just like his mama

Elinor has another fever, so we are home today. Because I have already used almost half of my paid days off this year staying home to care for a sick child, I decided I needed to focus on getting some things done around the house.

This morning we finished our spring planting. The garden is in -- roma and grape tomatoes, red and green bell peppers, zucchini, basil and parsley. I have replaced a hosta that died last year, and today Harry helped me put the last of our annual flowers in the ground.

Harry and I spent some of Elle's naptime reading in the hammock (mini vacation) and did some laundry together before we headed to the front porch to power wash. As I was working on the porch, Harry stayed at a safe distance on the sidewalk where he entertained himself by chasing ants with a stick.

Until suddenly, I heard him scream. I looked down thinking he must have been stung, but he was standing still -- hardly moving except to cry. Hmm. Did he see a snake?

Nope. It was a moth. A polyphemus moth. Despite my best efforts, the poor kid has inherited my irrational fear of harmless insects -- complete with his very own Special Scream Reserved for Bugs.

The actual moth was larger than this picture -- at least four inches across.

While I guess this episode relieves me of the guilt I was feeling this morning about not knowing when I was going to take the kids to the butterfly show this year, I am pleased to report that when Elinor awoke, Harry was settled down and convinced enough that the moth was harmless that he took her out front to show her the moth while he took a picture with his camera.

Snapshot: April 21, 2012

Elinor walked up to me and handed me her second yogurt stick of the morning (the kids' newest food obsession).
Elinor: "Open yogurt stick, peece."
Me: "Elle, you already ate a yogurt stick. How about a waffle?"
Elinor, in her sweet little sing-songy voice:  "With syr-up? A waffle with syr-up?"
Me: "Yes, Elle, a waffle with syrup."
Elinor:  "On a pink plate?"
Me:  "Sure."
Elinor: "No, on a green plate."
Me: "Okay, on a green plate."
Elinor:  "No, on a blue plate."
Me: "Sure, Elinor."
Elinor: "No! On a Woody plate. Waffle with syrup on a Woody plate!"
Me:  "Okay, a Woody plate it is. Let's go."


When lunch time rolled around, I told Harry that I was going to make Pepperoni Bread.
Harry:  "How are you going to make it? Wait!"  Bursting into giggles, "I know, you take bread and put pepperoni on it."  Poor kid got his mother's sense of humor.

Star Wars 103

So Harry has been steadily building his familiarity with Star Wars, not in small part because we have made a new friend in Star Wars expert Chris Reiff. That means that Harry has someone on call almost around the clock to answer all his questions, no matter how obscure. (His favorite: What's that thing called?) Quite handy, since Mommy is so entirely clueless.

Once Harry hit his fifth birthday, I agreed to let him watch Return of the Jedi. The prequels will wait, but for now he's content with the original trilogy.

Since his birthday, Harry has seen RotJ four or five times, while Mommy still hasn't managed to watch the thing start to finish.


SPOILER ALERT (as if anyone reading this doesn't already know this stuff -- ha!)

His first viewing occurred in my bedroom -- without me because I was tasked with occupying his sister's attention. He took a break to come down and tell me that: Yoda had died; Yoda had then disappeared; and Luke was sad. Alright . . . so he was excited and this news doesn't really spoil the episode for me since I kinda already knew that Yoda was super old and past his expiration. (Like Harry Potter, you just can't avoid Star Wars in America.)

Tonight, though, I thought I might actually get to sit with the lad and watch the entire movie. Yet when I came down from putting Elinor to bed, I found Harry an hour into the movie. (Elle's been sick with Hand Foot and Mouth Disease, so bedtime was rough . . .) Not being the first time he's started without me, I can't say I was too surprised.

I settled in next to him nonetheless, and while enjoying some good, high-quality cuddling and relaxing, I was surprised to find myself giggling during one of the most serious moments in the series.

As the movie neared an end and Luke removed Darth Vader's mask, Harry looked at me and said in all seriousness, "Look at Dark Vader; he looks just like my dad except he's purple and has a little bit of hair."

Gawd, I love that kid!

Harry Potter

So Harry has been asking to watch Harry Potter. If he can handle Star Wars, surely he can handle Sorcerer's Stone, right?

Out of an abundance of caution and wanting to keep our priorities straight, we decided that we would read the book first. Once we make it through the book, he gets to watch the first movie.

And on Day One, I was excited! I told my boss, my coworkers, my friends, anyone who would listen that we were Starting. Harry. Potter. Tonight. And I warned them that I'd be grumpy if it didn't go well. (Harry and Daddy started Charlotte's Web a month or so ago, but their progress has been slow, so . . . Is he really ready for chapter books? I mean, how can anyone doubt that he will love J.K. Rowling's world of wizards and witches?! But he may not be ready . . . )

Come bedtime, naturally, Harry was incredibly sleepy and fell asleep before we could read any stories. Naturally.

So, we sent Harry Potter to Daddy's last night. We didn't want to delay another night because we have a movie to watch!

When he got home tonight, he proudly reported, "We made it all the way through Level One."

Level One? Oh mercy. Where did I go wrong?! Definitely time for chapter books!

Meeting R2

Today was a big day for Harry! We went to the shop where our friend, Mr. Chris, has been building a replica R2. A project begun in October, R2 is not quite done -- still needs a couple tweaks and some paint -- but he is fully functional and super cool!

Mr. Chris generously offered Harry the chance to make R2 go, and although Harry stood back for a bit and just watched, he eventually decided to give it a try.

learning how to make R2 "talk"

learning about R2's controls

Do you want to try?

Awe. Some.

