Scar-isms

These are all the things Scarlett said, which I emailed myself and never posted.


October 3:
 "Will you send me pictures of phones?  Different phones you can buy me when I'm bigger?"

(After the chair fell over as she ran by) "Sorry that I bumped you, chair"

"Cuddling is hugging and laying down"

Char: "You're a pretty cute kid, Scar"

Scar: "You're a pretty cute kid, Dad"

Father's Day
"Dad, I'm gonna give you a kiss AND make you a present."

June 28:

"Daddy, guess what's special about today?  Arnie is turning FIFTY-TWO!  He was thirty-two and now he's turning fifty-two."

 

May 24

(on a drive to Seattle)

Parent: Scarlett, what are your favorite things to look at?

"Only you and daddy and the water slides."

Our Newest Turtle

School

(blog post from Tuesday)

Today, I sat in a corner and just watched Scarlett's classroom for a half-hour.  There are parent-teacher conferences coming up, and this is part of the process, and I've been dying to know Scar does all day so I have been looking forward to this.  Charlie gets to go one morning next week.  Here's what I observed:

• Scarlett painting at the easel wearing a paint smock over her very thick winter coat
• Kids whispering and pointing, 'whose mom is that?'
• A little boy standing on a rug, sighing 'nobody wants to have a conversation with me'
• An older boy, probably 5, sitting at a table for the entire time I was there, drawing pictures of fruit cut in half. He was looking at cards with the fruit and drawing exact copies.
• Teachers holding kids hands and walking around the room with them
• Scarlett walking slowly around the room. This happened a lot, in 30 minutes.
• Scarlett eating a snack in the corner, far far away from me

Sometimes she's a big kid to me, because she talks so much, she knows just what she wants.  But in class, she just looked small and quiet compared to those other kids.

Tomorrow is the class trip to the pumpkin patch. Adorable pictures to follow.

Songwriter

Scarlett sang me some songs she wrote, titles are in bold with lyrics follwing

 

A Frog Once Went to the Pond

(lyrics to this are the title sang over & over, with some laughing)

The Frog Once Went to Sit With Dinner Friends At School

The Frog Once Went to Eat With Dinner Friends At His School

But then he decided to go home

It says ‘oooom!’ at the end

 

The Ox Went Away

The Ox Once went away for a day

But then it came back for matrovian and dinner and he told me of his lives

Then it says ‘Bringggggggggg off’

Bring Off

The frog once went away for the afternoon

Pumpkins!

Fall is my favorite season, and it's not just about the apples.  Or Halloween candy, or my birthday.  There are also pumpkins  Someone is out there reading this, saying, but Emily HATES pumpkin!  And you're right, I do, I think pumpkin pie and lattes and ice cream are the worst.  But pumpkins themselves make for really cute, happy trips to the pumpkin patch with friends.  

There were also pony rides.  At first, Scarlett said no to the pony ride.  But after watching the other kids, and picking out a pumpkin, and scrubbing the pumpkin (pumpkin scrubbing is also a thing she does at school), then she was game.  This horse is named Molly, it was the smallest horse but later, telling Charlie about it, Scar would say it was the BIGGEST horse.

Apples!

It takes surprisingly little time to pick 50 pounds of apples...

Future Athletes of America

I just got home from NYC today.  I saw my first Broadway show- Once, which was perfect just as the movie is perfect- and I ordered a $14 glass of wine just so I could patron the on-stage bar.  A few things I learned, so I can blend in better next time:

• Don't call intermission 'half-time'
• Don't hurry across the street. Dare the cars to hit you, like a true New Yorker.
• The 'hot nuts' stands (those nuts are awesome) are on every corner, until the time when I actually want the nuts.  Last night, I walked around for almost a half-hour looking for one, so I could bring some home to Scar.

And so, on to the real blog topic.

The day before Erin and Maggie's 26.2, the kids did their own race.  Here are Ramona and Scarlett, getting all pumped up for their kid race.  They ran a quarter-mile around a track, then did some obstacle courses, had bouncy house time, and drank chocolate milk. 

Dance-party warm-up.

Kids running is such an adorable site.

Last year Scar was wary of the bouncy house obstacle course but this year she loved it and went through it over and over. 

They also had some laying-down-on-the-ground time:

And a kiddo obstacle course.  When it gets warm, I want to set something like this up in the backyard, with tires to jump through and something to duck underneath.  That way, Scarlett and Ramona can train for the apocalypse.

I Love Marathoners

Yesterday, my two most hardcore friends ran the Portland Marathon, on a beautiful sunny day.  I'm beaming with pride just thinking about it, how many miles they have run this summer to prepare.  ERIN AND MAGGIE, I AM SO PROUD OF BOTH OF YOU!!

We did some cheering, along the way:

 

I did a little running at the end, to help them along, and we sang Lean On Me and chanted.  They ran 18 miles before I caught up with them, but they mostly seemed fine at the end.  A little tired, achey, ready to be done, but overall much more cheerful and determined than anyone has to be after so much distance.  Here they are, looking strong and pretty badass as the finish:

We also cheered on Grandma, who was kicking major ass at the half-marathon.  She stopped to get a Scarlett hug along the way.

Then early this morning, I got on a plane to NYC for work.  Scarlett fell asleep in the car last night, on the way home from dinner for Aunt Sally's birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY SALLY!!!) so I didn't get to say a formal goodbye before I left.  I don't get to help make her lunch this week, or snuggle with her in her new bed.  She is happy at home with dad, and tonight when we spoke it was easier to understand her little high-pitch voice, but still, I miss being there for her nights and mornings.  The good news is, she loaned me her pink suitcase with the frog on it, because I promised to bring it home filled with presents.