In His Glory

Our Hero, meanwhile, had a busy day painting his self-portrait with finger paints (we await this masterpiece with bated breath), identifying his name, and playing Red Rover and Red Light Green Light, all this per Ms. Kristin whom we saw at pick-up. She said that Joe came on over when she said "Red rover, red rover let blue shirts come over!" (Our Hero was sporting his Cubbies shirt today), and that he knew his name--and Darby's, and a few others, and may have had to be told to give the name bearer a chance to recognize their name on the card on the floor first! We know how this goes. Often, when we will ask Clara to find something in a book, or whatever, Joe will exuberantly point it out, and we gently have to ask him to let Clara try first.

As it happens, the theme of this week and next week in Joe's room (as you will no doubt recall, Dear Readers, "All About Me"), dovetails with one of Joe's newest kicks: asking questions after stories. You will also, no doubt recall, that we began this a few days ago as a coda to the we-do-not-call-others-poopyheads discussion. Now it is all the rage. After an introductory question, Joe likes to do most of the questioning. It is great fun to watch him working out how to frame the question. "What favorite food is your favorite?" and "What favorite food do you like?" are examples of his usual sallies. But we always back up and rephrase, Counselor: "What is your favorite food?" (For the record, tonight, it was spaghetti.)

Then, sometimes, there will be a burst of very lucid phrasing, and sort of adult banter:

Joe: "What's your favorite way to go to the zoo?"

Julie: "In a canoe!" [rhyming Fans, rhyming]

Joe: "No! That's no fun! Pick a different way!"

[beat]

Joe [as though realizing he's going to have to spell it out for his dolt of a mother]: "Which car do you like to go in to the zoo?"

Julie said Bronzie, which gave Ted the rhyme with Blue.*

These pictures have nothing to do with this post, other than that they are pictures of Our Hero as he was on this day, in his glory, running about post-dinner and pre-bath, in his underwear (milk was spilled on his shirt and pants during the dinner--when Julie asked Joe a question and he forgot to swallow before answering; really).** Yes, the undies which began the day "stripes in the front," have somehow gotten turned about. Joe was outside helping Ted ferry the recycling to the bins as we prepare for the start of Grandpa Tom and Lynn's State Visit tomorrow. While outside, he had to build a "tower castle." In this second picture, he is saying, "Cheese tower castle!"

*We refer to our cars as Bronzie and Blue.

**For those who follow our gardening efforts, this is also a picture of Julie's meadow rue, that she got at least three years ago at the Friends' School Plant Sale that is held annually each Mother's Day at (insert drumroll!) the fair grounds. It lazed about for three years, nothing doing, and then, this year, it was like Emily Dickinson's Fringed Gentian! (That's a good one, Fans. Google it up!) And THEN, it was knocked clean off at the ground in the "boom echo" storm we had mid-summer. But look at how it rebounded! It is a cloud of little purple puffs!