Your Other Left

My mom - the 25 year veteran teacher who holds a degree in Early Childhood Development - has been citing studies for years that say that if a child still confuses his right and left sides by age 6, there is little to no chance that the child will ever be able to tell right from left without really having to think about it. She spent most of her career teaching 2nd and 3rd grade. She said that by the time kids got to her class, they either had right and left, or they just didn't.

Honestly, Mom and I don't really need a study to tell us that. Unfortunately, she and I both were (apparently) very confused six-year-olds. Don't get me wrong, we know all the tricks. We can tell right from left most of the time without thinking about it too hard. It's usually under stress that the confusion really comes out. I can't tell you how many times one of us has been sitting in the passenger seat of a car, motioning frantically to the right and yelling, "Turn left. Turn LEFT!" That would be your other left.

Until my mom read about the studies, we had a theory that it was genetic. My maternal grandfather was even worse with left vs. right than we were. Whatever side grandpa told you something was on, you could pretty safely do exactly the opposite and be correct about 95% of the time. Personally, I blame my confusion on my left-handedness. I went to school back in the days when the state of California could afford to have less than 30 kids to a class (quaint huh?). With such small classes I tended to be the only left-handed kid in class. I remember multiple times in kindergarten and first grade where the teacher would say, "Now on the right side, that's the hand that you write with - oh except you Shelly." Gee thanks. That wasn't confusing.

Anyway, alllllll that background to say, my mom has already started working with Norah on left and right. I thought she was being a little optimistic, but Norah's getting it really quick! In fact yesterday in the bath, I asked for her left arm, right leg, etc. and she got every one right. Of course, I had to ask her daddy to confirm that she'd gotten it right. Fortunately for us, it turns out it's not genetic!

Gotta Bounce

Our friends from college (Catherine & Todd) came out with their two boys for a wedding right here in our home town. Even though they live in the Boulder area, we just haven't been able to get together. I'm pretty sure that we literally haven't seen them since their wedding, so it was really great to get together and catch up. It was Catherine's brother's wedding and he was kind enough to let us crash the family welcome banquet and hang out.

This is the only picture I managed to get of all three kiddos together. Norah, Joe (behind Norah) and Luke (on the right) were so hungry that they actually sat down at the table without being asked (or told). Amazing!

We almost got the cutest picture of Norah helping little Luke. He wanted to step down off the patio and into the grass with her, so she held his hand and helped him down. But the camera took too long to turn on. So I guess you'll just have to imagine it.

The wedding was being held at a beautiful guest ranch that we'd actually never been to before. There were cows to look at, a pond to throw rocks into and plenty of grass to run and play in! Unfortunately, I got absolutely no pictures of any of those things. I was too busy counting heads. Ever notice that when there's more than one child they naturally run in opposite directions? Yeah, that happened a lot.

The easiest way to get pictures was, of course, to put our tiny tornado in a cage. Fortunately, the bride and groom had thought through the kid containment issue pretty well. They provided a bounce house!!

Needless to say, Norah was having so much fun she didn't even realize that she was caged like a circus animal.

Norah had so much fun with the boys. She keeps asking when we're going to see Yuke and Joe Joe again. Looks like we might have to take a little trip to Boulder!

Letters of Intent

I'm linking up for my very first Letters of Intent. Read more about it by clicking on the button above. My friend Tiffany has been participating for the last few weeks and I have to say, I like the exercise. I see it as a fantastic way to vent and stretch my sarcasm muscles a little - and if there are any muscles I enjoy working out at this point in my life, it's those! So anyway, here goes:

Dear Bird (you know who you are):

I get it. We live in a beautiful place. Either that, or you reeeeally need a girlfriend. In any case, let me set the record straight on this one teeny issue: The fact that the sun begins to peek over the cliffs at approximately 4:38 am is not, I repeat, NOT an invitation for you to sit outside my bedroom window and commence with the screeching. Seriously! I get little enough sleep as it is! I have finally whittled my morning routine down to where I can set my alarm for 6 am and still get me and the baby out the door on time. So a word (or four) to the wise: Give it. A rest.

