Peet-Ah!

Maceo is waaaaay into "Peter and the Wolf", which we have narrated by David Bowie. We listen to it during dinner, during play time, and especially in the car. Each morning, I strap the two boys into the car and we're off to the Brit explaining which instrument is which animal. Mace listens and so does Cash, and the ride is quiet. Every so often, there's a voice from the back: "The wolf is a Chinese oboe." No, Maceo, the wolf is a French horn." No, Daddy, it's French hoon." Or when Bowie says, "Peter pulled the rope tighter!", Maceo asks, "Why he say 'tigh-ah'?" I have to explain that Bowie is English and that's his accent. "But I'm English," said Maceo. "No, you're American." "But I speak English!" rejoined Maceo.

School's Out!

Monday, Columbus Day, school was closed, and we hosted Maceo's friend Wesley for the day. We went by metro to the Museum of Natural History. Both boys were excited for the metro ride, probably more than any other aspect of the day. We saw stuffed animals and skeletons and we went to the Insect Zoo where the boys shrieked inside a termite mound and saw a hissing cockroach and a huge prawn. The next day, school was closed for parent/teacher conferences. Maceo and Cassius spent the day at Mami and Maurice's house. Wednesday, school was closed again for parent/teacher conferences, which Maceo, Kate, and Nick attended. Maceo apparently is quite good at languages and getting better at not pushing and hitting. After conferences, Maceo's friend Patrick came for the day. Nick and the boys took the bus to the National Geographic museum to see the exhibit on dinosaurs. When we came out, a huge thunderstorm was brewing, terrifying Maceo. We rushed to the metro. When we got to Brookland, it was pouring. We waited for the bus and rode home for lunch. Naps followed

Cash drank too much

Drinking buddy.

A video posted by Nick Loewen (@nloewen) on Oct 10, 2014 at 4:09pm PDT

Dinner time

Sunday, we awoke from naptime and decided to go to Georgetown to see the river and have an outing. We saw ducks and geese and walked up and down the river walk. After, we went to Trader Joe's and Taylor's for subs. Cassius and I went grocery shopping while Maceo and Kate went for the sandwiches. When Cassius and I joined up with them, Maceo was munching on bbq chips. He shared with Cassius and they both liked eating them. On the way home, from the backseat, Maceo commanded, "Smell my finger. Smell my finger cause it smells like chips."

A little game of catch after school

Don't Cry, Poppa

Maceo learns the art of comedic timing and telling the entire joke.

I worked with Maceo after school to learn his first knock-knock joke.  Appreciating its sophisticated level of humor I'll save for another day.  After much repetition, Maceo understood his role in telling the joke and the expected responses to get to the punchline.  So, when Nick came home, it went something like this:


Maceo:  Poppa. Knock, kno---no, wait.  I say who's there. No, wait, I say 'knock-knock." And you say, "Who's there?"
(Me, to Maceo:  you say knock, knock).
Maceo: Knock, knock.
Nick:  um, who's there?
(Me, to Maceo: now say 'boo.')
Maceo:  I say "boo."
Nick: Boo who?
Maceo:  I'm all done.

It's  a work in progress.

Shady Playground redux

Friday, Nick got out of school early, so he was able to pick up both boys from their schools. Normally, during the volleyball season, Kate gets them. Nick got Cash first, and then went to Yu Ying for Mace. His first two weeks have gone surprisingly well. Not only have there been no tears, Maceo has even expressed that he likes the school! The one caveat is that his teachers, in the notes they send home with him each day, have said he pushes while in line. We've been talking to him about being nice and patient, and Friday, the notebook said he'd done well. We never get this much news from Maceo. From him, we get, "I played on the fire truck in the playground." "Who'd you play with?" we ask. "I don't know his name," he says. Anyway, we left Yu Ying and went to play at the Shady Playground. (Alert readers may recognize the name!) Before leaving school, Mace wanted to visit the bathroom. We went to one, but that one was under construction and thus scary. We went to another, but Mace wanted the other one further down the hall. Trying not to cramp his potty style, Nick complied. But upon entering the bathroom, Maceo wanted only to wash his hands. Soon after arriving at the playground, (you know what's coming), Maceo said, "I have to poop." So, he and Nick went over to the fence and the bushes and he pooped while Cash wandered around in the woodchips, falling only occasionally. After that, there was a lot of playing, and Cassius tried a brand new slide, much to both boys' delight.