Bell curves

At nearly two-and-a-half, E's baby fat is steadily disappearing, and the gorgeous fold in each of her thighs is smoothing out to a soft dent.

And at just over seven months, our stringbean of a baby L is finally starting to round out, out the dents in each of her thighs are noticeably deepening into folds.

Transcript

[Ambient noise – the cars are passing by, a bus honks, our engine is running a little loudly, and the radio is playing softly in the background. One baby sleeps and one girl is foolishly thought by her mother to be almost asleep, as well.]

Her: [urgently] MOM-MY!!

Me: [alarmed] What's wrong!?

Her: There's a dinosaur on the car!

Me: Huh?

Her: There's a dinosaur on the car! We're scared! It's gonna get us!!

Me: Oh. Okay, there's a dinosaur on the car. What do we do?

Her: We're scared!

Me: Oh. I'm scared! What should we do?

Her: I'm gonna take it off and we should take showers so it won't get us.

Me: Did you get it?
Her: I got it! Take a shower, Mommy!

Me: [gestures with hands to indicate water falling down on me]

Her: And shower L, Mommy!

Me: [pretends to drop water on poor sleeping creature]

Her: Oh NO!! There's a rooster on the car!

Me: Can you get it?

Her: We're scared! I'm gonna get it and so you don't be scared!

Me: Did you get it?

Her: YES!

Me: Oh, good.

Her: SO SHOWER ALL OF US, MOMMY!

Me: ['showers' all passengers in the car]

Her: THERE'S A GEESEY ON THE CAR!!

Me: A what? A goose?
Her: YES! A GEESEY! WE'RE SCARED!

Her: I'm gonna get it!

Me: What did you do with it?

Her: I THREW IT! Out of the car into that grass!

Her: Now there's a duck on our car! I throw it to the grass with the geesey!

Me: Are we okay now?

Her: NO! We're scared! There's a heena on our car!

Me: A what?

Her: A HEEE-na! We're scared! I'm gonna get it!

Me: A hyena?

Her: YES! A HEEE-na! I threw it! In the trash! Now shower us, Mommy!

Me: ['showers' all passengers in the car]

L: [begins stirring]

Her: MOM-MY! There's a giraffe on the car! Are you scared, Mommy? I'm gonna get it!

Me: Shh a little. And did you get it?

Her: I GOT IT! I PUT IT IN THE TRASH!

Me: If the hyena and the giraffe are in the trash together, won't that rip the bag?

Her: YES! I take HEEE-na out! Huhhhhh!!! It's BACK ON THE CAR!!!! WE'RE SCARED!

L: [begins crying]

Her: It's okay, L. There's no HEEE-na really on the car. You don't be scared. We're just playing….