First Tooth Out!

It happened this morning! No pain, no problem. Hooray!

First Loose Tooth!

At bedtime tonight DB suddenly said, "Hey! I've got a loose tooth!" And sure enough, from the way I see his tongue move back and forth, he certainly does!
Excitement was followed by a bit of anxiety, of course, but overall excitement!

Playing School

For the first time DB has been playing school about once a week or so. Usually on the weekend, when he has time to process his week.

In case you can't decipher this, it's a daily schedule for the class. It reads:

Flow of the Day
Morning Meeting (with gavel icon)
Lunch (apple icon)
Writing Workshop (notebook)
Reading Workshop (the little person is saying, "Books rule!")
Read Aloud (book)
Centers (Lego block)
Snack (apple core)

He added centers after I pointed out that in his very own classroom, he could add whatever he wanted. He misses the play centers from kindergarten. (Who wouldn't?)

The Peeps Explore DuckyBoy's Room

With no idea what they'll find, the Peeps boldly embark on their latest adventure: A visit to DuckyBoy's room.

They have a few mishaps along the way, like a run-in with a train...

... a dizzy spell after a ride on this thing ...


and a car that went nowhere:


However, there were some successes as well, including a drive on a bigger vehicle ...


... a chance to drive a bus ...


and a fun time pretending to sell ice cream in a truck that was just the right size.


Playing with stickers had both ups and downs:



Meeting their stuffed relatives was a real thrill, as the Peeps had no idea such folks even existed.



After all the excitement, the Peeps returned home with happy memories of their adventure.
The End.

With a Nod to Dr. Seuss

I made this up tonight, after DB said he thought his ear gurgled.

Once I heard my ear,
I thought I heard it gurgle.
I guess I was mistaken --
it was my nose that snergled.

And then there are my toes,
they like to gerbalot.
When my elbows see them do it,
they dance a mergalot.

I'm adding this stanza now because it needs something to finish it:

I don't know why they do it,
and I can't make them stop.
All I know is when they're through it
they need to wikkezot.

Illustrations TBD (to be drawn) -- or, maybe not.

Tibet's Problem, As Seen by DB

OK, so not to make light of a serious situation. Let me make this clear, I feel for the people of Tibet.

But today we went to the Met museum and DuckyBoy wanted to return the Arms & Armament section, and when we navigated there he wanted specifically, and exclusively to see the Tibetan armor.

Once in the room, he commented: "They must not have been very good soldiers, because these are, like, fabric."

I said, "You know, DB, that's probably why China rules Tibet today." And we had a whole discussion about that, about which he was v. thoughtful.

So now he knows one more thing he did not know before. Well worth the $1 donation I gave to get in. (I pay my NYC taxes, and I bought a $2.50 bag of potato chips at the rooftop garden. So don't worry, I paid.)

The Lorax

We read Dr. Seuss's The Lorax today. It made quite an impression on me when I was young -- I especially remember the cartoon version -- and was interested to see how DB would react.

As the trees get chopped down, on a page that's before the crisis gets totally out of control, he commented, quite matter-of-factly I might add, "I would plant new trees to replace the ones getting cut down."

I love him so much!

Today's Number: 2

Last night's homework involved writing the numbers 3 and 4. "These are not relaxing numbers," DB says to me. "I need to write some 2's to relax."

And he did-- a whole page in his notebook! (Remember, this guy hates to put pencil to paper.)

Interesting echo of Daniel Tammet, an autistic savant who (among other talents) sees numbers visually, as landscapes.

By no means is DB a savant in this area -- his comment just reminded me of Tammet, whose book Born on a Blue Day had thoughtful insights I found helpful thinking about what goes on in DB's head.

Dare You To Disagree

The other day The Beatles' song "Love Me Do" came on the radio, and DB's comment was that it sounds like a cowboy playing a Christmas song.

The Best Birthday Presents

This is DB's comments the morning after his big birthday bash, looking at all the great gifts he got, strewn about the playroom:

Mommy, I think not-birthday birthday presents are the best birthday presents.

Pretty hard to disagree with him on that one!

Birthday Goodies

Pictures of the desserts from all 3 of DB's sixth-birthday parties are public (the only public photos) at my Flickr site.

Here's a taste:


Some comments to make you to look:
The Axiom cake was his idea; his first comment, on seeing it, was "I thought it was going to be shaped like the Axiom."

My reply was, "Yeah, that wasn't gonna happen." He handled it really well!

The Wall-E cookies and bear cake were my ideas.

FYI: New Favorite Animal

For the record, DB's new favorite animal is the octopus. So it was way cool to see one at the NY Aquarium on Friday.

