Lillian Sings & Dances

Out for a Walk

Lillian’s in an afternoon theater camp this week, and my fabulous niece Miranda came over to watch my mom so I could walk there with Lillian.

Walking with Lillian is always a delight (Texan though she is, she still has a word or two of complaint about the mid-summer heat). She talks and sings and wants to know about all kinds of things.

Today, she was struck by the music of the cicadas in the trees, and the shapes of the clouds in the sky, and she was delighted by the touch of a light breeze while we stood in the shade.

That walk was pretty much the high point of my day.

Boredom…

Checking out Bellaire’s new Evelyn’s Park with Lillian.

“Is this going to be another BORING walking park, ePa?”

“Let’s go and see.”

“Oh, yes, it is BOR… wait, can you play in the sand? Can I take my shoes off? See ya!”

Playing Cards

After a couple of games of Go Fish, Lillian announced that she was creating her own card game, “Bulba-Bub”.

“I get all the high cards, you get all the low cards,” she said. “The person with the high cards wins.”

“Hmmmm,” I said.

There was a long pause.

“But it’s fair,” she said.

It was fun.

I lost.

Lillian and a Grasshopper

Lillian and I went for a walk at the Houston Arboretum on Friday morning. We saw squirrels and turtles and birds and trees.

“It’s hot, ePa,” she said — more than once. Then: “Look, it’s a grasshopper!” and she put her finger out and the grasshopper jumped up on her.

Heat forgotten.

Spring Break = Lillian

Not much to say, except it’s the week of Spring Break and that means hanging out with Lillian Grace Denby. 

We walked to the park with her Bulbasaur (named Milk Shake) and caught some Pokémon. Lillian explained in great detail the evolutionary descent of the Bulbasauri, with some discursions into Pokémon etymology and the science of teleportation and its relationship to hugging. 

All this from a girl missing two front teeth. I had nothing to do except nod yes or no when expected.

Pretty much a perfect spring outing. 

Waiting on the Tooth Fairy

Lillian spent a good part of December and early January on the road with her dad and mom, Josh and Amy. She visited with her Nana and Paw-Paw in Huntington, and with her Grandma Linda, Amy’s mom, away up in Michigan. Asked what she did in Michigan? “Played in the snow. A lot. Built a snowman in the woods with my mom.”

Yia-Yia and ePa picked her up today for a long (and, we hope, lazy) weekend. One of her front baby teeth came out at school today, and Lillian is sure that the tooth fairy will find her way to Lillian’s room at Yia-Yia’s house tonight. She plans to leave the tooth where it will be easy for the tooth fairy to find, since she believes that the tooth fairy will be unfamiliar with Yia-Yia’s house, and Lillian does not want to get in the habit of inconveniencing fairies.

Lillian and her Grandfather

Lillian says funny stuff while having her picture made. I laugh. So does she.

Walking with a Zombie Fighter

I often walk the streets of Meyerland at night; I thought it was safe. Tonight, Lillian asked if she could come along and bring her magic red bunny laser wand. “Sure,” I said–and it was a good thing I did. Almost as soon as we left the house, we were attacked by flocks of zombies and vampires, with the occasional black skeleton (they are super strong) flying at us from the trees. It turns out that magic red bunny laser wands are just the tool you need to fend off zombies, vampires, black skeletons and miscellaneous monsters, so we made it home alive.  Lillian gave me a laser sword disguised as a palm frond so I could defend myself when she was surrounded by big packs of zombies. All in all, by Lillian’s count we killed 1,006 of the various monsters that assailed us. Not bad for an hour’s walk in a normally boring neighborhood. 

She Loves to Swing…

Facebook reminded me today that four years ago Lillian and I were also in a park, doing just what she is doing in the picture above. Her school was off today (they probably did not want the kids caught between warring Trump and Clinton supporters) and we spent an afternoon swinging, playing Pokemon Go (she is a profligate user of my hard-earned Pokeballs) and eating ice cream. There is no greater joy than a simple afternoon in the park with Lillian.