New make your own monster puppet. Thanks V!

You're a Mean One...

We have a new game at our house, it's called "Sing Your Heart Out," and it's based on the story "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." The object of the game is to sing songs with your family so that the Grinch's (sound activated) sled slides down Mt. Crumpet and brings the Whos back their presents.

There's one slight flaw with the game. A's hero is the Grinch (yes, this is the child who would really like to stuff all the Christmas trappings up our chimney), so he goes out of his way to make sure that the Grinch "wins" the game by playing it so that not all of the presents can be returned (this game's rules makes Monopoly look like Tic-Tac-Toe). When the Grinch wins, A does a little victory dance.


PS: A is still wildly excited about Christmas receiving gifts gifts gifts. Last year, it was all about playing with new toys; this year it was all about ripping open gifts as quickly as possible. I am sure that this is normal, happy behavior for a four-year-old.

Advent

In case anyone had any doubt, A is wildly excited about Christmas.

¡Hola, Yo Soy un Fugative!

Scene: The kitchen lunchtime table. J is explaining the U.S. legal system.

J: "... so that's the difference between an infraction, a misdemeanor, and a felony."

A: "How long would they put you in jail?"

J: "Well, okay... let's say that you were playing with caltrops on the sidewalk, and you left them there to go in, and K (our neighbor) walked on them. We'd go to court before the judge, and the judge would give us a sentence -- "

A: "But what if we really really had to go to the bathroom bady, and that's why we left them there."

J: "The judge might take that into account and only fine us $20 to pay for K's tetanus shot. We might get a more lenient sentence if we put up a sign on the sidewalk that said, "Danger Caltrops" and K didn't read the sign.

A: "So what if we do it again?"

J: "Oh! Well, if we're repeat offenders, then the judge would give us a more stringent sentence."

A: "I don't want the judge to be stern with us."

J: "Well, the best way is to not do anything wrong."

A: "I don't want the judge to give us a sentence; so I'd build a trap door and send the judge down it."

J: "Oh! Buddy, I'm pretty sure tampering with judges is a federal felony. They'd just send another judge."

A: "I'd send that one down the trapdoor, too; I just want you, me and M in the courtroom."

J: "A, we'd have to run to the Mexican border ...."

Son of Master Thespian

Scene: The Living Room. A & J are "rehearsing" a Pirate Play. A is a pirate. J is a pirate ghost. Opinions have been aired that J is an un-scarey, silly ghost...

J (with a white bedspread half over his head):

"Ooh! Hear my sad story, you aspiring pirates, and repent! I have been sent by the Spirit of the Sea to warn you: Turn Back from your Pirating Ways! Oh yea who have yet to take the first steps in that dreadful life called piracy, take heed!

In life I was once a fierce pirate who enjoyed the fruits of piracy. I was mean and pillaged and robbed from those poor sailors I found upon the ocean Oooh!! That I had not reveled in my wickedness! I grew in such infamy that Admiral Maynard and his crew set sail to find and pull me and my pirates down. There, on the high seas, we fought fiercely and long. But Maynard had slew Blackbeard, a greater pirate that I, and we were taken. For my wicked crimes was I taken to the courts for trial? No, not I; my crimes were too horrible. I was thrown overboard into the ocean, and I sank down. Oooh!

And as I sank, for every one of my hideous deeds, a shark came and took a bite of my body! Biting off parts for each one of my sins, until I reached the bottom, and appeared before the Spirit of the Sea with no body left at all. And the Spirit of the Sea said I could only be whole if I repented my evil ways. (Holds up arm with the hand hidden under the bedspread.) So I am DOOMED to roam the sea, warning would-be pirates to turn away from their bloody ways, until I am a man again. Ooooooh!"


(By this time, A -- whom J has failed to notice has been backing away since the sharks appeared -- runs away to his room. Several reiterations of "I'm sorry; I got carried away; that didn't really happen; I was acting; I made it all up" follow over the next hour.)

Gift List Shortened...

We shortened the wish list (on the right) to remove things we might already have or things that might (inconceivably) be used to construct weapons of mass destruction (yes, the Tinker Toys are having a Very Long Rest).

Yes... we're aware that siege engines survived the wish list cut -- they're for the toy castles, not for any real buildings in our locale.

Classical Dinosuars

Scene: In the car on the way to preschool. Strauss' "The Blue Danube" is playing on the radio.

