Quotation Mark Mondays: Great jokes

Matt tried to tell Mark a joke: Why was six afraid of seven? Because seven eight nine!

Mark replied, "Really? Why would seven eat nine? Did that really happen?"
This led to a lengthy discussion about the mechanics of this particular joke, which managed to take the humor out of the whole gag.

Undeterred- and, in fact, inspired - Mark decided to write his own jokes:

Q: Which kind of trees get the sickest?

A: Ash trees, because they get emerald ash borer disease.

Q: Why are there restaurants?

A: Because people need stuff to eat.

Q: What did the dog do when he saw a lion?

A: He ran away.

Quotation Mark (actually, Anne) Monday: Not daddy

Words that Anne will say with a general clarity that most people (including reasonably intelligent strangers) can understand:

Mom
Mommy
Momma
Bowl
Dip-dip (which represents ketchup)
Apple
Juice
Apple juice (natural combination of the two previous words)
Ball
No
Book
Woof woof (for dogs, obviously)
Keys
Num-num (food)
Cookie
Whee (indiscriminately applied to slides or swings)


So that's at least 16 words - including three versions of 'mother' - that Anne can say with a reasonable amount of precision. And not one of those words include Dad, Daddy, Dadda, Papa, Father, Padre, Paternal figure, etc.
Lynne says the worst one that Matt is ranked below is 'keys'. Keys are, after all, the lowest ranked of items carried in the pocket - finishing a distant third to money (good for buying things) and phone (calls/internet/Candy Crush).

But, the truth is that the worst one is clearly 'dip-dip'. First, it is ketchup. (Or, catsup, if you prefer.) And ketchup is vastly overrated. Fifth best condiment. At best.
Second, it shows that she has the ability to say the 'd' sound, but she just chooses not to. And she thinks it's hilarious.

But, secretly, we know Anne loves her Daddy. Or, as she calls him: the "no Mommy."

Quotation Mark Mondays: Noses

Matt: "If Anne grows up and has a baby, then you would be an uncle."
Mark: "And I would be like Uncle Josh! Except I wouldn't get the noses. That's not my favorite thing that he does."
Matt: "Oh yeah? What is your favorite thing that Uncle Josh does?"
Mark: (thinks) "Regular size present in in a big box. He gets you with that every time."

Quotation Mark Mondays: Grown Up

Mark:  I'm so grown up.  I have so many grown up things.  I use a grown-up spoon, a grown up fork.  And I have hairy legs, just like a grown-up man!

Anne of Fridays: Big Girl

We thought we'd post n update on Annie, who it seems all of a sudden is turning into a big girl.

She's still into everything and refuses to play with toys.  She much prefers exploring the house, carrying odd objects around and/or dismantling them (emptying bins and cabinets, pulling lids off markers, etc.).  She likes to dance and try to snap her fingers whenever a song comes on.  She also loves being chased, especially around the couch.  She loves being around and playing with her brother.  And she LOVES being outside.  Her favorite outside things involve playing in water, driving the little red car at grandma's house, going on swings (she calls them "Weeeee!") and slides (also "Weeee!, which leads to some confusion).  She has also taken a sudden liking to books and wants to read all the time. 

She is also able to do so much more than even a few weeks ago.  She is out of her high chair now, and she's totally off bottles.  She has tons of teeth (maybe even all of them) and can eat whatever we're eating.  She wants to walk up and down stairs rather than crawling (which freaks us out).  She can unzip zippers and is sneaky fast at taking off her own shoes.

She can understand most of what we tell her.  And she can't talk yet, but she can communicate pretty well.  She says:  Mama, Ma! (Mark), Grandma, Nana, Pap, Bababoo, Joo (Juice), Dip-dip (ketchup), Yes, No, Baby, Apple, Cookie, Keys, Book.  She refers to animals by their noises, and makes a snoring noise when she's tired or someone is sleeping.  Otherwise she communicates with pointing and hoots.  She does NOT, however, say daddy, and instead refers to Matt as "No, Mama."

She has amazing willpower, and she's still a handful.  But she's also tons of fun!

Mark of Fridays: Big Kid

Mark has gotten a lot taller over the last few months, and he seems suddenly a lot older, too. 

We took him for a shoe check over spring break, and they told us he had enough room in his shoes to last the summer.  Then Grandma took him back last week and the people yelled at us that we let him play in shoes that were too small.  He had grown an entire shoe size!  He's also wearing boys clothes now, rather than toddler sizes, and seems to want to live in athletic shorts (he calls them "comfy shorts") all the time, just like a big kid.

While still not an athlete, he also seems to have gotten a lot more coodinated recently.  He can climb playground equipment like a kid and run (most of the time) without flailing his arms.  He just finished his first soccer season, and he made huge improvements.  We think he understands the game now, and he at least tries to pay attention.  Once he even kicked the ball, albeit after doing a "soccer dance" in front of it that was a huge hit with the parents.  And he LOVES baseball.  Now that the weather is nice, all he wants to do is play baseball in front of our house.  He can hit a pitched ball pretty well, and he's working on throwing and fielding grounders.  He had his first T-ball practice last week, and he can't wait to play more.

He's also looking forward to a busy yet fun summer.  He'll continue taking Spanish and piano this summer, and he's enrolled in a gymnastics camp (his idea) next week.  He's also taking some academic classes in math, science, and kiddie engineering in July, which he's super excited about.  There will also be adventures with his mom and sister, and probably a good bit of swimming in the pool and visiting the lake. 

And also talking.  Lots and lots and lots of talking.

Quotation Mark Mondays: Punishments

Anne has been hitting her brother--and her parents, the walls, doors, etc.--a lot lately.  As we explain to Mark, it's mostly because she's frustrated about something and can't talk yet.  When this happens, Mark wants to see her appropriately punished, since we are always telling him that "No Hitting" is the #1 rule in our house.

A conversation between Lynne and Mark after he got whacked by his sister and he tried to punish her:

Lynne:  Mark, we decide the punishments in this house.  Not you.  You may never, ever punish your sister.
Mark:  What about when I'm a grown up?
Lynne:  When you're a grown up, you can punish your own kids.  But by then, Anne will be a grown up, too, so you won't be punishing her.
Mark:  Well, what if I'm a police officer?  Then I could arrest her and punish her!
Lynne:  You could arrest her, but a judge would decide her punishment, not you.
Mark:  What is she was only speeding?  Then I could give her a ticket, right??

Lake Weekend!

Attached are some photos from the first Lake House Trip of the season.

New this year:  A giant inflatible slide that Mark went down, in his words, a thousand million times.  And, this year he's old enough to ride the jet ski.

Anne rode on the boat and didn't attept to climb off, which we considered a success.  She also loved the Weeee! (swing) in the yard.

A great time was had by all.

Sister and Brother

Mark and Anne have been getting along together pretty well these days.  She loves being wherever he is and doing whatever he's doing, and he's increasingly tolerant of having her along.