Why

We are now in the "why" stage. Here is a typical conversation with Sven.
Sven: Can we go to the desert today and look at cactus flowers?
Me: No, we can't go today
Sven: Why?
Me: Because the desert is far away and we need to take a plane to get there. So, we can't go this weekend.
Sven: Why?

Boys Bathroom

On the day before Heaster, Sven and I went to a Seattle Symphony concert for children. Before the performance I took Sven to the Women's room. When we got there, the room was full of Mother and Daughters wearing dresses and other very feminine attire. I think several girls got to wear their Easter dresses a day early. Sven looked around the room and said "is there a boy's bathroom." I tried to tell him that little boys could go in potty in the Women's room. He wasn't very satisfied with the answer, but soon after that we saw one more boy with his Mother, so he seemed to feel a little better.

However, yesterday, the same thing happened. We went into another public restroom, and several women and girls were in there. Again, Sven asked several times if there was a "boy's bathroom."

I think Mommy's days for taking Sven into the restroom are numbered.

Trees and Bathrooms

Sven had lots of fun on Heaster. He found almost a dozen eggs at an Annual Easter party we go to at Eric and Ami's. He also got to wear his new "Orchestra Costume", i.e. a shirt and tie, that we bought for him. You can see a picture at his website. He's been begging us for a suit and tie for a long time.

Sven has become very independent. He wants to do everything himself. However, recently, in a public restroom, he grabbed a huge wad of paper towels to dry his hands. We've also had to talk to him about using too much toilet paper. So, I explained to him that that more paper towels and toilet paper he uses, the more trees need to get cut down. So, we shouldn't use more than we need.

Later that day, Sven and I drove past a crew that was pruning trees. Sven said "They're cutting down trees so more people can go to the bathroom and dry their hands."

It's Almost Heaster!

Sven can tell me about things he remembers from more than a year ago. For example, we were reading a book he got for this 3rd birthday and he told me that he got it at his 3rd birthday party and lots of people were there.

This year Sven knows that "Heaster" is coming, and he is very excited. He is expecting a basket of "clastic Heaster eggs" that will contain the same goodies that I gave him last year. Until we started seeing pictures of easter eggs, I had no idea that he remembered the contents from last year. But he is already talking about the nuts and chocolate blueberries that he expects. I better do some shopping.

Check it out!

Poor Sven has an ear infection, due to spring allergies. Last night, as he transitioned from sleep to awake for the umpteenth time, he told me "those hippos make me nervous." This is the first time I heard Sven mention that something made him "nervous." I'm still wondering what he was dreaming about.

Sven's favorite phrase these days is "check it out." The other night Erik bought him a new Spiderman notebook and he said "Mommy - I got a new toy. Want to check it out?"

Run Aki Run

For Christmas, my sister Michi, got me a sweatshirt that says "Run Aki Run." We've told Sven what it says a few times. Today, we wrote the words Run Aki Run on a Magna Doodle and he read the words out loud.

So, the first words Sven is able to read, besides his name, are "Run" and "Aki". The second sentence he could read was "Run Sven Run."