DuckyBoy Fun

Meet the Newest Member of the Cousin Club

2011-07-07T15:51:00.001-07:00

TempurPedic Bear

2010-08-13T08:33:00.001-07:00

I loved the exhibit hall at BlogHer; I got lots of free stuff just for asking! The TempurPedic booth had the cutest stuffed bear, and when I asked if they were giving him away, they said no, but that if I came back at the end of the 2nd day when they were packing up I could have him.

So Mom went back and got him for me! And here I am in Mom and Dad's TempurPedic bed with him.

This is one of my favorite places to be: In their bed, with toys and food. Of course the TV is on, but you can't see it because it's behind Mom taking the picture.

Zhu Zhu Pets Argue

2010-08-13T08:29:00.001-07:00

Our first Zhu Zhu pet, Nugget, is jealous of our new Kung Zhu, Rock'o, because Rock'o has a set of armor AND a tank. And he doesn't want to share. We snapped them mid-argument.

How To Train Your Dragon Widget

2010-03-29T06:44:00.001-07:00

First Sleepover

2010-01-06T08:55:00.001-08:00

Great Movie Quote

2009-12-31T22:31:00.000-08:00

Tonight Husband and I watched The Replacements with Keanu Reaves and Brooke Langton (one thing I love about this movie is that the two of them have practically the same haircut but both have it styled to look gender-appropriate) and here's the quote Dad and I both love and want preserved for you, for posterity, our wonderful boy:

"Pain doesn't last, chicks dig scars, and glory lasts forever."

DB wanted to stay up till midnight, but around 10 he fell into bed, exhausted. Last night he was up till about 1030 because had his First.Ever.Sleepover, with his wonderful friend Sv, a GIRL, with whom he had a great time (and she didn't want to leave today)! With the door to his room kept open, I might add. Yes, we do have that rule now when girls are over, since he and a minister's daughter were playing in his room with the door closed, lol, it was innocent, they were playing with something that glowed-in-the-dark, but hence the rule. Good to start them early with that anyway...

Song Titles

2009-12-16T17:58:00.001-08:00

Everybody Loves Donuts

Robotic Arm Rocks the House

Devastator Has Arrived!

2009-11-20T19:06:00.000-08:00

Very exciting: The 7-part Devastator that we've been waiting 6-8 weeks for came today!

We were able to track it this week via FedEx tracking number, that was cool to see when it was getting close.

DuckyBoy has been soo good about waiting for it, I thought he'd ask every.single.day but he hasn't!

And now his reward: It's here! And 10 days earlier than they estimated when we ordered it.

Here are the 7 in vehicle mode:

I'll take my best guess at getting the names right:
Left to right: Scrapper, HighTower, Overload, MixMaster, Long Haul, can't remember but he's Demolisher's twin in robot mode, and Rampage, the one who's red in the Revenge of the Fallen movie.

We haven't yet transformed them into Devastator because, well, the instructions are in Japanese and the drawings are very,very small. We'll have to watch a video tomorrow to help us figure it out!

But even that wasn't a big deal. DB had a good time switching them between robot and vehicle modes. They're really neat, every one of them has some articulation and 3 modes: robot, vehicle, and Devastator-part.

New Transformers Video-- Ours!

2009-10-13T03:42:00.001-07:00

Hamster Comment!

2009-10-10T07:54:00.001-07:00

Received via email:

Have been trying for 1/2 hour to post on Duckyboy Fun that I LOVE THE HAMSTERS--so fun to feed! Thanks, DB, a very good idea indeed! ( don't know how to fix my google account--will not take my password even after a reset--grrrrr) Love, Aunt N...

New Transformer Idea

2009-10-09T18:16:00.000-07:00

We came up with a cool new Transformers character:

A Decepticon whose vehicle mode is a Zamboni. His Cybertron name could be "Freezemaster," and he freezes his enemies... or the road in front of them.

