Holding Back for a Haircut

Cameron got his hair cut today, by a woman who is apparently unfamiliar with typical childhood development.  "How old are you?"  she asked Cameron as he hopped up on the seat.

"I'm six.  Almost seven!"

"Well, you are sooooo handsome!  Such a handsome widdle guy!  I'm going to cut your hair with this funny little tickle-buzz-buzz!"

Cameron gave me a quizzical look in the mirror and I shrugged.

"Can you look at you tummy-tum? Can you close your eyes like you're soooooo sleepy, it's time for beddy-bye?" she simpered at him throughout the haircut.

When we walked out, Cameron's hair very nicely cut but his manly pride wounded, I said, "Cameron, thank you for being polite.  I don't think she understood how big six year olds are."

"Yeah!" he said.  "And she was rough with that comb.  I felt like saying to her, 'Hey lady, that's my head!  And it's got nerves in it and a BRAIN inside it!"

I am deeply relieved that he had the self-control NOT to say that!

An investment in his future

Summer is for swimming, especially when the summer temperature seems to be averaging about eleventy sevenish degrees. 

I think swimming tends to be a bit more fun if you know how to swim, so Cameron has been taking lessons all summer.  He has loved every minute of it, declaring it "a rating of 80 fun" which is a tie for first place with Lego camp.  High praise indeed!

Matthew started the summer off fairly hesitant about the water, which I believe was in part because he felt it infinitely preferable to take advantage of the basketball court nearby.  He's been won over, though, by the cool water and recently decided that he wanted to learn how to swim.  I promptly signed him up with Cameron's teacher.  He went happily to his first lesson, although from a distance I could hear him repeatedly answering, "No.  No, I don't sink so.  No, I can't do that," in his gravelly little voice to all of the teacher's questions.  Despite his pessimism, he was going under by the end of the lesson.

The next lesson found Matthew a bit more hesitant.  He stood his ground that he would not be going under water (although he later let me dunk him) and instead practiced his breathing to the side and his arm movements.  Which are infinitely more useful if you'll put your face in but, whatever, we'll get there!

Our drive to swim lessons has proved to be the most interesting part of the story however.  It's about a, oh, I don't know . . . three minute drive to the pool.  And I should know by now that three minutes is plenty of time to get in trouble.  Halfway there, Matthew said, "Mommy, I ate some money.  Can we go home and get a drink of water?"

I nearly drove off the road.  "WHAT?!?!  You ate what?"

"That money.  I ate a penny aaannnddd I sink I want some water."  You know.  To wash it down. 

All is well, although Matthew is still one penny richer.

Accessories

Matthew is growing up, and part of growing up is making your own decisions.  Matthew has decided that he will make the decisions about what he is going to wear, and for the most part I have allowed him this freedom.  Which is why he went to the museum like this:

That's a basketball shirt, jean shorts, soccer shin guards and water shoes.  Which, apparently, is THE look for this season. 

I'm so out of touch!  I mean, I haven't worn shin guards and water shoes since, what, summer of '82 maybe?  But not paired with jean shorts, of course.  That would be lame.  I used to wear mine with the neon kulots and the off the shoulder sweatshirt.

Halfway to Halloween

Halfway to finishing our costumes, that is.  Cameron decided to be Dumbledore which sparked a whole Harry Potter theme.  Next up was a Hedwig the Snowy Owl costume for Matthew.  I fear he may be mistaken for a cute little girl dressed as an angel, with all the feathery boa trimmings and wings.  If you look closely, though, his hood has a beak, big yellow owl eyes and some little feathery ears.  It's adorable!  He is insistent that he, too, needs a wand though so . . . we might have an owl wizard trick or treating this year.  Now it's on to a Tonks costume for me and a Harry Potter costume for David!

This tall

Random cute thing Matthew does:  Tells people, "I'm big.  See?  I'm about this tall."  And he places his hand on the top of his head.

Projects with Dad

David is an awesome dad.  He and Cameron have been working on some basic robotics together, since Cameron has been dreaming of building a robot for years now.  In the course of researching their robot, David became fascinated with the idea of . . . and I'm sure I'm going to get this wrong . . . building a laminar flow water shooter?  He asked me to pick up some straws at the grocery store and when I came home with a box of 100 he said, "Ohhhh.  Uh, I don't think that's going to be enough for the laminar flow project.  But maybe it'll do for a first experiment."

Somehow, the straws, some PVC and our garden hose were transformed into a water shooter.  I guess the part you are supposed to be impressed by here is that there are no drips of water, just a smooth archway.  In any case, the boys love it and had a blast working on it with their dad!

Cameron Writes

Cameron has been doing a lot of writing lately.  He asked me to work on writing a juvenille fiction book with him -- I don't want to give anything away, but it involves villains, noodles and a mild-mannered hero.  While that's in progress, Cameron decided on his own to write a book for Matthew.  He hid it and worked on it each night after Matthew went to bed.  When he finished, he couldn't stop smiling and said, "I just can't wait to see Matthew's face when he sees this!"  As soon as Matthew woke up the next morning, Cameron presented him with the book and read it to him.  To my great relief, Matthew was appropriately enthusiastic.  Here are a few pages.

Cameron has also been leaving notes, which are not always as sweet as his book.  He sets an alarm for 7 a.m. each morning, but he didn't wake with his alarm earlier this week.  Thinking I was being nice, I turned it off and let him sleep in until 8 a.m.  When he woke up, he was furious that I had let him oversleep.  Last night, I found this note propped against a sleeping Cameron.  He apparently was pretty tired when he penned it, as it is full of backwards numbers and mispellings.  "WAK Me UP 7:00AM," it reads.  "P.S. NO MAter Wut."  In case I was unconvinced, he added a bribe of 25 cents.  And, in case I was to tired to comprehend a note, he provided an illustration.  I am not certain if the illustration shows how happy he will be or how happy I will be if I comply, and how unhappy he/I will be if I fail, once again, to wake him up!