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Friday
11/27/2009 4:53:57 PM
(CST)
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Michael Wells
We were having a fun little after-school dinner picnic tonight when this large black and white bird decided it would like to join our little feast. We threw it bits of bread and it boldly approached to gobble them up.
I'd never seen this kind of bird before; quite unfamiliar to me. Largish, black and white, straight beak, very bold. And it had this odd behavior of dragging its food on the ground to soften it up (I guess).
Bethany (now 5) cleared things up; "Dad it's a Magpie."
Really? I'd never seen a magpie before, how could she know this? I'm sure I've never taught her what a Magpie was... did she have some kind of secret orithnology study group going on?
No... turns out, she's seen a drawing of one in one of her childrens stories.
I had to look it us to see for myself;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Magpie
Have to say the behavioral notes are very interesting as well...
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Wednesday
3/4/2009 6:43:34 PM
(CST)
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Michael Wells
( Scene: Bethany, age 5 has just begun school, and is very excited about all school-related things. Bookbags, school uniform, lunchbox, even homework... )
Bethany: DAD! I had an avocado sandwich for lunch today!
Me: Really?
Bethany: YEAH! And, it had AVACADO, and it had CHEESE, and it had MUSTARD!!!!
Me: Really !!?!? (pause, realizing this combination is slightly odd...) Did you ask your mom for that?
Bethany: YEAH!!! And I ate it ALL up !!!
Me: Wow! Was it tasty?
Bethany: YEA-- (pause) No. It was disgusting. But I ate it all up anyway.
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Thursday
10/9/2008 3:49:53 PM
(CST)
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Michael Wells
Nick...
Dad, what do clouds taste like?
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Thursday
2/28/2008 7:20:36 PM
(CST)
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Michael Wells
Dad: "Bethany, can you think of a word that begins with the letter 'Q' ?"
Bethany: (pauses) "Cucumber!"
Dad: ...
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Tuesday
2/26/2008 7:29:05 PM
(CST)
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Michael Wells
My 5-year-old son Nicholas recently came home with an award from school for being helpful in the playground. It's called the "Mediator Award". He wasn't specific about why he won it, what he did, or why it's called the "Mediator Award". One would think that it has something to do with mediation...
The funny bit is that he got a toy for his prize. Something random from a grab bag...
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Monday
12/11/2006 9:17:37 PM
(CST)
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Michael Wells
Nicholas enjoys thinking about what the world was like before people. When there were dinosaurs.
Nick: Dad, before there were people, there were no houses and so ivy had to grow on trees.
Me: Really? What else could ivy grow on?
Nick: (thinking hard). I don't know.
Me: What about... telephone poles?
Nick: (thinking hard). No... there weren't any.
Me: Ok, what about... mountains?
Nick: Yeah, it could grow on mountains.
Me: What about... dinosaurs?
Nick: (laughs) Nooooo! (pauses) Well, maybe when the dinosaur is asleep... but then when it wakes up it would move and the ivy would fall off.
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Thursday
11/23/2006 9:12:28 PM
(CST)
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Michael Wells
Again, my 4-year-old son pontificates.
Nick: Dad, I used to like brown and trucks. But now, I like pink, and purple, and horses.
Me: Really, why's that?
Nick: Because my friend Morgan likes them.
Me: Ah. Yes. [ahem] Well, sometimes girls do that to you.
Nick: Yep.
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Friday
11/10/2006 1:05:03 PM
(CST)
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Michael Wells
My 4 year old son Nick is fascinated with my taste for ultra-spicy foods. Mainly, I think, because he doesn't share that taste at all at this point in his life (humorously, my 2 year old daughter Bethany does).
Yesterday I was enjoying a spicy tandoori chicken, and he watched me thoughtfully.
Nick: Dad, I think there was a rooster.
Me: Mmm, hmm?? A rooster?
Nick: Yes. A rooster. And it was very spicy. And then the farmer killed it, and sold it to the grocery store, and then we bought it and cooked it, and you ate it aaaaallllll up. Yum.
I have to say, he was right on the money about the "Yum." part...
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Monday
11/6/2006 11:34:23 AM
(CST)
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Michael Wells
Today while I was getting my daughter dressed (nearly 3 years old), I was playing the "what's this?" game with her, where I'd point to her nose or her knee and ask her how to say it in Japanese. After doing a few like her butt (oshiri おしり), eyes (me め), mouth (kuchi くち), nose (hana はな), and ears (mimi みみ), she wanted to keep the game going, and asked for these...
- tummy (onaka おなは)
- hair (kami かみ)
- fingers (yubi ゆび, and oya-yubi for thumb おやゆび)
She also wanted to know the name for each finger... they do have names in Japanese but I don't know them and I've not yet met a にほんぎん who does either.
It was really exciting to see her take an interest, and to formulate the questions she had so clearly. すごいですね！
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Monday
11/7/2005 8:30:48 PM
(CST)
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Michael Wells
Nick: Daddy, I want to go with you.
Dad: Nicky, I have to go to karate class.
Nick: I want to go with you to karate class.
Dad: Do you want to learn some karate, Nicky? I can teach you some karate when I come home. Then when you've learned some you can go to karate class.
Nick: No, I can do karate. Nick begins thrusting his arms and elbows out wildly, grimacing and making sound effect while he does it (PSSH! Pssh! PssH! PSSH!)
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Sunday
7/3/2005 7:52:25 PM
(CST)
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Michael Wells
The other day, I took the family across the bay to the zoo. Moments after arriving at the ferry terminal, my just-turned-3 year old son pulled a shiny one-dollar coin (his weekly allowance) out of his pocket, made a beeline for one of the nearby money-thieving prize-game-vending machines, his hand eagerly outstretched. I dove, yelling "noooooooo" in slow motion, but his ninja-like reflexes were just too fast for me, and pa-CLUNK, the coin was now owned by the evildoers at "Choc Monkey", and the game was afoot.
This was the worst kind of vending-game machine; that special breed of evil with the little mechanical claw that you have to drop right on the thing you want, and then as the claw raises, you watch morosely as all of the goodies fall from it's weak-fisted little grip. Moreover, this particular machine was filled with sugary chocolate badness of all kinds.
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Thursday
7/10/2003 9:15:25 PM
(CST)
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Michael Wells
We've discovered our toes!
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