The Conversationalist

con.ver.sa.tion.al.ist [kon-ver-sey-shuh-nl-ist] –noun - a person who enjoys and contributes to good conversation; an interesting person in conversation.

We were outside, visiting with our next door neighbors. Laura and Liz were talking about various remodeling projects, ideas, etc. Liz asked a question about some plumbing work we had done a while back relating to our hot water line. Within our conversation, I explained to Liz that our water heater lines ran to and from the attic from our hall bathroom. Nathan, who had been playing close by, piped up when he heard me talking about the bathroom and the attic...

"And there's a vent fan in the bathroom, too!" he said, joining the conversation.
"That's right, buddy!" I replied.

He continued, "And the vent fan sucks all the poopy smell up into the attic!"

Amidst the outbursts of laughter, I confirmed, "Yes. Yes it does, son."

Where's the Baby?

Ok, so I know that you all want to see the latest pics of Evan, after the shots of Nathan last post...

Attacking the swing mobile

Attacking the spoon

Peek-A-Boo

Watching "Baby Einstein" Video

Daddy's favorite view in the car

Express Yourself

Here are some of the facial expressions Nathan is learning. He often interrupts me to describe or question my expressions so he knows the proper time to use them himself.

(He named these himself, by the way)

Happy Face

Tired Face

Silly Face
Spanking Face

Oh Man! Face

DOGGONIT!

The phrase echoed through the night air. It was a familiar voice. It rang out from the back of the house. It was ELEVEN O'CLOCK AT NIGHT. I was at the street in front of the house, bringing the trash out. I quickened my pace toward the back door. "DOGGONIT! It's RAINING! DOGGONIT!..." He must have repeated himself five times or more. I imagined sleeping neighbors turning over in their beds and cursing us. I anticipated the chain reaction dog barking episode that might follow over the next hour. I wondered, "WHERE IS THAT BOY'S MOTHER?!!" (She was trying to wrestle Evan, by the way, who was trying to get into something in the bathroom) I came around the corner of the back patio and made eye contact with Nathan. "WHAT are you doing?!" I asked quietly but forcefully. He gave me his serious face, though it was softened by my own frustration, and said in a loud whisper, "DOGGONIT! It's RAINING!" I took a deep breath and said quietly, "Go in the house, son." He took a deep breath and said quietly, "Yes, sir." I think he got it.

Swim Lessons

So the boys had their first swimming lessons last Thursday (10.12.06). Evan was a little fish! He splashed and kicked and blew bubbles and jumped and lay on his back and had at least five or more supervised submersions. His instructor said, "Wow, Evan, you're definitely a water baby!" Nathan was the exact opposite. He didn't want to get in the water, and when he finally did, he wanted to stay on the "island" - a platform in the pool that placed him waist-high in the water when standing. He did blow bubbles in the water and splash and kick, but was adamant about not leaving the security of the island. I peeled him away into the pool for a few minutes of the session, but while the other child in the session was very free and trusting of her mom, Nathan had both legs and arms wrapped tightly around me and refused to let go with even one of them to float or move about. Not even my most sincere promises of not dunking him could convince him. I guess he saw enough of Evan's adventures to believe the "worst". We'll see how next week goes, when Laura will be out of town!

What's In There?

Where did we get/buy ____? (the bed, the clock, that car...) We get these questions ALL DAY LONG. Tonight, it was, "Where did you buy Nathan?" We explained that we didn't "get" or "buy" him. We told him he was conceived by mommy and daddy and grew inside mommy's tummy until it was time to come out. "And there's babies in Daddy's belly, too!" he said. "No," I replied, "There are no babies in Daddy's belly - just some food!" Nathan continued, "And some water, and some juice, and some grapes, and some taco salad...and some ICE CREAM!" He was correct on everything but the last item. Laughing, I said, "Not yet, but we can work on that ice cream together!"

Scared

We were all in the kitchen. Laura was feeding Evan. Nathan was helping me prepare lunch. I don't remember exactly what fell, but the noise was extremely LOUD! Everyone jumped and there was a brief pause to assess what happened. Nathan spoke up, "Oh Man! That scared my ears, Daddy!"

Grams

Nathan has been dealing with child fear issues lately. He's had a couple of night fear issues in particular. One was the cicadas from early summer - he calls them "oob-oobs", because that's how he describes their sound. Lately, he has been afraid of "the grams". What are "the grams"? I wish we knew! He says they are round and they make a "ding-dong" sound. It's very curious, but he has been very fearful of dark rooms (especially his) at night because of these "grams". We've prayed with him and I've gone into his room with a big flyswatter and "chased those grams away". Still, he sometimes says, "those grams are not gonna get you!" when it's time for bed. It sure is hard to be a dragon slayer for my son when his dragons are invisible!

Say What You Mean

I'm one of those people who tries to be literal when using directions. Since we live in South Louisiana, there aren't many places we visit "down" anywhere. If we go to Dallas, we go "up" to Dallas. If we go to Baton Rouge or Houston, we go "over". If we go to Orlando, we go "down". When we adjust our thermostat, we adjust it "up" for a warmer temperature, and "down" for a cooler one. If someone asks me to turn "up" the air, we assume they mean warmer. Recently, I replaced our old manual thermostat with a digital one. The old one had a dial, the new one has buttons. The day after we (Nathan and I) installed it, I was putting him down for a nap. I was sitting with him for a moment, when I realized it was a little warm in his room. I got up and told him I was going to go "turn the air down". He sat up and corrected me, "You don't turn it down, Daddy! You push it down!" I can't get anything past that kid! (Not even the things that get past me!)

The Sound of Music

I may have mentioned before that Laura's all-time favorite movie is The Sound of Music. Nathan has come to like it, as well. He's learned a couple of songs (Do-Ra-Mi, and Favorite Things), which he enjoys singing around the house. I'm just glad that my sons are drawn to music (as most children are). Evan likes to rock back and forth or turn his head side to side when music catches his attention. He's most responsive to a hip-hop/dance style beat for now (the new Chrysler Aspen commercial really gets him excited, rocking back and forth). If he's standing, he'll semi-squat/stand up and down to the beat!

Evan wants to PLAY!

Evan is a very sweet baby. He also has an agressive side. When he wants something, he will risk his very life to get to it. There are not many times when he can be held one-handed. The two things he is most aggressive with is the bathtub and Nathan.

If you even go near a bathtub with Evan, he will fight tooth and nail to get in it! When it is bathtime, he yells and fights to get in while you undress him, and once inside the tub he loves to plant his face in what little water he hasn't already splashed out. Don't worry - he comes back up for air! Sometimes red-faced and slightly choking, but always with a smile and laughter. We're looking into swimming lessons for him now.

When it comes to his brother, Nathan, Evan wants to play about 90 % of the time. He loves to climb on, slap, pull, wrestle, etc. with Nathan. If Nathan is playing with his cars, Evan wants to play with the cars. Recently, Evan had one car while Nathan was lining up about fifteen of them along a window sill. Nathan grabbed Evan's car and took it from him. Evan fussed and looked to me for help. From across the room, I said, "You boys are going to have to work that out yourselves this time!" Evan turned toward Nathan, pushed him over, and with one sweep of his hand knocked the entire car convoy off the window sill. Now Nathan was the one fussing, as Evan grabbed his car from the floor and sat there smiling at Nathan. He will also attack Nathan while Nathan is sleeping, if he wants him to wake up and play!

They do have some moments of peacefulness throughout the day, like when they are sleeping or reading...

(this peaceful moment lasted all of about 32 seconds!)