"Discover Science Here"

Lately, Oliver is really into Rube Goldberg machines. In fact, that's what he wants for Christmas. We'll see what Santa can do... Hmmm. He's also into making signs and likes looking through the magnifying glass. The other day he put the magnifier on top of a cup to look closely at it's liquid contents. Then he wrote this sign:

Gotta love it. 

Leaf faces

Meet leaf characters: GG, Geirld, Ben, Clark, and Suzie.  Their respective ages can be seen on the bottom of each leaf.  

Ollie made these the other day. I love that imagination of his.

Here we go

Ollie's off to school today.  He and I weren't ready to say good bye to the stay-home-and-play (-and-I-know-everything-you-are-doing-thank-heavens) phase. But he's had some good pep talks from his dad and me, and we talked more as we walked up to the school, and sure enough, he mustered up the courage and went in.  He's going to do great!  As he marched into that school, I gathered the courage to adios the old phase and move onto the go-to-school-then-come-home-and-play phase.  And even though it's hard, it sounds good too.

Say cheerio to our summer schedule (thanks to big O for writing this up):

Say hello to our school year:

Making sense of it all, part iv

Bah, I typed up a science post for this week.  It was almost done and then, bam, iPad out of battery power. It turned off and nothing was saved. Darn. I didn't have the energy to type it all up again, so no bp's science for this week. I'll try again next week :)

But this post is about a much cooler thing, Oliver.  He is such a fun kid. And a ham.

The other day he was swinging on the play set so very high and said, "Mom, I'm using all my allergy!"  He meant "energy."

He likes to make up words and give them meanings.  The latest: imbince, which is to make someone fall without them knowing what's coming.

The other day I taught him the art of drawing on magazine faces.  He took to it quite quickly and made a mustachioed man playing golf.

Oliver always asks how long it will be until we go to our planned event for the day.  Whether I reply 10 minutes or two hours he always says, "That's not very long."  Patient boy.

And just to add, Oliver got up before me (Jess was up and showering) one morning and did this.

It's his version of the phonetic alphabet.  My favorite: aich for H.

Birthdays and birthday cards

We've celebrated two birthdays over here that need mention.  Happy birthday to Ollie (for whom I have no photos since misplacing my camera) and Jess. Two top notch people, guaranteed!  And look at this drive-way birthday card (that Oliver made with Grandma). Part of it reads, "HB:J!" which translated is, "Happy Birthday: Jess!" Little does Oliver know he is already hip to text-like talk, although he came up with it entirely by himself.

On another note, Jess and I recently discussed text acronyms and phrases that we know and some we haven't a clue. We also discussed shortened words like awks, cray cray, and totes. And before I make any sarcastic comments, I guess I should withhold judgment because, as a teen, I shortened words all over the place.

Wednesday, 4:01pm

          Artiststes, as Oliver would say

Making sense of it all, part III

Lately, Oliver's into Beatles music.  We like to listen to "Paperback Writer" which he interprets as "Take a Bath Righteous."  Listen to the song sometime, it does sound like that is what Paul is singing.  Another song, "When I'm 64" has a line it in that says "losing my hair" and Oliver sings it "losing my head."  Now come to think of it, four year-olds are not the only people who interpret songs incorrectly.

He thought the Sesame Street character Louise was call Nouise.  He calls trampolines, tramFolines.  And he calls Whitmore Library, "Whipped Cream Library."  I love it!

In the morning, Ansel came into Oliver's room and pulled the clock cord out of the socket.  Oliver declared, "Mom, the timer is now plugged out."

The other day Oliver exclaimed, "Mom, I am handsome and my voice is handsome."  Indeed.

"Mom, take a picture of my carrot whistle!"

a thousand words plus

Fridays

Have you ever noticed that on Friday you hardly get any email?  I think people are gearing up for the weekend and that's a good thing.  This week, Oliver is very excited for something coming up on Saturday.  He's mentioned it a few times with the biggest smile.  No, we don't have any parties to attend this weekend. We aren't going on vacation and it isn't anyone's birthday. We aren't getting a pet or buying a bike or even going out for doughnuts.

