Happy little fish

  

Will's swimming lessons

That's him swimming like that! I couldn't beleive how easily he remembered it all from last year.







He's happy to be at swim lessons.









That's him with his face down in the water like that! Wow!








Look at that kick splash! 

Curiosity

This is my most popular photo on Flickr, and I can see why. I decided to play with it and make one of those motivational posters. I like the way it turned out! View it larger here.

Getting into the swing of things again

It's a hit!
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

The other day he started realizing he hadn't been playing baseball for a while and he missed it. So we all went outside and he and daddy played for a while. Will got to be the pitcher for a while, too. I have some pictures of that on my flickr, which often has updates that I don't always get to post on here right away.

Anyway, he made contact on this one pretty good. This is a setting on my camera I'm just starting to try out. It worked out really cool in this one, though.

"Wiggles ROCK!"

"Wiggles ROCK!"
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

Oh, yeah. Another few years of Greg, Anthony, Jeff and Murray. I can't wait.

This is a new development for her, but she is really into them now...*sigh*

Geez, dad, if you wanted to see them that badly, you could have just ASKED...

She's looking at me like "a little help here? Just a little? someone?"
  

Learning to fly

Learning to fly
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

but she ain't got wings...coming down is the hardest thing.

It was a hot day when it started to rain. She wanted very badly to go outside in it -- after all, she is definitely a water baby. Here I have decided the diaper is counterproductive and that it needs to come off. Photo by daddy.

Laundry kids

Laundry kids
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

I never get tired of seeing them play together.

This diaper was made for walkin'

leafy goodness

leafy goodness
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

We went outside and played in the rain the other day, and Adelaide had a great time. She did find this leaf and wanted to chew it...okay, yeah, I snapped some photos before I took it away. It was too cute!

Discover

Discover
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

And here is Will, in a poster that is very him. I like how this one turned out...I may fiddle with the lighting in the picture a little, but overall, this I think is a neat one.

laila at play

laila at play
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

I made this with a really cool application for flickr. I have a badge on here that you can click on to see my newest photos. I update it more religiously than my blog (sorry! but it is a lot easier to upload photos than to write entries!) If you are interested in frequent updates and photos of the kids, I would recommend you bookmark my flickr homepage. Anyway, here is a fun montage of laila.

So funny -- hubris in photography...oxymoron?

This is a hilarious post for anyone who belongs to online photo sharing sites -- it is a satire of some famous photos and comments they "would have gotten" if posted on the internet. Funny, funny because there are so many people who think that just because they have a large piece of glass and plastic they are art experts. *sigh* But it is funny.

uh oh!

teeth!

teeth!
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

All six are showcased in this photo (thanks to my rockin' new camera...) and isn't she just adorable?

Cool...but how random is the lack of south carolina and the virginias?

create your own visited states map
OH.MY.WORD.
Look at Ben's!!! Not only was he an Air Force Brat, he had evil Wisconsin traveling job. Wow. He so wins.

Will's art

I love what Will did with this picture. I adore my son, of course, but wow, I think he is talented and amazing! He took this picture of Adelaide and turned it into this. Pretty cool, huh?

Wow...how wrong can you be? Cable de-monopolization is the future.

So some of you have read that I loathe cable companies and the current "franchising" system (which I prefer to label "government approved monopoly"). So I was understandably excited about the bill moving through the government to dismantle this system and free the lines for open competition in markets.

So here comes this dude, who simply gets it all wrong. He laments that instead of complaints about the cable company being handled by "city hall," everyone will have to go through the FCC. HELLO? Apparently he is so entrenched in the thinking of "red tape" that he has forgotten that money speaks louder than words, tape, or city hall.

He writes: "The major telecommunications bill careening through Congress right now would shift almost all the responsibility for cable complaints from local governments to the Federal Communications Commission. With some 30,000 local governments currently taking and acting on cable complaints, it's not clear how the FCC would suddenly gear up to all of handle them. But I’ll let you guess."

