Whale of a Day

Apparently Mom can't sit still long enough to write. So I've hired Dad as my personal videographer. Someone's gotta help me keep up with my adoring fans. (That means you, Angie).


Zaya's Whale Of A Day from Jonathan on Vimeo.

The Sandlot

A Moment With Zaya - Winter Training from Jonathan on Vimeo.

StoryTunes: The Next Generation

All Dressed Up With No Place To Go

Don't you love those lazy afternoons when you get to put on last year's Halloween costume, grab the remote and hang out, watchin' a little TV?

Maybe it's just me...

Rainy Day Schedule

I'm sure you've probably guessed by now that I'm one of those get-out-there-and-experience-the-day kinda kids. No matter where we've been, whenever we're on our way home, one of the things I always say to Mom and Dad, "I want to go someplace eeelllllllllsssssssse!" Sure I'm learning a new appreciation for quiet time, thanks to the Surprise Box, but there's just so much out in the world to see and do. I don't want to miss a minute.

And as far as I'm concerned, things don't change when it rains. I say I've got a jacket, Mom's got an umbrella...let's hit the road! So this morning the three of us bundled up and headed out to breakfast at Corner Bakery. I love that place. They make the best oatmeal and muffins in town. Don't take my word for it, just ask Mom. I think she could eat there everyday too, if she had the chance.

After enjoying my nice hot oatmeal (with all the toppings) and the pumpkin muffin I was supposed to share with Mom (I think I accidentally ate her share), we hopped back in the car. The plan was to go back home, until Dad mentioned going to the toy store to buy a game. I didn't really know what he was talking about, but I wasn't about to pass up a trip to the toy store. So the next stop was Toys'R'Us.

Mom and Dad seemed to think we should just go straight to the game section and leave, but I couldn't stand for that. So I made sure we got to see all the different sections of the store. I spent some time (briefly, thanks to the anxious kid next to me) with some kind of a video game exercise bike before going straight to my favorite section of the store...the trains. I had to stop and stare at the Polar Express train that I visit every time we go to the store. I keep trying to tell Mom and Dad that we should take it home, but they keep insisting that it's a "birthday" or "Christmas" type of gift. So I'll just have to settle for the occasional visit at the store until then I guess.

When we got home dad pulled this game out of the bag for us to play. I have to admit, it was pretty fun. There was a mat with all these colorful polka dots and a spinner! How can you not love a spinner? I'm still not clear on the point of the game, though. Seems to me you just get your hands and feet all twisted up until you fall down. After awhile I just started falling down on purpose to avoid all the unnecessary hand and foot confusion.

Mom and Dad seem to really like that game, though. They were laughing so hard, talking about how they used to play it a long time ago. I guess this game is kinda famous. I can see why...It was pretty entertaining watching them try to hold their hands and feet in place and then tumble onto the floor. I thought I was the only one who liked to do that.

Hmmmm...rainy day oatmeal and muffins, trips to the toy store, fall-on-the-floor tumble games...maybe the parents are a little cooler than I thought.

Maybe.

Rails and Tales

Have you ever wished for a day that didn't end? That's what Sunday was like for me. I mean, think about it...trains rides, story time, music, new friends, blue skies and sunshine...what more could a kid want? (Except maybe a brand new Speed Racer helmet, but Mom says that's a little off-topic, so just forget I even mentioned it).

I have to say that Mom and Dad's re-introduction of StoryTunes to the public was a big success. Tons of people came out to Wilson Park to ride the rails of Southern California Live Steamers and to sing along to some pretty cool train songs and stories. This here computer savvy train fan checked out their website and found that they had 1,966 passengers on Sunday! Of course, I think that includes the folks who hop back in line again (and again) for more free rides. I guess that means they counted me four times. Me and Papa are gonna have to look into some kind of frequent rider program.

Anyhow, even though they're my parents, I have to give Mom and Dad the proper credit...they really rocked it. They had all these kids out there singin' "Down By the Station" and shakin' their cabooses (so to speak). Heck, I'm the hardest to impress, and even I didn't get tired of reading along with "Clickety Clack" after three performances.

And from all the smiling faces I saw that day, I think it's safe to say everyone had a great time. Mom said she even talked to someone from the Lomita Train Museum and some kindergarten teachers who want us to come do StoryTunes shows for them! Hmmm...I might have to invest in a second set of train pants if we're gonna take this show on the road.

