"The Eyebrow"

It's been a couple months since I've posted, and what better way to get back to blogging than to tell the tale of our disintegrating bath tub.

Jared has always loved to take baths, and we nearly always give him (and Allison) one every night. We figure it's a good wind-down routine, and it gets all the day's food, dirt, etc. out of their hair.

Unfortunately, our bath tub is wearing thin on the bottom--something we discovered one day when Jared was two years old and taking his usual evening bath. He pointed to a quarter-inch rust spot forming on the bottom and exclaimed, "It's an eyebrow!" Apparently he grew quite attached to this tub blemish, because the next week after maintenance had come and sealed off the rust spot, Jared said sadly, "Oh, I miss the eyebrow."

Lucky for Jared, the eyebrow reappeared just weeks later, when the sealant came off. It has maintained a proud presence at bathtime ever since, and was slightly augmented this week when we bleached the tub mat overnight.

Someday--probably when we move--our tub will get replaced. But until then, we will continue to enjoy the "eyebrow"as it gazes up at us every night through sudsy water.

Twenty-one Months and Counting...

The other day Allison was sitting in her high chair with some play dough. She had pulled off little pieces and was looking at them, then suddenly she started to count: "One, two, three." Not bad, I thought, for a 21-month-old.

Later that evening, as Adam and I were getting the kids ready for bed, Allison started counting quietly to herself: "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven." We snapped to attention, amazed that she had counted so far on her own.

"Eight," Adam coaxed.

"Nine, ten!" Allison finished. They went all the way up to twenty, with Allison getting the numbers twelve, fifteen, sixteen, eighteen, and nineteen. I'm not sure if that's an average counting ability for her age, but it sure impressed me and Adam. Maybe she'll be counting to thirty by her second birthday!