The boy is excited for Saturday because it is the day when the show Bloopers airs.  Have you seen this show?  Probably not, as it is on channel 2-2, which, for those of you using cable, have never heard of nor have any need or interest to know about.  Apparently, Oliver watched part of this cheaply produced version of America's Funniest Videos last Saturday and can't stop thinking about it (even though we did some other fun stuff that day). He loves the videos and laughs consistently throughout the show.  Dean Cain does the hosting of the program in front of a green screen with an added laugh track!  He's pretty good at acting like he's talking to a live studio audience, if that is even possible. 

So this Saturday, no matter what we go out and do, we've got to be back by 4pm in order to tune into channel 2-2 to watch Bloopers because Oliver is very much looking forward to it. 

What four year old being crazy with the camera wouldn't want to watch Bloopers?

Making sense of it all, Valentine Edition

Jess gave Oliver a box of (his own!) chocolates for Valentines Day. Of course, Oliver wanted one immediately but knows the drill at our house - healthy foods then a treat.  And so he said hurriedly, "Let's eat a healthy breakfast first!"  He was concerned Multigrain Cheerios had a little too much sugar.  Jess didn't understand. I explained, "There's an inverse relationship here.  Ollie obviously thinks that the less sugar in the healthy breakfast, the more treat he gets to enjoy."  Good thinking.

Oliver loves to sneak candy, except he likes to tell you about it.  "Mom, close your eyes," he says and then adds, "I'm going to have some chocolate when you're not looking." What's more, when I'm taking a shower or upstairs doing something, I'll come down to find him smiling to which is explains, "I sneaked some candy."

A man came to our front door to drop off some flowers Jess had most kindly ordered.  We brought the flowers in and prepared to read the card.  "I think these are from dad!" I said excitedly, to which Oliver replied with confusion, "But that man did not look like dad."

He had a Valentines Day party during preschool yesterday.  I got to help out and was in charge of a game that would take 7 minutes.  Seven minutes?  I wasn't sure what to do but ended up with a classic, musical chairs.  But there was a twist: whoever didn't get a chair had a chance to redeem him or herself by answering a question correctly.  Questions like: tell me a food that is in the diary group or what month is it?  After the first few questions, some of the kids were choosing not to get a chair! They wanted to be asked the questions. Ahh, the joy of being four.

And finally, Oliver made Valentines for his buddies.  We made a card accompanied by a chocolate and a pencil. Before I knew it Oliver was adding stuff, dinosaur stickers, a couple sheets of his number paper, and a heart made out of his fingerprints. Good times.

Happy {belated} Valentines Day!

A Hawaiian Christmas

We spent this past Christmas in the delightful rays of the Hawaiian sunshine.  We were spoiled.  Oliver woke up and immediately went to the beach, jumped in the ocean, and wrote in the sand.  Ansel crawled all over the shore (making a snail trail in the sand) and then he'd head for the water.  He was going non-stop.  You should have seen the kid's knees; by the end of the day, they were as dirty as could be from climbing all over the place.  Jess and I basked in the sun, relaxed, enjoyed good food.  But best of all, we enjoyed good company since we were there with Jess' family.  Jess' parents made it possible.  We did everything from open ocean kayaking to snorkeling to hiking to enjoying a pineapple ice cream cone (or Dole whip).  Before we left, Oliver asked, "Will home be sunny like Hawaii?"  I think - no, I know - we all wished that it would be.  I don't think any of us were ready to leave.

We wake up super early (due to time change) and took in the beautiful sunrise, it was worth it

Ansel and Jess up at the summit of the Makapu'u lighthouse hike


Our view at the top


Enjoying the splendor that is Hawaii


Oliver climbs a huge tree!


Lots of good times on the beach in the sand


Look at that pineapple!


Palm Circle is a sight I love


The sunset at Waikiki

 
This kid loved crawling in the sand, he even had a few bites but decided it was not for him

What you find...

...when you have a four year old who loves to write.

7:45am around here and other notes

November is whizzing by us.  With these beautiful 60+ degree days, it is just so pleasant.

These brothers are playing together more these days, even at 7:45am.  Very fun and neat to watch.

And in other news, I watched a documentary on JFK last night and I finally, yes finally, get the difference between The Bay of Pigs incident and the Cuban Missile Crisis.  Let's just say I am not a history scholar and it is a wonder I passed the AP History exam.  I am learning more about history now more than ever.  I guess high school was not the best environment to learn history, my least favorite subject.  Amidst reading, biology, math, and social dealings; history took a back seat.  I mean, a fifteen passenger van back seat.  But I feel like I am catching up, one history book and program at a time.

