Laugh Lines for the Week

Usually reserved for Fridays, I had to get these Laugh Lines down before they escaped my too-crowded brain. There's only so much room in there, you know ...

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Aidan has been fascinated with leopards, ever since he was given a small cuddly beany-baby-ish one from Miss Pam last weekend -- a gift which he absolutely loves. Funny for him, since he's never been a big stuffed animal fan. We've been on the internet, searching for all-things-leopard; we've read books and looked at pictures. We even spent about 20 minutes perusing sound bites, comparing how the Big Cats roar or purr. His thirst for leopard knowledge is thus far insatiable.

This morning at the breakfast table, he was reading a book called "Wild Cats" about -- you guessed it: not only leopards, but tigers and lions and other ferocious felines. He has determined that his new little stuffed friend, named Spotty, is -- very specifically -- a clouded leopard. He zeroed in on that particular page and informed us all about clouded leopards.

Now, Aidan is quite gifted in the reading department, yet every once in a while he trips up on a foreign word. This morning, we got a winner. As he looked at the map, he told us where clouded leopards come from:

"Mommy, Daddy, listen to this: clouded leopards come from the town of Isaiah."

See if you can figure out its country of origin. :) I personally think "Isaiah" is a great vacation spot ...

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Continuing with the theme of leopards and the aforementioned book, Aidan took this morning's breakfast table gathering as a great teaching opportunity for his little sister. He closed the book and pointed to the cover.

"See, Grace? This book is called Wild Cats. They're wild ... and don't forget -- they're cats!"

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My kids' favorite holiday song is -- oddly enough -- Frosty the Snowman. At least I think it is. They sing it all the time. But the funny thing is, neither child can figure out the words. Ever since Aidan was two years old, if not younger, he sang his little heart out, always messing up the part about what exactly Frosty is: "Frosty the Snowman, is a jolly, happy soul ..." as the song informs. We never bothered to correct him because it was just kind of cute how he sang it in his own way.

The odd thing is -- and I wonder if this is genetic -- Grace too cannot sing this correctly. What is it with this song? This morning -- after their great discussion of wild cats -- they shifted gears completely and began to sing Christmas songs, starting with their favorite snowman. Grace began:

"Frosty the Snowman, is a jolly happy snow, With a com-com pipe and a huh-huh nose ..."

Aidan interjected immediately, lest his sister go too far astray with the lyrics:

"Noooo, Grace! That's not right at all! You have to sing it correctly, like this: 'Frosty the Snowman, is a jolly happy SOAK!' Got it?!"

Oh, yes, we got it ...
I hope Frosty understands.