That's So Silly!*

Our Hero is hilarious these days. Tonight, on the way home, we were stopped at the intersection nearest our neighborhood. This particular intersection has bus stops on both sides on the east-west street. While we were stopped, two "city buses" were also stopped, one in each direction, looking identical, right down to the advertisement displayed on the side. Julie remarked that they were twins. This conversational sally was met with silence. After several beats had passed, Joe burst out from the back seat, "THAT'S SO SILLY!" His sally was met with laughter.

Joe's affection from this phrase probably stems from its use on one of the days he was home with strep throat. Julie and Joe were off on an adventure to points no longer remembered, and they passed upwards of 10 dump trucks in the span of five minutes, no joke. It was clear the trucks were picking up snow and carting it to the lot of this apartment or condo complex nearby, but so far as Joe was concerned, it was simply a fabulous dump truck sighting free for all, celebrated with great fanfare and excitement by Julie who was sort of taken with all the construction equipment activity herself, and glad of something to count and highlight in the car. Her ongoing refrain was "THAT'S SO SILLY!"

But wait! There's more! Tonight, while we were reading stories, in the midst of Where the Wild Things Are (it's back, baby!), Joe was suddenly taken with Julie's hair (it is sort of a glorious blond halo. . .) and lifted up two hanks, one in each hand. He giggled and announced to her, "You a wild thing!" Then, he told her she looked like Yoda. Presumably, he meant Yoda's ears jutting out, not his five scraggly stands of hair. But how fun! Our Hero is cracking jokes! AND MAKING STAR WARS REFERENCES!

THAT'S SO SILLY!

*This picture was taken earlier this month, when Joe and Clara were being silly upon waking from their afternoon nap.

Always True to You In My Fashion

Clara is a very easy going little lady, but when she gets upset, she lets you know. Friday's report from school said that Clara "was trying to build a tower with the large foam blocks and was VERY vocal when I did not want any friends (to help--presumably)." We have a clear picture of this in our minds, based on our own experiences. At home, she is most often VERY vocal, when she wants Julie and Julie moves out of Clara's view, or steps away from her.

Now, in the mornings, Joe wants Julie to sit on the bed, and Ted to pick up Clara. We have had to explain to him that he doesn't get to decide who picks up Clara, in part because he really doesn't get to decide who picks up Clara, and in part because one morning, Ted did pick up Clara, and she wailed and nearly flew out of his arms as she tried to get to Julie. Now Fans, in case you are thinking, "Poor Ted. . .", we hasten to remind you that the affections of the toddler set are fickle. In fact, Joe still prefers that Ted take him in and out of the car. Clearly Ted has gotten the short end of the stick for the moment, as an extra moment tucked up on a bed is infinitely preferable to hefting Our Hero in and out of his car seat, but so swings the pendulum today.

But it is true that Clara is all about Julie right now. Thursday's report from school said that Clara had pointed at our family picture on the family wall during snack time, and said "Mommy, Mommy!" (I know--we buried the lead, right?!) We haven't yet heard this with our own ears, but there is no doubt that Bird knows who her mama is. Just that morning, Ted had told Julie that he had been holding Clara and when they passed the picture of Julie sitting in some leaves that hangs in the hallway on the way to the nursery, Clara pointed at it frantically.

In case you're worried that Julie is going to let this all go to her head, fear not. She remembers only too well when Joe didn't allow her on the bed in the morning, to get him milk or water or anything else for that matter, to push his chair in, to get him scissors. . .In short, when the most common refrain in the house was, "DADDY WANT TO DO IT!" And after all, she's still can't lift Joe in and out of his car seat if Ted is around. Daddy want to do that.

I Want to Clean, Too!

Before we left for Target, we all had a cheese and cracker snack, which resulted in a lot of crumbs. Julie was sweeping them off the table with a sponge, and Joe said he wanted to clean, too. So he got a turn with the sponge. When he was done, he was still chirping that he wanted to help clean, so Julie asked if he could please stack up the books in the living room. She meant the books on the floor, but a few minutes later, this is how we found Our Hero. Joe had gone to town on the low shelf which he will often help Julie dust after stacking up the books that are on it. Ted said, "Wonder where he gets it."

Snowy Saturday

Julie just realized that Baby Bird is 10 months old today! We began the day by finding Bird sitting upright in her crib, making not a peep, until she giggled when she seemed to realize Julie couldn't figure out where she was in that crib! Oh that Bird! Today, the snow sifted down all morning and into the afternoon. Clara Jane watched it from the couch, where she then sacked out with Ted and Julie for her afternoon nap after tearing it up from one end to the other amid all the books. She and Julie were both in their black lounge-y pants, and white tees. Birds of a feather. . .When she woke up, she played on the floor a bit, trying to pull herself up on the couch. She would let go, throw her hands up, and balance for a long moment before settling back down. Baby Bird is like a weeble wobble, only she doesn't even weeble or wobble so much. Bird's got balance!

This sort of thing would have never been possible with Raleigh about. The house is very calm, which is both lovely, and sad. Raleigh was always underfoot, in a face, up the stairs, down the stairs, in and out and all around, clattering here and there. . .It is an odd feeling--missing what you don't miss. He's probably still running in dog heaven. Berenice was always quicker, but Raleigh could always outlast her.

Dog Heaven

Fans. Earlier this week, we made the painful and difficult decision to put Raleigh down today. Increasingly of late, he had displayed a number of aggressive behaviors that made us feel we could no longer trust him in our home, or that it was safe with him in it, and these behaviors also, unfortunately, made him un-adoptable. Though we feel certain it could be no other way, our hearts are broken.

When Joe and Clara came home from school, we all sat down on the couch, and we told Joe that Raleigh had died today. We told him this meant that we wouldn't see Raleigh anymore, and Raleigh wouldn't be able to eat his food, or drink water, or bark (as Berenice let out a bark on the porch), or lay on the sofa or chair. We told him that Raleigh had gone to dog heaven which was way, way too far away* to ever see, but that it was filled with fields and lakes where dogs could run, forever if they wanted. We told him we had a book** all about it, that we could read if he wanted. And we told him that Mommy and Daddy and Berenice might be sad, because we would miss Raleigh, and that he might feel sad, too, and if he did and wanted to, he could come and ask us for a hug and to talk about it.

Joe asked if he could have some goldfish.

Ted got up to begin getting dinner together. Goldfish were promised with it. Then Joe said he wanted to read a book. Julie asked which book and he said, "The dog book," all like, "Duh." So we did, and that is how Joe came to know that besides fields and lakes, dog heaven is filled with dog biscuits shaped like squirrels and ice cream cones and ham sandwiches, and that all dogs, in heaven, are good dogs.

When we were driving Joe and Clara to school this morning, Julie saw a rainbow. Her breath so caught in her throat that she barely managed to tell Ted before we were out of sight of it. Ted said it was a good sign. We may see what we want to see in life, but Julie knows this was Raleigh's bridge to where he had to go.

*"Way, way too far away" is a Joe expression.

**Dog Heaven, by Cynthia Rylant. It's fabulous, and not just for kids.