Saturday, July 08, 2006

Mr. Guinea Pig

Tonight at dinner, Joey insisted that we call him "Mr. Guinea Pig" (that's Pinky Dinky Doo's pet guinea pig). He is SO CUTE. He puts his fingers up on each side of his head, and proclaims himself Mr. Guinea Pig. Then he pretends to be Mr. Guinea Pig for a while! How cool is THAT???

Friday, July 07, 2006

Animals animals animals!

So we took the boys to Maymont today. If you have never been, and you are hanging around Richmond, I recommend it thoroughly. Its worth the drive from here, that's for sure. They have a fabulous indoor, air conditioned nature center with live fish and animals, including otters! The boys were fascinated with the catfish. I think Joey could have spent the day staring at the fish and turtles (the Baltimore Aquarium trip we're planning ought to be a smash hit!). Then we took them over to the Children's Farm there- ou can feed the goats, and there are lots of other animals to see. Absolutely lovely!

The best part- that seems a weird way to put this, but anyway- was that when Joey did melt down, nobody looked at us like we were freaks, or bad parents, or anything. Everybody was SO nice, and SO sympathetic. I'm not just talking abotu people who worked there- the visitors, even older people who were talking a stroll, were all smiling and trying to be polite and nice. I was grateful. Joey was doing fine one minute, and not fine the next, and I've gotten used to the dirty looks we usually get- but they still are unpleasant. It was so much nicer to have folks understand we were working our way to the car, trying to calm him down, trying to keep the day from being a complete mess. thank you to all those people. ou made our lives SO much nicer!

Monday, July 03, 2006

Favorite words

Like most four-year-olds, Joey has favorite words. He loves to walk aroudn saying these words, just to feel them in his mouth. I remember doing that as a kid. I really liked the words "squash" and "golden", and remember walking around one day saying "buttercup" just because it felt good. Maybe I'm weird, but I see other little kids doing this all the time, often to the annoyance of their parents. Joey does it, too.

Today's word is "tenacious." He has an idea of what it means, because he loves Pinky Dinky Doo, and "tenacious" is a word they highlight. He's very good at saying it, too. Joey still has a thick quality to his voice (that I can get no therapist to recognize or acknowledge, even when I point it out directly), but its pretty clear and understandable. So he's playing being Pinky Dinky Doo and Mr. Guinea Pig, tooting on a kazoo and joyfully exclaiming, "TENACIOUS!"