Easter

Daisy on the hunt.

Here's one!

Buster helps his sister out

Lindsey

There are better things in life than playing with Lindsey at Grandma Ann's house. It's just that nobody knows what they are.

Smile, smile, smile, straw

Daisy and Mom with Sophie and Tracy at McDonalds. We've reached Easter weekend, photo-wise.

Hard times

Space rangers have to moonlight.

Day.Lo

The smallest lap in the world

Has a kind of Dorothea Lange quality to it, don't you think? Well, if you kind of ignore the red polka-dot couch and lime-green wall. And also: Everything else except Daisy's expression.

Pa-pa Wiggies!

The single most uttered phrase in our household. Daisy went through a Wiggles phase a few months ago. From the moment she woke up or walked into the house, she would run for the remote, hand it to the nearest parent, and yell, "Wiggies! Wiggies!" (Note: The remote in her hand in this photo is not the actual remote, and may in fact be an old cell phone.)

Meanwhile, Buster has this DVD called "Potty Power," recommended to us as a strategic infotainment device to curry enthusiasm for a certain learning experience. It had no real effect on Buster, but Daisy fell in love with it. Because she thinks "Wiggies" means "TV show," she started calling it "Wiggies," and then after a few days "Potty Power Wiggies," which comes out as Pa-pa Wiggies.

Dad is beyond resistence here, the songs on an endless loop in his head. No more diapers for me/Gonna use the potty gonna give it a try ...

The good news: Dad is now extremely enthusiastic about using the potty. He's got potty power!

Funny book

Sunglasses

Can't find 'em. Well, some of us can:

Peel me

a potato chip.

Superhero

Sorry, I've forgotten the narrative here.

Update
Do you remember what you were doing here?
Yes. I was acting like Superman.

Open studio

I made up a song, want to hear it?

Yes.

I am Buzz Lightyear, I am Buzz Lightyear
That can spin and fly, spin and fly
All day long along, all day long along
Space space space, space space space

Where is Woody doll, where is Woody doll
Here I am, here I am
Howdy howdy howdy, howdy howdy howdy
Run away, run away

Where is the chicken man, where is the chicken man
Hrr hrr-ha-hrr, hrr hrr-ha-hrr
Here I am, here I am
Here I am, thank you
Run away, run away

Ask him to sing it again and it's exactly the same

New do

Buzz Lightyear

and friend.

Big feet

Really. Those are her shoes.

One little monkey

jumping on the bed, she fell off and bumped her head ... ah, never mind. How about some more ...

Quality time

Belt

Hula girl

Or '80s chick. Not sure.

Moo

And, after 10 years sitting in closets and basements, right back to Thrifstoreland, whence you came.

Mouse

has gotta eat too.

Dad made short ribs one night, but told Buster he was making dinosaur. So Buster decided to feed Mouse, who's a tiger, and who's sometimes called Dike-jobe or Meliah, some dinosaur, in Daisy's doll high chair, which is really Mom's.

Where'd I lose you?

Outfit

Quality time

Dreaming

Last night I dreamed all the kids at school went on a field trip to Abiyoyo.
Isn't Abiyoyo a person? Or a monster?
Abiyoyo is a person with really stinky, old, messed-up clothes.
So how did they go on a field trip to Abiyoyo?
All the kids did.
I know. But Abiyoyo's a person. You take a field trip to a place.
Abiyoyo's a monster.
OK, but how do you take a field trip to a monster? Don't you take a field trip to a place?
I dreamed it.

Thinking

inside the box

How we roll, II

How we roll

Pick a lap

So where's Daisy been all this time?

Oh.

Photos by Buster

The artist:

Photo by Dad. And cropped, unlike Buster's.

4

New coat, party hat. And yes, we do still have a daughter. Why do you ask?

Please, Lord

... make Grandma take off the pimp hat. Actually, I think Buster's just blinking while watching "The Wizard of Oz" with Grandma in the middle of his own birthday party.

Birthday party

Regular candles. Buster decided he wanted it to be a costume party, so he's Buzz Lightyear. Matthew and A.J. are in costume too, I think as various sports figures.

Some grandfatherly costume action. Masks and hats were big this year.

Pre-birthday party

The old trick candles never fail to amuse. Rob and Amy agree.

Big ol' stuffed Curious George. That's a home run.

See? This was not posed at all. He's asleep.

At the dinner table

Dad: Who's funnier, Daisy or you?
Buster: Daisy's funny, and I'm funny, and you're funny, and Mommy's funny.
Dad: Mommy's not funny.
Mom/Buster: Yes I am!/Yes she is!
Dad: No. Mommy's not funny.
Buster: She is.
Dad: One time Mommy told a joke like this. What did the bear say to the horse?
Mom: I never told a joke about a bear.
Buster: Mommy is funny.
Dad: And the answer was "Hi, horse."
Mom: I did not tell that joke.
Dad: She's all, "Get it? Hi horse?"
Mom: I was not.
Buster: No, she didn't. She's funny. And Daisy's funny.
Dad: Daisy's not funny.
Mom: How is Daisy funny?
Buster: She's just ... funny!
Dad: Daisy, are you funny?
Daisy: [Looks up and farts]

OK, yeah. Daisy's funny.

Leopard theme

continues.

That leopard

gets around.

In the car

Buster hasn't really liked the Mexican restaurant. Didn't want anything to eat there, and was angry that we hadn't brought anything to eat from home. We would have, but at the time when we would have asked him if he wanted to bring anything, he'd been having a tantrum.

So Buster, did you like that restaurant?
Yeah.
You did?
Yeah.
I gotta say, it didn't seem like it. You didn't eat anything and you acted all grumpy. What did you like about it?
I don't know. I don't really know that much about restaurants.

Leopard

meets leopard.

Col. Daisy Sanders

Size 4

At the mall

Buster and Dad, waiting for Mom and Daisy to catch up, have stopped in front of a Mrs. Fields display featuring an enORMous cookie-cake.

Dad?
Yes, Buster.
I love you.
Oh. I love you too.
[Points to Brobdingnagian cookie] Did you think I was going to say can we have this?
Yes, I did.

[Pause]

Can we?

Uncle Matt