Yaaay me!!!

So much self confidence today! This evening we were all sitting around at the lake after Uncle Denny (the aforementioned Godfather) arrived, just watching Dennis play. He showed off his car to everyone, demonstrated his entry and exit skills, showed us what an accomplished backer-upper he is (darn car still won't go forward!), and then walked around brandishing Uncle Denny's cane. No one got whacked, fortunately, but there were some close moments! Gran's toes might have gotten pounded.

I changed his diaper, there in the middle of everyone, and he reached out and touched my shoe, and said (in all his adorable brilliance) "shoe". We all applauded and said 'Yay, Dennis', which he loves. Pretty soon, he was walking around and saying "yay" and clapping, and we were all clapping right along with him. Everything he did was a major cause for celebration in his book. He said "Grrrr Gheeee" (which is Dennis for 'Gran'), and he clapped. He said "Pop", so we clapped and he clapped. When we stopped clapping, he'd say something else and begin clapping. It was so cute we could have let it go on for hours, but it was suppertime, so off to Cracker Barrel we went. Not to worry--he continued the clapfest at the table, applauding himself and us for all our small accomplishments. It was nice. I think everyone deserves a round of applause from time to time, and Dennis gave us and himself that very service countless times today. He's just spreading the love, I suppose. I'd like to think that we're not celebrating mediocrity, but rather bolstering his self confidence. And it's fun, all that clapping. Try it next time you're feeling blue.