But they can't eat everyone!

On Sunday, I recited Lewis Carroll's The Walrus and the Carpenter to Samuel for the first time in many months. The ending is quite dramatic:

Daddy: "...because they'd...eaten...every..."

Samuel: "One!"

But, as he said to me last summer (IIRC), he reminded me again:

Samuel: "But if the one oyster eats all the other ones, who can eat that one?"

He didn't state it quite so clearly this time (because obviously the oysters aren't eating each other). IIRC, when this came up last summer he said:

Samuel: "But nobody can eat everybody, because who can eat the last one?"

I think it comes down to this: he's hearing "they'd eaten everyone," instead of "they'd eaten every one."

So I explained again that the walrus and carpenter had eaten all the oysters, but that they hadn't eaten everyone.

So I guess we can all be thankful for that.

I am Aragorn

On Saturday we finished reading The Fellowship of the Ring with Samuel. This morning, he was posing here and there around the house, exclaiming "I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn!" Then he would make explosive noises to demonstrate his fierce might.

At first, he was protecting us from Orcs with his Lego gun. Then he asked what kinds of weapons Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas have. So after that he constructed a Lego sword... one that still makes explosion noises.

We had conversations along these lines:

Samuel: I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn!
Daddy: Who was Aragorn's father?
Samuel: I don't know.
Daddy: He was the son of... whom?
Samuel: Arathorn.
Daddy: So who was his father?
Samuel: I don't know.

And:

Samuel: Who was Arathorn?
Daddy: Aragorn's father.
Samuel: But who WAS Arathorn?
Daddy: Aragorn's father... I don't know anything else about him.
Samuel: But who was he?
Daddy: Of whom is Gimli the son?
Samuel: Of Gloin.
Daddy: Right. So who is Gimli's father?
Samuel: I don't know.

I'm not sure the full breadth and depth of the claim being made in "I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn" has really sunk in, yet. But he's definitely got the fierce might part down.

Samuel says...

"I'm naked with socks on."

Recent mispronunciations

"Ick-mo-donald had a farm..."

And...

Samuel: "You know what we've forbin getting? You know what we've forbin getting? You know what we've forbin getting?"
Daddy [aside, to Mommy]: "What's he saying?"
Mommy: "Been forgetting."

I guess Mommy is better at speaking Excited Samuelese than Daddy is.

Swimming yesterday

Our condo community has a pool, and we enjoyed a late-afternoon swim yesterday. Samuel has recently (last week) learned to jump in with abandon, and Jenn caught some action shots.

In case anyone wonders, that was a back-flip. I did not land on my back. :)

I like how his right leg is just breaking the very-still water surface in this one.

...and here's a video.

Samuel demonstrates winking

I got a text message from a friend, and it ended with a winky-face. ;) My phone displayed it as a yellow winking face, and Samuel thought it was so funny he demonstrated for us. (And then I asked him to repeat the demo for the camera.)

Samuel helps lower the awning (at City Room in Nashua, NH, August 3rd)

Trip to Burlington, VT (July 28, 2013)

We strolled on the boardwalk by the shore of Lake Champlain at sunset.

Discussing Samuel's New Composition

Last night...

Samuel [after strumming his guitar randomly for a bit]: "That's my song."
Daddy: "Oh! I like it. What is it called?" [expecting a made-up word as the name]
Samuel: "Mortal Enemy."

Samuel grooves to Cake

Samuel and I were waiting in the car for mommy the other day, and I was randomly poking around my entire music collection. I turned around and caught a glimpse of Samuel enjoying this track, so I grabbed my phone to record him, and I let it play.

monkey at the Stone Zoo

stomp rockets!

Samuel stomps, grandpa and great grandma watch. 

Train Museum

Playing Outside

At the Zoo

Ready for school!

Pajama-party day coincided with show-n-share day for the letter "u". Those are Samuel's underwater goggles...

Car Junk

Daddy [proud of having cleaned out his car]: "Remember all that junk that was in my car?"

S: "Where did it all go?"

Daddy: "I got rid of it."

S [pointing to some sand and crumbs in car seat]: "What about that junk?"

Daddy: "I didn't CLEAN my car, I just...picked it up."

S [very impressed]: "With WHAT?"

Sugar Plums

Just now, apropos of nothing:

Samuel: "Sugar plums are like this." [makes circle with thumb and forefinger]
Daddy: "Oh, OK."
Samuel: "When I was sleeping, before Christmas, sugar plums jumped in my head."

Spontaneous Lorax

Samuel started reciting The Lorax after I buckled him into his seat on our way to school today, and I managed to record him/us with my phone. Here it is.

Oh -- and also from this morning, as Samuel was climbing onto the bathroom counter to brush his teeth -- "I'm tall, like a POTATO! No, I'm tall like a BOWLING BALL!"