Sleep Tight

When I was putting Henry and Elena to bed last night, Henry decided it would be a good idea for Elena to sleep in his bed with him. I had my doubts about whether there would be a lot of sleeping going on, but his suggestion was so cute that I let them give it a try. So after I read them a chapter of "Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle" and we said our prayers, I left the room to put Ingrid to bed, fully expecting to need to intervene in the big kid's room. To my surprise, I heard very little noise from in there. By the time I put Ingrid in her crib and went to check on Henry and Lanie, the two of them were sound asleep. Lanie's little tush was in the air, and Henry was sprawled out like a teenager, but their heads were together.

At about 2 in the morning, Josh and I woke to the sound of Elena crying. We forgot that while Lanie's bed has railings on the sides, Henry's does not: she had rolled out of bed and onto the floor in her sleep. Next time we'll have to insist that Lanie gets the spot next to the wall.

Rise and Shine

Unforunately, the kids and I have our first cold of the season. When I got back to Julie's at lunchtime yesterday, I put Isaac down for his nap and took some cold medication. We usually have "quiet time" after lunch when I turn off the lights and let the older kids watch television. Yesterday I sat in the recliner rocking Ingrid to sleep while Henry, Elena, and Evie watched the movie "Robots." The medicine, rocking, and darkness had an effect, because at some point I fell asleep and remained that way until the end of the movie when I awoke to Henry's face in front of mine as he told me in a sing-song voice, "Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey!"

Doppleganger

I turned on the computer for Elena to play a game on the internet. Our internet always opens to a news website, so that showed up before I could type in the address for the website Lanie wanted. A picture of Ben Bernanke, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, appeared next to an article about the current financial crisis. Lanie got really excited and pointed at the picture, saying, "Pa!"

Family Ties

The other evening Henry and Lanie were wrestling on the living room floor after dinner while I did the dishes. (Don't worry - Lanie gives as good as she takes.) Henry apparently got the better of her this time because I heard her say, "Aunt, aunt." Without missing a beat, Henry told her, "Uncle."

We Love PBS (Part II)

On a nice, fall morning the other day Josh took the kids to the deer park at the Veteran's Home so that I could get some housework done without interruption. Usually I take the kids to the deer park, so Henry was a little concerned that Daddy wouldn't remember how to get home. Josh tried to reassure him, but Henry still felt the need to instruct him, "Dad, to get home, just do the inverse of how we got here." The PBS math show, "Cyberchase," which is one of Henry's favorites had an episode teaching the "inverse" concept over the summer. It apparently stuck with Henry, but I am afraid that this might indicate that he'll grow up to be one of those men who refuses to ask for directions!

We Love PBS (Part I)

I was giving Ingrid a bath the other evening, and Henry was sitting just outside the open bathroom door, drawing with a blue marker. He called over to me to look at the lemon he had just drawn. Given the fact that Henry is four years old and was using a blue marker, I didn't expect his drawing to look much like a lemon, but when I looked up, I saw a very realistic blue lemon on the paper. I said, "Huh," and kind of chuckled before going back to bathing Ingrid. A few minutes passed before Henry asked me, "Mom, why did you laugh when I showed you my picture?" Of course, that nearly broke my heart, so I hurried to explain that I had just been so surprised because his drawing looked just like a lemon and that it was a very good picture. He thought about that for a few seconds before responding, "Oh. You were flabergasted." I told him that was exactly right. Later I remembered that more than a month earlier Henry seen an episode of "Word Girl," a show on PBS about a superhero with a superior vocabulary, that had featured the word "flabergasted." I was flabergasted that he not only remembered the word, but was able to use it correctly so much later!

Pa Is Always Right

We in the Jones family are die-hard Chicago Bears fans. In fact, daddy sometimes goes into deep depression when his favorite team losses on Sunday. Toward the beginning of the season this year, Pa and Henry were discussing the Bear's chances of winning a particular game. Pa told Henry that the Bears were going to lose. Henry took the news better than his father and went to bed before the game had ended. To everyone's excitement, the Bears managed to pull out a win at the end of the game. The next morning I told Henry, "Guess what? The Bears won yesterday!" Henry replied, "No, they didn't," and I said, "Yes, they did." In an exasperated tone, Henry told me, "No. Pa said they were going to lose." Despite my best efforts, Henry refused to believe that the Bears had won the game because Pa told him they were going to lose.

Little Ears Hear Everything

The other day Lanie was feeling the love and told Oma that she wanted to marry Oma. Josh pointed out to Lanie that Oma was already married to Pa, which would necessarily preclude Lanie from marrying her. Henry happened to be in the room during this exchange and chimed in, "Yeah, and girls can only marry each other in....Where was that again, Dad?" Daddy, who sometimes jokingly comments on adult issues such as same-sex marriage in front of the kids, muttered under this breath as Oma shot daggers at him with her eyes, "California and Massachusetts."