We skipped the penguins, though, since we smelled 'em long before we saw 'em, and DB with his sensitive nose didn't care for THAT at all.

He has acquiesced to letting this blog continue to be called DuckyBoy Fun, rather than renaming it OctoBoy Fun. Ha!

We Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus!

Don't tell Mo Willems! We let our
bird friend drive another one, too...


He got really excited
about the pink Bermuda bus...


And then he checked out
the rest of our collection.


Yeah, so. I went to Borders with a 20-percent off coupon thinking I was going to buy One.Paperback. One stuffed pigeon (and of course his latest book to accompany him) later, here we are. Ooookay.

Ty Beanie Babies

The title of this story is "Ty Beanie Babies." (Note the registered trademark symbol next to "Ty.")

I have long suspected that DB's ability to write a story is hampered primarily by his difficulty with writing. Partly age-appropriate difficulty spelling words, and also his difficulties with grip. Anyway I see the three-panel stories that come home from school and inwardly cringe, thinking that he's capable of so much more. Et, voila. I wrote but he dictated. Right down to the punctuation.

(In fairness I think the abrupt ending was caused by that being the last page of the blank book. Past-bedtime fatigue may have also contributed.)

Here are the real Val and Valentina:

Valentina arrived Sunday from Grandma's house. They are indeed married, the ceremony having been performed by Eagley (another Beanie Baby), cut a bit short due to a LIRR train rumbling past the bedroom window that needed the best man to count its cars. There was an incident the other day involving a yellow stuffed Peep working her way into Val Bear's heart (he's known her a long time), but after a discussion of the concept of monogamy (but not the word), the three have decided to be friends.

Mo Willems Fan

Isn't this a great rendering of Mo Willems' Pigeon? He even chose a good color -- I was thinking Pigeon is more gray, but upon looking at the Pigeon book we have, he really is bluish.

DuckyBoy says he wasn't even looking at the book when he did it. I'm thrilled he can copy a simple drawing so well when he wants to, because it's such a far cry from last spring, when he barely could sit still to copy a shape for the neurodevelopmental pediatrician's test. (We cancelled the appt with her this year.)

The text reads, "I liked the part when the pigeon got the dog." DB also told me the pigeon is scared -- hence the lines around the head.

PS, Today's the last day of kindergarten! Check out DB's last-day photo on Flickr! (email me if I haven't yet added you as a friend) -- and then compare it to the first-day photo from back in September!

DB is pretty anxious about going into first grade -- but excited too. He got the classroom he wanted; I don't know why that's the one he wanted but he got it, so that bodes well.

The Peeps Visit Key Food

How do Marshmallow Peeps make their selection of what food they eat? How do they navigate the grocery shopping experience? Inspired by the Millikin University Peeps Research study, we decided to follow a pair of them one day and find out.

As we would do, the Peeps exit their apartment building. Note the lack of any money or shopping cart.


Clearly the Peeps don't take their shopping trips too seriously, choosing instead to use the excursions as an opportunity to have fun. Here they were looking for their favorite Veggie Tales character, Larry the Cucumber, in the produce section.


It is unknown what the Peeps were looking for in the onion bin; however, it was observed that they did need to leave the bin once they began to cry, a reaction shared by Peeps and humans to raw onions.


It was heartening to observe the Peeps reading nutrition labels on various yogurt containers, presumably checking calorie counts, ingredients, and freshness dates. Clearly the low-fat, high-dairy propaganda dispensed by the US government has made its way to the Peeps.


On the flip side, the Peeps are not immune to advertising gimmicks and special offers. Here they are seen reading about the special offer on a box of cereal. It should also be noted that the Peeps were interested in sweetened cereal only, perhaps indicating that they watch too much children's television.


The Peeps do love to drink water, and are seen here checking out the price of their favorite brand.


Not surprisingly, the Peeps spent the most time in the aisle with cookies and other sweets. Their first stop was to fulfill a family obligation, saying hello to their cousins.


They then appeared surprised and delighted to discover a new member of the family. It should be noted that no reading of nutrition labels took place at this time.


Finally, the Peeps enjoyed a ride on the conveyor belt on their way out of the store.


Despite their small size, the Peeps showed no fear of being overlooked and stepped on as they exited the store to begin the journey home. It should be pointed out that they, like many New Yorkers, took advantage of the delivery service offered by the store, so they did not have to carry the groceries themselves. This may explain the high concentration of Peeps populations found in U.S. cities as compared to suburban and rural areas.

Space Travel

DuckyBoy made up this story in the car on the way somewhere -- and this time, instead of me making up mot of the story, he came out with all of this.

