thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

We went to some friends' house, and while Juma played with their son, we chatted and ate goose, lamb, and ham, but no turkey...So we're cooking one today.

breakfast

Juma must be having a growth spurt. This morning, he gobbled up four (small) pancakes, then asked for an English muffin. He ate that whole thing. Then he wandered back into the kitchen, and looked in the freezer.

"You want more?!?!" I asked, incredulous.

He looked at me and smiled.

"You ate all those pancakes?"

"Yes," he said.

"And the whole English muffin?" I continued.

"Yep."

"And you're still hungry?"

Big smile.

"Want a toaster strudel?"

Bigger smile.

I know that amount of food is normal from some boys his age, but this is Juma The Slowest Eater in the World. It's like pulling teeth to get him to finish anything.


As he was eating, I heard him call me from the other room. I turned the corner, wondering what he could possibly want now, and asked, "Yes, hon'?"

"I see that you haven't eaten any breakfast. You should get yourself an English muffin or something."

And that's when my heart melted like butter.

kid movies

We took Juma to two movies recently, Madagascar 2 and Bolt. They were both cute, funny, and had nice stories.

By far, our favorite part of Bolt, by unanimous vote, was the hamster, Rhino.



Check out the extended clip on yahoo to see him in all his AWESOMENESS.

I'm off to New York City today to check out a PhD program at Columbia. I'm excited and a bit nervous.

i couldn't let the week go out...

...without expressing my joy at the historic election season we just witnessed.

I know I have many different political opinions with many of my readers, and I do not want to get into a political discussion here on the blog. I keep this blog so family and friends can keep up, not to express my political opinions. However, regardless of what one thinks of president-elect Obama and his platforms, I can't let this election season slip by without acknowledging it.

The United States has, for the first time, elected an African-American president, and I am proud that we finally advanced enough beyond our ugly history with regards to race-relations to be able make such a historic stride.

I am glad Juma gets to grow up in an America where the color of one's skin means much, much less than it did in previous generations. I will always remember where I was when I found out Obama won, and how Juma gave me a gigantic hug when he found out. There are still miles to go (I see this every day in school when I study health disparities, for example), but this is a huge step.

recent events

Juma's aunt Andria reminded me that I hadn't reported on Halloween yet. So here you go.

Juma was Commander Fox, a clone trooper (from the recent cartoon The Clone Wars):




I didn't dress up, but took the opportunity to do my hair crazy:



Justin helped Juma carve a pumpkin (read: Justin carved a pumpkin for Juma) to go with Juma's costume:




Also, Juma's pet fish, Lampy Lamp died one Saturday morning. We took him our to the Amistad Memorial on the sound and had a mini-funeral. This is the same place we "buried" his other pet fish, Nemo, a few years ago. That death was rather hard on Juma, and he was upset about this one, too, but also quite practical. For example, when I suggested we say some words to remember Lampy Lamp, Juma asked, "Why? Fish die, and their bodies return to the earth. It's just what happens, Mom."





The very same day, we caught and kept a garter snake we found while hiking a few miles north of here. Juma named his new pet Sam. And the fish tank where Lampy Lamp used to live? Now full of food-fish for Sam.




We also went camping and enjoyed the mild weather and fall leaves:





Juma bought a "fossil block," a block of plaster of paris with five fossils hidden inside. So far, he's found a shark tooth and a sand dollar.

voting

eagerly awaiting election results...