Smarty Pants

Adam: "Wook mom, a constewation in da sky!"
Me: (blink) "Did you just say constellation?"
Adam: "Yeah."
Me: "What is a constellation?"
Adam: (matter-of-factly) "It's a star picture."


I put on Finding Nemo for the kids the other day, and at the opening menu when the brilliantly colored reef appeared, Adam uttered, "Psychedelic!"


Waiting to pick up Natalia from Kindergarten today, Adam was chattering away in the back seat while snacking on some pretzel sticks. When I noticed him taking silly little bites, I asked, "Are you pretending to be an animal?"
Adam: "I'm a dinosaur!"
Me: "Oh really. What do dinosaurs like to eat?"
Adam: "Pwants!"
Me: "You don't eat meat?"
Adam: "No, I'm a herbivore."

The kid is a sponge!

All About Adam

This little boy brings such joy and laughter into our lives...and challenges, certainly. Here are a few observations about Adam as he is nearing 3 years old, and some sweet and funny moments.
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Adam is intense. Whether it be intense activity and energy, or intense concentration as he absorbs everything like a sponge. He has definately become more independent and expressive in the last 6 months. His sister has definately noticed the difference--she can't get away with pesting him anymore.

The alphabet is his thing right now...to the point that he is constantly calling out the letters he sees. On books, road signs, in stores. I get a weekly recital of the "INCREDIBLE VALUE EVERY DAY" that is printed above the bagging counter at ALDI's--letter for letter. It started with the wooden letters spelling each of the kid's names on the wall in their rooms. I'd practice his name with him and then ask what it spells. At first he said, "Me!" but now he says, "Adam". And both of the kids really enjoy SuperWhy and Word Dog on PBS right now. Both shows are all about letters and solving word puzzles.

The other day I noticed that Adam had gone upstairs and after about 2 minutes of it being too quiet up there I went to check on him. He was standing on the kiddie stool in front of the bathroom vanity with a pretty good mascara goatee painted on himself. It was all I could do not to laugh! Unfortunately, my sober game face was in vain because my husband came upstairs and couldn't contain himself. *sigh*

Cars, trucks, tractors, trains all fascinate my boy. His favorite things is to line them up perfectly in rows to made a "pah-king wot". He'll get absorbed in this for a good half hour!

When taking a dose of medicine today he smiled at me and exclaimed, "It tastes wike gumble gum!" He's never had gum so that factoid must have lodged in his brain the other day when I told him it was bubble gum flavored.

Recently my mother-in-law returned from a trip to POLAND, and brought back a copy of the animated movie "Cars" for the kids. We've always thought the movie was great and have been wanting a copy dubbed in Polish. (Friends who have raised their children bilingually shared that it helps if you buy movies the kids already like instead of obscure ones.) "Whitening McWeen", "Mater" and "Kah-chow!" are now a part of Adam's daily vocabulary.

One night at the dinner table we got on the topic of birthdays. Then both kids began vying to see who could sing "Happy Birthday" and "Sto Lat" (the Polish equivalent) the best. Pete couldn't help but beam with pride as Adam belted out "Sto Lat" loud and clear. (Mommy is still working on her pronunciation.)

We often ask the children if they would like to pray before we eat our dinner, and most of the time they are both very willing and eager to do so. Adam can get pretty adamant though about being the one to pray "God is Great" and will often add "I don't need ANY help!" (Which is the opposite of what prayer is all about but we'll work on that!)

Recently I was putting on some makeup when Adam asked what I was doing. I said I was using mascara to make my eyelashes pretty. He smiled sweetly and replied, "I wike your wah-shes".

And, because he is figuring out that you assign certain characteristics or titles to boys and girls, like boys/men are "handsome" and girls/ladies are "pretty", and when you should use "he/him/his" and "she/her/hers", he thought he had it all figured out tonight when he declared, "Mommy and Natalia are Sirs, and Daddy and me are Ma'ams."

(...a momma's work is never done...)

Wait, What Did He Say?!

Yesterday evening we took a hike around a nearby lake, one of our favorite places to get some exercise as a family. It's a mile lap, and very hilly, but Natalia has been able to complete it without help for 2 years now. Sometimes the hills are alive with the sounds of complaining... but once we're in the homestretch she will often express how good the exercise feels.

As we started out Natalia was chattering away as usual while Adam was content to silently observe from his perch in the backpack on Daddy's shoulders. We neared one of the many little "lookouts" along the path and Natalia excitedly asked if we could all go over to it.

Adam surprised us all when he exclaimed, "Well of course we can! Why not?!"

Pete turned to me and asked, "What 2 year old says things like that?!"

I replied, "One that listens all day to two adults, and a certain 44" someone who talks like an adult!"

Will It Make Her Smarter? Or Sillier?

I've been a bit baffled by Natalia's DVD choices lately. I mean, how many 5 year old's are INTO Jane Austen?! She's been working her way through them all...and I confess I've got quite the Austen DVD library. Pride & Prejudice, 2 versions of Sense & Sensibility, 2 versions of Emma, Persuasion, Miss Austen Regrets...she loves them all. (I do not let her watch the longer ones straight through--they are for marathoners.) I'd like to think she'll pick up a British accent someday. That'd be cool. But so far they are rubbing off on her in other ways. She's started to use words and phrases like: actually, as a matter of fact, fortunately... (Unfortunately, they sometimes sound more like "fer-tion-ly".) The other day she was in the kitchen with me. As she was about to leave the room she turned to me, bowed at the waist, and said "Till tomorrow then". (I could NOT suppress my howl!) Today, we were breaking in a new writing tablet and she was all ready to practice her letters. The tablet's cover was flipped open above the pad and I watched as she took her pencil, began the first stroke, stopped midway and tapped her pencil point three times on the cover. Then she went back and finished her stroke. (Anyone have a guess as to what she was doing?) Yup...imagining that she was writing with a quill and pot of ink. And, for the past month or so, she's repeatedly asked me to put music on so she can dance. It never fails to make me laugh. She half-steps-half-gallops in straight lines, forwards, backwards, then twirls...meanwhile having a conversation with I'll never know who. I love my silly girl. I love her imagination. It makes me crazy, but I love it. And I love that she shares my enthusiasm for dear Jane.