Awesome Dream

Scott:
"I had a dream last night that was awesome.
I was hitting gorillas that were trying to get me.
And I was riding down a waterfall... on a horse.
I kept punching the gorillas.
It made me giggle in my sleep, because I was winning."

Olympic Plaza Christmas Lights

R needed to get out shopping so I took the kids out to Olympic Plaza to see the Christmas lights. They absolutely love looking at Christmas lights from the car, so I figured they would be thrilled to see all the lights downtown. I was partially right. They were thrilled, but they were also cold. So we hopped on the train and rode down the Free Fare Zone for a few stops and came back. When we got off to go back home I pointed out some transit officers who were handcuffing someone. As we walked away I said, "Did you see those police? They caught a bad guy."

Scott's eyes went wide and he looked all around. He said, "Was there only one?" It was clear he was worried that there were more bad guys around, and that they could spring on us from anywhere. I assured him that there was only one bad guy and that they caught the bad guy and put "locks" on the bad guy's hands. That relieved his immediate concern, but then he began rattling off interesting scenarios that could also be dangerous.

Meanwhile, Katie was mostly interested in the lights. Whenever she see them she says, "Oooh! Nights!"

My Papercut Fell Off

Sitting at the kitchen table waiting for Scott to stop messing around and just eat his dinner--
S: Dad, would you like it if you fell off a mountain onto your eyes?
D: No.
S: ... onto your nose?
D: No.
S: ... onto your chin?
D: Yes. Wait, no.
S: I got a papercut before.
D: Really? Where?
S: It was on my hand but I think it fell off in my room.
D: Oh? It fell off?
S: Yes, it's in my room somewhere now, but I don't know where.


In the car driving somewhere--
S: [Somber tone] Dad, I only want to stay in my family, with you and Mom and my sister. I don't want to go to any other family.
D: Like who?
S: Bad guys.


Before bedtime--
S: Dad, let's have a race downstairs and then a big fight!
D: Actually, it's time for bed, so you need to put your PJs on and go brush your teeth.
S: But Dad, my legs REALLY hurt. I don't think I can walk. [holds leg and starts limping]


About Christmas--
D: Why do we celebrate Christmas?
S: Because it's Jesus' birthday!
D: Do we give him presents on his birthday?
S: No. Only we get the presents.
D: Right. So what else can you do to help make Jesus happy instead?
S: When I die I can bring him a present.

Babysitter

We babysat for some friends on the weekend so they could go to their company Christmas party. It was the easiest babysitting gig ever. Both of their kids hardly made a peep the whole time. In fact, the only time baby Lily ever cried was when Katie was crying. And Katie was crying because she wanted to hold baby Lily. Katie sat with Lily on her lap almost the whole evening.

She also wore her new toque almost the whole evening. The kids got toques, mittens, pencils and books from their weekly preschool class.

Meeting Santa

[From Nov 26, 2011]

Scott met Santa this year. This is different from previous years, where he observed Santa from a safe distance.



We planned to go to the Christmas party at Great Grandma & Grandpa M's retirment home, but first Scott and I needed to go shopping for a toy to donate to kids in need. The experience dragged on a bit because Scott wanted to linger in every aisle, pointing out all the $30 items that we should buy (our budget was more like $10). Finally we settled on two die-cast muscle cars about 6 inches long -- a red Ford GT with white racing stripes and a yellow Chev Camaro with black racing stripes (similar to Bumblebee in the Transformers movies).

After we checked out at the cashier, Scott didn't want to part with the red GT. I told him that giving away something that he really liked would be a good thing, and Santa would know he was a good boy and would get him a toy. You could see the tears just below the surface. This was a hard thing for him. It was also hard for me. I was tempted to keep the red Ford GT for his Christmas present and only donate the Camaro.