J (driving): "So, what does this music remind you of?"

A: (pause) "A Pteranodon."

J (laughing) "I can see it flapping around."

the conversation continues with rapid-fire questions about why Rolley from Bob the Builder said he was a Rolley-dactyl and Scoop said he was a Scoopaloticus....

The Revolution Will Be On Sale

Scene: The happy family returns from a Pre-Thanksgiving Let's-Avoid-The-Grumpy-Folks window-shopping-for-toys excursion. The living room. A has just run off to the bathroom. M & J are sitting on the davenport with a toy catalog from a big box store. M turns to the spread with war toys and five-year-old Ninja-Warrior-wanna-bes posing with light-up swords.

Throwing his liberal, "I read banned books" morals to the winds, J accepts the pages torn out by M and hastily stuffs them into his sweater pocket.

A returns, grabs catalog: "Look, J! It's the pyramid! Why do you like Egyptian stuff, anyway?"

...and a mostly peaceful evening ensues.

Another Gollum Moment

Oh dear. A "shot" M with Tinker Toys. So now the Tinker Toys are being "timed out."

Two Weeks Early

Scene: The shopping mall. A and M are visiting Build-A-Bear. A sees a giant Christmas tree in the mall's transept and runs to where Santa is speaking to a Photo-elf. M follows and joins the interview mid-question...

Santa (to A): "... and what would you like for Christmas?"

A (as if he were on a game-show): (pause) "Toys?" [editor's note: A is smart enough to not ask Santa for what he really wants, which is a trap door, a sabre, a gun, and explosives.]

Santa: "Do you like cars?"

A (uncommitted): "Yeah."

Santa: "Do you like trucks?"

A: "Yeah." (sees giant box of tiny candy canes)

Santa (checking with M): "Would you like one of those [candy canes]?"

Candy and stickers are distributed ... and A runs to the mall's Knife Shoppe.


Cut to the next morning. A has just woken up and is sitting on the living room couch.

A (to M): "You know... If that was Santa Clause -- doesn't he need to be at the North Pole making toys?"

He's Picked Up the Script...

Scene: The grocery store checkout. J has convinced A to wait until the customer ahead of them has finished his transaction to begin scanning purchases. A is now working with the trained, professional cashier to ring up the bill.



Cashier: "OK, buddy; you're doing great. Do one more and then I'll do the rest."

A (laser scanning the mozzarella) : "Why? I'll do two." (Grabs box of Woven Wheat Wafers.)

J (noticing the growing backlog of customers behind the shopping cart): "A, we need to let the trained professional help us so the line doesn't build up."

A (scanning the pizza): "Why?"

J: If we take too long, they'll talk about us behind our backs. They'll say, 'Did you see that little kid and that dad didn't do anything..."

A: "Yeah. He just stood there looking stupid."

(Customers laugh)

Gollum

Whew. The last few days, living with A has been like living with Gollum.

Not Dead Yet

Sunday, M and I decided that A was basically insane and Very Energetic from being house-bound all week, and pronounced him officially "well."

Today A went to pre-school. Everyone else was back, too (last week there were only 6 out of 17 kids in his class). It was a fun time, and we came back with a lot of artwork.

M and J are slightly congested, but neither of us has had a fever. So we think we're well, too.

Thursday Update

A's following the usual pattern this week of having a temperature of 98.something in the morning and 100.something in the evening. And he still has the cough, so it looks like pre-school on Friday is not an option. Luckily, he's not dehydrated, wildly congested, or having problems breathing.

Watching videos this morning tired him out so much he fell asleep for his nap before I could pick out a book to read to him. We've been learning a little about Egyptian Hieroglyphs. He seems particularly taken with the section of the ancient Egyptian book, "Spell for Going Forth by Day" that features the god Anubis weighing a soul's heart on the scales of justice against Maat, the feather of truth (winners go on to the Egyptian afterlife with Osirus; the not-so-nice get their heart eaten by a composite alligator-monster). We'll see if he remembers how to say "I have spoken in truth" in Egyptian ("Djedeni em ma-at").

Meanwhile, it's back to Curious George and pirates. And the Backyardigans.

Signs of Improvement?

Scene: Morning. The kitchen. J is preparing breakfast and tea while the dawn shines through leaded crystals)

A (looking up from a bowl of blueberries and scrunching an imperious and berry-smeared face): "J, I'm addicted to videos. So put one on, NOW!"

