March 2012
33 posts
26 tags
I like buying stuff
Luke: [age 7] "It seems like everybody, and I mean really almost everybody I know at school, has an iPod Touch. Even [A...] has one and he's only five years old."
Me: "Really? [A...] has one?!"
Luke: "Yeah. It's got this big red rubber case on it so it doesn't break if he drops it. Except he already dropped it and the screen is cracked. But he still plays with it. He's got all these games that he plays on the bus."
Me: "It seems really crazy to give an iPod Touch to a five-year-old."
Luke: "Yeah, but it's kinda cool too."
Me: "Are you jealous of the other kids?"
Luke: "Yeah. A little. I wish I had one."
Me: "You could save up your chore money and buy one yourself."
Luke: "How much are they?"
Me: "I think the cheapest one is $180."
Luke: "That's only $30 more than my DSi."
Me: "Right. And you saved up for that. You've got more chores now so I bet if you do all your chores, save all your money, save whatever you get for Easter... you'll be able to buy your own iPod Touch in a few months."
Luke: "And I'm selling stuff on eBay too."
Me: "Right. And if you save up for it then I'll buy you the case and some games for it, like I did with the DS."
Luke: "There's only one problem."
Me: "What's that?"
Luke: "I like buying stuff when I see cool toys in the store!"
Me: "You'll have to resist that urge."
Luke: "I need you to help me with that. If I want to buy something you gotta convince me to put it back. Otherwise I'll never save up."
Me: "Even a Skylander?"
Luke: "Yeah."
Me: "And you won't argue with me?"
Luke: "Oh, I didn't say THAT. Just... remind me about the iPod Touch."
22 tags
There are stories everywhere
Beth: [age 3] "I'd like to read this to you."
Me: "Go ahead."
Beth: "It's a story. It says, 'And the Frenchman was very sad, because his bird had flown away, and he could not find it.'"
Me: "You read all that?"
Beth: "Yes."
Me: "But you're holding a Target shopping bag. I don't see any of those words on there."
Beth: "Daddy, there are stories everywhere. You just don't know how to read like I do."
22 tags
Songs of the Boy, Part 4
More improvised song lyrics from Luke, age 7. (also see 1, 2, 3) Typically these were repeated multiple times. Any song involving farting or poop is likely to have been sung at the top of his lungs while he was sitting on the toilet.
Yeah, yeah, nah, nah, I call my daddy dada / I don’t want to stop now to get my data.
I’m the super pooper and nobody can make me stop!
I can do...
20 tags
Chacka wacka!
Beth: [age 3] "Chacka wacka kacka!"
Me: "What does that mean?"
Beth: "It means KAMUKA!"
Me: "Oh no, not that again. What does kamuka mean?"
Beth: "I don't know!"
Me: "Really? I thought it had something to do with a turtle, or a blind guy, or something."
Beth: "It means CHICKEN FEATHERS!"
Me: "Chicken feathers?!"
Beth: "Just kidding! Nobody knows what kamuka means!"
Me: "Not even you?"
Beth: "It means chacka wacka, chawacka maKACKA!"
22 tags
Meeting robot
Me: "Next week I've got to go to on a trip."
Luke: [age 7] "Where?"
Me: "To a meeting in D.C. I'll be gone for the day."
Luke: "You should just make a robot that looks like you, and send that instead. You could make it act just like you, with remote control voice activation so you can speak into a microphone and make it talk and move."
Me: "I don't know if there is enough time to build that before I go."
Luke: "You'd have to make it really realistic though. Like, what if it gets in an accident and has to go to the doctor's office? You would have to make it so it would trick the doctor too."
Me: "I'm guessing you don't want me to go."
Luke: "No, I don't."
Me: "Maybe I should make that robot and leave it here with you, while I go on my trip."
Luke: "Oh, I would know the difference."
Me: "If it can trick a doctor, it might trick you too."
Luke: "Nah. Besides, the people at the meeting would think it was weird if you were saying things into a microphone to other people who weren't there."
Me: "You've thought of everything, huh?"
Luke: "I always do."