Elinor cowered next to Mommy most of the time, as she still hasn't decided what to make of the droid. Judging by the rate at which her brother has jumped on the Millenium Falcon and the fact that she already recognizes the movie music and can name Darth Vader, I'll be surprised if she isn't wanting to make R2 beep within the month . . .

trampoline

While visiting Grandma Barb and Papa for Easter, Harry discovered the neighbor's new trampoline. Fun!

robots!

Description to come . . . for now, I give you photos.

Meet George Jetson

There was something particularly awesome about introducing Harry to The Jetsons via Amazon Prime instant video streaming on my Kindle Fire.

Castle Park

It blows my mind how different my kids are: Elinor remains almost fearless (except around new people) and will try just about anything, while Harry has always been incredibly cautious.

See the excitement in her eyes and the careful analysis in his?

 But Harry is beginning to try new things, and the difference in his adventurousness is definitely pronounced in comparison to last year.

walking across a rope

running across an unsteady fabric bridge

And then there's Elinor . . .



Of course, she still loves to swing every chance she gets.

  



But she also loves to slide -- on the big slides that still intimidate her big brother . . .



Stargazing

Because it's either been cold or cloudy, Harry hasn't had much chance to try out his new telescope since he got it for Christmas. It doesn't help that I haven't yet figured out how the contraption goes together and works.

When Jupiter, Mars and Venus all became clear in tonight's sky, we took advantage of having a friend on hand who knew how to get us rolling.

Pretty cool stuff, although the planets are all a little far away for our telescope. We're looking forward to an unobstructed full moon.

Art Show

Harry and Elinor's school had an art show this morning. It was fun to see some of the projects they've been working on over the last couple months.

Ms. Colleen asks Elinor about her button art --
Elinor apparently meticulously chose all the prettiest buttons.

Harry brought his new Hot Wheels car to show his friends --
taking advantage of the unusual chance to bring a toy to school.

While I wasn't looking, Elinor snagged a second cookie from some sympathetic and indulgent soul.

Snapshot: February 6, 2012

You know how they say that toddlers are verbal sponges, absorbing language when you least expect (and desire!) it?

Case in point:

At the dinner table tonight, I ask, "Elinor, what did you do at school today?"
Elinor replies, "nothing."
What? Again I ask, "Elle. What. Did you do. At school. Today?"
Elinor, "nothing."
Oh no. Not her too!
Mommy, "Elle, that can't be right."
Elinor, silent and giving me a perplexed look.
Okay . . . slightly different angle, "Did you play with your friends today?"
Elinor, "I don't know."
My baby sounds like a poorly coached and evasive trial witness!
I ask again, "What are you friends' names, Elinor?"
Elinor says blankly, "I don't know."
Really? "You don't know your friends' names, Elle?"
Elinor, "I don't know."

Ya think someone has been listening to her big brother's dinner table responses for the last year? Grrr.

But it could be worse, right? At least I didn't lose my wallet (again) . . . inspiring her to cross diagonally from one corner of her daycare room to the other chanting under her breath "sh*t, sh*t, sh*t, sh*t, sh*t, sh*t, sh*t, etc." like another little two-year-old sponge I knew in 2009. (Confession: Yes, Harry, Mommy inadvertently taught you that forbidden word a full month before your Great Uncle Craig.)

Introducing Music Hall

Today I took Harry and Elinor to Music Hall for the Cincinnati Pops' Lollipops concert. I introduced Harry to Music Hall at 22-23 months. Elinor is currently 26 months. You know what they say about the second child, right? I'm a little behind. But not too far. Right?!


Because this blog didn't exist during Harry's first trip to Music Hall, you'll have to indulge a brief stroll down memory lane . . . On February 21, 2009, I introduced Harry to Music Hall via an ArtsWave (fka Fine Arts Fund) Sampler Weekend concert with the CSO. The theme of that concert was Bugs, and Harry loved it (thanks to a few grapes that I sneaked past the ushers -- shhh, don't tell!)

one of my favorite pics of toddler Harry

So fast-forwarding back to today, the theme was It's Storytime! The concert began and ended with some incredibly fun and familiar Rossini pieces. In the middle we heard Saint-Saens's Carnival des Animaux (during which both Harry, kissing my hand repeatedly, and Elinor, spontaneously telling me "I uv you" twice, were appropriately inspired by The Swan -- such little sensitive musical prodigies -- ha!) and Stravinsky's Firebird Suite (after only a few bars, recalling Fantasia 2000, Harry whispered to me, "that's the volcano one"). We also got to hear Lang Lang perform Chopin -- first elegantly captivating and then with an orange in his right hand. Seriously. Wow.

Elle, Mommy and Har on our way into Music Hall

checking out a trombone pre-concert

too distracted for a posed picture

love my little sis!

 

the view from our awesome Gallery Q seats

 

 

"Who's in the gallery?" It was our turn to join the Kookaburra round.

Lang Lang plays Chopin: Mesmerizing.

Lang Lang plays Chopin with an orange in his right hand.

What a wonderful morning! Such a delight to share one of my Cincinnati favorites with both my kids. And they were wonderfully behaved -- generally quiet throughout, clapped when appropriate and sat patiently through the show. Of course . . . the craisins during the final third of the performance and the promise of a cookie on the way home for following the pre-determined rules may have helped. (Sometimes what ever works, right?) The goal was a positive experience, and this we enjoyed.

The proof is in the pudding:  Later in the afternoon, I overheard Harry tell Daddy that "[Lang Lang] is even gooder than my mama." I'd say that qualifies as a memorable impression.

The Pre-Determined Rules (for the record): We sit quietly while the musicians are performing; and we clap when Mommy claps.