As Mom, Dad, and Hayley are living with us for the present (we call them the Cellar Dwellers - they have an "apartment" in the basement), Hayley calls me Aunt Jaime. This is somewhat confusing for the kids and now Arielle struggles to remember I'm her mother and not her Aunt Jaime. Hopefully she won't be mentally deranged for life!
We experienced the Great Train Expo today - we could barely get Kent out of the clouds! I don't think Doug was flying much lower, either. You can see some pix below of the trip. Another couple in the church and their children went with us. They have a 3-year-old son who is good friends with Kent. Logan and Kent both came away with conductor overalls! Now Kent can play Sir Topham Hat in style! (he conducts the Island of Sodor - Thomas the Train's home town).
On our way home, we stopped to fill the car with gas. As men naturally do while they wait for the pump to click off, Doug was wiping the windshield. Kent said, "Mommy, is Daddy shaving the window?"
Our trips in the car have fortunately tamed down greatly - at the least the short ones anyhow. Our drive to and from church use to sound something like a circus. Kent and Rella finally have come to realize that it is more productive for them to ride in quiet conversation between them so Doug and I can have our conversation without yelling to hear one another. A few nights ago, the kids were in the back chattering without taking a breath. First let me explain that I think now that the kids hear people calling Mom and Dad Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlain, they have come to realize that somehow the name Chamberlain fits into the family. I took a listen and discovered the following dialog:
That's MY mommy.
No, that's MY mommy too, Rella.
That's MY daddy.
Yeah, and that's MY maddy too, Rella.
Uh huh. That's my mommy and your mommy.
Yep. And that's my daddy and your daddy.
This went on for a while and then it got quiet for a minute. Then I heard Kent say as he pointed to Doug:
No Rella, that's Chamerlain. Yeah, he's Chamerlain. We call him Chamerlain. He's Daddy Chamerlain, Rella. Say Chamerlain.
Chammmerrronn (says Rella)
