The Jude Hair Growth Experiment

Last week while driving my mother-in-law home, we passed by a KFC that Kwang witnessed a robbery at when he was a little boy. When it happened, he was standing in front of the cashier when a man next to him took out a gun and asked the worker for money. This took place while his father and older brother sat in the car waiting for him to order the food. He was about 6 or 7 years old. I never heard this story until last week and have only heard of times when his father & brother would wait in the car while Kwang retrieved jugs of water for the family. I get sad thinking of Little Kwang being the family gopher. In some ways, though, I think it's helped him become the generous and patient person he is now. It's joked about from time to time, but I don't dispute the notion that Kwang's brother has always been the favored son. Instead of posting a picture of Kwang and his brother, here is one of their sons Mr. Manning & Mr. Timberlake:

(Note: Justin is larger than he appears. For some reason, he tends to slouch whereas Eli sits straight up, most likely to hold up his sizeable noggin.)

The other week, I asked another mother of two young boys if she sees herself favoring one of her children. As much as I'd love to say I won't, I've heard from many people that it just happens. So far, I don't have a favorite between Jude and Eli. Of course, Jude's hair right now could very well drive me to favor Eli. I'd personally like to end this lovely anti-gravity experiment, but Kwang wants to keep growing it out. I think even Jude might find it a bit frightful (notice how difficult it is to get it all in one picture):

Fact is, I favor both my boys! They change my world everyday in such wonderful ways. Eli will be turning the big O-N-E in about two and a half months, so we've begun teaching him that he is one year old.

He's learned this more quickly than we thought. Problem is, when we would ask "Eli, how old are you?" he would do this:

So we've been working to correct him:
 

Finally, I hope everyone had a wonderul Valentine's Day! Although it's a rather superfluous occasion, I can appreciate an observance of love and good cheer when there is so much in the world today that is dark and melancholy. I can't really say Kwang is the romantic type, so I am especially touched when he sends flowers to brighten my day at work. And I love his practicality in sending them the day before the holiday to save money.