Deathly Hallows cover art

Check it out--the book cover for the American edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. (Click on the image to see a larger version.)


Yeah, yeah, I know it doesn't come out until July...

jokes

Juma has discovered jokes, though he's still trying to figure them out, and we have to explain almost every pun to him.

His current favorites:

Knock, knock.
-Who's there?
Boo.
-Boo who?
-You don't have to cry about it, it's just a joke!

Knock, knock.
-Who's there?
Apple.
Knock, knock.
-Who's there?
Apple.
Knock, knock.
-Who's there?
Apple.
Knock, knock.
-Who's there?
Orange.
-Orange who?
Orange-ya glad I didn't say apple?

Knock, knock.
-Who's there?
Interrupting cow.
-Interrupting co--
MOO!!

What do you call cheese that doesn't belong to you?
-What?
Nacho cheese!

The ones he makes up are, well, 4-year-old jokes.

What do you call a jagga with a boji?
-What?
A window!
[fake laughs from Sarah and Justin]

What does a zebra on the ground, with blood, do?
-[shocked at the mention of blood] Uh, what?
Stays there.
[real laughs from Sarah and Justin]
Why is it so funny?
-Because it made sense.

I still remember making up my first joke when I was 3 years old (?). My older siblings and I were hanging out in the Relief Society room while my mom was at a church function (homemaking meeting, I suppose). The others were telling jokes, so I wanted to join in.

Knock, knock.
-Who's there?
[looking wildly about the room for some inspiration] Piano!
-Piano who?
[again, looking around the room for something to say] Piano that goes through the wall sometimes!

I remember that as I said this, I imagined the piano floating through the air and going through the wall near the ceiling. My siblings dutifully laughed, bless their hearts.

spring

Happy First Day of Spring, everyone!

For us, it's sunny, but only 25 degrees, and the ground is covered in snow. But the weatherman promises the 50s tomorrow.

make up your mind, mother earth!

After all that wonderful spring weather we were enjoying, we got blasted with a winter storm. It's been snowing since last night, and is still going strong. Now it's switching between sleet, hail, and great, heavy snowflakes.

Undeterred by the snow and wind, Juma went sledding no fewer than three times today, twice with Justin and once with me. As soon as we got back from the third sledding run, he ran out to the courtyard to join a snowball fight with a neighbor girl and her dad. He came right back inside with a grumpy look on his face the first time he was actually hit by a snowball.

It's supposed to snow tomorrow too, but I am not calling off my Irish feast of corned beef and cabbage, Irish soda bread, and green milk for the kids, in honor of St Patrick's Day.

outside play

Since the weather finally took a turn toward spring, we've been able to play outside with Juma. This day, we prepared our bikes for spring rides. Juma helped grease the chains and pump up the tires.

apples

Sarah: Juma, what kind of apples should we get at the store?

Juma: Green ones.

Sarah: Grannie Smith apples?

Juma: Grannie Smith?

Sarah: Yeah, that kind of apple is called Grannie Smith.

Juma: Ew! It's made out of Grannies!?!?!

spring break: parents' edition

Friday afternoon we kicked off our spring break. Juma's off school for a week, and we're off for two. Not that we get to rest from studying, but at least we don't have classes.

Saturday morning I took Juma to his old preschool for their annual open house to try to recruit new families. Juma was hoping to see some of his old friends, and his old teachers spotted him and just gushed. They loved Juma. One of his teachers gave us a packet of pictures of him from last year, and I'll try to get them scanned in to a computer to post them here.

After that event, we all went swimming at a community pool, Juma strapped in to so many flotation devices he happily floated above the surface, grinning beneath his swim cap. (This pool requires all swimmers to wear swim caps.)

After the swim, though, he started to feel under the weather, and alternated between sitting in our laps during dinner. After bath, he got chilled and couldn't seem to warm back up. I put him to bed early under double blankets, partly because of the odd chills and fatigue, and partly because we knew the clock change was coming. At 10:30pm, he started to moan and whine in his sleep, so I checked on him. He seemed to be having a nightmare, and I touched his back and tried to wake him up.

"Juma," I called, "It's me, Mama. Wake up, honey. Juma!"
"What?!" he yelled, still asleep. My voice must have entered his dream.
He opened his eyes, but didn't seem to see me. I thought he must be still asleep, and he looked scared, so I gently slid my arm under his head and tried to coax his awake. His skin was hot.

Eventually, he said, "I want to, I want to stay."
"Stay in bed?" I asked. He must have thought I was lifting him out because my arm was under him.
"Yes." He was finally awake, and I asked him if he was dreaming. He said he wasn't. I checked his temperature, and he had a mild fever of 100.2. I brought him some medicine, which he trusts to help, so he generally calms down immediately after taking it. But he was still obviously uncomfortable, so I sang him some songs. This late at night, my memory failed me, and I ended up humming several tunes, while he fought his eyes from closing.

In the middle of one song, he started to say something, so I stopped and asked him what he needed. "I...I...zii...I'm looking at your zipper." He reached his hand out and touched the zipper of my jacket, white against dark blue. I suppressed a laugh. It seemed like one of those half-asleep, not-thinking-clearly moments.

He eventually fell asleep, only to wake up again two hours later, but he fell asleep easier that time. He had a fever still this morning, and is feeling pretty down, but has been able to eat some "Mama cereal" (cracked wheat) and drink water. I was planning to take him to the St. Patrick's Day parade later today (there are a lot of Irish-Americans here, so this is a big holiday), but I'll have to see how he's feeling.

And that is how we're spending our spring break.

Update: Juma's mysterious illness lasted only 24 hours, and he is doing great now. He helped me fix up our bikes for spring, pumping up tires and greasing the chains. Now he's off to play with a school friend.

baby!

We have a new niece, Irelyn Kate! She is Lance and Alisha's fourth, and their first girl.

Check out this cutie-patootie picture.

straw paintings

Juma and I made paintings using drinking straws to blow, drop, squish, and spread the paint.

Juma picked paper that looked like outer space, and experimented with mixing colors to make new colors.



I experimented with different ways the straw can apply color.


Juma says of straw paintings, "Good."

celery is thirsty

Juma and Justin did an experiment to see how celery "drinks" water.


We can see the blue and red water seeped right up to the top.


Juma says of this experiment, "We let it drink water for, like, a long time."

superman is related to candy. no wait

Juma: giggling Superman wears his underwear outside his pants.

Us: Why?

Juma: whispering embarrassedly I don't know. To show people he's Superman or something?

...

Juma: I'm related to candy. What does related mean?

Sarah: It means people who have some of the same grandmas and grandpas, or great-grandmas and great-grandpas.

Justin: It means you're in the same family.

Juma: What is it called when you really, really want something really bad, all the time? Like when people who smoke want cigarettes?

Justin: Addicted?

Juma: Yeah, I'm addicted to candy. My body really wants it all the time!