So, spring is here, and we've been hanging out at the park a bit. One of the imaginary play things our girls do is to run an ice cream store under the playground. They offer us various desserts, and we accept graciously. We often make special requests that are obliged.
Yesterday, Oakley came to ask what size we'd like.
Oakley: Would you like a small, or a medium? Tim (quoting a semi famous restaurant in Madison, WI): I'd like one as big as my head. Oakley: We can't make them that big.
It's official... even my children know how large my head is.
Tim: Oakley, that's a nice picture you're drawing. What is it? Oakley: It's a house. Tim: Whose house is it? Oakley: I'm just trying to think about something. Don't worry about it.
Um, I think I just got dissed by my four year old daughter.
While the camera angle isn't great, Oakley's performance at her spring show was excellent. She nailed the whole thing without any issues, and looked great doing it.
Aspen and I are really lucky. First we shared a birthday, now, for a short time, we share a smile. Aspen lost her first front tooth yesterday, after much time and, well, prodding.
Given that I have a painful lost tooth experience in my past (a sledding accident at age 15), I was loathe to reach into Aspen's mouth and yank out a tooth. So, we let it work its way out. (Note: Aspen's first bottom tooth came out at the hand of Aunt Karen's very gentle touch.)
This tooth had been dangling for more than a week it seemed. I had been asking Aspen to wiggle it, trying to incent her with being a big girl, anything I could think of. Finally, over the weekend, the tooth actually started to turn gray. It had lost its connection to the blood stream. And yet still, it hung on. I had wiggled it, Aspen had wiggled it... it was completely crooked... just bizzare. And it was still stuck. At last, at dinner, Jenn and I issued the ultimatum. If it's not out by morning, we're yanking it out.
Well, later in the meal, I looked up at Aspen, and it was gone. I told Aspen immediately to spit out the food in her mouth. Jenn plucked through the bite... nothing. She inspected Aspen's mouth... nothing. Um, uh, oh no, she, well, she must have swallowed it... I'm thinking, "Damage control!" Jenn quickly mentioned that we could leave a note for the tooth fairy. I told her that I had swallowed my tooth when it was knocked out. And Oakley, all of four years old, came with the gem... "It's gonna come out in your poop!" Too funny. How she knew that, I have no idea.
Well, in the end, the tooth had fallen out earlier onto a different part of the plate. All is well, and the tooth fairy will soon have delivered to another destination. Congratulations, Aspen, now, how about that other dangling dental digit?
OK, so I intend to take pictures like this on every birthday, or somewhere around it. Here's a starting point...We've had trees planted in the yard for each of the girls. Aspen's trees are actually river birches, because Aspen's just won't survive the summers here, but Oak and Linden have perfect matches. Today, a quick shot of each girl with her respective tree.
The tire swing was a late addition to the swingset at the new house, but the girls really like it (even Lindy). While Lindy was out at a consignment sale ('tis the season) Aspen and Oakley went for a quick spin.
Well, I don't have independent confirmation of this story, but I'm fairly sure it's mostly accurate...
So, Aspen was given an award of sorts at school today. You've seen the yellow Livestrong bracelets; Aspen was given a purple one with the words Character Counts by the school guidance counselor along with several other folks. It seems that two people from each class were given the award, which included having their picture taken, for random acts of kindness. Aspen and her good friend Sean received the bracelet because they had been "caught" staying after lunch for a moment to pick up other people's trash at the lunch table.
Sean and Aspen had also led a successful crusade at the school Mardi Gras event to get the lunch room custodian Jesus elected Mardi Gras King. (Note, the subject of the email that came out the following day from the school still makes me laugh. When you see a subject line that simply says, "Our Custodian, Jesus," don't you start thinking about bumper stickers?)
Regardless, I'm awfully proud of Aspen for being thoughtful even when no one was supposed to be watching.
