Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah

Ivan got a certificate for “Most Wearable Menorah” in the unconventional materials menorah contest.
Ivan likes both latkes and the dessert table at the congregation party.
Dreidel games

This year at the Hanukkah party Ivan sung along to the songs with the choir led by his grandpa. While I doubt with his anxieties he will take up musical performance, I noted sitting next to him that his voice is very nice and he is much better at staying on key than his mother. He has also learned all the lyrics to a number of Weird Al songs this winter school break. His favorites being “Radioactive Hamsters from a planet near Mars” and “Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota.” He is also enamored of singing “Particle Man” and “Doctor Worm” by They Might be Giants.

Ivan in Bozeman

Tire swing at the Dino Park. He spun around so much that he threw up in the car on the way home.

East Gallatin Valley Recreation Center aka Bozeman Beach

This photo describes this sibling relationship well.

Sunshine selfies

Chico Hot Springs and Resort
Ivan enjoyed the pool so much that he said he’d like to take swimming lessons.

Visiting at the ranch with his Great Uncle Charles. Chuck agreed to the kids taking a bag of rocks from the area home with them. Ezri looked surprised and sad when as we were departing he said looking at her bag of rocks, “Oh, I don’t know if we can spare that many.” We did get to take the bag of rocks back to Bozeman, but had to leave it at Mark & Tam’s house due to luggage weight restrictions.

Museum of the Rockies has a lovely exhibit on modern and ancient crocodilians. Ivan liked the interactive screen that let you build a prehistoric Crocodilian. There were live baby alligators and a machine that let you test your strength versus a crocodile’s jaw strength.

No trip is complete without a stop at the library. We visited this statue last year. Ezri and Ivan have grown but the statue children have stayed the same size. Ivan has plans to be bigger than the statue girl. He won’t catch up to his sister in size for quite awhile, but that statue is another story.

Grandparents

The kids were very excited to have dinner with ALL THE GRANDPARENTS.

Ivan was sad to learn that Tam and Mark had already gone to airport when he woke up, but expressed that he was glad they got to play videogames with him while they were here and some dismay that they don’t have a console in Bozeman at their house. Tam does have her iPad there which she could put games on.

Chico, Montana

Now he’s been on a horse as many times as his father. Though not nearly as many as his grandparents. They say their horse riding days are over. Initially Ivan was nervous about being around the horse barn, but once up on top of this horse named Black Dog he was all smiles.
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The swing in front of our digs at the lower lodge was popular with both kids
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Everyone loved the hot spring heated pool. Here are the gentlemen enjoying the warm end near the hot tub.
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Elk head in the lobby. We saw living elk on our day trip to Yellowstone, but we liked the taxidermy heads.
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More visiting

These two are just good looking.
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But these two look like they are up to something.
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Ivan loved the attention of having my parents stay with us.
He enjoyed building and painting with his Grandma Tam and reading Dumb Bunnies with his Grandpa Mark.
He even proved he could read by reading Go Away, Monster aloud to his grandparents.
He shared his love of Mario and Plants Vs. Zombies.
Though they may not always understand what Ivan is talking about (usually video game characters) my parents could not love him more.

Ivan speaks

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Guess I’ve been collecting Ivan quotes for a few months now. Here they are.

Singing loud and proud, “I don’t want a pickle. I just wanna ride on my taco-cycle.” He takes a pause to explain, “A taco-cycle is a little taco with wheels.”

“This pencil doesn’t have any spike.”
Explaining the problem of a dull pencil.

“I’m a bottom spit. I need more popcorn.”
He was trying to say the phrase “bottomless pit.”

A: Tomorrow is your last day of tot school.
i: YEAH! We are going to have a show and sing our favorite songs sitting in chairs.
A: What will you sing?
i: The clean up song.
A: How does that go?
i: ‘Clean up! Clean up!’ . . .and then some other words.
A: It will be your last day with your teachers Mrs. Rumsey and Mrs. Topic. Will you miss them?
i: No, I will not miss them. But, I miss you. Like when you’re Denver.

“You made a rhyme. Pan and pants RHYME!”

When Ivan gets a bump or scrape sometimes he will refuse Eric and say, “No kiss it! Amanda, you kiss it.”
That’s kind of sweet. But then sometimes when Eric is trying to help him after using the potty he will say, “No, NO Wipe. Amanda wipe.” Less sweet.

A: Look, those kids are playing soccer.
i: I LOVE soccer!
A: You do?
i: Yeah! You get to yell “Fire! Fire!” really loud and there’s cotton candy.
His love here is spectating at Chicago Fire soccer games, not playing soccer.

“I will always share my ice cream with you. . .because you tickle me.”

Jumping through the house making the video game sounds
A: Are you Mario?
i: No, I am Luigi.

“There! There! the-trash-picking-up Zamboni!” Ivan, you mean garbage truck, but I like your description better.

After having a BB gun described to him. “If I had a baby gun, I would do this and shoot metal pellets in my face.” He will never get a BB gun. He is describing what he does with a squirt gun, but then you just get water in the face.

“When it was night time I dreamed we goed to Target and got a NEW SOCCER BALL! Do you like my dream?”

Ivan putting a tomato in our shopping cart
A: Why are you putting a tomato in the cart? You don’t like tomatoes.
i: It’s for Ezri.

“I am going to save some of my lemonade for you because you hug me that’s why I’m gonna give you lemonade.”

“Remember” – Ivan uses this word like it means to know. This results in him asking if you remember things you would have no way of remembering because you were not present for them. “Do you remember what I’m playing?” “Do you remember what Linny made for the baby?” (episode of Wonder Pets I was not watching)

“This day” Ivan doesn’t say today and tonight. He talks about “this day” and “this night” and “the day after this day” and “the night after this night.”

Ivan: Are penguins real?
Me: yes.
Ivan: YAY! We can play with the penguins when it’s winter! . . . Do penguins come out in the winter?
Me: Not in this part of the world.
Ivan: Why?

Ivan (brandishing a stick like a sword): “I am BOOBY BUNNY!”
Me: Is that . . .your fighting name?
Ivan: Yeah! Booby means I can repair myself.
Me: What does bunny mean?
Ivan: ATTACK!
Me: So, you are an attacker who can repair any damage done to you.
Ivan (swirling around with stick): Yeah! I am BOOBY BUNNY! hee-yah!

Singing gently to a rock he has colored green with sidewalk chalk and has cupped in his swaying hands, “Rock-a-bye, Rocky, in the treetop when the wind blows the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks the cradle will fall and down will come cradle, Rocky, and all.”

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