Our day together on Jan. 25, 2014

Playing with the new racetrack toy, Jan. 25, 2014.

I had so much fun with you on Saturday! We began the day by stopping in Hudson, where we stopped at the Dollar Tree and picked up football/basketball/baseball stickers, then at Target where we picked up BeyBlade tops and Lego kits, then at Culvers for lunch, and finally at Walgreens for football cards!

Then we went back to Grandma and Gandpa's where we looked at all of the football cards, put together the Lego sets, and placed stickers in our NFL book. Then we put togther and played quite a while with our racetrack set!

We also took some time to look at your report card. I am very proud of you - your grades and conduct improved across the board from first to second quarter!

While enjoying an early dinenr of hand sandwiches, we played Trouble and Hi-Ho Cherry-O. On the ride back, you watched the opening episode of Jonny Quest on my Kindle Fire.

My email to you for May 11, 2013

Here is my email sent to you on May 11, 2013, in case you did not receive it:

Dear Kieran,

How are you doing? I’m doing fine. I had so much fun with you yesterday! I can’t wait to see you again in just two weeks on the afternoon of May 24.

Thank you for introducing your stuffie penguins to me! They look like they’ve received lots of love and affection from you, and that’s cool. I remember how much you enjoyed the penguin cartoons that you would watch on the DVD player when we made those long drives from Palmdale to San Diego. It was always a great pleasure of mine to hear you laugh and giggle from the back seat!

Putting together the “Star Trek” legos was a lot of fun, too. You did a great job of following the instructions. We still have the Klingon ship and the transporter to build. There were a couple of other “Star Trek” lego models at the toy store, so I shall pick them up for the next time we get together. I think there were some other characters we can get as well. They also had Lone Ranger Lego sets, so maybe we’ll do those when we run out of “Star Trek” kits!

Is your wooden car model holding up well? If the wheels ever fall off, you just have to use some wood glue to put them back together. You did a very nice job of painting the car!

You were very good at playing War! I shall have to find some additional games for us to play. Have you ever heard of the game “Operation”? You have to pick up little pieces out of a “body,” but if you touch the body it buzzes and you don’t get the piece. Whoever has the most pieces at the end wins. I bet you would like that game. Speaking of the body, the next time we get together I also will bring the human body book with the skeleton that we can put together.

I am glad you enjoyed the book about Egypt, too. It had a lot of interesting pictures, didn’t it? One of your favorite places to go when I lived in Encinitas/San Diego was the Museum of Man, which had a whole section of Egyptian mummies and sarcophaguses as well as a great children’s area for learning about Egypt. We’d take the trolley there, and on the walk over from the trolley stop would look around in the sculpture garden and sometimes have lunch in the open air cafeteria next to it. Their gift store was a lot of fun, too – if I remember correctly, we got you some Egypt and Darwin toys, there. Anyway, the museum was one of your favorite places, and you’d even beg me to go there!

We had so much fun that we didn’t have time to do everything, like play with the Hot Wheels car, the map puzzle, or the sticker play book. Maybe next time!

Well, that is all for now. I love you and miss you like crazy. I’ll write again next Saturday and will see you on May 24!

Love,

Dad

My email sent to you on April 13, 2013

Here is my letter from April 13, 2013, in case you do not receive it.

Hi Kieran,

Grandma Bignell and I had a wonderful visiting with you yesterday! We both were so very happy to see you again and were so very glad that you had fun as well.

Both of us were very impressed with your math abilities. You are very advanced for you age! For as long as I can remember, you’ve been very good at math. When you were only two years old, you started counting. By the time you were three, you could count up to a 100, and by the time you were four, you could count by fives and tens.

Playing games was a lot of fun, too. The card game you taught us was very interesting. Your cousins Bryan and Rebekah like to play games as well. They play everything from Candy Land to Clue and lots of card games, like Go Fish, Old Maid, War and lots of others. Bryan also likes to play Battleship and Stratego. When we were together, I was just starting to teach you to play checkers and very basic chess. What games do you like to play with your friends?

The U.S. map puzzle was a good time, as well. You know a lot of states and where they’re located! Do you know that you’ve been to 1 out of every 5 states? The states you’ve visited or lived in are California, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. I can tell you lots of stories of what you did in each state and have pictures of you in most of them. What states what you like to go to?

