Archive for November, 2008

Spoiler Alert!

Published by theiowan November 24th, 2008 in Uncategorized. 4 Comments

So I’m reading Green Eggs and Ham with Thomas.

Me: “Not in a box. Not with a fox. Not in a house. Not with a mouse. I would not eat them here or there. I would not eat them anywhere. I would not eat green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam I am.”

Thomas: “He would like them at the end of the book, Mommy.”

Those of you who have read the book thirty-five times this week will probably notice that Thomas anticipates the ending by quite a lot, before the car, and the tree, and the train, and the dark, and the rain, and the goat, and the boat. He’s not a let-the-anticipation-build kind of a guy.

Snapshots

Published by theiowan November 19th, 2008 in Thomas. 4 Comments

Two random vignettes from today:

We’re at the doctor’s office getting our flu shots. I go first and take my arm out of my sleeve so the nurse can give me the vaccine. Thomas says, “You are taking off your shirt, Mommy. But you are not taking off your pants.” When it’s his turn, we tell him he has to take off his pants. He says, “Yes. But I am not taking off my shirt.”

He gets very upset for a minute right as he gets his shot. The nurse is AWESOME, very quick with it, and congratulates him on being so brave. He is making the face of silent horror in preparation for a huge screaming outburst, but at the last minute he decides to go the pitiful sobbing route instead.

Thomas: “That hurts, Mommy! [sob, sob, sob].”

Me: “Thomas, are you going to be okay?”

Thomas: “Yeahhhhhh, [sob, sob].”

Nurse: “I’m sorry, Thomas.”

Me: “Can you say, “it’s okay!”

Thomas: “It’s o-kayyyyyyy [sob sob].”

Nurse: “Would you like a sticker?”

Thomas, suddenly completely okay: “Yes.”

As we’re walking back out into the waiting area, Thomas yells happily, “We got our flu shots!! We got our flu shots!”

—

We’re getting ready to leave home to drop Thomas off at Grandma and Grandpa’s so I can go to work. Thomas eludes me as I try to wiggle him into his coat and runs back to our home office. He stands at the desk and begins pounding on the keyboard. “I am working, Mommy! I am a good worker like Daddy!”

Thomas-Speak

Published by theiowan November 12th, 2008 in Thomas. 4 Comments

In no particular order, here are some of the things Thomas says these days (and translations where necessary);

1. “Tee is for Khomas!” I don’t know why he can every once in a while make the “T” sound while most of the time he replaces it with a hard K sound.

2. “Kobbies” for strawberries. He usually doesn’t make the beginning “S” sound, and as in #1 above, he often says “K” instead of “T.” I kind of like the sound of kobbies instead of strawberries anyway.

3. “You are my best friend, Otto!” So cute!! Though I am lead to believe that he might not fully understand the concept of “best friend” when he says it right after smacking Otto on the nose with a largish metal car as he did today.

4. “This is mine favorite [anything], Mommy.” I like it when he picks a favorite lego or a favorite sock.

5. “I am using this right now!” I’m very proud of this one, because he used to just scream “MINE!!” whenever anybody tried to take something from him, even when the thing wasn’t actually his. I suggested this phrase (over and over) as an alternative and he actually has started using it most of the time.

6. “Mommy, DOOK!” (for “mommy, look” of course.) I didn’t even realize it sounded so funny until Will asked me why he kept saying “Marmaduke!”

7. “Onange” for “orange,” which makes me sad because I miss “nanya.”

8. “Flamingo,” notable because he used to say the much cuter “flamomo.”

9. “Fee-fi-fiddle-ee-i-o, Fee-fi Old McDonald has a farm, ee-i-ee-i-OH!” in a lovely pastiche of “I’ve been working on the railroad” and “Old MacDonald.”

10. “I am come into your room, Mommy.” Cute, except he only says this at 3:00 a.m.

There are so many more things he says every day that are hilarious. I will try to do a better job of documentation (for myself, even if the rest of you are praying that I’ll write about something other than Thomas. Sorry.).

Yet Another Reason to Love Iowa

Published by theiowan November 10th, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

On NPR they just said that the cheapest gas in the nation cost $1.81 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. But THAT’S NOT TRUE. Yesterday, I bought gas for $1.77 in Ankeny, Iowa. Take that, NPR. I would’ve taken a picture to prove it, but my phone was dead. Still, my mom and sister were there as witnesses and I’m sure they’ll vouch for me.

A link

Published by theiowan November 6th, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Will has a story about how he’s turning our son into a megadork up over at freevariable.

“Tick or Teat!”

Published by theiowan November 4th, 2008 in Uncategorized. 2 Comments

That is how Thomas enthusiastically greeted each of our neighbors on Friday night.
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When I originally envisioned his costume (made mostly of toys he already had plus the exquisite vest sewn by Will’s mom), I thought we’d just tell him he was a builder. But of course he cannot say “builder” without prefacing it with “Bob the,” and for a week when I asked him what he was going to be for halloween, he economized and just said “BOB!!”

Bob doesn’t wear a construction vest, his overalls are bright blue instead of dark denim, and he wears a sort of weird checkered shirt. Behold:
Images
Still, the hard hat and the tools seem to be a good enough approximation of the Platonic form of Bob to satisfy a two-year old. He loved his costume.

It was so nice out that we hung out in our yard and handed out the earliest treats over the fence. Thomas modeled his outfit
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and even put his tools to good work,

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very carefully and happily plucking small tufts of grass with his pliers.

When we got to our first neighbor’s door and she handed him candy after his exuberant greeting, he had a sudden epiphany and stood marveling at the candy in his bucket, like “Ohhhhhh, THAT’s what trick or treat means.” But even better, once we got home and gave him a reeses peanut butter cup, he ate a little less than half of it and abandoned it for about two pints of raspberries. I imagine that it will not be quite so easy to separate him from his spoils in future years.

I cannot wait until Wednesday.

Published by theiowan November 3rd, 2008 in Uncategorized. 1 Comment

For many, many reasons, but one in particular occurs to me just now:

To the dozens of canvassing supporters of whichever candidate who keep showing up:

If you ring my doorbell one more time, causing my schnauzer to fly into ballistic territory-protection mode, thusly waking my child from his peaceful slumber, I swear to God I will kill you with my bare hands. Or maybe just make you take a turn dealing with the over-tired whining and shouting of “DON’T DON’T DON’T!!!”. This child needs some sleep, people.

Sincerely,
TheIowan.

(ps: of course I love hanging out with my sweet boy even when he’s grumping. But it’s more fun when he isn’t.)

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