Ivo pics

Burl and us

This article has nothing to do with Burl. I read it a couple days ago and it's so awful it's hard to believe. Born and raised in a North Korean gulag from IHT.

Pretty good reading:

How Not to Talk to Your Kids: The Inverse Power of Praise by Po Bronson

The Science of Gaydar by David France

Ivo's alter-egos

Spiderman (top left) Curious George (top right)


Superman, Clark Kent, Spiderman, Peter Parker, Mr. Incredible, Dash, Syndrome, the Iron Giant, Bender, Curious George, Nemo, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Stewie...

I'm sure I'm forgetting a few. Ivo spends most of his time pretending to be someone else. He says/shows off the fantasy accoutrement; boots (of various colors depending on the character), masks, suits... Only once, that I noticed/realized, has he blamed some malfeasance of his own on one of his alter-egos; ie, "Ivo don't touch Burl's eye." "I no do it. Curious George do it."

On the 2 occasions (so far - knock wood) that someone bit Burl (just over the last 3 weeks), rather than denying culpability, Ivo quibbles over whether the round set of teeth marks is, in fact, a bite. "Ivo what happened to Baby Burl?" He takes a look and announces,"it just an owie." "How'd Burl get the owie?" "I poke him. Yep, I did it." When told it doesn't look like a poke, he offers, "I hit him. Yep, I did it." When told that's probably not right, he says, "I punch him." When told it looks like a bite, Ivo merrily chimes, "I bite him. Yep, I did it!"
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Ivo is super smart and picking new things up everyday. Today we went to Sun Moon Lake where he figured he'd buy toys. On the way home we stopped at a rest stop to snack and play. When it was time to go, Ivo said, "dammit!" I asked him if he had said dammit and he told me, "yep, I told dammit a papa." When he's mad he also says, "dumbass" and, I think, "son of bitch!"

While neither Ryan nor I are without sin in this regard, these expressions are not among our standard swears. I, for one, use much more biblical terms. I asked Ivo where he heard "dumbass." He said "Stewie." I later saw an episode of Family Guy where Meg called Peter a dumbass - so I think Ivo's right. I've been trying to get him to say "imbecile" and "what the deuce!" instead when he's angry. Work in progress.

I can't remember if I noted; now when an adult/group of adults descends upon Ivo, he holds his hands out, arms stretched, in front of him, wrists cocked and says, "shoot the web!" This has mostly replaced the short-lived but hanging-in-there, finger-pointing "go away!" which took over from the cutest, turning-his-head-away "owl turn da head!"

But I guess if he keeps swearing, his cute little magnetic veneer may shatter and shock. If I'm bored of the same-(exact!)-same-old, "he looks like a doll!" "his hair is golden/curly!" "he's so cute!" "he doesn't look like a boy..." - it must be exhausting for him.

Blogger won't let me put a title!!!! But the title is IVO or BURL? Answers soon. These are all from when Ivo was 4 months and change and these days of Burl, the same.

Emerson in his essay “Circles:”
“Nothing is secure but life, transition, the energizing spirit. No love can be bound by oath or covenant to secure it against a higher love. No truth so sublime but it may be trivial to-morrow in the light of new thoughts. People wish to be settled; only as far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them.”

Burl stretching out 3 July. We went to the science museum with Dylan and his gramma Margie.

blogger won't let me title this post!

Ivo n Burl go to Da Ken

Ivo and Burl were excellent car passengers this morning on our short trip into the mountains of Taichung County. Outside the city, the 7-11's have parking lots! Very nice. The drive we took was windy and steep. Great views. We took a break at some roadside cafe/footpath/small train place. It was nice but underwhelming; 100nt to enter for both adults, the train wasn't running and the cafe wasn't serving.

Still pretty, if a little muddy. One of Ivo's sandals got wet which upset and distracted him. Yesterday and today, he's been channeling Woody from toy story. He walks around in his sandals or bare feet saying, "I wearing boots. I have brown boots." He also says he's wearing a Woody hat. It's sweet. He calls Ryan Buzz Lightyear, Burl's the green dinosaur, and I'm the pig; "You da pig. 'Oink.' Yike dat." It's flattering...

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"I do it myself." Whether it's activating automatic doors or trimming snap peas, Ivo-Dash-Spiderman-Woody "do it myself!"

Just so we can remember: Ivo has changed his pronunciation of computer from "pewter" to "pindu." Baffling and he won't be swayed. Also (and for a long time) Ivo will repeat himself until and unless Ryan and/or I repeat it back. This is cute. On the little-less-than-cute side is how Ivo will sometimes ask the same question dozens of times, receiving answers each time. His current favorite is "Burl sleeping?" We always answer but it somehow fails to staunch his curiosity.

Ivo IS Bender, Mostly

Ivo spends half his waking hours pretending to be other, whether he's a generic, big/small dinosaur/monster/robot or a specific favorite charater; Spiderman, Stewie or Bender... It's hilarious and neat. He stays in character - and assigns characters to Ryan and me. If he's Spiderman, one of us is Green Goblin or possibly Astroboy. That's all fine.

Lately he's been Stewie (from Family Guy). That makes me-Lois and Ryan-Peter. Sometimes Burl gets to be Brian the Dog; sometimes not. This past week, Ivo's been all about Futurama which he romantically pronounces "Future Amour." He has a shirt (pic) which has a robot on it that he thinks is Bender. Ivo likes robots, so he's Bender, making me-Lela and Ryan-Fry. After repeated nagging about who Burl should be, Ivo has decided that Burl can be "a little green alien." No actual character, no name - in effect, an extra. Ivo sticks to his assignations, telling me "Lela, the little green alien need booby" and "little green alien sad, need bao bao."

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So we can remember the answer in a few years... Ivo has gone from nursing once or twice a week to nursing once or twice a day, including nighttime-go-to-sleep-booby and somewhat less frequently, wake-up-booby. Clarifying: Ivo's you/me conflation is confined to objective case. Also he's all over me/mine and my.

I'm not sure whether this is related to Ivo nursing or not; over the past couple weeks, Burl has been waking up to nurse 4 or 5 times/night.

Also Burl giggles, is ticklish under his arms, his neck and when his thighs are squeezed. When he wakes up he's always so happy and smiley:) Burl is much more drooly than Ivo was. And I'm pretty sure he's starting to get his bottom 2 front teeth! Just about at the same time he turned 4 months old, Burl made the switch from S to M diapers. Burl kicks a lot. Kicked himself off the black couch and onto the tatami last week.

Burl: Just Pics

Burl's doing great - he can reach for and grab stuff. Said stuff is moved immediately toward his smile-hole:) This afternoon, he's had a belly ache - so my brain and hands are short on words that make sense:)