"My mell"

"My mell Taty an Abigae-o"

"You smell Katy and Abigail?"

"Yah"

"What do they smell like?"

"Nanas"

"Bananas?"

"An my mell Abigae-o's mommy."

"Really? What does Abigail's mommy smell like?"

"Co-co"

"An my mell Abigae-o's daddy."

"What does he smell like?"

"Budder toath."

Overheard

Justin (3 yrs old) pulls a few coins out of his pocket and picks up a quarter. He pinches it between his thumb and pointer and carefully holds it close to Alice's face.

"Aliss, wahss diss?"

Alice looks up briefly from the flashlight that Justin has just loaned her.

"Dat uh torder."

Unimpressed, she immediately returns her attention to the flashlight. Justin shakes his head and replies.

"No. Issa borter!"

This isn't the first time Justin and Alice haven't understood each others' English dialects. I remember an especially "Abbott and Costello" moment when Justin was talking about fire ("by-uh") and Alice didn't understand. I translated for her and then SHE started talking about fire ("wy-er"). Justin was trying to understand where Alice was seeing all the wires and Alice was frustrated that Justin was saying "wire" when she was trying to communicate "fire" ("wy-er"). She kept trying to "correct" his misunderstanding by shouting, "No, wy-er!" He would reply "Where the wire?" I was caught in the middle, trying to help them understand each other for several minutes, until I finally thought to change the subject..."Ready for snack?"

Bobby's Sunday Summary

This week felt very busy but it probably was all because of yesterday. Yesterday was the annual Apple and Pork Festival. We went in the morning and got there about 11:00. It was also a bit overcast, but not bad. Both of these made it so it wasn't nearly as crowded when we showed up for lunch. We ate BBQ Pork sandwiches, apple cider, apple cake, and kettle corn.

We also did some activities. They had both a petting zoo and a pony ride. We had Alice pick between the two of them. The pony ride was very tempting...

But the petting zoo won.

In addition to the pig and goats, there were lots of sheep, a lama, a pony, and some rabbits.

While there we got to see rope making

Alice was not that interested. We also saw a bunch of antique farm equipment, some of it even being used to grind corn meal. We saw a black smith making nails, some wood turners making bowls and tops, and a man making benches using hand tools and some logs. There were also lots of arts and craft booths, and a flea market. We avoided the flea market. It was a lot of fun. I also have to say that Alice was fabulous during the whole thing. She did not really want to go home at the end but she did not throw a fit when we did go.

That would have made for a full day, but we did a lot more yesterday too. After we got home we were exhausted, but Susan had a church conference to go to, that lasted from 3 to 8. It was quite the event, as Alice and I hung out. We went to the library, played, had a bath. She started to get very grumpy, but it was because she was tired. She went to bed at 7 and she was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Slurred speech

Just thought I'd throw these little gems out there and see how you manage to interpret them:

mag-zuh-WEEN

SPARE-guh-russ

SKYOO-mee

Nesting instinct

I'm calling the baby a "he" today.

I've had several non-sick days this week, which means I've been able to work on "nesting" projects. The office/storage room may be the baby's new room. If so, the new babe will enjoy the unique feature of a stimulating and well-placed curtain to mask his view of hundreds of pounds of food storage and a shelf full of flashing, whirring electronics. The two kids will share a room once the new babe is sleeping well through the night (Did I just curse myself by saying that?).

Last night, Alice broke the news to Baby Cow about the baby in her tummy and the baby in my tummy. She told Baby Cow that the baby will come after Christmas and after her birthday. I asked her (through Baby Cow) what she will do when the baby comes. She said she will snuggle him and hug him and put him to bed. She giggled as she talked about it.

It occurred to me at that moment that perhaps this whole sibling relationship thing has already begun. Maybe these two kids can actually develop a positive relationship without my constant help? Maybe I was over-thinking this whole sibling thing? (*LOL* If you know me well, this behavior is no surprise)

Alice then announced that her baby and Mommy's baby were going to come tonight, instead. Baby Cow was concerned that it was too early for Mommy's baby to come (i.e. the baby didn't even have hair yet and he was just learning how to wiggle around). The notion of such profound immaturity seemed to intrigue Alice. Baby Cow explained that the baby would get bigger and bigger until Alice could finally feel him kicking around inside Mommy's tummy. I don't think she completely believed him, but she giggled again, probably at the idea that the baby was kicking and kicking with impunity. She finds other peoples' light physical pain hilarious. Real pain is NOT funny, but a bonk here and a trip there is side-splitting.

I am heartened by the ease with which Alice has taken to this baby. She seems to understand and anticipate his arrival with excitement. I have breathed several sighs of relief ever since. The worst may come yet, but the situation is already better than I had feared ;)