The Things Kids Say

Emily (on the way home from school in the car): Mommy? What happens when we stop counting?

Me (listening to NPR): What do you mean? Counting what?

Emily: Mommy! No! I mean, when the numbers stop? What happens when the numbers stop?

Me (recalling an earlier conversation about infinite sets): Oh! You mean how the numbers keep going and you could just keep counting forever.

Emily: But even if you kept counting forever you couldn't get to the end.

Me: Right. They just keep going.

Emily: But how do you know what number is next?

Me (back to NPR again): Um?

Emily: How do you know what number comes next when you keep counting and counting?

Me: Well, the numbers always happen one after another, like 16 thousand, four hundred and four and then 16 thousand, four hundred and five.

Emily: But you couldn't ever count them all?

Me: Nope. Even if you counted all the time your whole life. They even have computers that count numbers really fast and the computers haven't gotten to the end. Because there's no end.

Emily: This is the computer counting (robot voice): 1234567891011121314


Later, when tucking them in for bed (at 7:45 pm, hee hee):

Penny: No hug! No kiss! (throwing covers over her head dramatically)

Daddy: Okay, Good night then!

Penny: No! No! Huggy! Kissy!

Me (hugging Penny first because I was closer): Good night, Penny!

Penny (after kissing me somberly on the lips): I will miss you, too, Mommy.

Trick or Treat

I accidentally deleted a portrait of Emily in her cat costume by the window in my parents' house. Bummer. I wish digital cameras came with an undo button. Halloween was fun, even if Penny fell asleep on the way home and still hasn't brushed her teeth! We're going to go do that now . . . Enjoy the pictures that remain . . .


After dinner at my parents' house, Penny has already started on the candy.


Emily is an experienced trick or treater.


Penny loves to trick or treat, too!


On to the next house!


At aunt and uncle's . . . time to dig in!


"That's mine, Emily!"


The cousins compare loot.


Her newly 3-year-old cousin helps Penny adjust her crown.

Birthday Party

My niece is now one-month-old and adorable, while peering curiously over Grandpa's shoulder . . .

. . . and while sleeping peacefully on Grandma's lap.

But the birthday party was for her brother, little B., who turned 3 yesterday. I am now going to post a bunch of pictures of kids, mine and my sister's, playing with little B.'s toys, eating, and enjoying the company of a few others their age (mostly not pictured). Also, my girls getting a kick out of a house full of boys' toys.





(above, that's the birthday boy and Penny (7 months younger) with a scary mask.)









Oh, my girls need haircuts again, but I do never get tired of looking at their faces. Tired of whining, maybe, and the demands for Juice, Help, and Look, Mommy, Look. But those are little things and soon will pass (I tell myself and I know it's true).

More from the Zoo

Where were we? I'm not going to try that Dancing Elephant Box video again, but it is cute, trust me. By 4:15, Carlyle still wanted to see every inch of the zoo in order to get our money's worth, while I wanted to sit down and not have to carry Penny/listen to her whining for me to pick her up. So, he took Emily to see the Florida animals (e.g., manatees, various birds, some kind of deer or something. . . yawn), which happens to be located along the longest length of trail/sidewalk/boardwalk with only one way out and one way in. I wished them luck and took my sore toe and my whiny two-year-old (to be fair, she was currently two hours past normal naptime, with no nap) to the Manatee Fountain (see, I saw a manatee, too!).

It may be hard to tell, but I went from, Don't get your clothes too wet! to Oh, heck, I have a change of pants for you, so give me your socks and shoes and shirt and go crazy, in less than 5 minutes.





I was sitting on a bench next to another (better?) mother who called her approximately eight-year-old son over right after I'd let Penny go half-naked. She demanded that he read the sign. "Read the sign. What does that say?" The sign happened to be right behind my head, so I turned around to look as the kid read, "Shoes must be worn at all times." The mother nodded, "That's right, mister." The kid put his flip flops back on and raced back into the fray. I decided, after swallowing my mommy guilt, that it was totally worth whatever miniscule risk of (what, exactly? broken glass? athlete's foot? judgmental strangers?) to sit down for fifteen minutes and watch her have a ball. I should have come prepared with towels and water-friendly crocs and all that. But I didn't, so there you go.

I also noticed that this same mom kept running over and moving her approximately one-year-old daughter whenever Penny entered the same fountain spout space. Probably a total coincidence.

Emily and Carlyle returned after the exhausting walk, which they nonetheless enjoyed. Then it was paper towels to Penny in the restroom and new pants and (old, but dry!) shoes and socks and we were out of there just before zoo closing at 5 pm.

We cautiously explored the streets around the zoo (thanks Google maps!) until we found a Sam Seltzer steakhouse. Probably not my first pick for a meal with a 2 and 5 year old. (Man, do they use low wattage bulbs in there! And give you a lot of steak!) But it was food and we ate it (except for Penny who only had dinner rolls and lemonade).

