Jude explains Muffin Land and a fast shadow

I have some old notes about Jude stuff I need to post, so here it is... (There will be more about Ruby as she continues to learn how to express herself and get around and do Ruby things.)

Jude Notes:

Jude said...

Jude was looking for his "blue green duck dinosaur" and he said...

"Maybe it's in the universe.
Or, maybe it's on the planet Nowhere.
Or, maybe it's in Muffin Land.
Muffin Land is on the bobbdum of the earth. Muffins in Muffin Land can fly, because they have wings. But, the muffins don't have any bones. They just have head bones. They cannot see where they are going."

I said I would like to go to Muffin Land someday. Jude said...

"You can't go to Muffin Land, because it is very far away."

I said maybe I could go there on a big ship. Jude said...

"But a ship would be too slow. If you had a dragon, you could fly to Muffin Land, because dragons can fly very, very far. Dragons can fly for 20 and a half miles."

I said it would be really fun to fly to Muffin Land on a dragon. I think that's what I'll do. Jude said...

"You should bring a coat, because it's very cold down there on the bobbdum of the earth in Antarctica."

MORE Jude Notes:

rat wolf... did a pig sound, then a chicken, then made a crazy sound... "That's a rat wolf," he said.

"Not exactly."
Said he saw his shadow and ran... "Did you get away from it?" I asked.

He paused and said very seriously, "Not exactly."

He went on to explain... "...and it was riding on a little bike and it went (zoom) right past me.
and then it was riding backwards."

He's also talked about something called a "rat plane... waits for all the children to get on...
...then takes off... ...has a big dance room..."

STILL MORE Jude Notes:

"In the aquarium they have little holes that go in the water and i put the crayon in there and I put a toy shark in there... and a beetle car. A REAL ONE."

"WHY ARE YOU USING LITTLE LETTERS?" he asked.

Ruby's words

Lately, Ruby loves to use her sign language for "monkey." Anytime anyone says "monkey," she smiles and does the sign -- which is sort of like a gorilla, beating its chest -- and makes a little monkey sound.

Jude's quote of the day

"I'm going to kick you out of the universe on Sunday!" -- said with his pseudo-angry, scrunched-up nose expression and while flexing Hulk-style.

Later the same day...

"I'm going to kick you off the planet on Saturday!"

Ruby's antics

Lately, Ruby has been getting really aggravated anytime someone tells her "no, no" or "no touch." She immediately stops what she's doing, but she also looks right at you and starts to cry. It's really hard to maintain one's resolve in the face of that.

Mostly, though, she's a happy, smiling, little angel. I guess that's why it's sort of funny to Charline and me when she make a fuss over simply being told "no."

She loved swinging at the playground yesterday. And, she ran all over the place, very independently, without worrying at all about how far away she was getting or where she was going.

Did I mention her "chicken dance?" Adorable stuff. Anytime she hears someone say "chicken," even in passing, she starts to do her chicken impersonation. Hilarious.

Jude's quote of the day

This is actually a quote from a while back, which I just remembered...

Jude: "Did you say that, or did I say it?"

Jude's Blue-Eared Crab

While we were talking in the kitchen today, Jude said "I have something to tell you Dada. I love you." And, of course I told him I love him too. Then, he said "And I have something else to tell you. When I was four [note: he's currently only 3 1/2 years old], I ate a blue eared crab."

I asked him about this blue eared crab and he described it.

"It has five legs and it eats sharks and it can eat things that are bigger than it is." [This last part was obviously inspired by something we saw in one of his fish books recently, about a deep-sea creature that eats things larger than itself.]

He then went on to describe the orange-eared crab, which is 20 1/2 feet high, and the gray-eared crab, which has four legs. He had other details about them, which I've already forgotten.

It's not the moon. It's not the movie. It's just us.

The Barger family went over to the town of Media today, to visit an arboretum, visit a town festival, and see an outdoor showing of the movie "Cars" on a baseball field.

After the arboretum, and after a walk through the town, we were headed back to our van and we saw the half-moon in the sky. The sky was still bright, but the moon was vivid. Charline and I pointed it out to Jude, who always appreciates moon sitings. He and talked about why we only saw half of it.

Then, Charline and I told him we were on our way to see a movie outside. We didn't tell him it was his favorite film, but he was pretty happy about the idea anyway. But, then, after a moment of reflection, as we were getting into the van, he said something profound.

Jude said "It's not the moon. It's not the movie. It's just us."

He was right. Well said, Jude. Well said. It was a wonderful day for the whole family, from start to finish. But, it wasn't about what we saw or did. It was just great being together, the whole family, for the whole day and night.

Jude's quote of the day

"Remember, when you cough into your hand, your hand coughs back at you."

Said when his mother suggested it's a good idea to put one's hand in front of one's mouth when coughing. I think he's been reading Nietzsche:

"He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee." - from Beyond Good and Evil, by Friedrich Nietzsche, at Chapter IV: "Apophthegms and Interludes," #146.

Jude says...

"I'm not afraid of monsters, or not even... giant spider webs!"

He says he's "not afraid of anything" when we try to tell him something on TV is too scary for him to watch. Today, he got really specific, with the above quote. He said this with his nose crinkled up in his you-better-watch-out expression.

Jude's quote of the day

"When I jump up, my hat jumps up too."
-- Jude, commenting on his "bouncing hat" while sitting in the mini-van

Jude's quote of the day

"On one day, I did brush my hair with my toothbrush."
-- Jude Barger
-- age 3
-- May 5, 2008

Shave and a haircut

I finally made myself look presentable for a change. I got a haircut and shaved off the beard. It's been several years since I looked "clean-cut." Of course, I promptly stopped shaving again, and am starting to look a bit scruffy.

Why the change? I'm in law school and on my way to becoming a lawyer. So, I figured it was about time to start looking the part. It has been a refreshing change, actually. Charline's not crazy about the lack of facial hair. And, as I said, I am letting that grow back in a bit. Maybe I'll do a better job of keeping it trimmed this time. Any wagers?

Maybe Charline will snap a photo of my new look, so we can post it. Stay tuned.