Nate Nate

A Null Hypothesis

Since Nate and I seem to be studying the same things in French right now, I turned to him for a little help with a problem.  "Nate," I asked, "is it UN questione or UNE questione?"

"Neither," said Nate.  "Those are just for things in my pencil box."

We Knew What He Meant

Tonight, thanks to Nate's 3rd grade grammar book, the subject of grab bags came up.  "Well," I explained, "they're these neat little bags that have like, surprises inside.  You don't know what you're going to get, so you 'grab' a prize from inside."

Nate was fascinated.  "How many prizes are inside?"  It should be noted that in general, he demands exact numbers.  If you tell him a story, say about the time your third grade class went to Schatner's Farm to pick pumpkins, he will want to know the date of the trip, what time the bus left, how many kids were on the bus, what time you picked the pumpkin, how much it weighed, what time you got back to school, etc.  Of a field trip that took place in 1982.  Happily, he is satisfied with whatever answer you give, so you can just toss out "October 26, 9:30 in the morning, 21 kids because 2 were absent that day, 11:45, 3 lbs exactly, and 20 minutes before the final bell rang" and be assured that he will not question you further.

But I digress.  "I don't know," I said, "maybe 2 or 3?  Maybe 4 prizes?"

"What were the prizes?"

"Oh, it could be anything," I said.  "A sticker, or a top, maybe a piece of candy."

Nate thought about that.  "Mom," he asked excitedly, "were they all equal happiness?"

Happenings

 
By popular grandparental request, I present, without comment, a video entitled "Small Boy Wearing Guitar Pajamas Eating French Toast Dinner While Talking Himself Through His Unit 1 Algebra Exam":

 

Actually, one comment: Don't judge us for the super messy office.  The kid generates a lot of paper, and I have the last two boxes of my law firm life recently arrived and taking up space in the home office, so, you know.  It happens.

Jonah has been a busy guy as well.  Here he is with beloved buddy Jake, beaming through the computer they made out of zoob.  What's not to love?

 

And here's Nate again, modeling the Big Kid Watch he received to replace the not-so-waterproof-after-all watch he received for his birthday.  Please be assured that he got his hair cut about 20 minutes after this picture was taken.

 
Jonah is also continuing to work on his "awwwwww!"-inducing skills.  When I asked him the other night who his favorite singer is, he answered, without hesitation, "You!"

 
 

Same Planet, Different Worlds

One boy finally learns how to smile for pictures, just as the other boy abandons his face-splitting grins for goofy faces.  I'm predicting that by 2020, we'll finally have a perfect holiday card photo of both.

Resourcefulness

With Grandpa Toshi and Grandma Debbie coming to visit, Jonah decided to welcome them with a friendly sign.  Being something of a literalist, he thought that Grandpa Toshi, who originally hailed from Japan, should be portrayed bearing a Japanese flag.  So he asked me how to draw one.  Since I was in the middle of cooking an elaborate dinner spread (remember, whatever you are cooking tonight, and whatever I am cooking tonight, I am ALSO making rice, spaghetti, French toast, mango, cheese, and strawberries for a certain someone who eats at my table), I advised him to go Google it.

And he did.  As I discovered later, Jonah went to the computer, went to Google.com, typed in "Japan flag," clicked on a promising link, reviewed the Japanese flag, and then drew its likeness on his welcome sign.

 

Nate finishing seventh grade final exam

I finished the seventh grade final exam with a score of 92% and 47/51 problems correct. I learned some a long time ago, some of them were a bit harder. I noticed about 5 minutes ago that I passed the exam!!! Tomorrow, they'll let me start the high school course!!!