Driving home in the car, I told him that he should ask for a present like that for Christmas, and maybe he could get one. He asked how you tell Santa what things you want for Chrismas. We said you could make a list and send it to Santa. But instead, he saw Santa in the flesh that same afternoon at the Christmas party.



Normally, Scott would be hesitant to go sit on anyone's knee, let alone a man with an enormous white beard, but in this particular instance there was no line-up so he was on Santa's lap before he could think it over. When Santa asked what he wanted for Christmas, Scott said he wanted a red car. No surprise there.



Scott's cousin L (who is generally fearless) hopped up on Santa's lap next and both kids came away with two candy canes each. Then they jumped on a horse-drawn carriage for a ride around the neighbourhood.





Sadly, I missed the Santa part because of some work I had to finish, but I arrived just as the carriage ride ended and Scott told me all about it. He was particularly thrilled that he got two candy canes. He told me that part over and over. He showed me the Christmas tree and he brought his cousin L down to show her the cars that we had donated. The sadness seemed to be gone. I think Scott had a good experience with giving, but I think we may need to make sure he gets a red die-cast car under the tree this year.

And two candy canes.

Liquidating the Buzz Lightyear Fund

[From Nov 28, 2011]

Last year we spent Christmas at my sister's house in St. George, where two of her young sons received Buzz Lightyear toys that stood about 12" high and had cool pop-out wings and lasers and everything you could ever want in a toy. Scott was so inspired by this toy that he decided to save up his money to buy one for himself. He and R hammered out a pay scale for various chores (clearing dishes, sweeping, making his bed, cleaning up toys) and taped the illustrated document to the kitchen fridge, so that Scott could start working his way to his goal.

Looking at the box


He supplemented his earnings with money from recycling. His job was to take the bottles and tetrapaks down to the basement to the big orange garbage bag, and then he shared in the deposit refunds from the bottle depot. The target was $30, which seemed like a lot of money when we started. But finally the big day came, and R took Scott to a machine that would convert his wristband full of coins into paper currency (she picked up the processing fee), which we took to the Disney Store to make the big purchase.

Standing outside the store


In the store he wavered a little bit, looking at all the amazing Cars 2 merchandise that was available, but he finally settled on his coveted Buzz Lightyear figure knowing that he could always save up some more money to buy all the other amazing stuff they had on offer. He paid the clerk his $30 (we picked up the tax) and then the only thing standing between him and his new best friend was a box and a bunch of plastic fasteners.

At home with Buzz

For the next few days he announced to everyone that he saw that he had purchased a Buzz Lightyear toy WITH HIS OWN MONEY. He wanted to show it to all his cousins, but they wanted him to share it, while he mostly wanted them to watch him play with it. He learned to share it with them a bit, but he's still not to sure about letting Katie play with it (she learned the word "Buzz" very quickly).

Playing with Buzz

Most of all, Scott loves to play with Buzz. He makes little boy sound effects and flies him around the house and just enjoys it. Sure, some of the novelty has worn off now, but it was so refreshing to see him play with a toy and just LOVE it. We haven't seen that from him since his birthday or Christmas, and it showed how he's growing up in to a little boy, and is no longer just a little toddler.

But really, what toddler has $30 in the bank?

Hunting Christmas Trees

Katie was feeling a bit ill (and so was R), so the girls stayed home while the boys went out hunting Christmas trees. Scott had also been a bit ill this weekend, so he was emotionally volatile -- he was despondent when he realized he left his transformer at home and then ecstatic when he was entrusted with carrying the bow saw. Then there was the time that a pair of large dogs came frolicking through (he is positive that all dogs are out to get him). Overall, it was a beautiful, sunny day and perfect for hunting trees and a bit of sledding.



Scott was a real trooper and walked the whole way, carrying the saw over his shoulder while we stalked our prey. He enthusiastically got down on his knees and helped me run the saw when we cut down our 7-footer lodgepole pine. The last time we did this, we got an 11-footer and I had to cut the best part of the tree off to get it to fit in our living room. This time was perfect (except that Scott would have preferred to cut down several more trees).