21 tags
Do you want me to sit on her face?
[Scene: Beth, age 3, is in one of those giant inflatable 'bouncies', all by herself except for a giant plush 'Dora the Explorer' doll which almost the same size as Beth]
Beth: "Daddy! Do you see Dora?"
Me: "Yes."
Beth: "Do you want me to sit on her face?"
Me: "Ummm... that doesn't sound very nice."
Beth: "Okay!" [puts Dora on the floor of the bouncy and sits on her face for a few moments] "There!" [jumps up] "Daddy!"
Me: "Yes?"
Beth: "Do you want me to jump on her eyeballs?"
Me: "That would be mean, don't you think?"
Beth: "Okay!" [bounds over to Dora and jumps with both feet onto the doll's eyes] "There! Now, do you want me to jump on her butt?"
Me: "Good thing Dora is just a doll. Why are you doing this?"
Beth: "Sometimes she needs this."
20 tags
Transparent peanut butter
Luke: [age 7] "You know what? I've never seen transparent peanut butter."
Me: "I'm pretty sure /nobody/ has ever seen transparent peanut butter. It doesn't exist."
Luke: "But what if it did? That would be pretty cool."
Me: "What would it taste like?"
Luke: "Transparent peanuts, obviously."
15 tags
Dads who support birth control!
Please excuse me. I am interrupting my usual reports of witty and wonderful things uttered by my children, to take an excursion into American politics and vaginas. I wrote this after getting up way too early in the morning, and was unable to post it until now.
Recently, CNN published an article titled, “Why don’t men in favor of birth control speak up?” It pointedly asked:
…where...
18 tags
Dreams are weird
Luke: [age 7] "Dreams are weird. It's like one half of my brain is the movie and the other half of my brain is the audience. I'm watching the dream and wondering what's going to happen next even though I'm in the dream and am making it up as I go. That's really weird."
22 tags
Your sister
[Scene: Luke, age 7, has a friend over to play, and they're talking about Beth, age 3]
Friend: "Your sister just said the word 'tropical.'"
Luke: "Yeah?"
Friend: "Yeah. She said the word 'tropical' and she knew exactly what it meant."
Luke: "So?"
Friend: "I think your sister is smarter than you."
Luke: "Oh come on, I know what 'tropical' means."
Friend: "Somehow she acts like she knows it better than you do."
25 tags
Pink and sparkly beads
[Scene: at the request of Beth, age 3, I've just gotten out a bunch of beads and string]
Me: "So what should we make?"
Beth: "Let's use pink string."
Me: "Okay." [measures and cuts pink string] "What kinds of beads do you want?"
Beth: [selects a handful of pink and sparkly beads, puts them on the tray] "Here. This is what we're going to use."
Me: "You know, I cut this string long enough to make a necklace, but I forgot to ask what you wanted. Do you want a necklace? Or would you rather have a bracelet?"
Beth: "I don't want a necklace /or/ a bracelet."
Me: "Oh, okay. What do you want to make?"
Beth: "Let's make a slingshot."
Me: "What? You want to make a slingshot?"
Beth: "Yes, a slingshot!"
Me: "With all these pink and sparkly beads?"
Beth: "Yes."
Me: "Why?"
Beth: "To shoot monsters, Daddy! Don't be silly."
27 tags
I think you're awesome
Me: "You know what? I think you're awesome."
Beth: [age 3] "Awesome? You mean like... cool?"
Me: "Very cool."
Beth: "Pretty?"
Me: "Prettiest little girl I know."
Beth: "What else?"
Me: "Really smart. And funny."
Beth: "I don't like funny."
Me: "I mean, you make me laugh. Funny in a good way."
Beth: "Oh, that's okay."
Me: "I think you get all this from your mom."
Beth: "No."
Me: "Oh? Do you get it from me?"
Beth: "No, Daddy. I get all this from MYSELF!"
19 tags
Had a dream
Beth: [age 3] "I had a dream that I was on a ship and I was holding a sword. There were pirates on the ship. But it was a magic sword. I had to rescue a painting of a princess with blue hair. She was wearing a pink dress with red sleeves. My sword broke but Daddy was there and he fixed it. Then I waved the sword in a shape and the princess painting just -- *blooop* -- goes into the sword like magic so I could save it."
