Conversations

Isaiah: What are we having for supper?

Mama: Chicken and spaghetti.

I: [Jumping around and beaming.] Hooray!  Chicken and spaghetti!  Two of my favorite foods!  YAY!!

M: [Surprised but relieved dinnertime won't be its usual struggle.] Wow, I'm glad you're so excited.

I: [Suddenly calm and serious.] Except I don't really like spaghetti that much.

*********

Bernadette: Gamma's. Ice cweam.  Pajamas.  I watch Wall-E.

Mama: You ate ice cream and watched Wall-E in your pajamas at Grandma's house?

B: No!

M: Oh, I got it wrong?

B: No! [Pause.] Spinkles!

M: There were sprinkles on the ice cream?

B: No!

M: Well, where were the sprinkles, then?

B: Uumm...Gamma's house!

***********

After telling Kateri a long story involving race cars (which enraptured her), Isaiah informed his baby sister, "Daddy tells the most wonderful tales.  I do love them so."

Snow-flower

Tonight Isaiah came home with a present for me: a handful of snow.   When he asked where I would put it, I suggested the freezer.  Isaiah disagreed.

"I think the best place for it," he said, "would be the ground, because I really want a snow-flower to grow."

The guitar

Initially not big enough, in Isaiah's words, but it got heavy use by both Isaiah and Bernadette yesterday.

Christmas cuddles

First Christmas

In an outfit from Great Aunt Kasee.

Christmas Day

A new race track. And many other gifts.

Christmas Eve

Siblings dinner. Bernadette and Isaiah subsisted mostly on sweets.

Paul and Liz are fun

Hung with care

Firsts

Kateri takes her first subway ride, visits her first Indian restaurant and hangs out late at a bar on the Lower East Side for the first time (somewhat against her will; that Peter Tascio guy is kinda loud).

The tree

It's up. Of course my decision to use only one color of lights, and white at that, has "spoiled Christmas," according to Isaiah.

Framed

Bernadette Saves Christmas

On the first Sunday of Advent, we set up our wreath on the table, but with only three candles left over from last year.  Bernadette was especially fascinated by the new centerpiece, but she was disturbed by the absence of the fourth candle, despite our reassurances that we would replace it soon.  Later that evening, I heard a little voice murmur, "Dawe we go" and turned around to see Bernadette carefully steadying an upright soup spoon in the vacant candle holder.

A cab on a train

Almost a movie

 Bernadette watching the big screen in the Ocean Room at the Natural History Museum.

Toes, head

Bedtime companions

Isaiah: a bear, a squirrel and an owl
Bernadette: a big bunny and a baby bunny
Kateri: Mama

Songs of the season

Bernadette has unleashed a torrent of language in recent weeks. She chats and cajoles and sings and tells stories. She's able to say anything she wants, although sometimes the words come out in pidgin form, either truncated or with extra syllables added. Still, if you listen closely and pick out a word, suddenly the whole phrase makes sense. I'm convinced she knows just about everything she's saying, even when we don't.

She's also able to sing just about any song she hears, and she's a vocal duet partner with Isaiah. "Puff the magic dragon" is quite popular right now. In the car last night, the two of them were singing "Jingle bells," when Isaiah segued to a mashup of the two, singing "Jingle bells" as the chorus with verses he made up sung to the tune of "Puff." Bernadette, unable to join the improvised verses, would periodically throw in another chorus over the top of the verse.

Spaghetti

Tasty

Sleeper