The Reason For The Lack Of Birthday Pictures This Year

Annie and Grace's birthday are about a month apart. As part of our birthday tradition for them, we usually get their picture taken; it works out well for the family, too since we can then give them out at the birthday parties.

Of course you know what happened, right?

First, Grace tripped over her own two feet and did a faceplant on the porch - occasioning the first visit to the emergency room for either one of them. Three days later, Annie did the same thing - in the same spot. No ER visit for her, just a lovely bruise. That was about three weeks ago.

As the bruises were healing, I began to think about a photo op again.

Yesterday my mom and I took the girls down to playground; it's about a ten minute walk with the toddler legs, five on grown-up legs. It's a fancy schmancy one, got the rock wall and everything. Including a ladder that goes with the steps up to the slide platform. Annie was climbing up it yesterday and proceeded to fall off...all the way down to the ground. About six feet. During her flight, she managed to smack her face off the platform or something, I'm not sure where she hit on the play structure exactly. I was at the other end of the slide catching Grace and I hear a thud and then the screaming.

Blood is pouring out of Annie's nose, she's crying. I scooped her up and told her to bleed on my sweater and we walked calmly home. In about two minutes.

She's fine, it stopped bleeding on the way home. After a recuperative cry and a change of clothes, she wanted to go back.

Um, no.

We compromised and ended up on the swingset in the backyard. Grace does not have a really great grasp of physics. Specifically, that two entities cannot occupy the same space at the same time. She likes to get on and off the twofer swing as she pleases.

Can you see what's coming?

Grace stepped off - right into the path of Annie's forward swing. In a badly timed reaction, I reached out to grab her, thinking I could just push her to the ground and then Gary could grab Annie's swing on the backswing.

Little shit refused to go down, so Annie's swing hit her on the side of the head at full speed while I, essentially, held her still like a punching bag.

Good times, people.