And his temperature is 98.4.

Illness Update

Let's see. A wanted M to take his temperature last night (99.5 F, up from 98.3 F). We're not sure if he wanted to see if he could go to pre-school, or if he was feeling a relapse coming on. He was coughing a lot yesterday, and this morning he's sleeping much later than usual.

Monday morning at about 4:30 (or so it seemed) I heard the sounds of Looney Tunes coming from the other room. M is much nicer than I am, as we routinely tell A that we made a mistake, he copies too much bad behavior from Tweety and the gang, and that he can watch those cartoons when he's ten.

Tuesday was mostly a video day, too. When he didn't want to wrestle, play with pirates, or watch videos, he'd have an occasional crying jag. He seemed well enough for a short trip to the Library. We wore little face masks, and A chewed a small hole though his. We also checked out books on pirates, castles, pirates, The Magic Treehouse, pirates, and a Backyardigans video.

In related news, his pre-school class on Monday was down from 17 students to 6.

Sickness at 28 Wimpol Street

The child with a fever has just sprayed the remains of his orange juice out of a straw. On the breakfast table. And my tea. And me.

I can tell you, we're singing, ala Henry Higgins, "When his fever comes back, he'll regret it. Should we treat him kindly, or give him the treatment he deserves?!"

Trick or Treat

A tried on several costumes before going off to preschool. At first he was "a robber," (which included a fez). I was in the shower and mistook him for a Shriner. Then it sounded like he was dressing up as a pirate. But in the end he wanted to go as... Barack Obama. If you look closely, you can see his campaign fliers (they say "Vote For Me.")

Kissing

Scene: Preschool. A has just kissed G (another boy), prompting a classroom-wide discussion of how it's okay to kiss your family, but that friends at school should only be hugged so we don't spread germs.

A (to G's Mom, who coincidentally has been reading to the kids): "But what if we kiss people accidentally?"

Scene (later that day in the playground):

G's Mom (to me): (Laughs) "Boy, I can see him in a few years in the bar: 'Sorry darling, that was an accidental kiss.'"

I had to use my stern voice.

Note to self: A furlough day = bad kids in the playground.

Link to Photos

Sometimes folks have problems with photos. Try this link.

http://picasaweb.google.com/acjbdw

Corn Maze 2009!

We went to the Corn Maze today with our friends. We wore our special Rats T-shirts (designed by M) for the occasion.
















We only got lost twice.
















And afterward A got to ride at the very end of the Cow Train (barrels on wheels pulled by an ATV).

Mall Video

M and A went to the local mall a few days ago.

Lava Lamp!

Scene: The kitchen. M and A are beginning to make pumpkin bars. M is standing next to A, who is standing on a chair, at the kitchen counter. J has brought in a green Lava Lamp ("mantle placement discussion" between M and A deleted), and placed it on the kitchen-nook table. Plugs the lamp in. Green light shines on sold waxy gunk inside.

A (eyes light up with shiny enchantment) : "Kuw-el!" (Eyes locked on sixties retro decor, begins to dismount chair).

J (laughing): "So, A, what do you think the rule about this lamp is."

A (approaching the Lava Lamp as if in a dream): "I can't touch it."

M: "A, did you say 'kuw-el'?"

Play Date

Friday was an inservice day. Everyone (and their parents) were at the park. The City had not yet turned off the water features, so like clockwork, the parents would walk in, see the water, their faces would fall, they'd turn to their kid(s) and say, "I don't want you in the water, OK?" and the kids would pretty much ignore them. A managed to borrow a scooter from one of his friend.

Bon-bons and Theology

A: "So J, do bad people get bon-bons?"

J: "No. Wicked people do not get bon-bons. Only the pure and good."

A: "What if bad people sneak to the supermarket and ..."

J: "Oh! There's an angel with a FLAMING sword guarding the entrance to the supermarket, and they wouldn't be able to get in."

A: "But the bad people would poke her with their pointy swords."

J: "But before they could, she'd use her FLAMING sword to cut their swords into five pieces."

A: "But they would use their Magical Powers to put their swords back together."

J: "She'd cut the swords apart again."

A: "Their magic is stronger and they'd use superglue to fix their swords."

J: "Well, while they were using their superglue, the Angel would take her FLAMING sword and cut a big hole into the sidewalk and they'd fall forever and ever and ever."

