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."

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."

Sistah K's Take

Sistah M, Sistah A and their kids stayed with us for 3 days earlier this week. Sistah A had never met Loic before, and hadn't seen Laurence in 3 years. Just prior to their visit, they also spent 2 days with Sistah K, who had the pleasure of spending an entire week with the boys last summer. Sistah M recounted this conversation that took place between Sistah A and Sistah K...

Sistah A: So, I've never met Loic before...and I haven't seen Laurence in a long time. How would you describe them?

Sistah K: They are completely different.

Sistah A: What do you mean?

Sistah K: Well...Laurence prefers to read about the world...and Loic would rather LICK it!