Keep it up

When it comes to parenting, I'm making stuff up most of the time.  It's still astounding to me that, in my professional life, people ask me in all seriousness what to do with their children.  And I answer them. In all seriousness.  I'm awesome at telling other people how to handle their children.  I'm actually pretty good at handling other people's children myself.  They almost never infuriate me.  But with my own child, the stakes are higher.  I don't care so much if your child never wants to see me again after I redirect him for something, but I have very different opinions about my own child.

So I read parenting books.  Then I guess.  And I pray.  And I hope for the best.

Some things I can't get enough of:
Administration of 100 rapid-fire kisses from my daughter

Listening to her cheer for her team mates at soccer practice

Hannah's personal opera

Sleepy snuggles; Hannah smells like baked goods of some sort when she sleeps

Spring afternoons when Hannah takes her personal opera outside for Further Adventures
Walks to school that include botany, zoology, and geometry lessons

Stuff I'm already done with:

Hannah's prefacing every answer to a question with "uh,"

That "tsk" sound at every place you might find a punctuation mark of any kind

The full-on arms folded, head bowed pouting when frustrated at soccer practice

The drama queen act for a blister only when I'm around
The process of getting ready for school in the morning

We're sorry, ma'am, but it's a packaged deal, and you'll have to take the whole thing or leave it.  

Tsk. Okay. I'll take it.  Can I have some extra kisses with that?

Uh, yeah.