Liam was very excited by the badge he made at school today. It consisted of a piece of brown paper on which he'd written the letter "L". One of his friends, Patrick, proudly told me that his badge had the letter "F". Obviously, this was more than just a first-letter-of-your-name badge.
On the way home, he explained excitedly that it was his superhero badge, and he wanted to make one for Finn as well. And it had to be a black letter on brown paper. The letter "L" stands for "Lint". Yes, lint. As in Lint-man! When I asked him if he knew what lint was, he said no. He was not at all phased when I told him it means tiny pieces of fuzz that stick to your clothing, and he informed me that he just made it up. Lint has a cable-charger super power (later changed to a cable-cord). It helps him catch the bad guys. Finn's superhero name is, per Lint, "Int". So Liam made him a badge with the letter "I". They ran around for a while with their badges, protecting people from bad guys.
So from now on, call him Lint.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Let's go Predators!
(This is long.)
So Liam and I went to an NHL hockey game last night. It was special for several reasons. This was Liam's first hockey game and only his second professional sporting event to attend. The drop was at 7:00 PM, which meant a late night. This on the heels of another late night at his Murfreesboro cousins. Luckily for everyone, he had a great nap leading up to this.
Liam was particularily excited because I had given him some information about the game since I had gone to a preseason game earlier. (The reason, in fact, that we were going to this game was because I had promised him that we could go later in the season after he became very upset that I was going to see a game without him. At his old school, "Let's go Predators" rally cry was known by at least one of his classmates, so Liam adopted it without actually knowing the context.) So I had told him that the players skated out of a giant predator head that they lowered from the arena ceiling. Thus the questions and adventure begins.
Liam had an excellent dinner, wanted a treat for eating everything, so I told him we could get something at the game. We got there early, during warmups, found our seats- which were really good- and settled in.
Liam asked for his earplugs- which I had brought because he had been very sensitive last year to the sound and lights at Sesame Street Live- so I put them in and he started asking questions while looking at the rink. He was sitting on my lap, so this made it difficult to hear him, and since he could not hear me very well, he really didn't get all the answers. Luckily, we took the plugs out after the noisy introduction.
Who are they?
Goalies, like in soccer.
Do the shoot at their golie?
No, they shoot at the Minnesota golie.
Why?
To try to score a goal.
Why?
So that they can score more points and win the game.
Can we go get something to eat? (2 minutes into the first period)
Already?
My tummy is starving!
Thus it was that Liam ate his way through the game- giant bucket of popcorn, M&M's, bottle of water, pizza, lemonade, and he would have had ice cream, but I talked him out of it. He really enjoyed the eating.
He also had some profound observations:
-Golf is like hockey because they hit the ball with a stick, but hockey uses a puck.
-I thought they (they players) were all inside the Predator head, but they just came through it, they weren't IN it.
-Is anybody here from Minnesota? Why?
-Why does somebody not take our seats when we leave?
-Why does the ice not melt when everybody leaves?
-Why do they have mirrors in the bathroom?
-Is everybody leaving? (It was the end of the first period)
How is the ice painted?
The floor is painted under the ice.
Why?
It is part of the game.
How can we see it through the ice?
The ice is clear.
Oh. Why do they have Pepsi written on the wall. (I did not read that to him.)
Uh, it's marketing.
To make you buy Pepsi?
Yes.
Oh.
Mostly he did like the scoring, with the horn and the crowd singing the classic "Duh deh deh duh HEY!" rally. Though he did want to know why we we were going to beat the "heck" out of Minnesota. I told him it was not a literal beating. Since he had his hands full of popcorn most of the time, he clapped with his feet alot, which was funny since the seat would then fold up on him. That didn't stop him from giving the mascot a high five when we came by. This was a huge deal, since the last game we had gone to Liam was very afraid of the mascot. There was some confusion, though, as he then gave the beer guy a high five next time he came through, and would have done the same to the cotton candy vendor, but her hands were full.
So it was a great evening, though the Predators lost. Liam had a blast and I really enjoyed it too. To wrap it up, during one part of the game Liam saw the big screen promoting the next game (Vancouver Canucks) and Liam asked me when the whales were coming. I told him that was another game on another night. He then found out that there were many many teams in different cities and lots more games to be played. I think we'll go back, hopefully all 4 of us next time.
So Liam and I went to an NHL hockey game last night. It was special for several reasons. This was Liam's first hockey game and only his second professional sporting event to attend. The drop was at 7:00 PM, which meant a late night. This on the heels of another late night at his Murfreesboro cousins. Luckily for everyone, he had a great nap leading up to this.
