the other day we were driving home through lake clear (a small town) and we passed a house where a family of 5 kids lives. i said "ava, do you see that large white and blue house right there?" "yes" "well, they have FIVE kids, can you believe that?"
ava was silent for a moment...then, as i expected some sort of reflection on sibling rivalry, she said "wow. they must have A LOT of toothbrushes."
true. i never even thought of that.
we have converted our screened in (currently glassed in) porch into a playroom, defying the existence of 8 inches of snow outside. i simply open the door to the unheated space, dress the kids warmly, and wait for the heater to wheeze itself into artificially inducing spring out there.
it is april 16, and there is still ice on the lakes. this is a record for me--in 5 years here i have never seen ice on the lakes this late. it is definitely unsafe ice, but ice nonetheless. and the winter was so mild that i thought it would be a record year for going out early. by april i hate the ice on the lake. it is so still. winter stillness is nice in january, but by this point i am usually dying for the movement of the water to just give the appearance of life. when it is open water, the light hits it and the reflection is full of movement--it can make an otherwise grey day actually pretty.
and then, of course, i am in a state of deep concern for all of my tulips and daffodils and crocuses. god knows what they are doing under all of the ice and snow. hopefully having a little flower-igloo party.
carter now has moved on to the word "hussssshhhhhhh" -- which refers to the book "goodnight moon" -- there is a little old lady whispering hush -- and that is his favorite thing to say. someday he is going to wake up reciting the gettysburgh address, but right now it is pretty funny to watch him convey complex thoughts through the use of 5 or so words (he knows more than five, he just chooses not to use them), a million hand gestures, and a lot of sound effects. oh, and he LOVES "what does the cat say?" he does a PERFECT "meeeeoooowww"
it is very interesting to watch the whole language acquisition thing.
