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Paul turned three this year. This was a big deal for him, not necessarily because it is a prime number (although he was quick to point that out) but because he had just spent the past year learning how to quickly hold up two fingers and say "I'm two". On the day of his birthday, mommy and daddy were telling him, "No, you're three!" (Yet another lesson about our wacky, irrational world: Just when you thought you had it down - you don't. For the next two weeks Paul struggled to loosen that ring finger from under the grip of his thumb and hold it up with his index and middle fingers while saying "I'm three".) Paul also started going to nursery school on a regular basis this year. He loves to sing his 'BCC's'. What's especially clever in his version of this perennial favorite is that the line 'L-M-N-O-P' has been changed to 'N-N-N-O-P'. Outlining a fact that we've known all along, that these letters are just a way of getting from K to P. Listen to the song sometime, you'll see what I mean. Over the past few months Paul has been busily going through catalogs, flipping to the toy section and saying 'I want this one, I want this one, I want this one, I want this one' (note: play the sound file over and over numerous times to get the full effect) as he frantically points to almost every picture on the page. I told him he could just say 'I want everything' - however, he feels he has to cover his bets. You shouldn't think that all of this wanton greed is one-sided and self-serving, since he actually skips over the ones he does not want (at which point he usually turns to Mayumi and says 'Mayumi, you want this one?').
Paul, how old are you? Three (wav,17K)
Paul, what's Daddy's name? Daddy (wav,22K)
Paul, what's Mommy's name? Mommy (wav,22K)
Paul, what's is one of the many things you want for Christmas? Power Rangers (wav,29K)
Hey Paul, do your silly laugh... Maniacal Laughter (wav,44K)
Paul, who's your favorite monster? Godzilla (wav,22K)
Paul, do you like anything better than mommy and daddy? Dinosaurs (wav,27K)
Paul, what was the name of that dinosaur with the three-things on his head? Triceratops (wav,27K)
Say goodbye, Paul... Bye, Paul (wav,22K)
Somewhere about the age of two, Paul just started spewing out words and phrases. What amazed us is they were apparently in a language that neither Sugayo nor I spoke (Proto-Indo-European perhaps). Of course, he's well passed this stage now and quite able to make himself understood, but there are still many words that need some amount of translating to be understood. See if you can figure out the meaning of the following phrases. (Note: All phrases translate into English).
Click on any word above to see the answers.
When Gramma and Grampa came to visit for memorial day, they of course did not come empty-handed. They brought a nifty giant wagon from the person who up until recently I knew as my sister (see Honey the Absolutes are Coming on the Mike's Archive page). The wagon was a present from Aunt Michalle and Uncle Jeff to Mayumi for her first birthday. Prior to this, Mommy had also bought her a few presents for her birthday, one of which included a fruit and vegetable cutting board set (no, not a REAL cutting board but a pretty nifty facsimile thereof. Each plastic piece of fruit or vegetable comes in two halves with a velcro strip holding them together. When you 'cut' them apart with a plastic knife it makes a real cutting sound. The plastic onions also make a rather nice base for a soup stock).
Anyway, although these things were given to Mayumi as birthday presents, she has no real concept of what a present is - aside from the fact that the paper they come wrapped in is fun to put in your mouth. Paul, on the other hand, is at a stage where he is very much aware of presents.Some of his favorite phrases include 'Open it!' and 'Akete!' - which is, 'Open it' in Japanese. So Paul instantly appropriates all of Mayumi's presents. I guess he sees himself as the custodial keeper of the presents until she is old enough to know what to do with them. Until then, he - the Guardian of Gifts, the Chamberlain of Chatchkas, the Lord of the Loot - decides when she gets to play with what. He also decides when she should 'share' her toys ('share' in Paul's lexicon is equivalent to 'give it to Paul') and when she has had enough. He is quite the caring brother.
Along with Gramma and Grampa's visit came the Melster's (a name Grampa used to go by in the pre-Paul Mayumi Era) sense of humor. This is is no wise a small thing and I am convinced that they bought the mini-van because they now have to cart this thing all the way to the East Coast whenever they want to have a fun weekend with their kids and grandkids. Anyway, Grampa unpacked it when he got here and helped Paul write his own wrap song.
My name is Paul
My name is Paul. I got it all.
I got a Grampa and he is a ball.
I got a Gramma and she is real neat.
My Great-Gramma doesn't have any teeth.
For reasons I am sure you will understand, Daddy takes none of the credit here and will be more than happy not receive any royalties.
Here are the answers to the quiz above. To get back to the quiz, click on any word in the list.
