A Few Random Observations

Felix: Wilhelmina will be so excited to see you wearing Oscar pants.

Felix: Cosmo is a crusty aardvark.

Felix: An exclamation point means you say it a little louder. (Reading a book cover:) HANUKAH!
Felix is alternating between exhilaration at the idea of going to Salt Lake City to see "Uncle Sean and Auntie Kirstin and your cousins Oscar and Wilhelmina" and utter dejection that it is not happening RIGHT NOW:

Felix: (Sadly.) You're not going to ride on a taxi to the airport. You're not going to Salt Lake City.
Keir: Yes, we're going in just a couple of days!
Felix: You're not doing nothing.

Last night and this morning he built "Salt Lake City" out of Legos. He is aware, however, that SLC is "not our city," in contrast to "CHICAGO!" which is, of course, "our city."

A Few Random Pictures:

Our Next President

In the spirit of catching up, I've scribbled some choice quotes on post-its over the last couple of weeks....

* * *

Felix came home with a nasty scrape on his forehead.

Felix: You were pretending to be a vacuum cleaner and you got a rug burn so you got a band-aid.

* * *

The other night, Felix was whispering to himself after I tucked him in.

Felix: You had milk and pizza on an airplane. The faucets turn off all by themselves.

* * *

After an ill-considered lurch to the side while using the toilet, Felix's Sesame Street toilet seat got a little messy.

Felix: Elmo is eating poop.

* * *

The other day, Marya was prepping Felix for our big outing.

Marya: Oh, Felix, I forgot to tell you about something we're going to see when we go downtown today. We're going to see the city Christmas tree. It's the biggest Christmas tree you've ever seen.
Felix: You're going to knock over the Christmas tree.

* * *

As Felix's mastery of the toilet grows, so, too does his desire to use it without meddling.

Felix: You want to close the door.
Keir: Felix, daddy and mommy and teachers are allowed to keep the door open.
Felix: Daddy and mommy and teachers are not allowed to keep the door open.
Keir: Daddy and mommy and teachers ARE allowed to keep the door open.
Felix: Daddy and mommy and teachers are not allowed to keep the door open any more.

* * *

Once, in a state of extreme exasperation--Felix refused to stop kicking the toilet roll--I told him that, if he didn't stop, I would take it off the wall and put it away forever. It worked, but now he won't let me forget what I said. He quotes it often. And strangely, he adds a number at the end, as if quoting chapter and verse.

Keir: Felix, stop that, please.
Felix: "If you don't stop I will take it off the wall and put it away forever." Five fifty-five!

* * *

This morning when we talked into the school, Felix stopped in the doorway and announced to Ron and Juanita, the guards:

Felix: I'm fine, thank you.
Ron: Good morning.
Juanita: Nice to see you.
Felix: That is an upside-down stop sign.
(Indeed. They use it to guide traffic outside the school when it's not resting upside-down on the window sill.)
Juanita: Yes, it is.
Felix: S-T-O-P spells "stop."
Keir: (Thinking about all the unkind things he's said about precocious children in the past.) Say goodbye, Felix.
Juanita: He's going to be our next President.

Where to begin?

Every few days we say about a new Cosmix-ism: "we should put this on the blog". Woefully behind, we'll try to catch up starting now.

Last weekend the boys met Santa for the first time. In explaining the custom of sitting on Santa's lap and asking for presents, we suggested that Felix could request a toy, a truck, a piano. When Santa asked "What do you want for Christmas?" Felix replied "A crazy aardvark".

Much more to come soon.

P.S. Cosmo turned 8 months and Felix turned 2.5 years this week!

Their Own Men

Felix is on his sixth day of potty training today and he's doing an amazing job. Yesterday morning when we got to school I took him to the bathroom, and, once he was comfortable on the seat....

Felix: You want to close the door.
Keir: Do you want me inside our outside.
Felix: You want me to be outside.
Keir: (Dutifully closing the door and standing outside, holding the door closed with his fingers just peeking over the top.)
Felix: You want me to let go of the door.
Keir: (Dutifully letting go of the door.)

* * *

And Cosmo is getting ready to crawl! He has a perfect butt-in-the-air, starting-blocks stance, but then flops down on his tummy. But last night he was pulling himself forward with his hands and elbows. He's going to put it all together soon, I can tell. At daycare they're already moving him to the toddler side because he is pulling up on everything.

Go Cosmo, go!

Serious Numbers

Felix loves numbers and counting. This morning we did some serious counting on the way to school.

Felix: ...seventy-eight, seventy-nine--what number comes after that one?
Keir: Eighty.
Felix: Eighty-one, eighty-two, eighty-three, eighty-four, eighty-five, eighty-six, eighty-seven, eighty-eight, eighty-nine--what number comes after that one?
Keir: Ninety.
Felix: Ninety-one, ninety-two, ninety-three, ninety-four, ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine--what number comes after that one?
Keir: One hundred.
Felix: Eleventy-one, eleventy-two, eleventy-three, eleventy-four....

His teacher, Miss Carol, told me that yesterday she put him to sleep at naptime by counting to two hundred. Later, she asked him what comes before two hundred and he said "One hundred!" She believes he will be a physicist. She also wants him to learn Chinese.

* * *

It's Felix's fourth day in big-boy underwear, or what we sometimes encouragingly call, "Oscar underwear." This morning Felix wanted to wear a pair of his "Oscar pants" (swishy, nylon shell track pants).

Felix: You look just like Oscar.

No More Diapers for Felix

What did we do this weekend?

As promised...

We had a great time with Grandpa Tom a few weeks ago.