Bona Fide Americanos

How do you explain citizenship to a child?

I met up with R and the kids at the US Consulate to register them as US citizens born abroad and get their US passports, and it was interesting to listen as Scott tried to tell me why we were there. He was telling me that he was going to the US -- you could tell he struggled a bit with the concept of citizenship. For a moment, I thought about describing it as teams. My explanation formed in my head as follows:

"Because we live in Canada, we get to be on the Canadian team. But we are also on the US team, because mom was born there and because lots of our family are from there. But until we get our papers here at this building, nobody knows that you and Katie can be on the US team too. They only know you are on the Canadian team."

I thought it was a pretty good way to get the concept across, but I held back because I wondered about the adversarial relationship that is implied by teams and competition. Scott likes to win, and to put it terms of teams would make him wonder if there was going to be some sort of contest to see who was the winner. Well, I guess there is -- you see it at the Olympics, or other the Pan-American games that we watched recently on TV. He cheered his heart out for Kristina Groves in a bike race and for all the Canadian athletes clad in their bright red gear. I wonder how he'll react when he hears he can claim allegiance to multiple teams. Will he cheer for both? We all know he likes red best, so maybe he will be slightly put off by the presence of a bit of blue.

The actual experience of going to the Consulate was pretty arduous. Katie was coming down with something and clinged to me the whole time we were there, which was lengthy. When we got into the waiting room it was packed with people seeking visitor visas. By the time we left there were only two other people still in the room. I guess that's what happens when you do 2 SSN requests, 2 child birth registrations and 4 passport forms. Katie just sat on my lap and Scott passed the time with an activity book. He connected the dots to a picture of the Eiffel Tower, with a word puzzle that spelled "Paris."

"What is Paris, dad?"

The Shoe Swap

So, we sold our house this week. No, we don't have another house yet and we don't know exactly what neighbourhood we are moving to, but that isn't the point of this post anyways. This post is about the ups and downs of bowling -- the house sale is mentioned just as back-story.

The sale of our home was conditional on an inspection, so we went bowling during the three-hour block set aside for the inspection. We went five-pin bowling in the spring as part of a work event and Scott absolutely loved it, so he nearly broke into song when I told him we were going bowling again. He fully expected everyone from my work to be there and for there to be a dinner spread and prizes. We had to temper his expectations a bit to say that it would just be us, there would be no prizes, but I would buy him a donut from the bakery afterwards if he wanted.



Katie was super-cute to watch bowl. The five-pin bowling balls are small enough that she can carry them on her own, although she has a bit of trouble trying to pitch them forward. We found the best system was to have her kneel down with the ball on the floor and then push it down the lane. With the bumpers blocking the gutters, it was only a matter of time before the ball finally nudged a pin down. I usually knelt beside her and boosted the ball a little after she released it.

Katie was pretty good about waiting to take her turn, although she started to get tired of it a bit near the end and just wanted to bowl all the time. Finally a song came on that she really liked and she was more concerned with her dance moves than the batting order. This girl can shake it, and she does.



So, in the end R was the big winner. We were all pretty terrible and the bumpers were used to maximum effect (a bank-shot strike is still a strike, right?).



We turned in our bowling shoes to retrieve our street shoes and were shocked to find that R's boots were gone. There was another pair of black boots there, so either someone accidentally put hers on (there was a high school gym class that had been in the same time as us) or someone outright stole them. Either way, she had nothing but socks and there was a slushy parking lot between us and our car.



The owners of the bowling alley tried to contact the gym teacher to try to track down the boots, but no one answered so they took pity on us and gave R a pair of bowling shoes to wear home.



Now she has a killer pair of size sixes in perfect colours to see her through snow and slush of the Christmas season. I say it was a great outcome, but she demurs.

Oh, and instead of a donut, Scott opted for a green frosted cookie. Katie got pink.