I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying the books at school. I also read a good book recently. It was called “Being Rude” by Joy Berry. In the book, a young boy who’s in kindergarten/first grade goes around doing all kinds of rude things to other kids, like cutting in line and talking out of turn. He soon finds that no one wants to be his friend at all! Will the little boy start being nice to others so he can have friends again? You’ll have to read the book and find out! I bet you can find it in your school or city library in the children’s section.

Watching you discover how the piano works also was fun. I’ve enjoyed watching you discover and learn new things. That you were so fascinated by the piano was not surprising, for you’ve always been interested in music. When we lived in Lancaster, you used to play my guitar, and I even bought you a toy one to play with when we were in San Diego. You also had a recorder (a flute-like instrument), drums, tambourine, and harmonica. In my office, you’d line up all of your stuffies, give them each an instrument to play, and then taking the guitar would give me a concert in which you played Beatles songs!

Have a good time at your concert Sunday! I wish I could be there to watch you sing. I love and miss you very much and will see you on again on Friday, April 26. I look forward to receiving your email, maybe with a picture of you at the concert!

Love,

Dad

My email to you on Feb. 9, 2013

Here is a copy of email sent to you on Feb. 9, 2013, in case you do not receive it.

 

Hi Kieran,

How are you doing today? I’m doing fine, but I miss you very much! I wish we could spend the day together. Unfortunately, I did not receive the response to my email, though. Please have your mother resend it, along with your emails from the previous six weeks that have yet to arrive. I also would like to see your report card, so please make sure that comes with your email. If your mother is unable to send emails, perhaps she could simply snail mail your responses to me. I look forward to reading them!

What are you learning about in school? The last you told me, you were studying letters and the sounds they made; I think you were up to the letter “L”. I bet by now you are up to the letter “S” or “T”. You are in a very smart class – when I went to school, we didn’t learn letters and their sounds until first grade!

What kind of math stuff are you learning? In kindergarten, we learned how to count to 10 and about shapes. But I taught you to count and about shapes long ago, so I bet you must be learning something different now – either that or you must be finding you math class very easy!

You also said you were studying the solar system. Did you know that in just a few weeks something from the far reaches of our solar system will light up our skies? In mid-March, we should be able to see a comet at sunset. On March 12, look to the west where the moon will be. Then look to the left of the moon. The comet will look like a streak of white cloud. Hopefully March 12 won’t be cloudy!

Have you read any good books lately? I finished editing the book in which the mean captain stole his old submarine in San Diego so that no one else could go on it. But another guy sneaked on board the submarine and stopped him! The submarine was returned where it belonged.

Another good book I have read is “The Biggest Valentine Ever,” by Steven Kroll. It’s about two mice, named Clayton and Desmond, who decide to make a valentine for their teacher. But they start arguing about how to make the valentine! Will they ever be able to get along so they can finish the valentine? You will have to read the book and find out. I bet either your school or city library has the book.

I have purchased some card games, like Old Maid and Go Fish, that you asked if we could play the last time we are together. We next get time we get together, on March 1, I will bring them. I’ll also bring the fun sticker board game we had with the rooms and family. I also have that replacement birthday present for you!

That is all for now. I love and miss you very much! Happy birthday on Feb. 23!

Love,

Dad

My letter to you from Jan. 19, 2013

Here is my email sent to you today, in case you don’t receive it.

Hi Kieran,

How are you doing? I’m doing fine, though I miss you very much. I miss not being able to spend time with you and talking to you on the phone every night like we used to do .

I am very excited, though, that we will see each other in just two short weeks on Feb. 1. When we get together, we will have two big days to celebrate: Valentine’s Day and your birthday! Grandma is whipping up some fun Valentine’s Day sweets for you, and all of us – me, grandma and grandpa, Uncle Chris-Aunt Suzy-and-your-cousins-Bryan-and-Rebekah – all have bought birthday presents for you. They all miss you, too, and though you may not remember them because you were so young the last time you saw them, they all remember you! They can’t wait, either, to finally see you again.

How was your first week back to school? I bet seeing your friends again after a couple of weeks off was a lot of fun. When I was a little boy your age, it also was a lot of fun to find out what all of my friends got for Christmas and some of the neat places they went during their winter break.

