Brain Spill

These facts are based on a sample size of one 9 month old.

• 9-month-olds can eat 3 whole grapes before they get bored of it.
• 9-month-olds can go from smiling to crying in 5 seconds flat. I've also managed to reverse this reaction in 5 seconds. Once!
• 9-month-olds have no sense of personal hygiene. If you try to kiss them on their cheeks, they can turn their head at the last second and slobber all over your mouth.
• If you give them an avocado to eat, make sure to wash their hair afterward. Avocado leaks out of their hair and all over their face.
• 9-month-olds are dramatic. They are emotionally moved when you pluck them out of their mother's hand. They cry out in joy for saving them. With tears flowing down their chubby cheeks.
• 9-month-olds are thrill seekers. Even though they can't walk to save their lives, they will try to launch themselves down the stairs or climb up tables.

Sempi: Appa, I'm making hot dogs. Do you want one? 

Me: Yes! How much is it? Eight dollars or Fifty Three dollars?

Sempi: Appa, you can't make up numbers. It is eight dollars.

ps: He can count up to ten. It gets fuzzy after that.

I'm a bit of a classical string instruments nerd. I can't pay any instrument but I listen to classical music a lot.

Sempi and I like to name our trucks. Sempi goes for the classics like Mary Anne and Mike Mulligan. I usually go for Jacquline Du Pre, Yoyo Ma and Stradivarius. 

Me: So Yoyo Ma is driving the Stradivarius (the dump truck) and Jacquline Du Pre is digging the dirt with Guarneri (the excavator).

Sempi: Appa, Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne are driving up the hill and coming to the construction site.

Me: Paganini (the steam roller) is flattening the road. Perlman and Heifetz are pouring the concrete. 

Sempi starts struggling with the names at this point.

Sempi: What should we name our back hoe. 

Me: How about Beethoven? 

Sempi: Ok, we'll call it Beethoven Backhoei. But we'll use Backhoei for short. What do you think? 

Me: Nice try buddy, we're calling our backhoe, Beethoven.

My hope is that by the time he starts taking Cello lessons, he's already used to the names of big wigs.

Vian is starting to pull himself up. He stood up and tried to grab everything in his reach. 

Me: We shouldn't keep the water cup here. Vian might grab it.

Yoshi: We just have to keep an eye on him. You might think he has tiny T-Rex hands, but nooo. He's more like an octopus with tentacles.

For some unknown reason, I looked up GWBasic today and downloaded an emulator. GWBasic was the first programming language that I learned. I have fond memories of that language. I love the fact that I could switch to a graphics mode and start drawing circles and squares. 

After about 30 minutes of fumbling around, my muscle memory kicked in and I started to write a simple program to draw some shapes on the screen. I asked Sempi to sit with me and help me with the drawing. He wanted me to draw a truck, so I decided to give it a shot. 

He lost interest midway when I started looking up various commands in the programming manual, but I stuck with it. 

Here's the creation in all it's glory. 

Needless to say, I had a lot of fun.