the ride. Since finally riding, all of those 14 years ago today, I still daydream about riding, I still think of motorcycles on occasion when I drift off to sleep, I still get excited at the prospect of a ride, and I have even been reminded that I was driving a car by others because I was driving the car like it was a motorcycle, choosing different lines and acceleration points while leaning in my seat, meshing reality with imagination on a winding rode.

I don't know what all is involved in attracting people to ride; I suppose I could think up some of the factors that affected me if I choose to. For now, I'm just smiling and thinking about a ride.

First Driving Lessons

(Enzo taking Ana out for a Sunday drive in the driveway.)

On Thursday I went to Tami's work to pick up my kids so she could work a little longer. That's when I got to watch Enzo give Ana one of her first driving lessons. This went on for a very long time and I got a little bit on video. It was super adorable to watch. I wish I recorded more but it was so fun to just watch at the time. I really like the ending, too.



I have already watched that video 5 times on my phone.

Then I did the unthinkable. I took the two kids to a restaurant all by myself! Sometimes it is barely doable with two adults but I did it all by myself. Here is the photo evidence I took to prove this to Tami.

(At one of our favorite Mexican food restaurants.)

And when I got home, Tami tells me that a just-because present arrived for me. I have been wanting an Earth flag ever sense we moved into this house with a flag pole in the front yard. Tami decided to order one for me as a present and so we would have it before Earth Day. Awesome.

Thursday just turned out to be an unexpectedly extra special day and that was a pretty great surprise. I've taken a bunch more great photos recently and I'll add them to my online albums soon. Here is one of my favorite new ones.

Ana Looking Outside

This picture quite simply deserves it's own post and so here it is.

What's Been Going On

Enzo's Mariachi Class recital.

I rode the Norton.

We went to the A's home game opener.

We went to the De Anza flea market......

And walked around.

We decorated Easter eggs.....

Many Easter eggs.....

And Enzo found them all. 

*Update: Tami would like me to clarify that Ana did find two eggs before her brother got outside.

And Ana sat with Papi.

Enzo hung out on the grass with Hun and Tata.

Enzo's school went on a field trip to an A's game where Enzo, Traci, and Stomper took a picture together.

11 Months and Beautiful

This is breakfast. Tami already had both kids dressed in matching number 8 Suzuki shirts and was wearing her A's gear as well at 8am. The game is not until tonight. It's the home game opener and we will all be there to enjoy the start of the season and to celebrate 11 months. Happy birthday lovely Ana Uku.

Climbing, Chewing, Talking

(Ana having a walk and enjoying Charlotte's 1 year birthday party.)

Ana Uku climbed up onto the bed last night! I was already impressed that she always turned feet first and got down from the bed so easily but now she can climb up. What did I discover when she climbed up into bed all by herself? A fourth tooth! All four middle teeth, two up and two down, are there. Granted, one is just barely poking out of the gum.

And now, for a super special moment meant for a man who loves his children and motorcycles. Enzo Raines was sitting on the toilet and flipping through a book of motorcycles while I brushed my teeth. It's from the pictures on this book of motorcycles that I taught Enzo the words front, back, and side as I pointed to the bikes and then rubbed his belly, back, and side to match the words. It's also the book I taught Enzo to flip like a flip book where the pages go fast while a thumb moves along the slightly arched book pages. He loves when we do that. So, he was looking at bikes and flipping the pages like a flip book when Ana comes walking in and goes up to her brother who was sitting on the toilet. And then something so cool happened.

Enzo holds the book open, points to the back of a motorcycle and repeats in a soft teacher voice "back, back, back." and Ana says "back." I know! So cool! Enzo did it several more times and Ana copied! My son is so teaching my daughter and he is using a motorcycle book to do it!!

