Recent Revelations

Each of the three boys have made some interesting and potentially life-altering discoveries about their respective worlds over the past week....

Alastair (if he could talk): Army crawling is the way to get from here to there. The faster I go, the more ground I can cover & the more stuff I can get into. Also, mom's a great cook. I love her mac 'n cheese, lasagna, Chicken a la King, and Cheesy Pasta with Tomato & Artichoke.

Laurence (after spending several minutes studying a map of the world in a library book): Mom, I've noticed that the continents are a lot like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. I think they all used to be hooked together, but then they broke apart. (Wow...)

Loic (this morning at breakfast): Butter is good. I like it on toast with cinnamon. And I like it on pasta with cheese. And I like it on bagels...but cream cheese is the butter I like the BEST!

Trail Diary

I woke up this morning knowing it was just right for a you-ride, I'll-walk jaunt with the two younger boys. We had nothing on our agenda except grocery shopping, so I piled Loic's trike and Alastair's stroller in the back of the Acadia and we made our way to the East River Trail. During the short drive I could almost feel the crisp air, slight breeze, and warm sun on my back; longed for the smell of fall in the air, the sound of leaves crunching under our feet & wheels...along with a little exercise and time alone with my thoughts. We get to the trail, get everything & everyone unloaded, and set out. The air was crisp, there was a slight breeze, the sun felt warm on my back; I breathed in the smell of fall in the air, gazed at the leaves that are well on their way to peak color, and spent the next hour alone with....LOIC'S thoughts. HO-LEE-COW can that boy talk. I remember Laurence at this age and thinking 3 was utterly exhausting. Loic has been 3 for just a little over two months and has put Laurence to shame. Here's just a small sample of our conversation along the trail...

(Just as we approach the main path from the trailhead, it begins.)

Loic: Is this the path? Where I can ride my bike?

Me: Yes.

Loic: Why is this the path?

Me: Because this is where people walk and ride their bikes.

Loic: Is that a bridge?

Me: Yes.

Loic: Are we going under that bridge?

Me: Yes.

Loic: Does the path go under the bridge?

Me: Yes.

Loic: Why does the path go under the bridge?

(I pretend not to hear him...it works.)

Loic: What if I go in the lake mom? I don't want to go in the lake.

Me: It's a river, and you won't go in it. Just stay on the path.

Loic: Why should I stay on the path?

Me: So you don't go in the lake...I mean river.

Loic: Oh. You said lake, Mom!

(We are all of 25 yards into our walk by now.)

Loic: Hey, now we're going into the woods! Why are the woods like a jungle?

Me: Well, it's not really a jungle. I'd call it the woods. Jungle's are a lot more--

Loic: YES it IS a jungle!

(Why do I even bother?)

Loic: Are there animals in the woods?

Me: Yes, some small animals & lots of birds.

Loic: I don't see any animals.

Me: Maybe if we're really quiet, we won't scare them and you can see some!

(It didn't work.)

Loic: What's that quacking?

Me: Oh! There are some ducks swimming in the river. See?

Loic: Yes! Why are they ALL quacking?

Me: That's how ducks talk to each other.

Loic: Why are they ducks?

(Seriously, kid?)

Loic: Hey, why is that boy on a bike?

(I guess we're done with the ducks. I look and there's a boy on a bike with his mom.)

Me: For the same reason you are. It's fun & good exercise.

Loic: I like taking exercise. Does that boy like taking exercise?

Me: Yes, I suppose he does.

Loic: Who's that man?

(Trying not to think about the mystery I'm reading about this serial killer who watches his prey from the woods, I glance away from the boy and breathe a sigh of relief when I see a man on a tractor as we're approaching a clearing.)

Me: I don't know him, but it looks like he's working here.

Loic: Why's he working here?

Me: He's spraying something...probably to keep bugs away.

(The man stops because he's gotten a phone call.)

Loic: Why did he stop?

Me: He's on the phone.

Loic: With who?

Me: I don't know, maybe someone from work.

Loic: Where does he work?

(Now a man approaches on a bike.)

Me: OK, here's comes a person on a bike, move to the right to let him by.

Loic (as the man passes): But that's a MAN. You said person.

Me: Men are people.

Loic: Are ladies people? And babies? And moms & dads?

Me: Yes, we are all people.

Loic: But not animals. Why do animals live in the woods?

Me: Because they don't build the kind of houses we do. They have houses made of sticks & leaves & grass, some even live in trees.

Loic: Oh, they live in the woods. They don't live in the zoo, like we do.

(What? I just let that one slide.)

(We walked for almost an hour and there was never a lull in the conversation. NEVER. We walked on the path, came to a park, made a loop around the park and headed back the way we came. As we approached the little bridge just before the trailhead I had a moment of déjà vu...)

Loic: Is that a bridge?

Me: Yes.

Loic: Are we going under that bridge?

Me: Yes.

Loic: Does the path go under the bridge?

Me: Yes.

Loic: Why does the path go under the bridge?

Would someone PLEASE tell this kid why the path goes under the bridge?!?

Patent Pending

The soon-to-be-first-grader and I have had some very interesting conversations lately. From tidal waves (and his concern over whether one will ever engulf our friends' cottage on Shawano Lake, about 50 miles northwest of Green Bay) to nightmares about the Gum Monster (?), he has definitely kept me on my toes today.

Just over dinner he asked me why daddies can't feed their babies milk. Before I could respond, he said, "Oh wait! They can. They can give them bottles. With formula. Or......." He paused briefly. "I was going to say they could put the mommy's milk in a bottle, but I don't know HOW they would do that." Seemed like a great time to bring up his visit to his Great Uncle Tom's farm this summer, so I did. That was all he needed and he proceeded to tell me how Uncle Tom milks his cows, right down to the "vitamin" he gives each one to let the cow's brain know it's time to make the milk come out. "Do mommies get that, too?" he wanted to know. "Maybe some mommies..." I said. Satisfied with figuring out the milking process (both bovine & human), he went on to tell Loic, "Babies drink milk when they're born. My whole family was born. Alastair was born. You were born. Mom was born. And Dad was born." I said, "What about you, Laurence? Weren't you born?" "Nope," he answered. "I was INVENTED!" Sometimes I wonder...

Goin' Green...or Not

I can't say we're an incredibly environmentally conscious family, but we try to do our best. OK, so maybe our "best" simply means we recycle, but at least it's something, right? (Oh, and we also have some of those fancy light bulbs, too.) Anyway, watching as my kids have caught on to the recycling craze is kind of neat -- I can't even remember when recycling really took off, but as a kid, I certainly never thought twice before throwing something in the garbage can. It makes me feel good that the boys can identify, for the most part, what gets recycled and what doesn't. And I think they even know what recycling means (sort of). We are well on our way to raising good little citizens.

Or so I thought...

The other day we were walking at the park and Loic finished a bottle of water (oops -- bottled water. Certainly NOT environmentally friendly.) He dropped the bottle and kept walking. I asked, "Did you just drop that bottle on the ground?" "Yesss!" he replied enthusiastically. "Why would you do that? You should put it in the trash ca...er, recycling," I said. Then he replies, singing a little song, "Nope, I can throw it on the ground, because the world is one biiiiiig trash cannnnn!" So much for my eco-friendly little guy. I have no idea where he came up with that, but it seems we've got a ways to go!

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."