Macaroni and ladies

The computer in the kitchen is set to play a slide show of family photos for its screen saver.  Katie saw a picture from a few years back of Lucas talking with the daughter of some friends.

"Lucas - mackin' on the ladies!"

Liliana was sitting at the counter and nearly dropped the paper she was fiddling with:

"Macaroni and ladies?!?!  Ewwwwww, Mommy!!"

Daddy's Birthday

It's my birthday today, and besides a hug and a kiss on the cheek, Lilie has given me a couple of gems to share with you.

Mommy:  "Lilie, do you want to give Daddy his present?"

Lilie (looking at Daddy):  "Daddy, we bought you a book!"

Mommy:  "Lilie, it's supposed to be a surprise!"

Lilie (not missing a beat):  "Daddy, we bought you a surprise book!"
Katie let me sleep in for a bit, and Lilie helped her make cinnamon rolls from scratch... and for some reason Lilie has decided to call them 'squirrels'.

"Mommy, are the squirrels ready yet?"

"Not yet, darling - they're still getting hot in the oven."

Minutes later...

"Mommy, are the squirrels still hot?"

It's a conversation you'd expect to hear in Arkansas...

Saint Louis Zoo

We went to the zoo with the Bennett family on Saturday - early in the morning, to take advantage of free admission to the Children's Zoo and Carousel.  Oh, and also to avoid suffering in the extreme heat.

Well... one out of two wasn't bad.  We went cheap, but we went hot.  How is it that temperature means nothing when you're under 6 years old?

Here are the pics.  Since I'm not offering commentary, I'll just list the participants: Brian, Marci, Brianna, Cameron (he's the dude with the mohawk), Laney, Liliana, Katie and me.  (Yes, that's the correct use of 'me'.)

...ah yes - I forgot to mention that the day was capped with some lawn-sprinkler frolics.

I'd also like to point out that - unlike in some other, quick-to-publish blogs - all photographs that were not taken in 'landscape' were actually rotated to their proper orientation before we published our post.  We feel this gives our blog a classier look, and reflects the proper appreciation of its readers...  Ahem.  You know who you are!

Hush Little Baby

Somehow, over the last few weeks, Liliana's bedtime routine has become a long production. She wants us to read her a story, then tell her a story, then sing her a song, and then stay in her room until she falls asleep. The falling asleep part used to take about 15 minutes but then started to take longer and longer until Jason or I found we were spending an hour or more in her room every night.

So we decided it's time for Liliana to start putting herself to sleep. As her motivation, taking a page from the Golwitzer playbook, we've been using temporary tattoos. If she goes to sleep without screaming, crying, or getting out of bed, she gets to put the tattoo on in the morning. It has been a sufficient motivator a couple of times over the last week and she has happily been sporting a couple of tattoos and Jason and I have happily been enjoying an extra hour of quiet together in the evenings. We are hoping for long-term results even if our daughter temporarily looks like Kat Von D.

Tonight I tucked her into bed with her tattoo in a plastic baggie, ready for successful placement in the morning, but was met with some resistance. She started to whimper and told me that she wanted someone to watch her while she fell asleep because she was scared. I tried to figure out what she was scared of so that I could assure her she was safe but she wasn't able to verbalize whatever it was. So finally, I told her that I was going to pray. I told her what I was going to do, closed my eyes and asked God to watch over her while she goes to sleep. That seemed to calm her instantly. So I told her I loved her and that I would be back to check on her. As I left the room she said, "Mommy, will you close the door so God doesn't get out?"

P.S. We haven't heard a peep from her room since. Thank you, God, for the peace you bring and for watching over us even when we're going to sleep.