What Magnus and Maya Said...

Magnus' first musical:
Gina: Magnus, did you like watching TV with Daddy?  What was it about?
Magnus: It was about poor people, and they had no shoes, and no money
Gina: Anything else?
Magnus: No
Gina: Did they sing?
Magnus: Yes
Gina: Did you like the songs?
Magnus: Yes

Magnus tries to delegate
Gina: OK Magnus, take off your shoes and put them away please
<Magnus takes off shoes and stands up, and sees Grandma bending over to pick up shoes>
Magnus: Put my shoes away Grandma
Gina: No Magnus, you take off your own shoes and you put away your own shoes!

After singing 'On Top of Spaghetti

Magnus: Mom what happened to the meatball? <repeat ad nauseum>

Magnus the fruit snob
Magnus: I don't want to eat those bananas!  They have holes!
Magnus: No I don't want to eat Auntie Goldie's plums, they're too bumpy

Risk taker:

Magnus: You see Mommy, I don't have to hold my weewee to pee!

It's about the rules:

Magnus: <whispering> Shhh.. Maya is Sleeping
Gina: <quietly, but not whispering> She's sleeping is she?
Magnus: <loudly> Mom!  You have to be quiet!
Gina: <whispering> Oh… you mean like this?
Magnus: <whispering> Yeah!

Geography vs pop culture
Gina: Popo is going to Hong Kong.
Magnus: Is it going to climb a lot buildings?
Gina: No... that's King Kong.  King Kong is a giant gorilla.  Hong Kong is a city, just like Dubai, or Toronto!

It's a deal

Magnus: Deal Mommy?  Deal Mommy?  Deal mommy?
Gina: Do I what Magnus?  
Magnus: Deal Mommy?  Deal Mommy?
Gina: Ohhhh, you mean deal?  What deal, sweetie?
Magnus: Deal Mommy?  It means that you understand!
Gina: Um.. OK, deal!

Anytime I speak firmly to Magnus:

Magnus: Moooommmyyyy… I don't like it when you say bad things

Control freak:
Magnus: What Mommy what?
Gina: Mommy is talking to grandma right now Magnus, It's not for little boys and girls to understand.  You can't know everything, Magnus
Magnus: But I want to know everything!!

Friendly correction
Kendrick: OK get off that thing
Magnus: It's a chair, ok?

Control freak 2:
Magnus: Mommy, I don't want to have dinner, I want to have lunch!
Gina: It's not lunch time, it's dinner time Magnus
Magnus: No!  I want to have lunch!

Maya has two cents: 
Gina: Magnus, 10 minutes is up, it's time for bed.
Magnus: Nnnno!
Maya: Nnnno!
Gina: C'mon, time to go up!
Maya: Up!

I get the strangest stories from school:
Gina: Magnus, what happened to your knees?
Magnus: I fell down.  All my friends did this to me.  Except S, he was my daddy.
Gina: He was your daddy?
Magnus: He was just pretending

Big brother: 
Magnus: Ope!!  Eeep!!!
Maya: <giggle>
Magnus: Oooooh, so you liiike my funny faces!

Magnus likes to find new snappy comebacks:

Gina: Magnus, why do you never sit properly?
Magnus: That's the problem…

Snappy comeback rut:

Thor: Want to play with McQueen Magnus?
Magnus: No…
Thor: Why?
Magnus: That's the problem…
Thor: Why not?
Magnus: That's the problem…
Thor: Why not?!
Magnus: That's the problem…

After catching Magnus climbing all over his chair
Magnus: Mommy why do you always say no thank you no thank you NO THANK YOU?
Gina: Magnus why do you always do things you're not supposed to?

A simple card game degenerates into messy messy play
Thor: Made a pancakes! <throws card>
Magnus: <giggle> Made a pancakes! <throws card>
Thor: <laugh> Made a pancakes! <throws card>
Magnus: <uncontrollable laughter>  Made a pancakes!  <cough> <cough> <vomit> <vomit> <vomit> <vomit>

But with positive reviews

Gina: Did you have fun with Thor yesterday?

Magnus: Yeah!  We were pancake chefs!

Career talk:

Kendrick: What do you want to be when you grow up, Magnus?
Magnus: <undecipherable>
Kendrick: What? A mechanic?
Gina: Instruction?
Magnus: Yeah! A <undecipherable>
Gina: A construction worker?  Really?  Why is that, sweetie?
Magnus: Because I want to build a house!