And what's on your Thanksgiving recipe list this month?  I am eagerly looking for a good roll recipe.  Of all my time spent baking, rolls have been neglected.  And I am assigned to bring them to the festivities this year!  Of course, we will also be making our (little family's) beloved cranberry sauce.  And I have made a couple of iterations of pumpkin bread already.  Plus, green beans with almonds and butter are another favorite.  But first, rolls.  I need a recipe for rolls.

And has anyone been watching The Paradise on Masterpiece?  We've been taking in each episode week by week and I am always wishing there was more to the story.  But we keep watching and enjoying.  Not the best series, but entertaining all the same.

And with that, I hope your November is going well.

Making sense of it all, part II

The other day Oliver was talking to me about how someday he will become a Dad.  I think he is looking forward to it, but he did have a couple of concerns.

concern no. 1: who will his children be?  

I explained to him that I was not sure who they would be, but I knew they would be awesome. He didn't seem to understand and responded, "Will my children be Ansel?" To which I replied, "No, not Ansel but like Ansel.  In fact, just like you and Ansel were in heaven before you came to our family, your future children are in heaven right now."

Oliver paused, made a confused face and said "You mean my children will be Jesus?" 

concern no. 2: who will go with him when he goes to work?

Oliver made a declaration: "Mom, when I become a Dad, I will go to work."

"That's right, you will go to work." I said.

"But I will miss you Mom.  I'll want you to come with me."

To which I replied, "That sounds fun.  I'll definitely have to come to your work sometime."

And hopefully someday, I will.

But for now, I am good with Oliver being four and making faces with me.

Making sense of it all

It's neat to see the mind of a four year old making sense of the world. Below are a couple of fun examples:

- One morning, Jess was saying a silent prayer over his breakfast.  Oliver asked Jess what he was doing.  "I'm saying a prayer quietly in my mind," Jess responded.  To which Oliver replied, "I say prayers in my mouth."

- Oliver's friend from across the street was explaining to him one afternoon that her bedroom is painted hot pink.  The next day, Oliver held out a pink marker and asked, "Is this marker hot pink or cold pink?"

- With these beautiful skies, I often tell Oliver to look up at the clouds.  One afternoon he looked up and said, "They are gi-mantic!"

- One afternoon we were having a picnic with Oliver's two-year-old cousin.  She was answering a question by saying "No" but it sounded like "Nee-o."  Oliver then explained, "Neo* is something you put on underneath a band-aid." *neo is what we call Neosporin around here.

- Often when I tell Oliver he has 10 more minutes to play until he needs to get ready for bed, he says to me, "But Mom, how about 9 more minutes?" as if 9 more minutes is more than 10 minutes.

More to come...

Buster Keaton

Oliver and I are into watching the silent movies of Buster Keaton.  I'll watch the whole movie then find the funny parts and have Ollie watch them with me.  He loves them.  The other day he told me he was acting like "the black and white guy" and proceeded to run around very fast.  If you are up for some good ol' entertainment take a peek at one of these classics.

And no, Ollie does not usually get this close to the screen.

Growing

It's getting colder and I'm getting out the long sleeved shirts, pants, socks, and coats.  Pants that I rolled once (even twice) for Ollie don't need the rolling anymore.  Same with some of his shirts.  I am finding that the t-shirts that fit him are past 5T (long torso), and that means we will be purchasing clothes in the boys area instead of the baby.  Yes, the boy is growing.

He's going to preschool, birthday parties, and friends' houses on his own.  I am proud of him for doing these things alone and getting brave and going for it.  Sometimes it's been hard for him, but he does it and he comes home smiling.

As a parent, I find that I have to find a balance between the letting go and pushing forward.  I miss that he's not always in my sphere or under my purview.  But I know to be healthy and happy, he's got to learn to go out and learn.  And I think he is enjoying it.  I am too, but with a tad bit of bittersweet.

These rainy days...

have really been fun for Oliver.  He goes out with an umbrella but comes back in the house soaked to the skin.

Whiteboard fun for a 4 year old

Some of those words at the bottom include:
mine = mini
miniskl = miniscule

Personalized kitchen tools

Exclusively by Oliver