Right there

Tonight at dinner, Nate was telling me about their day. He said that Miles slept well, and woke up saying, "daddy?"
Cute, right?

So I turned to Miles and asked him if daddy was his favorite person. Miles said "no." So, then I asked him who was his favorite person.....? His answer was-with two thumbs digging into his chest- " Right there!"

Nate and I looked at each other, giggled a bit, and admitted that we really weren't surprised by the response......

If there was ever a moment that I doubted my son as a mini version of Nathan, this would be the final piece of convincing proof! Wow!!

.........and he's not even 2 yet!!

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Posted in: Miles

Beating the heat!

Miles is a sweaty kid! FACT!

There's nothing better than walking inside a properly conditioned room after a hot outdoor adventure. Apparently, A/C is not enough for Miles!

He drug a chair into the kitchen, yelling for us to "moose" (move) the whole way. He butted the chair up against the sink and started to play in the water. I didn't think anything of it, until...…

Be safe in this summer heat!



Remain near a cool water source :0)

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Posted in: Miles

Butcher, baker, candlestick maker?!?

Daddy’s the butcher, Miles is the baker…. So does that make me the candlestick maker?

Miles and I baked yesterday…. on the suggestion of Aunt Beth! She posted a fun butterscotch recipe, Aunt Beth’s Butterscotch Bars!  They were fun and easy – perfect for Miles! He can’t resist an opportunity to pour, mix, and sprinkle.

However, we must let you know that we were forced to deviate from the original recipe.  The only butterscotch pudding we could find out here was sugar-free instant.  We had to bake the bars a little longer, but they still turned out GREAT!

First, we made the pudding.

Mmmmmm….  Milk!  Miles couldn’t resist!

Checking for perfect pudding consistency. (outfit #1 destroyed, outfit#2 delayed until after bath)

 

Adding the chips… 1chip for the cake! 1,2,3 for Miles!  Its no wonder Miles likes to bake!

Time to get the cake into the oven… Bathtime and storytime to fill the minutes!

Finished product!

And as Aunt Beth suggested… its great with coffee!

Thanks Aunt Beth! We all enjoyed it, especially Miles!

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Posted in: baking,Miles

Daddy's Daycare

The past week with Miles home from daycare has been both fun and exhausting. I've tried to keep him educated using my own fortes as a point of departure for his tutoring. Below are some images from our learning activities. Please enjoy.



The first week we started each morning with the breakfast of champions: cheerios, milk, coffee and maybe half an Eggo.









From there we usually dive straight into history, theory & criticism. In my experience its usually best to preface any design related activities by first learning how others addressed similar problems and challenges before us.




















After history/theory usually comes the design studio. Its at this point of the day that we experiment with different structural shapes, loads and how their adjacencies can influence the design in unique ways. After completing each design strategy we usually step back and have a moment of self-criticism, reflecting on the strengths and weaknesses of what we've just built. Issues of structure and proportion are discussed and then expressed a different way in the following design. We constantly self-criticize and often complete multiple iterations of a single design before we are satisfied.








No design education is complete without a session of freehand rendering. I encourage creativity and often suggest the use of multiple colors when blending and shading. Our medium of choice is typically Crayola on college rule note paper. Miles is very expressive with his renderings and often, like many artists, elects to extend his work onto more non-traditional canvases. His favorite non-traditional surfaces include but are not limited to: the dining table, livingroom walls, the kitchen floor and his own body.





Sometimes between design studios and freehand rendering, we find time to integrate digital studies into the day. Here Miles is analyzing the use of digital animation techniques as they relate to a multimedia film.










Today was especially educational in that we were able to experiment with ephemeral tensile structures. We've discovered that the right combination of layering, stacking and stretching of material can result in greater structural integrity. Often self-supporting spans of greater distances can be elucidated by experimenting with 1:1 scale mockups prior to employment in the final design.
























I will continue to keep you updated on Miles' progression toward being the next great architect of his generation (despite Kelly's STRONG disapproval). After all, the future of the profession rests on the back of budding young talent.