Okay, okay, I know this one! (hand shoots up in the air) If cable companies had to face competition and had some kind of financial incentive to treat customers with respect and to deliver good service, there wouldn't be so many complaints. People would just switch companies! And while I feel certain that if this in enacted, cable companies will suddenly come up with all sorts of schemes to get subscribers to sign contracts (a la cell phone companies -- don't do it!!!) it would nonetheless give people options they don't currently have. So what do you think matters more? The people angry with their local cable company switch to a competitor, or the people angry with the local cable company go to their local government, whose palms are greased with the tax revenues and money of the provider filling their coffers, who then say, "hey, stop that. really. stop. okay, stop when it's convenient for you." Or better yet, they say, "quit complaining."

I, along with many others I know, have converted to satellite service for television. But I still have to go with the worthless, do-nothing, money grubbing, service-impaired local cable company for my high-speed internet service. I would like to point out, however, that when I call my satellite provider with a problem that I talk to a human (who is usually generally pleasant and helpful and whose only advice isn't "unplug the box for thirty seconds...")

So file this under "think for yourself." It is a pretty sad state I suppose when we need government regulation to fix government regulation (see: Louisiana ethanol mandate), but I have a dream. I dream of a world in which I can tell Cox Cable to stick it somewhere very impolite because I'm moving to _______ (fill in the blank...satellite, Time Warner, Comcast, local provider, etc.)

These companies fear the day they will have to compete for dollars. Improving service and options...it frightens them! Entrenchment...it is soooo comfortable...Responding to consumer sentiment and demand...nooooooooooooooooo!!!

Please, "Red Tape Chronicles," get a clue. The market is the best consumer complaint system of all. Just ask aol.

Just when I thought I was having a bad day...

Wow. Just when I think I'm having a bad day, I read this. And I realize that, yeah, sometimes things happen that stink or upset me, but in the scheme of things, at least I didn't ask someone to marry me who said they didn't think they were ready, which then precipitated jumping out of a window naked, running down the street, and being shot at. Really, everyone. It could be worse!

Reason #3271 I don't miss Wisconsin

There are so many reasons I am glad we don't live in Wisconsin anymore. In fact, the population of Wisconsin in the 2000 census was 5,363,675. But let's be fair...not everyone in Wisconsin is bad. So there are probably only, like, 5,363,242 reasons I'm glad we don't live there anymore. I'm calling this guy #3271. I really need a "Wisconsin" tag like Fark.com has a "florida" tag. I like to refer back to them when, say, a hurricane is coming or when I think about Governor Blanco (which is as little as possible) so that I realize that at least the people here in Louisiana are 97% awesome. Considering that the people in Wausau were about 97% awful, rude, and uncaring...I think I can live with a stupid governor until the next election.

Introducing (drumroll....) WILL'S BLOG!!!

Wow, Will is just so fun.

Let me introduce everyone to his really great blog "Terrific Kid." He came up with the title all by himself. So clearly he has no problems with self-esteem...but he is a terrific kid, so that's fine.

Will has been asking me for a blog for a looooong time, ever since he realized I was posting on mine. I should have done it sooner, but better now than never! Will likes to get on Adobe Photoshop and create really cool pictures with neat effects. I certainly don't think it looks like the work of someone who just turned five!

He says he also wants to start posting pictures of his lego creations and scanning in his art that he does here at home. Really he just wants to have a website. For a tech-savvy little guy, I guess that's sort of an awesome thing!

So visit his site and leave a comment. He LOVES reading his comments, and check back because he's one of those bloggers who likes to respond to all of them! He's really proud of his site, and I'm really proud of him. He is, after all, a really Terrific Kid.

Mischief Maker

DSC00198
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

This is Will's room.

He HATES it when she stands at it and bangs on the door. He says she eats the stickers off the door.

He's right.

Gotta keep those baby nails trimmed...

