You take the good, you take the bad, you take it all...

..and there you have the Facts of Life.
We believe in giving our kids honest, age-appropriate answers about most things, but I did think I had a fw more years before needing to have the old birds & bees discussion.

Our friends the Kains came to visit us for 2 weeks in March. We had a lot of fun hanging out with them, and Kate loved having another little person to boss around. Jill is pregnant, and this fact sparked many interesting conversations with Kate.
Apparently she doesn't remember my being pregnant with Michael, although she does know about the big belly I had from seeing pictures.

Questions that were asked:
- How does the baby eat?
- How does the baby get out?
- Does the baby have a mouth?
- Can the baby hear me if I sing her "Jingle Bells"?
- How does Jill sleep with that big tummy?
- What does the baby eat?
- Does the baby have nipples?
- Where does Jill's food go if the baby is taking up all the room in her tummy?
on hearing TJ (their 15 month old son) crying: "I think that is the baby in Jill's tummy. She is ready to come out".
And of course,
- How did that baby get in there?

Don't worry, we gave her the most simple of answers, and she did not press the issue further. So next time you see her, she won't be spouting off about sperm or anything like that.


We took them to Hampton Court Palace for a day of Tudor fun, and here are some of the photos we took in the gardens.

Kate took this one of all of us:


In front of the Smurf trees:



I was trying to get a pic of the kids together, and this is how they posed themselves. They thought it was hilarious.




I tried to get down to take a picture like that too, but I'm too old. All that gravel really hurt my stomach.