Katie Was Here

Yes, that's a giraffe plush-toy jammed into the printer.
This is Katie's secret hiding place for her favourite things.

The Iron Incident

Alternate Titles:
"Striking While the Iron is Hot"
"Ironman Was Here"

Two lessons learned:
1) Irons can be dangerous (damage, injuries or fires)
2) If you wreck something, you should try to make it right

Scott got to spend the morning playing with cousin H's house two weeks ago. The two boys noticed the iron was out and decided to plug it in and conduct some experiments. They pressed cousin A's toy football and essentially melted it. By some miracle, neither of them got burned before they finally abandoned their experiments and the iron.

Unfortunately, they abandoned it sitting hot-side-down on the carpet, which burned a distinct iron shape in carpet at the base of the basement stairs. So the total casualty list included the football, the carpet, and the iron itself.



In addition to a lengthy discourse on the subject of safety and the destruction of private property, R suggested Scott give aunt J some money from his savings -- he had accumulated $22.50 in his wristband-bank for his Buzz Lightyear purchase fund (he recycles bottles and does chores to earn money). He immediately caveated that we should reimburse him for whatever amount he gives to Jenny. At first I thought this was a hilarious reaction from Scott, but then I realized this is very similar to the recent conversation we'd had about about buying H's birthday present. We had suggested we buy H a gift and Scott had offered to help pay for it with his money. We told him that his money was his Buzz Lightyear fund, so he should just save it and we would pay for H's present. I can see how our later suggestion would seem to run contrary to the H-present argument.

Scott helped make a card to apologize. He coloured in the pictures, wrote in his name and inserted a dollar coin in the envelope. Then he gave it to J at the Sunday family dinner. He also gave A a new toy football (he had come home with four new ones when we went to the Stampeders game that week).

Will he remember these lessons? Well, a few weeks after the incident, we were reading a book about firefighters and Scott told me that irons can start fires. If he remembers the lectures on safety so well, the rest of the experience must be quite vivid in his mind.

Mannequins

On the weekend I took Katie to the mall to exchange something at Old Navy. There was a "family" of mannequins in the front entrance that included a little girl only a bit taller than Katie.



Katie was so thrilled with this fabulous life-size "doll" that she hugged it.



She also climbed up on the stand and started petting the dog.



After making our exchange we checked out some sale racks. Katie drifted across to a mannequin standing nearby. A few minutes later, she came back to me with a flip-flop in her hand. This girl LOVES shoes and she had taken the flip-flop from the mannequin to try it on, but she was having trouble putting it back.



After I helped her return the flip-flop, she made amends with the mannequin by giving it a quick hug. Personally, I think this little girl is adorable.

Halloween 2011

Halloween this year was a lot of fun. Sure, I liked my Death Star headdress, but really I just loved watching how excited the kids got. I also loved hearing people comment on how cute my kids are.



R and I went to a party with a Star Wars theme, so I made us these costumes from papier mache and two colours of spray paint. On first glance, most kids thought I was trying to look like Mega Mind, but I still thought it was pretty classic. I was also quite pleased with the way R's TIE fighter outfit turned out. Once again, some people had no idea what it was (someone guessed she was dressed as a turtle), but people of our vintage were all over it.



Working from our base at Grandma & Grandpa M's house, it was not a long trip to go scare Great Grandma & Grandpa M over at the retirement home. Although there were some difficulties squeezing everyone into car seats to get there, it was definitely a great thing to do and I'm glad we got a picture of the kids over there. They wanted us to sing a song, but we totally came up blank on Halloween songs. Only later did we remember that "trick or treat, smell my feet" classic.





As a veteran of four Trick-or-Treating campaigns, Scott (dressed as Vert Wheeler from Hot Wheels Battle Force 5) was elated to be free to run from door to door with his cousins. True to his personality, he found something to be bossy and disappointed about (he wanted to ring more than his fair share of doorbells), but he still had a riotous time. We were so relieved that his costume arrived in the mail in time (Thanks Allyson!). It showed up in the mail on Friday afternoon, almost the last possible moment before Halloween.