Magnus tries to apply a phrase he often hears from me: "are you kidding me?" 
Magnus: I have to use this spoon to eat my yogurt.  Am I kidding, mommy?

When Magnus wants to "come with":

Gina: I have to go upstairs and get Maya.
Magnus: I want to be the assistant!

or...

Gina: I just have to move the car a little

Magnus: Can I be the co-pilot?

His little friends have recently moved, so...

Magnus: This apartment sure is getting smaller
Gina: Haha it might seem that way
Magnus: We better move to a bigger house

Maya's first words:
Uh oh
No
Up

Appo (Apple)
Na-na (Banana)
Dar (Star)
Ball
A-mah
Daddy
An-mah
An-pa

What Magnus Said

We've been pushing Magnus to share a lot this month, and he will often invoke the word "share" for his own devices:
Magnus: Maya, you have to share, or else you will lose friends!!
Magnus: Alexander, it's called sharing!  It's called SHARING!

With a little help, starting to spell
Gina: Magnus, how do you spell "soon"?
Magnus: <sounding out> s… uh… oo… oo… ss… o… ooo…
Magnus: 'S' 'O' 'O'
Magnus: <pause>
Magnus: Mom, what was the word again?
Gina: "Soon"
Magnus: 'N'!!!

Going to a new shopping mall:
Gina: We are going to the Gold and Diamond Park today
Magnus: Do they have gold coins?  Mom, do they have golden coins?
Gina: No they don't, sorry Magnus

Magnus: Do they have chocolate coins?

Teaching mum:
Magnus: Mom, I'm sighing, do you know what that means?

Gina: What does it mean Magnus?
Magnus: It means I'm tiiired.

Magnus loves sharing his phonics lessons from school:
Magnus: Ch says "ch!" as in January!
Magnus: TRAINS GO CHUGGING UP THE HILL!  CH-CH-CH!  CH-CH-CH!

Stubbornly anti-social

Magnus: I don't want <a> and <b> to come visit.  It's NEVER going to be fun.
Gina: You had fun with them in Toronto, it'll be fun when they come to Dubai!
Magnus: NO WAY!

Magnus has many sad moments
Magnus: That makes me sad
Gina: So many things make you sad
Magnus: Yes, all the things that you do

Reading a title from his Dad's bookshelf

Magnus: U-2 that spells youtube!!

Clueing in on the five minute rule:
Gina: Magnus, would you like to brush your teeth now or play for 5 more minutes?
Magnus: No, I want to play five 5 minutes!
Gina: How much is that?
Magnus: A long, long, time!
(in the end we agreed on two 5 minutes, which Magnus understood to be 10 minutes)

When we scold:
Gina: Magnus, don't ride your bicycle near Maya again!
Kendrick: Magnus, if you don't listen to Mommy, I will take your bike away!
Magnus: <scrunches up face, sits down dejectedly, talks in a low voice> Dad always takes things away
Gina: No, it's not just Daddy, I will take your bicycle away if you ride it near Maya  <long explanation ensues>

Cheerfully defiant:
Kendrick: You know what would be really nice, Magnus?  Some peace and quiet!
Magnus: No, peace and LOUD!

Your dad, actually:

Gina: <Housekeeper> is from the philippines, did you know that?
Magnus: Oh! who else is from two Ps mom?

Sad and grammatically stagnant
Magnus: You see, I always be sad when I cry mom.
Gina: "I am always sad when I cry"

Magnus: No, I don't want to say it that way!

If I am even slightly distracted:
Magnus: Mom, I don't like it when you say mm-hmm!

Bedtime story:
Gina: "… And a helicopter just for me!"
Magnus: No, "just for me!"
Gina: <pause>  That what I said, "just for me"
Magnus: No, "just for me!"
Gina: You mean, "just for you?"
Magnus: Yeah!

Video Roundup

I catch so many great moments on video by simply storing our camera in the living room on top of the bookshelf with the lens cap off.  This makes it easily to whip it out when the kids are being extra cute.

Enjoy!


One day I asked Magnus if he wanted to feed Maya.  He was more than happy to do so!

Daniel stayed at our place for a few nights.  In return we asked only for a performance.  At first, Magnus declared Daniel's playing to be "bad."  In the end, Daniel won him over:

Magnus loves substitution jokes.  This joke ran for a couple of weeks.

It's amazing to watch kids develop.

Maya likes to stow things under the TV stand so that she can skootch down and look at it.  I didn't quite capture this on video but it's pretty close:

Ditto for putting stuff into bags.  I lost my keys once this way.

