I'm Pretty Sure

Overheard at my house this morning:

"Ni hao, Tiller."

"Ni hao, Daddy."

I'm pretty sure that my Dad would consider that either gay or communist, but i am not sure which one.

New School

7:45 am
[Enter room and see Rollie watching The Jetsons on Boomerang.]

Rollie: Mama, you know what I'm watching?
Me: The Jetsons?
Rollie: Yeah. . . . You like Jetsons, Mama?
Me: Yeah, it was one of my faves when I was a girl. You kicking it old school, or what?
Rollie [staring at me like I am the dumbest person on earth:] No, I'm going to a new school.

Always the little literalist.

Rhyme Time

Rollie is learning to sound out words, and even recognizes some on sight (like "Max" on the boat in Where the Wild Things Are), and it is fascinating to talk about words and letters and languages and sounds and to see how his brain is grasping things. Today on the way to school, he asked me "What rhymes with caution?" I was stumped. I told him,
"Um, okay, you stumped Mama. I can't think of one. Give me another."

"How about 'mailbox."

Geez, kid, I've only had one cup of coffee! I decided to pull a Seuss.

"Snailfox rhymes with mailbox."

In the rearview, I could see Rollie looking at me with suspicion. Parenting is hard.

Bonus: One smartypants point for each real word you come up with that rhymes with caution or mailbox. . . .

Here, There Be Dragons

Conversation with Rollie yesterday:

Rollie: "Mama, if I see a dragon, you will give me a knight, and I will knife the dragon."
Me: "Um, okay, if we see a dragon, I will let you have a knife and slay him. But you realize that we don't play with knives, ever, without Mama's permission?"
Rollie: "But, we do if there is a dragon."
Me: "Well, yeah, obviously. Also? A 'Knight' is the guy who wears the armor, and who holds a sword or a lance, or throws down the gauntlet, okay? 'Knight' just sounds like "knife." And you use a sword to slay the dragon, not a knife."
Rollie: "Right," he says, nodding his head vigorously in the affirmative.

Okay. It's a plan.