Advanced speech patterns

Benjamin goes to speech therapy, but it's just to help his pronunciation. According to Danielle, his therapist, he uses advanced vocabulary and sentence structures. One thing that cracks her up is when he says, "not very likely." He says it at least once per session, usually when she asks if he wants to do a certain activity, and he pipes up with, "not likely." Apparently 4-year-olds don't typically say that.

I'm going to miss "tomato." You see, Benjamin has already stopped talking like a toddler. Before he was 2 he said tomato for tornado. And once he learns how to make the r sound, tornado will be tornado. It's just so funny and cute when he pretends that a tomato is destroying the house.

-MR

Like father like son

Today we went to tithing settlement. As we were sitting down and trying to get the kids settled into chairs, Benjamin bit the desk. Dominic reprimanded him, "Benjamin, don't eat the Bishop's desk."

The reason this was funny to us is because when Dominic was Benjamin's age, his family always sat in the same pew at church. He remembers biting the back of the pew in front of him. A few years ago we visited that church building, and his teeth marks are still there.

-MR

6 going on 30

Samuel told me about a silly thing he did in class the other day. He concluded the story by saying, "Yeah, I acted just like a kid, ha ha ha ha."

"Um, Samuel, you are a kid," I revealed.

"Oh." And the laughing stopped.

-MR

good night, sleep tight

After singing the bedtime lullaby, Benjamin drowsily told me that "I wasn't sleepy before, but you made me sleepy."

Uh oh, he's catching on - the whole purpose of the lullaby is to make them fall asleep faster.

He has a tendency to fall asleep in odd positions and places.

-MR

The band wore black

This morning I told the children about last night's Metallica concert.

Benjamin asked, "What color was it?"
"What color?" I repeated. Well, the band wore black, I was thinking.
"Yeah," Samuel explained, "what color were the lights?"
"Oh, the lights." Of course, I should have known. So I told them about the great laser light display and the spotlights and such.

That really threw me off though: what color was the concert?

-MR

Purple.

-Dom

A child's influence

Yesterday Samuel was playing with his hands and making battle noises, but he didn't have any toys. When I asked what he was doing, he said "they're enemy armies going out and attacking each other."

Of course. What else would it be? Have I mentioned that he wants to be a soldier when he grows up?

I actually didn't think it was funny when it happened. Then this morning I was playing with my hands in the same way. Dominic saw me and looked quizzical. I explained what I was doing, and he burst out laughing. Mentioning that I saw Samuel do it first didn't help much.

-MR


She should have mentioned that she was also doing the sound effects :)

-Dom

Softest bed

Lisy came running into the living room carrying the big, 24-roll pack of toilet paper we recently bought. She placed it in the middle of the floor and declared, "my bed." Then she ran into her bedroom and brought out her blanket and a teddy bear. She sat on the pack of toilet paper clutching her bed things while watching t.v.

-MR

Little man

Dominic microwaved a plateful of taquitos for lunch. "Lunch is ready! There's enough here for everyone," he called out.
"Oh good," I said. "I'm hungry."
"There's enough here for everyone except Mommy," he responded.
Concerned about my feelings, Samuel said, "Don't worry, Mom. Dad's just being ornery."

Samuel sounds more like an adult than a 6-year-old sometimes. Sometimes he still acts his age. This is a self-portrait.


-MR

Literally speaking

One of the lullabies I sing to the kids includes the line:
"Oh, your Daddy's rich, and your Momma's good lookin'."
When the song ended, Samuel said, "I'm glad Daddy's rich."
The funny thing is that his Daddy was unemployed at the time. We had a good laugh about it (but not in front of him).

-MR

Spock isn't cute

I know a 4-year-old who enjoys spinning a good tale, weaving together several genres like Star Trek and super heroes into a high adventure. I couldn't help it. I blurted out, "You're cute!"

"No, I'm not. I'm Spock," he replied.

"Well then, you're a cute Spock," I countered.

"I'm not cute!" he insisted. He's persistent, even if it's based on flimsy logic.

-MR