Just Add Cardboard

Cardboard delivery boxes make the best comfort spaces.

Because Nothing is Friendlier Than Rows of Sharp Teeth

Char's bringing a shark to her second grade Friendship Party.

This year Charlotte and Daphne built the ummm, Friendship Box..? I think it looks realy cool.

Char told me, "You take the picture, Dad, and I'll be all like, 'Ah! I'm holding a shark!' Okay?"
(Maggie retains her composure despite the danger.)

Actually, I think Charlotte should bring a shark to all co-ed parties.

And the Winner for Best Toy of 2017 is....

.... the Box!

No, not that type of box:

This type of box:

Charlotte didn't get stacks of huge gifts, but she was quick, however, to snag everyone else's boxes.

She and her Uncle Chris built this box "house" together after all the gifts were opened. They added another box "apartment" after this picture was taken.

Char spent hours inside her house. Every so often you hear a small voice deep from the cardboard depths say, "Excuse me? Can I have string cheese?" and a little hand would emerge from a crack or a "door".

You'd fill the hand with a tube of twisted yellow and white cheese, and then it would disappear with a muffled, "Thanks, Dad!"

Add this to my list of "Parent Cliches/ Universal Truths":

1. Time flies.

2. They grow up faster than you think.

3. If they are quiet, you are probably in trouble.

4. Just because they liked eating it (carrots, broccoli, shrimp...) today doesn't mean they will eat it tomorrow.

5. They'll play with the box as much as the toy that came in it.