Photobomb!

G initially refused to take a photo with me at lunch on Sunday. I told him I'd take one with Aubrey instead and he moved into full Photobomb mode.

My Sunday Prayer

Dear God,

Thank you for the opportunity to be the father of these two sweet children.

Amen.

Dual Threat at the Dentist

Today was Aubrey's first trip to the dentist. Since her brother was due for another visit, I scheduled them both for back-to-back appointments.

Graham went first, and I was AMAZED at the difference in the ease of the visit from age 3 to age 4. He wouldn't even let them see his teeth last year, but this year they polished them, flossed them, and put flouride on them without a peep from our little man!

Aubrey was a different story. Much like her brother did at his first appointment, she was scared of the dentist, cried, and barely let her feel inside her mouth. The fact that she was on my lap the whole time--and wearing dentist-issued strawberry sunglasses--was not a consolation. All things considered, she did manage to keep going with the appointment. 

As a fun reward, I told Graham we would eat lunch out and let him pick the spot. He chose Chubby's Tacos (that's my boy!).

Sunday Funday

An unseasonably warm Sunday provided us with an opportunity to spend the afternoon outside. We walked to Town Hall Burger for a delicious lunch, flew kites, played with sidewalk chalk, pretended Graham was driving us to a Durham Bulls playoff game, and even took some swings of our own in the back yard. When we finally came back inside, we enjoyed some mint chocolate chip ice cream. Now that was a fun day!

The After Dinner Grand Prix

I call it the After Dinner Grand Prix. Erica hopped on Graham's new wiggle car Thursday night to take it for a spin. That inspired G to ride his tricycle. And with that the race was on.

Calls of "See you later, alligator" filled the downstairs along with abundant laughter as Erica and Graham did their laps. Many of them. Aubrey even tried to join in by crawling onto the "track."

It's always fun to experience the kids' laughter. It was doubly so knowing that Erica was getting a chance to cut loose with Graham and escape the usual daily household stresses for a moment.

Gratitude

I started my day with this text message at 5:22 a.m., and I couldn't be happier about it. I love you, Dad.

Our Life Right Now

Foreground: A four-year-old boy eats a brownie at the dinner table while his one-year-old sister eats the crumbs off the floor.

Background: A weary mother sits at the table after a long day with the kids resigned to what is happening.

(Not pictured: A father takes a photo and is of no help whatsoever.)