Children Say Many Amusing Things

Ages ago, I read an interesting article in the New Yorker.  I know this was ages ago because I only subscribed to the New Yorker for the first six months I lived in New York. I found the weekly publication schedule so stressful that I cancelled my subscription.

Anyway, the piece by Adam Gopnick was about psychoanalysis.  I don't think it was specifically about his experience with psychoanalysis but he did draw on his own experience.  Once, after the author unloaded a long story about his ambivalence about having children, the analyst simply retorted, "Children say many amusing things."  This quote had a huge impact on Gopnick, who went on to have a family and remember what his doctor said every time his kids said something amusing.  If his house was anything like ours, he probably remembers his doctor on a daily basis.  Since I read the article, I know I do.

Recently M was remarking on the different ways his friends pronounce his name. The pronunciation does differ noticeable between his cousin L, who has a Boston accent, his British teachers and friends, and West Coast L. As we discussed this, he asked where West Coast L is from. I told him Portland. He replied, "she speaks Port."  Last weekend out of the blue M said, "I think I'll marry L and be an army man."  I asked what L would do and he said, "she'll stay with the kids so they don't get into mischief."  When I asked how many kids, he said, "two, because that works out well for bunk beds."  When I asked where they would live he said, "when L's mom dies we'll live in her house, and I'll be Port!"  (Note:  moving into someone's house after they die is a recurring theme with M; I suspect he doesn't understand real estate transactions and thinks this is the only way to acquire property).

A couple of weekends ago we were out most of the day, then we came back and played Batman. First with figures then live action. I was the Riddler, then maybe after a few minutes M said, "pretend I'm Bat Boy and daddy is Bat Man and you are the Joker but you turned nice and married Bat Man."  Reforming baddies is a recurring theme with M; his "lands" must not have a high rate of recidivism as Batman, etc. spend a lot of time teaching the villains how to be nice.

M is a huge fan of Robin Hood, and often uses his Playmobil knights castle to play a version of Robin Hood.  I, always assigned the role of the baddy, am often asked to be the "Foamy King of England."  For those of you who (unlike me) haven't watched Disney's Robin Hood four million times in the past year, there is a song that refers to Prince John as the "Phony King of England."

Zoo

A Last week we went to the zoo with M's friend from school.  We'll call her West Coast L to differentiate her from M's cousin L.  West Coast L is a lovely little girl with a great imagination, just like M.  She is also one of the older kids in a class of kids with birthdays in both 2007 and 2008 and when M started school and there were only a handful of English speakers, she was there for him.  She also doesn't go to school on Fridays so it works out well.

It was freezing cold but that was OK.  The zoo has plenty of inside places:  reptile house, primate house, butterfly house and one we'd never been in, the small mammal house.

This past Friday we also hung out with West Coast L and her mom.  M had suggested a swim, so we took a trip out to Amstelveen to the hotel pool we used when we came here for house hunting.  The previous two times we went to the pool we were actually registered guests but nobody checked.  On Friday were weren't, and they checked, so as you might imagine M was pretty disappointed.  But we decided to go to West Coast L's house for lunch and when I later apologized to M for swimming not working out, he said, "That's OK, going to [West Coast L]'s house was even better!"

M's love of swimming is another motivator to get the bike situation sorted out.  There's a great pool not to far away from us, but it's too long a walk, especially with a little kid.  Public transport is kind of a pain, but it would be a very easy, fast cycle.

Not so 'dam after all

So, we arrived in Amsterdam on July 25th and on August 11th returned to the States for vacation.  This was pre-arranged months ago, before we had even decided on our move and was in no way a reaction to our experience abroad.

Grandma and Papa at Heritage Museum and Gardens

Our flight to Amsterdam, the last of our business class trips for a while, was a bit of a disaster.  Peter and I were so busy with last minute scrubbing that poor M was neglected and didn't get much exercise or a nap.  When we boarded at 5:30 he was obviously knackered, but would not go to sleep at 6, or 7 (6:45 is his usual non-nap bedtime) or 8.  Finally, at 8:30, he fell asleep, but first screamed at the top of his lungs.  Our usually mild-mannered child made a lot of enemies in the business class cabin.  I'm sure everyone in the business class cabin wanted us to personally reimburse their $5,000 airfare, but hey, my kid is exhausted and that's why there are earplugs in the fancy amenities kit.  Next time, though, I'm just going to let him stay up and eat and let him catch up on sleep upon arrival.  The battle isn't worth it for anyone.


Within a couple of days M had adjusted to Amsterdam time and really didn't seem bothered by the 10 p.m. sunsets.  It was strange, difficult,  to be a stay-at-home mom, especially in an unfamiliar place.  Every day I tried to have an adventure with M, give him some quiet time, and also provide an opportunity to interact with other children.  He also watches one hell of a lot of TV.  All of these things are necessitated by my utter exhaustion and the fact that our belongings are delayed.  But, it's true what they say:  a kid with no toys will get really creative.  I was thrilled to see the Octonauts action figures sleeping on the TV remotes in a make-shift medical center and every day M is excited to get another new yogurt container to play with.  But, alas, my kingdom for some Legos.

L and M Like to Tell Everyone They are Twins!

So, here we are on Cape Cod.  Peter was here for a few days, and my niece L was here for a week to go to camp with M.  The two kids together are a handful but everyone was sad to see her go home.  Alas, now M only has one playmate, Papa.  But we managed to have lots of fun, including visiting Heritage Museum and Gardens and having dinner at Grandma and Papa's club.

These Lego's are from 1976--And Going Strong!!