Halloween at Home

We didn't think we'd be able to have Halloween at home this year, since we lost power early Sunday morning (due to the record-breaking October snow storm). But power came back on Monday morning, and we were able to carry through with our trick-or-treating plans. Grafton had a great time dressing up as Frank Sinatra, and gave us a number of fine vocal performances throughout the evening. He was less interested in the candy-related aspects of Halloween, and wasn't thrilled with the idea of picking up treats at our neighbors' homes. But once he got the hang of giving out candy, he ran to the door every time trick-or-treaters stopped by. Plenty of photos here.

S is for Summit!

We took Grafton out for a hike on the Skinner State Park trails, with the hope of reaching the Summit House on Mt. Holyoke. This was a low probability outcome, considering our past hiking experiences with him. He's being doing much better on hikes lately, but the last time we were out on these trails we only made it about a third of the way up. So dad brought the backpack along, just in case Grafton did not cooperate. But our little guy pushed all the way to the top, without complaint! We held his hands most of the way up, but he did all the "heavy lifting", stepping up the trail over big rocks and roots. He was propelled in part, by the reward of seeing the Summit House, which we told him all about as we headed up the trail: how it had been used as a hotel and resort many decades ago, and more recently, how it was a museum, and finally how it will reopen next year after being closed for the past few seasons. We were both very proud of our little guy and we could tell he was quite proud of himself as well! As it was getting rather blustery and cold at the top, we decided (with his complete approval) to head down with him in the pack. We treated ourselves to a nice lunch at Barstows, which included hot chocolate and an assortment of mini-cupcakes. And while we were eating it started snowing--big heavy flakes. We could tell the storm was coming, having seen a hundred or more birds sitting up high in a tree nearby, tweeting about the impending weather change. We drove home in thick snow (though, not yet sticking), and predictably, with his tired legs and a full belly, Grafton feel into a deep sleep. He didn't wake up at all, as we brought in him inside the house.

Two-thirds of the way to the summit--and "Little Guy" (see hat) was still going strong.

M&M Test

Based upon a psychological test described in a book Neva and I are currently reading about children's mental development, I performed the following routine with Grafton.

I placed one M&M on a plate for Grafton and told him, "If you can wait one minute without eating that M&M, I'll come back and give you two more. Remember, you can't eat it!"

He passed! I then repeated with 2 M&Ms first, followed by the promise of 7 more, with a 2 minute wait in between.

He passed again! And proudly proclaimed "I didn't eat them!" when I returned.

However, it was a somewhat biased test of his willpower, since he was watching Mary Poppins at the time, so it was probably much easier for him to resist the temptation. I'll try again later under more controlled conditions.

Conversations

A couple of paraphrased conversations with our son this week:

---

Yesterday, we were explaining to him why he needs to be careful with his head when he's playing rough.
Dad and Mom explained: "...you have to protect your ears, and your eyes, and..."
Then Dad finished with: "...and the most important thing to protect is your brain!"
Grafton: "Where is the brain?"
Dad: "Feel your head--see how it's hard? That's your skull. Inside that is your brain."
I went on explaining to him what the brain does so he would understand why it's so important to protect: "You know when you see something? Well, it's your brain that is seeing something. And when you hear something, it's your brain that is hearing something..." (and so on).
And then Grafton cuts to the chase and tells us, "And when I'm thinking, my brain does the thinking."
Well, I guess we don't have to simplify our explanations quite so much...

---

Today, Grafton interrupts our conversation while in the car as he usually does by calling out, "Excuse me! Excuse me! I want to say something now." After we acknowledge him, he says "I want to tell you a story. When I was a little boy...[unintelligible speech for a little while]...My friend Eekie Eeeks draws the pictures and I draw the words to the book." Later on, "Eekie Eeeks died. He was old and he's not living anymore. But Grafton is here and Grafton will meet a new friend." Finally, "I am going to die soon too. And Grafton won't be here anymore."Parents (horrified), "No! You are going to live for a long, long, long time."

---

Finally, a few days ago, Grafton asks, out of nowhere, "What is high school?"

Fancy Clothes

Grafton (et al.) get dressed up for a Baptism ceremony.

More photos here

Pumpkin Time

Grafton stands in front of pumpkins picked from behind our house!

More pix here