Fake Birthday Cake

Sophia's make believe birthday party in our living room:

S: I made a birthday cake. Do you want a piece?
Laura: Thank you. I didn't know it was your birthday today. How old are you?
S: 21.
Me: Please not 21 because that would mean I'm 59. I'm not ready for that!
Laura: I feel 59.
S: Do you want cake, Daddy?
Me: No, thank you.
S: Here you go!
Me: Oh, I get cake anyway. Thanks, honey. 59 it is then.

(You know what they say about birthdays: if you can't beat'em....)

The Monster Next Door

Sophia and I were playing soccer in our fenced in backyard, when suddenly our next door neighbor sneezed loudly: 

AAAHHHCHOOOO!

Sophia froze with fright, then ran wide-eyed across the yard, tackled my legs, and attempted to climb me like a scared little squirrel up a tree.

Me: Hey, Sophia! What are you afraid of!....
S: (whispering with a distant look in her eyes) It was a monster noise.
Me: No, honey. It was just a man sneezing. He's just working in his yard.
S: (disappointed) Oh, I thought it was a monster.

Then she continued to kick her soccer ball like nothing had ever happened....

May all the other scary monsters that dare creep into our lives, real or imagined, visible or invisible, without or within, be so easy to scare away.

Follow the Leader

Laura's Post:

Sophia: Today at VBS we played follow the leader.
Me: That sounds fun.
Sophia: I didn't get to be the leader. I wanted to be the leader!
Me: Sometimes you have to take turns following. You can't always be the leader.
Sophia: But I don't like following. I ALWAYS want to be the leader!...

(Anyone know of a small country in need of a dictator?)

Minions

Laura's Post:

Me: So THAT'S why you didn't nap today. There were minions in your bed!
Sophia: They just fell and wriggled in there. Yep. That's what happened.
Me: Hmmmmmmmmm....

Don't Dance and Drive

I was dancing a little to a song while driving:

Sophia: Stop it, Daddy! Stop dancing!
Laura: That's not a nice nice thing to say. Daddy can dance if he wants to. Why would you tell Daddy to stop dancing?
Sophia: I don't like his moves.

Cattitude

Sometimes I think our four-year-old is part feline:

Laura: Sophia, could you put this on the bed for me, please?

Sophia: No, that's not interesting to me...

Happy Fourth Birthday (photos)

Dirty Job Fatigue

While changing baby Thalia's diaper for the nth time today, I turn to Sophia for assistance:

Me: Could you get me another plastic bag for the baby's dirty diaper?
S: No, I'm tired of doing that. (she slips away)
Laura: Did she just walk away?! Sophia! Daddy needs your help! (silence) 
Me: Sophia! Don't you want to help me change your sister's diaper?
S: No!...

(Hmm, I can't imagine why not...)

Is It A Happy Birthday Yet?

Sophia climbs on top of me this morning to wake me up:
Me: Happy birthday, honey! 
S: Not yet.
Me: Yes, it's your birthday today. You're four years old!
S: No, not until it's a happy birthday.
Me: Oh, you mean when we celebrate with cake?
S: Yes.
Me: Haha. It doesn't work that way. You're four years old as soon as you wake up. You're four years old now! And we will celebrate today with cake and balloons!
S: Don't sit on my balloons because you're a big man...

Ridin' Shotgun with Grandpa (photo)

Artistry

Walking down a nature trail with my daughter
I lose track of how many times
She leaves my side to explore her surroundings

So many wonderful flowers to adore
Precious pine cones and rocks to adopt
And bunches of leaves and grass blades to harvest
For her imaginary farmer's market
Her camp site kitchen
Her ice cream parlor

I notice she's left my side again
I turn around in time to see her
Plopped down on her knees
Doodling in a sandy spot
In the middle of our path

I'd rather we get back to the car to go home
But I'm struck still by her creative focus
As she draws intently on the ground
Like Jesus drawing in the sand before the teachers of the law
Like a masterful sand artist on a TV talent show
Like me when I was a kid playing in my schoolyard sandbox...

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she says
With a puzzled look that tells me
I'm acting really weird right now
In my sentimental reverie

"Uhhh, because I love you"

She says simply that she loves me, too
Then she goes back to her doodling

I decide to wait patiently
In the grass beside this quiet path
Enframed by tall green maple trees
With rays of golden sun
Trickling warmly through summer branches
Onto my daughter's copper brown hair
And her frilly yellow sundress

This moment makes me wish sincerely

That I had not forgotten my camera today

Yet I know that no technology
Could ever adequately capture
The blissful artistry of this moment...

John Ball Zoo

On a daddy-daughter date, Sophia and I stop at the John Ball Zoo and check out the price of admission:

S: (pretending to call with her blue balloon) "Hello, Mama. Can Daddy and I go to the zoo to see the penguins? We can? Okay. Thank you. Bye-bye."
Me: What did she say?
S: Yes, we can go to the zoo if it's the right price for adults and for children. But not if it's a million dollars.
Me: Right, if it's a million dollars we'll go somewhere else....

(It was $18 for the two of us, so we got to see penguins and so much more... : )