Eggs Scrambled

An Easter egg is an egg from Easter, of course, but it’s also the term used to describe an intentionally hidden message, in-joke, or feature. And so this intentionally unhidden message that Olivia left for me, her lunch preparer for the day, was spatially close to her Easter egg, but the furthest thing from being an Easter egg itself.

Happily Ever Laughter

Hysteria from chris k on Vimeo.

New Jersey

Olivia got this lovely Easter dress from G, and the Easter Bunny brought Reed its chocolate likeness, as well as a Michigan basketball jersey. The number five is not an homage to Jalen Rose, who wore the number when he was with a member of the Fab Five, but rather a clue as to how much the “bunny” paid for the thing off the discount rack at a sporting-goods store. Hail to the victors of thriftiness!

Vegans, They're Not

The kids are lacto-ovo vegetarians, with the emphasis on ovo at this time of year. They woke up at Grandma Randi and Grandpa Tsune’s house to eggs all around them, and they wasted no time finding the plastic ones and dying the chicken ones.

A Bone to Pick (up)

When you have a young child, you can’t turn your back on him for a moment. One minute he’s excavating dinosaur bones from a sand pit, and the next minute—that time you spend talking with the museum volunteer—he’s constructed a life-size replica of the largest dinosaur to have walked the earth.

Earth Tones

We’re those annoying friends of yours who are really into the environment, and so we’re those annoying friends of yours who get really geeked up for Earth Day. On the eve of Mother Earth’s day, Olivia and the other first-graders of her school spent the morning on an eco-scavenger hunt and in performance.

I missed all of the activities because I was not able to get out of a work commitment. Beni, on the other hand, helped supervise the search and had a front-row seat for the show, which naturally (pun intended) left me green (pun intended) with envy.

(Photos below courtesy of Olivia's first-grade teacher)

Double Trouble

The kids switched places on the swing set, where Olivia wedged her body into the toddler swing, and Reed laid prostrate on a big-kid swing.

Filling Someone's Shoes

This somewhat ridiculous video of Reed calls to mind…

Double Pump(s) from chris k on Vimeo.

…this very much ridiculous video of a commercial from yesteryear.

Sweet Melon-y

Q: Why can’t melons get married?

A: Because they can’t elope.

Which is your response?

Ha ha! You’re a funny guy, Daddy!

You—the person at whom I’m pointing—tell terrible jokes.

Off (to) the Beaten Path

It’s only fitting that a child who often communicates in sharp, rhythmic tones would make a beeline for the exhibit featuring percussion instruments at the annual sustainability and wellness fair. Reed sandwiched his drums session with cautious and curious visits to the alpaca pen. He identified the long-necked mammals of luxurious locks as goats upon first glance, but he eventually got to calling them ‘pacas.

And then he kept calling them ‘pacas, and calling for ‘pacas—and crying for ‘pacas—as we pulled out of the parking lot. Though we’re not from Wisconsin, it seems as though we’ve got a huge ‘pacas fan in our midst.

The Trapping of the Hug Life

Reed returned to the scene of the cuddle time with his mother in arms—and sister in arms—arm and arm with one another.

Ice Cream Social

Reed has been two for all of two days, and today (two-day?) we celebrated his second birthday with friends at a local ice-cream shop, where we ate ourselves sick but happy on homemade cupcakes and—in the parlance of the honoree—eye-KWEE-me.