"I Drive!!" (2 Going on 16)

Roan's latest obsession is pretending to drive the Subaru. He LOVES putting music CDs in and out of the stereo, pressing all the buttons, and looking in the mirrors. When he's in his car seat (and painfully not in control), he shouts out requests, referring to CDs by name. Here is a typical conversation with Roan in the car:

"Mama, listen Mooo-sic class tunes!!"

"How do you ask nice?"

"Pwweease!"

"Mama, youder [louder]!"

"How do you ask?"

"Youder, pwease."

"Mama, crack-crack [cracker]."

"How do you ask nice?"

"Mama, pwease, crack-crack."

"Mama, I listen 'Once' [soundtrack]!"

"Mama, youder!"

"Good song!" (clapping at the end of a song)

"Mama, I hear trash truck."

"Mama, can't see trash truck."

"OOooooo, mama wook! Dump truck!"

"Mama, wa--er [water]."

"How do you ask nice?"

"Pwwease, mama, wa--er."

And on, and on, and on...

$.25 Horse

This joy ride is a bona fide flashback from my childhood in the 70s. I lived for these rides, especially upon tortuous trips to Wal-Mart and the grocery store with my mom ("I'm only stopping for a gallon of milk" - this was the BIG LIE and bane of our precious playtime - not to mention my mom was the #1 chattiest person south of the Chicago city line, which added another 73 minutes to each errand). I practically got goose bumps slipping a quarter into the slot as the vintage equestrian hunk of metal instantaneously lurched forward with a carnival zeal that would tickle a liability lawyer's sensibility. And these were no cheapskate rides. At $.25, this horse keeps going and going and going...So, if you're in the neighborhood of Belvedere Square, look for the horse in front of "Brat Decor." Plop your kid on. Or ride it yourself (there's no breakable plastic on this dandy of a relic).

Excavation!

Subtitle: Life Beyond Roan's Wildest Dreams OR
Uncle Chuck is the Greatest Guy on Earth (after Dada of course)

Picture this - while lounging around a scrumptious bonfire and roasting marshmellows, frogs burping in the night, the hills of LaValette, West Virginia suddenly come alive with a bright light, a high-pitched "ERR-ER-ER-ER," the rumble of gravel, and then the earth-shattering sound of, say, a colossal woodpecker echoing through the trees. It is:
A) An alien landing
B) A colossal woodpecker
C) Your two-year old son driving a John Deer excavator and operating the jackhammer on a slab of concrete 30 feet away.

Hint: The gods of Truck Heaven looked favorably upon Roan that night.


If we had a dollar for every time Roan said "TRUCK!" these last couple of years (universally applied to anything larger than a car), we could send him to the $15,000/year private school down the road from us. But who needs Lacrosse when nothing makes your kid happier than construction?

A Day Out with Thomas

For a kid like Roan, this is better than Santa Clause (in fact, he was afraid of Sir Topham Hat the way many kids are afraid of Santa Clause). However, because he was SO excited and wanted to do everything 450mph, it ended up being a somewhat painful experience for him as he was continually frustrated by our efforts to contain his wild Thomas frenzy. He wanted to run in all directions at once, and he threatened to hit, grab, shove, or throw a stone at any child who got in his way. Waiting in line for his turn at anything was a downright existential crisis. And of course with everything, he wants to "do it self," so trying to help him only further thwarts his self will run riot. So, we may have underestimated all the struggling we were in for, but in spite of it all, it was a great experience, and we were amazed and impressed with the vast world and enterprise of Thomas fans and marketers. Roan was one of throngs of children geared up in their Thomas hats and t-shirts, pouring in from a gigantic parking lot in old industrial Baltimore. If only the Rev. could see the scale of investment, preservation, fun and creativity that has spawned from his original stories, we think it would blow his mind.

Wheels

Roan LOVES to drive these little cars. We recently bought him his very own "Cosy Coupe" at a yard sale and put it on the balcony for him. Best $1.50 we ever spent.

Chef Roan

Cooking remains one of Roan's favorite activities. Here he is with his birthday present from Mama and Dada - a vintage style red kitchen set that Casey, Lavina, and Heather worked until midnight to put together. When he's in the mood to cook, he exclaims, "cooking stuff!!"