The Adventures of Team Smith: February 2013

My dear peach,

So our rides in the car have now changed. Half the time, you're silent, completely engrossed in reading (like for REAL reading) a book. The other half, it's nonstop chatter as you call out what every sign says. (With Charlie, however, he's 100% of the time babbling whilst picking up a book and dropping it on the floor. It's his favorite car game.)

*in the car*
You: Why does that sign say "Stop here on red"?
Me: Because you have to stop the car there if there's a red light. If you don't, you could get bonked by a car that has a green light.
You: Why does that sign say "Bus stop"?
Me: It tells the bus driver where to drop people off and where to pick people up.
You: Oooh, I want to be a bus driver when I grow up. That'd be uh-MAZING. Why does that sign say "Car Wash"?
Me: Because that's where you take your car when it needs a bath.
You: Right. Cuz cars get sweaty just like me. Why does that sign have a U on it with a line through it? Why does that sign say "No Big Trucks Allowed"? What does Arby's sell? Why does that sign say "One Way"? And why does that sign say "School Zone"? And why does McDonald's sell Fish Bites? And why is that lady just wearing a bra on the Powerhouse Fitness sign? And what's a full set? It's twenty-five dollars at I Heart Nails. What's I Heart Nails? Is it hardware store? Know what MY favorite hardware store is? Home Depot. Know why it's my favorite? Because the T is silent on Depot. What does "No Turn on Red" mean?"

It's very hard to concentrate on driving when I'm having to explain the rules of the road, what different restaurants sell, the difference between a sports bra and a regular bra, what a nail salon is, and giggle at how nerdy you are for liking Home Depot because of the silent T.

One lap. Two kids. I've had a tricky time this month managing that. Especially because one kid (who shall remain nameless ... but whose name rhymes with Barley) likes to sit quietly in my lap while another kid (who shall remain nameless ... but whose name does NOT rhyme with Barley) flails around and has the potential to give everyone within a three-foot radius a black eye.

You spend much of your Quiet Time writing. You write pages and pages of words. Mostly, your pages consist of this:
NATALIE LOVES MOMMY
MOMMY
MOMMY
MOMMY LOVES NATALIE
CHARLIE LOVES MOMMY
DADDY LOVES NATALIE
NATALIE LOVES CHARLIE
NATALIE LOVES DADDY
DADDY
SMITH
SMITH
PURPLE

It's awesome.

You also like to write pretend menus for restaurants, namely Cracker Barrel. While the traditional Cracker Barrel sells delights such as hashbrown casserole and chicken friend steak, your Cracker Barrel sells cookies for $40, cake for $20, and lemonade for $50. It also sells chicken, pizza, ice cream chocolate and ice cream vanilla (you appear to poo-poo the conventional order of ice cream terms), and pie. Those last items don't have prices on them. Based on the exorbitant prices of cookies, cake, and lemonade, perhaps it's best you leave off the rest of the prices.

Because I'm packing up our house in preparation of our move, your closet is a lot emptier now. Which has made it the favorite hiding place for you and Charlie. You two will spend hours (read: minutes) in there with the doors closed, just laughing away. I remember Aunt KK and I doing something similar, and I love that you and Charlie are doing it too.

I'm trying to teach you tic-tac-toe. It's not a complete disaster, but you definitely seem uninterested in learning the strategy and get royally annoyed when I win (and mentally yell 'BOOYAH'). I think all you really want to do is draw tic-tac-toe boards and color in the squares.

My darling girl, you are a such a joy. I realize I don't soak that thought in nearly enough. There are so many ways you knock my socks off ... and equally as many ways you cause me to want to stuff my knocked-off socks in your mouth to keep from hearing your sass. It's a good balance and I'm blessed to be part of that balancing act.

Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy

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