Kung Fu, HiiiYAH

Ok. It has been too long.  We've been busy!

But, we have a nice long weekend for Veteran's Day Observance, and I'm going to try and spend more time with the family than studying, al hamdu lillah (God-willing).

What a week, huh?  It makes you proud of your country on one hand, but scared on the other.  In other words, I think it speaks volumes for the depth of our national character that we had a woman on a ticket, that we elected a black man to be president...It shows the world that democracy can really mean something; it's not just empty rhetoric.  On the other hand, only time will tell if Barrack Obama delivers.  It is certainly his stage to squander. (And while he acknowledged McCain's contributions to our nation, I was disgusted at the golf clap by Obama's crowd).

Anyway, this may be the most pictures/videos we've ever posted.  Last Saturday was, well, horrible.  But leave it to these sweetie pies to turn the worst day in Georgia Football history in my lifetime into a day of smiles.

Let's start out with Aiden.  He is getting his Saturday bath and loving every minute of it: doing the ABCs, counting, shooting bad guys, making words, he loves it all.  Especially "crazy hair."

I may not have mentioned this before, but he is what we call a ham.  Capital H-A-M.  He's been known to show off his muscles for a camera or two.  Look at those guns!

CRAZY HAIR, DADDY!!!!

"Waazzzuppp?!"

Always time for a little marksmanship practice.  Joy walked into our bedroom and wondered aloud, "How did the floor get all wet?"  Oops.  

How bout Emma?  She's into bananas and rice cereal in a big way.  She has shown a much bigger interest in real food than Aiden ever did at that age.  She's doing great.

She thinks she has me wrapped around her finger, but we all know that's not true...

Happy time, meal time.

I love my kids.  This picture may not do it justice, but Emma is enfatuated with her big brother.  And for his part, he is always willing to lend instruction, watch her for a minute, entertain her when she's fussy, or just make her laugh, his specialty. She loves him.  Here Aiden is also sporting his new Batman gloves.  We raided Walmart the day after Halloween for some goods.

Daddy's little girl.

Thank, God her head is not as big as Aiden's.

"Boo!"

It's hard to be upset with her spitting up all the time because she just so darn cute. Even diaper changes are precious moments for Mommy and Emma.

Aiden is training to help Uncle Eddie put out fires at christmas.  What? You didn't know fire-fighters wear swords?  When asked, Aiden simply responded: "I might have to fight bad guys while I'm fighting the fire."  Of course.  I didn't think about that.

Herschel is 57 lbs.  Here he is doing what he does best. well, that' s not true.  He sleeps best of all. But he is good at looking pathetic, too.

Aiden grace me with a momentary break from fighting fires to take a cute picture.

"Come on, daddy. Follow me. Let's go kill ants." (we've had a little infestation problem in Aiden's room, bathroom, our room, living room)

Anyway, in a nutshell, Joy is busy, emma is fussy and spits up a lot, Aiden is huge and hilarious, and I'm busy and usually cranky.  Not really, well, about me.  I'm not cranky. Just busy.

Here is a video Joy took of Aiden making up some random story.

Ok, this next one is probably not as funny if you don't know some of the inside jokes from my Arabic class.  In a nutshell, the cognates, things like "McDonalds" etc. are just b.s.'d in Arabic.  Some words like motorcycle just sound like MOW-TOWR-CIK-UL or something funny, but obvious. So Aiden loves to say words with a funny accent in "Arabic."  At the very end he gestures toward his chin, which is a very traditional Arabic mannerism of respect for a bit of wisdom about to be imparted, with respect of course.  Again, you'll be lost on the inside jokes (but I'll just tell you my class was rolling this morning.) Nonetheless he is funny.

Last but not least...give this video a try.  Ok, let me preface this by saying that I have a master's degree in International Affairs, or regional security studies focusing on the Middle East and South Asia.  I speak Arabic (or at least well enough to order an expresso in Cairo---plus, it's cool to be able to Joy what they're saying on 24 Season 6).  This is to say, I love the region.  I have an affinity for its culture,  Arab hospitality, and especially their hummus!  Seriously, I try to be open-minded, respectful of cultural differences, understanding of the tenets of Islam, useful in my dialogue with those different than me, and genuinely want to help the region understand us and best understand it so as to benefit our foreign policy in some small measure at whatever level I hold in this government.  That being said, you watch a video like this, and you just can't help but to laugh.  It's just absolutely ridiculous.  This is 8 plus minutes, but don't go away; it's hilarious up until the last second.  It's in Arabic, but is sub-titled in English.  It's very revealing as to the sort of anecdotal perspectives in the Middle East that aren't always grounded in reality. Not that we are perfect as Americans, but just watch...its absurd.

http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1896.htm

As for the title of this post, we are all going to "Mada-hoo-hah Deuce" as Aiden calls it (Madagascar 2) and buying Kung Fu Panda on DVD (by the way, good example.  DVD in Arabic "Dee-Fee-Dee").  So, Aiden goes around going Kung-Fu, Hi-yahh.

Best to all,

Daniel for the Hancocks