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The future of our profession

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Posted in: Miles,Nathan

You’re not cool unless….

….. you can rock the harmonica!

This kid loves music, of any kind!

There’s a guy in our building who likes to sit in the lobby (on the otherside our living room wall) and play his harmonica.  Miles is fascinated!  Now that Miles has gotten a little practice, I would love for them to play together.  If it happens, you will know!! 

Next up for obscure musical talents… maybe bagpipes or ukulele!

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Posted in: Miles

Dining safety

Miles loves hats.  He wears his own A’s baseball hat, Bear’s stocking hat, any of his father’s hats – BUT, lately his favorite hat is his bike helmet. Yes – his bike helmet….

He wants to wear this thing everywhere.  For his last day of daycare a few days back, we had to struggle to get him to take off his helmet so that we could leave for work/school.  Not only did we lure him towards another hat, but we bribed him with a gummy Flintstone vitamin. Sad AND true….

When Nate and Miles try to take the dog outside to do his business, Miles and Nate often have to have a long conversation leading up to the prying of the bike helmet off of Miles’ little head.  Nate loves the little guy, but doesn’t want to create a bigger spectacle than necessary.

Friday night, I took the opportunity to photograph this obsession – during dinner!

What a Nut…! 

As a role model to all of us, Miles properly sports stylish personal protective equipment.

Lesson: Eating dinner with Miles CAN be dangerous. Be smart.  Protect yourself! Wear a helmet at the very least :o)

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Posted in: Miles

Video games are exhausting…

Miles’ speech is getting much, much better!  He can usually mumble through the extent of his vocabulary enough to tell Nate or I what he’s in the mood for.  This weekend, he ‘politely’ demanded that he and Nate play the snowboarding game on the PS2.

Nathan submitted to Miles’ requests.  They played while I made lunch. Apparently, the action as more than he could handle…

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Posted in: Miles

4th of July weekend, 2010

The 4th of July is usually a big family weekend for us - its the annual Klinge family camping trip....

However, this year, just like the last, we are left bumming around New York trying to create our own fun.

In lieu of the family camping trip, we settled for a 2 hour bike ride on the Bronx River pathway and 3 fantastic hours at the large playground at the Kensico Dam in Westchester County, NY.

The park surrounding the dam opened up at 5pm on July 3rd for patrons to get good seats and parking spots for the fireworks display. We were there just shortly after 5!

We played at the playground...

...talked with California Titus, and ate a picnic dinner all while listening to some live, 60's cover band. Other than the heat, it really wasn't too bad!

 

At dusk, we walked back to our car to enjoy our primo seating for the fireworks. Miles loved the fireworks - well, as much as you can when you're only 20 months old and up 2 hours past your bedtime! He was great all night long!

Sunday, July 4th was a lazy day - consumed with family bonding, some stickers, and lots of kisses! It was too hot to do anything else!

Monday, July 5th was a company recognized holiday for me! We hung out at home again, watched a movie, and enjoyed each other's company while Nate made a fantastic dinner - ribs and corn on the cobb!

We thought of it as a 'taste of Iowa, ala NYC!'

Nate swallowed his spride a little and perfected a bake/grill version of BBQ baby back ribs! Very Nice!

The corn definitely wasn't the same - but we were able to find a 'shuck-your-own-corn' section at the local Stop-n-Shop! Nonetheless, Miles didn't seem to mind! He loved his first corn on the cobb adventure!

Mmmmm.... Corn! Yummy. More, Meese (please)!!

Dip, Dip, Dip - Paint, Paint, Painting the Ribs with Daddy!

Don't get in the way of Daddy and his food.  Miles' screams 'Guck!' (stuck)

Sooooo.. Good!

Finger-Lickin' Good!

Miles is happy...

 

.... And soo is Dad!

Happy 4th of July to all of our friends and family - especially all of those really far away :)

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Posted in: Kelly,Miles,Nathan

A silly post

Nate has been highly amused by the following commercial...    I thought that all of you might like to enjoy a little chuckle as well!

Happy 4th of July!

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