We got back to the zoo for the reopening at 7 pm, had to stand in line for a few excruciating minutes until they opened the doors. I only have pictures of a few rides, but highlights also included two child-friendly haunted houses, which Emily loved but disdained a bit, and one decidedly-not-child-friendly haunted house, which Carlyle reluctantly agreed to take Emily through. She was scared, she stated that she might have nightmares, but so far, she hasn't actually had any nightmares. So I think we didn't scar her for life. (You can bet that mom at the Manatee Fountain wouldn't have approved, though!)





Those last two are on the carousel, the only ride Penny (reluctantly) agreed to ride. You can even see me lurking behind Emily, while Carlyle (cameraman) was standing right beside Penny. And the carousel was moving.

It was a really good day. A good way to spend the day before an important and difficult comprehensive exam, which I think I passed (results in 2-3 weeks). The kids fell asleep in the car and didn't even blink or protest when we plopped them in their beds at home.

Animals! Rides! A Bit of Scary!

We got up to the zoo about 2 pm, which gave us about three hours to see the animals before they closed at 5. Trust me, this is plenty of time when you're going at whirlwind 5-year-old pace. And the 2-year-old would probably have been happy with one hour, if it hadn't been for the water park.

First, the animals:

These giraffes couldn't get enough of each other. They didn't stop rubbing necks the whole time we were watching them. Poor kids, can't get any privacy in the zoo.

Don't miss the baby in the mommy's left arm.





If you think alligators are creepy, you ain't seen nothing 'til you've seen an albino one.

This young giraffe . . .


. . . is standing right behind the kids and could have swallowed their heads, if it wasn't for that fence and maybe a giraffe's normal diet not consisting of human children. But, man, are giraffes huge!

The kids didn't want to stand still for pictures, mostly Penny didn't. So they're not great.




This is an elephant transport case, probably (hopefully) not being used (or at least thoroughly washed in between uses). But for my kids, it was a dancing box. I hope this video will load . . .

Blogger has decided to stop letting me upload photos, so I'll try the rest later. The water park sequence. The (free! after price of admission!) rides after dark.

We're off to See the Zoo, the Wonderful Zoo of, um, a City near Us

And I remembered to bring the camera, so there should be pictures in a few days. I am not walking around the zoo with the laptop. I've been there twice post-kids, with my dad, Emily, and nephew last year, and with both kids and both my parents and my nephew two years ago. Carlyle has never been, though, and Penny wouldn't remember sleeping through half of it at 9 months old.

The zoo has a special event at Halloween time called Zoo Boo, starting at 7 pm. We're going to do the regular zoo stuff this afternoon, then find a nearby Chili's or something, eat dinner, and come back for the scary. Emily is really into (mild) frightening stuff, and we're hoping that the event is as-advertised-appropriate for young children and Penny doesn't completely freak out.

We just noticed we forgot the stroller. Oops.

Now I am going to study, which is the reason I brought this laptop.

If anyone hasn't laughed and then cried today, go to Halushki's post.

Okay, Ms. G.

I'm updating! I'm updating! (Now, where's yours?)

But I'm really tired, so this will be in short sentences. Kind of like how I might twitter, if I, you know, twittered. And if I actually were writing these as they happened.

The cat is over three pounds! Time for his shots and something else . . . what was it . . . oh, yes, his neutering surgery. Poor little guy. That also means our adoption will be final! And he's not pooping on the floor anymore!

Emily started soccer, but I forgot to bring the camera to her first game. Maybe this Saturday? She loves it. I can't tell if she has any talent, but she's definitely better than last year.

Penny's been sick: runny nose and diarrhea (that's fun when you're potty training: she wore a diaper a bit more this week). She hasn't been able to see her new cousin this week, although she keeps making cards (a folded-up piece of paper with a scribble on the outside and one on the inside) for my sister and Baby ____.

I'm not putting the name of my new niece on the blog because my brother-in-law isn't sure if he wants his kids names up there (or if I should have my kids' names up there either!). I'm not so worried about stalkers myself, but I respect his decision for his family!

Emily's starting to read! She's still at the blending and sounding out stage although she recognizes several sight words (the, mom, dad, etc.). She's also into writing stories, mostly drawing pictures, but occasionally asking us to spell sentences for her. One challenge is trying to explain to her that "Sam and his mom got in the car to drive to school and their cat went with them for show and tell" isn't going to fit on her 3 X 5 inch notebook page, no matter how small she writes.

I'm studying for my comprehensive exam, which is Oct. 18. I'm a pretty good exam taker, but I don't want to be complacent about it. I do always study. But I do hate studying. It will be over soon. And hopefully I won't have to retake it.

And I'll take you out on three cute pictures of Penny (one of them with cat).



This dress was brought back from China for Emily when my in-laws were there (for a teacher conference!) three years ago. It's beautiful and fits Penny now! She is also wearing what I refer to (out of kids' hearing) as her stripper shoes, also purchased by the in-laws (I think my brother-in-law and wife this time). And of course a princess tiara and arm band thingy from a costume. Emily helped her put all this on and was very excited about Penny as a "Chinese princess"--I promise this will not be her Halloween costume.

Penny at nap time, which is going surprisingly well. Better than bedtime. Hmmm.