Bananas, Boats, and Books
It’s been a while since I’ve updated on just the kids. They are growing so fast! They are such good wonderful kids and we’re so lucky to spend time with them as they’re growing up.
The Banana Boy
I think this kid is going through a growth spurt because there are never enough bananas in this house almost exclusively for his chosen snacking, and he finishes at least seconds at every meal. His new nickname at the dinner table is “Oliver”, as in “Please, sir, I want some more,” to quote The Dickens. What a compliment to our cooking, and I would never discourage a healthy appetite, but truthfully if the rumors are to be believed on how much a teenage boy can consume I’m afraid we may need to start saving up for a second fridge even with years expecting.
He decided our first Mother-Son Date of the year was the Pasta Night where I teach him how to cook spaghetti. We decided to make it extra special and do meatballs for the spaghetti, plus garlic bread and salad. Although the texture was strange to him at first, he soon enjoyed rolling the mixture into meatballs with his hands and was very proud of the results!
The Historian
This child was telling me the difference between a pirate and a privateer, and named Jean Pierre as an excellent example. They learned a song in school about the War of 1812, and ever since he has been reading everything he can about American Wars especially in graphic novels. His favorite thing to discuss at dinner is ships and planes used in any of the American wars, including steam-propelled ironclad warships named for their protective armor, his favorite being the USS Constitution aka “Old Ironsides”. Yesterday he created a Lego tank with a swiveling tank gun that could rotate 360 degrees. Today he showed me an impressive spy plane that he crafted from Legos.
The Mini-Me
I’d better watch myself, as this girl has been following in my reading and music selections. I listened to Howl’s Moving Castle as an audiobook, then watched the movie together with the kids where I couldn’t help mentioning how different the story was in the book. The next thing I see her borrowing a copy of the text from the library. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” L offered. We have been cackling over The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, especially the back-and-forths over tea and the seemingly endless options for love interests.
