Ben in School

In case you didn't know, Ben is going to school 4 days a week now. He loves it. We've also started teaching him to read, and he read his first word tonight. By Christmas he'll be reading paragraphs, and the book says he'll be reading at a second grade level when we're done. (We're using "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons," which I think was recommended by Megan.) He seems to be doing well, which I guess could be attributed to the teaching method, but I like to think it's because he's just a smart kid.

PS: he can also do simple addition. He turns 5 in April.

No LASIK for me!

Anda has been talking aout LASIK for a long time, and she finally set up an appointment for us to go in for a free consultation. Long story short, I can't get LASIK (surprise!). The doctor said he won't do it on anyone who needs more than 8 diopters of correction, and no doctor in the country would do it on someone with -10. He says I'm -10.5 in one eye, and -11.5 in the other. He also says that they can't cure amblyopia (lazy eye) with LASIK. They can make the eye as good as it gets with glasses, but the problem is more with the connection between the brain and the eye than with the eye itself. I'm actually a little relieved, because now I won't have Anda bugging me about having someone shoot a laser in my eyes.

Anda can't get LASIK, either. It turns out that LASIK is like refinishing a floor--your cornea has to be thick enough for them to cut stuff away when reshaping the eye. Makes sense, right? Anyway, Anda was born with thin corneas, and there's not enough for LASIK. She can get PRK, though, which although it hurts more and takes longer to recover, sometimes has better results than LASIK. So now we just have the dilemma of not being able to pay for it. I bet we can get a better deal on the procedure in some alley in Costa Rica, right?

Stuff on Your Head

Neal really likes the song by Laurie Berkner about stuff on your head. It goes: "(Name) has a(n) (Object) on his head ... " So tonight Neal came to me with various items on his head and said, "Sing song!"

A while later, Ben and Neal were playing together in their bedroom, and we heard a crash followed by Neal crying. Almost immediately, we could hear Ben start to sing: "Neal has an owie on his head, Neal has an owie on his head ...."

Ben's Favorites

I was asking Ben today about his favorite things (color, animal, game, etc.). Ben says his favorite sound is the sound of rain. I thought that was quite unique, and probably indicates that he is a very thoughtful boy. But then I asked him why he likes the sound of rain. "Because if it's raining outside and there's nothing to do inside, then we get to watch TV!"

More evil laugh

The other day after our LASIK evaluation, Ben went to school and Anda and I thought we should go to lunch before I go back to work. So we drove in separate cars, and Anda and Neal were ahead of me. Anda says that for the first several blocks, Neal was saying, "Faster than you! Mwa ha ha ha!"

Neal the Superhero

The other night Neal was up way too late dressed as a superhero (red cape). He came to Anda and I and said, "Me Hero!" Then he gives his evil laugh "Mwa ha ha ha! ... Hear that? Me Hero!" Repeat ad infinitum.

Not sure why superheroes have an evil laugh, but in Ben and Neal's world, everything has an evil laugh.

Privacy, please?

I'm in the bathroom. Ben comes in with an Xbox controller:
Ben - Look, I want to show you something
Anda-Ben, could you wait till I'm done?
Ben - No, no, I don't need HELP, I just want to show you something...
Anda-I still would like you to wait, I don't like to have others in the bathroom with me when I'm....
Ben-But I won't laugh at you, mommy!