Bath + bubbles = CREATIVITY

This bathtime video really drives home that when God was making Mama and Olivia milkshakes, he poured chocolate sauce into Mama's, and named Olivia's"vanilla."

I am proud to say, however, that Olivia and I are alike in one very important way: we both feel super creative in the bath tub. Maybe that's why she invited my feet in to join her. Witness Olivia's spontaneous counting of "foots" (aka toes), pretending they're her "BABEEEES!" and unexpected use of Spanish term "el mascote" (pet).

"Shake Your Heiny"/"Paparazzi"

The following intros are designed to help you derive the maximum humor from this series of videos taken by Mama (1) and Oliva (2).

1. Mama introduces the "Shake Your Heiny" to the "Paparazzi" tune. Olivia bites, and performs briefly, but ultimately decides that she would prefer to conduct the videography herself. That's OK with Mama, because she likes performing.


2. NO, THAT IS NOT MY BUTT CRACK. OK, now that that's established, enjoy Mama prompting Olivia about how to capture the best video. Olivia remains concerned that her fingers are in the way, but the resulting video proves that she has overcome that hurdle.


3. La pièce de résistance: final video, complete with O's feedback to performer: "That's NICE." Note that she opts for a location change yet remains concerned about her finger still being in the way. (We place a big emphasis on quality in the Turner-Thomas household.) Also, in response to dAVE portraits -- "Dats my famiyee!"

THE FROGS HAVE ARRIVED!

For Christmas my brother, Todd, bought a frog environment for Makena, his daughter. This is the moment of the frog unveiling--Olivia stands as witness. Within 24 hours the aquarium had been upended, frogs were headed to places unknown . . . but Preston and I corralled them again. They remain, at the time of this post, alive. I think.

The outermost keys

. . . are Olivia's piano étude staples. She met her first piano in Delaware. Loves it. Oh God. I can just see the investment looming now . . .

Doodley-doo ("Let's build another snowman")

OK, so my vocal accompaniment to Olivia's dancing is annoying. But her dancing and eating of the carrots intended for the snowmen's nose offset that factor. Awesome.

Grandpa Wrastling, Part I (or II, depending on how you read the blog)

Grandpa wrestles Olivia with ball as accomplice and Ahnee Kathleen filming. She loves it. If you like this, try "Unparalleled Joy," the previous post. Good stuff. The more Olivia can flop around on beds or carpeted surfaces aided by a grandfather, the better, apparently.

The Unparalleled Joy of Pushing Someone Forty Times Your Size

When it comes to kids, Grampy specializes in physical humor. Super-specialty: farts. But for toddlers, you really have to go that extra mile, so Grampy imitated a tree chopping himself down over and over again, tilting precariously and risking crushing the howling two-year-old on the Marriot bed. (Yes -- my whole immediate family -- parents, siblings, and their spouses and kids -- were in a Marriot room spending some QT together over the break. Hey -- when it comes to Christmas, it's time to pull out the stops. And party like a falling log.)

The resulting video, I think you'll find, is breathtaking. Enjoy.