Who's in charge?

Wild Thing: "Daddy, play blocks with me!"

Me: "WT, are you giving me an order?"

WT: "I am giving you orders."

Me: "Well, WT, you don't give me orders. You need to ask nicely."

WT: "May I give you orders please?"

Unexpected alphabet

WT: "Daddy! Your ear looks like the letter D!"

Not really on hiatus, I guess

Since I seem to have more mental space for this, and internet access is better than expected ...

Two nights ago, Wild Thing was exposed to Chesapeake Bay cuisine for the first time. His doting grandmother offered him a bite of her crab cake.

DG: "WT, would you like a bite of crab cake?"

WT: "Yes ... But the crab won't like it!"

Off hiatus (though just for a moment)

Wild Thing loves traveling. Despite a long hard day yesterday and a weird sleep schedule, he continues in great spirits. Random notes:

* We broke out Overworked Spouse's trumpet from high school, and he promptly managed to produce a high C. Not bad for a beginner.

* Yesterday on the airplane, WT learned about puns. Overworked Spouse ran his Thomas the Tank Engine model over his foot, saying "chugga chugga ... SHOE SHOE!" OS had to explain the joke a time or two, but after that it became the best joke in the history of his short life, generating gales of laughter even hours later.

* When I woke him from his nap today, he was feeling coy. I told him he was very cute.

WT (pulling pillow over face): "I'm not cute. Not right now."
Me: "Oh, OK."
WT (pushing away the pillow just a bit): "Well, I guess I am a little cute."

More notes as time permits ...

Hiatus, again

Out of town again--off to the East Coast for some family time. Looking forward to remembering how to sweat.

Neighbors

Wild Thing, introducing a visitor to our neighborhood, and pointing: "See our neighbors?"

Visitor: "Are those your neighbors?"

WT: "Yup. They're sweet!"

Now, our neighbors are nice enough, but "sweet" isn't really the term I'd have chosen ....

Friday Random 10: What, It's Friday Already? Edition

1. Quality of Mercy--Michelle Shocked
2. Susan's Adventures--Diane Dugaw
3. Yesterday is Here--Tom Waits
4. Sunday Morning Coming Down--Johnny Cash
5. In the Lord's Arms--Ben Harper
6. Over and Under--Ellen Furman
7. I Don't Believe You--The Magnetic Fields
8. Land of 1000 Dances--Wilson Pickett
9. Bone Machine--The Pixies
10. Used to You--Ani DiFranco

Random notes and observatios: "Sunday Morning Coming Down" is a Kris Kristofferson song; this is perhaps the only instance I can think of where the Johnny Cash version of a song isn't better than the original. Oh, wait, there's also his cover of "No Expectations," about which the less said the better.

Diane Dugaw is an English professor at the U of Oregon; she was, once upon a time, an accomplished folk singer, and her Dangerous Examples--Fighting & Sailing Women in Song is as nice a collection of songs about female soldiers and sailors as you'll find anywhere.

Hmmm ... you look OK to me ....

Wild Thing, lying on the bathroom floor tonight, refuses to get up on his stool to brush his teeth. He cries, "I can't! I'm too dead!"

Friday Random Ten: Nixon Sang Bass Edition

1. Knock on Wood--Eddie Floyd
2. Escape Artist--My Dad is Dead
3. Dark End of the Street--Frank Black
4. In a Way--Paul Duncan
5. Speed of the Sound of Loneliness--Nancy Griffith
6. Crying--Roy Orbison
7. Carl Perkins' Cadillac--Drive-By Truckers
8. Did She Jump or Was She Pushed?--Linda and Richard Thompson
9. Moses--Bessie Jones and others (rec. Alan Lomax)
10. Missing Children--Okkervil River

Did FDR really do vocals on "Love Me Do"?

Wild Thing has, slowly but surely, been introduced to pictures of figures of historical importance with whom he has no personal acquaintance. That is to say, he is learning to recognize the faces of US Presidents, thanks to the Presidential trivia placemat we found for him at a garage sale; and, he is learning to recognize the faces of John, Paul, George, and Ringo, just because. The best part, though, is the fact that he has no real conception of what distinguishes one category from the other, which means that the Beatles have essentially joined the pantheon of American politicians.

Me (pointing to a picture of Thomas Jefferson): Wild Thing, who is this?

WT: Ringo!

George Washington is rolling over in his grave. Or maybe George Harrison. Or maybe both.

Sticky kids

This photoset documents the untidy shenanigans of two toddlers.

Peanut butter is involved. You've been warned.

Via BoingBoing.

What's in a name?

Me, getting Wild Thing ready for his nap: "Oh, look at the little sleepyhead..."

WT: "I'm not sleepyhead! I'm cutie-pie!"

Fun with homonyms

Driving down the road, we see a sign for the Red River.

Overworked Spouse: "Hey, Wild Thing, that's the Red River. Do you think this could be the Red River Valley?"

WT: "Nope!"

Me: "It's not really a valley, anyway. It's more like a coastal plain."

WT: "No! This cannot fly!"

Here's to politeness

Last night, after Overworked Spouse and I clinked our glasses together to celebrate a special occasion, Wild Thing took note. "Again!" he cried.

We obliged. He is, after all, in charge.

"Again!"

OS replied thusly: "If you want us to do it again, you should propose a toast. That means you say something nice."

Wild Thing thought for a moment.

"Please?"

We decided that was as good a toast as any.

Friday Random Ten: Fulltime Era Edition

1. "Two-Headed Boy"--Neutral Milk Hotel
2. "Sheep"--The Housemartins
3. "Glass Hotel"--Robyn Hitchcock
4. "This Is A Recording 4 Living In A Fulltime Era (L.I.F.E.)"--De La Soul
5. "Gentle Annie"--Ollabelle
6. "Elysium"--Portishead
7. "El Carretero"--Buena Vista Social Club
8. "Don't Explain"--Dexter Gordon
9. "Helplessly Hoping"--Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
10. "Blues for Los Angeles"--Bill Frisell

Dishing it out, taking it

Yesterday, Wild Thing surveyed the disgraceful state of my workspace. Here may be observed random piles of paper, scattered books and bookmarks, and the occasional used tissue from last week's cold.

WT: "Daddy, you made a big mess."

Me: "Yes, WT, you're right. I should really get this cleaned up."

WT (looking at me very seriously as he echoes back a phrase now familiar to him): "Now, what did you do that was not OK?"

He feels pretty

Scene: On a brief walk, early in the evening.

Wild Thing: I had fun at school today!

Me: Really? That's great. What did you do?

WT: I wore lots of dresses!

It's true. Wild Thing loves to wear dresses. His current favorite is a Barbie-themed spandex number, but he's also fond of a much more organic blue housedress with sunflowers stiched onto it.

Has adolescence arrived early?

Wild Thing has discovered the trick of pretending not to hear what we're saying when we ask him to do something (or to stop doing something). "Wild Thing, don't stand up on the chair." The reply: "What did you say?" delivered with a self-satisfied grin. Repeat as needed.