Introducing...

Sasha introduces his friends/babies/animals/blankies for the camera. It's a little mumbly but I think you'll hear enough to enjoy the company.

Update: To avoid any confusion, I've decided to list the cast of characters in order of appearance.

Monkey, Penguin, Loon, Puppy, Piggy, Owl, Elmo, Baby, New Baby, Meerkat, Lion, Sloth-y, Froggy, Goose, Blankie, Panda, Froggy (#2), Robin, Monkey (#2 and #3)

Dinosaur Feeb

Oh, the never-ending game of dinosaur feeb.

Dinosaur feeb is an invention I regret and Sasha's favorite thing in the whole world. A couple of weeks ago, I bought some dinosaur figures from the $1 bin, thinking they had potential for imagination games. But I may have overestimated his ability to be create imagination games. The game, having been started by me, now doesn't really change unless I suggest something new.

This is the game: Sasha moves around a brontosaurus and Mama or I move around all of the remaining dinosaurs. (All remaining dinosaurs. If we have three dinosaurs plus a cup of coffee but only two hands, tough luck. We are not allowed to put one down.) Basically we just push around the plastic figures in or around the feeb, playing follow-the-leader. A feeb is a cave made of two pillows pushed together to form an upside-down V on the couch and seems to be the central joy of the game. (Why "feeb?" Because sometimes toddler pronunciation is inexplicable.) The game starts when Sasha shouts, "Dinosaur feeb!" and all the dinos go into the feeb, then out, then in, then do various other activities. Some other visitors from the stuffed animal collection visit the feeb and are greeted and kissed, then the dinos leave again, eat, go back into and on top of the feeb, jump up and down from the couch, etc., etc., etc. Game time is 5:00 am or thereabouts and the second round is after breakfast. Third and fourth rounds happen whenever the schedule allows, but there's usually another round before bedtime because now the dinosaurs go bathing, too.

A special benefit that the game provides is the many opportunities to use the word "too." The narration goes something like this:

"Dinosaur feeb! Baby, too. Monkey, too. Lion, too."

"T-Rex eating eggs. Triceratops, too. Brontosaurus, too."

"Visit penguin. T-Rex, too. Triceratops, too."

Yes it's cute, but after a few hundred games I think I'm going to lose my mind.

Is there an echo in here?

Me: Let's get your shoes on.

Bub: Shoes on.

Me: Do the straps feel ok?

Bub: Do the straps feel ok?

Me: Well, they look alright.

Bub: Well, they look alright.

Me: You're silly.

Bub: You're silly.

Another Summer With Cousin Maya

Once again, cousin Maya spent the summer stateside where she and Sasha were able to spend much of the month of August together.  Initially I think it was difficult for them to share the affections of Nana and Zayde when each of them is accustomed to their grandparents' undivided attention, but they quickly adapted and learned to share the spotlight.  Sometimes if the frustration was just too much, clever coping strategies were invented, like a kiss on the head to mask a sly twisting of the arm.  They played for hours outside with a couple of squirt bottles, shared meals and nightly baths, visited the zoo, explored the city's playgrounds, colored with crayons and put puzzles together.

Maya wins the prize for biggest sweetheart. Her polite requests to "read this book, please," her playful silliness, and her exceptional patience with her exuberant younger cousin were among the many little things that add up to one awesome young girl.

Upon their first meeting, Maya wanted to read a book to Sasha.

Helping Zayde make his "perfect" scrambled eggs.

More helping in the kitchen: testing the jelly roll crumble.

At the beach in Delaware.

Bringing a handful of sand to show Mahmoo.

Sharing beach toys.

Or not.

Coloring, probably on the table.

Ooh la la.  Maya's first french braid courtesy of Margot.

Their own kid-size chairs.

Maya's first game of charades. (She insisted Mama do it first.)  
Cookie Monster, in case you were wondering.

Trying to wrap themselves in a blanket.

Now a Boy, Still a Baby

The Little Mister has graduated from babyhood. Not like high school or college graduation which are rites of passage that mark one distinct stage of life to another, but more like junior high graduation: sure, you graduated and you probably know some algebra, but not a whole lot has changed.

His rapidly increasing vocabulary and ability to communicate more clearly is a welcome change from the guessing game that we've been playing for the last couple of years. He even speaks in full sentences on occasion. Over the last couple of days he's picked up proper use of the word "too." He uses it whenever possible, like today when we went to the zoo and saw bees and butterflies in the garden. When he pointed out both the bees and the bop-eyes, I exclaimed, "Yes, there are bees and butterflies!" He agreed, "Bees. And bop-eyes, too!" Or when I asked him if he would like some water or juice and he replied, "Yesh. Water. And juice, too."

