The change in Shef since he started school last week is sort of remarkable. It's like he's aged a year in a week. All of a sudden, the toddlerisms are out of his speech patterns, his vocabulary is exploding, and he tries to make hilarious jokes and have grown-up conversations all the time.

"I'm concerned about the weather," I told him on the way to school the other day.

"Concerned?" he asked. "You mean anxious or nervous?"

"Right," I agreed.

And at dinner the other night when there was a break in conversation Shef took care of it. "Dad, do you think Star Wars Legos are cool or really boring?"

"Uh," said Dan, "cool."

"And what about Indiana Jones Legos? Cool or... reallyreally boring?"

"Cool," said Dan. We were all cracking up.

"How about Mars Mission Legos? Do you think they're cool or... reallyreally boring?"

"Cool," we decided.

And then I turned to Dan and said, "Why is he so grown up all of a sudden?"

"Because I'm four years old!" Shef interjected, handily shoving spaghetti into his mouth.