Introduction to Keirese

Keira has now reached the point of telling us stories, which makes me feel both proud and a little sad. Why is she growing up so fast??? She loves to tell us...

"Gym? Jump-jump? Nnnn baws 'n' wings? A walk-a-walk...beam?" (Translation: "I went to gymnastics, played on the bars and rings, and walked on the beam.")

and

"Tum? Shongs? Twikle Twikle, 'n' bus?" (Translation: "At storytime we sang songs: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Wheels on the Bus.")

and

"Gwammy walk-a-walk, choo choo? Hiiiiii! Nnnn, ALL gone! (shrug) Buh-byes...shoon!" (Translation: "Grammy walked me down to see the choo-choo, we said Hi, then it was all gone. We said, Buh-Bye, See you soon!")

My favorite thing she says, though, is her version of "I love you," which is, "Yuuuv!" in this high-pitched, sing-song voice. *melt* Her "ABC's/Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" medley that she sings while she's playing alone in her room is a very close second.

Here's a video of her at the park, giving evidence that
a) she is a swing-a-holic, and

b) "chicken" and "tickle" are the exact same word


And now that I've sedated you with cuteness, I have a confession to make:

I am addicted to cardboard boxes.

Seriously. I wasn't kidding around with that Jerry Seinfeld quote a couple of weeks ago. The quest for boxes dominates my existence right now. I have vowed not to spend a penny on moving boxes when so many places throw them away, so instead I have become...a Dumpster Diver. No, I don't actually dive in, but I do drive around the back of every shopping center I pass and check their dumpster areas for a fix, while my innocent child waits in the car. I could be arrested at any moment for this crime, and if I were, the first thought that would come to mind would inevitably be, "I wonder if these handcuffs come by the dozens in big boxes...boxes that might fit towels....?"

It gets worse. I've drawn Keira into the sleazy, underground world of Box Salvaging, too. When I come back empty-handed, she says, "No-no boxes!" and when I score, she claps, "Yayyyy!" Soon, she will become a Box Wraith like her mother, and together we will find them all.

The weirdest thing is, it appears that I have competition. I drove past the dumpster behind Stater Bros. the other day, and there was already a guy with a pickup truck back there, taking boxes out. I kept driving and went to my next stop, and a minute later, he came driving up and got out.

"Are we doing the same thing?" I asked.
"Yep, movin'!" he said.

I smiled, then faux-casually raced back to my car, jumped in through the window Dukes of Hazzard-style, and screeched away so I could beat him to the next score, yelling, "Eat my dust, sucka!" as we passed him.

(OK, I made that last part up.)
(I did hurry, though, and scored enough boxes to finish up packing, I think...)

Oh, and guess what we finally got today?