DSC00217
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

...because she really likes to grab at faces. She also loves playing with daddy. Look closely and you'll see a BIG smile on her face, and if this had audio, you'd hear that English baby belly laugh that Will made so famous in his infancy. I just love her babyness, her chubby little hands and arms, and her fat little legs, her laughter and her serious faces that look like she's thinking soooooooooo hard about something...

a Will original

DSC00236_filtered
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

He made this just for mommy!

at work

DSC00201
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

Creative genius

DSC00208
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

Will's "creative place"

DSC00206
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

My messy creative area

DSC00205
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

messy area = creative mind...right?...

my pretties

DSC00129
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

some of my pretties...

every girl's gotta have a hobby...

DSC00130
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

well, I have always wanted to be able to sew. I started by altering some baby burp cloths, moved on to pillowcases and small blankets, and recently decided it was time to do something with all the gorgeous fabric I had been accumulating in the hopes that I would do...something...with it. So here is a recent attempt-in-progrss. The roses are going to be a little top, and then the black and pink polka dots are going to (hopefully) be a diaper cover...

Moved by the Spirit?

Ahhh, Will. How I delight in my very...special...child.

Will's newest antecdote began at church on Sunday morning. Will would normally go to kids' praise during the sermon, but we had decided that we wanted him to stay with us and sit through the sermon for a while and see how he did. So we packed a bag with legos, colors, and other quietly amusing items in the hopes that he would learn to sit through a sermon.

It turned out the sermon was about Jesus' parable of the seeds. This, we though, was great because Will is really intrigued by natural science and has recently taken a great interest particularly in seeds and plants. As soon as he heard Eddie, our preacher, begin to talk about seeds and what kind of soil they would flourish in, I saw his ears perk up, and my five-year-old was more intensely focused on the sermon that even most adults might have been. He listened attentively as Eddie talked about where seeds fall, rocky soil, and weeds, and what that all meant. He then began to read from the bible to the congregation. He read from Mark 4, and when he got to verse 9, he placed special emphasis on Jesus' words.

"He who has ears," he began, then paused, smiling at the congregation. "He who has ears? Who has ears?" He paused and then continued. "He who has ears let him hear!"

At that moment, my son, who had become so wrapped up in the sermon that he apparently felt that Eddie was speaking only to him, excitedly informed the entire congregation:

"We ALL have ears!"

Oh, my.

Yes, it was very funny. And I would be lying if I said I was upset with him, because I wasn't. After all, Jesus said that we must become like a child to enter the kingdom of heaven, and Will showed us all that day what the enthusiasm of a child can feel like when listening to stories about Jesus. I know that Jesus would have been pleased to hear my son answer Eddie's question so loudly and firmly, so how could I be upset at him? No one else was. It was cute, but it was also really special. And even though afterwards we explained to him that sometimes when a preacher asks a question, he doesn't necessarily want an answer outloud, sometimes he wants us to answer it in our heads, we also told him that he wasn't in trouble and that we were proud he was so interested in what Eddie was saying.

I was worried that he wouldn't learn anything in the auditorium with us, but I think he did. And more importantly, he taught me something: that becoming like a child in Christ is real, and Jesus knew that when he set the example, bidding the children to come unto him. He wanted us all to know and to remember each time we saw a child delight in the wonders of Him that full-hearted faith and undeniable excitement are attainable for us all.

what a predicament

what a predicament
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

The intrepid Adelaide English is not afraid to climb any mountain or go headfirst where her curiosity leads here. Here, in her natural habitat, we caught her trying to figure her way out of this curious situation...

heehee yeah, we helped her...after we got some pictures...

the graduate

the graduate
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

Ms. Dawn (right) and Ms. Jenni (left) will have my eternal love and devotion for the love, patience and learning they have given Will these past few months. They are the special kind of teachers, the ones you can look back on and always know that they changed you for the better. Thanks to them both.

What a day!

