Imagination

Yikealo likes nothing better than playing dress-up. He is constantly forming costumes out of anything that he can find, so we've recently suggested that he spend some of his fun money on some dress-up clothing. His first purchase was a pirate costume, and he spent a couple of weeks in pirate mode. When his cousin Zavier visited for a few days, I was continually being attacked by two dastardly villains.

However, that was before he discovered the most supreme costume ever invented.

Over the last few months,  Mr. Y has become completely and totally infatuated with Toy Story's Buzz Lightyear. He spent some of his hospital money on a Buzz action figure quite some time ago, and this toy has become his favorite playmate. He talks to Buzz, and eats with Buzz, and sleeps with Buzz, and Buzz has to be present for any stories that we read together. But then...he discovered the most awesome thing of all: a Buzz costume! Oh...if I could only begin to describe the intense delight in our house when that precious box arrived in the mail. He put it on at once, and  he insists on wearing it at every given opportunity. Seriously, like every single day. We started homeschooling this week, and on at least 3 of the days, I was teaching math or language arts or phonics to a Buzz impersonator. Last week, I was awakened one morning at 6:00 by Buzz leaping onto my bed, shouting something about a space ranger coming to my rescue....ummm....yeah....at 6:00 a.m. I'd rather be rescued from Buzz than by him. I sleepily stammered out something about wanting to snuggle my little boy, not Buzz, to which he replied, "I AM your little boy! I just look like Buzz, because this is a costume!"

A few days later he wanted me to play with him:
Y: "Mom, I am going to be Buzz, and you are going to be Wendy."
Me: "Wendy? Who is Wendy?"
Y: "You know...from Bob the Builder."
Me: "Well, if I am going to be Wendy, then why don't you be Bob?"
Y: "No, I NEED to be Buzz, because I want to be the one who saves the day!"
Me: "Well, then why don't I be Jessie?"
Y: "No, you need to be Wendy, because Jessie is more cooler than Wendy, and you cannot be the one who saves the day...that has to be me."
Great...why do I always have to be the less "cooler" person, anyway?!
(and note the chin curl he insists upon....grrrrrr!)

A few other recent Yikealo-isms:

• while waving his hands in a "cease and desist" manner: "We are NOT having this 'confercation'!" (Ummm....I think maybe you mean "conversation"? Although I have to admit that now "confercation" has become part of the household vernacular!)
• while listening to a new song in the car: "Mom, George needs to know what kind of song this is." (I guess it's good to know that Buzz hasn't evicted George yet.)
• One morning he started whining that I was reading my Bible instead of playing with him. I told him that I would play with him after I was finished, but God's word is very important, and God comes first. He responded immediately: "Why does God always get to be first? He is not the youngest!" (Apparently, in Y's opinion,  board game rules should also apply to the Lord.)
• At supper, David finished his prayer with something along the lines of: "And please help us to be Your hands and feet here." Yikealo looked up with a rather horrified look on his face and questioned: "FEET HAIR? Why would we wanta be His feet hair?"
• As I was snuggling him one night, I said, "You are such a present from God," to which he answered, "For one thing, I am YOUR present, 'cause you 'dopted me on your birthday." Technically, my birthday was the day AFTER our gotcha day, but that's close enough, right?!

Oh yeah, and along the homeschooling topic, what happens when Daddy gets a new I-Phone during the same week that school starts?
An I-Phone upon which both "boys" in the household can spend a ridiculous amount of time playing "Angry Birds" together?

And Daddy also decides that he would like to take over the math lesson for the day?
Well, the shape blocks are used to replicate the "houses" from Angry Birds, of course.

 A tiny plastic figure of Buzz becomes the evil pigs hiding inside the "house."

A sling-shot is built from Tinker Toys and a rubber band, and much time is spent shooting down the "houses" with a folded up paper "bird" from every conceivable angle.

Right, because in addition to learning about shapes and sizes, "velocity" and "trajectory" are obviously very important concepts to teach your 5-year old math student.