I squirt

Daisy now!

American Gothic

Apres swim at the hotel with Lindsey.

On the car ride home:
Is Mommy home?
Yes.
Is she lying on the couch?
I don't know, but that's a pretty good bet.
Is she tired?
Yeah, I think she's probably tired. Do you know why she's tired?
Because.
Because why?
Because she is.
She's tired because she's pregnant. Do you know what pregnant means?
It means she's tired.
Pregnant means there's a baby in her belly. Do you know who's in her belly?
Yeah! My baby sister!

Party pix

Cutting the grass before the big event.

Buster, with better taste than manners, doesn't like the host's hat and tries to knock it off.

A fairly random sampling of guests. From left, Kati, Patrick, Kelly, Beth, Louise, Rebecca, Eric, Jim (holding A.J.), Ana and half of Jon.

Photos by Sir Patrick Schmuke


Kelly

The host

Maryanne and A.J.

Miss Jane's third attempt to try to get Buster to go to bed, circa 11 p.m.

Portrait of the young man as an artist.

Plane

Daddy, do you want to play plane?
I sure do.
[Snatching plane away] NOOOO!!! Daddy! Don't touch my plane!
I'm not touching it. You asked me if I wanted to play so I'm sitting down to play.
[Moves plane back in reach]

Can you teach me how to play airplane?
Sure. You put the people in the plane and then they go.
How do the people get on the plane?
They go [bounces person up the stairs]. Here's your person.
Thanks. Can I put him on the plane?
No. He's not going.
Oh. Sorry, fella, you're not going.

Yay! The plane's in San Francisco now!

Note: Can you find King in the second picture?

Kentucky

Father of the Year

Nomination photo.

Oh! Daddy! Look!

A garbage truck!

Dear Grandma Ann

Thank you for my Curious George book. Are we going to Grandma Ann's house? Thank you, dear Grandma Ann. Buster Paris-Kaufman.

Editor

The night-night routine includes singing. (Actual night-night routine not pictured.)

Daddy, I want "Pretty Song."
OK. (Singing) The birds are singing in your eyes tonight ...
Today.
Oh. Yeah. ... in your eyes today
Sweet flowers blossom in your eyes
Smile.
Sweet flowers blossom in your smile
The wind and sun are in the words you say
Where might your lonesome lover be?

Birds may be singing in my eyes this day
Sweet flowers blossom in my smile
But my soul is stormy --
Story?
Stormy.
Story?
No, stormy. Like, there's storms. Storms are when it rains or snows. So it's stormy when there's a storm going on.
Oh.
But my soul is stormy and my heart blows wild
My sweetheart rides a ship on the sea
Shin.
What?
Shin.
No, it's ship.
Shin.
I'm pretty sure I'm right this time, Bugs. A ship is a big boat. You ride a ship on the sea. Do you know what a shin is?
(Points to chin.)
That's your chin. That's close. Your shin is here. (Rubs shin.) Shin. Chin. Bit it's "my sweetheart rides a ship." You ride a ship on the sea. OK?
Yeah.
My sweetheart rides a ship on the sea

Oh my soul is stormy and my heart blows wild

(Singing together) Where might my lonesome lover be?

First baseball game

First pro baseball game, actually. Buster went to a college game when he was about 3 months old, and to an 1860s re-creation game when he was 1. This was his minor-league debut, though, the River City Rascals vs. the Windy City Thunderbolts in an independent Frontier League game in beautiful O'Fallon, Mo.

Carrying on a family tradition started by his daddy, Buster poses with the home team's mascot, Ruffy the Rascal. It may have been Ruffy, it may have been the music on the loudspeakers, it may even have been the Rascals' exciting, come-from-behind victory, scoring the winning run on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth. Whatever the reason, by the late innings ...

Buster was already checking the schedule to see when we could go again.

At home that night Buster put on his Velcro baseball glove and played catch with mom. They had this conversation:

Good catch, Buster!
No, I'm Baseball Player.
Good catch, Baseball Player.

And then a few minutes later, the game of catch over, when Buster walked into the kitchen:

Hi, Baseball Player.
I'm Buster.

It's a fast-moving world we live in.

I press my nose

against the window like Curious George.

("search inside this book" for the word "nose")

Tighty

whiteys

From zoo to shining zoo

St. Louis

Buster doesn't know this little girl, who just happened to be standing next to him looking at the giraffes and ostriches, but this would be a hell of a picture if they did know each other.

Evansville

Buster does know this guy. Look, the other person in the picture can't always be cute as a button.

The answer to the question that's surely crossing your mind as you look at these two pictures is: Yes, Buster does enjoy going to the zoo. Really.

Resistance

is futile

(In Evansville with Lindsey)

As it happens

I do enjoy toast and jam, why do you ask?

I'm a baby

Are you going to be a good boy today?
Yeah.
Me too.
Huh?
I'm going to be a good boy too.
A big boy.
Yes, I'm a big boy. I'm a man.
You're not a man.
I'm not a man? What am I?
Daddy.
Oh, yeah, I'm Daddy, but I'm a man, aren't I?
Mmm.
Aren't I? Or am I a mouse?
Mmm.
Is Daddy a man or a mouse?
A man.
Is Daddy a man or a monkey?
A man.
Is Daddy a man or a table?
A man.
And what are you, a man, a boy or a baby?
I'm a baby.
You are?
Yeah. And babies eat breakfast bars.
I thought babies ate milk.
Yeah! They do eat milk.
Do you have a bottle?
No, I don't have a bottle at home. A.J. has a bottle.
He probably does but I think he uses sippy cups.
I have a firetruck. See?

Evansville

As the London of the Tri-State, it means many things to many people. To Buster, it means:

I make pancakes with Granddad Jim!

And I eat them

Cowboy

He's a cowboy.
Yeah, he is.
He has an old face.

(A little later)
He has a dirty face.
A dirty face? I thought you said he has an old face.
No. He has a dirty face. He got mud on it.
How do you think he got mud on his face?
Because he got dirt on it.

Springtime

In St. Looey.

Everybody sing

Playing with knives, playing with knives
We play with knives all of our lives
Only 2 years old, but that's OK
If there's a knife around, it's time to play

Just the ladies now ...
Playing with knives, playing with knives ...