Today was Will's last day of preschool. It was pretty momentous for me, but it seemed like he was just kind of like, "well, okay. Now for kindergarten." I will miss his teachers because they have done a fantastic job with him. We're enrolling Adelaide at the "Mother's Day Out" at Crosspoint next year because it is such an awesome program. I can't imagine anywhere else that a child would come home explaining Picasso's blue period and how "Mr. Vivaldi" wrote music about the seasons (noting that he recognized it from Baby Einstein videos) and still just have fun. It was great and I am so glad we found it.

Will has made great strides in maturity level over the last month. I have noticed it, Ben has noticed it, and his teachers REALLY noticed it. He got a happy face every day at school during May, which was really great for him. As a reward, we took him to a "Build-a-bear" knockoff called Wacky Bear in the Mall of Louisiana. He'd been asking for AGES to do that, so this was his big reward for doing so incredibly well over the last few weeks. I was ready to just feel like I was getting totally ripped off, but it was actually a fun experience. Ben took Adelaide so that I could pay total attention to Will, and we had a good time. He picked out his bear, and then the worker at the store stuffed it--but he let Will help. Will pressed the pedal that activated the stuffing mechanism, then he let will put the blinking "heart" inside the bear (The worker placed it so it was in the right place.) We got to name him (as creative as Will is, you'd think he'd have been more inventive than "Wacky"...but whatever...) and make a "birth certificate." Then Will picked out clothes for the bear. We got out of there for under $30, so I felt pretty good about the experience.

After that, Will was very serious about doting on Wacky. He carried him around like we carry Adelaide (do you think I'll need to make a "bear sling" for Wacky?) and was very contientious about where he put him. In fact, when Ben was taking Will to potty before we left to come home, I offered to hold Wacky while they went to the facilities. Will was actually skeptical -- he was like, "Mommy, take good care of him!" As I'm walking Adelaide in the stroller over to the Aveda store to browse, I answer him with, "Will, I can take care of a baby, I think I can take care of your bear." I then turn back the way I'm headed and promptly walk the stroller directly into a glass wall. Luckily, Will didn't see that or he probably would have done his bathroom business right there, he was being so OCD about the bear. It was cute, though. (Oh, and the baby -- and the glass wall -- are no worse for the wear.) He's sleeping with him now.

What a juxtiposition -- my big boy, maturing, leaving preschool behind, snuggled up with a teddy bear in bed. I love it, though. I am glad that my child is learning to mature, make good decisions, and be a helper, but that he is none to ready to leave childhood behind. I really do cherish these moments. The way God has blessed our family this year is incredible, and when I see my firstborn hold out his arms for me to hug him and tuck him into his Buzz Lightyear sheets, I feel it so acutely -- that love, that happiness, that true contentment that is permeating my life right now. I embrace it.

007 as a preschooler

P10100131
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

I'm sure this is what 007 looked like at HIS preschool class parties. Will is, after all, a super spy.

Will Van Gogh1

Will Van Gogh1
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

Will learned about major artists this year in Pre-K, and they did projects in the style of some of the masters' classic works. This is mine and Ben's favorite one of the Van Gogh's. It is so good, and the texture (which you can't tell on the scan) is just great.

Will Picasso face

Will Picasso face
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

Will learned about major artists this year in Pre-K, and they did projects in the style of some of the masters' classic works.

Will Van Gogh irises1

Will Van Gogh irises1
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

Will learned about major artists this year in Pre-K, and they did projects in the style of some of the masters' classic works.

Will Van Gogh starry night1

Will Van Gogh starry night1
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

Will learned about major artists this year in Pre-K, and they did projects in the style of some of the masters' classic works.