Do you enjoy the snow in Minnesota? You always liked it when we went up to the mountains together after a snowfall. We’d go sledding together and throw snowballs. Sometimes we’d stop off for a steaming cup of hot chocolate. Although the winters do get long in Minnesota, one nice thing about them is you have lots of opportunities to drink hot chocolate!

I am glad you’ve enjoyed the games, toys, art supplies and books I’ve been bringing to our visits. Playing with and reading to again has been a lot of fun for me, too. What games should I bring next time? I was thinking some card games like Old Maid or Go Fish. Email me to let me know which games you’d like to play.

You may notice that these questions were the same that I asked the previous week. Unfortunately, your answers to them were not sent. So, I am repeating them in hopes that your mother will correct this problem by resending your answers (as well as your emails to my last three weeks of emails to you).

Have you read any good books lately? One good Valentine’s Day book you might like to find at your school or city library is “Hedgehug: A Sharp Lesson in Love” by Dan Pinto. We read it together a couple of years ago, and you liked it a lot. You might recall that’s about a hedgehog who looks for someone to be his valentine, but no one wants to hug him because hedgehogs have prickly hair. Will he find someone to give his Valentine card to? You’ll have to read the book!

That is all for now. I love you very much and can’t wait to see you on Feb. 1!

Love,

Dad

 

My email to you from Jan. 12, 2013

Here is the email I sent Jan. 12, 2013, just in case you don’t receive it:

Hi Kieran,

How are you doing? I love and miss you very much and can’t wait to see you on Feb. 1, in just three short weeks. Unfortunately, I’m still not receiving the emails your mother is supposed to send. Perhaps you could please have her resend your emails responding to mine from Dec. 22, Dec. 29, and Jan. 5?

How was your first week back to school? I bet seeing your friends again after a couple of weeks off was a lot of fun. When I was a little boy your age, it also was a lot of fun to find out what all of my friends got for Christmas and some of the neat places they went during their winter break.

Do you enjoy the snow in Minnesota? You always liked it when we went up to the mountains together after a snowfall. We’d go sledding together and throw snowballs. Sometimes we’d stop off for a steaming cup of hot chocolate. Although the winters do get long in Minnesota, one nice thing about them is you have lots of opportunities to drink hot chocolate!

I am glad you’ve enjoyed the games, toys, art supplies and books I’ve been bringing to our visits. Playing with and reading to again has been a lot of fun for me, too. What games should I bring next time? I was thinking some card games like Old Maid or Go Fish. Email me to let me know which games you’d like to play.

Thank you for the watercolor painting you made of the letter Y eating a gumball. I have it hanging over my desk. If I ever go to chew a stick of gum, I make sure I stay clear of that letter Y!

Have you read any good books lately? I have. I recently read “If I Had a Snowplow” by Jean L.S. Patrick. The book is about a young boy who imagines how he might help his mom if his toy trucks were real. He starts in January using his snowplow truck to clear a path for the car and ends in December using his toy truck to deliver lots of presents to his house. The book starts out,

“If I had a snowplow, you know what I’d do? I’d crash through the deep snow, just for you!”

That is all for now. Have fun at school, and I look forward to seeing you in just 21 days! I miss you very much!

Love,

Dad

My Jan. 5, 2013, email to you

Here is a copy of my letter sent to you on Jan. 5, 2013, just in case you are not allowed to see it:

Hi Kieran,

I had so much fun visiting with you yesterday! I can’t wait to see you again on Friday, Feb. 1.

What game should I bring next time for us to play? I am thinking of getting checkers or maybe some of the card games like Old Maid or Go Fish that we used to play at the condo.

Playing with the remote control dune buggy was a good time. You got really good at maneuvering it! When I was a little boy your age, I always wanted a real dune buggy. They are very dangerous, though, and wreck the environment, so there are very many places that one can drive them, and that is probably good. We’ll have to enjoy the toy remote control dune buggy, I guess! Don’t forget to turn it off by moving the red switch on the dune buggy’s bottom or the batteries will die.

The cars that came with the truck also were a lot of fun (They were a gift from Grandma and Grandpa Bignell). As a little boy, I use to draw roads on cut-out paper bags or potato chip boxes to drive the vehicles on. Maybe we should do that the next time we get together – I’ll bring some markers or crayons. Let me know if you’d like to do that.

