Ivan quotes

I wish I was a seahorse because seahorse daddies get to have the babies in their tummy. I wonder what that feels like.

I want Santa to bring me a real spyglass because then I can see really really deep into the forest and see all the dogs and cats and their people so I can ask the people if I can pet their dogs and cats.

favorite songs to sing : gotye somebody I used to know, and "I like my beats fast and my bass down low.". And the muppet theme.

Ivan's elaborate "helping" in the yard -- while we were felling an oak tree, he managed to tie a rope to some downed branches, through the fence, around the play structure, four wraps around his ankles (together), and to a small wagon. Then he fell over and said "That didn't work."

Plaid sperm

Mom says:  Ivan is currently in a plaid fashion frenzy. Dressing "his best" (e.g. for a wedding) means hunting through all his clothes for everything plaid, regardless of style or color. Best so far was red and brown and orange plaid pants, plus green plaid shirt, plus blue plaid hat, plus dark blue plaid tie. He is demanding plaid socks but I haven't found any yet. If the phase lasts another week or two, we're taking a trip to the fabric store.

We went camping.  Ivan was in the back seat, Dan driving.  We had a new fishing pole for Ivan, and had just bought bait.
"What kind of bait did you buy?" asked Dan.
"Salmon eggs"  said Ivan. "But there are no baby salmons in there because they don't have sperm."

(We went to the Exploratorium last week and Ivan enjoyed the genetics exhibit where you could use a touchscreen to combine two different-colored goldfish, and watch the graphic of one depositing sperm and the other depositing eggs, and then the baby fish would hatch.  I am awaiting the follow-up questions.)

Since Mom is very obsessed with the Mars rover Curiosity, the first giant six-wheeled Martian rock-vaporizing laser-shooting robot, Ivan has become pretty interested in space too.  He builds a lot of lego Mars rovers.

MamaMama

I have been feeling more "MamaMama" lately.  I want more hugs, more snuggles, more bedtime "just stay one more minute" time, more "special Mommy Ivan" time.  I'm a little more worried about the dark, and being alone, and saying goodbye at preschool in the morning.  This morning, my friend Julian had to give me lots of hugs so I would let Mommy go.

I was sick a couple weeks ago, that's one reason.  For a few days, I had bumps on my tongue and a fever.  And now I'm better, but I still kind of want to be sick, because Mommy stayed home and I got to watch more movies.  And then Alex had his tonsils out, and he felt sick for a loooong time, so then he got all of the cuddles and snuggles and we watched even more movies.

Last night, when Mommy was trying to say goodnight, I asked if she can sleep with me in my bed.
"Am I married to you?" said Mommy.  "No." I said.
"Who am I married to?"  she asked.  "Daddy."  I said.
"So whose bed do I sleep in?"  "Daddy's."
.... "Mommy, I want you to be married to ME."  I said, and laughed my I'm-being-goofy laugh.  She cuddled me and said someday she wants to dance at my wedding.  I told her she could.

But now that Alex doesn't snore anymore, Mommy says I can sleep in the same room with Alex again.  That will be better.
I love Alex.  I always say "Alex is so cute!"  We hug and give kisses.  And wrestle.  I like having a brother.

I got to go to the Exploratorium with Mike and Marsha.  That was super fun.
And I'm learning how to do tricks on my bike, like riding up on things and down stairs and stuff.
Soon, we're going to move to a new house.  It has more room for toys and playing, and bunkbeds!  I'm going to have the top bunk.

The Silly of your Life

"Mommy, I brushed my teeth all by myself!
I went 'scrub scrub scrub' and the sugar bugs went 'AAAAHH!!!'
Down the drain!!! Whoosh! Wheeeeee!"

(laughing) "Ivan, you are the light of my life."

"What? The LIGHT of your LIFE?"

"I mean, I love how you tell stories, they make me smile."

"You mean: I am the SILLY of your life!!!"

"Yes. Exactly that."

Life as a Four Year Old

These are some of the stories that Mommy tells me at night (I tell her what comes next).
Four skunks in their favorite tree, campers come with chainsaw, skunks scare each camper away until all four come at once, then they stink 'em. Moral of story: don't mess with skunks, and bring your own firewood.

Four eels living in the coral. Play with slow sea anemones, play soccer with hermit crab, scare school of fish toward eachother and snack on the rainbow fish.

Four "Iron Men" fly with their robot suit jets to Hawaii. Use helmet computer to stay safe through storm. Go for a swim and discover metal sinks. Use surfboards, then turn on jets to go "Whee! Crash! Whee! Crash!" off the waves. Leapfrogging. Have picnic with locals, fly home.

Four giants in the mountains. One throws rocks, one rips out trees, one runs fast, one jumps high. Get mad at eachother, but then decide to play baseball.

Four alligators in the bayou. Catch fish, scare sunbathers on beach, teach baby gators how to chase fish toward each others open jaws.

Four monkeys go to a circus. Take fruit snack with them, see (and play with) jugglers, elephants, clowns, tigers, trapeze artists. Go home to sleep.



My best friends at school, I say, are Emmet, Emma, Julian, Emma Rose, and Tamas.
I love sweets and am very excited about making things with mint that I can pick from the garden. Mint candies made of honey and sugar and mint, or mint tea with honey, or mint rice krispies treats.

I am very interested in bodies, and how babies come out, and I told my big cousin Tory how that works. He didn't believe me at first. Then i started worrying whether that hurts. Mom says it does but then we're happy to have a baby to cuddle. Hmm.

I like doing "homework," one letter every night that I'm learning to trace and copy. It makes me proud and happy. Alex wants to do it too but he's too little, he just draws.

I started trying to read street signs out the window, like a sign in a store window that I thought said "NEPO."
"What's NEPO?" I asked mom.
Mom was confused until she realized I was reading it backward. It said OPEN.

I love having Marsha Days on Tuesday and Grandpa Science Day on Thursday, especially now that Lillian gets to come!

The Academy of Sciences is my favorite.

Oh, and I'm FOUR YEARS OLD now.
My birthday was great - a party at the Bounce House Warehouse! With Tory! Plus people gave me presents all the time for like a week. Christmas and my birthday really turn into one long party. Good times.