Infallible arguments

MAMA: Max, it's time to take off your swimsuit and get in the bath.

 MAX: But Mama, I can't take it off -- it reminds me of Chicago!

S-C-H-O-O-L

Max is officially a preschooler now. After a lovely summer upstairs at his new school, St Mary Villa, (swimming! Puppet shows!) Max has transitioned downstairs, where the serious business occurs. At the end of the first day, I walked into the classroom and saw that Max had written his first new word (besides M-A-X), school. I said, "Oh, Max! I'm so proud of you!" and, more to his teacher, "Oh I almost feel like I'm going to cry!" Max gave me the concerned face. I had to explain to him that sometimes you feel so good that you feel like you will cry happy tears.

L.I.A. recently picked up her first full sentence -- (*Max voice*) I'm Hunnnnnngrrryyyyyyyyy. She is a sparkling conversationalist. Although her speech is still mostly unintelligible, she has been known to hold 10 minute conversations with grownups, and she makes her intentions very well understood. Today, for example, she expressed in no uncertain terms that she needs an adorable pair of Chuck Taylors to match her brother's. She was quite adamant that her purple patent mary janes were NOT THE LOOK she was going for today. She is also quite gifted with the remote control and my phone.

Now that L.I.A. is big enough to really play, the sibling love is spectacular. And I do mean a spectacle of sheer positive energy. The laughter that crosses between them is the stuff of life, truly. They do, like all good siblings, fight. Toys can become an issue. They can also, in L.I.A.'s hands, become marginally dangerous projectiles. Max has developed a fairly efficient trading system to get whatever toy he wants, that L.I.A. has, without her intense (and I do mean intense) protest. Smart boy.

Even Goldie's grown up. He is big as ever, but has turned almost completely pure white, with a fantastic day-glo orange crest on his nose and a few tattoos. We love him.

Mama and Daddy are chest deep in work. Pictures and videos are accumulating, and will be posted in a glorious bloverdose one day soon. Like before Kindergarten.

big boy, revisited

morning.

MAMA: to Daddy Should we send Max to the babysitter?

MAX: Not the babysitter, Mommy, I'm a big boy! I go to the big-boy-sitter!

sing a song of opposites

to the tune of "Mary had a little lamb"

MAMA: This is fast and this is

MAX: SLOW!

MAMA: This is fast, this is

MAX: SLOW!

MAMA: This is fast and this is

MAX: SLOW!

MAMA: Sing along with me...

second verse

MAMA:This is black and this is

MAX: WINDOWS!