The Circle of Life

This one goes into the "funny things kids say" category... On Tuesday night we were discussing Veteran's Day at the dinner table with the kids, and Arlington National Cemetary (which we were able to visit last spring) came up in the conversation. Breanne, whose memory is occasionally fuzzy, asked what a cemetary was. Grant, whose memory is excellent but whose vocabularic interpretation is frequently entertaining, piped up, "I know! Cemetary is when both sides of something are the same!"
In fairness to Grant, Arlington DOES invoke a sense of symmetry.
And as a side note, this is something I'd forgotten since it hasn't happened to me in many years, but milk HURTS when it comes out of your nose.

Ke Inka Miharu!!

Someone once taught my sister how to say "Lookout, your hair is on fire!" in Japanese. Hey, you never know when a phrase like that might come in handy. I'm not sure I've remembered it correctly, but close enough.

Jackson's hair is, of course, not actually on fire. His dad just broke one of the cardinal rules of photography: Never make the Eifel Tower come out of Aunt Louise's head unless she looks better that way. In this case, it's a backyard bonfire, not the Eifel Tower, but Jackson definitely does NOT look better that way! (Certainly makes an interesting picture, though; especially given that he and Maverick of Top Gun fame have in common the trait of never being truly happy unless they're doing Mock 1 with their hair on fire.)

Jackson's 2nd Birthday

Trust the grandparents to provide a noisy toy!! But Jackson had fun showing off his dancing skills. Notice he's also clutching his new Cars cars and sporting his new Cars slippers...three favorite presents being enjoyed all at once, what could be better?

Bicycles on the Roof

"Mom, there's bicycles on the roof."
Another freak windstorm has passed through our neighborhood, and in the aftermath of this one our roof is decorated with dozens of bicycles. But this time as I survey the damage, I chuckle, because I'm dreaming. I must be dreaming. The lush green lawn tickles my bare feet as I stand gazing up at the roof, shielding my eyes from the sun and it's January... yep, I'm dreaming.

"Mom, there's bicycles on the trees, too!"
It's Lauryn's musical little voice in my ear. She still has the squishy r's and l's of a toddler despite her otherwise grown-up vocabulary. I can feel her soft dewey cheek against mine as she puts her lips close to my ear to share her exciting news about the bicycles. ...wait a minute... Lauryn's awake, I'm not dreaming, there are bicycles on the roof? The fog of sleep is abruptly wiped from my brain, and I'm out of bed, on my feet, and running to the window with a speed that would shock anyone familiar with my morning habits. A moment later I lay my cheek against the cold window in an effort to slow down my racing heart, and finally I can release the breath I've been holding ever since I realized I wasn't dreaming. It comes out at first in a shudder and then with a syncopation that echoes my relieved laughter, leaving a long bouncing foggy spot on the glass.

There are icicles on the roof. They hang from the gutters on the house and adorn every tree branch in the backyard. Icicles.

"See, Mommy? See those pretty bicycles?"
Yes, Lauryn. I see the pretty bicycles.