Fuzzy Genealogy Lines

Laurence has taken an interest in his genealogy lately, and I do believe he has it all figured out. Here was our conversation this morning...

Laurence: How much Irish am I again?

Me: One-eighth. Your great-grandfather on dad's side was 100% Irish.

Laurence: How much French am I?

Me: Also one-eighth. Baka's dad's family was from France.

(Pause...calculating...)

Laurence: OH! Then I must be A LOT Maryland!

How Would You Describe It?

I'm sure I've blogged about this before, and if you know me well you probably know this -- I absolutely LOVE watching language skills develop. This is perhaps my favorite part of seeing my kids grow & learn. Loic is at the prime age now -- he's still mispronouncing many things, and is at that point where he can really describe things well, to get his point across even if he can't come up with the appropriate word.

I'm going to pause for a moment to mention a few of my favorite mispronunciations - I haven't done it in about a year and unfortunately I'm sure I've missed many!

Remokadoke -- remote control

Bayduhder -- refrigerator

Cinderella Cheese -- mozzerella cheese

Owter Ellwurst -- Alastair Ellsworth (He's actually saying this one a bit better now, but this was my favorite version.)

I only have one example to share as far as his ability to describe something -- he often gives great visuals, but the others are escaping me just now. Just this morning he was watching Sesame Street and the skit had several animals in it. He adores animals of all kinds, but that's a lot of names to know, you know? He says, "Hey mom, look! What's that animal? The one with the...little hill?" It was none other than a camel, of course!

In My Expert Opinion...

Today Laurence was a bit distraught to discover a "white thing" on the underside of his big toe. "It's not sore...but it feels funny. And it looks sort of like a little jellyfish. What is it, Mom?" he asked. I knew from his description it had to be a blister, of course, but I was busy with Alastair and told him I'd look at it in a few minutes. Just then Loic walks in the room and went right over to examine the toe, too. Though he generally has a queasy stomach when it comes to skin and related conditions, Laurence convinced him to feel it. "Do YOU know what it is Loic?" Laurence asked him. "Yes, Laurly. I do. It's a squishy polka dot."

Tour de Lance

Yesterday we turned the Tour de France on briefly, and caught repeat footage of one of Lance Armstrong's falls. The announcers then spoke about his race for a bit, as the camera followed him as he continued on the ascent. Laurence pipes up and says, "They keep talking about Lance Armstrong, but where is he?" I said, "He's right there, in the red & black jersey with the number 21 on it." He said, "That's not Lance Armstrong." "Yes, it is. See the rider with the ripped jersey? That's because he fell -- it's Lance." "Are you sure, Mom?" "Yes, I'm positive." He quieted, and I thought he was satisfied, but apparently not. "No, Mom. That's definitely not him. He always wears yellow."