Stories

I've been volunteering with my son's robotics team at the local high school.  Lilie helps me out each Tuesday night, and has become pretty well known by the kids and the other volunteers.

I was focused on some computer work tonight, and Lilie was getting pretty fidgety.  Finally she insisted that I help her put on her coat (the soft one that's a rainbow of colors) because she was cold.  She dawdled around the table where I was working in the cafeteria, eyeing the classroom nearby where all the kids were working on the robot.  Eventually Lilie explained the following to me:

"Daddy," she whispered. "I'm going to go unlock some things in there.  Don't worry.  Nobody will realize me with my coat on."  She spent the next twenty minutes tiptoeing over to the door of the classroom and retreating with squealing laughter when someone 'realized' her.   -- Jason


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Tonight, at bedtime, I asked Liliana what story she wanted to hear.  She answered that she wanted to hear an owl story.  It was late, I was tired and needed to tell something quick so I made up the following tale:

One day there was a little girl walking in the woods.  She came upon an owl.  She said to the owl, "Mr. Owl, what is your favorite flower?"  The owl answered, "Whoooo."  The little girl said, "No, not who.  What! What is your favorite flower?"  The owl answered, "Whoooo."  The little girl said again, "No!  Not who.  What?"  The owl answered, "Whoooo."  The little girl started to get frustrated.  She stomped her foot and said, "NOOO!  Not who.  WHAT is your favorite flower?"  The owl answered, "Roses" and flew away.  The End.

Now, I personally thought it was funny and that Lilie would get a kick out of it.  However, one look at her told me that was not the case.  There was no laughter, no giggles.  Only a a clear look of disgust on her pretty little face when she informed me, "I'm going to tell Daddy you told me a short story."  --Katie

Catchup

Ultimately, it's all about the pictures, right?

Here, we'll catch up from December.  Be patient!

She loves her stuffed animals...

The Bennetts joined us for Lilie's dance/gymnastics recital

We all piled into the van...

...to visit Wentzville's Christmas light display.

Lilie performs!

"Flowers?!?! For me?!?!"

Tell my adoring fans 'thank you'!

We've all shared a respiratory problem since December that just won't go away...

December 24... Katie gets concert tickets for her birthday.

The obligatory holiday self-pic.

Jonas and Lucas came over for a visit on Christmas day.

Liliana loves her 'brudders'.

December 30, and we're making mozzarella cheese at home!

New Year's Eve with the Bennetts.

We worked over the holidays to redecorate Lilie's room.

That's a Christmas present casting that rainbow along the chalkboard-painted wall.

Liliana found a book at the library titled 'Whopper Cake'.  It came with a recipe in the back.

Of course, we had to try it...

...and Lilie learned the value of a goopy eggbeater!

Sorry that took so long - we promise to be more diligent in the future...

Garlic, soil and poster.

We know it's been a while...  I'll cull some pics from the past month or so for our next post.  In the meantime:

We were cleaning up Christmas, which is kind of difficult for a three-year-old to do.  Katie was dismantling the garland she had wrapped around the banister and asked Lilie to bring it to me.  I was taking ornaments off the tree when Lilie handed it to me.

"Daddy, here's the garlic."
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Lilie was working waaaay too slowly on a piece of toast one morning.  We asked if she wanted to take it with her in the car.

"Can we put it in soil?"
"Soil?  You don't want to take it with you?"
"I want it!"
"Okay, honey - okay!...  Let's get going then."
"Can we wrap it in soil first?"

We only figured it out when Lilie actually went to the drawer and got the aluminum foil herself...
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"Put up the poster!  Put up the poster slide!"

We were horsing around on our bed when Lilie made the request.  I eventually figured out she wanted me to raise my knees so she could climb up on top and then slide down.  We still hadn't figured it out exactly until she got more specific:

"Daddy Daddy!  Put up the roller poster slide!"

We've got work to do!

This is the first year Lilie has been really excited about Christmas.  So we've been enjoying things like tree decorating, making cookies for Santa, and counting down the days until December 25.

We keep track with three different tools: an advent calendar that has small chocolate treats in it, a wall hanging that depicts a teddy bear's house (we move the bear to a new location each day as he 'looks for Christmas'), and the countdown calendar we used when I was a child (construction paper, each sheet reflecting a number from 1-20*).

That's quite a bit to do in the morning, yet each day Liliana seems to forget about it.  She'll climb onto her stool at the counter, take a swig of milk, and glance around.  It's only when she catches sight of the chocolate advent calendar that she'll brighten and blurt out, "Daddy! We've got a lot of work to do! We've got check my chocolate and move the bear!".


* Why only 1-20?  I don't think I've lost any days from the calendar...  Can anyone help me out with that?  Mom, did we only get angsty starting around December fifth?  I can't find any precedent for a 20-day advent calendar on the interwebs.  Is the calendar incomplete?  Were those days best left unremembered?

SHTEVANS!

We were driving home from church today, and Katie wanted to hear about Lilie's experience in the children's class.  Liliana was munching on the candy cane she'd picked up on the way out of church.

"Did you hear a story today, Lilie?"

"Yeah." Crunch crunch crunch.

"What was it about?"

"'Bout Jesus."  Snap!  Crunchcrunch.

"Really?   What happened in the story?"

"Um," snap crunch crunch crunch.  "Some shtevans went to see God."

We drove for a bit in silence, considering the implications of this.  The candy cane crunching continued from the back seat. 

Katie tried first.

"Stevens went to see God?"

Crunch crunch.  "No, mommy - shtevans."

"Stefan went to see God?"

"NO... shevans!"  Lilie strained forward in her seat, clearly frustrated, as she reiterated her point.

Suddenly it hit me.

"Lilie, was it shepherds who went to see God?"

Lilie strained forward and drew in a breath, ready to correct us again.  Suddenly she stopped, wrinkled her brow, and collapsed back into her seat.

"Yeah.  Shepherds." Crunch crunch crunch.

Reading

We caught Lilie in the act of reading to all of her (many, many, many) stuffed 'friends'.  We wanted to catch it on tape.

She's reading from 'Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot'. 

Gems

We were horsing around in the living room, wrestling and playing while Grandma watched from the couch.  Lilie took a break from the action and started piling things on top of Grandma: a pillow.  A blanket.  A stuffed animal.  Toys.  Shoes.

"What are you doing?" asked Grandma as Lilie capped the pile with a pillow across her face.

"I don't want you to see what's going to happen next."

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Lilie had talked her mommy into buying some vanilla wafers for her after a pit stop.  Katie asked for a cookie and Lilie gladly shared.  The first cookie only whet her appetite, and a few minutes later Katie asked for another.

"Jeez Louise, mommy, you're gonna eat all my cookies!"

For the record - she did share another with her mommy...

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Katie recently taught Lilie how to sit 'criss-cross-applesauce'.  It's a catchy phrase, you have to admit.  Tonight, Lilie chanted it on the way back to Illinois to drop Grandma at home.

"Criss-cross-applesauce.  Criss-cross-applesauce."

Lilie chanted it when they stopped at a gas station to tinkle.  She chanted it on the way into the house.  She chanted it while they climbed the stairs to the bathroom, and she chanted it while she tinkled. 

Lilie was chanting it, standing on the step stool as she reached into the sink to wash her hands.  Katie was struggling to help her get her pants back up when Lilie stopped chanting abruptly.  She turned and cradled Katie's face in her hands, pulling it inches away from her own.  Lilie locked eyes with her mother and spoke low and slow.

"The one who says that never returns."  It was so random and simply hilarious!