Sincerely,

The Girl Who is Seriously Considering the Purchase of a Pellet Gun

*****

Dear Tourists:

Welcome! I'm so glad that you all decided that driving to our lovely little town was the best vacation you could dream of. It's true, we live in an amazing place. Many, many local business owners are super excited to see you all here. So don't take this the wrong way, but I just wanted to clarify a few things real quick like. K?

Whatever state name your particular license plate is sporting, I'm pretty sure that I can safely say that our traffic laws work almost exactly the same. Really! How convenient, right?

So, for instance, that big red octagon that says, "STOP", that means, "Apply your break until your vehicle is no longer moving. Look in both directions, then proceed cautiously through the intersection." But see, that's a lot to put on a sign. Even a big red one. So we went with STOP. Just like the rest of the country.

That giant "ONE WAY" arrow pointing opposite the direction you are currently driving means, "You've made a terrible error. Please, for the safety of everyone around you, turn back now or plan on being liable for any damages, curse words, or rude gestures you may cause." Again, lots to put on a sign. That's why I wanted to explain, just in case.

Those newly painted white lines connecting corner to corner on Main? Those are called "crosswalks". Those are areas where pedestrians can cross from one side of the street to the other safely less dangerously. When you are driving and a pedestrian is in a crosswalk, you stop. Period. Even if you really, really, really want to get somewhere and you're 87% sure you can cross in front of them and still avoid maiming the pedestrian, just wait three seconds. Not that hard.

On the other hand, when you are the pedestrian and others are driving, please use the crosswalk to actually WALK across the street. Stopping in the middle to get a shot of your family in front of all the cool buildings at the height of the lunch rush is just plain rude. When you act shocked and insulted (or worse, to offer an unkind gesture) when someone lightly presses their horn, that just kind of makes you look ignorant. Because really, what did you think would happen?

Finally, I know that our highway is a designated "scenic route". However, when you choose to drive 35 mph in a 60 mph zone with no passing lanes and then you ignore the turnout and choose not let people who are late for work pass you, you should expect to have a line of fifteen cars zoom past you on the first dotted line at breakneck speed! And for Heaven's sake, use that finger to drive! We already saw it in the crosswalk anyway!

Sincerely,

The Girl Who Remembers Why She Never Bought a Pellet Gun - Too Tempting

*****

Dear The Wiggles:

I thank God that the one time my daughter accidentally saw a portion of your show she wasn't interested in it in the least. I have had that inane, repetitive, ridiculous song about food (yeah, you know which one) stuck in my head for two days because I heard five seconds of it on an episode of Arrested Development. You guys are singlehandedly turning the minds of America's children into mashed potatoes.

If, however, you are part of a vast and sinister Australian conspiracy to take over the world by 2025... kudos. I couldn't think of a better way to do it than rendering everyone catatonic with that stupid song.

Sincerely,

The Girl Who Can't Think About Smashed Bananas or Cold Spaghetti Without Going Into the Fetal Position

*****

Wow, that was cathartic. Please, take a few minutes to read some of the other links on the Foursons page. I almost always get a giggle or three. And by all means link up! You know you've got some letters you've been meaning to write!

Another Horse

Grandpa Henderson (who Norah calls "Daddy's Grandpa") owns a real, live horse. Annie is not a riding horse, she's a pet. She was so sweet and gentle with Norah. I can't imagine a better horse for her to have her first horsie experience with. Here's the story in pictures:

One Horse

Some close friends gave Norah a stick horse when we came to California to visit. We couldn't take is back on the plane with us, so Grandma and Grandpa brought it out when they came to visit.

Ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh it's my horse!

No, seriously. I love this horse.

Allow me to demonstrate my amazing riding skills.

