Caesar Who?

Tonight during our advent celebration, Dave read the Christmas story to Meg. After reading about the decree that forced Joseph and Mary to journey to Bethlehem, Dave paused to ask Meg a question. "Meg, who was it that made the tax?"

Meg paused, put on her concentration face, and carefully enunciated, "Caesar... Caesar Disgustus."

Dave got the giggles so bad that he couldn't read the story without shaking. As his voice quavered with laughter, Meg calmly reprimanded him. "No, Daddy, listen quietly." For some reason, that didn't seem to help Dave settle down.

Oh, Meggie... how much joy your bring your Daddy and Mama!

A Song Just For Me

This morning while I changed Meg's diaper, I reminded her to hold still and keep her bottom down. Immediately she burst into song, gifting me with this short, spontaneous, little ditty:

No, keep your bottom up!
Yucky poopy so stinky...
I love you so much, Mommy.

And after I finished laughing and gave her a kiss, I thought, "Gee, those three lines pretty much sum up my day-to-day existence. You've got rebellion in the first line, messes in the second and, in the third, unexpected moments of utter sweetness covering it all. What is it they say about 'out of the mouths of babes...?' "

Sigh. I love my job.

Quick Thanksgiving Pics

As usual, I didn't take enough pictures at our Thanksgiving get-together. But here are a few, just to give you a taste...

At table


Mom, Dad, Uncle Ed, and Aunt Heidi (the latter two being our kind hosts)


My favorite shot. Ed got his guitar out and let Ari take a few strums. STRUM, STRUM, STRUM! Ari really likes guitars.


Bootifulest ladies, my mom and sissies


Our dear Uncle Don, everyone's favorite Character. He'd be your favorite too if you knew him!


And a final shot of Ari, with characteristically full mouth. (I daresay one could title this photo "The Spirit of Thanksgiving".)

Matthew's Words

I'm afraid that the Wilcox family is developing a bad habit. We seem to be getting into the rut of being sick whenever there is a family gathering to be enjoyed. You may recall our beach vacation, which started with Matthew getting a four-day fever and ended with all of us having a stomach bug. And then we decided that, in addition to a green vegetable, we should all bring head colds to the Nalle clan's Thanksgiving party. Yes, all four of us. Charming contribution, don't you agree?

And what a head cold! Meg and David seem mostly recovered now, praise the Lord, but Matthew and I are still in the throes of it. My voice is about an octave lower than usual. And I'm not sure that I have ever used so many tissues in a 72-hour time frame. The bottom edges of my nose are chapped and red from too much wiping. Actually, the whole organ is beginning to look rather Rudolph-ish. How festive!

But Matthew, getting to the point of this post, has had the worst cold of all, poor little bug. His nose is looking a little raw too, and he has that horrible baby cough that ends each time in a pathetic, pained cry. But it sure doesn't stop him from looking cute. Or sounding cute.

He's beginning to talk, you see. Most of his words would still be unrecognizable to anyone other than Dave and me. But even a very small vocabulary makes communication so much easier! Here's what our boy is saying so far:

Dada: "Dahhh."
Yeah: "Yahh." As in, "Matthew, do you want a snack?" "Yahh."
That: "Dah." Almost indistinguishable from Dada, except that it's usually accompanied by pointing at an unknown or desired object.
Hi: "Ahhhhhh." Accompanied by a floppy wave.
Milk: Can't spell it phonetically, besides, it's evolving. But he usually points to his cup when he says it, so that helps!
Cracker: Hm, not sure I can spell this one either. If you make a "K" sound in the back of your throat and hold it for about three and-a-half seconds, you'll know about what Matthew sounds like when he wants a cracker. Or a rice cake, or anything crunchy that is stored in the cabinet to the left of the microwave.
All done: "Ah duh." Accompanied by the hand sign and usually spoken with a degree of eagerness that borders on impatience. "Yes, Mom, I'm all done already, OK?"
Up: "Uh."
Down: "Dow," usually said in a very low voice.
Ball: "Bah."
Diaper: "Dee-dee," pronounced staccato.
Doggie: Pretty much the same as Dad and That. You have to use the context clues.
Amen: This one actually sounds pretty close to the original.
Woof-woof
Meow
Neigh

Those last three are usually pronounced with a closed mouth and are therefore completely impossible to spell. But you can tell what he means because of his intonation. It's pretty cute. Sort of like everything else about him. Even that little red nose.

I think we'll keep him.