Our day in the park ended on a high note when I finally got my hands on some ice cream from the ice cream truck that had been sitting in the parking lot, taunting me all day. When Mom took me to the truck to choose an ice cream, it was a little overwhelming. I mean, there's all these pictures of Spongebob, Spiderman and all kinds of colorful sweet treats. I settled on a Dora ice cream, which Mom seemed pretty pleased with. Until she opened it and found out that Dora's eyes were made of black gumballs. And she said it didn't help matters that I was spending more time looking at Dora than eating, so most of her ended up melted all over me and my train pants. But you didn't hear me complaining.

I was pretty sad when we packed up to leave for the day. Who likes having to say goodbye to friends and fun times? But later Mom said that the train club liked us so much, we get to go back once a month! Talk about good news. After hearing that, I didn't even care anymore about not getting a new Speed Racer helmet. (Oh wait, I wasn't supposed to mention that...)

Helmet? What helmet? (Just play along, Mom's watching). I don't know anything about a helmet. Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta wash my train pants and polish up my singing voice. Being part of a famous storytelling team isn't easy.

...and sometimes you don't.

So the verdict is in...after a visit to my new friend Dr. Buchsbaum this morning, I can officially say I'm allergic to peanuts. He also said there's a good chance I'm allergic to pistachios and cashews as well. I don't even think I know what either of those things are, and I guess I won't be finding out. He said it's best for me to just avoid all three of those pesky nuts.

These results came after Mom explained everything to the doctor about my recent trip to the ER. He spent a few minutes asking questions and typing all of Mom's answers into this cool little computer. He said something about his office being "paperless." Maybe some people are allergic to paper! Who knows, but I could swear I saw some paper in that place.

Mom must have passed the test with all those questions because next thing I knew we were headed down the hall to a different room where this nice nurse asked me to take my shirt off. I thought that was awfully forward of her, especially in front of my parents. But they didn't seem to mind so I figured...why not!?! She asked me to lay down on my tummy on this little table. I was glad I brought Froggy with me...found out he makes for a very comfortable pillow.

I was confused about what was going on because then the nurse took a rubber stamp and stamped me twice on the back. Now I know I've only got four years of experience in this wacky world of ours, but this did not seem like normal medical procedure to me. Mom said that she stamped numbers on my back. If this was supposed to be some kind of educational tool, I couldn't figure out why she would put it on my back where I can't see it. And what the heck did any of this have to do with peanuts, anyway??

After the nurse put the stamp away, she came back and poked me in the back with a funny little white thing. It felt weird and tingly, like she was poking me all these different places at the same time. It didn't hurt though, so I just hung out there, laying with Froggy and showing off my muscles. I was a little insulted however, cuz the nurse said the doctor would come back to check on me and then she left. But then I realized she probably just went to tell all of the other nurses about her really cool and cute patient. Who could blame her?

When Dr. Buchsbaum came back, he talked to Mom and Dad about the results of the test and explained all the little numbers on my back. Mom said I had a few bumps, which made sense because I did feel kind of itchy. The doctor said these bumps were important because they show what things I'm allergic to. Then he gave Mom a piece of paper (must have been some kind of new "paperless paper," obviously) with all these instructions on it and some stuff about medicines. I wasn't really paying attention. That is, until the doctor told me what a great job I did and laughed when I gave myself a thumbs up. He said I certainly deserved it.

The doctor said we have to always remember, everywhere we go, to warn people about my allergies so they don't give me anything to eat with those three nuts in it. I figured a good way to start would be to broadcast it here. So while I really do appreciate your offers for Peanut M&M's or sandwiches made with cashew butter, I'm afraid I'll have to pass. Trust me, it's nothing personal. Just doctor's orders.

That's alright, I'm not too worried about missing out on the nuts. Now if it were pizza I was allergic to, that would be a whole different story.

Mish Marsh

Nana said something once about how there's no grass growing up under the feet of the Pascuals. She said that means we don't stay in one place too long. We're always on the go, looking for new adventures and always ready to trying something new.

I'm glad she explained that because I had quite a bit of grass underneath me the other day when Dad took me to the Madrona Marsh. It was my second trip, but since the first one involved a nighttime tour with a guide who didn't even bring his own flashlight, I was basically seeing everything for the first time.

The marsh is this really cool place right in the middle of the city, but when you're there it feels like you're in the forest. I remember the tour guide saying that people come to the marsh for all kinds of reasons. To see birds, to shoot movies, to paint and to take pictures. That was all I had to hear! Dad must have felt the same way because he said we should both bring our cameras and see what interesting things we could find.