Adelaide's cover shot

Adelaide's cover shot
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

Here she is...Miss Baton Rouge baaaaby

Haha, well, it isn't the greatest because I had to scan it in. I just ran by tonight to grab a couple. But I had to share!

she hated the hat

smiling to the side
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

I mean hated. fought. like I was strapping a bonnet full of bees on her head. But she forgot about it long enough to laugh at what her brother was doing.

happy baby

happy baby horizontal
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

will all fall down

will all fall down
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

hands at the window

hands at the window
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

so I'm in the kitchen cutting up zucchini for dinner when I hear banging. Not surprisingly, this doesn't really cause me very much pause. But then I hear Adelaide doing her "crazy belly laugh" thing. I look over and this is what I see! I literally dropped the vegetables on the countertop and RAN for my camera. It was adorable.

my boy in the window

my boy in the window
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

I love this photo of him. He just looks so happy, in a real way, not a wild crazy way.

for you mommy

for you mommy
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

I mean, yeah, it's a clover, but it is really sweet.

Easter Egg hunt bounty

Easter Egg hunt bounty
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

Will shows off his take from the church Easter egg hunt when we were visiting in Kentucky.

My pal Poko

This morning, as I battled Adelaide's all-through-the-night diaper, Will walked in and stood by the door, looking quite thoughtful. I glanced over at him with my "yes?" eyebrows, and he sighed.

"Mommy, when is Poko coming back? I miss him."

Who, you may be wondering, is Poko? A stray animal from the neighborhood? A child with an unfortunate and bizzarre name? A Native American spirit Will has be channelling in his spare time? (For those of you who know about Will's escapades, this is a legitimate concern, I suppose.)

Let me introduce you to Poko the way I met him.

Last summer, I was in the last months of my pregnancy with Adelaide. Will was mentally preparing to be a big brother, I suppose, and was looking for something to nurture. He desperately wanted a pet. We tried explaining to him that now was not really optimum pet procurement time, what with the new little sister's imminent arrival. This for some reason was not an acceptable explanation to him. Being the strange little boy that he is, however, he chose to create a superhero-pet named Poko that he would draw pictures of and write stories about. (Why can't he just throw a tantrum like other kids?)

Poko became sort of a fixture around the house. Will talked about him like he was real, and so we played along. We saw no harm in his imaginary super-pet, so this was a productive diversion for all.

Poko pretty much lived in stories and a four-year-old's drawings until one hot day in July. I was heavy with baby and on modified bedrest (modified being that I could get up and do things until my fingers swelled to the size of hot dogs and my face was the color of ketchup) and Will had gone outside to get the paper for me. I watched him from the window, and he returned with the news in tow. A few moments later, however, he began to act strangely. I mean, more strangely than usual.

He was running around the house, laughing, calling after Poko. It was an imaginary game of chase, and Will was having a grand time.

"Look, mommy!" he shouted. "Look at Poko! I can't catch him!"

"Umm hmmm," I answered, scanning the front page of the paper. But Will didn't relent.

"Mommy!" he shouted, breathless from the chase. "Mommy, come look! Poko is up there!" He pointed to the top of the molding above one of our doors. Considering that Poko was a well-known super pet, I didn't think much of his sudden flying ability.

'That's great, Will," I answered, somewhat distracted. "Poko can fly, huh?"

"No," he said, looking a little confused at my apparent ignorance. "No, he walks up the wall." He answered me like this was the most obvious thing in the world and I clearly had something wrong with me that I didn't see that.

A few minutes later, I got up and walked over to where Will was playing with his imaginary pet. I was just about to ask him what he wanted for lunch when I discovered something shocking.

Poko was no imaginary super-pet today. Poko, rather, was a baby Gecko lizard.

I screamed and dropped the newspaper I was holding.
"Poko....Poko's REAL!" I yelled to the child who obviously knew that.

"Um, yeah," he said, confused.

"Poko...is...real...." I refrained from thumb sucking and reverting to the fetal position in that moment mostly because it was incompatible with my present state of pregnancy. I still consider us fortunate that my unexpected introduction to Poko Gecko did not result in premature labor.

I finally managed to get my wits about me enough to concoct a plan involving a plastic food storage container, a piece of cardstock paper, and the front door. Will was very unhappy about this development, but I explained to him that Poko lived right outside our house and that Will could visit him whenever he wanted. While he wasn't completely mollified at this resolution, I added a bowl of ice cream to the deal and it was settled.