I kept hearing Scott report back to his uncle Luke in a loud voice, "Did you hear me? I said 'thank you' to them!" Apparently, the kids had just been hot-footing it away from the door without so much as a word of gratitude, so Luke tutored them a bit. He also came up with the solution that they stop ringing doorbells altogether and just scream "Trick or Treat" at each door to alleviate concerns about equitable bell-sharing.



This was Katie's first real experience with Trick-or-Treating and I think she loved every minute. Clad in the "chubby dragon" costume made famous in 2008 by her older brother, she overflowed with cuteness. The costume is great for Calgary, since it is probably warmer than a snowsuit and even has an integrated hood and mittens. Katie quickly caught onto the routine (waddle to door, hold up bag, get candy, waddle away) and learned to say some new words, like "Too-Treet!" and "Dank-Doo!"



I coached her at each door, prompting her what to say and when to hold up her bag of candy. At some point, she stopped holding the bag up. I quickly realized that it was too heavy. Too much candy. I had to start lifting her arm up for her.



Being tiny and tentative, she was always the last one to get candy at the door, so Scott and the other kids were usually already to the next house. To keep up, I carried her from one porch to the next. As we walked down the sidewalk near the end of the evening, I noticed her bobbing her head from side to side, chirping cute sounds of contentment to herself. She was clearly having a fantastic time. She will not remember any of it, but it will live in my memory forever. Katie's first Trick-or-Treating.

A Sudden Reminder

A small pang of sadness this weekend as a calendar reminder popped up on my phone for October 30:

"Due Date"

Nearly nine months ago I wrote the following post, which I held off publishing until we were ready to share the exciting news with the world. Seven days later the story had already ended and the unpublished post languished in my "drafts" folder:

February 22, 2011 - "A Big, Big Surprise"

You might be surprised, but nobody is more surprised than me.

R went to a natureopath for a consultation last week and was recommended several supplements to help improve her general health and her energy levels -- including an B12 injection. The natureopath said that she should come back for another shot when she feels it wearing off. She wondered how she would know if it had worn off, but she was told it would be pretty apparent from her energy levels.

Well, for the last week she has felt more drained than normal, making her wonder if the B12 was having the opposite effect. Then last night we took some stuff up to the attic for storage. Some boxes with picture frames, some maternity clothes that R's sister borrowed -- just stuff. Something about those boxes made her start counting days and wonder about the calendar: 30 days. Hm, a bit late.

Today came and went and she realized she was several days later than usual and she started to get anxious. Various ideas flashed through her head throughout the day as she considered the possibility. Finally, when evening came and the kids were in bed she shared her suspicions with me. 15 minutes later I was back from the drug store with a home pregnancy test kit.



What?! Pregnant?! Us?! I thought this wasn't even possible! How is this possible?! This is fabulous news, but how is this possible?! Amazing!

You know, we always joked that we might have a surprise baby, but we didn't think it would happen so soon! We suspect it is probably because of the gluten-free diet. Either way, this news is more than I expected on a Tuesday evening. I thought I might eat a snack and watch some TV. Wow. Totally shocked. It's so weird that we didn't have so much time to anticipate the news. It's a very different experience, this "surprise" stuff.

For the record, I'm predicting a girl.

We spent the evening talking about how our life was going to change. We had just sold our Jeep and bought a different car with the assumption that we'd likely not expand beyond a family of four. We started mentally reconfiguring the rooms of our house to fit in another bed -- and thoughts went to possibly moving those beds to an altogether different house. The next morning, Katie took her first steps and things were pretty exciting. Alongside the puzzled jubilation were concerns about R's health. The latest pregnancy had been pretty tough on her and we were working with a natureopath to try to improve her overall health -- another pregnancy so soon was going to mean more destabilization before we could really make any progress. Still, we realized the huge miracle that this sudden pregnancy represented and we mostly just looked forward to the future.

