under the magnolia tree

 This sweet boy has been a delightful sidekick in Magnolia's absence during the day.  The two of them are pretty inseparable when they are together but he is learning to play on his own more and we have had our own fun playing together.  A whole lot of "boy" play which has been so fun to see emerge!

We have fallen into a routine that we enjoy and I'm cherishing the time we have together this year.  His time for Kindergarten, too, will come quickly.  

He is into Police Officers right now.

 So, we do a lot of Cops and Robbers.

 And, the other favorite...Super Heroes!

George loves to ask him what his super hero power is for the day.  It's usually something new each time and we love to hear what it's going to be.

   

In addition to seeing what George wants to play during the day without the influence of his big sister, we are seeing a very funny and quirky personality emerge.  He says and does things that make us laugh all day long.  He loves to say, "This family is weird."  It's from the book, Today I Feel Silly.  He says it in context and in such a dry tone.  At one point I finally asked why we are so weird.  His reply, because we don't go to Discovery World (local museum we have membership to) much and because we don't eat more cupcakes and fish pie (I have no idea what fish pie is...).  He also calls my iPad a "Puter Pad."  Which, I suppose is a combination of computer and iPad.  He says it with such a twinkle in his eye, he knows he's making me laugh.  One day in the car he says he wants a cookie (he always wants a cookie).  I told him he can have a biscotti when we get home.  He said he does not like "scotti" because it's not round and doesn't have chocolate chips in it.  Of course, that's a cookie!  One day we were playing with all of the cards in my wallet.  I showed him my insurance card and told him that's the one I need when I go to the doctor's.  He asked, "To get your tummy all cut up?"  I said, "Do you mean these? (showing him my stretch marks).  When he nodded yes, I told him "Oh no,  the doctor didn't do these.  These are my tiger stripes!"

Georgie also has quite the sensitive side.  He's very quick to give HUGE hugs and kisses, to tell me I look "butiful,"  to show me "tute" (cute) houses,  and to protect me in any way he can.  He says he wants to be a policeman when he grows up so he can protect me.  :)  We have a squirrel in our yard that has become such a fixture that the kids named him "Hammie."  We often watch what he's up to and shoo him away when he climbs in the stroller to eat any leftover snacks.  One day a squirrel got run over by a car and lay dead in the street for a day or two.  This upset George to no end.  He was simply beside himself.  He had fits of crying and sudden new solutions to "fix" it.  He proposed calling an ambulance, taking the squirrel to his doctor, building a new house for him, and using daddy's tools to fix him.  To make matters worse, he was convinced it was Hammie.  But he said he just didn't know how it could be Hammie because Hammie "always looked both ways when crossing the street!"  It actually wasn't Hammie and when George heard this, he squealed with delight.

In the meantime, George had been to a pig roast this summer.  When I prepared him beforehand about the pig, he said he would "(s)mack him on the bottom if he cooks a pig"  (referring to the neighbors who were hosting the party).  We talked about how we all eat animals, animals eat other animals, it's just the way it is.  Well, on the the day of the party he asked to see the roasted pig.  He didn't say much except he wondered why he wasn't pink and then he refused to eat any pig when it was done.   Then recently I was cooking a whole chicken and he started to wonder about it as I had it on a platter to cool.    When I came back into the kitchen, he had taken a huge chunk of breast meat and stuck it in the neck and declared, "Look, now it has a head!"

SO, all of the incidences are probably what led up to the event that occurred last Monday in Trader Joe's.   We always go every Monday and I almost always buy a whole chicken.  NOT this time.  He screamed until he was purple, "Get that chicken out of the cart!!!"  Over and over again.  So much so that I had no choice but to put the chicken back.  He was SO upset.  I told him that we all like to eat chicken but if he chooses, he does not have to.   No.  No more chicken.  After he was finished crying and was satisfied that there was no meat in the cart, he crossed his arms over his chest, furrowed his brow, and told me "Trader Joe's not good cookers!"  When I asked why???  He said, "Because they cut heads off of chickens."   What about fish, I asked?   Oh, except fish.  It's okay to eat fish.  And on that day, pumpkin pie he said was okay.  :)  It's fine.  It's good.  It's actually wonderful.  We are heading in the direction of becoming vegetarians (with the exception of fish) in support little George.  :)

We love you, George.  For all that you are!  xoxo