Giggles, laughs, and exceeding politeness

I managed to catch some of Allie's giggles with her Daddy. 

Nicole takes after her maternal grandmother.  Sometimes, she will find something so funny, she just can't stop laughing.  I caught the tail end of one of those moments on camera.

Allison has a tendency to be very dominant and aggressive.  She is a loud, confident performer and master of "power poses" (look it up).  So we've had to instill some politeness in her.  Hence, her training for asking nicely with a polite tone.  The joke among us older folks is, the higher your tone, the more polite you are.  None of us can compete with her level of politeness.

It's a hard knock life, Sergeant Krupke

From August:

From late August:

From early September:

Earlier this week:

Sunset during bike ride

We went for a long bike ride yesterday.  On our way home, we found some wooden swings on the porch of a housing developer's sales office and enjoyed the sunset.

Buddies

Nicole and her neighborhood friend matched today!  They were born exactly one month apart.  

(In case you're wondering, I don't make her socially distance with her friends, but I don't let them go inside each other's homes.  Nicole is doing online school to help minimize the spread of COVID.)

Why the funny face?  In an effort to get
 genuine smiles out of them, I told
them to look like they lost a tooth
 because they just got punched in the face.

 

Sunday

Pictures from our Sunday

Allie was cuddling with Daddy while he gave a church lesson

Her tooth was wiggly for maybe 8 months before
Allison accidentally kicked it out yesterday

 

Piggies

Yesterday, I overheard this exchange:

Nicole:  Can I have that? (doll)

Allie:  No

Nicole:  I'll give you a piggy if you give me that.

Allie:  I already have a piggy.

Nicole:  I'll make you three piggies if you give me that.

Allie:  Three piggies!  Okay.

Do you know anyone else who uses homemade piggies for currency?

My grandpa

My grandpa passed away last week.  I got a text from my dad around 9:30 pm that he had been notified by his sister that grandpa was declining rapidly, and that they were giving him morphine to help ease the dying process.  He had been on hospice for a few months, and we weren't sure if he would last a few years or a few months.  However, as I learned later, his breathing became much more labored that afternoon and then evening, and eventually, he stopped even opening his eyes.

That night, I needed to make sugar cookies for Allie's birthday the next morning, because that's what she requested instead of cake, and I knew I wouldn't have time during the day to do it.  As I worked on the cookies late into the night, it felt a little like a sacred, sort of peaceful time.  If it had had a soundtrack, it would have been the same one from the scene in Return to Me, where the Catholic grandpa prays for Minnie Driver all night during her heart surgery.  I had intended to pray for my grandpa earlier in the night (though I think I said a brief prayer while busy baking, probably to ease his pain or help him have a peaceful passing), but I didn't finish up the cookies until late, and so I didn't make it into bed until 2:30 or 3 a.m. (1:30 or 2 am for my grandpa's time zone).  So, when I was finally in bed, I said a prayer for my grandpa.  I can't remember exactly what I prayed for, but I do know that I prayed for him that he would be able to be with his brother.  His brother drowned when he was ten years old and my grandpa was five, and when my grandpa recounted the story a few years ago of how wrong it had felt for his brother's body to be so limp and his head jostling next to him in the wagon, he choked up--even though it happened 85 years ago.  (He also felt guilt because their mother had asked them to not swim in the river.)  So I always thought he would be happy when he died because he would be reunited with his older brother.  Anyway, that's what I prayed for--assuming that he had already died.  However, the next day I was told that he had died at 4 a.m. (so 5 a.m. my time), so I felt a little silly praying for his reunion with his brother when he was still alive.  However, at the Zoom family "funeral" that Friday, my aunt told about the night of his passing, and she said at about 1:30 am, he took one final breath and passed peacefully away.  So that made me feel a little closer to my grandpa.  At around the time of his passing or right after it, I was praying for him.