The first thing that interested me was this pair of red work gloves on the ground. I guess they had been left there by the people who help take care of the marsh. At first, Dad didn't think there was anything special about the gloves, but I quietly started snapping. Then he decided to help me "frame the shot." Just like Mom did a few weeks ago when I was working on my ceiling fan series. Ah, parents. They're so helpful sometimes it hurts!

Anyhow, Dad and I moved on. It was nice to just take a walk at our own pace and stop whenever we felt like it. The sun was out, it was quiet. Almost like we had run away and taken a vacation. We both took pictures of the trees and the water in the marsh. Of course, I tried to be a little more artistic than just shooting photos of tree after tree. I even got a few of the path we were walking on. Hey what can I say, I'm a deep guy.

Dad says we can go back to the marsh whenever we want. I like it there. I mean I don't want to live there or anything, but every once in awhile it might be nice to take a break from the hustle and bustle of gymnastics and the auditions and helping Mom with the chores and keeping up to date on all the latest DVD's. With all that going on, it's good to know a guy like me has a place he can go to unwind.

Behavior in a Box

The parents are stepping up the structure in this house, and I'm not sure yet how I feel about that. What started out as a fun family trip to the teacher's supply store has turned into a whole new system of tracking my "good behavior." Apparently it has something to do with me getting older, needing to learn routine so I can get ready to go to school. And, ok...maybe it has a tiny bit to do with my occasional tantrums. But I don't really think you can point the finger at me for that. I mean, they're the ones who let me watch "Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory" everyday. They should have known I'd take that "I Want It Now!" song to heart.

Anyhow, I have to say that they're being pretty nice about the whole thing. They put up this cool new chart on the refrigerator to keep track of my good habits and behavior. The more good things I do, the more stickers I get. And the more stickers I get, the better my chances of getting a SURPRISE! (Meaning a new Hot Wheels car...they don't realize yet that I've got that part figured out, so it's not really much of a surprise). It's been kind of exciting for me to get to choose which stickers I want and to see that big "surprise" box on top of the refrigerator. So I've been trying to lay off the naughty-guy role as much as possible. But it's hard sometimes, y'know? Especially when they expect me to do irrational things like brush my teeth, take showers and try to use the potty (!). I'm an incredible kid, but I'm not super-human.

One of the categories on the chart that I've pretty much got down to a science is the "quiet play." They like it when I spend some time during the day playing quietly on my own. And I love it too. Who doesn't appreciate some good down time reading a book or listening to music, right? Dad has also helped me out by putting some cool games on his computer that I can play. Of course then they go and complicate things by putting time limits on my computer play time. Dad says it's cuz he has to work, but I don't know how much "work" he gets done on Facebook.

This afternoon's quiet play involved my Caterpillar train. I've had train on the brain ever since last week's trip to Wilson Park. Papa joined right in the excitement and ordered me a new set of engineer overalls, which I haven't taken off since he gave them to me. Mom insisted that we had to wash them today, so I agreed. But I didn't realize that meant I'd have to wait so long. Ten minutes in the washing machine and then over half an hour in the dryer! Of course I had a tantrum about that, but who can blame me? Eventually I calmed down and she said they'll be fresh and clean for me to put on in the morning. So I just have to get through the night without them. *sigh*

I wonder if that'll get me a sticker for patience.

Through the Lens

I think I'm ready for a Nikon.

Bedtime Stories

I don't know how it works at your place, but none of us around here make it a practice to leave the house in our pajamas. So you can imagine my surprise when Mom said she was gonna get me dressed for bed and then we were all heading to the library. Not that I'm embarrassed or anything. I mean I am a pretty stylish guy, even when I'm sleeping. It just seemed a little odd. But I decided to go with it, seeing how the three of us always seem to find our way into some entertaining adventure.

On the way to the library, Dad said we were going to a special story time where all the other kids would be in their pajamas, too. Sounded like a cool party to me! But when we got there it was really quiet (I mean, even moreso than usual for the library) and I didn't see anyone else who looked ready for bed. Mom said we had a little time before the story time started so we went to look at some books. I knew exactly what I was looking for...my favorite book, "I Read Signs," by Tana Hoban. But I was pretty sure Mom wouldn't remember where to find it on the shelf so I helped her out by consulting the catalog on the computer.

Within a couple of minutes I was sitting at the table with the best book ever and having a great time. Even better than that, I found another book by Tana Hoban..."I Read Symbols." So I was really enjoying myself when the very nice library lady came over and asked if I was ready for story time. I wanted to say, "Well that's what I came for," but Mom and Dad have been drilling all this stuff into me about politeness and good behavior (that's another blog entry entirely), so I just went with the simple, "Yes."