Thank you for painting the picture for me! I have hung it up over my desk so I may enjoy it every day.

I must compliment you for being so kind to the workers at the center yesterday by offering to share your M&M’s and root beer with them. You are a very nice, polite boy (Just like I taught you!).

You asked if next time I might bring some action figures for you, but we never got to which ones you might like. Perhaps you could let me know in your next email that you send.

Going back to school should be a lot of fun on Monday. I bet it’s been a while since you’ve seen your friends!

We didn’t get a chance to read the books I brought yesterday. I have books about Power Rangers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Peter Pan, Jake and the Pirates, and A Bug’s Life.

Have fun at school this week, and I will see on Friday, Feb. 1. I miss you very much!

Love,

Dad

Remember playing Beep! in the car?

One of our favorite games to play in the car when we lived in Palmdale was "I Spy “Beep!”This was a variation of the classic car trip “I Spy” game.

Looking out the window, one of us in the car would select an object that is commonly repeated – a green sign if on the freeway, a light post, a blue car – and say “Beep!” whenever the car passed it. You then would call out what you thought was saying “Beep!” for.

Usually that meant lightpoles, green signs, or a certain colored car.

I can't wait to play it and lots of other car games again with you!

Remember our R2 Trouble game?

Probably your favorite game to play as a preschooler was R2 Trouble. It had an R2D2 in the popmatic center where the dice was, and if R2 was standing after you popped it, you got to go again. The pieces also had little stickers of Clone Wars characters on them.

Because of your age, I had to simplify the rules for Trouble. For example, you didn't have to roll a six to go to start; you could go anytime you wanted.

The big problem we had with the game was that you didn't like when I landed on one of your pieces, sending you back to start over. So I made a rule that so long as we agreed not to send each other back to start, we couldn't move our piece on top of the other's. Sometimes, though, you couldn't resist sending one of my pieces home, and though I had ask to reconsider because that meant I could then do the same to you, you'd still send me back to start. Boy did you ever get mad, though, when I then did the same to you!

Because of the rules, the game really just became a race to see who could roll the highest numbers to get our pieces home first. Despite that, the game was a good way to teach you how to count, about the same rules of game playing, and learning how to deal deal with losing and adversity.

Later, as you learned how to use a scissors, you'd cut up pictures of Clone Wars action figures and tape them to the pieces so that we'd have new sets of characters to play with!

Recall playing Hungry Hungry Hippos?

One of the games you most enjoyed playing as a preschooler with me was Hungry Hungry Hippos. I'm certain you remember it: Players could shoot out a marble (or more) and then had to try to capture it by "eating" it with a hippo.

You always like to change which color hippo you played with each round. I never put the stickers on the gameboard as the picture at right shows, but otherwise it's exactly what our game looked like.

I always loved playing games with you - not only were you good at them so I didn't have to worry about "throwing" them to give you a handicap (You'll understand the need to do this when you're a daddy.) - but I didn't really have many games to play when I was growing up, especially when your age. I had no siblings until I was 4-1/2, so he wasn't old enough to play games until I was in third grade or so. My mother wasn't a game player either; competition wasn't her thing. So playing games with you was like getting to be a kid all over again!

The game did make lots of racket as those springs for the hippo mouths and the chomping of their jaws were quite loud, so sometimes I had to say "No more!" - especially when I started getting a headache!

Games we used to play: Chess and cards

A couple of days ago I was at a coffeeshop in Palmdale where they have various board games available for children to play. A couple of boys, probably only only a year or two older than you (if that), were playing cards, and one asked his dad to teach him chess.

In the weeks before your mother stole you away from me, you also asked me to teach you to play chess; I did, and I also began to show you all kinds of cards games like War and Old Maid. You so loved to play the games, and while chess was a bit complicated, you delighted in just learning the piece's names, where they were placed on the board, and how they moved in all of these different ways. And you usually beat me at cards - without me even letting you win!

You even tried to make up card games of your own to "teach" me. Though the games didn't always make sense (They never seemed to have a goal or a way that one could be a definitive winner!), I always was flattered how you emulated me and always was amazed by the complex set of game rules you'd develop.

When we get together again, I definitely want to play cards with you, Kieran, and to finish teaching you how to play chess. And I won't care who wins any of those games, for so long as I'm with you, I'll be a winner.