What do you call it?

Now that Weston is more able to express complex thoughts, we're getting a little bit more insight into his actions...a very little bit.

Weston: You call mine owl bag a lunch bag.
Me: Yes, I do, because we use it to carry your lunch.
Weston: Luke calls it a lunch box.
Me: Yeah, some people call it a lunch bag and some people call it a lunch box.
Weston: I don't like lunch box. I call it lunch bag and when Luke calls it lunch box, I bother him.
Me: Hm. Well, it's ok to have different names for things. You don't need to bother him for that.
Weston: I do. Otherwise, my head will fall off.
Me: ....Why?
Weston: Because he will say, "lunch box," and I'll be like, "Huh?" and then, I'll put a shoe on my head and I'll be like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" And then, my head will fall off. So that's why you have to bother your brother when he says lunch box.

How do you argue with that kind of (il)logic?

Seize the banana

Weston: I'm hungry.
Me: Want a banana?
Weston: Apple slices.
Me: You've eaten all the apples. How about a banana?
Weston: How about grapes?
Me: We have no grapes. We have a banana.
Weston: Blueberries!
Me: The blueberries will arrive tomorrow. For now, we have a banana.
Weston: Hm. Ooh, I see a banana! I will eat that banana!

Lessons from a two-year-old: always maintain the illusion of being in full control of your own destiny.

Trapeze!

Luke had his first day of circus camp this morning (why, yes, I did say circus camp) and the afternoon has gone something like this...

At pickup:
Me: Ok, Luke, once you finish your banana, we're going to get your stuff and go home.
Luke: Noooo! We're doing trapeze after lunch.
Me: Um. You're...not staying for lunch.
Luke: Yes, I am. And for trapeze.

In the car:
Luke: I did not like that camp. I'm not going back.
Me: Really? Because three minutes ago, you didn't want to leave.
Luke: Yes, really. I don't want to ever go there again.
Me: Why?
Luke: I didn't like it.
Me: What part did you not like?
Luke: All of it except learning people's names.
Me: Ok. What else did you do after learning people's names?
Luke: I'm not going to tell you, but it wasn't fun.

Since I know he hates to talk about this stuff, but is willing to write about it (and by "write," I mean dictate as I transcribe,) when we got home, we sat down and made a list of things he liked and things he didn't like. I was imagining scenarios where the teachers were mean or the kids were cruel or he fell off the climbing equipment. None of that was true, as it turned out. He simply didn't like that (a) the teachers chose the activities, (b) some of these teacher-chosen activities were new to him and were difficult to do, and (c) he had to wait his turn. There were twice as many things on the "like" side of the list than the "dislike" side, so I'm not too worried about it, especially since he ended the conversation like this:

Luke: I wish I had stayed all day instead of just the morning.
Me: But...you said you didn't like it and never want to go back.
Luke: Yes.
Me: So then why would you want to stay all day?
Luke: TRAPEZE!

Clearly.

Summer Days

There's a robin's nest right outside our kitchen window and the kids and I are anxiously waiting for the eggs to hatch. There's a cardinal's nest in a tree in the yard and Luke and I like watching the baby birds with their mouths open, waiting for their parents.
We've been to the science museum twice in the past two weeks and the kids are already planning our next visit. Luke has been folding laundry to earn money to buy (insanely overpriced) things from the gift shop.

We've gone to our three favorite parks multiple times.

We've been swimming, wading in creeks, and splashing in puddles.

We went camping, hiking, and somewhere along the way, Weston managed to get poison ivy on his legs. (He also has approximately 17 mosquito bites at any given time. The rest of us walk happily along while Weston is surrounded by a cloud of mosquitoes.)

The summer is off to a fine start, I'd say.

Fluff

Some of the things we've accomplished today...

• Luke and his friend spent the morning at a park that has a sand and water area, building the biggest mountain they could. I mean, the thing ended up being about 18 inches high because when you build a mountain, the toddlers will come...and smash it back down. But still, they considered it quite the good time. 
• Weston has figured out how to climb out of the five-point harness in his car seat...while it's still buckled. This kid might have a future in magic. We had a conversation about how that's dangerous and his reply was, "But I yike dangerous." Of course you do.
• Elsa managed to dig out a rabbit burrow this morning. It is my sincere hope that it was an old burrow because nothing will ruin my day faster than coming across a rabbit baby corpse in my yard. (Please, please, let it have been an old burrow.)
• I managed to get those two to the park and back. No one got lost. This is an accomplishment, yes?