I guess that now as the weather is warming and the geckos are beginning to crawl about our front door again, Will got to thinking about his old buddy Poko. We have since adopted a baby turtle named Swimmer who Will does take care of very well. But I suppose that a boy never really lets go of his first pet, even when its a formerly imaginary amphibian that he only bonded with for one fleeting afternoon.

Intrepid Explorer

BREC Bunny Hop
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

Doesn't he look adventerous and fearless here? Good...because as soon as he was out of Ben's reach, the rock wall was a no-go. I just wanted to make it look like he was preparing for his next adventure in the Andes.

We weren't even supposed to be at the Bunny Hop, actually. We were going to go to our nice, calm, personal church egg hunt this morning. Unfortunately, however, it was being held at the new church property where our next building is to be constructed. I haven't ever been there, but my friend Ann told me it was easy, that it was just at the intersection of Highland and Siegen.

No problem, I thought, that's simple enough. Besides, Ben was driving, so I assumed that any probelms that I had would be alleiated by the Y-chromosome compass in the driver's seat.

But...we couldn't find it. We turned down all sorts of imposing looking private driveways only to discover that we'd apparently trespassed upon the secret Louisiana hideaway of Bill and Melinda Gates. So after a few missteps like that, we gave up. There was huge billboard for the "Bunny Hop" on the road, though, and Will, being that he can read and all, decided that was an acceptable alternative.

So we went. It was okay...just really crowded. And we really don't like crowds. The rock wall was basically ten minutes in line for five seconds of climbing, and then we had to kill like fifty minutes until the egg hunt for his age group.

We kept expecting the guy with the microphone to announce the impending event, but he didn't. At five minutes to the appointed time, we decided to go over and check it out...only to discover about a thousand anxious kids amassed at one side of the egg-sprinkled field, waiting for the guy with the bullhorn to tell them to go.

So I was like, "Oh, no!" I grabbed Will's hand, threw everything but his Easter basket to my unsuspecting husband, and dragged Will across the parking lot, yelling, "Come on, come on! You don't want to miss it," all the while worried that I would have to search all over town for another egg-stravaganza to fulfill my promise to my son if we missed the big show. As we entered the field and approached the throng of people, I began to calm down, thinking we had made it.

Then, before we got to the starting line, as we strolled up to the area thinking we were fine, the bullhorn guy yells, "Go!" and the kids start running. I practically pushed Will onto the field, yelling, "Go go go!"

In the end, he did fine. He got a bunch of cheap candy and plastic eggs that made him very happy, and he even exhibited some smarts in the process -- instead of following the masses to the middle of the field, he went around to the edges, would stop, pick up a couple of eggs, and move on. We were impressed. It worked, and he got a basket with a perfectly respectable treat bounty.

And after all, that is what Easter is all about, right?

(wait...)

LEGO to help "rebuild" NOLA schools...

This is a really cool bit of info. It caught my eye because Will is LEGO-obsessed, but I really think it is a cool idea.

Apparently LEGO will collect the bricks and make a brick-for-brick matching donation to New Orleans schools. Some of the donated bricks will be used to construct a model of the rebuilt city, as envisioned by local New Orleans children and kids across the country, to be donated to the city as a public work of art.

The website says this: "Through the LEGO Builders of Tomorrow program, children are encouraged to donate one or more of their LEGO bricks and send drawings, photos or notes describing something they think would help New Orleans become a strong city again. Each child who donates one or more of their bricks will receive a LEGO-studded rubber bracelet to recognize their contribution to the cause."

I just think it is really a great idea -- I think I'll talk to Will about it tonight and we'll pick out some of his to send along. I would love to feel like we were able to be a part of an outreach to the kids of New Orleans. Besides, it is really a chance to share some child-like joy and imagination to help resurrect some of the art and spirit of NOLA that still seems waterlogged even after all these months.

bad mommy! bad!

easter bunny baby
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

Okay, yes. Yes! I do horrible, humiliating things to my children that they will hate me for when they are teenagers.

With Will I seemed to need to photograph his early bathing experiences ad nauseam, and with Adelaide, it appears I must put her in ridiculously cute costumes and make her submit to my photographic will.

But how did it happen? How did I become a mother exploiting the chubby cherubic baby girl I love? Well...it all just came together -- I got the diaper cover for like a quarter at a garage sale. And then, one fateful day at Target...it happened. I walked by the ever-tempting junk at the dollar spot and I saw them. Pink. Fuzzy. And ridiculously adorable.

It was just all laid out for me, right there...and then, I did it. I picked up the pink bunny ears and placed them on her head. And my conscience spoke to me. NO! it said. NO! This is wrong! You cannot do this to your daughter!

But then...well, there was an ever so slight giggle from behind me. I turned to see a woman looking adoringly at my daughter.

"I shouldn't," I said to her, pleading with her to agree with me. "I shouldn't...it's just wrong!"
She smiled. "I have three boys," she said, still smiling, but now with an ever so slight look of longing twinkling in her laughing eyes. "If I had a girl, I would do it, too."

And there. She had done it. Sealed my daughter's fate as a baby bunny frozen in photographic time. With only the 25 cent bunny diaper cover to beckon me, I was safe. I had bought it, yes, but it had sat, dormant, for a week. It was the ears that did it. The combination of the two...well, it was too potent for any mother to resist. Like muses from the Odyssey, they sang to me of the fleeting moments of babyhood, the cuteness that it would be, and the realization that no child at all aware of themselves would consent to such a photo. Poor Adelaide. I was just too weak to resist!

I suppose I could have just taken the photos and kept them to myself. I could have sat back, admired my work, and gone on with life. But alas, I am weak! The grandparents...they're so far away! Her aunt and uncle...they would just love to see this. And there it went. To my flickr page, and now, to my blog. I won't tell you all there are more photos of her like this if you go to the flickr page, though. That too would be wrong.

My consolation lies in the fact that one, she is a girl. This isn't Ralphie from "A Christmas Story" bedecked in pink fuzziness at the age of eight. And two...well...okay, maybe there isn't a number two. Maybe I just need to admit to myself that I have done it for my own satisfaction and be done with the guilt.

Or maybe I should store these away for when she's in high school and they ask for pictures of her as a baby for the obligatory section in her senior yearbook. I bet looking back then, I will be glad I did it.

At least that's what I'm telling myself now. Because I am glad now, really. I love it, and I am going to enjoy it. So no guilt, right? Just loving that I have a beautiful baby...who can't argue yet.

My friend Tanya's hilarious illo

sketch
Originally uploaded by loveforhim16.

Okay, I saw this today and I had to post it, because the bottom thing with the little boy and the cat is just sooooo Will! Now, I do have to say if this were Will and cousin Caroline at Ma and Gaggy's house, well...the cat would be pursued by two tormentors!

easter kids

easter bunny baby
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

I don't know. They're just the cutest ever.

hmmmm

hmmmm
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

This is a really fun photo of Adelaide from yesterday -- she is considering whether she would prefer her graham cracker or her fingers in her mouth.

riding in style

riding in style
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

Here is adelaide in her new carseat that we bought after she and Ben got rear-ended the other day. Both Ben and the pediatrician said that even though they were only rear ended (though "not a tap," as ben puts it) you should always replace the carseat after any kind of impact.

Thing is, Ben got a fair case of whiplash. Adelaide, however, was fine because she was rear-facing and in her seat correctly. Otherwise, she could have had some neck and back injuries. Thus, we purchased a seat that would allow her to be rear-facing up to 30 lbs.

Yes, that is a lot of staring out the back, but she's never known any different. And rear-ending happens in BR more than any other place I've ever known. So we aren't taking chances.

Besides, it looks pretty comfy to me.