Here's Felix at his favorite exhibit at the nature museum.


For Halloween Cosmo was a little animal with black ears. I intended for him to look like a cat but we decided later that day that he looked more like a bat. And Felix was a knight.


This weekend Felix got his first professional haircut.

I Forgot!

Felix loves numbers. Lately, he's been marching around the house chanting a new number:

Felix: 877-366-8924...877-366-8924...

That's the number to call if you want to pledge money to WBEZ, Chicago's NPR affiliate.

* * *

Felix is showing more and more interest in the potty, and we're planning to make the switch to big-boy underwear next weekend. Of course, one of his favorite things about using the toilet is flushing it. This has caused an interesting update on our environmentally friendly "if it's yellow, let it mellow" policy. The other morning, after peeing, I turned around to wash my hands. I heard racing footsteps and looked up in time to see Felix charging down the hallway, a maniacal grin on his face.

Felix: I forgot! I forgot to flush the toilet!

He pushed past me to the other side of the toilet and flushed once, then again for good measure.

* * *

Pictures this weekend, we promise.

Head-Bonking

Felix has a few rituals he likes to observe on the way in to school each morning. He likes to walk on top of the curbs in the parking lot, to note the air-conditioners in the school windows, and to hang out in the newly built shelter at the back door of the French School. The back door is steel, painted blue, and doesn't have a window. I cautioned Felix a few times about standing in front of it, as someone could come out and bonk him on the head with the door.

Mission overly accomplished. Now, as we walk by the shelter without stopping, Felix gives it a wary glance.

Felix: Someone might bonk you on the head.

I think he now thinks that someone is standing on the other side of the door, just waiting to jump out and bonk him on the head. Well, at least we get to school faster.

Has He Been Listening to Sting?

This morning, as Marya was getting ready to go to work, she gave Felix a hug.

Marya: Goodbye, honey. I love you. I have to go to work now.
Felix: We'll be together some day.

* * *

Earlier, while simultaneously hobbling down the hall and tugging the hems of his pajama bottoms downward:

Felix: You don't want your ankles to get chilly.

Learning to spell

Felix can spell a handfull of words:

"F-E-L-I-X spells Felix"

"C-O-S-M-O spells Cosmo"

"M-O-M spells Mom"

and usually, "D-A-D spells Dad."

But on Sunday it was different:
"D-A-D spells no."

Fine Distinctions

On Fridays, we bring Felix's nap blanket home from school so we can wash it. For some reason, he wanted to carry it. He made it down the stairs, out the door, and on to the sidewalk before he dropped it. He stopped and stared at it.

Felix: That's trash.

There are so many fine distinctions to explain. If we make him throw dropped food away, why not a blanket?

* * *

Last night, Felix was being especially silly before bedtime.

Felix: You are flapping your arms like an airplane.

* * *

As we make the transition to complete bottle-feeding, Cosmo (and we) are having some rough nights. But he's growing fast. He can sit up by himself and hardly ever falls over, and tooth number five is coming down. And he eats cereal and pureed fruit like nobody's business.

* * *

We're having a fun time with Grandpa Tom. Pictures soon!

Auntie Iris

We had a super weekend, Auntie Iris.
Thanks for coming!

















































Felix and Cosmo's first bath together.

Finally, He's as Big as Cooper

Cosmo went to the doctor yesterday for his six-month checkup. His new stats: 16 lbs. and 27.5". Now we know why our shoulders are so sore.

Is This How Evel Knievel Started Out?

The other day, I was in the living room and Marya was in our bedroom while Felix and Cosmo were in their room. There was a loud thump, and then we both heard Felix's voice.

Felix: You are jumping over Cosmo.

We rushed into the room and found two grinning boys. Cosmo, lying on his back, was smiling up at Felix, who had just jumped over him.

Later we explained how Cosmo is still squishy and therefore not eligible for games of "Cosmo Slam." Yes, just like Cooper.

Felix: You can't play Cooper Slam.

Mango Shake

Felix: "We are going to Argyle street. Yay! Argyle is your favorite street."

As many of you know, Argyle is our neighborhood's "main street" and is home to lots of restaurants featuring among many other yummy items, fruit shakes and bubble teas. Here's Felix enjoying a mango shake after a meal of fried spring rolls and rice noodles.

What Dragons Like

We've been singing "Puff the Magic Dragon" this week, which seems to have replaced "MacPherson's Lament" as Felix's favorite song. It figures--"Puff" has a real downer ending, too. This morning, while I was getting dressed and Felix was playing in his room, I heard him say, "He wants to hear the song." I peeked around the corner and saw that Felix had both opened our jumbo songbook to the correct page and dragged his stuffed dragon over for a look. First I melted into a gooey puddle, then I ran outside shouting, "My god, he's only two years old!"



Later, Felix brought the dragon into the bathroom.

Felix: He likes to drink milk.
Keir: Your dragon?
Felix: Yeah.
Keir: What does he like to eat? Does he like to eat pizza?
Felix: No. (Like, duh, dad.)
Keir: Does he like to eat horsemeat?
Felix: Yeah!!

Then we went to school.

He's Already Gnawed through the Slats on His Crib

I've been too busy to post this week, but I did just want to share one important fact: Cosmo is now cutting his THIRD tooth. An upper. So those gummy nibbles are starting to get a little dicey....

Weekend Fun

A few weekends ago we took Felix downtown. It's been a while since he made the commute for school, so it was very exciting for him. We went for a ride on the train around the Loop, then went to the Bean...


And last weekend had some fun in the park...

Cosmo x 3