The photographer doesn't fall far from the tree

I let Liza use my camera during our last trip to the zoo.  Don't tell Jason, but I was kind of hoping she'd drop it so I can get a DSLR to play with ... no luck there, but we have proved that she's able to take decent pictures now that she's paying attention to what's in the viewfinder.

"Okay, now you go over there, Mom, and you'll have to crouch down because you're too tall and I don't want to cut anything off."  (You hear that, Grandma?)

"Smile!  No, I said 'Smile!' No, smile pretty!" 

"I'm taking your portrait, Penny!" 

"Okay, I'll take a picture of you while you take a picture of me.  Look, mom!  We're so meta!"  

"Those stupid meercats won't stand still for me, so I'll just take a picture of this."

Of course, they can't all be gems ...

Guess where we went last week

We went to the crystal clear, gently lapping waters of ... Lake Erie.

Laugh all you want, beach snobs.  It was warm, perfect for wading and paddling about, you could see what you were stepping on, and there was hardly any trash on the beach that day.  Take that, Jamaica, with your vast quantities of plastic spoons washing up on shore every day.

 You know, if you go when it's 97F outside, you pretty much have the place to yourself.

Like the chess masters, Liza takes her castling very seriously. 

Home base, or, as I call it, "The only reason I was willing to set foot on a beach when it's that hot outside."  Shade of a giant tree 30 feet from the shoreline? Brilliant idea, nature!

My baby, she's all famous and stuff!

If you can't see the embedded video, here's the old school link: http://shine.yahoo.com/event/momentsofmotherhood/kids-soak-up-sun-sand-and-surf-2511561/

Best part?  I got paid for a video I shot in 2007!

Meercat Manor? More like Chipmunk Chalet

"Doh dee doh dee doh, just sittin' here, nommin' on some fusty old acorns." 

"Hey, bro! Whatchoo got up der?"

"I got enough seeds to pave the driveway - this feeder's been full for months!"

"Not anymore!  Scootch over, chick - I'm movin' in!"

Another step toward making myself obsolete

My teaching process:

1. At age 5, attempt to show her how to do it; she ignores me completely.
2. Prior to kindergarten, borrow the book from a friend and help her work through it a couple of times; duck when she throws the book across the room and vows to never wear shoes again.
3. Buy her a pair of velcro sneakers because face it, her kindergarten teacher has better things to do than retie her shoes for her four times every day.
4. At age 6.25, when she's in a crafty mood anyway, haul the book out again and help her work through it a couple of times; duck when she throws the book at my head.
5. The same day, offer to show her a technique that's different from how the book teaches you ("around the tree" vs. "bunny ears"), and demonstrate it in slow motion several times.
6. Let her practice a few times by doing part of the motion while I do the rest.
7. Let her practice on her own, stepping in to straighten things out when they go wrong.
8. Let her practice on her own, with verbal help when things go wrong.
9. Let her practice on her own with no help.
10. Wander off and eat a sandwich or something while she ties All The Things into bows.

Next lesson: Make me some brownies and a milkshake!

If I start saving now ...

... how long would it take me to afford to go on Zero G?

Crud, I'll have to save up enough for two of us to go, since they allow kids as young as 8 on board.  Good thing Jason isn't interested, or it'd take even longer to get there.

This one's for you, Jen

(audio is NSFW, due to an extremely large concentration of cursing, especially in an illustrated children's book)

Also, this happened

She already swims better than I do (but I've got more stamina and spend less energy staying afloat, so I'd totally outlive her in a Drowning Situation, so there!). Yet another thing I've done right as a parent - check!