Liam was particularily excited because I had given him some information about the game since I had gone to a preseason game earlier. (The reason, in fact, that we were going to this game was because I had promised him that we could go later in the season after he became very upset that I was going to see a game without him. At his old school, "Let's go Predators" rally cry was known by at least one of his classmates, so Liam adopted it without actually knowing the context.) So I had told him that the players skated out of a giant predator head that they lowered from the arena ceiling. Thus the questions and adventure begins.
Liam had an excellent dinner, wanted a treat for eating everything, so I told him we could get something at the game. We got there early, during warmups, found our seats- which were really good- and settled in.
Liam asked for his earplugs- which I had brought because he had been very sensitive last year to the sound and lights at Sesame Street Live- so I put them in and he started asking questions while looking at the rink. He was sitting on my lap, so this made it difficult to hear him, and since he could not hear me very well, he really didn't get all the answers. Luckily, we took the plugs out after the noisy introduction.
Who are they?
Goalies, like in soccer.
Do the shoot at their golie?
No, they shoot at the Minnesota golie.
Why?
To try to score a goal.
Why?
So that they can score more points and win the game.
Can we go get something to eat? (2 minutes into the first period)
Already?
My tummy is starving!
Thus it was that Liam ate his way through the game- giant bucket of popcorn, M&M's, bottle of water, pizza, lemonade, and he would have had ice cream, but I talked him out of it. He really enjoyed the eating.
He also had some profound observations:
-Golf is like hockey because they hit the ball with a stick, but hockey uses a puck.
-I thought they (they players) were all inside the Predator head, but they just came through it, they weren't IN it.
-Is anybody here from Minnesota? Why?
-Why does somebody not take our seats when we leave?
-Why does the ice not melt when everybody leaves?
-Why do they have mirrors in the bathroom?
-Is everybody leaving? (It was the end of the first period)
How is the ice painted?
The floor is painted under the ice.
Why?
It is part of the game.
How can we see it through the ice?
The ice is clear.
Oh. Why do they have Pepsi written on the wall. (I did not read that to him.)
Uh, it's marketing.
To make you buy Pepsi?
Yes.
Oh.
Mostly he did like the scoring, with the horn and the crowd singing the classic "Duh deh deh duh HEY!" rally. Though he did want to know why we we were going to beat the "heck" out of Minnesota. I told him it was not a literal beating. Since he had his hands full of popcorn most of the time, he clapped with his feet alot, which was funny since the seat would then fold up on him. That didn't stop him from giving the mascot a high five when we came by. This was a huge deal, since the last game we had gone to Liam was very afraid of the mascot. There was some confusion, though, as he then gave the beer guy a high five next time he came through, and would have done the same to the cotton candy vendor, but her hands were full.
So it was a great evening, though the Predators lost. Liam had a blast and I really enjoyed it too. To wrap it up, during one part of the game Liam saw the big screen promoting the next game (Vancouver Canucks) and Liam asked me when the whales were coming. I told him that was another game on another night. He then found out that there were many many teams in different cities and lots more games to be played. I think we'll go back, hopefully all 4 of us next time.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Deep thoughts, by Liam Emanuel
Randomly, in the car this past weekend, Liam asked, "When the police shoot bad guys, do they bury them?" Naturally, this spurred one more fascinating conversation stream, as follows:
Me: Um, well, if the bad guy died, he would have a funeral so his family could come and say goodbye to him before he was buried.
Liam: Bad guys have families? Why?
Me: Well, (note my favorite word for giving myself another moment to think) even people who make bad choices have people who love them. Everyone has parents, some people have brothers, sisters, friends, and grown-ups can be married . .. .
(Pause)
Liam: Oh. So why are they bad guys?
Me: Well, it isn't that easy. No one is all bad or all good. People just make good decisions or bad decisions. Bad guys are just people who make really bad decisions that can hurt other people.
Liam: Then why do police shoot them?
Me: Well, police don't want to shoot or hurt anyone, but they will if someone won't stop being bad, and they need to protect someone else. But they don't like hurting people, even people making bad decisions. If they liked to shoot people, they wouldn't be police officers, they'd be bad guys.
Liam: Oh.
Another day of deep thoughts. Whew.
Me: Um, well, if the bad guy died, he would have a funeral so his family could come and say goodbye to him before he was buried.
Liam: Bad guys have families? Why?
Me: Well, (note my favorite word for giving myself another moment to think) even people who make bad choices have people who love them. Everyone has parents, some people have brothers, sisters, friends, and grown-ups can be married . .. .
(Pause)
Liam: Oh. So why are they bad guys?
Me: Well, it isn't that easy. No one is all bad or all good. People just make good decisions or bad decisions. Bad guys are just people who make really bad decisions that can hurt other people.
Liam: Then why do police shoot them?
