Good Ear, Good Year

Today is my youngest son's birthday. Liam is 3. His class, as well as his older brother Grady's class, is preparing for the Christmas program. We're impressed with how many songs he's picking up because of it; he's even prompting Grady with lyrics if Grady forgets the songs his class is practicing.

Liam is also prolific when it comes to memorizing the pop songs I often play in the car (usually upon his request). The songs he knows most of the words to (and 100% of the choruses): Modest Mouse's Float On, Carol King's I Feel the Earth Move , Prince's Purple Rain, Garbage's Bleed Like Me, and The Eels's Hey Man (Now You're Really Living).

But what really surprised us today was when I loaded The Polar Express audio CD in my car and seconds into Liam Neeson's narration of it, our Liam asked, "Is this Star Wars?" He recognized Neeson's voice from Episode I -- The Phantom Menace. Colleen and I both got a big kick out of it.

For Liam's birthday, we went out to breakfast at a wonderful breakfast spot in SE Portland: J&M Cafe, then headed to the Oregon Zoo, and onto the Pittock Mansion (where I proposed to Colleen 8 years ago), and finally to a local lunch spot near our home in Clackamas, McCool's Pub. It was a great first half of the day. After naps, they watched Madagascar that Liam received for his birthday, had dinner, ate birthday cake, then Liam got to choose what new pajamas he would wear to bed. He chose the fireman ones that Grandma and Grandpa Beauregard sent along. It was a hard choice vs. the Batman pajamas Aunt Kate & Uncle Sam gave him.

Here's a shot of Grady and Liam on the grounds of PIttock Mansion, overlooking the city and Mt. Hood: