Kids say the darndest things

We went out for pizza tonight to our favorite local pizza joint and Gabrielle provided the entertainment. All was going well until she noticed the people sitting in the next booth. There was a woman in her mid 50s, a man roughly the same age who I assumed was her husband, and a younger man in his 20s who I guessed was the son.

Anyway...the older gentleman was mostly bald except for the sides and his hair was pretty much all gray. Gabby stood up, looked at the bald man, and said in a pretty normal voice, "That guy no have hair."

My guess is next time she'll point out a fat person in the line at the grocery store. I'll let you know when that happens.

Ahhh...happiness

We went to church tonight since Matt and I both have concerts tomorrow. At the end of mass the commentator was saying something about how to find happiness or something of the like--the key word was happiness. Gabrielle looked at me and said, "Have penis? Gabby no have penis." I couldn't help but laugh so she repeated herself several more times. Luckily she didn't say it too loud and I don't think anyone else really heard her. This is one more credit to my theory that God makes up for the stress of parenthood by making kids hilarious.

Who needs GPS when you've got a two year old

Gabrielle and Colin amaze on a daily basis with their ever growing knowledge base. One thing that baffles me about Gabby is that she knows how to get everywhere...like directions, etc. We'll be driving in the car and we'll turn down the street toward church and she'll say, "This way to Jesus," pointing in the direction I should turn next. Yesterday we were driving home from Gina's and going a different direction than normal. From the back seat I heard, "Why we go this way momma?" I explained that the car was pointed in that direction and it didn't make any sense to turn around when I could just go around the block. She said, "Okay, turn this way," and pointed the direction I should turn to get home. Keep in mind this is all from a back seat view that is partially obstructed by her carseat. Anyway...the next time you visit and need directions somewhere I'll just send G with you and she can show you where to go. How can she know these things at 2.5 years old when one of my sisters didn't know how to get to Elk Point when she got her driver's license? :)

Picture update

It seems like every September I get a little behind with taking pictures. Those are the smallest files by far in our Gabrielle and Colin collection. To make up for it I did a mass upload of pictures to the kids' Shutterfly site.

Here's a brief explanation of the new pics:

September/October 2007

• We went to touch a truck and the kids had a blast playing on the bulldozer and school bus
• Colin took a big boom one day leaving Gina's house...of course Gabby couldn't be without a band-aid on her face even though she had no boo-boo
• We spent some time working on our model poses wearing the sweaters my Grandma Anne made
• Colin loves to read books and the first thing he wanted to do on our new bed was read books
• I caught Colin laughing one day and got several good pictures of him and his new teeth
• We had a Halloween party for the kids...they're on the far right as a princess and frog
• We couldn't get them to stand next to eachother for a Halloween pic so they have individuals of them in costume. Lately when you ask G to smile she sticks her tongue out instead...little snot. :)

November 2007

• The kids needed something to do tonight while I made supper so they "cooked." Gabrielle made mac and noodles (chicken and noodles) while Colin made macaroni and cheese. Later they made corn and mashed potatoes...since that was what I was making.
• G and C fell in love with the pumpkin blow-up lawn decoration that our neighbors have. So much so that we have to check every night to see if it is blown up and then again in the morning to make sure it's still there. I had to stop at Menards tonight and found a blow-up pumpkin on clearance. They love it so much that it's received several hugs and kisses already.
• Gabrielle has perfected jumping and really wanted me to take pictures of her showing her skills. I actually got one action shot and the rest are all set up shots.
• They wanted more "camera taking" when they got in the tub tonight so there are some wet ones here too.

Enjoy!

The Burning of the Dirt

I can remember each fall when I was a little kid when Mom and Dad would turn on the heater for the first time. Maybe because we lived out in the country on a gravel road or maybe because it hadn't run for several months, the heater always seemed to have a layer of dirt on the heating element. The first time we turned the heat on for the season it would always smell like burning dirt. It's certainly not a pleasant smell but it was something that happened every year regardless of its offensive aroma. It usually lasted for about 10 minutes and then would be gone for another year.

Last night our heat kicked on for the first time this season and the dirt was burned. I don't remember ever burning the dirt now that I have my own house so this was a significant event for me. I bet my mom and dad are probably still holding off on turning on the heat. I think they waited until Thanksgiving last year to burn the dirt. Maybe they wanted the whole family to be there to enjoy the experience. Mom and Dad...if that's the case this year you can go ahead and burn the dirt without us. We've already enjoyed the event.