A Year Into It

Quick developmental update. It's half one in the morning and I've got visa stuff to do tomorrow so I've got to get to bed.

Franklin and I have discovered raisins. Yeah, you probably thought it was the Sumerians. I suggested to the boy's beautiful mother that a raisin habit would certainly help to develop the lad's fine motor skills and one day, my wife had the brilliant idea that feeding the boy raisins would help him practice detail work and, among other things, fine motor skills. Well begun is half done.

Well, he can definitely grab a handful of raisins with no problem. He lucks out from time to time and a raisin gets caught between his thumb and forefinger. I can't see how he does it, exactly, but he's taken my cue and almost every time he gets any number of raisins in his hand, he decides to feed me some of them. It's the thought the counts, and with practice, I'm sure he will be successful more often than dumping raisins down my sweater. His other trick which will come in handy when he starts to learn how to play checkers, is smiting a pile of raisins that his father has gathered in front of him on the floor in such a way that, once smote, the raisins scatter to the far corners of the room. He's got a great swing. He's already being scouted by Puma. Watch this space for advertising.

For his birthday, Franklin was given a 3' toddler regulation basketball backboard in rainbow colors. (Embellishment free sentence imminent). The very next day, Dr F scrambled to his knees with the ball and in a graceful motion glided towards the rim and gently tucked the ball into the net for a basket. He hasn't missed since. I think I'd almost rather my son grow up to be a Republican than a pro-basketball player so deeply rooted and bitter is my distaste for the NBA, but for now, if he's developing motor skills in a safe environment, fine. I rest easy in hopes that his hoop dreams will make way for something that makes a little more sense like Extreme Ironing.

Yellow Fever. Frank has a Japanese girlfriend at the babysitter's. She was born the day after he was. I haven't had time to see what Sagittarius plus Sagittarius equals or anything like that, but they seem to have a good time. Yesterday, Teacher Swim said that Frank and the other akachan often sit and look at each other and volley Ha-Ha-Ha's back and forth until one of them passes out from exertion. Frank's above .500 for the season.