All I Want for Hanukkah is a Hulk Pillow

Max made a 48-item list for the holidays today. He seems to have a problem with that old boundary between fantasy and reality.
1. space mucus
2. bendable monsters
3. A flying saucer--Santa can get into outer space with his reindeers
4. skateboard
5. cozy footies
6. cool paper for drawing
7. Scooby Doo movies
8. sketchpads
9. Little Vampire Goes to School
10. a new Ding Dong clock
11. the real Hello Kitty
12. alien kit
13. comics
14. Hulk shirt
15. Spiderman scarf
16. superhero gloves
17. new vans
18. gummy worms
19. transformers
20. ninja stickers
21. Pokemon toys, including the real Pikachu
22. baseball
23. a motorboat
24. snow shovel
25. a goldfish
26. an umbrella
27. ancient treasure
28. New pants--green, like I'm pooping out green
29. jumprope
30. hula hoop
31. air hockey
32. new pencils
33. a crown
34. A superhero costume, with a real cape so I can fly
35. a Hulk pillow
36. a snorkeling kit
37. grapes
38. eyeball glasses
39. slime rings and ropes
40. Beastie Candy, that candy that makes you into a monster
41. a light hat
42. a fortune-telling crystal ball
43. magic tricks
44. A tiki ball that can come alive at nighttime, that I'll leave at Mimi's so it can go in her room, shaking maracas. It will be a real tiki festival!
45. a Pudding clock
46. a book that shows how to write Japanese
47. a new nightlight with a superhero
48. a new roll of Scotch tape

She speaks!

Well, at least a little.

Genevieve is a week shy of 14 months old. So far, she says: Mama, Dada, Bubba (brother), here, he-llo, that (dat), and maybe just maybe book and cat. This is when the fun starts!

Update on 11/1: She's 14 months today and also says "bath" and, maybe, "up dada".

Update on 11/27: The chant is "na na no no", so very close to Mork from Ork.

Update on 11/30: She says "Mimi" and "woof". Maybe "dere" for "there".

ESPANOL

My whole adult life, I've tried to learn Spanish. Sometimes it flows, and other times, it's as if my Spanish is an impressionist painting, alluding to subjects, but kind of blurry and blotchy. I was worried that, when I moved to Portland, some of my Spanish would fade. So I've been working to stay in touch with the language, as well as Mexican culture. Here's some of the Spanish happenings in my life these days:

Sin Fronteras: This group is working to educate people about the Mexicano government's destruction of public schools in Chiapas and Oaxaca. I went to their recent documentary screening and it was once again illuminated for me how little the U.S. media addresses international issues, and how much U.S. constant consumption and capitalism has deeply damaged other corners of the world.

Viva Kinder!: Maxito is in dual immersion bilingual Spanish kindergarten. His teacher told me that the other day, after much prompting and modeling of phrasing, Maxito volunteered a full phrase in Espanol: "Yo fui a la casa de Mimi." When the teacher asked, "Quien es Mimi?", he told her, "Abuelita." Then, she got him to put the whole thing together: "Yo fui a la casa de mi abuelita." Que milagro!

Salon de Muertos: My new theater group, The StageSlingers, is hosting Dashboard Shrine, a Salon de Muertos with surreal stories, fiddled gypsy dirges, and dreamy poetry in honor of Day of the Dead. I'm going to build one of my pedestal altars for the event. It's Sunday, November 5th, at Tour de Crepes, 2921 NE Alberta Street, at 7pm.

Vamanos a Zihuatanejo! We just bought our tickets to Zihuatanejo. We'll be on the Mexican beach in early December. Max can't wait to snorkel. This will be only Genevieve's second time in Mexico--I try to make sure my ninos visit Mexico once a year (but I can visit more!).