Magnus' game amused Maya.  He was making a pig spin.

I let Magnus drive Maya around on the strict order that he was to be gentle and to report to me the second Maya would try to climb out.  This happened quite often.  Magnus was very diligent about reporting, too.

She does this all the time, but it's cuter with the dots. :)

What Magnus Said...

The art of explanation:

Gina: Did you like it when Daddy pretended to be asleep and you jumped on him?

Magnus: Yeah!  I jumped 3 times

Gina: 3 times!

Magnus: Yes, so I didn't vomit! <Kendrick asked him to stop jumping so that he would not get overexcited and vomit, which is what happened last time>

Driving at night:

Gina: When it's daytime, it's sunny outside

Magnus: Yeah, and when it's sunny I wear my sunglasses! <pause> It's moony outside now!

Too much pressure?

Magnus: Mommy, what's that?

Gina: The GPS said, "satellite connection lost".  Do you remember what satellite means?

Magnus: I can't remember what satellite means! <bursts into tears>

Putting the pressure on Grandpa instead:

Grandpa: Now we're in business!  Magnus, do you know what a business is?

Gina: Grandpa, why don't you explain to Magnus what a business is?

Grandpa: <tee hee>

Playing the opposite game with Tristany

Tristany: What's the opposite of high?

Magnus: Bye!

After this exchange, we hastily taught him the words; beard, mustache, and shave

Kendrick: Daddy has to go take a shower now, Magnus.

Magnus: Mommy, Daddy will have no hair!!

A conversation I have every time I do a rolling stop (often)

Magnus: Mom!  STOP at the stop sign!!

Gina: Oh did I not stop?  You're going to be a much better driver than Mommy.

Magnus: Yeah, when I get bigger and bigger, I will stop at the stop sign!

Cue world's smallest violin:

Magnus: No Dad, I'm still sad!

Kendrick: Would you like to go to the balloon store with me?  Would a balloon make you happy?

Magnus: No, a balloon will make me sadder.

Gina: Would you like to get a balloon, Magnus?

Magnus: <sigh> yeah

Every time I talk to visitors:

Magnus: Mom!  Mom!  Mom!!  I want you to pay attention to me!!!

Magnus is sharpening his arguing skills:

Gina: Magnus, Mommy has to take a shower now.

Magnus: No!!!

Gina: Magnus, I need to take a shower!  Look at my feet!  See how dirty they are? 

Magnus: Mom, you can just wash your feet.

A future in marketing?

Magnus: <reading the side of a bag> J B C!  Mom, how come they put J and not A?

A food request:

Magnus: Mom, some people like to eat meatballs

Gina: Would you like to eat meatballs?

Magnus: Yeeeah!!

A lesson in equality:

Magnus: Mom, blue and red make purple!

Gina: Yes!

Magnus: Mom, purple and blue make red!

Gina: No, purple and blue do not make red. 

Using "an" a little too often.  This is just one example:

Gina: That is a picture of...

Magnus: an strawberry!

Informing Maya cheerfully:

Magnus: Maya you are driving mommy crazy!

Kendrick was playing with Maya on the sofa:

Magnus: Maya loves her daddy

At Alexander's

Magnus and Maya had a wonderful playdate at Alexander and Izabella's place a couple of weeks ago.  Magnus had been looking forward to it the whole week, probably because of the promise of toy cars and trains.  Alexander, our gracious young host, was happy to have Magnus play with any and all of his toys.  The only catch was, he loved to prank Magnus by occasionally snatching and hiding whatever toy Magnus happened to be interested in.  This was funny for everybody except for Magnus, who eventually got over it when we went to play outside.  Maya was a little clingy, but got along well with Izabella.  She particularly liked the executive chair, and is planning to get one for her future office:

My next trick is going to mess up my hair, but it'll be good for employee morale:

Here is Magnus enjoying lunch:

And Izabella looking quizzical.  

The boys did really well when we were outside playing with the soccer ball.  Usually boys will be boys stuff:

Magnus was really testing his boundaries by the end.

I let him squish all the way home.  A fine end to a wonderful afternoon.  Tak for sidst!! :)

School Assessment 1

In Dubai, all children must be assessed prior to an offer of placement at a school.  It is such a foreign notion to us and our public school upbringing that I thought I would document part of this process.

