salt crystals

We have the results of one of Juma's science experiments. He's been growing salt crystals in his bedroom for the past couple of weeks. Check 'em out.

conversation

When I dropped off Juma at school this morning, his teacher, John, approached me and reported on a conversation he and Juma had earlier this week.

John: So, Sarah, Juma and I were talking before and I suggested that if he wants to talk about the Iraq war, he should talk to me about it. Not the other kids in the class.
Sarah: [eyes widen, but not so Juma can see] Oh, yes, I agree, that's a good idea.
John: Yep, Juma agreed, too.

Yikes. Guess I shouldn't be listening to news radio with Juma in the back seat of the car. That kid hears way more than I realize sometimes.

the boy who cried wolf and the parents who regretted it

Juma has of late acted as if eating dinner were torture. He wants to know exactly how many bites of this and that he has to eat before he can get down. And he often fakes illness, headache, stomach ache, and tiredness to try to get out of eating.

It never works. Somehow, he's perfectly healthy and awake as soon as he's done--as if the only things bothering him were hunger and boredom.

So when he tried the "I don't feel good" thing again tonight, we were fed up. Justin told him the story of the boy who cried wolf, and explained how it applied to Juma tonight. "So you see, the boy is like you. Every day, you say you are sick, but you never are. So we don't believe you tonight. Now eat."

If you have the Dutson hyperactive gag reflex, please stop reading now. Seriously, stop. Just guess what happened.

Juma finally settled down into eating, but then started to climb out of his high chair, utter panic on his face. He wasn't that good at faking it. This was real.

"What's wrong?"

And then the wolf, uh, I mean the illness, showed its true colors. All over Justin, Juma, and the floor (wood, thank goodness). And again. Justin got Juma into the bathroom before the next one hit--on the floor one foot away from the toilet. And then he was done and feeling fine, except for the fact that he had his undigested dinner all over his shirt and pants.

In the end, we reminded Juma this is why he shouldn't cry wolf. Not quite getting it, he protested, "But I really was sick!" Yes, and we, the townspeople, didn't believe you.

Until we were up to our elbows in you-know-what.

new fish

We finally went out and bought a new pet fish. When Nemo died, Juma was adamant that the new fish look just like Nemo, and be named Nemo, too. But it looks like he's moved on: this new one is still a betta, but is red and named Lampy Lamp.

science experiments

Juma's been demonstrating a keen interest in science lately, especially outer space and dinosaurs, so we got him a little science experiments kit for Christmas. These are some of the experiments we've tried:

Soak a raw egg (in the shell) in vinegar for at least 15 hours. Then drop it in the sink and watch it bounce, not break. The shell will become rubbery, due to some chemical change I can't recall off the top of my head.

In a very dark room, smash with pliers (or bite) wintergreen candies and see a spark. Alternatively, rub two sugar cubes together and watch them glow.

Gather several small items (paper clips, penny, wood chip, etc) and see which ones you can pick up with a magnet.

Dissolve lots of salt in a 1/2 cup of water in a quart jar. Place a strip of dark construction paper in the jar, and over the next 3 weeks, watch the salt crystals form up the paper.

Fill a plastic water bottle with very warm water. Replace the cap, and let it stand for 1.5 minutes. Remove the cap, pour out the water, then quickly replace the cap. The bottle will "magically" collapse without you touching it. (There's an air pressure change when the air inside the bottle cools.)

juma quote

Sarah: Should we go to the pet store and get a new fish?

Juma: Yeah! We certainly should!

karate

We enrolled Juma in a tiny tots karate class, for kids 3-5 to learn a little discipline and self-defense ideas. He's pretty dang cute in his new gi (uniform, size triple zero), and he's already got different commands down--attention, fighting stance, kick, punch.



At this age, they don't worry too much about technique, so it's fun to see all the 4-year old arms and legs flailing around, and watch them try to master obstacle courses where they have to do things like--and this is really hard for them--walk backwards around cones.

I love you the purplest

At dinner, Juma cuddled up to me and said, "I love you, Mom." I hugged him and said I loved him too. Then Justin decided to tease a little:

Justin: I love her more than you do.

Juma: You do not!

Justin: Uh-huh. I love you four times. How many times do you love her?

Juma: Um...five times! I love her to fill the biggest ocean.

Sarah: Which is the biggest?

Juma: The Atlantic.

Sarah: No, the Pacific.

Juma: [to Justin, triumphantly] Yeah, the Pacific!

Justin: I love her as hot as the sun.

Juma: I love her...as...mushy...as...gas!

Justin & Sarah: [laugh]

Sarah: [to self] This is going on the blog.

Juma: I love her as big as a thirty year old.

Justin: I lover her as slimy as octopus juice.

Sarah: [grabs crayon and kids' menu and starts writing these down]

Justin: I love her as smelly as a skunk's bum.

Juma: I love her as smelly as jambas [Swahili for...um...really smelly things]

Everyone: [laugh]

Waitress: [brings the check]

vacation adventures

Last Saturday, my sister, Jody, and I took our sons, Juma and Ammon, sledding in Spanish Fork Canyon near our aunts' houses.

The boys lasted about 20 minutes in the cold and snow, but both of them made a few runs down the hill.


Afterwards, they played at our aunt's house.




Today, we went to Spanish Fork again to Justin's great aunt's house to give Juma a try at riding a horse. Juma willingly pet the horse, but when it came down to it, he decided the horse was just way too big to get on it (it was a small horse, but to a four year old...).