Yogi-master or criminal mastermind?!

TODAY Jack shared a clearly articulated memory from his day with me -- unprompted and out of the blue, which was kind of unusual. It came at bedtime when I was reading him books. He said:

"(insert cousin name here)* went to jail."

I said: "He went to jail? What did he do?"

"He took away my bike. He got a time out."

Me:  "Did he tell you he was sorry?"

Jack: "Yes. He was naughty to Jack. He took my bike. He got a time-out."

Not sure where he learned about jail. Smart that he related it to time-out. Toddlers do have genius, criminal minds when it comes right down to it.

I decided to write about this little conversation with him because I was so surprised when he randomly and calmly brought up this event (*names have been changed to protect the innocent. After all, I wasn't with him when the recalled event happened, and Jack has been known to let his imagination run wild). I found it interesting that this memory just happened to make him look like the good guy being picked on by the (ahem, younger) bully cousin. Then I remembered what I learned in my yoga class yesterday: our brains relish (and for adults, often get stuck in) re-running memories that feed our ego and remind us of just how superior we are in our manners, brains, etc. etc. to others. Obviously, the ego starts its feeding early--and toddlers are famous for their ego-centric selves.

As a side note, Jack is WAY better at yoga than I am. I came home from my class, only to find him doing a yogi-worthy down dog. Cats and toddlers--can't beat them at the yoga.

Back to toddlers who should spend some time in jail... The SAME day as aforesaid yoga class, I was rushing to get ready to go, only to find that while I had made a quick stop in the bathroom, Jack had used his lightning-fast criminal mind to locate the gigantic re-fill bottle of bathroom hand soap in the hall closet and was as busy as Jackson Pollack in an orange jumpsuit laying down his design on the floor when I emerged. Genius artist? OR criminal master-mind. You decide, once you have a toddler living with you.

By the way, in recalling this memory of him and sharing it with you, I don't feel superior to the toddler mind. Instead, I feel extremely ill-equipped to keep up with that curious, incredible brain! Oh well, at least he is keeping our synapses snapping...and sometimes our patience too!

Down dog! Good dog...

Summer Recap

Jack is tougher than Lake Superior

     Well, summer is coming to a close and we just wanted to recap a little. It was a busy summer to say the least. June found Jack spending a lot of time hanging out with Grandpa and Grandpa L. while Josh performed in "Old Man Brunner Country". In July, we spent some time in Duluth as well as vacationing on Cass Lake. in August, Josh performed in "The Tragedy of Icarus" at The Bryant Lake Bowl as part of The Minnesota Fringe Festival as well as several gigs with his bluegrass band, "The Blue Drifters." Because of the busy schedule, Jack got to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa O. We also spent a few days up north in Park Rapids on Fish Hook lake.
     In September, we visited The Sate Fair. Jack experienced his first bus ride when we rode the shuttle to the State Fair entrance. Jack didn't go on any rides, but we did see plenty of animals which he enjoyed immensely. We also went and saw "Trampled by Turtles" at a free stage but were unable to stay long because it was past Jack's bedtime.
     Jack continues to ask a lot of questions, many of which he already knows the answers to. He knows quite a few colors and is and is familiar with certain numbers and letters. Most recently, he started pooping and peeing in the toilet! We are very proud of him and look forward to more milestones.

Duluth!

On Fish hook Lake

Cass Lake

Delicious diner in Grand Marais

keeping Jack out of Lake Superior