Leo is sick, so he got to stay home today. As he was lounging in bed and his brother and papa were getting ready to head off to school, I started to explain to him how the day was going to proceed, starting with the fact that I was going to take a bath and wash my hair. This is the conversation that followed...Leo: Why do you have to wash your hair?
Mom: Because it's dirty.
Leo: Why is it dirty?
Mom: (explains as best she can)
Leo: Why don't I have to wash my hair?
Mom: Because yours isn't dirty.
Leo: Why?
Mom: Well, little kids' hair doesn't get dirty as quickly as adults' hair does.
Leo: Why?
Mom: Good question. Yet another that I'll have to look up, later. In any case, your hair doesn't get dirty as quickly as mine does. You can wash yours less often than I do.
Leo: What is "less often"?
Mom: "Not as often"? ..."Not so much"? ..."Not as many times"? ..."A little bit - not alot"? For instance: you can do something alot, or just a little bit; you can do something often, or you can do it less often.
Leo: AH! (laughs with understanding and holds up one hand) "Ro-o-ock!... (holds up the other hand) Tree-ee-ee!..."
Those of you who have never watched The Iron Giant (1) should watch it and (2) may not get what just happened. What was really cool/funny was that Leo was clearly understanding that I was giving him an on-the-one-hand-versus-on-the-other-hand definition, and was delighted to have understood. And when the lightbulb flashed on, he immediately made the connection with the scene from The Iron Giant in which Hogarth is giving the giant his first English lesson. (Here is a page with some transcripts from the film, including this one, second from the last. The last one is actually the scene which taught the boys their first taunting/insulting phrase - another funny chapter in our family's book, which included yet another cool cartoon lightbulb.)
