I Love Children. ("I is tired of playdough cakes.")

Why? Smallish bodies, largish heads. That's fun. And how sometimes they shout "I love your kneecaps!" in public. (Sammy did this.) Or how sometimes you're swimming at your neighborhood pool, talking to your neighbor about books or babies, and some child you don't know swims up to your face and stares at you. For more than four seconds. Or how later at the pool that same child asks to use your wet towel and looks confused when you reply, "No. It's wet. And mine. And wet." That's fun, too.

Things Sammy says/does that make me want to hug him five thousand times:
1. Refers to the shallow end of the pool as "The Shallows."
2. Loosely defines the American Dream as "having enough quarters to ride that Jeep at the grocery store... and then eat M&M's."
3. Insists on nighttime stories featuring larger-than-life versions of himself. (Sammy swims in a river of pacifiers. Sammy fights The Squirrel King for sole use of the backyard. Sammy flies to the moon and back while eating scones and whistling that Neko Case song about how she wishes she were the moon.)
4. Catches grasshoppers and names them. (He found one yesterday he wanted to name "Car.")
5. Has pretend phone conversations about play dough with his grandparents. ("That playdough did not stay a shape when I threw it." "Sammy make playdough face and bite it." "I is tired of playdough cakes.")

Children are the best. Also, here are a few photos from our Brenham weekend with family. Sammy had a great time and has already requested that we build a farm in his room "next year or tomorrow."

View of the barn and vineyard:

Barn, tractor, and Sammy:

Vineyard and Sammy:

Grasshopper friend named "Bugaloo" and Sammy:

Other things we've been up to? Swimming, reading, tutoring, gardening (our tomatoes actually look like tomatoes!), daydreaming about ROOT BEER FLOAT CUPCAKES, napping, and picking dried playdough out of our carpet. I is tired of playdough cakes.