When we go for a walk, we tell Conrad to look both ways when crossing a street. So, he shakes his head quickly back and forth while walking across the street — again, this is Conrad, so it is probably his clever way of telling us “no” while still obeying us.
Counting with Conrad
We were teaching the kids to jump off of the diving board. I would sit on some kind of flotation device below the diving board, waiting to catch them until they felt comfortable doing it on their own. In order to move things along, I would try and count to three. Weston and Julia both stopped me and told me they wanted to do the counting. I guess it’s a control thing.
Then it was Conrad’s turn. Once again I tried to count, and once again he wished to do the counting…and he began: 1, 2, 3…(one would expect him to jump at this point)… 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16….(He missed a couple but kept going)…17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23……(Everyone is now watching, wondering)….24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30…(Rich is wondering how high he will go and is no longer ready to catch anybody)…31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, thirty nnnniiiiiiiiiinnnnne…and he jumps.
Happy Birthday
No, it’s not my birthday.
Claire came out of Conrad’s room one night, rolled her eyes, and said, “Happy birthday. Now good night!” I asked Claire why she wished him a happy birthday. It turns out she was simply returning the good wishes. Conrad had wished her a happy birthday….and since that unbirthday, each night, Conrad wishes us a happy birthday before bed. I suspect he knows it’s not anyone’s birthday because he says it with a wry smile. To demonstrate Conrad’s influence in the family, before bed, we all now say, “Good night. Happy birthday.” Good night, Weston. Happy birthday. Good night, Julia. Happy birthday. Good night, Claire. Happy birthday.
How Polite is little Conman?!?
Conrad and I are playing swords….
Con: Pretend that I cut off both your legs.
Rich: I love how you’re so polite when asking if you can cut off my legs.
Con: Pleeeeeaaase, can I cut off both your legs?
Julia’s Joke
Claire told Julia her manners were impeccable. Julia told us she wanted to make a joke. She said there is a woodpecker who saw a tree that looked impeccable. She’s six. That’s a pretty good joke. Is Julia growing up? Are all of her future jokes going to make sense? This is so sad.
Rich gets in trouble
Background: Rich and Conrad were roughhousing. Conrad banged his foot on something…
Conrad: Papa hurt me.
Claire: Should we put him in time-out?
Conrad: No. He’d escape.
Orange Camouflage
Today, Julia drew a cheeto.
I promise to start posting about the other kids.
Julia’s Anatomy Study
Weston loves you
Claire and the kids were hanging out with our neighbors the other day. When it was time to leave, Weston waved and said, “I love you.” When Weston sees kids from the neighborhood across the street, same thing — “I love you.” He gets a great reaction and I wonder what would happen if an adult tried it. Next time I see someone I know, I’m going to wave and yell, “I love you.” …No I’m not.
Llama Dog
I asked Julia to draw a dog (a French bulldog — not a poodle!), and she draws a llama skeleton….and, as always, it looks hungry.
