My Little Old Man

Oliver stopped to pick up the local paper on our step as we walked to the car this morning.  We were headed to our Spanish class.  He said he wanted to read the paper in the car.  So I handed it to him.  By the time I got to the driver's seat, he was all set.  Too cute not to snap a picture.

And Spanish is going great.  We have gone to about 4 one hour classes, and he has participated more each class.  He now repeats the new words and frequently uses random vocabulary words at home.

While opening a door Oliver rushed in and held it for me and said, "Mommy is a lady, so Oliver can open the door because he is a gentleman."  Obviously, Joe taught him this one.   But, he was so sincere and happy to do it.

He is such a little boy.  Yet, sometimes he does give the impression of a gentle old soul.

Summer Solutions

Oliver loves to be outside.  But, DC summer is in full effect.  After a couple of weekends battling to get him to come in from the sandbox to cool off, we purchased this monstrosity.  Despite its appearance, the tent is awesome.  He is able to play outside with regular hydration breaks for literally hours.  We gave up on the no sand on the deck long ago.  And we figure the grass will grow back next year. For now, he is a pretty happy and cool guy.

Time

I love the amazing questions Oliver asks and the conversations we have had lately.  He remembers everything and combines concepts in the most interesting and sometimes amusing ways.

I wish I could think of all the examples, but the moments usually pass and are lost.

However, our conversation from the bath last night is still making me laugh today, so I will try to write it down while I can remember most of it.

One of Oliver's favorite questions of late is, "if you touch X, what does it feel like?"  For example, if we are reading about a semi-truck, a frog, a jet engine, etc. fill in X.  Then I try to describe it, or I ask him what he thinks it feels like.

A few of these came up in the bath last night and after a few rounds, he looked at me and he said, "if you touch time, what does it feel like?" 

I said, "well, time is not thing, it is an concept created in our minds to keep track the minutes, hours, days as they pass." 

Oliver: "if I touch my mind, what does it feel like?" 

Me: "you cannot touch your mind, "your mind" is what we call the collection of ideas that is stored in your brain.  But, your brain is a thing that you could see and touch, but it is in your skull so you cannot actually touch it.  If you could touch it...." 

Oliver:  "if I touch an idea, what does it feel like?" 

Me: "an idea is just something you imagine with your brain, but it is also just a concept, it is not a thing."

Oliver (with a big smile): "what if an idea touches time?"

Me:  ummm...well that is an interesting idea...silence...

Oliver (still smiling):  "if an idea touches time, it would give time a big hug and then time would be very happy."

End of conversation.

Friends and Fireworks

Oliver LOVED the fireworks.  Around 11:30 this morning he planted himself on the front porch and declared he was going to wait there until it was dark and time for the fireworks.  He stayed there for at least a half-hour until I forced him in for lunch. 

Joe had to work, so Oliver and I found our own fun for the 4th of July.  We took a walk to the market with our neighbors (including Oliver's good pals Abby and Bo) for ice cream.  Then sparklers and glow snakes in the alley.  Finally, one of our neighbors did a pretty good little fireworks show a few doors down.  Oliver did not make it to bath and bed until after 10:00, and he was still talking about waking up in the morning early so we could see more fireworks.

Happy 4th of July!

What's Your Sign?

According to Sheryl, Oliver is quite the popular little guy at the park.  His personality has really blossomed the past few months and he loves to play with the other kids.  He especially loves to chat with the older kids and get involved with their games whenever possible, especially when it means he can get the attention of the older girls. 

Today, I got a text from Sheryl at the park, below is summary of her text and the picture.  I think we are going to have our hands full when he is a teenager.

As he pointed to her bathing suit, Oliver said: "I like your colors."  And once he had her attention he asked "what's your name?"  Then proceeded to talk to her while she drank her juice.  No comment on whether he got her number.