Nicknames

Today James came up with a nickname for Hal - Mr. Waffles.  We decided Princess Waffles was a good name for when we were playing dress up.  I asked if James remembered a time when Hal wasn't in the family.  He said he did, "Yeah, it was lonely then.  I didn't have a little guy to play with."  James  and Hal played with their planes today insisting there were air earthquakes.  Terrifying.

Gordon

Hal has begun to call himself "Gordon" and his dog is "Gordon Dog" right now.  He enjoys taking care of things and often asks to be the mommy dinosaur (although he only offers hotdogs to his hungry dino offspring.)  Our new nickname for him is "Veto" as he is going through his twos.  James hit this a little later and we called him Dr. No for most of his third summer.

Hal Drawings

Hal has been drawing circles and other closed shapes.  James is working on lower case letters in his name, "Does this look like grown up handwriting, Mom?"

Halloween 2008

James was a tornado -- the tri-state tornado to be exact.  He drew me, a cow and "twisted train tracks like I saw in the book" to add onto his costume.  I told him he wasn't allowed to spin during the Children's House party.  One of our last houses on our trick or treat route was filled with St. Olaf women, with large pitchers of margaritas on their dinner table.  James, needless to say was a hit (and the first trick or treater to brave their dead end).  They wanted him to spin and he hesitated.  Once I had assured him it was O.K. he said, "O.K. but I'll spin carefully so don't be scared."

Hal eventually decided to put on a costume.  He had wanted to be a cow initially but wouldn't put the costume on.  Then he wanted to be a dinosaur so I brought up James's dragon costume and said very deliberately (looking at James) "Here's your DINOSAUR costume, Hal"  Then Hal wanted to be a dragon so I showed him the same costume which he was thrilled with until he put it on -- then he screamed to take it off.  Evidently, handing out candy convinced him that the trick or treat thing had some potential and James and I were greeted by George and Hal just as James was about to call it a night.

Hal spent about twenty minutes today asking Tom to put the tomato cage over him so that he could crawl out of the bottom.

James made a very intricate Lego car.  He explained he "built it from the bottom up so that it would be sturdier."  He also told me that he didn't just "be like this and then this and then this" but thought about things instead so that it would work well.