Harper: Papa, can we watch a movie?
Rich: Let’s go swimming.
Harper: OK, but swimming doesn’t mean just sitting in the hot tub, listening to Adele.
Rich: OK, let’s just watch something, then.
Easy-E…sel
Harper asked us if she could have a weasel for her birthday (which is more than six months away, incidentally). I thought this was an odd request, so I asked some clarifying questions. She further explained, “You know, one of those things you paint on.” It turns out she wants an easel, not a weasel — which is only slightly less weird for a six year old, maybe.
Claire, always seizing an opportunity to teach told her that the word “easel” got its name because it makes painting so easy! I looked up the real etymology and Google says it comes from the Dutch word, “ezel” which means “ass” or “horse” to denote a supporting frame. I prefer Claire’s version; Harper prefers Google’s version. Avik prefers calling it a weasel.
Stephen Curry
We are big Trail Blazer fans. We also love watching Stephen Curry play. We were excited to go to a Warriors/Blazers game, and we were getting ready to walk out the door. Harper showed Claire a drawing that she did, and explained that she wanted to give it to Stephen Curry.
Everywhere we go, Harper makes about three new friends. She just assumed that, since we were going to a game, and that Stephen Curry was going to be there, then she would be her normal gregarious self and become friends with the most famous, most popular basketball player in the world.
I wish I could say that Harper willed it into being, but the closest we got was getting caught in a stampede of half-naked BlazerDancers.
Let it go
Harper: I’m never let going.
Rich: OK, now say that correctly.
Harper: Sometimes, I let go.
Harper and the Wee-Wees
When Harper was young, she couldn’t quite pronounce the name of her best friend, Avery. Whenever she saw Avery, she would scream, “Wee Wee!” I would scream “Wee Wee” as well just because I thought it was funny — and because it seemed to irritate her parents. I continued doing it long after Harper stopped (or started saying it correctly). Avery always laughed and said, “My name is not ‘Wee Wee!'”
It soon escalated to the point that all of Harper’s friends were playing the game. Whenever they saw me, they would immediately warn me not to call them “Wee Wee.” I would of course respond by calling them “Wee Wee,” and they would run away giggling.
One morning, Harper came in my room, and we were talking about the upcoming day. She then came up with what is probably a more acceptable way to refer to small children than what I had been using up to this point, “drunken midgets.” I don’t remember what she said, but it involved “the wee-wees” coming over.
…I also think it would make a good name for a band, but I tend to think that about everything.
Wavey Wavey
We were talking about our plans for the day. Harper said she was excited for one particular activity, which was not yet a fixed part of the plan. Harper often does this as a way to ensure that decisions are made in her favor. Weston attempted to manage her expectations and said that the activity — I don’t remember what it was, or I would be able to use fewer pronouns to talk about it — was “wavey-wavey”. I asked Weston what he meant, and he said, “You know, wavey wavey,” rocking (or waving) his hand back and forth, the common gesture to imply uncertainty. Just in case it turns into a common phrase, I want to be sure Weston gets credit.
Ghost Head and Floating Marshmallow
Harper drew this today and said it was a ghost head and a floating marshmallow. I think that would be a great name for a band…
40 Pounds
When we go on hikes — which can often be five miles or longer — Harper needs us to carry her on our backs part of the way. I think Weston was a little tired himself and asked us how much Harper weighs. Claire answered, “About 40 pounds.” Harper chimes in and asks, “Is that how much I cost?”
Clearly, she takes after her Anglophile grandpa and thinks in pound sterling.
F-Words
Harper was telling me about her new friend and said, “I like her f-words.”
Apparently, her new friend has a speech impediment and can’t say her F’s — or her f-words, presumably.
Reliable Harper
Harper is always asking if she can watch a movie. We often say no, so I think she is trying to come up with new ways of asking. Recently she has started adding to the end of her request, “Please, I won’t let you down!”