He said he's going to invent a rocket to go past our planets, "blast through space" to the edge of space.

He's also going to make a cereal with pieces shaped like planets, some like planets we haven't been to yet (I think he meant ones we haven't even seen yet), and there will be a (Willy-Wonkaesque) prize inside certain boxes to choose who gets to go with him. (It went without saying it would be a sugar-sweet cereal.)

Teenagers who win can come by themselves, but younger kids will need to bring a grownup.

There will be special astronaut clothes onboard for everyone, as well as a space travel car. I'm not sure what it does but it's going to come in very handy on the journey past the edge of space.

$11.52

That's the total sales from DuckyBoy's first lemonade stand!

He's wanted to do this for 2 years now, and until now I've only been able to mount a half-hearted effort to do it with him; he's just been too little for me to enjoy taking the neighbor's cash for something I did all the work on.

This time though, once Daddy's persuasive reasons NOT to have the sale IN the elevator were listened to and the sale could proceed outside, DuckyBoy poured in all ingredients and mixed and tasted the product. Downstairs, he brought in his own sales, poured and took the cash.

He wrote 2 signs all by himself; 25 [and then picture a backwards cents sign] or 10 [another backwards cents sign]. He asked me to write "Lemonade" on another piece of paper, and then he decorated it with pictures of cups and even wavy lines to show the liquid inside.

He didn't have to make much change, though; anybody had this experience? Almost nobody wants to get their change! He tried really hard to give the first customer change, and after that you could almost see him thinking, "OK, I just take the money and pour the drink!" It was hard for him to know when someone did want change -- the signals are pretty subtle.

My favorite part was watching him spot someone crossing the street and saying, "Here come more customers!" He couldn't imagine they wouldn't want some... what an attitude to have, you know? No fear. As his dad says, "He thinks he's offering the best thing in the world." And right then, he was.

When they got close enough he'd run up to them and say, "Would you like some lemonade?" and almost no one could say no. It's nice to be cute! LOL. He did well when a few people said no, which is a big deal for him. He offered free knock-knock jokes (we had the book because I thought we might need something to do in case of a lull) and free flower petals -- the crabapple trees in front of the building are losing their flowers and the petals pile up like snowdrifts, lots of fun to throw around.

All in all, we're proud of our little entrepreneur.

Waaaay Off-Off-Off-Off Broadway

This post is brought to you by the Society for "Agggghhh my patch is itchy and I'm not going to think about anything else..."

Think about something else, I said oh-so-helpfully, and then I know I've got to suggest something or it'll never work, so first I said, Like stairs, since we were heading toward the stairs. Then I said, Or coats, since I was holding 2 coats (not knowing which to put on him till we got outside).

Then, since I've got a tune from Les Miz running through my head this morning, the one that goes, "Red, the blood of angry men..." I broke into song:

Coats, we don't want to wear our coats,
Spring, we like the warmth of Spring.

He's heard that song a hundred times, so I think he recognized it. At any rate it's over the top, so it made him laugh! So I kept it going. Downstairs I said,

Bus, I see that is your bus,
Red, the red lights go on soooon!

I think that may be the first time he's ever got on the bus laughing.

Probably also the first time he had warm banana-bread muffins in his hand too, the difficult logistics of which escapes him but was a fun challenge for me.

Recent Artwork

DuckyBoy was very pleased with this drawing from school. It shows me with 2 "SuperCampers"-- The assignment was Things That Make Us Happy. At first I thought it was 2 "Supercars"; he corrected me when he looked at this. So I pointed out there was no "M" in the word, which caused my confusion.

A Peeps Adventure

The Peeps exit their apartment building in search of fun at the playground.

They borrow a delivery person's bicycle and get there fast.

The Peeps enjoy a swing.

They climb the steps,

then go down the slide. Whee!

Oops, minor injuries occur coming off the slide.

The Peeps admire the Parks Department logo,

then play tag around the flagpole.

The Peeps take a ride on a bucket swing, but...
... Oops, another injury.
The Peeps decide to take a break and watch from safety as the Peep editor swings instead of them.

The Peeps take turns trying on a hat.

Then they have a race down twin slides.

The Peeps race toward the play structure, one hop at a time...




And the winner is ... Green Peep!

The Peeps hop into the tunnel,

and enjoy the end of their day at the playground.

On the way home, Oh, No! A serious injury takes place!

Peep friend, in quickly rented car, follows injured Peep in ambulance.

A dedicated team looks over the Peep's injury and springs into action.
After a few minutes they step back and admire their handiwork.
An ambulance ride home...

...reunites the friends at last.