The Peeps Go Stylish

2009-10-05T19:56:00.000-07:00

The Peeps decided they wanted to look spiffier, so the 3 chicks got glasses and the bunnies, since their ears didn't lend themselves to holding up glasses, opted for headbands.

Oh, and all 5 of them are wearing blue pants.

Stylish, yes?

An Alphabet of Transformers

2009-09-16T12:53:00.000-07:00

We passed the time on the ride out to Grandma's last weekend trying to find something to do with Transformers for every letter of the alphabet. here's how we did (Hey: nobody steal these and make a book, ok, 'cause we're going to! Thanks!)

A --Allspark, Arcee, Autobot
B-- Bumblebee, Blitzwing, Black Arachnia
C-- Cybertron, Chief, Constructicon
D-- Devastator, Detriot, Decepticon, DinoBots
E-- EMP, Earth
F-- Fanzone, as in the police captain's name
G-- Grimlock
H-- Headmaster
I-- Isaac (Professor Sumdac)
J-- Jazz, Jetfire, Jetstorm
K--
L-- Lugnut, Lockdown, Longarm, Laserbeak
M-- Megatron, Mixmaster
N-- Nanobot, Nanosecond
O-- Optimus Prime, Omega Supreme, Organics
P-- Prowl, Professor Princess
Q-
R-- Ratchet, Rodimus
S-- Sari Sumdac, Starscream, Soundwave, Sentinel Prime, Swoop, Snarl
T-- The Fallen, Transformer
U-- Ultra Magnus
V--
W-- Wasp
X--
Y--
Z--

Suggestions to fill in the missing letters welcome!

Barack O'Potatohead

2009-09-06T15:10:00.000-07:00

DuckyBoy decided to put his Mr. Potatohead
together with the body piece upside down,
and he came out looking ... familiar.

(Hey, Mommy voted for him, so it's not like we're looking for any reason to make fun -- can we help the resemblance??)

Pizza, Squirrelized!

2009-08-27T19:35:00.001-07:00

How silly is this? You can squirrelize your own photo, or to read why this even exists read the Gawker news item.

Hamsters Humming Stupidly

2009-08-27T19:28:00.000-07:00

Sounds like a book:
"Hamsters Humming Stupidly"
it's just us, playing.

This is a joint creation by DB and his mom for Haiku Friday.

Sand Swimming

2009-08-19T11:49:00.000-07:00

Monday, August 17, 2009
Jones Beach, Beach 2

Plus the girls digging a hole to the center of the earth!

Silly School 5

2009-08-19T07:58:00.000-07:00

At this school detention is at Chuck E Cheese. The principal took the kid and bought her 3 whole gumball machines!

The principal's name is Principal Nonsense.

Susie is the kid's name.

(Daddy got to hear the first 4 installments of this series while Mommy was in Chicago. She hasn't gotten them out of DB yet.)

Revenge of the Toys 2

2009-08-14T07:31:00.000-07:00

These are the same Transformers in car mode: Decepticon Dirt Boss (aka Scrapper) vs. Autobots Dune Runner, Bumblebee, and Optimus Prime

Transformers: Revenge of the Toys!

2009-08-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

When Toys Attack:

Autobots battle Decepticons on the table near the TV.

Good Joke

2009-07-19T06:07:00.000-07:00

Why couldn't Humpty Dumpty pay for his food at McDonald's?

He was broke!

--Joke made up by DuckyBoy

Mommy Saved the TV Remote

2009-07-19T06:06:00.000-07:00

Whew.

Momentary panic -- such that his throat hurt -- this morning when the TV wouldn't turn on, and when it did, the function buttons weren't responding well. It's been hit-or-miss for awhile now, so we tried new batteries.

Problem solved!

Computer Game Idea: "Spit & Score"

2009-05-15T07:01:00.000-07:00

Last night we came up with a computer game idea. He wants to have a whole website called "HotGamezzz.com"

It has 4 levels, Pre-K, K 1st and 2nd grades.

