Be thou my...no

I'm going to try to start posting more tid-bitty things about the kids that I will forget otherwise. Like just now when I was putting Helena to bed, we read our three books and she then commanded me to "rock and songs." And she will nestle in and I will ask her what song she wants to sing and she will say, "pum pum pum pum," because she loves The Little Drummer Boy as illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats lately. So I will begin, in my not lovely not quite soprano not quite alto not quite on key voice, "Come, they told me, pah-rum-pah-pum-pum, the newborn king to.." and she will interrupt with a quiet, "no." So I will say, "Which song next?" and she will give me no guidance so I will begin:

"All creatures of our God and.." Helena interrupts quietly: "no."

"Rock-a-by bay.." Helena: "no."

"How deep the Father's love for.." Helena: "no"

"Come thou fount of every.." "no."

"Supercalifragilisticexspialla.." "no."

"The sun'll come out tomor.." "no."

"O the deep, deep love of Jes.." "no."

"Behold what manner of love the Fath.." "no."

"Here we go round the mulberry.." "no."

"Crown Him with many Crown.." "no."

"Maybe far away, or maybe real near.." "no."

"It's a hard knock life, for.." "no."

"All around the cathedral the saints and apost.." "no."

"Polly put the kettle.." "no."

"Row, row, row your.." "no."

"Seek ye first the kingdom of.." "no."

"O lord, you are beautiful, your face is.." "no."

"There is a redeemer, Jesus.." "no."

"The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round, the wheels on the bus go round and round, all through the town. The door on the bus goes open and shut, open and shut, open and shut, the door on the bus goes open and shut, all through the town. The windows on the bus go up and down, up and down, up and down, the windows on the bus go up and down, all through the town. The people on the bus go bumpity bump.." (and finally, finally, finally) "no."

So, she rejected several great hymns, "Mary Poppins," "Annie," "My Fair Lady," AND KEITH GREEN! and "The Wheels on the Bus" merits THREE and a HALF verses?? I cut her off at that point and put her little self right to bed, because there are many things I will tolerate as a parent, but poor taste in music is not one of them.

She is the third kid in this family to wear these Converse high tops.

We also paid $5 and fed giraffes at the zoo today. And the weather is sublime.

And this is the face Harper makes when I try to take a picture these days:


And this is Hudson doing some karate: