Year 5, Day 338

"DADDY!" Miles called from downstairs. "CAN YOU GET THE THING THAT PRESSES??" The "thing that presses" that he was referring to was a stapler, and he was requesting it because he had completed the illustrations in his FIRST BOOK. At his direction (I'm a firm believer in artistic vision, after all), I stapled the pages … Continue reading Year 5, Day 338 →

Year 5, Day 284

Every day, Miles brings a book from school home with him so we can read it before bed. Obviously, most of these books teach valuable lessons about behavior, social interaction, and life in general. We were reading The Itsy Bitsy Spider (an extended version with progressively escalating perils and misfortunes), and I wanted to make … Continue reading Year 5, Day 284 →

Year 5, Day 247

Miles spins a chilling yarn. Or at least a lengthy one. https://videopress.com/v/Q5wA9HiT?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

Year 5, Day 184

"Daddy," Miles began, pointing at my chin, "what are those?" "Oh, those hairs? They grow on my face when I need to shave." "Shave?" "Yeah, they get longer, like a beard, and then I shave them, and then they grow back again. It goes on and on." "I don't want to have those hairs." "Well … Continue reading Year 5, Day 184 →

Year 5, Day 175

Miles has largely grown out of having "accidents," but when he does have them he's pretty self-conscious about them. "Uh, Daddy," Miles said this evening. "I pee-peed in my pants." "What? Miles, no!" I groaned. Why didn't he just walk to the bathroom? "Well it was just a little!" I rolled my eyes and decided … Continue reading Year 5, Day 175 →

Year 4, Day 362

Most of the nights I'm not hosting trivia (and sometimes, even when I am), I end up putting Miles to bed. While I've written in the past that this process consists of at least two books and one story (which are not the same things), something I've touched on a little less is Miles's other … Continue reading Year 4, Day 362 →

Year 4, Day 300

Well, Miles is still waking up in the night, but at least 1) he doesn't lead off with the banging and screaming, opting instead to attempt to get our attention in a more controlled voice and 2) "the middle of the night" is now more like "really early in the morning." Four consecutive hours of … Continue reading Year 4, Day 300 →

Year 4, Day 289

In the latest of Miles's increasingly unwieldy bedtime stories, PJ Masks villain Night Ninja had shown up at our house (or a fictionalized version of it, anyway) because he had mistaken Miles for Catboy. Although Night Ninja realized his mistake after Miles removed his Catboy mask, Miles had already called for help in the form … Continue reading Year 4, Day 289 →

Year 4, Day 117

A couple weeks ago, when I was trying to explain that I had just bought movie tickets for only the second time in over a year, I found myself trying to explain what a "movie theater" is to Miles. Of course he immediately wanted to go (anything to avoid school), but I explained that he … Continue reading Year 4, Day 117 →

Year 4, Day 17

As usual, Miles requested a story at bedtime tonight. I decided to make this one interactive. "Once upon a time, long long ago," I started, "Miles found a magic lamp. And he rubbed the lamp and out popped..." "A genie!" Miles exclaimed. "That's right! A genie!" "Yeah! And the genie was Daddy!" "Uh...sure, okay. So … Continue reading Year 4, Day 17 →