Watch Out, John Hancock

Robert wanted to write all of our names on his dry-erase-board easel, so he asked me to write them so he could copy them.


Me in the black, obviously, him in the green. I circles all of our names individually in MSPaint to show you. (Ignore the R25N -- long story.) From the top:

• ROBERT - The R is very long, the O down and to the right. The B is above the O, with the long stem. (He skipped the E for some reason.) The lowercase R is in the bottom right corner, with the T to its left.
• MOMMY - The first M is actually the large letter, second from right, that looks like an upside-down U. The O is on the right, then the MMY goes right to left, next to the big M. (YMMMO.)
• CLAIRE - The C is in the bottom left corner, the lowercase L just above it. The A is down and to the right, the I is the two dots just to the right of the C, then a lowercase R, then the E is the little squiggle below the R. No idea why he threw a T on the end.
• DADDY - This is actually pretty clear -- just read right to left, and understand that the DDY looks like PPP.
• PEANUT - Across the bottom, left to right, in the correct order.

A little hard to explain -- makes a lot more sense if you were watching him do it!

This Is How Lennon & McCartney Started

Robert asked me to bring my guitar up for a little jam session this evening.

We even switched guitars for a while.

And Robert tried adding drums as well.

Robert also drew a family picture on his easel. The magnetic letters have no specific significance, but they do serve to tell who's who. The green "M" is on Daddy, the red "F" is on Mommy (the thing that looks like a tail is "a lot of hair"), the green "D" is on Claire (her head is the little circle on the top right corner -- her head is much smaller than ours, her legs are very long, her arms are sticking out from her legs, and her belly is the oval-shaped thing in the middle), the red "N" is on Peanut (surprisingly accurate, really), and the yellow "C" is on Robert.

(Looks like he has a future designing album covers for the Meat Puppets, at least.)

"You Have Underwear"

I don't know that words are necessary to describe the lyrical genius.

Playing Library

Robert set up a bunch of boxes and put his play laptop on the boxes, along with the phone and a couple of Grandpa's paperback books on top.

"What are you doing, Robert?" I asked.

"I'm not Robert," he replied. "I'm a Librarian."

At first I was tickled. He pretty much got it right, based on what he sees going on at the library. He sat there on a stool, typing away and occasionally picking up the phone and saying, "Hello, Hi. OK, Let me see."

And the thing that tickled me most was the fact that the books were sort of an afterthought. He occasionally picked one up to refer to it, or "beep" it with an imaginary scanner. But mostly his library work was done with the phone and computer.

Then something a little disturbing happened.

Robert got more boxes, some pillows, and Grandma's leg, and used them to create a barrier around himself and his little setup. Soon, he was entirely closed in.

"Now what are you doing?" I asked.

"I not want those kids bothering me. I is the Librarian. Don't bother me."

Really???

After a few more minutes, I asked him again what he was doing.

"Go Away! I'm too busy!"

He looked at me with a disgusted expression.

"Go away! I'm too busy!" He told me, and turned back to the computer.

Oh, really??

"I is a Plant!"

When Grandma went to water her plants, Robert decided to help. Form inside, Mommy heard squeals and shouts, so she went to investigate. Grandma was "watering" Robert as he stood there shouting, "I is a plant!"

Seneca Park Zoo

Eric, Rachel, and Claire at the zoo... with the back of Robert's head. He refused to turn around.Robert was excited to see one of his favorite animals, the alligator. He had been disappointed the previous day with the lack of alligators on Grandma Place's farm.
Rachel and Claire

When Robert saw the wading pool thing, he immediately dropped hi pants to go for a swim. After he was decent once again, he went for a wade instead.


Claire, smiling as usual.
Stopping at an educational tortoise exhibit.
Claire, reading the map to be sure we did not get lost.
Robert with Eric and Aunt Chrissy.
Trying to break in to the Elephant barn.
Watching the elephants get ready for their bath
Face to face with a baboon.
Rachel and Eric posing with some of the wildlife.
Rachel and Robert on the train. The highlight of Robert's day.


What do you know? Macaroni and cheese!
More water fun.
The ladies taking a break while the boys play.
Robert is now obsessed with "getting way bigger" like his cousin, Eric.
Looking at the Rhinos.
Claire liked the Orangutan, and he seemed to like her. They looked at each other for a while, until the orangutan suddenly threw up all over, and there was a swarm on orangutans fighting over who would get to eat it. Yuck.
Mommy then took Claire to see slightly less gross orangutans.

Claire's First Visit to Geneseo

Reunion weekend! Claire (Class of '31) enjoyed her first trip to Geneseo. Robert (Class of '28), of course, has already been there, but enjoyed the fountain.

And running around campus.

And taking pictures of himself.

Including "timer" pictures.

And taking pictures of us.

And of Claire.

What a cute mother-daughter combo!