The controls are:
Letter "S" fills your mouth with water from the drinking fountain.

If you get too much water, you explode and the game is over!

L&R arrows move you left and right. Spacebar moves you up and down.

"Enter" button shoots the water out.

Bonus Actions:

Spit on the stack of tests (Grade 2 only)
Spit into the wastebasket
Spit onto the class plants.

Bad Actions:

Spit on the class pets (lose points)
Spit on a teacher (get sent to principal; maybe ends game? Or maybe you ahve to do something to make amends and then you can go back...)
Spit on the art project(s) - get sent home
Spit on classmate(s), lost 3 points
Spit on the bus: Ends game

Seems like we ought to be able to get someone to program this for us!

The Story of How We Got The Squirmy Model

2009-05-07T13:09:00.001-07:00

When Daddy and I decided we wanted a baby, we put in our order. We checked off the qualities we wanted our child to have:

Girl or boy? Boy.
Smart? Check.
Handsome? Check.
Slightly mischievous? Check.
Good sense of humor? Check.
Good imagination? Check.

Dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, a supertaster would be acceptable, must like cars, and so on down the list. It took us, like, a week to agree on everything.

We finished filling out the form and sent it in along with our deposit, which was like $80 or something.

A few weeks later we got a call from the baby people. They explained that for the date range we wanted our baby to arrive, they did have a smart, handsome boy with a good imagination who would have all the characteristics we wanted, but -- all they had left were Squirmy models.

What was a Squirmy model? we asked.

The lady, I think her name was Louise, explained that Squirmy meant that he'd be more active than some of the other models, like "Quiet" and "Calm."

We didn't think that sounded so bad, after all, we like to walk and take trips and do things, so we told her that seemed OK.

Then she said that the handsomest, smartest, funniest one of all was only available in Extra-Squirmy.

What's Extra-Squirmy mean? we asked, starting to get a little worried about whether this squirmy business might be hard to deal with.

"It just means he's a little more active, that's all," she reassured us, "think of it like the Border Collie of kids."

Now, we knew that Bordie Collies are beautiful dogs, active and alert and smart. So we told her yes, that was the one we wanted.

Well. We didn't know what we were gonna get!

It turns out that the Extra-Squirmy baby HAD to be upright at all times when he was awake. And he didn't nap much, either.

He always wanted new stimulation. He NEVER sat still. And that's still true 6 years later.

And we wouldn't trade our Squirmy model for any other kid in the galaxy.

Eagley's Last Sit

2009-05-02T16:14:00.001-07:00

Goodbye, Eames chairs!

Poem

2009-04-21T13:10:00.001-07:00

Yellow Bus

Lemon yellow buses
Wheels are rolling clocks
Tail lights like apples
Windows like boxes
Head lights like crackers

Dad Fixed the TV!

2009-04-10T06:22:00.000-07:00

Big disaster this morning, the sound wouldn't work on the TV the 3rd time I turned it on. I was so worried we'd lose all my dvr'd shows if we had to get a new TV, even though Mommy told me that was in the cable box, not the TV.

What if it was the cable box??

But -- Dad fixed it! Thanks, Dad. {{Big hug!}}

We Have Cockroaches in Our House!

2009-04-10T05:55:00.000-07:00

These are the Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, Max and Rosie.
Rosie is really a boy, but the class doesn't know it yet.

Alphabetical Hess

2009-04-10T05:39:00.000-07:00

We used these Hess trucks to help us alphabetize the
Words of the Week last week.

Zunkin Zonut

2009-04-01T14:18:00.000-07:00

This is DB's first creation in the Dunkin Donuts contest, Create Dunkin' Next Donut:

It's a pumpkin donut with maple frosting and orange and blue sprinkles.

Daddy's Rhyme: Update

2009-03-28T06:40:00.000-07:00

Ishkabibbledy bop.
Daddy loves [DB] a lot.
They picnic in the park
and play tag till well past dark
Ishkabibbledy bop.

