Countdown... 4 more days....

It's hard to believe it's almost been a year! It seems like it's been a long year, that Kiki's been in our lives forever, and at the same time... a year? Already? What?

There's a buzz on the 'Net about Roadmap to Holland. Obviously, I must get my hands on this book.

I used to be an avid reader. I used to tear through books like nobody's business. In the last few years or so, I've dwindled down to about 2 or 3 books a year. Kipp, on the other hand, reads a new book every week. I've always been far more interested in fiction than nonfiction, but as I get older, the nonfiction motivates me more to read than the fiction does.

I must be getting old.

Today I caught Kiki practicing how to wave. She'd raise both arms in the air, then she would wave her left hand around (she's left-handed.) She was doing it all day. When I'd see her, I'd say, "Wave, Kiki!" and I'd wave back at her. She would laugh and wave at me.

Of course, when Daddy came home, she wouldn't do it anymore. It's like she won't demonstrate it to anyone until she's sure the skill is ready for prime-time.

I've taught her how to high-five and low-five, though. And if I let her hold my pinkies, she actually brings her hands together like she's clapping, so I think that's a skill on the way.

This week I've started telling her Greek mythos for bedtime stories. I started with Demeter/Persephone because it's always been my favorite. I was pretty impressed that I remembered the entire Parthenon. Isn't that odd? I can't seem to remember a fairy tale all the way through, but a Greek myth? Not a problem.

Now Aesop's Fables, I will need a book for, I'm sure. How many of those can anyone remember? I recall the tortoise and the hare; the boy who cried wolf; the baby and the bathwater; the satyr and the woodsman; the hawk and the tortoise. And -- that would be it, I believe. There's another one teasing around the edges of my mind, but I can't put my finger on it.

As for the actual morals that go with the fables? Umm. Slow and steady wins the race. Don't cry wolf. Don't promise what you won't deliver. Be consistent. Don't envy the world of another? Honestly, that last one should simply be, "Don't trust a freaking hawk, dumbass."