Laura, the library lady, tried to round up some more kids to join us. She did find one little boy who was there with his mom. He wasn't in his 'jamas, but I didn't hold that against him. They came over to sit at the table with me and Laura started reading her first story. You can tell she likes books a lot. And what a great job, to be around all those books all day long! She read some of her favorites to us. I think I took her off guard during her rendition of "Down By The Station," when I joined in and knew all the words. She obviously didn't know who she had in her audience that night.

I'm not sure what happened with the other little boy, 'cuz he didn't stay for the last story. I'm guessing he was embarrassed about being improperly dressed for the occasion. Anyhow, Laura finished up her last story and told me I was a very good listener. I didn't tell her that storytelling is in my blood. Just smiled and gave her a big hug. Then we said thank you and headed home.

Hmmm...I wonder where else I can go in my pajamas...

Full Steam Ahead

My family never seems to do anything the simple way. I'm sure when other parents wake up on a Saturday morning and tell their kids, "We're going to the park today," it means there are swings and slides and sand involved. Not my parents. This morning I got all dressed for a trip to the park and ended up sitting in a one room clubhouse for what Mom called a "bored meeting" (appropriately named, I must say) of the Southern California Live Steamers at Wilson Park.

But I have to admit, what started as a lot of talking ended up to be a really cool day. Turns out the reason we were there is because Mom and Dad are gearing up to be back in business with StoryTunes, this fun little storytelling gig they used to do before I came along. According to Mom they were really big with the three to five year old crowd. "We had a following," she told me. Frankly, I'll believe it when I see it, but I figured why not humor the old folks.

I do have to give them credit for using their smarts, though. They decided that a good way to relaunch the storytelling gig would be to offer storytime once a month at Southern California Live Steamers when they give free train rides. I'm all over that! The place is so cool. There's a real tunnel, a working railroad crossing sign and some very nice railroad engineers who take you for rides twice around the track.

All of the club members seem really excited about the idea of hosting storytime and they want to give StoryTunes a shot right away. So it was decided that Mom and Dad will do the first one on the next train "run day," which is February 1st, and if it goes well (of course, I'll be there to make sure it goes well), then the club members might decide to do it every month! This also means that our family is now a member of the club, so we get to go to more meetings (which I guess aren't all that boring) and help keep the train park looking nice.

I even made a new friend today. Daniel is a member of the club. He's eight years old and comes to club meetings with his grandma. They were both really nice. And Daniel already knows a lot about trains. I think he was excited about me being there because he took me for a ride and showed me how he drives the train. And his grandma said that they can't wait to help us with storytime.

Dad says this is my first experience with "fil-am-pro-fee," whatever that means. He said it's important for us to help out where we can in our neighborhood. I just think I'm pretty lucky to get a backstage pass to the trains and to make new friends.

I'll catch you later...time to ask Mom to wash my engineer hat and dig through the toy box for my train whistle. I wanna make sure these train folks know I'm serious business.

It's In The Jeans

People are usually quick to point out that I'm a cool kid. But I can't take all the credit. I mean, my family, nuts as they are, have a certain cool factor as well. The queen of them all is my Auntie Rachel. She plays in the marching band , she's a Guitar Hero master and she's one smart cookie (which runs in the family, obviously). Mom says she's the only person that can wear those super-ultra-skinny jeans and still look good. I've never really paid much attention to her pants, I just think she's lots of fun to hang out with.

Last November we took a trip back to Mom's old school, Carson High, where Auntie Rachel goes now. It was exciting because the Colts were playing the Gauchos from Dad's old school, Narbonne. But my favorite part was seeing my Auntie out there on the field playing with the band. She was right up front where everyone could see her, which made it easy for me to point out, "That's my Auntie!" She plays the piccolo now, but Mom says that she's played the flute ever since she was a little kid. She's even played at the Kodak Theater two years in a row! Yes, that Kodak Theater, where they choose a new American Idol every year. I mean, seems to me Auntie is just a few steps away from super stardom.

Lucky for me Auntie remembers where she came from. She came over to spend some time with me while she was still on her winter break from school. Mom, Dad and I took her to Long Beach for some shopping at a "vintage" store and dinner at Super Mex. Then we stopped off at Nana and Papa's house on the way home so we could borrow Uncle Chaka's Guitar Hero game. I needed a real pro to show me how it's done.

When we got home and into our jammies, Auntie went straight for the guitar. I didn't know anyone's fingers could move that fast! She worked on that game all night and the next morning, and she was a lot of fun to watch. In fact, she inspired Dad to pull out the real guitars and the three of us held a jam session. I think that we would make an excellent band. Especially because we've got great hair. Well, at least two of us do...(sorry Dad).

