Teeth, Time, and Doodles

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . Anna teething.  She's getting several new teeth in at once, and she had a really rough morning.  Thank goodness for Tylenol.

. . . taking down most of our Halloween decorations.  I left the pumpkins in place for November, but I was sad to see the bat mobile go.  I'll definitely make another (better) one next year.  

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . noticing a cactus blooming.  It feels like a treat to see something beautiful on a plant that is ordinarily so plain and uninviting.

. . . doodling with the kids.  I sketched lots of little, stick-figure animals while Joy drew characters from Monsters, Inc. and Daniel wrote some big letter S's.  I also tried drawing my kids' faces, with mixed success (one version of Daniel looked like a fat, German banker).  The drawings reminded me of my dad, who is great at sketching objects but can't draw realistic portraits well at all.  Dad once toyed with the idea of becoming a Civil War painter when he retires, but he soon abandoned that plan when he realized he wouldn't be able to paint the soldiers.  I guess landscapes don't fire his imagination.

And another thing . . .

. . . Daniel is learning to tell time on our digital clock.  He's pretty excited about it, as you can tell from this exchange we had this morning:

Daniel: [gasps] It's 9:03!
Mom: You're right, it's 9:03.
Daniel: [60 seconds later]  It's 9:04!
Mom: That's right.
Daniel: [60 seconds later]  It's 9:05!
Mom: [doesn't answer because she's in the other room and doesn't feel like hollering a response]
Daniel: Hey, Mom!  It's 9:05!  It's 9:05, Mom!  Mom, it's 9:05!
Mom: [finally comes around the corner to put an end to the shouting] That's right, it's 9:05!
Daniel: [eight seconds later] Hey, Mom!  It's 9:06!