platypus

The older Kenny gets, the more we have to watch not just we do in front of him, but what we say. His vocabulary is expanding by leaps and bounds, so neither of us wants to be responsible for the first profanity (or profanity-esque comment) to emanate from Mr. K.

As all married couples do, Overboard and I can get a little snippy with each other from time to time, especially when in the middle of a raging debate about who may or may not have left the toothpaste uncapped and on the counter for the 321st night in a row (the offending party's name possibly rhymes with "Shmoverboard").

To avoid bickering in front of Kenny, or even speaking in any sort of unpleasant tone, we have devised a code word: Platypus.

When things start to get heated, one of us clearly says, "Platypus" to the other and the conversation ends (to be potentially continued later when Kenny isn't around). It's a pretty effective technique, and only mildly abused.

I just can't wait for the day when we start going at it and Kenny looks up and says, very firmly, "Daddy, PLATYPUS." I will be full of both pride and shame. Then I'll seek out a new code word.

what a purim on this kid...

Kenny leads Overboard through the Purim carnival.

The other weekend we went up to the Northbrook JCC for a Purim carnival. A lot of the kids were in costumes, since Purim is like the Jewish Halloween, but with a more detailed backstory and a definitive bad guy. Kenny, however, was dressed as himself. It was a very convincing costume.

Mr. K had a lot of fun running rampant, especially in high-traffic areas where he could get hit by random basketballs or whiffle balls.

Overboard tries to teach Kenny how to keep his eye on the ball and swing for the fences (or in this case, the far wall).

At one point, Kenny got his hands on a basketball and refused to let it go. Not even for cute girls in costumes. He's a man of principles, I suppose.

"Back off, sister, this ball's been claimed. BY ME!"

Our son is so proud that no woman can tempt him (yet).

We also ran into our friends the Carters, and their son Jack, who is close to Kenny's age. With all of the pandemonium and play options, the boys were most amused by the toy sets in the coat room. Go figure.

Kenny and Jack - who is no fan of paparazzi.

Look at the focus on this kid.

kenny's living room adventure

Kenny, Sadie and I mussed around in the living room the other day, looking for adventures and trouble. I'm proud to announce we were successful in both endeavors.


Sadie keeps a lookout to make sure Mommy isn't on her way home. This gives Kenny the opportunity he needs to knock some chairs over and climb in, on and around them.


Sadie heads for her bed while Kenny shows off his new climbing skills. He's hoping it will be an Olympic event come 2024.


Kenny checks out the undercarriage of his Pooh Bear car.


"Hey, Dad, you notice anything odd about my socks? You know, the ones you put on me? Just askin'."

choo-choo

Each morning, Kenny and I drop off Overboard at the train station and then head over to daycare. Usually, we time it just right so we get Overboard to the train right before it arrives. This way, she gets to actually make her train and we get to watch it. For Kenny, this is a highlight of his day. Not the part about saying goodbye to Mommy, but the part about seeing a train.

When the train clears the depot, and Kenny gets a good look at it, his eyes light up and a huge smile overtakes his face. Every time.

Then, we both say (at varying volumes each time), "Choo-choo!"

it's our man in l.a.!

Overboard and Our Man in L.A.

Once again, Our Man in L.A., Chris, came to visit Our Boy in Glenview (and us). We got to spend a fun evening enjoying an awesome meal and even better conversation. Chris is a master storyteller, and I swear that he can make recounting a trip to the grocery store into a comedic epic adventure.

Kenny was happy to show off his swiffer skills and regale Chris with his own stories (they're much shorter, less organized and somewhat louder, but entertaining nonetheless).


"Nobody touches the swiffer but me, you understand?"

the swiffer picker-upper

I don't know what they're teaching Kenny at daycare, but he's discovered a newfound love for the sweeping/mopping hybrid we call "swiffing." He gets a real kick out of taking the swiffer and cleaning up the kitchen floor or living room rug. This is a habit I do not wish to discourage. I mean, at least this way one person in the house will enjoy straightening up the joint.

george

Kenny loves him some Curious George. In addition to his Curious George book, he has a small CG stuffed animal, and we have the CG movie saved on the DVR downstairs. Now, whenever he comes down to the basement, instead of clamoring for his trains, Kenny gives us a hopeful look and asks, "George?" Overboard swears he sounds just like Estelle Costanza when he says it.

On a related note...

There's a sign in our kitchen that was a gift from Overboard's brother and his family that says, "The Rolnick Family. Established 2003." Overboard has gone over it time and time again with Kenny, always asking him, "Who's in the Rolnick family?"

Kenny will then answer, "Mommy, Daddy, Kenny, Sadie!" But lately I've heard him muttering that mantra to himself and adding in a new member of the family.

"Mommy, Daddy, Kenny, Sadie...GEORGE!"

my son the frog

Kenny loves to squat down and then pop back up again while bellowing out, "Ribbit! Ribbit!" He does this a bunch of times as he "hops" across the floor.

I'd like to think this has something to do with all of the old Muppet Show clips I've shown him on YouTube, but I think he just likes frogs. Now, if he started flailing his arms around while introducing variety acts, then I'd say it was the Kermit influence. For now, he just likes frogs.

Ribbit, ribbit.

the escape artist

Funny story from daycare...

The daycare setup has two areas, one for the younger kids that's "fenced in" and another more open area for the older kids. When they need to keep some of the younger kids contained they put them in the fenced in area. Kenny is right on the border of being a big kid, but he's not quite there yet. However, Mr. K doesn't necessarily believe that to be true.

Recently, the daycare ladies were placing him in the little kids area only to see him surface a few minutes later in the big kids area. He did this a number of times and they couldn't figure out how he was doing it.

Finally, they placed him in the fenced in little kids area, walked away, but kept an eye peeled to see what he'd do.

When he figured no one was looking, Kenny went over to the plastic toy house that acts as part of the barrier, moved it out of the way, slipped out, then (and this is the best part) moved the house back into place to cover his tracks.

That's one crafty kid and we couldn't be prouder (so long as he doesn't use his new stealth techniques on us at home).

splashy splashy

Kenny throughly enjoys bath time. What he doesn't enjoy is being told that it's time to get out. To delay the inevitable, he has developed a new strategy: When Mommy or Daddy ask him if he's done and ready to get out, he vigorously splashes around. This happens multiple times, as we continue to ask and he continues to splash. Eventually, we just have to pull him out. This is met with a less than favorable response. Such is life.

i think his feet are ticklish

In our never-ending search for things that make Kenny giggle, laugh, guffaw or fall apart in hysterics, we may have found another winner.

c-h-i-c-a-g-o!

We have this world's fair poster in our kitchen and Overboard has been helping Kenny practice his alphabet by spelling out "Chicago" during meals. He's gotten really good at it, and loves to shout out, "C-H-I-C-A-G-OOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

He also loves to point out the airplane and give that a big shout-out as well. Doesn't spell it, though. Oh well, one thing at a time.

holy moley

Kenny has developed his first mole or two (I noticed one on his back the other week), and as to be expected, he pulls off his new look with style and class. If his parents are any sort of mole bellwether, he'll have plenty more of these things before he's done.

Hopefully, he'll get a few cool ones like his folks. Overboard has a mole in the shape of a star on her shoulder, and I have a cluster on the left side of my abdomen that looks just like the little dipper.

Okay, that's all I've got on that one.