Wednesday, June 25, 2008

some pics from driveway puppet show day


A bunch of monkeys drawing on a chalkboard.



His pal lila. They go way back (3 years).



His new friend Zachary. They were very compatible. Maybe it was Zachary's gentle nature and how he played the same way Elian did -- or maybe it was the twinkle in his eye when he told Elian how he loved going to the Kitty Cat Klub with the really fun pool game...and pinball games there.



Look how they're just both so interested in where that orange ball is going.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

the henrik factor

There's a little boy named Henrik that we've known since the boys were in baby class together. We haven't seen Henrik very much recently but he goes to Elian's pre-school mornings and he was at the field trip to the farm.

We've had this ongoing shtick involving Henrik for quite some time now. It started when Elian made me a popsicle-stick frame for Mother's Day at pre-school. When I picked him up I told him how much I loved it and how I couldn't wait to put his picture in it. He said, "Don't put my picture in it." Then I replied, "Well, whose picture would I put in it?" And out of the blue, he responded, "Henrik's". This quickly became a little joke of ours. When Elian doesn't want to do something that I think would be fun, I sometimes nonchalantly bring up Henrik's name, "Ooooh, I wonder if Henrik would want to do it..." This may sound mean but the boy totally gets the joke and he plays along with it. Henrik's name comes up more than you might expect in our house.

Fast forward to today. I was singing some silly song at breakfast time about "Who's my special little guy?" Not missing a beat, and as about as off-key as I was, Elian sings back, "Hen-rikkkkkkk"

water-themed day

Now that the weather's been nice, the little man and I are going downtown more frequently for lunch dates with Papa. Today we ate at Peavey Plaza where they have Tunes at Noon. However, we did not hear any of said tunes due to the fact that Elian wanted to sit within arm's reach of the roaring water fountain. After our lunch we all shared a giant scoop of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie in a bowl. Note to self: bowl is no less messier than a cone. Then we dropped twigs and leaves in the fountain and watched as it cascaded level by level to the bottom. And if you think the little man can see a Port-a-Potty and not suddenly get the urge to go to the bathroom, you'd be wrong my friend.

Then as if that didn't make for enough fun in a day already, after "nap" time, we headed on over to the water park by our house. The little dude is getting a lot braver by the day, and he was jumping into the pool like nobody's business. A trip to the bathroom revealed a drain in the floor. Did I mention the boy loves drains...and pipes...and downspouts...? Perhaps it's the marble-run-esque nature of how the water travels through them. So back to the drain. He sees it in the floor and says: "A drain! A beautiful drain...Oh, it's so beautiful...what a beautiful drain..." Do I see some plumber crack in his future?

We had a great time at the water park except for the part when he wanted to go down the water slide and I told him he had to be 42 inches. Amid all the tears he said, "Maybe next time we come I'll be big enough."

Monday, June 23, 2008

quote of the day

I almost forgot. Last night at the puppet show, the accordion player was interacting with the audience. She talked about her accordion and asked the kids if any of them played an instrument.

Little e leaned forward, sitting on the edge of my lap, and belted out, "I play the drums!"

This was news to Ed and me. But you know what wasn't news? The boy is not shy.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

blog rut

Guess you could say I've been in sort of a blogging rut these days. Since the weather's been so beautiful, the last thing I want to do is sit in front of my computer. Then there's the part about how the boy's been saying such funny things that I can't even keep up with it. I almost feel overwhelmed by the funniness.

Here's my attempt to de-rutify. I'll tell you about the perfect weekend we had. It started out with a t-ball double header. We packed a picnic lunch and watched Emma, Gavin and Lilah's t-ball games. I would be lying if I said I wasn't jibber-jabbering through both games and missed most of the plays. But I did see each one of them bat and Gavin lose his shoe as he was rounding the bases. Then our pal Duncan came home with us while Mike and Shannon went out of town.

Saturday, it was a beautiful day. We went to the Walker to meet Chad and his daughter Nora for a round of mini golf. We had forgotten that it was the weekend of Rock the Garden so we nearly missed mini-golfing since they closed up shop early. But after playing our round, we ate lunch outside while listening to Andrew Bird and the New Pornographers warm up and while Elian and Nora played tag and hide and seek.

Saturday night we ate dinner outside by the river at Picosa. The dinner was great, service not so much. Since it started to pour, we had to skip our river walk that we had planned. Elian got to stay up extra late since he took a sweet nap that afternoon. So he and Mama snuggled on the couch while watching Word World and Curious George. I may have dozed off a few times.

Which brings us to today. Nothing too exciting in the morning. Some laundry complete with sheet changing. I told Elian I was putting his Mickey Mouse sheets on his bed, to which he replied: "Thanks, Mama. I only say 'Thank you' when you do things I want." This afternoon we went to an Open Eye Theatre Driveway Tour puppet show. The show was supposed to be in a friend of a friend's backyard. But as soon as we got there, it started to down pour, so they moved it inside their house. It was a pretty cool show although four children ended up crying due to some scary bad guys. Elian really enjoyed it and I think the fact that we were seated more toward the back and he was sitting on my lap made him more brave. The people who hosted the show had a little boy named Zachary. Zachary is 4 1/2 and if ever there was a soul mate for Elian, it is Zachary. He loves balls, pool, pinball AND marbles. The two of them played like best buddies all night and hopefully we will be getting together with them again soon for some bowling.

To top off our perfect weekend, on the way home from the puppet show, Elian asked out of the blue: "Mama, when I came out of your belly button, where did I come out?"

Friday, June 13, 2008

quote of the day

ELIAN: Mama, know my favorite band?

MAMA: (I do know) What is it buddy?

ELIAN: The Red Hot Chile Peppers.

MAMA: Oooh, they're good.

ELIAN: You know my favorite song?

MAMA: (I do know) No, what is it?

ELIAN: Californication.


Which reminds me of the time we were in the backyard. Our neighbor two houses down was talking to me from across the yard. She was talking about her recent trip to California. The little man couldn't help himself from interjecting things about "Californication."

Thursday, June 05, 2008

why i'll never be able to throw away another cardboard tube as long as i live

What do you do with a bunch of cardboard tubes, the protective cardboard package edging from your new garage door, a nifty wooden track that Papa made, some blocks and beloved cedar balls?

You do this, that's what you do!



I often wonder how old the boy will be when marble runs stop making him hop. I hope at least 16. I don't want the hopping to stop. (Oh, the future girlfriend's gonna love this one -- the hopping with underwear AND SOCKS!)

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

quote of the day

(Digging in the garden yesterday, after many failed attempts at finding worms, I help him dig and we finally find one.)

"Mama, you're the best worm finder EVER!"



(Mike: the comments are now open for your, "That's what she said.")