Froggy!

Update!!!



:)

Okay, now that I have a few minutes, a bit of an explanation. My husband has an absolute horror of toads and frogs--a very sad fact for bufophile like me. When we first married and a toad-bringing rain fell, I lost my mind. I ran squealing down the street, collecting toads in plastic containers. Not only would he not come with me, but he wouldn't let me bring the toads in the apartment. I planned to set them free in the bathtub and scream at them.

I don't know why I love toads so much. I suppose that they are the closest things to dinosaurs that I could catch with my hands (lizards are too fast). The fact that they generally arrive when it rains (whooo! rain!) is a bonus. I love their bumpy, gnarled texture and placid slitted eyes. The hop-plop of a toad fries my little brain circuits in sweet delight. I never understood how girls could squee over hamsters. Unsavoury, smelly, foul mamals. Blech.

But TOADS! Joy. I don't think the most vigorous coke-snorting Hollywood starlet could touch my toad-watching high. Poor souls, attending empty parties with meaningless music, fashion, and talk, when all they need is a little toad action.

Anyway, sixteen years of marriage has not made my husband less squeamish about frogs and toads. When he came across this video from his favorite guitar tutor, he had to share. So I share now. And only with great restraint, do I not share the toad videos I watched on Y last night--but a play list might be coming soon!

Babies!

see more WTF Pictures and WTF videos by Picture Is Unrelated

I must meet this person. Or at least the fellow who commented "Looks like someone has been huntin' " Heh.

I like odd little collections. The details make my retinas sing. I don't think I'd need a kid to buy those beautiful "I Spy" books. They make me want to search my boxes of little collections and compose pictures.

I like adore the "I Spy" books blend of novelty and repetition--picture theme is represented, say a city scene, and elements are composed from a mish-mash of materials. The cohesion of the piece is pulled together largely through color choice.

I'd love to rearrange Tyoma's toys by color palette-a box of primaries, split complements and analogous colors. Whooo!

Dragula!

Tyoma found my old minidisc player, complete with Rob Zombie's Hellbilly Deluxe. He wanted to try it out so I cranked the volume way down and gave it to him. Below, he is alphabetizing and renaming songs:



After listening for a while, he started to sing, along--"Hey, Hey, Hey!"

Elevator Animation

Tyoma dearly loves the elevator animations on youtube. He is particularly fascinated by the types of number displays, so when I brought out a peg board toy he hasn't seen for a while, guess what his first impulse is?



I have twelve more photos, which I will post as a slide show as soon as I get smilebox figured out!

Happy 4.5 Birthday Clock

Please note, this is a 24 hour clock.

He's So Proud!

This is Tyoma's latest obsession: designing numbers and letters out of found objects. Rainbow dominos are the medium. I had no idea he would take the ROYGBIV thing so far! He was thrilled to have made this by himself this morning and wanted a photo for all to see!

Very Proud, Indeed

This is Tyoma's latest obsession: designing numbers and letters out of found objects. Rainbow dominos are the medium. I had no idea he would take the ROYGBIV thing so far! He was thrilled to have made this by himself this morning and wanted a photo for all to see!

Hi 62!

For about a week now, Tyoma has been greeting his numbers with a small, friendly wave and a cheerful “Hi!” I sigh and grimace every time I hear it. I used to relish his odd little moments, finding his eccentricity charming--now I shudder. Every quirk makes me wonder if the Autism Spectrum Police are going to break down the door and haul my son off to a Neurotypical Re-education Camp.

As I cleaned up from breakfast today, I had the Weather Channel on in the background. The murmur of the forecasters is more comforting than CNN and I feel soothed by the mindless jazz that plays when the Local on the 8’s comes on. Tyoma likes the Local on the 8’s, too, since the numbers are big and bold.

He hustled over to the TV when the  8’s began their  broadcast. The announcer stated, “Sunny, today with some cloudy intervals. High 62…” Tyoma perked up. “Hi! Siz-ooo!!!” He tapped the 62 on the TV screen. I laughed. It’s still odd and the Autism Spectrum Police are probably around the corner nonetheless, but his little greeting seems less inexplicable and certainly very funny.

Alphabet

  

I caught him in the act! Tyoma's been arranging his letters alphbetically now for about three weeks. I blink and there's another alphabet.  Spooky! He is so intense working on his masterpeices! Alot like papa, intense and very focused.  In the past few days,  he has been putting together the string of letters in order almost every time! Cool!

Pimp My Guestroom

  
Tyoma illustrates his fascination with the number six. Hopefully, I won't find a matching birthmark anywhere...
 
Anyway, I think his love for six  has something to do with his favorite letter X.  He likes the idea that six has an X in it.  I wonder if he is beginning to read? He can point out individual words like six, exit, Lorax, etc. Hmmm. Regardless, he has his stories memorized.  If I skip a sentence in a favorite book, he squirms.  Heck, if I say the words out or order or make up my own story, he squirms. What a memory!
 

  
Oh No! He's using his piercing "Damien" gaze to get me to read Horton Hears A Who for the third time today!

I should mention that for Tyoma's second birthday, Grandma and Grandpa redecorated the guestroom/play room (from New Mexico, even!). Tyoma now has a brand new desk and organizer to keep his 10,000 toys in order. I handmade picture frames for the Klee posters we had hanging about and removed the closet doors for more play area. Yay! Thanks guys!

Help in the Kitchen

Hmmmmm... How do most kids "help" in the kitchen? Do they "cook" on the floor? Clang pots and pans together? Improvise a drum set with a mixing bowl and spoon? Not this little guy! He thoughtfully arranges a cabinet of pans into orderly semi-circles and then replaces everything (in order!) and closes the cabinet door. "A-ha-HA!" he turns to me and exclaims. Five minutes later, he repeats the same exercise, but this time I caught a picture:
 
  When I first  turned around to see what Tyoma was doing and saw these pans, I was astonished. You know the scene in Poltergeist where the housewife is discovering that her house is haunted? She turns her away and suddenly her kitchen chairs are stacked on one another? That's how I felt. It was uncanny.  
Well, spooky or not, he sure seems to have fun! Ah, our unlovely kitchen! Sigh!

Quiet Afternoon

More spooky organizing.  Tyoma has been stacking letters on window sills all day.  They aren't arranged in any particular order, but he seems to take such joy in the process.  It's rainy and sweet smelling outside. I love our new home!

Budding Klee?

Hmmmmmm. Tyoma has been making little mosaics all around the house. It has been very curious and unexpected. He lines up his blocks into shapes and patterns, like this little composition. I like it. It might be random, it might be the start of some untethered artistic ability that we all have inside of us.

Tyoma has been lining up his unit "triangle" blocks in long undulating waves. Beautiful and a touch unnerving. Wish I had a picture. It is so strange to shift my gaze from him playing on the floor and return to seem his little projects.

Voodoo Gears

After Tyoma's quiet time, I found this arrangement of toy gears in his room:
 

  

I don't know why this seems so strange to me, but it looks spooky for some reason.