Ussins

Mago pretends he’s a “Silly Christmas toy.” I don’t know what that necessarily means, but it involves walking around and somewhat robotically waving your arms up and down or around. I asked him if he is a toy soldier and he said “No”.

He pretends he’s a scarecrow. Doing this he stood on the frame at the head of his car bed and said:

(arms raised) The Scarecrow is blessin’.
(lowers arms extended in front of him, palms down) Blessss. (falls down on his bed)

Last evening he said to me while we sat outside:

“A rabbit comes to my window tonight. And he comes down the window. And he raises up on his legs (Mago stands from sitting). And he wiggles his nose. And he wiggles his eyes. And he wiggles his ears. And he wiggles his belly button. And he wiggles his back. And he wiggles his feet. And he wiggles his furry tail. And he goes back up the window. And he goes away.”

This morning he said to me as I put him in his stroller for a walk:

“A owl comes to my window tonight.”

Mago loves My Neighbor Totoro. I watched it with him. This film is one of my favorites. It cracks me up when Totoro roars, and I’m wowed by the magic he uses to grow forests. The music is also fantastic - listening to it again, I realize it’s actually New Age - but, forgive me, New Age with soul, even the most infamous music styles can have that! - and I don’t mean as in “soul music”, just.. not rambling fluff.. however it can get a bit weird. Mago mistakes the little girl in the film for a boy (I think for wanting to identify).

Mago: “He followed him into the forest. Now the hole where he went is gone. There’s no Totoro now.” .. (whispers, when Totoro and the children are sitting on top of the giant tree playing flutes at night) “I saw Totoro!” .. “Totoro is a bear, and he has a littler bear and a littler, and he has big eyes, and a little tiny mouth.” (puckers his lips small).

These are some other things he said recently -

After I ran up a ladder and down a slide with him many times at his cousins’ house in Arizona:

Me: “I’m pooped.”
Mago: “Are you trained?”

At bed time as Mago built a fort out of pillows and Tia sat on his bed reading to Nem-nem:

Mago: (to Tia) “Say: look, big brother is building a house!”
Tia: “Look, big brother is building a house!”
Mago: “Is that brilliant?”

He talks to Tia’s feet like little friends when she relaxes with them raised. She named one of them footy-foot. Recently when she was relaxing he came to one of her feet.

Mago: (to her left foot, hugging it) “I love you, footy-foot.”
(then to her right foot, hugging it) “I love you, friend.”
(takes both feet and hugs them) “I love you, friends.”
(lets go of both feet) “Did you see that, mama? It was a team hug.”

Yesterday, with me:

Mago: “Say, ‘what is it?’”
Me: “What is it?”
Mago: (flaps his lips)
Me (I laugh)
Mago: “Say, ‘what is it?’”
Me: “What is it?”
Mago: (flaps his lips..)

We decided Nem-nem looks like a little marsupial or possum. A few days after we did her aunt decided the same thing - dubbing her “Meinschen” (sp? Correct word?), little mouse.

Seven days ago Nem-nem rolled over from her tummy onto her back. Now she does this at tummy-time: she doesn’t enjoy being on her tummy, and grunts, lifts her head up high, pushes and wrestles with her arms until she flops over onto her back.

Tia and Nem-nem, just now:

Tia: (sings) If you’re happy and you know it give a gurgle!
Nem-nem: Ggglg!
Tia: If you’re happy and you know it give a gurgle!
Nem-nem: Ggggglg!
Tia: If you’re happy and you know it then your face will surely show it, if you’re happy and you know it give a gurgle!
Nem-nem: Blrgggh!

I don’t believe I just heard this.

Nem-nem talks in her way a lot. And smiles. She smiles and says “Aah!” or (one I more taught her) “Ggg!” Tia reports that the other day Nem-nem said in four ascending tones, like an owl: “Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!” Also recently we heard her say “Hi!” in her sleep. She has conversations with Tia where they just exchange tones and grins. She often gives a beaming, exuberant grin when you greet her in the morning or after a nap.

A week or so ago Mago said, despondently:

“I’m not cute anymore, because I’m not a baby.”

I think this is jealousy of the attentions his new little sister is getting? But he’s how old, and saying this? (Two and a half years). And besides in my fatherly opinion this isn’t true, but besides all that, it doesn’t matter.. I hoped this wouldn’t happen. It’s bolstered by so many people he meets (especially old ladies) so emphatically saying in his company “He’s so cute!” There’s a place for it, I’d just hope not to excess. It can become (quite unintended - nobody wishes for this), the token of affection, status. No, you gotta love any kid just because they’re a kid. I’m pretty confident he’s confident enough of himself that having to be cute (to meet that demand) won’t need to be a focus, but.. how do you counter this? A few times since hearing this I’ve tried to tell him - a two-and-a-half year old! - that cuteness doesn’t matter, all that matters is trying to be good, and you are good (but, even though it doesn’t matter, you are cute to me).. it doesn’t seem to get across. Maybe a matter of time.

The affection of old ladies must be a lot more persuasive.

Tonight I went in to say goodnight to him after Tia put him to bed (and I had been watching Nem-nem), and when I walked in he said in tones speaking of a smile I couldn’t see in the dark:

“I need a hug and a hug.”

Okay. I’ll comply. As I did, he looked up in the very dim light to a picture of Jesus on the wall: (this one - link - incidentally, that one affected me more as a kid than any other painting of Jesus)

Mago: And Jesus loves them, and he’s treating them kindly. And he’s here.. and he’s showing them.. a dinosaur museum.

Me: Yes, that sounds like something Jesus would do, doesn’t it? [reader: please don’t think I don’t mean this. I do. Okay, maybe not necessarily like that link..]

Mago: And.. he’s showing them a museum and it has T-Rexes.

Tia just told me they sang “Jesus said love everyone, treat them kindly too..” for bed time.

Mago loves running through sprinklers on stops to grassy areas during car drives. “Running through” is usually more like timidly approaching the edge where the water stops, getting sprinkled a bit in the face, and running away shouting.

Two evenings ago as it was nearing time for bed, after driving in the car in the heat, Tia asked him if instead of bathing or showering he wanted to be hosed down, which he did. So we stripped him and sprayed him with the hose. He was amused but couldn’t take it for very long, and then I think Tia suggested spraying me. I refused. Mago cried. I couldn’t stand this - he wants to play with water with daddy, why should I refuse? - so I said I’d spray my own face and did (which was refreshing, but it got on my shorts anyway) and it amused him. Afterward Mago said “Did you spray your face, daddy?” I replied “Yes, because I broke your heart, so I decided to.” He said “Yeah. You broke my heart. In my chest.”

Yesterday Tia reports she made him a brownie which was far too big. When she served it to him, he looked down at it, paused for a moment to appreciate it, then looked up at her, paused again, and said “I like you. You’re a pretty mommy.”