Boys....

Zach was great today helping Mommy in the grocery store. As a reward he got a bunch of orange stickers from the checkout lady.

Few minutes later as we are driving home, we turn around to see what he has done with the stickers while his sister was sleeping.....

Proclamation from Katie

To Zach: When I grow up, I be a CHEF!

... And you be a SHOW DOG!

Little Sisters

Confiding in his friend, Jack: Yeah, but I think Katie would be even more annoying if she were crying.

Tangerine

At the end of dessert, Bets asks me for another tangerine. So I get up, grab one and underhand toss it to her. After a successful catch she beams with pride, and then catches herself, looks at both children who just saw this and says:

Bets: Kids, Don’t Throw Food! Never Throw Food!

Katie then looks up to me and says:

Katie: “Daddy, No throwing food!”

Then,

Katie: “Now go and sit in time out!“

Christmas '09 Requests

Dear Santa,

Merry Christmas! I have been a good girl. For Christmas, I would like a car, some popcorn, oatmeal and some acorns. Love, Katie


Merry Christmas, Santa! I hope Ruldolf's ok. I'll give him lots of carrots when you come down the chimney. And what I want is a race car set with a kitty and a bunny in a race car, and you can take the kitty and the bunny out of the race car. With an easy way to store it in the car. And I want a Santa's sleigh hanging out of my stocking. I don't want a Bat Cave. Bye, Santa. I hope you have a Merry Christmas, yourself! Love, Zach

Shopping List

Ah, Dad. This is to remind you that we now have more pits than olives...

Gratitude '09

Zach: Mrs. Goner asked me what I was thankful for today. I said, "Tractors and Stuffing."

Betsy: You mean the stuffing that we eat with turkey?

Zach: No, the stuffing that's on cake.

Katie in the Leaves

Katie was having fun getting tossed into a huge pile of leaves.

As she dug her self out she looked at Betsy with a big smile, lifted her hand to show something and said:

"Look what I found! A leaf!"

Gravity

Zach: Dad, why does the water stick to the planet and not go up in the air?

Betsy to Charlie: It’s because of gravity, right?

Charlie: No. It’s because of the magnetic field. Water is affected by magnetic fields.

Betsy: Wait, no. It’s gravity, right?

Charlie: No, I was kidding. It’s really the fish. The water clumps around them and keeps the water on the planet.

Betsy: No, really. It’s the gravity right?

Charlie: Nope! It’s the Fish.

Betsy: Zach, you do know I’m a Doctor, right?

Lovin' California Style

Zach, while examining his bike gears and pretending that the bike was broken (he was in the Caribbean at the time): Man, and I've got to get to California....

Betsy: What's in California?

Zach: There's a party because somebody's in love.

Betsy: Who's in love?

Zach: Just a couple of strangers.

The Princess and the Queen

Zach, to Katie: Katie, do you want to be a princess or a queen?

Looking at me: I know, Mom. "Queens have all the power." But princesses are more beautifuler.

Deep Thoughts

Mom, I'll tell you something. You don't have to be a monkey to eat a banana. And you don't have to be a fisherman to cook fish.

Lake Sunapee

Zach, 5, after a fish-catching, lake swimming, rocket shooting, ice cream eating, canoeing, sand castle building, marshmallow roasting, sparkler twirling kind of day:

Mommy, when we're here, the days seem really short.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Less than enthusiastic about writing thank-you notes for his birthday presents, Zach started shredding the paper napkins that were on the kitchen table.

Betsy: Zach! Stop wasting napkins!

Zach: I'm not wasting them - I'm making more!

Sensible nickname

Instead of a toddler, let's call Katie a tw0-dler. Because she's 2, not todd.

Waiting

Betsy: Zach, you have to get dressed. Grandma and Grandpa are going to be here any minute.

Zach: Awww, that never goes well.

Betsy: What?

Zach: Whenever you say they're going to be here any minute. Actually, that means it's going to be a really long time.

Why Grandpa can't win at soccer...

Rules for playing soccer with a yoga ball:

1. Zach is always the goalie.
2. If the ball goes over Zach's head - no goal.
3. If the ball hits Zach's head - no goal.
4. Grandpa is allowed only four goals, at Zach's discretion.
5. Goals can be disallowed, at Zach's discretion. This may occur numerous times in the course of a game.
6. The game ends when Zach gets tired.
7. Additional rules may be established during play, at Zach's discretion.
   

Zach, at the game's end: You're old, so you're not a powerful winner.

Crabby Teeth

Sometimes Zach confuses p's and b's.