A: (smiling) "You're making that up."

[several moments later, including a short explanation of how medieval Christians believed good people were escorted to Heaven by angels while wicked people were dragged to Hell in chains....

A: "So what would they do to me in Hell, anyway; drop me into a fire?"

J: (making a 'bingo!' sign): "You got it."

A: "What else do they do to people? What does it look like?"

J: (deciding that M would be annoyed if a review of Hieronymus Bosch were to be given to a four-year-old) "Uh, I've never been, so I couldn't say."

---

Scene: After a scanty dinner, A is putting together a train track.

A: "Tyger, tyger, burning bright / Tyger, tyger, I don't care. (pause, to J) Why are you laughing?"

Adult Phrases

"Before you can ride in the truck, we need to practice an emergency exit if the engine blows up."

"Put on your underwear and then we can make an apple pie."

"Well, the humor in this song relies on the wife being insecure and the man being clueless..."

"You can't put Edward Teach into the pie because A) he's plastic and he'll melt, and B) it's cannibalism."

Kids Rock

Five minutes of parody.

Sunday Morning

A: "M! The clock says six-three-one!"

M: "Uh huh."

A: "And now it says six-three-two!"

Pause during which J starts to have some crazy dream.

A: "M! M! Now the clock says six-three-three!"

J rolls over, stuffs pillow over his head.

M: "That's nice..."

Seattle Fun

We went to Seattle. On the way we listened to Cats, which seems to have had a lasting effect.








There was a tea conference going on, and when A got bored of tea, we went outside.








Although J had told A earlier that he needed to stay out of the fountain in order to avoid dying from hyperhermia, M told A he could go in. M later went back to the car for a dry layer of clothing.







A got to use a pasta machine to make dinner.









There was a really cool park with some pretty aggressive play structures. All the grown-ups liked the zip-line, but A wasn't so sure.

Missing Keys

Oops. Turns out the m, x, v, and r keys on the typewriter didn't work. So we sent it back. A has been a pretty good sport about it, but he really really would like a typewriter.

Typewriter!

M and A went shopping yesterday. They were supposed to by groceries. But instead, they went to a Goodwill and bought an Adler satellite 2001 electric typewriter. A is in heaven and I'm finding that I have to step away from the typewriter whenever A presses five keys at once and the mechanism jams.

In related news, we had old oatmeal for breakfast.

Connectivity

In a rare moment of connectivity, we're able to send a photo from the laptop.  A says HI to J and Bubba, and wants to know how the trebuchet is.

Sticks on the Merry-Go-Round

Scene: The Playground. A is eating a stick on a kid-pushed merry-go-round. J is going parental.

J (walking over to m-g-r): "A, take that stick out of your mouth."

A looks at J as the m-g-r revolves.

J: "You know what I say about sticks in your mouth..."

A (takes stick out of mouth): "You can't come on [the m-g-r]. It's already started." (Translation: I can do whatever I want and I don't have to listen to you as long as this playground equipment is in motion.]

THWAMMM! (sound of 180 pound grown-up leaping onto metal m-g-r)

J (crouching beside A on the still-rotating m-g-r. Holds out hand). "Give me the stick."

A (surprised look on his face, kind of a cross between 'oops,' and 'dad's on the m-g-r; can he *do* that?'. Hands over the stick.

J: "Thank you." (Backward leaps off of m-g-r. Walks away.) (To himself) "Heh. Kid, you picked the wrong dad to try that trick on." (M is the dad who barfs just looking at the m-g-r.)

Well, I Tried.

Scene a forced march to burn off excess energy late morning perambulation through the neighborhood. The fog is burning away, and the sunlight is on its way to being bright.

A (singing at the top of his lungs to a tune which is a hybrid of "Just You Wait Henry Higgins", "Get Me to the Church on Time" and several Christmas carols): "SO YOU'LL BE MEAN / AND I'LL WALLOP YOU / AND THEN I'LL GET A CANNON / AND I'LL TAKE YOU TO THE CHURCH / AND LOCK YOU UP --"

J (singing intently, but softly): "And you'll be really nice, / and I'll play with you, / and we'll share our toys together / and we'll have a great time and --"

A (indignant): "No, no, NO. J! Be quiet! You're messing up my song!"

J: "But I'd like to sing about nice things."

