You know what I do every time someone breaks my legos or I break them on purpose? I build something even cooler!
— Griffin
Tag Archives: Griffin
Poppies at Sunset
We were learning about Claude Monet. He’s an artist. All the people who saw his art just laughed at it and made fun of it and even thrown it in the garbage because he just did blobs but that was his way. Impressionism. We looked at lots of paintings. I liked the one with the flowers and the pink house.
This one painting is about his house is covered in green. I made his house yellow. You can barely see the yellow because it is his house and it is covered with grass. The red spots are poppies and sun. The name is Poppies at Sunset.
Mama 4 Daddy 0
“Daddy, how is mama going to use this to make soap?”
“That’s a good question, Griffin. I have no idea. Your mama is better at lots of things than I am, and making soap is one of those things.”
“Are you better at some things?”
“Yes, of course!”
“Are you better at craft projects?”
“No.”
“Are you better at soccer?”
“No, mama’s better at all sports.”
“Are you better at singing?”
“No… Â It’s bedtime! Get moving buster.”
Phew.
I’m Part Selkie
[This is the first post that Griffin has authored himself. I’m just following his instructions. – Andrew]
Today I learned about selkies at preschool. Selkies are magic seals. Selkies can turn into humans and when it’s nighttime they can take off their skin. I am part selkie because of the twinkle in my eye and also I like to swim. Selkies live in Ireland. They like eating sushi and swimming. They eat fish also. Â Selkies are so silly and funny. I like learning about selkies. This is my first day of learning about selkies. Bye bye!
Criminal Mastermind
Griffin, Maggie, and I stopped at Uncle Sven’s Comic Shoppe yesterday to buy some new comics for Griffin and the second volume of Brian K. Vaughan’s Saga for me. (It’s so, so good.)
When we arrived, Griffin changed course and homed in on the candy rack, grabbing a yellow bag of Skittles. He maintained that he had no interest in comics anymore and just wanted candy. He used his best little baby voice (so annoying!) and squeaked, “Please… candy… skittles…”
I was firm, “No, Griffin, that’s not why we are here; we’re heading home to have dinner in a minute; sugar is evil; you’re an addict; etc.” Commence whining, so I ignored him. (I pretty sure this is all in that parenting book.) I noticed, however, that Comic Shop Dude (CSD) kept a suspicious eye on Griff.
Griffin held onto the Skittles, but began showing more interest in comics. (Ignoring totally works.) After some serious conversations with CSD about various titles, Griff settled on the latest issue of the regular Scooby Doo and a Scooby Doo Team-Up. I don’t know much about comics, but I think the “Team-Up” line is DC’s way of transitioning kids to real superheroes like Batman. Inevitably, Saga was out of stock, because everybody else knows how good it is. (Why didn’t he write it just for me??? I found it at Barnes and Noble later; don’t tell CSD.)
Time to check out. I’ve got the comics and am pulling out my wallet. CSD, still eyeing Griffin, shakes his head grimly, tsks like my grandmother, and asks Griffin to please remove the Skittles from under his coat. Yes, my four-year-old just got caught trying to shoplift some Skittles. Awesome.
Actually, CSD was pretty great, giving Griffin a very stern but developmentally appropriate talk about how important it is not to steal stuff. Griffin was clearly embarrassed and meekly put the Skittles back in the rack. For good measure I added something about heavily armed police and a lifetime behind bars. (That  parenting book said something about ninja parents wielding fear and exaggeration.)
Lesson learned? Or Lex Luthor reborn? Stay tuned.
PS: I would have finished Saga, Volume 2, last night except I forced myself to put it away so I could have more tonight.
Ice Castle
The Inspiration
Preparations for a more modest structure
Construction
Ice Castle!
Two Plates
In the interest of science, I present the following two exhibits.
Exhibit One
February 15, 2014 photo of Maggie’s place setting after her breakfast. Rather than looking at the cute heart plate, observe the clean black tablecloth around the edge. Maggie is 21 months old.
Exhibit Two
February 15, 2014 photo of Griffin’s place setting after his breakfast. Note the tablecloth. Griffin is 4 years, 10 months old.
Additional Data
- The photo of Griffin’s spot was taken after he had already attempted to clean up his area.
- Breakfast menu was identical (strawberry shortcake with crumbly biscuits) except that Maggie declined the strawberries and requested a poached egg. (To my eye, the strawberries and egg had similar properties — slipperiness, difficulty of fork stabbing, etc. — so these data are still valid.)
- Both ate with forks and occasional fingers.
- Both had similar napkins.
- Neither had substantial adult intervention.
- This situation is not an anomaly. Maggie’s area is typically significantly cleaner than Griffin’s, although she has notably inferior control of her fork and other eating tools.
Hypotheses
Competing explanations:
- Developmental stages. When Maggie is four, she will be just as messy. Was Griffin more fastidious when he was one? Memories are fuzzy and unreliable, but I don’t think so. We can test this in a few years with another set of pictures. (Strawberry shortcake for breakfast, February 15, 2017!) Update: See Two Plates, Revisited for the 2017 results.
- Core personalities. Griffin’s gene mix is less inclined toward maintaining a clean environment. (There is some evidence to support this from other arenas.)
- Parenting. Our methods of teaching Griffin and Maggie were somehow different, leading to these divergent results.
- Gender. I’m often skeptical of this, but perhaps there is a gender component.
- As a nod to my years in California, I shouldn’t omit the possibility of planetary influences… Aries vs. Taurus, anyone?
- Or, the Chinese lunar calendar was big in my family, so maybe it’s an Ox vs. Dragon thing!
Ooh Ice!
Griffin and I spent some time bonding today. Walked to the barbershop, the comic store, and then stopped by a local pub for lunch and some pinball.
At the pub we visited the men’s room. The urinal was full of ice. (Why? I don’t know. Maybe they dump their ice there since it will never melt if they dump it outside.) Before I have even registered the scene, Griffin says, “Ooh, ice!!!” and plunges his hands in. Yes, into the covered-with-pee ice in the bathroom at the bar.
At which point I screamed incoherently.
Interesting Fruit
Griffin came downstairs early this morning while I was working. I asked him if he needed a banana or something to tide him over until breakfast. He said, “Yes, I’ll go look in the fruit basket.”
A few minutes later, after hearing furniture moving around and cabinet doors banging, Griffin returns, holding up a box of cookies and a bag of jelly beans.
And lest anyone think he was passing up last month’s shriveled plums, we maintain a well-stocked shrine to the fruit gods.
Magic
Griffin, this morning, while eating some fresh biscuits that we made together:
“Isn’t ingredients like magic? You put them together and they turn into something!”
Then, a few minutes later, “I think I want to be a magician.”