this one, I think, is going to be trouble

George has learned to tell knock-knock jokes... so Thomas immediately started saying "na-na!" and laughing hysterically.

He'll "comb" his hair with his fork and crack himself up at the joke. Even funnier when the fork has tomato sauce or peanut butter on it.

Here's a picture documenting something we'll just refer to as "the Nutella incident."

Thomas has also become quite the pro at conning rides from big brother and big sister.

I mean really, who can say no to a cute little face like that?

two scenes

Sunday, after church.

I decided to make a big lunch including eggs and bacon. The sizzling bacon got a bit smoky and set off the fire alarms (for the first time in the new house). It was kind of a shock because not only did these fancy things whistle and shriek, there was also a mechanical voice saying FIRE... FIRE... FIRE... FIRE. George was seriously concerned and ran around in tears with his hands over his ears (later he explained that he was worried it might be an *invisible* fire). Even when the commotion was over he was still shaken up.

He announced "I am going to make a sign for the front door that says NO BACON ALLOWED."

And then, after a moment to reflect on the tragic wasteland that would be a world bereft of bacon, George said "actually I will make a sign that says NO BACON ALLOWED, UNLESS YOU COOKED IT AT YOUR OWN HOUSE."


Thursday, while making dinner

5 pm has proven to be a tragic hour on many days. It is just unimaginable how much trouble the kids can get into while I'm taking 10 minutes to boil up some pasta, for example.

Today I really thought they were handling themselves. I vaguely recall George swooping by at some point saying "ok Mommy, we are going to fly up into the sky and go on a cloud!" But at that time of day I am pretty well focused on getting something to put on the table by 5:30 and ignore anything short of smoke, blood, or broken glass.

Thomas started wailing hard. I look out on the deck, and see:

a) a kite, tossed over the edge of the deck,
b) with the string wound under and over and all around a tricycle,
c) George and Helen sitting on the tricycle, awaiting liftoff,
d) and the tail end of the string wound several times tightly around Thomas' feet *and neck* as he stood right behind struggling to free himself.

!!!!

postscript: Later I was telling Tim of their exploits, and mentioned that I wasn't sure if lashing Thomas on behind was part of the plan or just incidental to him likely tripping over everything while they were winding the string around the trike. George piped right up and said "oh yes, that was part of the plan!"