Super cool. Super super cool. Loved watching it. Loved listening to it. So f'n cool!
So does Ana talk? As with Enzo, I don't know when it's officially talking. I don't know for sure when to say Ana is saying her first word (for the second time). I will say that she says "Mama" all the time. That has been going on for a couple of weeks now. She knows it means a parent but she uses it currently to mean Tami or me. So I guess she is saying a word but she hasn't defined it as specific as she could. None the less, I guess I should say that Mama is her second "First Word." In case you don't already know, she said "bye bye" appropriately and more than once back at Christmas time but then never said it again in the new year. That was her first "First Word." but Mama is actually sticking. Also, she is copying more and more words and word sounds but Mama is the one she will initiate on her own when she wants her Mama, sees her Mama, and occasionally when she is talking to me and wants me to pick her up. My favorite response when she calls me Mama? "Pronk!" That's a joke that you will only understand when you read the Spanish version of "Are you my mother?"

To sum up; Ana and Enzo have added more to my life than I could have imagined.
And for your additional amusement, here are the photo and words Tami texted me yesterday at work.


"Look at his feet. He wanted to wear his boots today but could only find one before we left."

My Little Love and Bunny Ears

I find myself naturally referring to my children with terms of endearment. I suppose, also naturally, some terms I naturally go to for Ana are also terms I have used for Tami but I already asked and Tami said that it's ok.

Well, My Love, my little love- to be more specific, is growing up so much! Today she waved at me when I left for work. Today she walked over to hang out with me when I was getting ready for work. Today she came up to me, arms raised, when she... wanted to tell me I wasn't paying enough attention to her signs to go potty and now needed to change her diaper. But later!...she came walking right up to me again, arms up, because she wanted me to pick her up and love her. I melted. She just made herself comfortable in my arms and let me love her. I was going to be late today already but I would have been late just for this as I do for both my babies quite often. And, it was so worth it. My Ana is starting to openly love me and I can't imagine how much I would do to get this if I didn't already have it. And, she waved bye to me. I love this kid so much.

Here are some pics of bunnies. Tami pulled out the ears from the decorations in the garage.

Reading in Bed

This morning I was so tired but I got up when Enzo did so that Tami could sleep a little longer. I have been doing that for a while now; one of the ways to show her that I love her. Increasingly, however, it is not a one way gift on weekend mornings. I was so tired again this Saturday morning that when Tami woke up I jumped back into bed and she had both children while I slept a little more. But before I could fully relax and sleep, Tami jumped in the shower and that meant that I could only be half asleep. Luckily both kids were willing to be completely focused in bed flipping through books and I was able to occasionally open one eye to see them and assure myself all was well. Ana amused herself with Rainbow Fish and Enzo "read" to himself from various pages of Go, Dog. Go! and Buenas Noches Luna.

This was so fun for me in my half sleep. I enjoyed hearing what Enzo has picked up and memorized from the countless bedtime readings of these books. I generally make a bigger deal of sounding out each letter on the cover of Go, Dog. Go! and so did Enzo. Then I realized how well he knew up and down, in and out, the sun is up, and more from various pages. I know he knows these words in real life but it was cool to hear him "reading" the words to himself in the morning. He turned the pages but several pages grabbed each time and he simply read from his memory of which ever page showed up. "You like my hat?" Super awesome. The whole time Ana looked at the pages of her book. Tami says she doesn't remember Enzo liking books this much at her age and this is yet another interesting difference caused by her learning from him.

Then Enzo opened Buenas Noches Luna. This is a book we have in Spanish and in English, Good Night Moon. I totally enjoyed listening to Enzo read this one. Two favorite parts of that reading? When Enzo got to the picture of the cow jumping over the moon and read it both ways and pointed (I opened my eyes for this) "vaca over the moon, vaca luna, cow over the moon, cow, vaca." The other favorite is when Enzo got to the end of the book. I always get quieter the last couple of pages and whisper the end, so does Enzo. I couldn't even hear the words he chose for the last pages as he whispered but the very last was "good night." Adorable.

I keep wanting to record a couple of other reading-with-Enzo-facts. Every time we get to this page of Brown Bear, Brown Bear

Enzo gets excited, points, and says "Mariachi Class!" He loves mariachi class and apparently this picture is what his class looks like to him. He gets so excited I never have corrected him. I just let him enjoy his thoughts about mariachi class.

