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."

Happy Halloween!

M and his cousin L are best friends.  They dream of experiencing the trivialities of childhood together:  riding in a wagon at the grocery store, traveling in the same car, etc.  So, we planned several months ago that M and I would travel to Boston for some cousin-bonding-cum-trick-or-treating this year.

The kids all had a great time.  L and A gave M an Imaginext Robot Police Headquarters and Deep Sea Robot for his birthday, which was a huge hit with all the kids.  In fact, it was at the heart of our first gender discrimination play (A and M played, L got a little bored and felt left out) which was an interesting dynamic to watch.

Our plans were somewhat disrupted by a freak snowstorm and resultant power failure.   

Grandma tortured the kids to get a photo for her Christmas cards. 

A is crazy for Papa, and at a mere 20 months of age clearly expressed that he wanted Papa to be his grown up at gymnastics.

M joined L at gymnastics and did a great job following directions.The class had a Halloween theme and he's still practicing his Frankenstein walk (his "favorite monster").

A with his favorite grown up.

M and L having fun in the snow.  It's amazing how much they hug each other.

M messing around when the snow began to fall.

L messing around when the snow began to fall.

A also loved the snow.

It was pretty chilly when we woke up to no power.  S, L and A are pretending to be asleep.

And the snow just kept on falling!

Sledding before Halloween!

After 24 hours, record low temps and no heat we gave up and headed to Grandma & Papa's, who had power.

Trick or treating in L's neighborhood would have had more kids (uh, any other kids) but they still made the best of it!

Papa very kindly drove us to the airport.  We were there in plenty of time (no lines or waiting anywhere)  and we conveniently forgot the sandwiches I made, so we had dinner at Legal Seafood and found a new airport playground.

Coffee and Tea

After weeks of having nothing to do, today I actually had three appointments on my calendar. This morning was the big kick off of the weekly parents coffees at M's school, then I went out to Buittenveldert for a newcomers coffee at the local women's club, then back to school for a class meeting. And I fit some grocery shopping in there. Compared to my life in the states this was nothing, but by the time I picked M up I was utterly exhausted. It was all I could do to keep the TV off until 4:15. We had an early dinner and after, had a little tea party before bath. M very kindly brought the train shaped biscuits and when I pretended to take a bite of James, he was thoughtful enough to warn me that I was biting the paper.