Yesterday Magnus did his assessment at one of the three schools where we have him wait-listed.  This school is ranked "Good" by the education authority in the UAE.  A very quick overview:

Pros: Will allow Magnus to start KG1 in Sept 2013 (so he will be youngest in his class); We have several good friends with kids at this school
Cons: Most expensive school (tuition is almost double); Very far (20 minutes highway driving)

The assessment was the interesting part.  At the appointment time, they asked us to take our children to the library.  The library was set up with desks - 1 teacher per desk.  Magnus was appointed to a specific teacher, and he was seated across from her.  I sat next to Magnus.

I was not aware that I was supposed to leave him.  Nobody briefed me about this.  Halfway through the assessment the teacher whispered to me, "is there a reason why you are still here?  The assessment will be better if you are not here."  I was not very impressed with that, but it did give me the opportunity to watch the first half of the assessment.

- She asked Magnus his name, his age, and where he was from.
- She gave him a six-piece puzzle and asked him to construct it.  The puzzle pieces were all numbered.  She asked him what the numbers were randomly.
- She took out a toy with multicoloured pieces.  They were little camels that connected (the mouths would snap into the tail of the camel in front).  She asked him to connect the pieces, and in the process tested his knowledge of colours.

At this point she asked me to leave.  Magnus had aced everything up to this point.  I was a little nervous about the puzzle because he doesn't like doing puzzles at home, but he totally loved doing this elephant puzzle!

Before we left, Magnus wanted to show me what he "drawed" for me.  I used this as an excuse to go back to the assessment desk to pick up the paper he was drawing on.  I could see that the teacher had written some letters of the alphabet, mostly upper case.  But then I also saw that she had written two lower case letters.  I also saw an attempt by Magnus to write his own name.  I could see the M A and G, but the rest was not really there.  He had also scribbled some kind of drawing.  His usual mish mash of nothing in particular.

So I think he did pretty well as the assessment.  We will hear the results next week!

Afternoon At Jacob's

Magnus and Maya went to visit Jacob and Harry this afternoon.  Again I forgot my camera so I had to rely on my phone.  Here are the two big kids elbowing their way into the baby toy area.  Maya and Harry didn't seem to mind though.  Their attitudes were as casual as their dress: Harry - no pants; Maya - pardon my onesie.

The highlight for Magnus was running around with Jacob in his huge garden/backyard.  Here they are with an end-of-playdate obstacle course:

Magnus was getting really tired by the end (yes!!!):

Luckily, he didn't fall asleep in his mashed potatoes when we got home.

Now, what to do about my trampoline envy…..

Weekend Without Daddy

Kendrick took a long weekend away to a remote island in Yemen with his friends.  He is on his way back now, but it was quite a tiring period for us here in Dubai.  However, I consider this his belated Christmas present, since the only thing we got him for Christmas was a cantaloupe!

Ultimately the kids and I managed just fine, and I dragged along my playbook to record as much of the weekend as possible.  I covered three out of the four days.

Day 1:

After school I took Magnus to the skate park (see previous entry.)  Here is Magnus making a "sad" face.

Day 2:

After school, I took Magnus and Maya to the park next door to watch the sprinklers go off at three o clock.  We got early so that they could enjoy the playground for a little while.  

Magnus, who loves riding his scooter on the grass, was arguing with me about staying on the grass when the sprinklers suddenly turned on.  As Magnus ran away from the water, a little Spanish kid ran right toward the water and danced around in the spray for awhile.  

Since the afternoon was still young, Magnus, Maya and I headed over to the mall.  Maya fell asleep on the way over and missed the start of the Dubai Shopping Festival storytime.  Here is Magnus killing some time before the story:

Soon after this picture was taken, the security guard asked Magnus to stop riding his scooter.  So he lounged on the bean bag instead:




Day 3:

We spent the morning in Al Ittihad park.  Maya had a gooood nap and woke up happy.

You should be able to see her top left tooth in this shot:

After the park, we headed over to Virginie's place for lunch. Magnus wanted to watch the cars go over the speed bump first.  We decided to count twenty cars, and discovered that there are not a lot of early birds living in Virginie's apartment.

The apartments next door are very beautiful too:

Here we are having lunch at the restaurant downstairs....

And visiting her apartment for minute.  Magnus is helping Maya zip up her sweater:

That Christmas tree looks like a three hour job ;)

Then we all went to the Mall for another storytime session.   Except after a yogurt, a train ride, and a visit to the potty, we never made it for storytime.

Magnus and Maya enjoying next-gen astroturf:

I tried to stop her, but she licked it.