Eight days later, on the morning of March 2, R sent an email out to the family with the sad news:

Hello family,
Just wanted to let everyone know that I had a miscarriage last night. I'm glad that we told all of you the exciting news [last week] so that we don't just have to tell you the bad. Obviously, I have torn emotions about this. Half of me is a relieved and the other half is a little sad. At least we didn't have to go through fertility treatments this time and the miscarriage happened early. I think that will make it easier to cope with. I'm already feeling a lot better today. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
Love, R

Just as quickly as it began, it was over. We were definitely sad, although there was a bit of relief that we could work on R's health a bit more. Significantly, we felt a lot of uncertainty. Previously, we had felt pretty certain that our chances of having another child were near zero, and we had accepted that reality and had started moving forward with our lives. Suddenly, we had this new possibility thrust upon us and we still have no idea whether it might happen again.

Honestly, I haven't spent that much time thinking about it the last few months, until suddenly the notifications popped up. In addition to the official Oct 30 due date, I had one labeled "likely delivery date" set for Oct 17th, since we have been two weeks early both times. Seeing those reminders this month brought back thoughts from this original posting, thoughts of gratitude for our two cute kids, and thoughts of wonder:

What will the future hold for us?

Katie

I absolutely adore this little girl. She's only learning to talk, but she already speaks volumes with her facial expressions.

Beard Etiquette

Sitting around the kitchen table eating Wendy's Frosties, Scott gets the shivers and tries to describe them to us. He says that his body sometimes "goes like this". I explain that his body is trying to warm up by moving really quickly. R notes that we also often get goosebumps when we're cold. I explain that this is another way that your body tries to help warm you up, but we don't have very much hair on our arms and legs, so it's hard to say how much difference it makes. The following conversation ensues:

S: Cam has the most hair on his face.
D: Right. Which of your uncles have hair on their faces? Ross?
S: No.
D: Luke?
S: No.
D: Brad?
S: No.
D: Joel?
S: No. [notices our reactions] ... yes?
D: Right. Taylor?
S: Yes?
D: Sometimes.
S: Yeah. Sometimes he cuts it off.
D: What about Mom?
S: No!
D: What about Katie? Does Katie have a beard?
S: No! Girls don't have beards. Just boys.
D: No girls have beards?
S: Nope.
D: What would you say if you saw a woman with a beard.
S: I would say nothing.
D: [laughs] Yeah, that's probably the right thing to do.

Rocket Talk

At the table, eating grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch:

D: Scott, do you remember flying on an airplane before?
S: Yes.
D: Were you scared, or not really?
S: I wasn't scared.
D: Yeah, being on a plane is pretty easy.
S: Dad, when are you going to ride on a rocket?
D: Uh, I don't think I'm ever going to ride on a rocket.
S: Why not?
D: I don't even know where I would find one. Where would I go to get on one?
S: Um... close to the United States?
D: Why did you guess that?
S: I don't know. Was I right?
D: I don't think so. I really don't think there are many rockets that you could find.
S: Yes there are.
D: Even if there were, they would be way too expensive for us to ride them.
S: Grandma and Grandpa have a seasons pass.
D: What?
S: They have a seasons pass to all the football games all year.
D: True.
S: We have a seasons pass... to Calaway Park.
D: Yes, we do.
S: Rockets are the fastest thing in the world, and they could blast you all the way to the moon.
D: Right. But how do you get back?
S: They let the things on the side come off and then it falls back to earth.
D: Really?
S: Yep.