Me: "Wow, that's a great story. What happened then?"
Beth: "Then I woke up."
Me: "Luke, did you have any dreams last night?"
Luke: [age 7] "I had a dream I farted ten times in a row."
Mom: "That wasn't just a dream."
20 tags
Songs of the Girl, Part 1
I’ve already posted lines from the strange and silly improvised singing of Luke, age 7; see here, here, and here. Beth, age 3, does just as much singing, but she is more likely to repeat stuff she’s sung earlier, and she also tends to sing so quietly that I can’t understand her words (whereas Luke usually sings at the top of his lungs, especially if he’s sitting on the...
22 tags
The Lorax
Luke: [age 7] "I think we need to change 'The Lorax.' Instead of -I speak for the trees!- it should be -I speak for the cheese!-"
Me: "Uh... okay. Why?"
Luke: "That way he wouldn't say -Don't cut the trees!- but will say -Don't cut the cheese!-"
Me: "This is a joke about passing gas, isn't it."
Luke: "Oh yeah."
30 tags
Samantha and time and flowers
[Scene: Beth, age 3, is talking about an imaginary friend named Samantha]
Beth: "My friend Samantha sent me this card." [holds up colored paper]
Me: "That's very nice of her."
Beth: "I think we should ask Samantha to visit us sometime."
Me: "Sure. Does she live around here?"
Beth: "Oh, she doesn't live here now."
Me: "Where does she live?"
Beth: "She doesn't live here now. She doesn't live in February. She lives in April."
Me: "I don't understand."
Beth: "She doesn't live in February. We have to wait until April to see her. She makes up her own days and months so she always has long weekends and lots of time to play."
Me: "That sounds pretty cool, actually."
Beth: "Yeah, she's pretty cool."
Me: "So, we'll see her in April."
Beth: "Yes."
Me: "Does she live by herself?"
Beth: "Oh no. She has 14 parents! Moms and dads and grandpas and grandmas."
Me: "Wow, that's a lot of people."
Beth: "Yes. She has 20 moms, 2 dads, and 8 grandpas and 8 grandmas."
Me: "All in one house?"
Beth: "Yes. They have a big house."
Me: "Is Samantha going to bring all those people when she visits?"
Beth: "No, they're too busy."
Me: "That's good. I don't think we could fit them all in here. So what should we do when Samantha is here? What does she like?"
Beth: "Samantha likes the color of the sky. So we'll look at the sky a lot."
Me: "Sure, if the weather is nice."
Beth: "Samantha also likes bubbles and flowers."
Me: "Those are all good things."
Beth: "You'd better buy some flowers before she comes."
Me: "Okay. But we can wait until just before she gets here. If we buy them now, they'll die before she arrives."
Beth: "Then you can buy flowers now, for me."
21 tags
Beauty and the Beast
Luke: [age 7] "There's one thing I have always wondered. In the movie 'Beauty and the Beast,' they get married at the end. But what happens if they split up? What if the prince ever divorces Belle? Does he turn back into a beast? They never explore this question."
February 2012
32 posts
21 tags
Need, want
Luke: [age 7] "I need more Skylanders."
Me: "I think you've got enough. You might /want/ more but you don't /need/ more."
Luke: "Come on, Dad. It's the 'need' kind of want, you know what I mean?"
19 tags
Justin Beaver
Mom: "What's the name of that nature documentary about beavers?"
Me: "I think it's just called 'Beavers'."
Luke: [age 7] "Maybe it's called 'Justin Beaver'. Like the musician."
Me: "You mean Justin Bieber?"
Luke: "Yeah. When I first heard his name, I thought everyone was saying 'Beaver' instead of 'Bieber,' so that's what I still call him."
22 tags
Raining and pouring
Luke: [age 7] "It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is pooping—"
Beth: [age 3] "No, Luke! The old man is SNORING."
Luke: "No, he's pooping. You sing in your world, I'll sing in mine!"