A: "I'm singing about mean things. (sings twice as loudly as before) "SO I'LL BE REALLY MAD / AND I'LL BLOW UP YOUR HOUSE / AND I WON'T CARE AT ALL AS IT BURNS TO THE GROUND / HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING / GLORY TO THE NEWBORN KING . . . "

September Photos

SeptPhotos09

September Utterances

Scene: The Preschool. J has just entered to pick up A.

A (running to J): "J! J! Today I learned to use my words and not hit people with a shovel!"

(pause to imagine Tweety/Sylvester shovel source material)

Teacher (responding to J's stricken look): "We had a great day."

---

Scene: Early morning at home. M is packing the car for an early-morning hike. A is being an over-energetic, rude, and slightly destructive pain in the rear.


J: "C'mon. Put on your shoes. Come with me."

(the shodding commenced, they head outside.)

J (sitting down on a patio chair): "Do you think you can run around the cherry tree six times?"

A (runs across backyard to tree): "Let's see... one... two... [...] ...six!"

J: "Do you think you could do seven?"

A: "I'm going to do all the numbers!" (jump-skips around tree)

J (leaning back in chair): "OK. I'll count."

(time passes)

J: "Twenty six..."

A (panting): "I'm getting tired. How many numbers are there after twenty-six?"

J (carefully not smiling): "Ooh. There's a few -- keep running!"

A (more determined): "I'm going to do them all."

J: "Do you think you can do thirty?"

(more time passes, A is sort of walk-hopping)

J: "Wow, buddy! You made it to forty! That's great!"

A (walking away from tree): "I (pant) think I (pant) need some water..."

He Asked For It.

Monday night, A asked for a buzz cut. I said that maybe we would later in the week.




Tuesday morning, A asked for a buzz cut.




"Are you sure?" I asked. "Once I cut them off, I can't put them back on." I took down Portable Stonehenge. "So, Bud, we're almost at the equinox here." I put my finger at the Ides of Autumn. "And Halloween is here, and Christmas is here." I moved my finger around the path of the sun. "And Groundhog Day is here, and the Spring Equinox is here. Your curls probably won't come back until Easter or so. Are you sure you want me to buzz cut your hair?"

"Yeah," he said. "What's Groundhog Day?"

After I explained how the Groundhog's Shadow worked... I got out my electric clippers and buzzed the golden curly locks away.

"There's going to be women crying all over the country," M said when A greeted him at the door later that afternoon.

And I heard a hoo... a hoo... a hoo...

I am resisting a sarcastic reply to A when he asks why he shouldn't use "mo'" for "more" and "bo'" for "bowl" and am instead explaining how people will treat him like a smart person when he asks for a copy of Pygmalian in Borders, but that if he uses mo' and bo', people will treat him like [an uneducated barbarian].

Master Thespian Strikes Again

Scene. Bedtime. M and A are in A's room. J is in the kitchen.

M: "So what story would you like me to read to you tonight?"

A: "Pygmalion!"



Normally, I'd be inordinately pleased that A wants a George Bernard Shaw play read to him, but this is really part of A's plan to become an Evil Rex Harrison. Already added to the lexicon: nuisance, nonsense, gutter-snipe, baggage, "ungrateful creature," and the ever favorite, "damn, damn, damn, damn!"

At the Beach

When we were at the beach it was new moon, so the tides were extra high (and low). I'll bet this castle will last for days!

Theology of Sight.

Scene. The Breakfast table.

A: "I just dropped some food on the floor, and I'm not going to pick it up."
J: "I think M would be very disappointed if you didn't. And so would I."
A (matter-of-factly): "When you guys are dead I'm going to drop food on the floor all the time."
J (channeling Calvin's Mom): "Oh."
A: "Would you mind?"
J (using a Jehovah voice): "We would. We would look down from Heaven and see you dropping food and we would mind terribly!"
A: "No you wouldn't, because when you're dead you don't have any eye balls."

The discussion degenerated into a back-and-forth nuh-uh/uh-huh theology debate.

Beach Shot

We're back from the beach.

August Photo Safari

The latest photo safari.



We're still sort of jet-lagged.

Pirates are big here.

Grandparents at the Coast

Lemonade Stand

More Photos

Earlier this week...
On the docks...

Newport Fun

Oscar Wildisms from the Back Seat

Scene: In the car, driving home after a day at the coast. M has given in to the allure of chocolate, and has had a package of it opened before A has fallen asleep. A knows we have something in the front seat but he's not sure what.

