Worm

Victor has a new book. It's called Worm, and he wrote it himself.

Worm can be any book he finds, so long as there are no pictures. That way, he cam make up any story. Right now he is using the scriptures.

A typical Worm story is like this:

Once upon a time there was a Worm. He lived in a nice house. Well, he was right in this house. Oh, Pongo and Perdita. First, they were right in this town. In town there was a big [something]. Then, after, after, the end.

Zeke Grew

Yesterday was Zeke's 15-month checkup. He got 2 shots and had his blood tested for hemoglobin and lead. He did NOT like the finger stick, the poor little thing.

Zeke has grown 2 inches and gained 2 pounds in the past 3 months. He is now 33 1/4 inches tall (95th) and weighs 23 pounds (25th). He's my little featherweight.

He says five words, if you count shaking his head NO, which the doctor says counts as a word at his age. The other words are Dad, Victor, hat, and Mama. He can make a nice doggie sound, but it's nothing like his second cousin's animal-sound repertoire, which is amazing.

Zeke can point to his head, hair, eyes, nose, mouth and lips, ears, tummy, and toes. When you tell him it's time for a diaper change, he runs into his room and to the changing table. When you tell him it's time to go outside, he runs to the door.

When Zeke is hungry, he usually goes to his high chair and tries to hang on the tray. He also signs "eat," makes a funny smacking sound, and babbles "yum yum yum." (Victor's early word for food was "mabum.")

He loves to eat with a fork, to put on shoes, and to drive cars and trucks on any available surface. He is totally into If You Give a Pig a Pancake and Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb. He like to eat quesadillas, black beans, pears, and Honey Nut Cheerios.

Victor behaved well during the appointment.

The Sound of a Great Idea

Victor likes to watch Sesame Street. Since it's one of the few kids' shows I like, and since he watches it quietly while I get other things done (and Zeke sleeps), he watches it most weekdays.

Victor has picked up many interesting bits of information from Sesame Street. He has learned lots of songs. And he has learned the sound a great idea makes when it pops into your head.

That sound is "ding."

We frequently have an exchange like this:

V: Is that a castle? Who lives there?

Me: I don't know.

V: Ding! I know. It's Cinderella.

Or like this:

Me: What should we have for lunch?

V: Ding! How about peanut butter and jelly.


Or like this:

Me: (reading the paper)

V: Ding! Let's go to the park.

Laughing So Hard

I am laughing so hard at failblog.org right now. You really should check it out.

Thank you, Who Calls So Loud.

My Warm Refrigerator

Every couple of days, like today, I open my refrigerator to find that it is too warm to properly refrigerate anything. This happens with my freezer, too.

The first time it happened, I panicked. I did not want to purchase a new refrigerator.

But then reason prevailed and I checked the temperature dials that control the refrigerator and freezer. Sure enough, the freezer had been set to "OFF." Similarly, ever other time the refrigerator has felt unseasonably warm, the dial has been set to "OFF."

I will let you guess who is behind this. I have two theories.

One: Fridge Fairies

Two: a small boy whose name rhymes with "Schmictor"

Screwf

At the Science Center yesterday, Victor tried his hand at using a plastic screwdriver to remove a plastic screw from a plastic engine block.

Or as he described it: I am screwffing the screwf with this screwfdriver.

Anniversary

Today is my oldest niece's birthday. Happy First, Vea!

Today is also the 10th anniversary of the day I came home from my mission. That was a strange, great day.

I remember getting on the airplane and feeling like I'd stepped out of an alternate reality into the present day again. I remember looking at myself in the airplane bathroom mirror and feeling desperate because my skin was hammered and my hair was something else. I remember looking down at the Amazon as we flew away. I remember feeling excited.

Everything I had smelled funny. I had very little luggage. I was startled to see the redesigned VW Beetle in a magazine and that PriceWaterhouse had become PriceWaterhouseCooper.

Our group ate Whoppers in Miami, and they were delicious. We stepped outside during our layover to stand on some North American asphalt.

We had to run across the Dallas airport twice because our gate changed.

It was snowing when we landed in Utah. Snowing! My mom had brought me a coat to go with my lavender sundress that Grandma had made me and my sandals.

When I got home, the carpet and drywall and ceilings made my ears hurt because the sound was so deadened. The hot water in the shower and the high water pressure were alarming. My family thought everything I had smelled funny. They kept looking at me like I was crazy.

I slept in a bed that night, with pajamas and sheets.

The next morning, I was alone for a few hours. That was glorious. I poured myself some Cheerios and started picking through them looking for ants. Then it occurred to me that there would be no ants in my cereal.

I got my hair cut. I got released.

My parents washed everything I had brought home in hot hot water, and my mom admired how sparkly white my whites were. Hand washing is very effective, I told them.

My grandma bought me some delicious whole milk to drink, and my mom made me tacos and chicken squares. Kristy came over and we sat in the big chair together and watched the X-Files movie.

In the next week, I drove myself the 15 minutes to Provo, learned that the car radio would go off once I opened the driver's side door, reclaimed ZimZim from Katie, and figured out how to answer my parents' new phone. I signed up for spring term and got an apartment at the Promenade with my friend Liz (recently returned from Portugal).

Three months later, I met Jeremy. And that's another story.