{pretty, happy, funny, real}

Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life...

{pretty}

I think she's awfully cute drinking from her straw cup.

{happy}

Katie was really happy to tackle Ellie.  Shortly after this picture she started to lick Ellie's face.  Katie has been spending way too much time with Oscar.

{funny}

A few things make this group of pictures funny.  First, how many kids do you know who wear rec specs to play the flute?  Ok, to be fair, she had just come home from soccer training and wanted to play a few songs for us.  But it looks like she's wearing the rec specs just in case.  And then there's Oscar...this dog hates the flute, but apparently he feels duty bound to sit and critique Madeline's performance.  Madeline gets so annoyed with him, but he's often not off base in his criticism.  His usual remarks are grumbles, but sometimes he just can't help it and starts to howl until she stops.  It's funny to watch if nothing else.

{real}

Bryan snapped this picture of Rohan and I furiously searching through The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring as we debated whether Gollum was ever a hobbit.  I say no, based on what I have read in The Fellowship of the Ring, but Rohan insists that he was.  Madeline did an internet search on her iPad and came up with a Wiki page that says he was a certain type of hobbit.  I'm not sure it's accurate.  Bryan and I both think he was something else that was hobbit like but not actually a hobbit.  Any LOTR experts out there want to weigh in?  

Oh, and this little debate was started when Rohan saw that Madeline was reading The Hobbit, which by the way to quote Madeline is "a terrible book," and wanted to look and see if his name was in the book.  I pulled out The Fellowship of the Ring to show him the map of middle earth so he could find his name on the map.  So funny!  

Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more pictures of contentment.