Seeing in the Dark

Scott wanted to have a fight before bedtime. He wanted to turn off all the lights first. I complained that it would be too dark for me to see. He offered to teach me how to see in the dark--
S: I already taught Hayden how to see in the dark.
D: You did? How do you do it?
S: First you find the shadows, and then you check to see if there are any monsters there. And that's how it works.
D: Really? Okay. Let's try it.

Bedtime Regulations

Filibuster
Definition [verb (used without object)]: To impede legislation by irregular or obstructive tactics, especially by making long speeches.
Example: Scott's endless bedtime request for snacks, books or games are obvious attempts to filibuster, delaying the inevitable.

We have finally had to lay down some new ground rules to get Scott into bed, since his 8:00 pm bedtime was often dragging out to 9:00 pm. Just as we were heading to bed, he would suddenly declare that he was desperately hungry, a favourite ruse to win another few minutes of liberty. This is connected to another issue -- Scott's habit of eating only some of his dinner, announcing that he was full, climbing down from his chair and asking for a snack. The two issues came to a head last week, resulting in a bit of a stand-off, lots of tears, and a bunch of new regulations.

R told Scott as he left dinner that he couldn't have a snack later, unless it was to eat more of his dinner. Then when bedtime came and he asked for a snack, I reminded him that he would need to eat more dinner if he was hungry. He launched into a host of arguments in favour of a different type of snack, stating that he was tired of that food, that he was sure if he ate the dinner that he wouldn't be hungry enough for a snack. I told him that I would not relent, so he wanted to try asking R, saying: "Mom, I need a snack because my tummy isn't 100%. It's only 90%."

Since we had made it clear to him already that he had to eat more dinner, rather than rely on an endless stream of snacks, I offered him several options--
D: Like I said, you can choose to have more dinner (tuna casserole), a glass of milk, or nothing.
S: Or water.
D: Right. More dinner, a glass of milk, water, or nothing. But you have one minute to choose.
S: (Crying and stomping) But it takes more time than that!
D: Just say what you want. That part can be really quick.
S: (More crying) But I don't have enough time!
D: Just tell me which one you want, dinner or milk!
S: (Sobbing) But I want both!
D: Okay. Fine.
S: (Sudden pause) Okay.

As he ate the rest of his tuna casserole, we negotiated some new ground rules:
- Once the clock hits 8:00 pm, he can't have anything else to eat, so snacks have to happen earlier
- He can't have any snacks until he has eaten all the food from his dinner plate
- If he can be in bed with everything done (teeth, potty, jammies, etc) by 8:15 pm, he can watch a YouTube video on my phone.
- If he gets in bed by 8:14 pm, he gets two videos
- If he gets in bed by 8:13 pm, he gets three videos

So far, the arrangement has been a success, and he's eaten his dinner/snacks earlier and gotten ready faster. I'm sure that this will only last for a while and then we'll have to come up with something new when he starts to filibuster again.

The Problem With Clown Costumes

We planned to order Scott's Halloween costume off the web, but he just couldn't settle on a favourite costume. If fact, it seemed that showing him the costume website just made it worse, because he saw so many more wonderful costumes that he had never considered before. We thought that the main decision was between Good-Guy-Jedi and Ironman. Once things got going, the possibilities opened up to include about 10 different options. Out of nowhere he would say, "I think I want to be Batman." He's only seen Batman in the tail-end 30 seconds that the PVR catches in the buffer before recordings of one of his favourite shows (Hot Wheels Battle Force 5). His approach to costume choosing could be best described as "whatever character I have been reminded of most recently."



We finally started running out of time for the order and thought we should give up on getting a decision from Scott and just choose on his behalf. We suggested that we surprise him. This was his response as we left the office to head upstairs for bedtime:

"Yes, you should just surprise me. Don't pick anything that is white. I hate to have white on it. I love all the colours of the rainbow. If it has one of those colours, or all of them, then I will like it. A clown has one of the colours of the rainbow. But I wouldn't like it, because it might be too exciting."

Interesting path his logic takes. No wonder he has trouble making this kind of decision.