Drummin' for the Aristocats

Josh was insightful enough to suggest that our next Netflix rental should be the Aristocats. We've had the DVD in our house for about four days now. He was right: it's the only film or TV show that has the power to mesmerize Lola at this point in her development. For those who aren't raising young children right now, I should explain that this trait of Lola's isn't normal (TV and movie resistance). The vast majority of kids is easily hypnotized. Hence, a parental sigh of relief was sighed tonight when we had the experience many of our peers take for granted: an hour of TV babysitting.
Despite our selfish motivations, we also saw Lola reap some benefits from movie time. When we were all sitting in her room later, she pulled out her musical instrument box (not always her first choice of toy) and played the xylophone, then the drums. The musical show-stopper in The Aristocats ("Everybody Wants to Be A Cat") features versions of these instruments. Finally, she achieved verisimilitude by placing her tambourine on top of her drum and hitting it with the drum sticks. It sounded a lot like the jazzy cymbals the cats played in the film. She also likes to say, "Oh yeah," like the kitten Toulouse does when he gets "hep."--K

A Good Messenger

Because Lola is such an excellent mimic, we've fallen into the habit of occasionally asking her to give messages to the other spouse. This activity is useless, since we can easily hear each other talking in normal tones in any part of our house. "Instant messaging with Lola" is a fun game, however. This morning Josh said to Lola, "Tell Mommy to quit her belly-aching." Lola enthusiastically took it to me. "Quit your belly-aching." And then, because this message was particularly fun to deliver, "QUIT YOUR BELLY-ACHING, MOMMY!"--K

Lola on Thursday Night

Last night Lola was very happy and excited when I came back from teaching at about 9 p.m.. Josh told me that while I was gone she had said that her little orange dinosaur (an Easter present) belongs to her dog Abdiel because they are both "orange." Abdiel has been called "orange" before, but we prefer to think of him as gold and black. Go-o-o Vander-Poodle!--K

Fewer Pictures, More Text

We apologize to grandparents and other relatives for doing what we are about to do, but we need to take fewer pictures of Lola. We will still write about her daily adventures on the blog, but pictures will appear only every couple of weeks. The reason for the slow-down is that an hour or so after we took the ballet pictures below, Lola fell off a picnic bench and cut her lip. Luckily, the wound was minor, but she was pretty frightened. On the way home, in the car, she said, "Take picture? Fall down?" Although she may not have meant what she seemed to mean, we don't want to take any chances on her growing up to interpret all of her experiences from outside herself, as if she needed a camera to tell her what had happened to her. We want Lola to grow up valuing her thoughts and feelings and those of other people. Our culture is so skewed in favor of the image already--the last thing we should be telling our daughter is that identity comes from the (admittedly cute) outside rather than from the (more precious) inside. She has recovered from the fall, by the way, and is eating and drinking without discomfort.--K

Lola Doesn't Need Ballet Lessons

The $30 a Day Rule

Our family has always had a problem with reckless spending on the "necessaries," especially groceries. Part of the blame must be assigned to the "organic-life" snob who shall remain nameless here, but most of the blame rests with both of us, because we never paused to check our eating habits and their costs. We thought that as long as we weren't going to restaurants, we were being appropriately frugal. Luckily, we have developed a new sense of our own extravagance, and the result is the $30 a day rule. $30 a day has to cover all the necessaries: gas, groceries, prescriptions, baby supplies, household supplies. $900 a month would not strike most families as a particularly tight budget, but for spendthrifts like us, the results are great. If I need to buy a prescription that will last a month, for $25, we eat spicy beans and rice for dinner (total price: $1.50 at most). If diapers run out, at $27 (for 80 diapers on sale), we find another delicious cheap meal. Even with a Camry and a Civic, two gas-saving vehicles, we can't fill up a tank on $30 a day. But putting $20 in the tank on strategic days (before the tank is completely empty) buys at least two long commutes. Unfortunately, each of us commutes two hours a day, but we only commute five times a week between the two of us. With all of these expenses falling under the $30 a day rule, it's easier to keep track of "unnecessaries" like haircuts, dog-grooming, and the like.

Aunt Rosslyn's Easter Gift

Lola was rejoicing this morning at the preciousness of her Easter ensemble, a gift from Aunt Rosslyn and cousin Brooke. Lola Kate received several compliments on it at church.

The Easter Bunny

Happy Easter from a chocolate-crazed Lola!

Easter Egg Hunt!

Lola and I are sitting below the daffodil hill behind our house.

Daddy and Lola on the hunt (out in the Georgia pines).

Lola finds an egg on the porch railing!

Lola begins to unwrap a Starburst.
Mommy: You just said you didn't like that other Starburst.
Lola: This one's yellow!

Lola and Toddler's Best Friend

I'm giving our dog Abdiel the benefit of the doubt in this blog title. The poor boy certainly would not agree to calling Lola "Dog's Best Friend." Lola is wearing rarely-seen ponytails. She is very "tender-headed," as we say below the Mason-Dixon. I don't like to torment her scalp in the name of fashion.--K

Growth of a Pumpkin Plant

Grandma Linda brought Lola this pumpkin-growing pot. It contained only seeds in dirt, but Lola's care for her plant has brought up these sprouts.--K

Grandparents' Visit

Grandpa Terry and Grandma Linda came to visit, and they brought the always-charming and lovable Grandma Ruth (Josh's grandma). Here are pictures of Terry and Linda sallying forth with Lola (they got her the trike--it's fabulous).



Below is a picture of Abdiel and me. I am spending Spring Break holding Abdiel while he recovers from a dislocated hip. Luckily he is very strong for his age. Those of you who know Abdiel know what a special dog he is. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he saved my life when Josh and I were forced to live apart in Spring 2004. Thanks Abdiel!
Linda and Terry brought me some lovely flowers in celebration of my tenure letter from the university president. Life is good!

Woah!

When I have time, I will download the pictures of the grandparents' visit. Right now, though, I will hurriedly transcribe the story that Lola told today while reading "The Story of Christmas." I started writing it down halfway through, and told her to "read it again" once she was finished. Her second version was not identical to the first: both were inventive!
"The Story of Christmas" by Lola
(Version 2) "Mother Mary sees angel. Angel came to Mary. It's a camel. She's riding a camel. Joseph was in trouble, and that baby loved you all the time."
(Second half of story, Version 1) "Jesus sat on a donkey eating some curds and whey; along came an animal. Animals woke up. Something happened. Angels came to animals. Baby woke up."