Hammin' It Up

When Mark's parents came to visit, we had dinner at a nice little patio restaurant. Norah felt it was the perfect time to be silly for the camera. Here are a few highlights:

The view from the patio.

Well, everything just looks so delicious. I can't decide.

Hey, do you know what you're getting?

The infamous "Cheese" face.

Sour Pickle Face.

Posing for the paparazzi.

Stories

I have a ton of things to post, but I also have a ton of things to do. Real life comes first because, you know, if I don't work it makes it hard to eat.

Anyway, Norah has moved beyond sayings to short stories. We'll call them verbal essays. She expounds upon the meaning of various issues pertinent to her life. Here are a few examples:

Every time we see cyclist (which is about every other block this time of year):

"Good dob by-skipple! Mommy, I see by-skipple. Ashee ride-a-bike! See her at our house. Good dob Ashee."

This story refers to the time a few weeks ago when we saw our friend Ashley ride past our house in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic. Read about it here.

"Mommy, train no go our house. Only Grammie's house. Our house too far way. Loud noise at Grammie's, hug hard. Cry only sometimes."

This story points out that the train goes past Grammie's house and makes a loud noise. When it comes by, she hugs Grammie hard. She used to cry, but now only does on occasion. Fortunately, the train does not pass our house close enough to be heard. It's too far away by then.

"Daddy's awesome! Mommy's awesome too!"

"Aw that's nice honey. Are you awesome?"

"No. I'n a bear. Rawwr."

Not sure she actually knows what awesome means. But it's still a good story.

And my personal favorite:

"Nemo got lost Mommy."

"Why did he get lost?"

"No listen to Daddy. Run way."

"Oh, is it important to listen to Daddy?"

"Yeah. An Mommy too."

As far as I'm concerned, Disney/Pixar hit it out of the park with that one!

It's Spring!

In honor of the arrival of warmer weather, I bring to you a Spring haiku. Then a story. Because you know I can't use that few words.

Hummingbirds arrive

Deceptively delicate

Those ravenous beasts

The first weekend I put out my hummingbird feeder, I filled it three times in three days! That means that those little buggers have been eating (drinking? slurping?) two cups of sugar water a DAY! I've counted up to eight clustered around the feeder at the same time (plus two or three more lurking in the trees). That's pretty inconvenient since there's only four little fake flowers from which to partake.

At some point, one of the hoverers gets impatient and pecks one of the drinkers in the back of the head (see the guy on the right side peeking out as if to say, "You'd better not peck me in the head!"). Then they all play Chinese Fire Drill, or maybe the flying version of Musical Chairs, I can't tell. Basically, it looks just like the drinking fountain at an elementary school on a really hot day.

Needless to say, I'm willing to dissolve more sugar into boiling water to keep the fun going. This is what I call cheap entertainment.

PS - That was ORANGE food coloring that I used in the sugar water. I am well aware that in our lovely, sun-drenched yard it looks suspiciously like pee. It is now (and will probably stay) clear. Thankyouverymuch.

Runnin'

After we watched our friend ride past in the Iron Horse, we darted back across the street to head home. I went to put Norah in her stroller so Daddy could push her back up the hill, but she insisted on getting down. I said, "Do you want to try to walk all the way to our house?" She responded, "No. Run!"

Here she is insisting on running up the hill herself.

Here's a view up the hill at the entrance to the neighborhood. Our street is even with the fire hydrant (that tiny red dot waaaaaaay up the hill)

Here she is in full running mode.

Grandma picked her up and ran with her for a few feet to catch up to us. She was NOT excited about that! If she knew how to say, "I'll do it myself!" She would have. Fortunately for us she hasn't learned that one yet.

Rounding the corner to our street.

Not far now!

She did eventually make it. She was only a couple of minutes behind Mark and his dad. All in all, running a quarter mile or so on those tiny legs (uphill no less) was a pretty amazing feat!