A (upon popping a piece of whatever into his mouth): "It's chocolate! I knew it was something!"

...Later in the process....

A: "M, can I have more? I savored my last piece really fast!"

Oh man. Can I do that again?

Scene: Morning. Before preschool.

J (packing the car with a kid bike and grown-up RollerBlades): "Come on A, we're going to bike to school."

A (grumbling): "Why do we have to bike to school?"

J (enjoying what he's about to say way more than he should): "Because it builds character."

A Fan is Born

Scene (bedtime, A, M & J are watching "Hello Dolly." The townsfolk of Yonkers have just finished a five minute long dance in a New York park.

A: "When's this going to end?"

M: "It never ends. Honey. We can watch it until something new starts."

(The townsfolk rush off to watch a parade, and Barbra Streisand begins to sing about the parade passing her by...)

M: "Quick, buddy. Press the space bar [to stop the video]."

A steps up to the iMac, but becomes enamored by Barbra, and pauses, like a hypnotized bird. J reaches over and presses the space bar, stopping the video.

A (face scrunched up and red, tears leaking from his eyes): "No!"

M: "It's OK, buddy, Barbra makes lots of people cry."

A begins to hit J (who is trying hard not to laugh too hard).

Get Henry Higgens

Someone has taught the child "mo'" for "more."

Of course when I correct him, he simply repeats "mo'." I guess I'll simply have to ready my recording of Rex Harrison.

Fun Sculptures

We went to a local crafts fair.









There was lots to see. Last year A really liked the fair. This time he was a little tired.
















After wandering around, the last thing we did was make flowers (out of cardboard).

Spring Industry

A wanted me to cut him a nib in his feather from Washington so he could write with it. The red stuff on his face is paint, and he is not writing something down with blood from facial wounds.







M couldn't believe that I actually got A a real child's hand saw. But A really wanted it. We had a discussion about what would happen if A used the saw as a sword, or sliced a beloved tree, or...

Howdy Maestro

I guess I shouldn't be so surprised that the favorite button on the child's keyboard I've loaned to A is the one that plays the Cowboy Phrase. The one with the gunshots.

And I wanted to give him a chance to learn about octaves and fifths...

June Travelogue

Breakfast in Seattle.










"Look, I'm a deer!"










On the trail.










Viking in training.

Another Enchanting Meal

Scene: the nook. A is returning to the lunch table after being told that he needs to wash his hands after going to the bathroom.

A (smiling): "M, I didn't wash my hands."

M (who heard water): "What did you wash?"

A (triumphant): "I washed my butt!"

M: "A, we don't eat at the table with our butt."

J (mentally slapping hand to forehead and thinking, "Ix-nay on the utt-bay.")

A (predictably): "I'm going to eat with my butt!" (climbs up on chair).

M: "I'm sorry you're making bad decisions, we'll have food later."

J removes plate of mostly eaten sandwich and grape stems.

A: "I'll do it anyway!..."

(meal degenerates into four-year-old disciplinary session ...)

Four Year Old Philosophy

A seems to have his internal clock confused. He woke up ready to play around 11 PM last night.

While I was getting him a snack, he spontaneously said, "J, I believe the universe is governed by simple rules of relationship." It was one of those four-year-old utterances that make sense in the context of a late-night conversation. It's possible that he wanted to know the difference between uncles and great-uncles. I drew a family tree and then the Great Attempt at Sleep (kicking and turning and tossing and turning and sitting up) followed.

Photo Test

What do you know, the cell phone can post photos to the web. I wonder how much money the cell phone will charge us for this privilege....

A convinced M to go to a nice restaurant. I guess at some point, A tied a napkin onto his head and asked, "How do I look?" M replied that he looked like Elenore of Aquitaine.

When M e-mailed the photo to my cell phone, I couldn't figure out where they were and I thought A had gotten his hands on a nun's habit.

Lose Cannon

Sigh. We've reached that stage where A is exploring the boundaries of authority and appears -- for all purposes -- to be four going on fifteen. At least when no one else is around. When he's at school or visiting relatives he's pretty angelic most of the time.

In happier news, A decided that his pirate cannon toy was a weather machine. The cannon on the right shoots rain. The cannon in the middle shoots lightning. The cannon on the left shoots snow. And because I reminded him of the sorcerer's apprentice, the button at the bottom of the toy stops all the bad weather.