But other times he says no when he means yes. Or answers yes to a question that hasn't been asked. Or he'll tell Mama all about his day in a long narrative of totally incomprehensible babble in which 2 or 3 recognizable words fly by.

On cooperative days, he also likes to helpfully drop his finished bottles into the sink. Which brings me to my point: he's almost washing his own dishes but he's still drinking out of a bottle. He's a boy but a baby, too. We went for a bike ride today (which is easier now because he can tell me what's going on in the backseat without the need for me to stop and turn around to see for myself). But then he passed out 5 minutes into our ride to the store. At 9 am. That's definitely a baby's sleep schedule. He has the willpower to refuse to sleep even when he's exhausted, but then falls asleep at the dinner table into a spoonful of hummus. He can climb like a monkey all over the outside of his crib, but still needs to sleep in one.

Sasha's first complete sentence was "Sasha is a boy." I say Sasha is a baby, too.

Beckett Jameson

Sasha and his moms welcome his new cousin Beckett Jameson Duggan to the world! A beautiful, squishy-faced, sleeping little babe. We love you already.

The Latest in Luxury

Ladies and gentlemen, we invite you to view the latest in luxury dinosaur transport. This gem of a vehicle features extravagant architecture and outstanding design. Choose from an array of options, including customized colors, windows, flowers, and a driver of your choice. Prepare to be amazed!

P.S. I promise that I will start posting to this blog again!

Talking and Pretending

Oh, the things you can learn from a little red monster. I checked out "Elmo Goes to the Doctor" video from the library (Well, he checked it out. On his Elmo library card.) When he watches it, I don't really pay attention because I'm using Elmo as a babysitter while I run around the house trying to pack a diaper bag, make a shopping list, check my email, whatever. So yesterday Nerdy and I were hanging out with the Bub, "helping" dig through his toy boxes. He found a piece of his medical kit, the ear scope thingy, and got all excited. He careened right toward my face, then stopped, turned my head, and said CHEKKADAH-EEYA, first looking in one ear and then the other, CHEKKADAH-EEYA. Nerdy immediately got the same CHEKKADAH-EEYA treatment, and we got our ears checked 3 or 4 times. A few minutes later, he found a plastic eggplant which I was instructed to "blabbedy blabbedy MOUF" so he could take my temperature. And Nerdy, too-- in the MOUF. Then more CHEKKADAH-EEYA. Then we had our temperatures taken under our AHMPEET (actually our elbows but we're not complaining).

He's really trying to talk now and getting much better with his pronunciation. He's a little echo, repeating most of what he hears. One of my favorites: ICE KEEMA. He loves it. He even demanded a popsicle for breakfast the other day. Fortunately, he eats so slowly that most of it melts before he's able to eat all that sugar.

Another fave of mine: THE PEEPO ON THE BUS GO OP EE DON! OP EE DON! OP EE DON! THE PEEPO ON THE BUS GO OP EE DON! ALL IN THE MINE.

Swimeem Graduation

"Swimeem" copyright Taylor Duggan, 2010.

Instant Friends

The Bub made a new friend last weekend: Lennox, the sweetest 4-year-old I've ever met. Lennox was visiting from Los Angeles with his moms (old friends of Nerdy). They first met in the playground and though initially they weren't interested in each other, they found common ground in a dusty patch of ground along the fence at the playground. I think they spent an hour or more just getting dirty.

The next day, they went to another playground together, this time playing in the sprinklers and getting soaked. They returned to our place where they debated some World Cup plays before we stripped off their wet clothes. They immediately decided playing naked was even better than playing with clothes on. So the jaybirds ran around, jumped on the bed, drew with crayons, and ate berries until it was time to get dressed to leave. But what a tragedy! They both cried to have to leave each other. Our promises of more fun the next day were barely enough to soothe their breaking hearts.

Fortunately, they were able to spend all the next day together, where they played dinosaurs, splashed in the pool, ate French fries for lunch, shared an ice cream cone, and ran around the playground for a few rounds of BeBaBo. No one but the two of them has any idea what game that is, but it involves chanting "BeBaBo," and circling around objects such as bike racks, trees, and lamp posts. I don't know a whole lot about 4-year-olds, but I assume that most wouldn't have the time of day for a "baby," much less play invented games for hours on end. Which is why Lennox is my favorite kid in California.