Grandma Squared

Grandma Squared
Originally uploaded by iaminpdx.

Elliott was so excited to show both grandmas his clean room and his own Christmas tree in his room.

And the fact that he had cleaned the room himself...and the wonderful nativity set...and the baby Jesus...and that his little play people had swords ...and that the swords were to protect baby Jesus from the "bad guys"...

Photo Booth

foto_booth
Originally uploaded by iaminpdx.

The funny part of this photo strip was to watch the realisation on Elliott's face as he saw himself in the monitor and then began to make faces and saw them appear in the photos. And then to see that each frame has a different expression....ha.

Making Him Cry.

sassie
Originally uploaded by iaminpdx.

Tonight as we were coming down from all the excitement of Christmas, Elliott sat down to watch Lassie that we borrowed from the library. This new one was a Disney remake (one of many?) in which a family moved and the boy who was totally disjointed by the move, meets this stray dog, (Lassie...which he kept calling Sassie) to which he bonds. Deeply. Through a chain of cinematic events, Lassie finds himself lost, which breaks the heart of the boy and for the first time I began to see Elliott react emotionally to the story.
Towards the climax of the story Lassie is trying to find his way home to his boy and he wandering the forest and he falls into the river, which is rapidly approaching a cascading waterfall. It is about this time that I look over to see tears in Elliott's eyes and I felt like a latchkey parent for doing other things while he watched this movie by himself.
"Elliott are you alright?"
"Yes, Sassie went over the waterfall and was killed."
Just then to the music of the movie, "Sassie" comes up from the water from behind a strategicly placed rock and Elliott begins to sob. He grabs me and cries and sobs. It was like our own little Fried Green Tomatoes moment. I paused the movie and he recovered a little and we watched the rest of the movie.

Family Portrait

Family Portrait
Originally uploaded by iaminpdx.

This is what happens when you are bored in church. You give him pen and paper. And then when he says, "Ooh, Papa these are your whiskers..." we all laugh and work so hard to keep them stifled that we are glad that no one is sitting behind us, becuase all they would see would be people shaking up and down.

Great Grandma Irene, Santa and Elliott 2003

Great Grandma Irene, Santa and Elliott
Originally uploaded by iaminpdx.

The funny thing about this photo was the quick subtle banter between Santa and Great Grandma. St. Nick said something about this young lady and she laughed rolling her eyes.
Elliott was so happy to be with two of his favorite people. One who gave him candy the other who brings him presents.

My Cocoa Moustache

My Cocoa Moustache
Originally uploaded by iaminpdx.

We all went downtown to see the lights and Santaland at the department store. It just so happened that Starbucks in the spirit of giving was sampling peppermint hot chocolate in the courthouse square.
Elliott was more than thrilled.

Spontaneous Utterance from the Wife while Reading

"...Well maybe that's just because I'm a bitch and that's not a personality type..."

In reponse to discovering that several "personality traits" of her personality type on the Myers-Briggs did not match herself. Whatsoever.

Peter, Mrs Beaver and Aslan

Peter, Mrs Beaver and Aslan
Originally uploaded by iaminpdx.

After reading the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, E has been enchanted with all things Narnia--or should I say, any story with a sword.
In the midst of the remodel and painting of the dining room and living room, Grandma S. found the lampost at the back of the closet. In this country we have closets, not wardrobes.

This Was Not a Commissioned Art Piece

Preschool-ArtProject
Originally uploaded by iaminpdx.

I kid you not, E did this all by himself. The funny part was when I went to pick him up and the teacher was handing out the art, the looks on the other parents faces.

Several of the quickwitted in the crowd started to say something and then you could see the instant self correction when they realized where they were and what they couldn't say in front of the children.