Caitlyn sings her version of “Rock-a-bye Baby”: “Rocka my baby Inna treetop. Whena wind blows The baby will FAAAALLLLL!” (The last line is accompanied by hurling whatever stuffed animal is handy at the floor. )

Caitlyn’s favorite things: going outside doggies and elephants (pronounced “elFant!”) noodles tractors stories rocks, especially shiny rocks swinging (“More finging! More finging!”) water

A conversation: Ian: Looks like Mama’s making yummy stir fry. Caitlyn: Stir fry? Ian: (pointing at wok) Stir fry. (pointing at Caitlyn) Small fry. Caitlyn: (pause, then pointing at Ian) Big fry.

I dreamt aliens came to Earth and needed humans to return with them. They anticipated no problem finding volunteers as they were offering excellent child care and complete health benefits… Caitlyn has, without my really noticing it (bad Mama! bad Mama!), started speaking in sentences. “Look at me!” “Don’t touch, just look at it.” “Go see more amin-als!” “I’m tired. Time for stories.” “I’m cold.” “Mama’s name is Christina. Papa’s name is Papa. ‘Kit-tin’s’ name is ‘Cait-Lyn’.” Her sentences frequently wander off in the middle, sometimes hitting a skip like an old record, leaving her repeating something over and over …

I have (more or less) officially finished the planned planting for the backyard. Caitlyn and I planted pepper plants and three kinds of squash seeds (zucchini, pumpkin, and butternut) this morning. Caitlyn seems to enjoy planting seeds. I put the holes in the dirt and she puts in the seeds. Putting the mulch back over them is fun, but the best part is getting to wave her hands in the water from the watering can. When we’re done, she says, “Plant more seeds!” This may be about the seeds or the opportunity to play with the water. So, the veggie …

So, gas prices are going up, again. I’m getting emails from MoveOn with “$4.00 per gallon?!” in the subject line. They are collecting signatures for a petition to Congress saying “Gasoline price gouging should be made a federal crime before the summer price increases hurt more American families.” And, then, like a dose of reason, this Canadian blog post shows up on the radar. Does it not seem strange that gasoline is as cheap as it is? Most people would say it’s not cheap, as they’re currently flying off the handle with rising prices. They’re even organizing gas boycotts to …