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Author Archives: amanda
Fall ready in fleece
Ivan is ready to take the tricycle to pick up his sister at Kindergarten.
We now don’t make it through a dinner with Ivan lately without Eric singing “Just Eat It” by Weird Al. Here’s Eric playing the song for Ivan and singing along. He likes the song. It will not make him any less picky about things that might have seeds in them or things that were his favorite last week and now are “yucky.”
Great American Bagel boxes make the best houses
All they need is a little paint.
Ivan likes to use green. Lots of green.
He can paint with two brushes at once for faster application.
It takes focus and concentration.
Ezri painting hers mostly pink with some other colors of the rainbow.
Here’s the completed exterior of Ezri’s bagel house.
Here’s the interior with wall art portraits of friendly aliens and colorful rugs.
This project lasted over an hour out on the porch with both kids intent and focused. The results make fun playthings. Thanks, Great American Bagel, for having the best shaped bagel boxes.
He’s starting to be able to pedal and steer simultaneously.
Scissor Skills
I am not sure I am ready for Ivan and sharp objects, but he is ready. He spent a long time making small pieces of paper for me.
Ivan is super cute when he hides. He likes to hide under blankets and under the hall rug.
It is less cute when he hides when it is time for him to take his bath. At this point in the day he is almost always behind the futon. This week he decided to hide when it was time to go pick up his sister at school. Luckily, I’ve now learned he will almost always be hiding in the linen closet when he is hiding because it is time to leave the house. The predictability doesn’t make it cuter, but it does make the hiding easier to deal with.
“I am a little black ghost.”
Ivan Speaks
i: I am a big kid.
A: And getting bigger and some day you’ll be a grown-up.
i: I don’t want to be a grown-up.
A: Well, you will keep growing and someday you will be a grown-up.
i: I don’t want to die.
A: Well, everyone dies.
i: Do people get smaller?
A: No, we grow bigger not smaller.
i: I don’t want to grow up.
A: Do you want to play on the slide?
i: Yeah!
Ivan has been pretending to be the astromech droid Chopper who he has seen in ads for the upcoming cartoon Star Wars Rebels. He loves Chopper and will roleplay Chopper at length. In his play, I am Hera the ship captain who tries to get Chopper, the grumpy astromech droid, to help repair things. Chopper has trouble listening to the captain and crew, but ultimately has a good heart. I think art is imitating life here.
Anyway that’s the background for this conversation.
i: My favorite astromech droid is Chopper.
A: My favorite is R2D2.
i: I am Chopper. (It was clear from his tone that he really wanted to be my favorite astromech droid. I’ve long loved R2D2 but Chopper is growing on me.)
Oh, cheesestick!
Ivan *really* wanted to open the cheesestick wrapper himself. I helped a bit too much. He can’t actually open them solo so prefers a grown-up start the opening and then he’ll rip the package the rest of the way. I left the wrapper on but it was too open for his taste. So, he took the cheesestick out, threw it on the floor, and stomped on it. When he then asked for another cheesestick and I refused, the temper tantrum grew. Here he is showing me through tears that his cheesestick has shoe marks on it and he needs another. He did not get one.
In a happier moment, here’s Ivan holding magnets and asking, “Do I look like Ironman?”
Trip to the apple orchard
On the big bouncing pillow, it was awesome for a time and then a big bounce set Ivan on his bottom and it was all over.
Picking under the trees with his Grandma Liz
Playing in the silo full of feed corn
An apple for each hand makes Ivan a happy boy
Mittens? Already?
The kids found the mittens I just completed. So, we had to wear them on the walk to Kindergarten. It was in the 50s. Not mitten weather yet. Ivan was hard to get out of mittens last spring. He insisted on putting them on to go outside well into April.
Ivan had the most ridiculous meltdown on the way back from Kindergarten drop off. Green is his favorite color. He is very committed to it. This past spring on walks he would point out each yard with new grass and each tree with new leaves and pronounce, “That’s MY FAVORITE COLOR!” Yesterday he noted a tree that was just starting to turn red and yellow. He started crying and saying, “It’s not green! NOT GREEN! I don’t want red. WAAAAAAAH!” The joys of fall color commence.