Laying in bed, Elliot pulls the blankets over us and says, “daddy, make your watch blue!”

I push the button to light up the watch. Elliot explodes with laughter.

He’s really into the “guess what? Chicken butt” jokes right now. He laughs hysterically at each one. Over and over. He changes them a little bit and tries them out. Yesterday, he tried them on Kim at his swimming lesson. “Guess how? Chicken soap pow!” Or something like that. He laughed and she did, too.

Daddy, you know what day is it today? April. It’s April today.

While in the car…” Daddy, I have a booger.”

“I’m driving, just wipe it on your pants for now.”

“No, it will make a mess.”

So I reach back and say “give it to me.” He wipes it on my hand. I look at my hand and it’s a giant booger. I say, “ewwww! And wipe it on my pants” (no tissues!)

“

I dropped Elliot today at preschool after 5 days together. Since Friday afternoon (it’s Monday now), we spent every moment together. Waking and sleeping. Now I’m alone and it is quiet in the house. I miss him terribly and won’t see him until Wednesday afternoon.

After every 5 days that he is with Karolina, I notice small changes in his growth: he speaks better or moves more surely. He has new words or constructs sentences a little differently. He no longer says, “excuse me” before most sentences.

Anyway. Every. Moment. Together. No exaggeration.

We went to the Dr Suess Experience. Elliot loved it. Highlights were the fishing game and the Cat in the Hat room. But for me, the best part was seeing his reaction to the two people dressed in Grinch and Cat in the Hat costumes.

“He’s so big!” Elliot said about the Cat in the Hat. I think he thinks it’s really the Cat in the Hat. And the Grinch? I don’t know if he’s familiar with that story; We read many many Dr Seuss books, but not that one since it’s about Christmas, which I don’t celebrate.

But he RAN to to the Grinch and hugged his legs with might and force and love. Held on to him. Then they played.

Elliot’s heart is open. He doesn’t have any history or fear. He’s pure love.

“Daddy? I love the Littleton Museum.”

Elliot told me that several times. On the way out, he said “This is a beautiful day.” It’s overcast and a little chilly, so I hope he means our time together! This morning we went to Shredder Indoor Skiing and played together in their gym (“cheese pit”, challah man, etc).

At the Littleton Museum, we chased geese, laughed at the dirty pigs, chased each other.

I’m continually amazed at how often Elliot says to me, “I love you, Daddy” or just “I love you.” It’s every hour or so! I’m so lucky.

Daddy, do cats go to school?

Elliot does not say “excuse me” all the time anymore. But he apologizes profusely for anything he perceives as bad or wrong. “I’m sorry, Daddy” for pooping in his pants after I’d been giving him Miralax for a while. He would not stop apologizing. He still apologizes for a glass he broke in the bathroom sink many months ago.

We went to the ducks last week and he loved it! He remembered going last summer. He told me how much he likes it and wants to go again.

Yesterday, before his piano lesson, we went to the library. In the children’s section, we played with toys. We did not read any books.

On the way out and many times last night, including this morning, Elliot told me how much he likes the library. He told him we will go back.

The first two were recommended to me by Sagi Elster. These are two of his favorite books, but they did not resonate with me very much.

I also read this graphic novel, which was eye-opening. I did enjoy it, but I’m not sure I’d read it over again if I knew what it was about. I kept thinking of 14-year old Max in a place like this:

Daddy, where does the sun go?

Why does the sun go down?

How does the sun go away?

Why are the clouds white?

Why is Grendel black?

I tell Elliot the sun goes to China and show him a video about the earth spinning.

“Daddy, T/Rex almost bit you!“

“Yeah, then you would have no daddy!“

Elliot laughs “hahahaha! You’re making a trick!”

Elliot knows they are pretend, though.

Were those dinosaurs real?

No, they are pretend.

“Dinosaurs still live on Earth?”

“No, not anymore.”

“Dinosaurs still live in Jurassic World?”

This is not the first time he’s got all 10 down, but it’s recent. He had 7 learned in February 2022. I added another 3 in March 2022. He’s not even 4 yet!

And the YouTube version in case the self-hosted one goes down or vice-versa:

Inside Walgreens, Elliot sees this sign of a woman eating a word. He is amazed by it. He won’t let me pass until I see it and we talk about it. Then we buy spiderman glasses and get his passport photo taken.

“Daddy? I can go to a lamprey museum?” after seeing a lamprey on Brave Wilderness with Coyote Peterson.