Me: Well, police don't want to shoot or hurt anyone, but they will if someone won't stop being bad, and they need to protect someone else. But they don't like hurting people, even people making bad decisions. If they liked to shoot people, they wouldn't be police officers, they'd be bad guys.
Liam: Oh.
Another day of deep thoughts. Whew.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Little carnivore
On the way home yesterday, I asked Liam what he did in school that day. He told me that were learning about Halloween. When I asked what sorts of things they learned, he told me he drew a picture of bats. This prompted further conversation on bats:
Liam: What do bats eat?
Me: Mosquitos and other bugs.
Liam: And fruit.
Me: Yes, some bats eat fruit.
Liam: What do vampire bats eat?
Me: Um, blood.
Liam: Whose blood?
Me: (thinking how fortunate it was that I studied vampire bats in an animal behavior class in college) Sheep, goats, that sort of animal. Maybe cows.
Liam: What about horses?
Me: (Shoot! I don't remember!) Um, sure, probably horses, too.
Liam: I like cows.
Me: (phew! a change of subject!) Great! What do you like about cows?
Liam: I like meat. It's healthy.
Me: Uh, yeah. Sure.
Liam: It's in the same group as nuts.
Me: Yes it is, yes it is.
I guess they are learning about more than just Halloween. Who would have thought I'd have a child who like cows because they are tasty?
Liam: What do bats eat?
Me: Mosquitos and other bugs.
Liam: And fruit.
Me: Yes, some bats eat fruit.
Liam: What do vampire bats eat?
Me: Um, blood.
Liam: Whose blood?
Me: (thinking how fortunate it was that I studied vampire bats in an animal behavior class in college) Sheep, goats, that sort of animal. Maybe cows.
Liam: What about horses?
Me: (Shoot! I don't remember!) Um, sure, probably horses, too.
Liam: I like cows.
Me: (phew! a change of subject!) Great! What do you like about cows?
Liam: I like meat. It's healthy.
Me: Uh, yeah. Sure.
Liam: It's in the same group as nuts.
Me: Yes it is, yes it is.
I guess they are learning about more than just Halloween. Who would have thought I'd have a child who like cows because they are tasty?
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Return of Flesh-Colored Person
In the tradition of the doll that I named "Flesh-colored person" when I was a little girl, the boys and I had some discussions about skin color today. First, I was coloring with Finn and using the "peach" crayon to draw Finn's face. He asked me what color the crayon was, and when I told him, he declared it was not peach. He's right, the color really isn't the same as the fruit. I am pretty sure this is the same crayon that, in days gone by, was called "flesh". What color is it anyway? Maybe Liam knows . . .
Later, Matt and I were discussing white boy rappers (don't ask!) and Liam overheard. Naturally, he wanted to know what white boy rappers were. I started to explain by asking him what color his skin was. He replied, "khaki-ish." Touche. Fortunately, the conversation ended there. Might khaki-sih be a new crayon color, perhaps?
Later, Matt and I were discussing white boy rappers (don't ask!) and Liam overheard. Naturally, he wanted to know what white boy rappers were. I started to explain by asking him what color his skin was. He replied, "khaki-ish." Touche. Fortunately, the conversation ended there. Might khaki-sih be a new crayon color, perhaps?
Finn's first pun
Liam found a fly swatter on the porch today, and he started pretending to swat everything. Next thing you know, the boys are singing, "Shoo fly, don't bother me." A little while later, as we were getting ready to go out, Finn picked up my shoes in his hands, sang "Shoe fly, don't bother me," and laughed hysterically.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Pretend Play
Finn and Liam both have very vivid imaginations. One of their current games is to pretend to be puppy dogs. Finn usually starts it, and as soon as one of them drops to the floor and barks, the other always joins in. It is cute for the first minute or so, and can occassionally be helpful (apparently puppy dogs are more willing to brush their teeth than little boys). Puppies can be difficult at mealtimes and storytimes, though.
The other evening in the bath, Finn decided to try a new game. They were splashing happily, when Finn bit Liam. He had seemed to have gotten past his biting phase, and it had been several months since the last bite. They had also been playing nicely, so we asked Finn why he bit, and he said, "Mosquito!" Apparently, Finn had decided that pretending to be a mammal was a bit limiting. Thankfully, the "mosquito game" has not re-emerged.
The other evening in the bath, Finn decided to try a new game. They were splashing happily, when Finn bit Liam. He had seemed to have gotten past his biting phase, and it had been several months since the last bite. They had also been playing nicely, so we asked Finn why he bit, and he said, "Mosquito!" Apparently, Finn had decided that pretending to be a mammal was a bit limiting. Thankfully, the "mosquito game" has not re-emerged.
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