Oct 24, 2004
Silas the clown
Silas' speech is still changing pretty dramatically. He has started to volunteer a lot more comments, like "I like that sign" or "What that doing in here?" or "Steam coming out of that" (about a misty hill) or comments on imaginative games (unfortunately I can't think of an example right now).
He is also joking around in new ways. Tonight we were riding home in the car, and the kids were pretty quiet for a while. Then Silas announced, "I take my ear off!" I looked at him and he was grabbing at his ear. He gleefully added, "I put new ear on!"
That was right up Russell's alley, so they played that game together all the way home!
Why I need caffeine early in the mornings
One day last week, Russell woke up early. I went in and cuddled with him, wondering if he needed to go back to sleep, but he seemed quite alert and his eyes were open.
Suddenly I realized his little face was puckering up in distress and tears were in his eyes. "Russell, what's the matter? Is something bothering you?"
"I was thinking..." with a small sob, "I was thinking about when this planet dies and disappears."
I reassured him that wouldn't happen for a long, long time (not adding "after we're all dead"; I thought that might not be entirely soothing).
Suzzy the cat was on his bed with us, purring, as she often is these days. He started cuddling her for comfort, then started to cry again, and sobbed, "When Suzzy d-d-dies and and we have her ashes, can we sprinkle them in my bed sheets?" (I had recently explained about cremation and sprinkling a person's ashes in places they loved.)
I gently reminded him we had taken Suzzy to the vet this month and she seemed perfectly healthy. I have to admit I dodged the bed sheet question.
Meanwhile, the thought pounding through my brain was, Why are we having this conversation before I've had my tea??
Oct 10, 2004
The bears at play
We've been having a fun time this October. Here are some pictures of things we did the last couple of weekends. (As usual, you can click on a picture to see a bigger version.)
We went to Hoyt Arboretum and looked at very tall trees:
We went to Milwaukie Farmers' Market (where, incredibly, they still had great raspberries):
We went to Sellwood Riverfront Park, where we found a pool with tadpoles, looked at the wonderful views of the river, the Sellwood Bridge, and downtown, and climbed on rocks:
and we just hung around the house reading and acting goofy:
(The last picture is a pretty typical scene at our house. That's me in the background laughing helplessly and clutching my head.)
Oct 03, 2004
Marine decorating tips
Russell today started explaining something to me about sharks living in dens. It sounded plausible to me, and he's probably better informed about sharks than I am, so I just said, "Really?"
A minute or two later he added brightly: "Julie, did you know that sharks sometimes catch fish, and then they use it as wallpaper or insulation for their home. And then they pile rocks around it and catch more fish."
I suppose sharks are also outvertebrates. That's what Russell insists non-invertebrate animals are.