Merry Christmas Kendrick!!!!  We missed you!!!

Magnus at the Skate Park

This week, Magnus has decided to call me, "Mom" as often as possible.  In particular, he likes to use it to get my attention, and unfortunately it's working.  When I asked him, "who says that?" (i.e. who taught him to say that) he told me that I was the one who says it.  To whom?  Why Po-po of course.  Hmmmm….

Speaking of growing up, I took Magnus to the skate park yesterday.  There is hardly anything less exciting to Magnus than doing stuff with his scooter.  After reading a recent local magazine, I discovered that a skate park was erected less than 15 minutes away from us.  It was designed for older kids and even adults, but I thought that Magnus might appreciate a dedicated space for rolling up and down ramps.  Was I right, or was I right?  He is so excited about the "Scooter Park" that he is even willing to patiently put on his shoes (he usually prefers his crocs) and all the required safety equipment.  

When he went with his Daddy on the weekend, it was quite crowded, so I took him there yesterday before school was out so that he could have the place to himself.  He did have to share with one 15-year old (who was home-schooled) but that made the experience all the more fun.

Afternoon Scootering

Magnus spent the afternoon with his new Winter Camp buddy, Jacob.  They ruled the ramps at the mall before taking a lemonade break:

Jacob then stumbled upon a newly established waterbus route.  Miraculously, both boys were up for a boat ride...

They enjoyed the fountain at the Marina Walk, did some more scootering, tucked in a bite of chocolate cupcake, and by then it was time to go home.  Instead of taking the boat back to the mall, we walked/scootered all the way back in small sprints.  If Magnus and Jacob don't sleep the whole night through, then the universe is just not fair.

What Magnus Said...

Mama's boy:

Magnus: Mommy, you're my big big girl

Misheard:

Magnus: Mommy there's a body on that boat!

Gina: Ummm.. what's it doing?

Magnus: Singing!

Gina: Oh yes, the birdie is singing...

Horsing around with Daddy:

Kendrick: I like… carrots

Magnus: Me too..

Kendrick: I like… broccoli..

Magnus: Me too..

Kendrick: I like.. bacon…

Magnus: Me too..

Kendrick: I like.. Maya

Magnus: <shakes head>

Kendrick: No?  You don't like Maya?

Magnus: No, Maya is not yummy!

Kendrick: I like… green peas..

Magnus: Not me…

Kendrick: I like… french fries

Magnus: Me too…

etc, etc…

Magnus: Now say celery!

I like… celery

Magnus: Not me…

Tit for Tat:

Vanessa: MAGNUS, what's going on?

Vanessa: MAGNUS, what's going on?

Magnus: Stop saying that! 

Vanessa: Stop saying that!

Magnus: VANESSA, what's going on?

Trying to get Magnus to sleep but then...

Gina: Uh-oh, Maya is crying!

Magnus: <gently> Mommy.. let her cry…

What else would he have to pick up?

Kendrick: I have to go pick up my suit tonight

Magnus: Mommy, Daddy has to pick up his soup!

Kendrick takes Magnus to the potty:

Kendrick: Is it pee or poo?

Magnus: Pee and poo!  I'm holding my bum and my weewee!

Wearing his new Timex watch:

Gina: It's time to wash hands!

Magnus: Mommy I can only wash one hand.

Positive reinforcement (because he wants to press G and B1 on the elevator and he can't reach anything else):

Magnus: Mommy, I like it when you press number 2!

Fun with me:

Kendrick: Magnus, do you want to do something fun with Daddy?

Magnus: No….

Kendrick: Really?  You don't want to go to the balloon store?

Magnus: Oh!!!   <scrambles to his feet> Come with ME!!!

Kendrick: You mean come with me, right?

Predator and prey:

Kendrick: <munching sounds>

Magnus: No Daddy, I'm not delicious, I smell delicious!

Truly excited to share:

Magnus: Mommy come and see what I made!!

Gina: What did you make?

Magnus: A big MESS!

Snarky:

Gina: OK Magnus, five minutes is up, let's go brush your teeth.

Magnus: No Mommy, five minutes is down!

Surprisingly not snarky in the delivery:

Gina: Eat your spoon!

Magnus: Mommy, did you mean spoonful?

Brain fart:

Kendrick: Apple pie with ice cream is also called Apple….

Magnus: Jumeirah?

It's amazing he never complained:

Gina: Don't fall into the potty, ok?