New Favorite Animal: Update

2009-03-24T05:12:00.000-07:00

DuckyBoy informed me the other night his new favorite animal is the Chinese dwarf hamster. (His class just got their class pet-- guess what they have two of in his classroom?)

I said, that's fine, but calling you "ChineseDwarfHamsterBoy" is too long.

He liked that -- tried out "ChineseDwarfHamsterBoy Fun" for a blog name and agreed with me.

I love when we can share a humorous moment together.

Daddy's Rhyme

2009-03-14T09:36:00.001-07:00

This is an oldie but a goodie.

Ish-ka-bibbledy-bop.
Daddy loves {your name} a lot.
He plays with his mommy
and plays with his tummy.
Ish-ka-bibbledy-bop.

Jiggity Jiggity Wah Wah

2009-03-14T09:18:00.000-07:00

One day we were watching HBO's Crashbox. The segment "Riddlesnake" came on, and DB said, "That's strange, they used to call this section 'Wilsey Wilsey Oooh Ahh.'"

"Really," I wondered, "because 'Riddlesnake' is the perfect name, it's a snake who tells riddles."

He insisted, and I know how detailed his memory is, so I chalked it up to something unknown and didn't argue.

Other days, every time the segment would be on, I'd tease him a bit: "What did you say this is called?" and, since I have no memory cells left, I'd guess, "Jiggity, jiggity, wah wah?" And we'd laugh and leave it at that.

A few weeks later, DB suddenly called me, "Mom, Mom, come quick!" When I entered the room, Riddlesnake was on. "Rewind to the part before!" said DB.

To my surprise and delight, the little robots who introduce each segment said the name "Riddlesnake" so quickly that, sure enough, it sounded just like "Wilsey, Wilsey." And afterward, they said, "Oooh, ahh!"

That must have been the intro the first time he saw it.

How funny is that!

The Story of the Arfing Bunny

2009-03-14T09:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday after school we spent a few minutes at the farm museum. As we approached the bunny hutches, a brown bunny in the first hutch made a noise like this: "Arf-arf-arf."

We didn't know if he was sneezing or talking!

I think he was saying hello.

Then the biggest bunny in the next hutch was sniff, sniff, sniffing toward us as if to say, "Who is that over there?"

Highlights of the Past Week

2009-02-28T17:45:00.001-08:00

Tuesday: Going out for dinner at Mardi Gras for Mardi Gras, with Mommy. Several Fisher Price Little People came with us, and their tractor. They danced, they talked, we all had a good time. On the way home, since we walked, we enjoyed stopping at the pet store to look at the "various hamsters" and the fish (no feeders like Skinny), and at Aldo shoes. Guess what, there was a pair on sale just like the ones Mommy had on!

Oh! And a tooth came out at the restaurant ... and disappeared! So, DB's second tooth is out. Congratulations! He was very afraid the Tooth Fairy would not come since he had no tooth to leave.

Wed am, 6:34: "The Tooth Fairy left me three dollars! [Pause] Can I watch TV?"

Thursday: Wrote Mommy's birthday card very nicely, handed her the flowers nicely, AND offered her one of the Oreos.

Friday: Guessing Chinese dwarf hamsters in Pictionary; also, interacted very well with Mom and Dad's friends John and Regan, ate goat cheese, rosemary crackers, and handled the disappointment of the disappearing cats very well. Best question: "What's the difference between pussy cats and kitties?"

Saturday: The playground near Stop & Shop playground finally reopens, and it's great! It was in the high 30's in temperature but we must have been there 2 hours.

Last week, week off from school, we went to 3 museums: Hall of Science, Intrepid Sea-Air-Space, and The Museum of the Moving Image. We don't usually get that much done ina week, I was proud of us.

Friends Reading

2009-02-28T17:39:00.000-08:00

Happy Bring a Book to Bed Day!

DB is pretending to read one our regular bedtime books, Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Though after I took this photo he wanted me to read him Little House in the Big Woods instead.

