March

It is still cold, but we are starting to venture outside.

Lani Lou Funny Guy

At the table, Lani puts the back of his hand over his mouth, wiggles his fingers, and makes wah wah wah noises.  He puts his foot on the table, on and off, on and off.  Roan eggs him on.  Roan laughs and says, "Lani Lou's a funny guy!"

When they're riding bikes, Lani rides with no hands.  Roan (who I've never seen take his hands off the handle bars) can't believe it.  "Put your hands back on!" he says.  And then, "what a funny guy."

When I'm sitting on the floor, Lani stands behind me and hits my shoulders, then hides when I turn around.  He will trash any laundry pile, fling clothes through the air, laughing.  Roan hangs underwear on his ear and laughs like a maniac.  I'll admit, that one is pretty funny.

In the car, Lani Lou makes this gurgle / shriek sound.  He laughs at himself and says, "aga," which is how he says again.  And then he gurgle / shrieks again.  He cracks himself up every time.

Roan tells him to blow a kiss, and he blows a kiss.  Roan tells him to go in circles, and he spins in circles until he falls down.  He is such a ham.

The Polar SS

It is unfortunate that Roan, my Jewish son, is obsessed with The Polar Express, a story about a train that takes children to the North Pole to meet Santa.

It is even more unfortunate that when he talks about it at his Jewish preschool, which is pretty much all the time, he pronounces it so that it sounds like "The Polar SS."  I have had several parents ask me what the Polar SS is all about, because their children are talking about it, and they heard about it from Roan.  Last week alone five Jewish women asked me to explain the Polar SS.

"It's the not the SS," I say, "that's just how Roan says the word "express.""  And the moms or teachers are relieved.

"It's this great story of a train ride," I explain, "about a bunch of kids who take this crazy midnight express train to the North Pole."  The moms and teachers seem interested. "And then they, um, you know, meet Santa Claus," I say.  The moms and teachers look concerned all over again.