Star

The other day I came home to find Gamble outside in the backyard playing on his playset.

I went out on the postage-stamp of a deck and called out to him. He answered me, and started telling me about his day, when a flock of geese flew overhead.

He stopped talking abruptly and looked up at them, almost worried, and as they cleared his airspace and moved on, he yelled out, "Look, Dad! It's a pooping star!"

Oh, if I'd heard that when I was dealing with the geese of Fermilab...

Mr. Weirdo

So Nic gets this email from her dad tonight:

Subject: Gamble just hung up on Grammie

1st line of the body: ....because he wanted her to call him Mr. Weirdo.

Really. You can't make this stuff up.

For Science

This from Mommie:

"Gamble to Mommie, 'Mommie, I asked Daddie something last night that you might be able to answer for me. How do phones connect?'

"In my hurried half-hearted response first thing in the morning, I responded with a quick answer, thinking that it would pacify him. 'Electricity,' I responded.

"Gamble retorted indignantly with, 'Well, that's not what Daddie said, and he is a scientist. You weren't, were you?'

"Nice, real nice."

She Count Three

Tonight, Nicole was putting Random to bed when I walked in.

"Check this out," she said.

She held up a flash card with a picture of three fish on it.

"Random, what's this?"

"Dis?" First, she almost always repeats the question. But in this case, she continued on.

"Bish!"

"Good girl!" Exclaimed Mommie. I was amazed.

"Random, how many fish?" Mommie asked.

"Un, dooo, dree!"

Yup, counted to three. Right there in front of me. A very cute encounter with a very cute counter.

Tennis

So just a general observation. It's an observation I voiced to Nicole the other day, but I think it's amusing enough to share.

In any gathering where the kids outnumber the adults, I always feel overwhelmed. Like there's so much going on that I can't possibly catch it all. Look away for thirty seconds and Random has dipped a dinner roll in tartar sauce and has proceeded to turn herself into a mime trying to eat it. And I realized what it feels like.

It's like watching a tennis match, played on a hexagonal court, with flaming tennis balls, by six hungry wolverines on PCP.

Rock Show

I took Gamble and Random to see Justin Roberts yesterday. It's not the first time we've taken Random to the theater, but it was her first rock show.

It was the best show we've seen from him. Kids shows are notoriously short, and like any concert you go to where the artist has six albums full of great material, you never hear everything you want. Even when we were doing the post-concert wind-down with some CDs in the car, Gamble kept saying, "Hey! That's my favorite song, and he didn't play it!"

The show was chock full of references for the adults in the audience, or parts of the show that only adults would appreciate. As a ferinstance, during the last song, the second encore, a ten-minute extended dance remix of "Yellow Bus" that was simply a blast to be part of. Somewhere in the middle, Big Dave, a member of the "Not Ready for Naptime Players" went over to the drums and took over seamlessly from the regular drummer. It's something that the adults have seen at concerts for years, but the kids probably don't really appreciate.

There was also a freakout breakdown, an audience reponse section, references to other songs, talking parts, etc. If you've ever been to a Metallica show and seen the 20 minute "Seek and Destroy" section, you have an idea what it's like.

They also had a puppet named "Little Dave" that Big Dave voiced with a high-pitched falsetto. Liam Davis, another guitarist with the band that plays with Justin in more capacities than the NR4NP, in the middle of a song that seemed to be a stay at home dad, started rocking out with the opening riff from "Back in Black" by ACDC. Then out came little Dave to sing a high-pitched version of the song with lyrics about going to school, riding the bus, coming home, etc. It was hilarious for Gamble, who laughed so hard that he was rocking back and forth in his seat, and just cool to see for the adults.

Random was entranced. We listen to Justin Roberts in the car every day I take her to day care. Anytime she heard a song she knew, she'd stand up on her seat and watch carefully. As the concert rolled on, she did more and more of the hand motions, and by the time they did "Meltdown", she was standing up in her seat, flapping her arms and shaking her head side to side and screaming along with the other kids.

He's really come a long way from when we first saw him at the Wheeling 4th of July festival. The venue was the biggest one I've seen him in yet, and it was almost full. Kids... everywhere! He's also traveling more around the country, getting to all sorts of places, so if he gets close to where you live, check him out!

The Farm in the Car and the Color Wheel

I was driving Random home in the car tonight from day care. She was being cute as always and singing along to the music.

I had kinda zoned out, watching the snow and keeping the car on the road, and wasn't really paying attention, just letting her enjoy her music (we were getting ready for the concert on Saturday). What breaks me out of my deep reverie is "Nay! Nay! Neigh-eigh-eigh!"

I checked my rear view for horses. Just Random.

I was about to say something when she moves on. Mooves on.

"Moo! Moo! Mooooooo!" she says.

I did say something to her. I don't remember what, but something along the lines of "great job!" And then, because it was snowing harder, I zoned back out, paying attention to the road. Again, another surprise, "Lyellow! Ylallow! Yellow!"

What an odd transition. At first I thought she was doing another animal sound, but that was soon followed up with "Bink! Bink! Pink!"

From the farmyard to the color wheel, she's one entertaining little chickie. Cluck!