On his left is Papa Schmuzzy and to the right, Huskily Husky.

The Story of the Incoming Rat

2009-02-20T18:03:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time a little boy and his mom were waiting for a subway train.

They looked down the track to see if they could see the train coming.

The mom said, "I see something coming, but we should not get on it.

It is not the E train.

It is a rat. And there is no 'E' in rat."

The end.

True story.

Hess Trucks

2009-02-07T09:21:00.000-08:00

Our re-creation of the pose of the 2008 Hess Trucks:

DB's View of the Election

2009-01-29T09:00:00.000-08:00

Translation:
Dear Mr. President,
I am angry! I am a Republican!
President Bear

President Bear is a teddy we have who is wearing a sweater with an American flag on it. I can't remember how or when he became President Bear, but until I received this note last Saturday I had no idea he was President of more than Stuffed Animal Heights and the other communities in DB's room.

Nor did I know his political leanings. But now we all do.

There's Something So Wrong About a Care Bear Fight!

2009-01-24T15:16:00.000-08:00

We have this habit of throwing the Care Bears at each other. They're small and soft and well, it's fun. But there's just something so wrong about it...

What a Life!

2009-01-09T04:55:00.000-08:00

It took me so long to get this uploaded, minutes literally, that I forgot what DB wanted me to call this photo. This is him this morning, surrounded by toys, bagel, water and the TV remote. In his pajamas.

As my mom would say (usually when she saw the cat stretched out, "Soooolid comfort!"

Three Kings Day

2009-01-06T17:20:00.000-08:00

After seeing Meredith's posts about the three kings' journey, DuckyBoy wanted to do our own version tonight.

First our kings looked into some modern modes of travel:

Once they made their choice, off they went, wasting no time:

They were surprised to see a similar journey on a big screen ... and developed an expectation of what the Holy Family would look like:

Their arrival at the manger was greeted by cheers... and a surprise! A part of DuckyBoy's new Mega Rig Space set (a piece that shoots into space) has been missing since some time Christmas afternoon. It turned out to have been hiding behind the manger on the bookcase, and was found when we moved the manger to set up this shot. (It's the orange-with-a-black-roof silo-looking thing next to the manger.) You can just see the legs of their forlorn camel watching from the bookcase...

I was delighted to be able to say, "It just goes to show you, when you think about Jesus, good things happen!"

First Tooth Out!

2008-12-30T13:38:00.001-08:00

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

First Loose Tooth!

2008-12-22T17:03:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-18T05:25:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-08T09:55:00.000-08:00

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

2008-10-15T16:59:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-13T18:21:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-11T19:15:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-25T04:38:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-15T04:31:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-13T19:51:00.001-07:00

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

2008-07-27T19:21:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-07-09T17:16:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-26T13:41:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-26T13:22:00.001-07:00

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

2008-06-06T09:05:00.001-07:00

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

2008-05-25T18:28:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-04T18:36:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-29T04:24:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-10T06:31:00.001-07:00

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

2008-04-01T04:27:00.000-07:00

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.

Donald Duck Fun Truck

2008-03-22T20:16:00.001-07:00

DuckyBoy and I invented a new show to compete with the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. This is the theme song, it uses the same tune as the current MM Clubhouse theme song:

It's the Donald Duck Fun Truck
Come inside,
it's fun inside
(Not, as was previously here, "He'll take you for a ride").

It's the Donald Duck Fun Truck
You can go far away
or somewhere new to play.

There may be one more verse I can't remember, just part of it: "He's a friend to you/ and a good duck, too."

DuckyBoy has also sketched out the truck, and the garage, which moves, twists and appears like the MM Clubhouse does at the beginning of the show.

It also has a complicated "Fun remover" that, if I have this right, sucks out Mickey fun if any appears, so as to make room for Donald fun.

Not bad for a kid who hates Writing Workshop at school. (I know, the teachers think that's an OT thing. I still feel there's a disconnect between what he's asked to do and what he can do.)