Also, when ever we get to the party in the tree at the almost end of Go, Dog. Go!, Enzo will usually point to the dog with his legs up out of the tree and the dog helping him on the right side of the tree and say "Ayuda." That means help and I think that is sweet.


And now for the funniest thing today, no book involved. It was nap time so all four of us were in bed. Ana eventually fell asleep and Enzo was lying down talking away but just wouldn't doze off. Eventually, after a very long and amusing rest in bed, we all got up and left Ana to sleep. But before that, I got a good laugh in. Some of the highlights included listening to my son sing Jingle Bells. I have no idea how that got into his head at this time of year. "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle bells, ye-ye-yeallyeahayeall-la-la-yea-ya-ya-a Wayyyyy." Awesome. And then there was my super favorite moment. I was fake sleeping, eyes closed, the whole time and constantly trying not to laugh or smile too obviously big. I was just hoping he would finally close his eyes and sleep. Enzo was lying with his nose two inches from mine. We share a pillow. Yes. He never used a pillow for two years and several months ago I offered him a corner and he liked it. Now, we share a pillow. Yes, I need to buy another pillow. So, as I was saying. We are two inches away, nose to nose. I am wide awake with eyes closed and fake sleeping and had been for twenty minutes. Enzo starts playing peek-a-boo with me but not expecting a response because I am "mimis." So, he says peek-a-boo in that kind of high pitched fun game voice people do when playing with kids. And then he continued in a higher pitched voice with "I see you "Papiiiiiiiiii, I seeeeeee youuuuuuuuuu. I seee you Papiiiiiiii, I seeeeeeee youuuuuuu!" Ha! I couldn't hold it! I smiled, I laughed, the ruse was over. The Kid started laughing when he realized I wasn't asleep either, enjoying the response he got out of me and then we were done with "nap time."

3 Teeth!

Guess who has three teeth? Ana! Top, right of center, has joined the party.




Also, check out this picture. Evan and his son George joined us for Sunday brunch and we enjoyed the excellent company. Evan and Sarah will be having their second around the same time Ana turns one. But Evan already knows how to read to three at one time!

Ana and the Soccer Ball

Ana seems to have grown again over night. I don't mean in height though she has gotten taller. I should really say that she seems to have matured over night. When I got home yesterday from work, Ana was more mature, more alert, more "talkative" and even casual; relaxed in her conversational tone of babel. Yes, relaxed conversational babel; it's adorable and delightful. Though she had said her first clear word some time ago, she has not spoken in clear discernible English or Spanish since and so we have decided to enjoy that experience as a fantastic talking anomaly and are expecting to again enjoy the first word experience with Ana some time in the future. I wonder what her first word will be the second time around. Well, as I was saying about yesterday; Ana has matured. She is still a baby but at a next new phase of baby-ness. She looks with clarity. She moves with purpose. She is more confident. Though she was never lacking in confidence; there is noticeably more confidence in her possession now.

Tami had also texted me while I worked yesterday that Ana was now kicking around the soccer ball. Cool. When I got home after a late meeting, Enzo was asleep but I did get to spend some time with my daughter. Besides being able to see this new level of maturity that she has developed, I also got to see her kick the soccer ball. It wasn't just a kick of the ball. She is dribbling the ball; kicking it one foot after the other, controlling the ball and moving along with regular short kicks without stopping her progression across the whole room. It was so cool to see this little baby dribbling the soccer ball; a baby that was just learning to walk for any distance a couple of weeks ago. Like Enzo did when he first got these soccer balls as gifts from my coworker Linda, Ana kicks the ball and takes it to the end of a room and then calmly bends over, picks up the ball, sets it down in a new direction, and goes off again as if these biomechanic accomplishments were no big deal and not the absolutely impressive success of physics and human biology that they most definitely are. My super star. She is amazing. Because she is still so young, all of this happens in comparably slow motion and allows one to savor the beauty and adorableness of my gorgeous girl as she walk-kicks a ball across a room. I will try and stop next time to get video. This time, it was too difficult to stop watching.