i’m not trying to be funny. i do this all the time. really.

sometimes penelope does things that she thinks are funny, but pretends not to notice.

really, the girl just likes being sneaky.

like tonight– i was on the phone with my mom and penelope gave me a big smile with her mouth wide open. it was kind of a silly face, but i wasn’t sure what she was up to. i reciprocated, returning that wide open grin. she snuck a cracker into my mouth and then ran away giggling. one can only hope that the cracker wasn’t too old.

so here’s a recent  display of silliness. what she doesn’t realize, though, is that she inherited a pretty serious problem from casey.. which i’m pretty sure he inherited from his dad. it’s that certain look that betrays any attempt to bluff, kid, or keep a secret. usually this manifests itself in an awkward facial expression that is clearly trying too hard to look normal, but on occasion, it’s just an impish grin.

when she thinks she is being funny, she can’t contain that grin entirely.

avoid eye contact? oh sure. keep a completely straight face? not a chance.

then there’s this other face. it’s the one that happens when mom can’t help but giggle after you fall out of a dominoes box. now that face she might’ve inherited from me… but you’ll have to ask casey.