growing up is hard to do

This week Henry has had 2 experiences that make me want to stop time so he can maintain his sweet innocence. On Monday, we were on our way home from the park when he told me that a group of kids (one 2nd grader and about four 1st graders) was laughing at him in the bathroom.
Me: Why were they doing that?
Henry: Because I pull my pants down and they can see my butt when I pee.
Me: Well, how do the other kids do it?
Henry: I don't know.
Me: Maybe they just unzip their pants and only pull their underwear down in the front.
Henry: Oh. I wish they just had doors on the bathroom so no one could see my bum.
Me: Me too. But, we can practice having you go to the bathroom the other way.

So, what's the deal with not letting boys pee in privacy? Aren't there enough perverts around that our little boys shouldn't have to expose themselves every time they go to the bathroom? It made me very angry.

Innocence-stealing experience #2: Henry's class wrote story books. They did a couple of drafts in school, and the teacher typed it up for them, and they drew pictures. Then, they got to go read their books to the kindergartners. Henry's story was about a ricken--a cross between a rooster and a chicken. (I guess he didn't understand that that just meant it was transgender.) Henry read the book to me, and when we got to one of the pages, he had crossed out everything the teacher had typed and written something else above it. Henry's original story said, "He went to find a wife to marry. He walked into the woods and found a chicken and they got married. They had 18 children." He crossed that part out and wrote, "He went to the woods. He saw a duck food. He ate it." I asked him why he changed it and he said it was because he didn't want the other kids to laugh at him.

So sad to me that he has to grow up so fast. But, it seems like the other kids in his class really like him--even the ones who were laughing at him in the bathroom. So, he'll be fine. He does have to learn these things sometime. I just wish it weren't quite so soon.

siblings and soup

Today at lunch, Elsa was excited that Will learned how to say juice instead of just ju. She was thinking he was funny, and she said, "I'm glad I have a little brother, and I'm glad my little brother is William."

Will discovered the cans and packages of soup and was really excited about them, so we had soup for lunch and dinner. Will started eating first, and Elsa thought he might like the talking Eeyore to keep him company. He started telling Eeyore all about the soup and feeding it to him--"n' is soup. n' is hot. n' is nummy."

Anytime I get out the camera, Henry needs his camera too. He is actually a decent photographer if we let him use the real camera.

i'm a little busy right now

Elsa has become the queen of projects. She always has some creation that she works very intently on for hours. I will ask her to play something or read with me or make her bed, and she'll say, "I'm a little busy right now." (Hmmmm . . . I wonder where she's heard that.) Last week she decided to make a bird house. She planned out the whole thing by herself--made the hole for the door, cut out 4 triangles for the roof and said she was going to tape them into a pyramid, etc. I only helped tape everything together, since someone needed to hold it while the other one taped. I even questioned her roof design, but it worked. Not bad for 4 years old. Each wall of the house had a different bird picture on it, and she gathered sticks to make a nest inside, and made a handle to carry it.

Meanwhile, Will was busy in the sandbox. He loves sand and dirt, as evidenced by the floor always being dirty and the piles of laundry.