New Birthday Party Plans

A and I were just talking about birthdays -- and parties.

And we decided that for year five we're going to try for a Gilbert & Sullivan party (this is an excuse to put Pirates, Samurai, The Yeomen of the Guard and other similarly armed figures onto a cake). A wanted to do a G&S mash-up of songs, and I suppose that we'll have to play, "Name That Tune."

Web Surfing

M and A have been surfing the net. This is what they found:

Roley Poley

A says that when he dies he wants to come back as a Guinea Pig.

"Why?" I asked.

"So I can eat everything and go like this (makes a motion that could be either cleaning whiskers or stuffing food into cheeks)."

"Oh, like on 'Kipper'?"

"Yeah."

It's Nice to be Wanted

I'm going to visit my sister for four days to help her and my brother-in-law with their infant daughter.

A figured out that I would be going, and he said, "I'm going to trick Aunt J, and send her a letter, so she'll e-mail you a message. And the message will say "DON'T COME!" And then he burst into tears.

We had some snuggle time, and then I asked, "You do know that M is going to stay home to be with you while I'm gone, right -- did you think I was going to leave you all alone by yourself ?"

More crying.

Jumping the Shark?

A got up from his nap with the following dream.

He was in a row boat on a lake in a forest rowing away from the shore.

Some sharks wanted to get into his boat, so A threw out a line, the sharks grabbed it with their teeth, and he pulled them aboard. The sharks wanted to play.

The game they played was that someone had to jump out of the boat, jump over a shark, and use magic to land back in the boat without touching water. If you touched water, you didn't win. When they were done playing, the sharks slept on the floor of the boat.

The boat stopped at Los Vegas.

Quick Voice Update

Yesterday, one of A's teachers -- who, through a combination of vacations and circumstance hadn't seen A for about three weeks -- just about fell on the floor when he spoke to her across a large room. "Wow! A, I can really hear your voice!" she said, adding that normally she had to be standing next to him to hear him.

Birthday Four - The Sword in the Stone

Whew. We finished the party and we're all pretty much exhausted. It was lots of fun.


A has been Really Excited about the party for the last five days. He and M spoke about it instead of falling asleep. And this morning, in a Shade of Christmas to come, A woke us up at 5:30 to talk about his party some more.
















A said he wanted a "Sword in the Stone" party. So... we invited folks to dress in medieval clothing and to perform a magic trick. M and I worked on the party over the week. I drew a knight on some butcher paper and made some construction paper shields for a game of "Pin the Shield on the Knight." M worked really hard on the yard and yard furniture & procured a tent. M watched A while I made a "Joy of Cooking" cake batter. M and A went shopping for party favors. M painted a dragon and a castle for a kind of croquet game.














A, of course, was ready for his nap at 11 AM when the first guests arrived. But he perked up. Grandma J and Grandpa H came, as did Aunt M and Uncle L. And the W's, J and S, and KB also came. Just the right number of kids from pre-school showed up, and for once, A wasn't the only child at his own birthday. All of the kids were great: kind, encouraging, and fun.







M and I split up duties: I played the harp inside and greeted the guests while M hosted in the backyard. The magic tricks were a big hit. We had buffet sandwiches, then A decided it was time for cupcakes. All of them had little cocktail swords sticking in them. A slightly anvil shaped cake had a larger sword with 4 candles. (I was going to make the 4 candles into swords, but it would have been too much like serving my child a "Four of Swords" Tarot birthday cake... which would have been a little odd symbolically.














After cupcakes, it was time for the Pin the Shield game. Everyone took turns, and my Mom handed out medals (with color co-coordinated ribbons) once the shields were on. There was some milling about and then M decided to read "Caps for Sale," staring me as the cap peddler and the kids as the monkeys.

Once all the kids had left, A pretty much crashed, leaving the adults to trade stories. And clean.

Photos from the Haircut

At last, here are some photos of A's haircut. He'd whacked off a hamster-sized chunk a while back. It's kind of hard to see in this photo, but not only were his bangs extra high, most of his hair was on the right side of his head. He looked like some 80's actress.






M was pretty good about prepping A for the hair cutting. We went to a "professional." We lost the white-gold curls, and his hair is much shorter now.







He looks much more like a little boy now, and less like a knight's squire.