All my Children

Every time Caroline takes something away from someone, she says, "My."  Today she said "Mo' money" plain as day.  And if she ever tells you "Eh-eh" or "Mm-mm," as in no, it actually means, "Yes, definitely."  She enjoys taking out every wipe from a baby wipes container or every sandwich bag from the box.  She likes going upstairs, standing beside Anderson's bed, and saying, "Hi.  Hi.  Hi.  Hi.  Hi.  Hi.  Hi.  Hi.  Hi," while he naps.  I'd have to say that her current favorite hobby, though, is saying "Up, up, up, up," until Carla picks her up, then pointing on the CD player until Carla turns on Josh Turner and dances with her.  As soon as the music comes on, Gracie lays her head on Carla's shoulder 'cause she's terrified of being swung around or dipped or something.  But she still enjoys the dance.  She also loves guns.  I think my one-year-old is cool.

Anderson likes playing soccer in the dining/toy room.  Whenever I score, the conversation goes like this:
Anderson:  Nice shoot, teammate!
Me:  Thanks, teammate.
Anderson:  You don't have to call me teammate.  I have to call you teammate.
Me:  Oh, OK.  Thanks, Anderson.
Anderson:  You don't call me Anderson, either.  You call me nothing.
Me:  Uh, OK.
I kick another goal.
Anderson:  Nice shoot, teammate!
And the whole thing starts again.

Ellie's the most stubborn little girl I've ever met.  She was dead-set against wearing her silver shoes to church today.  She came down with brown boots on, which didn't match at all (surprising for Ellie).
Me:  Well, your silver shoes would match your outfit much better than your brown boots because you have silver on your shirt.
Ellie:  Well, I don't want to wear them because they slip off my feet.
Me:  Well, you could just take them off when you get to Sunday School.
Ellie:  Well, I don't think we're allowed to do that.
Me:  Sure you are, El.
Ellie:  Well, another girl has the same shoes and she wears them every week.  And I think we might get them mixed up if I take mine off.
Me:  OK, then we'll put little 'E's inside your shoes so you won't get them mixed up.
Ellie:  Well, then they would make my tights dirty.
Me:  OK, fine.  What about some black shoes?  Those would match better than brown.
Ellie:  I have some black shoes with silver in them.
Me:  (For the love of God, woman, why didn't you just put them on in the first place?  You could have saved us a solid five minutes of negotiations!  Are you just practicing for when you're a teenager?  Am I going to have to have an arbitrator come in before every date you ever go on!?  Is this a precursor for a future conversation involving tattoos and body piercings? Why does my left arm tingle?)  Sounds good.

Walker is doing great in school, reading and mathing at advanced levels.  He's also still consistently putting on his shirts backwards and not caring about it.  I asked him what 20 - 14 was yesterday and he immediately told me 6 like I was an idiot.  Then Carla and I each told him twice to put on his socks and he sat there and stared at us and didn't process anything we said.  I think as long as he has someone around to dress him, he'll be wildly successful in his future endeavors.

Just for fun, I'll go . . . Packers, 21-17.  One of Pittsburgh's touchdowns will come from a sack/fumble by Polamalu.  It'll either be run right in or it will set them up with a very short field.  Clay Matthews will have an interception.  The Black Eyed Peas will be ignored by me.