Ma-ma, Da-da, Boop-Boop, Sha-wah-wah

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Originally uploaded by Kimmy Crack Corn.

Here's Big G just a swangin'. He had a grip on that swing like you wouldn't believe. At first he didn't seem to like it, but then I gave him a little extra push and discovered that he just wanted to be a daredevil. But don't take him anywhere near the slide ladies and gentlemen. It was so traumatic that we had to leave promptly after the encounter.

Before we hit the playground we took a walk around the park's trail system with Goose in the stroller. As I power-walked, he practiced his sound repertoire. Over and over he said, "Ma-ma, da-da, bah-bah. Da-da, bah-bah, ma-ma, yah-yah-yah." If he hadn't insisted upon mixing up the order of the consonants, he would've been so close to singing that Muppets' song, "Ma-ma, Da-da, Boop-boop, Sha-wah-wah" (from The Muppets Take Manhattan). And as an aside, I'd just like to say that B and I have recently rented several muppets movies and even a video of the old Muppets Show and have laughed until we nearly wet our pants.

But back to the park ...

As we strolled, people passed by us and smiled and I proudly announced to each passerby that my son was way ahead of his age group in pronunciation of bilabial stops and interdental fricatives. (In fact, he's not, but I think the word "dental" scares people so bad that they just believe anything you say. Plus, none of those sounds are interdental fricatives, but anyway ...)

See there, that master's degree wasn't for naught after all.

How I Got a Busted Lip

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Originally uploaded by Kim Laden.

This is what The Prince looks like when he climbs on top of your head (while you're serenely resting on the floor) and conks you in the mouth with a harmonica that the Easter Bunny brought.

Eggcelebration

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Originally uploaded by Kim Laden.

The Goose survived for over 5 hours without me yesterday, a world record. I was frantically running around town getting my haircut and trying to finish my midterm reports by using the computers at the library (which, by the way was a HUGE waste of time).

Lately I've been hating the online teaching job and have interviewed for another part-time job at the International English Institute (www.eslnashville.org). But how could I ever leave that little man up there in the striped shirt to go to work?

While I was gone yesterday, the chickens laid two eggs and then this morning I awoke to another one. That's three eggs in two days for you non-math majors. Cha-ching!

B had told me that after they laid yesterday they had a big celebration, but I didn't believe him. Then as I was brushing my teeth in the upstairs bathroom this morning with the window down, I heard them (that's a long way for those of you who don't know my house) and thought that a raccoon was assaulting them. I rushed downstairs and into their cooproom and lo and behold they really do celebrate their eggs.

I'm totally fascinated by this new little project of ours. Let's eggscelebrate!

The Arrival

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Originally uploaded by Kim Laden.

Today at approximately 5:14 p.m., three laying hens previously of Williamson County moved north to the big city and into their new coop (complete with a ceiling fan, nesting box, roosting bar, and water/feed trough). Originally there were four, but there was an incident that I don't want to talk about.

Pictured here is one of "The Girls." Now I have The Goose (new name: The Prince), The Husband, and The Girls. The chickens look exactly alike and so have not been named yet. We can only get so far in one day.

After we got them settled in, we ate some pork roast and then went for a walk down to the lake at sunset. Gaw-juss. On the way back up the big hill, I was pushing the stroller and B was making silly faces and sounds at Goose and making him giggle hysterically. So I thought I'd try. We switched places so that B was pushing the stroller and I was walking alongside making the same faces and sounds that B had been making. The Goose suddenly stopped laughing and looked back at his father as if to say,

"Why is the servant making an attempt at humor?"

And that, folks, is why we call him The Prince.

Pool Party

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Originally uploaded by Kim Laden.

My summer dream has come true ... a pool in the backyard. This picture was taken just before I hyperventilated because a honeybee was investigating John's striped shirt. Thanks for the pool Grammy Jane.

Not much else to note. The chickens will be arriving tomorrow, I have a very casual job interview, and B has the next two days off, as usual.

I'm so behind in my work because I keep uploading pictures and trying to think of witty names for them and then I start shrinking and expanding and cropping and taking out red eyes and then it's midnight and nothing has been done about the cheerios smashed on the floor or the stain on the carpet from diaperless playtime. And that, folks, is a sentence that I would not allow my students to get away with.

Now I MUST work! Toodles.

Praise the Lord

(and pass the ammunition)

Tricks

Yesterday: Turning over the laundry hamper and climbing on top.

Today: Crawling over to mom, grabbing onto pajama bottoms and pulling up while bottoms get pulled down. We have a picture, but I'll spare you.