A new semester

Then (Sept 2011)

Now (Sept 2013)

The jack-o-lantern mushroom came back this year!  The mushroom is smaller this time, true, but also that boy got big.  Evidently we have been in our house for two years!

Ronan delights in running past and then asking if he was so fast he was a blur.  He is, life is, work is, everything is right now.  The semester has started and I forgot what this felt like (good thing).  We are committed to not make life easier exclusively by ditching the fun stuff so we have still managed to play with house guests, do lots of berry picking, and take a little trip.

State of the Ronan:

You know what's hard?  Learning units.  We have numbers and they are one thing to master, but that a hundred seconds is shorter than one day is properly baffling.  Frequently Ro's solution is to leave them out entirely, telling us that he is a million strong, or a hundred tall.  Just a moment ago he said that pepper can make a billion thousand dusts.

Walks here are gorgeous!

He is fascinated by bodies.  Having learned about dinosaur bones he wants to know about our bones, and after an episode of the Magic Schoolbus he got really into digestion.  But understanding our biology comes with a dark side.  He is a little worried about what happens to make bones come out in dead things and this leads into his big fear.  He is currently seriously worried about death.

It started slowly, with wanting to know how long he would be alive and how long we would.  And he got a little upset that he would live longer than us.  Then for a few nights he started crying at bedtime because he didn't want us to ever die, and he didn't ever want to be dead.  It's a hard thing to comfort someone about, since I don't know that any of us really ever come to terms with it.  And it's hard for a three-something to understand that if their body turns to dirt that they don't feel it.  So we talk about how the feeling part of you isn't in your body anymore and that you become part of the universe.  Beyond that we had to have a little parental conference to get our stories straight.

I'm pretty sure Ronan has better manners than I ever did as a child.  Or at least he delights in playing the adult and pointing out when the grownups are doing it wrong.  I have been accused of chewing with my mouth open, forgetting to ask to be excused after a meal, and occasionally of not taking my shoes off at the door.  D was recently told he needed to floss!  The upside is he also compliments: "Mom you look so beautiful today" or "you are doing a so good job."

It's amazing to watch him cope with his feelings these days.  Something will disappoint him or not go as expected and there will be this moment of wrongness and quiet.  Then he will run off into another room, or get visibly upset, but most often if we can catch him in a hug at just the right moment (right after the quiet) he will take a few seconds to feel really sad and then emerge just fine.  What a change from the tantrums of earlier in the year (fingers crossed)!

Events and happenings

This month we had a visit from friends in Boston, headed to the lake house of D's boss, and went to a music festival and visited friends.  It turns out that Ronan has a knack for boat steering, turning and aiming us right at different house targets at some speed!  We had a particularly great time at the music festival, enjoying one of Ronan's favorite musicians (Elizabeth Mitchell) in addition to some of ours (Sarah Jarosz, Mike Marshall & Edgar Meyer, etc.).  It was held in a giant sculptural playground and unlike every other music festival was quite mellow and uncrowded but with plenty of ice cream.  Plus we got to stay up late talking with friends and enjoy mornings with pancakes and french toast!

More pics here as usual (new ones are at the bottom of the album).

Driving the boat!

At the festival

Ro Quotes:

I'm magical.  I can turn a person into a boot!

Dad I want to tell you something.  Did you know that I want to tell you something?

D: I need to remember to give something to Mama
R [walks over and picks up iPhone, holds down button until it beeps]
R: Siri, remember to give something to mama.  
R: [to dad] Now is it on your list?

Deep questions...
R: Mom, where do babies come out?
A: There's a part of a woman's body called the birth canal...
R: Is it like our butt?
A: Well it's not part of our digestive system.  But it can let a baby out.
R: It's basically like a valve!

Dada, how did the whole universe get made?

Funny pronunciation:
Ambliance instead of ambulance.  Sadrin instead of Saturn.

July quotes I found lying around!
[Ro is biting each blueberry in half and splitting it with D]

D: Thanks!  It's so nice to share.  Sharing makes everybody happy!

R: Yeah, *very* happy.  And it's like they don't even wanna lose that feeling.

A: You have very long eyelashes!

R: Why?

A: Because you're a beautiful boy.

R: Yours are very short.