Lola's First Flowerpots

Hi Friends,
Today we went to a huge store full of flowers and bushes. I am obsessed with flowers, so it amazed me to be able to buy flowers and take them home. Then we planted two flowers by the mailbox. My parents told me that they think I am the most beautiful girl who has ever lived. Parents are so silly. Love, LK

Maggie Turns One!

Hi Friends,
Below are pictures of my friend Maggie's birthday party. We got to take a secret door into the party from the playground you have seen featured on these pages (Maggie's back yard abuts the park). As you will see in the picture of her, Mommy's wild eyes show that she is on her last legs after two weeks of illness. Luckily, Daddy is in the pink of health, so I still have one good playmate! Love, LK

Lola Loves Leeks (and other Animistic Tales)

Hi Friends!
Here I am communing with some leeks that Daddy is about to cook up into a delicious dish.


Tonight I was sitting in front of the picture window in the living room, watching a storm die down, and eating some pasta. I offered some to Mommy and to clarify the recipient, said, "Mommy," Mommy said, "No, Lola eat it." I ate it, then hesitated for a second. I picked up another noodle, offered it out toward the window, and clarified, "Wind." Mommy smiled and responded, "The wind doesn't eat, Lola. The wind BLOWS." I pursed my lips and made the blowing sound, and she did too. At least we can honor the wind, even if we can't offer it food! Love, LK

Muppet and Moppet, Counting

Hi friends!
Daddy has ferreted out my new trick. We were at the hardware store, and he was taking things off the shelf and counting them out to me "1..2..3..4..5". I continued, "6!" Tonight he checked my brilliance by counting to five again. "Six," I added again. He then said, "1..2.." and I said "3!" It's true, relatives, I know the number sequence through "6". . . BUT that's exactly how far a certain red-furred muppet counts up on my favorite show. Mommy's favorite cute ESL student word variation for today is "danglified modifiers." Truly, "d'anglified." Love, LK

Andy's Fourth Birthday!

Hi friends,

I was absolutely amazed at Andy's fourth birthday party. It was held in a huge building full of bouncy castles. I had some fun sliding down the least intimidating slides. Andy and the big kids slid down everything!

Here is Andy intent on his game.
Here's Rich, Andy's dad, conferring bouncy power on his son.
Here are Mommy and me, looking small.
Here's Andy, looking like an action hero. He is my idol! Mommy couldn't get any pictures of him smiling because he wouldn't stop moving (what four-year-old would?). Love, LK

Charlie and Lola Fan

Hi friends!
Here I am in my fetching new "Charlie and Lola" t-shirt. If you don't know the television series, it's a hip British cartoon with simple animation. Lola is Charlie's precocious younger sister. Love, LK

Artifacts from Aunt Cindy in Aussieland!

Hi everyone!
Below are pictures of great presents from Aunt Cindy and Uncle-in-Training Dustin, sent all the way from Australia. I am modeling my fetching new koala bear purse, and Mommy is demonstrating the power of the boomerang, which is emblazoned with symbols of a mother defending her family. Thanks Cindy and Dustin!--Love, LK

Kiss and Tell

Hi friends,
At school today, I was "smoochin' on" someone I shouldn't have, someone I will call "F." Mommy knows his Mom and Dad, and does not approve of me kissing vegetarians.
Because of her disapproval, I've decided to go public about some weird words used in our household. All but one is Mommy's fault; she spends too much time reading nineteenth-century literature and thus has no 21st century vocabulary.

Word / Translation

Demolisher/ Bulldozer
Dump Truck/ Garbage Truck (takes stuff to dump)
typer/ typewriter
weigher/ scales
cutter/ scissors
gullet (Daddy's word)/ belly (sounds cooler than stomach, like a full gut)
musician/ composer (19th c word for it)
country/ continent, nation, state, land (19th c word)
"Hi" (Lola's word)/ parrot (if accompanied by correct twisting hand gesture

Are you freaked out yet, fair reader?--Love, LK

Welcome, Cousin Bix!

Hi friends,
Mommy and Daddy tried to get me to take "pretty" pictures tonight, but I just wanted to be a toddler. Here I am coloring in Mommy's picture of our friends Michael and Nicola's new baby girl, Bix. When my Mommy asked me if I were going to torment young "Cousin" Bix, I said happily: "BIX!"--Love you Bix, LK

Eating Pasta on a Sunday Night

Hi everyone!
I had a pretty good Sunday. Mommy and Daddy and I watched way too much TV, but I loved the flying car in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The word of the night is "soccer": Mommy loves it that I'll say "soccer" even while Daddy is watching baseball (because I can say "baseball" when I want to). Love, LK

Homemade Ice Cream Festival with Leo

Hi everyone!
Today we went to the Newnan Ice Cream Festival with Leo and his parents (see the Aquarium Blog in June). Unfortunately, a glitch involving the camera's memory chip ensured that there were no pictures preserved of our jaunt. However, we had a lot of fun, and Leo's parents, Charlotte and Brian, found some cool art at The Vintage Flea, a shop on the town square. More soon!--LK

The New Camera is Here!

Hi friends and family!
Welcome to the painterly beauty of the new camera. My father took these pictures as I slid down the slide. I also made my parents proud, but sad, by my verbal leap forward tonight. They will henceforward be known as "Daddy" and "Mommy" on this blog. Love, the ever-growing LK

Fortitudinous

Hi friends,
It's near my bedtime, but I just wanted to boast that Mama remembered the adjectival form of "fortitude" when a student asked her for it today. She also added "from the Latin," which is a miraculous extra when one considers the brain scramble inevitable when teaching college students to discriminate between different kinds of virtue. More soon, LK

Happy Fourth of July!

Hi everyone!
These two kids are March and Sam. They are relaxing after their performance in the "Featherston Heights" neighborhood parade. I know them from church: March in particular is a friend of mine.

Here's Dada with Allan (March's dad) in the lei.
The Newnan police were out!


This car says "Mayor Keith Brady" on its side.
Mama and me.
Here I am with Dada and our dogs, Abdiel and Star.
The neighbors gave me this flag. It was fun to wave--LK

Lola's Top Dancers

Hi friends,
Tonight I watched the second half (the good half) of "The Top 25 Dancers of All Time" on BET. I really wasn't impressed by the lineup, including J.Lo and Alvin Ailey, UNTIL we got to MC Hammer. I immediately sat up in my booster seat and flapped my elbows and rolled my shoulders like the great original (admit it, any reader of my parents' generation: you have all done Hammer Time!). After this spectacular beginning, I was quite happy to give the jammin' thumbs up or the bored thumbs down to the rest of the acts. It's party time for Janet Jackson, Chris Brown (who crumps, among other styles), and the Nicholas Brothers (30s and 40s tap-dance, anyone?). Sad times for the following: Prince, Michael Jackson, and the late, great Godfather of Soul. My parents can't quite understand the tastes of we under-24s (months, that is). They are still mourning my lack of interest in James Brown.

Other notable events of the day include a trip to the playground under looming thunderstorm skies. We had only a half-hour window in between flashing warnings on the Weather Channel: lightning is nature's number one killer. It was fun to run around on the green field, kicking it with my parents ("it" being a giant blue ball). Love, LK