Ali and I were driving down the road today headed to Target to pick up diapers and shoes, because that’s what you need when you visit Portland. It’s about a seven minute drive and during minute three it was quiet.

We’d been up since four in the morning. FOUR IN THE MORNING!

Ali says to me in a placating tone, “See, isn’t this nice? The kids are growing up.”

On the next beat of the second hand we hear plastic crashing noises and something hit the floor in the back seat. “Oh damn!” Ouest cries out.

She uses that word with such precision. It really is the best word in her entire vocabulary.

Then, one one-thousand, two one-thousand, “Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” Lowe decided in that moment that he was no longer happy to be sitting in a car seat. He didn’t let up with his ear-splitting screams until we had the car in park and were lifting him clear of seat belts.

Kids man.

Yesterday we put a long sleeve shirt on Lowe for what was probably the first time ever. He immediately looked down at his arms and started ripping at the sleeves. He did not like that little development one bit.