I've gotta get Auntie to come hang out with me more often. Not that I need the help or anything, but having that much coolness around can't hurt, right?

Me and my (medical) crew

I just got the news that I'm offically allergic to peanuts. Those words didn't mean all that much to me, but you should have seen Mom's and Dad's faces while Dr. Lee was explaining how "each exposure can get progressively worse" and "it can be life threatening." Then I thought I was going to have to prop them each up from falling over when he showed them how to use this thing called an Epi-Pen.

I have to admit this doesn't sound like a big ball of fun to me either. Apparently the way it works is that if I start to get all swollen and itchy again, they have to take this pen thing, stab me in the side of the leg, call 911 and I get to be escorted to the hospital again. Not my idea of a great time.

I guess I just have to steer clear of peanuts and peanut related stuff. So for any of you nice people out there thinking of making me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I hear somebody makes an equally tasty cashew butter...I'd go with that. It shouldn't be that hard to avoid peanuts, right? I mean I've done it for four years already. Mom was thinking the same thing, until she went to the pharmacy to order those little medicine daggers that she has to carry around now, and the really nice lady there kept telling her about how "peanuts are in EVERYTHING."

When we left Dr. Lee's office, he said he'll be sending me to see another kind of doctor, an "allergist," so they can take some tests and see if I'm allergic to other stuff. I'm a smart kid, tests don't scare me. I just hope they don't find out that I'm allergic to Mickey Mouse shaped chicken nuggets or the orange chicken from Panda Express!

The good news is that my teeth are 100% healthy. I went to the dentist today and after they took some special pictures inside my mouth and cleaned my teeth, they said I'm in good shape. I did such a great job at the dentist, in fact, that they let me pick a toy to take home AND I got TWO balloons!

Maybe I should have the dentist call the allergist to sweeten 'em up for me.

Sometimes you feel like a nut...

You've probably guessed by now that dull moments around here don't happen often. Mom says if there were an extreme sport category for life, we'd be in the world championship division. So in keeping with the extreme theme, I had quite a weekend.

It started out innocently enough with a trip to cousin Miles's 7th birthday party. It was at a park, so you know I was all over that. When we first got there, Mom went inside to see what was going with all the set up, but Dad and I went straight for the basketball court. Miles is on a team, so he's got some pretty smooth moves, but I couldn't let him show me up. I went for that ball every chance I could get. Pretty soon Jeremiah was out there with us, and together he and I are a pretty powerful team. The family refers to us as "The Prophets."

Anyhow, Mom came out and cut my fun short because she said the party was starting inside. Looked to me like I was having a fine time outside, but I heard there were M&M's involved so I followed the parents into the party room. We said hello to everybody, got a look at all the cool dance party decorations, saw the DJ setting up and soon it was time to eat. I told Mom I'd hold down the table (meaning eat the M&M's) while she made me a plate. Seemed like a fine idea, until something funny started happening in my mouth.

I walked over to Mom because my mouth felt weird. My lips were itchy and my eyes hurt and I couldn't figure out why. Mom could tell something was up with me because I was making funny faces. She asked if my tummy hurt, which wasn't the case at all. But since I couldn't figure out how to tell her that my lips were on fire, I decided to throw up, because that usually gets attention. She took me into the bathroom and by then she could see my mouth was all swollen. She said we needed to go to the hospital and mentioned something to Dad about peanuts. I wasn't ready to leave, I mean, the party had just started! But pretty soon my whole right eye was as puffy as my lips and I figured, that can't be good.

So what started out as a party day ended up as a trip to the ER. While we were waiting, my mouth started to get better, but my eye got worse. The nice ladies there brought out all kinds of funny machines to check me out and make sure I was ok. It didn't hurt at all, but all I could think about was the fun I was missing with the cousins.

They took me to a room with Mom and Dad. Different nurses and specialists came in to check on me. Mom had to explain the whole story to each one of them over and over again. When the doctor came in he said it looks like I have a definite allergy to peanuts. I'm no doctor, but I think I have to agree with their diagnosis, considering I didn't even eat one single nut! Mom said something about "nut dust" and that just made Dad laugh out loud for some reason.

The good news is that even though I had to wait for what seemed like forever, the doctor gave me some medicine and I got to go home. And other than a slightly puffy eye, I'm back to my old self again. I'm pretty disappointed that I missed the party. I heard it involved people wrapped in plastic and a pudding eating contest!

Maybe Mom won't mind if I reenact that part of the party in our kitchen...