Magnus: Yeah, I will flush away.

Pattern recognition:

Gina: Good night Magnus <last name>

Magnus: Good night Mommy <maiden name>

Pop culture influences:

Gina: (to Kendrick) Is <your coworker> Korean?

Magnus: Korean I dunno!

Gina: Magnus… who says that? 

Magnus: Oppie Ganna Star!

Our housekeeper was cooking dinner:

Magnus: Mommy, my nose smells like fish!!

Happy 2013!

Today is Magnus' first back at school.  I believe all four grandparents are watching him over the internet from the school's CCTV feed.

Maya and I took a relaxing walk along the Marina and then did a little shopping at the mall.  When Magnus is with us on his scooter, it's not so relaxing because I'm usually running to keep up with him.  It's good for my cardio and bad for the stroller!

I'm typing as fast as I can before Maya touches one of the buttons on the TV, the stereo system, the keyboard, the mouse, or either of the two remote controls.  It's a losing battle, so I'm going to have to cut this short while she amuses herself under the coffee table: she's practicing her new M.O. "lick first, ask questions later."

Two new wardrobe picks for the new year:

A stripey shirt from Vanessa:

Skinny jeans for Maya:

Magnus builds the "Burj Khalifa" in his PJs:

"Mommy, don't stand on the sofa"

Magnus on his exercise book:

Maya hits some milestones:

He was a sk00ter boi, She said see ya later boy...

We had a really wonderful 4 day visit from Vanessa and her parents.  Magnus and Vanessa got along famously.  Here are some shots of them hanging out:

At the beach... 

Is that a designer piece or?

Taking in the views on wheels:

Poolside: 

One last kiss before you go:

And now the question, will she ever come back?  Stay tuned…

Parent Teacher Meeting

Today I had a 10 minute parent teacher meeting with Magnus' new teacher.  She's only had him in her class for 3 weeks, but she is quite happy with his progress.  I raised the one question that Kendrick and I always want to ask: is Magnus socializing normally?  Her answer was yes, he has social skills and interacts normally with the other students.  There are however several situations where he will prefer to play on his own, and not join other kids unless specifically invited by his teacher.  For example, when they all go play in the miniature town, Magnus almost always goes off and finds his favourite toys (toaster, toast, ice cream cones) and plays all by himself.  We agreed that he was a bit of an introvert.  No surprises there, right?

I snapped  a picture of the Christmas concert stage on my way out (Magnus' show is in 2 days):

Introvert though he may be, Magnus is of course still yakking our ears off.  Here are the latest quotes:

As we speed by on a boat:

Gina: Magnus, look, do you see that?  It's the tallest building in the world!

Magnus: (nods) Mommy, is it the burj Khalifa?

Looking out the window from our guest room at all the skyscrapers:

Magnus: Mommy look at all the castles!

Looking out from Cesar's balcony on the Palm Jumeirah

Magnus: Mommy look, it's Treasure Island!

Chatting about his little sister:

Gina: Maya can't even walk, can she?

Magnus: No, she is just a baby, and her hands are so chubby!

Yummy is what matters:

Magnus: Mommy, apples are good for you

Gina: Yes, apples are good for you

Magnus: Mommy, cakes are good for you

Gina: No, cakes are not good for you!

Magnus: (pause) Mommy, are cakes yummy for you?

During the song "Over in the Meadow":

Magnus: Mommy, It's a hairy mother spider

Gina: Yes it is!  Who else is hairy, Magnus?

Magnus: Gong gong!!

Gina: Um, his name is Harry, but he's not hairy!!

I have yet to explain bird reproduction:

Kendrick: What do birds eat? 

Magnus: Eggs!

How many times have we played "this little piggy???"

Magnus: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven!  Mommy, I have eleven toes!

Gina: Are you suuuure?

Magnus and fashion:

Magnus: Oh!  Mommy you are wearing a merry-go-round!

Gina: Actually Magnus, that's a pattern called paisley.

No videos for this post, but something interesting has been happening with one of his recent videos.  The video of Magnus watching Gangnam Style has been getting over a hundred hits - mostly from Italy.  It's the only one of his videos that has so many views, and there are hits from all over the world (azerbaijan, finland, etc)- usually singletons.  It occurred to me that Gangnam style is soooo popular that many people have mis-heard and/or mis-typed the name while searching youtube, and thus came across Magnus' spelling of the song, "Opee Ganna Sta," and for whatever reason watched his video.  How very interesting....