"Hyannisport is a ghet-to! OUTTA CAPE COD TONIGHT!"

(the subject line is a lyric from m'elle's new favorite song, Walcott by Vampire Weekend.)

I'm going to do something I don't normally do on the internet, and that is brag about my kid. (I don't normally do this on the internet because A) I hate being That Person Who Brags About Their Kid, because I hate those people and B) I'm crazy-paranoid that some weird creep will save pictures of my kid to his hard drive or something, only to be found years later which Chris Hansen comes to bust him. I've seen too many episodes of Law and Order: SVU.)

Tonight, m'elle's preschool had their annual end-of-year program. All the kids get up and sing songs that they've learned (or, in the case of the younger kids, stand up and cry while songs are played over the loud speakers) for their family members' enjoyment and delight. Now, normally, these things can go one of two ways if you're a parent: your kid can either stand up there and sing loud and proud and totally shine in the spotlight, or s/he can stand stock still, perhaps with his/her back to the audience, and wail. It is always, always a toss-up.

This year m'elle decided to grace the audience with her very loud singing voice (taken straight, as you can tell, from the Callahan side of the family, bless her) as well as her amazing skill for following choreography (also taken from the Callahan side, thankyouverymuch). Unfortunately, they stood a tall giantess of a girl in front of my kid, so I had to sort of duck into corners to get photos of her. But see how intently she is doing her choreography?



She totally looks like a tiny little Revivalist, no? Her preschool is in a church, so I have to be on constant alert with my behavior, or she'll totally call me out. I also have to bite my tongue a lot, because I don't want my natural cynical nature corrupting her sweet and entirely humbling faith in something greater. Although I do have to speak up when she talks about Jesus taking away her boo-boos. "Listen, kid, let me tell you about leukocytes, okay?"



That kid in front of her is so totally uninterested in the goings-on of the song. KID! Maybe cop a squat or something so that people can see my kid instead, who is so totally ONE WITH THE MUSIC.

Here is an extremely low-quality video (like, seriously, I shove my old camera in a drawer for six months and all of a sudden it falls apart?) of one of the songs they sang. It's also shaky cause I couldn't stop giggling at how cute all the kids were. (The lady who comes to play air guitar in the middle is the school director. It was an artistic move that I, as cinematographer, was unprepared for.)



After m'elle's group sang, the graduating class walked out in their caps and gowns to get their diplomas. How cute are they?



After the program was over, we all trooped back to her classroom, where she showed us her end of year art projects. We also took a little time for what was obviously the highlight of the evening: cookies.



Also I took a photo of this religious artwork (not done by m'elle, but rather by a kid who actually goes to that church):



I think, if churches are looking for ways to make the Bible seem hip again, they might look to this picture. Having Adam and Eve wear matching black leather bondage-esque outfits would certainly attract a new and different crowd.

As you can tell, there was no rhyme or reason to this blog entry at all, other than to talk about my kid. So I'll leave you with this photo from a few days ago, when we went into The Sharper Image and played Jedi Knights. I, sadly, was wounded in battle, and m'elle emerged the victor. See, that's the greatest thing about having a kid - it means you get to be one, too.