Memory Lane Monday III

This picture is of Levi and Daddy on Easter of 2004. Levi is about 6 months old and Daddy is about 292 1/2 months old. We went up to the mountains for part of the day with Mom's side of the family. Levi loved it up there and was fascinated with the trees and the water. And there were so many places to hide eggs! Levi wasn't really interested in eggs at that point, but his aunts and uncles were. And he got to watch Daddy swing an axe, which was pretty cool.

Poetry Thurday VII

On Our Way

What kind of walk shall we take today?
Leap like a frog? Creep like a snail?
Scamper like a squirrel with a furry tail?

Flutter like a butterfly? Chicken Peck?
Stretch like a turtle with a poking-out neck?

Trot like a pony, clip clop clop?
Swing like a monkey in a treetop?

Scuttle like a crab? Kangaroo jump?
Plod like a camel with an up-and-down hump?

We could even try a brand-new way
Walking down the street
On our own two feet.

Eve Merriam

Memory Lane Monday II

It's that time again!



This was Levi's first baseball game ever! He made it through a few innings before falling asleep. It was the only game he went to in Seattle. By the way, April in Seattle is cold.

Poetry Thurday VI

Upside Down

It's funny how beetles
and creatures like that
can walk upside down
as well as walk flat:

They crawl on a ceiling
and climb on a wall
without any practice
or trouble at all,

While I have been trying
for a year (maybe more)
and still I can't stand
with my head on the floor.

Aileen Fisher

Crashing and Counting

So, yesterday, Levi and I were playing this really awesome game with a garage/gas station playset that he has (thanks Grandma and Grandpa). The game goes like this:
1. line up two or three cars on a twisting slide
2. Say "1, 2, 3 GO!" and let the cars all go down the slide
3. Say "OH MY GOSH" and laugh like crazy when the cars all crash together at the bottom
4. Repeat

So after about 10 or 15 minutes of this I say to Levi, "okay, now this time, you count!" We line up the cars and he says...
"One, Two, Free, Four, Five, SSSeven, eight, nine, ten, ehven, telve, firteen, fo'een, GO!"

Maggie and I just looked at each other, a little shocked. Who knew our little guy could count to 14! It's not like we really work with him a lot on counting or anything. Now if only he could eat as well as he counts...

P.S. We are planning an early retirement due to our son's genius abilities in Math. It's such a lucrative field and I'm sure he'll be world champion by the time he is 22 so that means lots o' cash. Oh, wait. That's not Math, that's golf! Well back to the 401k I guess.

Memory Lane Monday I

This is a picture of Levi at about 4 1/2 months. He's wide-eyed and happy and ready to go. Isn't it cool how much he's changed, but also how much he is still the same?

Poetry Thursday V

Cradle song of the Elephants
A Brazilian lullaby

The little elephant was crying
because it did not want to sleep...
Go to sleep, my little elephant,
the moon is going to hear you weep.

Papa elephant is near.
I hear him bellowing among the mangoes.
Go to sleep, my little elephant,
the moon will hear my little fellow...

Adriano del Valle
translated by Alida Malkus

Poetry Thursday IV

Bleezer's Ice Cream
By Jack Prelutsky

I am Ebenezer Bleezer,
I run BLEEZER'S ICE CREAM STORE,
there are flavors in my freezer
you have never seen before,
twenty-eight divine creations
too delicious to resist,
why not do yourself a favor,
try the flavors on my list:

COCOA MOCHA MACARONI
TAPIOCA SMOKED BALONEY
CHECKERBERRY CHEDDAR CHEW
CHICKEN CHERRY HONEYDEW
TUTTI-FRUTTI STEWED TOMATO
TUNA TACO BAKED POTATO
LOBSTER LITCHI LIMA BEAN
MOZZARELLA MANGOSTEEN
ALMOND HAM MERINGUE SALAMI
YAM ANCHOVY PRUNE PASTRAMI
SASSAFRAS SOUVLAKI HASH
SUKIYAKI SUCCOTASH
BUTTER BRICKLE PEPPER PICKLE
POMEGRANATE PUMPERNICKEL
PEACH PIMENTO PIZZA PLUM
PEANUT PUMPKIN BUBBLEGUM
BROCCOLI BANANA BLUSTER
CHOCOLATE CHOP SUEY CLUSTER
AVOCADO BRUSSELS SPROUT
PERIWINKLE SAUERKRAUT
COTTON CANDY CARROT CUSTARD
CAULIFLOWER COLA MUSTARD
ONION DUMPLING DOUBLE DIP
TURNIP TRUFFLE TRIPLE FLIP
GARLIC GUMBO GRAVY GUAVA
LENTIL LEMON LIVER LAVA
ORANGE OLIVE BAGEL BEET
WATERMELON WAFFLE WHEAT

I am Ebenezer Bleezer,
I run BLEEZER'S ICE CREAM STORE,
taste a flavor from my freezer,
you will surely ask for more.

Hello Grandma and Grandpa, and goodbye...

Well, we just had a great whirlwind visit from grandma and grandpa. We did more stuff than it seems like should be possible! We went to...

• The Natural History Museum
• The Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum
• Shenandoah National Park
• Warrenton (Foster Grille)
• Arlington National Cemetary
• The US Marine Corps Monument (Iwo Jima Memorial)
• The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum
• Turtle Park
• Cafe Deluxe

All in all it was a great weekend+. Levi really loves his grandparents and was so happy to have them here. When he woke up in the morning, he would do his usual routine of hanging out in bed, snuggled up with mom and dad. Until he remembered that Grandma and Grandpa were upstairs, at which point he would rush for the door to go see them. I'm worried that he's really going to miss them tomorrow when he wakes up and finds them gone. I know that they are going to miss him. Sometimes I wish we hadn't moved so far away from all our family. No matter how good your friends are, nothing can replace family.



We love you, Grandma and Grandpa


-Dad