New bike discussion

"Allen, do you just want this bike or do you want it because it's awesome?"  Ivan asked Allen about his new, big boy training wheels bike that Allen wants.

Ivan got a real bike (with training wheels for Christmas yesterday) and Allen got a big wheel. But Allen has taken an instant liking to Ivan's bike and really wants it, even though he's too short to actually ride it and his legs can't turn the pedals.

That didn't prevent Allen from instantaneously climbing on the bike without any problems. Ivan, however, took a bit longer to climb on the bike, but once he did, there was no stopping him to ride it around the house. We took them to the track later in the day yesterday. Ivan did an amazing job riding the bike around the track. Both Andy and I were impressed with him. Allen needed Andy's help to ride the big wheel. Instead of pushing the pedals, Andy had to push him around. He had a great time.

We couldn't go out today because it was sleeting and snowing all day, so they rode the bike inside the house again. Hopefully, the weather will be better tomorrow so we can go to the track again.


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Ivan ponders Santa logistics and arrival

"How does Santa come down if there is fire?" Ivan pondered this morning in the car. After a perplexed "ah," we figured he meant in the fireplace. "He magically freezes the fire, and after he leaves, the fire resumes," we said. "Oh." The answer sufficed.


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Ivan likes 'robot' song

"Mama, can you turn up this song? I really want to hear it. I like it because it sounds like two robots singing at the same time."

Ivan on Phil Collins' "In the air tonight"


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Hot Lava Ponderings

"Dadda, did you know that sticky hot lava doesn't go so far?" Ivan asked Andy today.


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Ivan on cold beds

"Dadda, you can't sleep in my bed anymore because you take away all the cold spots," Ivan told Andy a few days ago.

I totally understand.. I also don't like when I can't find a cold spot in the bed because someone else has warmed it up. Considering how Ivan likes to sleep in the cold, without ever being covered, which is something I don't understand, and always gets sweaty during the night, I really see how this is an issue for him.

Ivan dreams about TV

Early this morning, Ivan came over to snuggle with me in his bed.  Allen and I were sleeping in his bed. Well, Allen was actually nursing.

"Mama, did you really put TVs all over my room while I was sleeping?"

"Ha?" I said.

"Oh, it was just my dream. It was a good one," he said.

...a few minutes later: "The first movies that were made were grown up movies, right mama? Then kids movies. I like kids movies."

"Mama, why did you leave the other bed," he asked later.

This is what happened during the night: Initially, Ivan and Allen fell asleep in our bed, so Andy and I went to Ivan's bed. At some point in the night, Allen came over looking for mama in his nightly panic to dojit, which left Ivan alone in our bed. In the morning, Andy was nowhere to be found. When we went downstairs, we finally we figured out that he had gone to sleep in the basement. Ivan had decided to duct tape the gate three times with duct tape and three times with regular tape.

Getting here

Waiting at a check out line at Trader Joe's this afternoon, Ivan, who was sitting in the cart, asked "how did the first person get here?"
He was frustrated because he didn't know or understand. So I attempted to explain evolution. I also mentioned that so people believe that God made people. Belief was actually easier to explain than evolution.
I don't know how much he understood.


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Allen dreams of cars and bunnies

"He's driving it. He's not driving it.  My car, he's not driving it...." sigh, sigh....I heard Allen talking in his sleep and sitting up in the dark in the middle of the bed at 1 a.m.

"I don't want that bunny. I don't want that bunny," Allen whined and sighed. Finally, he laid back down and continued sleeping. It was me trying to get into bed that riled him up.

So, now we know. It's cars and bunnies that Allen dreams of!


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Octopuses

On the ride back home from the Gambrill Park parkquest earlier today and lunch at a very bad Outsteak House, Allen fell asleep and Ivan randomly piped up from back seat, after a long silence: "Octopus' suction cups suction to anything." A total non sequitor.
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Allen 'confuses' yes and no

Allen 'confuses' yes and no.

"Mama, can watch TV?"Allen yelled down the stairs this evening after they were done with the bath.
Allen always wants to watch TV--Thomas or Diesel (which is really Thomas) or Mickey or  anything. He's much more interested in TV at this age (two and a half) than Ivan was. So he always lobbies for TV time.
"No," I replied from downstairs.
"Mama said 'yes'," I could hear Allen walking back toward the bedroom to tell Andy.
Both Andy and I yelled in unison that mama said no.
I've heard Allen "confuse yes and no" in the same TV situation a couple of times recently. Is it possible that he can already lie?


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Allen farted

Allen farted

About a week ago when Andy and Ivan went to pick up Allen from daycare, Camille approached them as they entered the classroom.
"Allen farted," Camille seriously informed them.
They both busted out laughing.
"The romance must be over," Andy later joked with me.





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Facts & Checks by Ivan: ladybugs

"Why do ladybugs like flowers?" he asked, this morning in the car.
"Remember when that ladybug was on my tie dye shirt because she thought it was a flower."

Yesterday while riding in the car, he told us "metal sticks to magnets."
"Yes, it does," we replied.


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Dentist visit

On Tuesday, Andy took Ivan for his regular dentist check up. We had been prepping him for weeks that when he goes to the dentist that he actually has to let them check and clean his teeth. Andy decided to take Allen along, reasoning that it may help Ivan so he could demonstrate for Allen.

It worked. For the first time, the dentist was able to clean, check and apply flouride on his teeth. And no cavities! Yeah!

(On an Allen note, he was ready to get in the chair as well and have his teeth checked, but unfortunately, we hadn't scheduled an appointment for him yet.)

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Allen: Didi, Baka VA VA VA

Daycare called on Wednesday to pick up Allen because he was running a fever. Andy picked him up and took him home where he slept. After a slight detour to preschool where Andy volunteered as a parent expert for Green Room's musical instruments study and played drums --- but that's a different post --- Allen spent the day miserable with a fever.

Later that night around midnight he woke up with that fever-induced delirious lucidity and insisted on "Didi, Baka VA, VA, VA. He also told us "my tummy hurts. " We were clueless what VA, VA, VA was, but it was really funny.

In the morning, he mentioned it again. "Didi, Baka, VA, VA, VA.  And again he said his tummy hurts.

I took him to the doctor who diagnosed him with strep. Poor baby. It was Dr. Gitterman. He wondered how old Allen was (two and five months), commenting that he acts like  a three-and-a-half-year-old.

My little talkative and socially aware Allen. The nurses got a kick out of him and his squeaky shoes.

Later in the day, Baka identified the VA VA VA as some sound he heard on a Charlie Brown cartoon he had watched the previous weekend.

Otherwise, he was really sick and miserable yesterday, and clung to mama all day. He wouldn't sleep, but spent the entire day in bed with me half awake.

Today, he is much better. The antibiotics are working!


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Mama, do you know how pirates got the money?

"Mama, do you know how pirates got the money?" Ivan asked.
"They sent divers down when the ship sank so that pirates restaurants can have it."

This is what Ivan said about the gold coins he got at the pirates restaurant, the other day.

Then we talked about swimming on top and under water. How dada can swim under water and Ivan can. How Ivan will open eyes underwater when he's big but not now while he is a kid. And how you close your nose so you don't breathe underwater.



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