weinraub’s words

We have a crocodile farm in Phuket that we used to visit before we all got so crazy busy. As a result, we have photos of crocodiles that we often look at with the kids.

For reasons that continue to elude me, Benjamin pronounces “crocodile” as “crocodile-doh”.

Just want to record it so I remember it after he has grown out of it.

Benjamin loves construction backhoes and excavators. Wherever we drive, he helpfully points them out on the street. And he has several toy trucks, the most treasured of which are the backhoes that hover over us on the shelf at the head of our bed.

He also seems to love bowling. Annie’s cousin Nam often takes him to the bowling alley where he heaves a ball (a light version, approx 5 pounds) from chest-high, bouncing it down a child-friendly lane (rails prevent gutter balls) where it sometimes actually makes it all the way to the pins. We have bought several plastic bowling sets for the home on which I have honed my skills as a pin setter.

He also likes YouTube.

The result of all this is that Benjamin really likes browsing around YouTube, looking at videos of construction equipment and videos of bowling. So, I have created shortcuts/favorites for him – on the desktop and in the browser’s Links toolbar – that lead directly to these destinations. Once he’s comfortably on the site, the YouTube’s “Related Videos” feature gives him plenty with which to play.

Well, he – and Becca, as well – also likes Dora the Explorer. A few days ago, when he asked me to find him some Dora videos, a quick search within YouTube got us to the right page. And from there, he was fine. But I had neglected to save a shortcut for him.

So this morning, Benjamin comes to me and asks me to find some Dora videos for him. As I sit down at the computer, I see he is already on YouTube page, and he has already entered text into the YouTube search box.

Can you believe that? The kid saw me do it once and knows that this is the correct procedure. But he’s mystified why it’s not working. OK, the text he has entered is something like “Loe ii lf i”, but why should that matter?

Further, a quick look at his search history shows that he has tried several variations on this: “Loli e”, “i oe”, ‘fsof”, etc. But still no Dora videos.

FYI: Benjamin will be three-years-old in two weeks.

Just blown away by my little guy!

Since I quick smoking, I have practically no use for lighters any more.

So, today as evening settles in and the mosquitoes begin to congregate, I start to set up some mosquito coils. But I’m stopped dead because I can’t find a single lighter in the whole house. I ask Annie if we have any, but she comes up empty.

So, Benjamin (2y9m) runs inside, opens a desk drawer, and brings me back what is likely to be the only lighter in the whole house.

Amazing!

Of course, it’s a pretty weak display of parenting that my pre-school son knew exactly where to get a lighter and was able to access it himself.

But still, way to go!

Thanks to countless hours of private tutoring by Dora the Explorer, Becca can now count to ten in Spanish. She also knows “gracias”, “de nada”, “estrella”, and a few others.

On a similar topic, Benjamin (2y9m) astounded me yesterday by counting to ten in English.

Way to go, children!

This is the first of what I will label “Guess-You-Had-To-Be-There” (GYHTBT) posts. These are just cute little episodes or observations, usually about the kids, that will almost certainly mean nothing to anyone else, but that I want to remember and preserve. Hopefully my record here will be enough for me to look back and fondly recall it.

So, feel free to bail out here. No hard feeling, I promise. Move along. Nothing to see here. Head on back to your homes, citizens.

First up: When Benjamin (2y8m) is agreeing with something, he says “Uh huh”, just like anyone. But he does it with the cutest melodic flavor, almost a southern lilt. GYHTBT.

Second: Although Benjamin does not yet have a Twitter account, he does have his own preschooler usage of #FTW. Whenever he does something of which he is proud or wins a game, he uses the Thai term ชนะ (”to win”) which is pronounced as cha^H na^H. In keeping with a tradition established by Becca, Benjamin restricts many words to the final syllable only. So, when he wins at something, he will triumphantly announce “Na^H!”. Very cute, but GYHTBT.

How can that boy be so dense and so smart all at the same time?

Benjamin (2y7m) comes to me and asks me to get him something on the table that he can’t reach. I look to see that he is asking me for toilet paper. After handing over a few sheets, my curiosity piqued, I follow him into the other room to see what’s up.

Turns out he has taken a dump right in the middle of the floor. We’ve discussed it a million times. We ask him “Where are you supposed to make poopie?” and every time he correctly responds “Bathroom”, even pointing his finger there for good measure. Just being lazy about it, I imagine.

Tissue in hand, he uses it to cleanly pick up his creation and dumps it in the toilet. He then brings me the bottled soap we use for washing his bottom, removes the water sprayer from its wall holder next to the toilet and lays it on floor, pulls up his shirt, and squats in the shower area, exactly as expected, waiting for me to get on with the business of cleaning.

What a great kid!