During a talk about dental hygiene...

Zach....or if you eat too much crab, it's bad for your teeth...

Betsy: Crab?

Zach: Yeah, like if you eat too much crab, and candy, and soda....

Easter Reflections

I hate too much candy.

But I LOVE too much toys!

Dad's Duds

Daddy, are you going to work? I was thinking about that because ya look fancy...

Chef

Zach wanted to help make scrambled eggs this morning, so he cracked the eggs and whisked for me.

I told him that food usually tastes better when you make it yourself.

Betsy, after breakfast: How did the eggs taste?

Zach: Good. But not great, because, you know, you helped me...

Menu

When asked what he wanted for lunch: "I want a pancake, then some health stuff, then a popsicle."

Dreams

Following a discussion about different kinds of dreams (e.g., not all dreams are the kind you have when you're sleeping):

Zach: Well, if I do everything what my dreams are, that will take one hundred and fifty days. My dreams are just to make stuff...

HELP! PLEASE!

Katie's sitting on me and it feels like a dozen elephants!

Big Z, Little Z and the President

Charlie recently put glow-in-the dark stars on the ceiling in Zach's bedroom, replicating the sky as it appeared in Palo Alto, CA the night that Zach was born. This has prompted a lot of conversation about astronomy. Zach is now on the hunt for two new star formations.

Zach: When I talk to Obama, I'm going to tell him.

Betsy: Huh?

Zach: If I call him, I'll tell him. When I get to talk to him.

Betsy: Tell him...?

Zach: About the Big Z and the Little Z. When I find them.

Betsy: You're going to find a big Z and a little Z in the sky?

Zach: Uh-huh.

Betsy: And why are you going to call Obama?

Zach: Because I think he'd really like that.

Teaching Moment

Zach, to his little sister, when they were alone watching Curious George: Smart means...well, it means you're not curious, because you already know stuff. George just knows some stuff.

Similies

I'm as tired as a spider working on a web for one hundred days. I'm going to clean up as slow as a snail.

A little less conversation, a little more action

I love the way he can direct conversations sometimes. After I guess one too many questions about what happened at school today:

Zach: You ask too much questions. Now I have a question for YOU.

Betsy: Great! What is it?

Zach: Would 'ja like to see my train?

Betsy: Sure!

Zach: Step right this way. I'll show you the ENGINE....

Nonsense!

Here's an uncharacteristic remark from Zach when he really wanted to get home from school.

Betsy: Well, I just have to stop at the bank first.

Zach: Why? I want to go home.

Betsy: I need money to pay the babysitter.

Zach: Nonsense! I'll give her money.

Wishes

Zach: I wish that nobody in the whole world would ever be scared. And I wish that there would be no more splinters. What do you wish?

Betsy: I wish that there were enough black bean burritos with extra cheese for everybody in the world.

Zach: Um, I won.

Reach for the Stars

Yesterday, I got to meet Greg Mortenson, who was just nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for the amazing work he's done building schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. I was explaining to Zach about how Greg's failed attempt at climbing K-2 resulted in his achieving the far bigger mission of bringing schools to kids who didn't have them. But Zach was more interested in Greg the mountain climber:

Zach: Why didn't he get to the top?

Betsy: Well, it's really hard to climb a mountain. Your body has to be strong and healthy, the weather needs to be right...

Zach: Well, do you know what I'm going to build? I'm going to build something so the weather doesn't have to be perfect to climb to the top. It's a really, really, really, really, REALLY big ladder that goes past the sky. And it's for if you need to get to a cloud or if you miss your rocket ship, you miss the take-off time, or if you miss your plane. It's for going to all those stuff. Or climbing the mountain. It's HUMONGOUS! But it's really, really, really....tight. So anybody can carry it. Kids can carry it, grown-ups can carry it...

Betsy: Do you mean it's very, very light?

Zach: Yeah, light. And now I want to tell you about one more machine I'm going to build. But I'm definitely going to build that ladder...

Inauguration Day: Cut to the Chase

Betsy (after paragraphs of indoctrination aimed at my two under-age-5 kids who were just trying to eat breakfast): ...and he believes that everybody should get a fair chance - doesn't matter where you come from or what you look like...

Zach (interrupting): He's a busy dad.

Inaguration Day: Keeping it real

Betsy: Today is a very exciting day for America and for the whole world!

Zach: Well, not for me. I can't even find my dog.

Reflections of a big brother

I'm glad we got Katie. I'm really glad we got Kate. Because she's so cute. And she tickles.