On the move...........

Giselle 1.2 has taken her first steps over the past week or so. She can walk a few steps before falling down or reaching her destination.

Last night, I asked her to walk over to me. She did it the first couple of times. After that, it became a game for her. She'd walk a few steps, fall down intentionally, and then crawl back to start over. She did this about 10 times, falling in the same spot each time. She thought it was pretty funny that Daddy wanted her to come over, but she never made it. Kali 4.0 soon joined in and Giselle would walk over and fall down before reaching Kali as well.

It's only a matter of time before Kali starts copy-catting her sister's antics. Heaven help us.

An impact.......

At work today, I had a group of four retired ladies come in to visit. One of them had visited previously and decided to bring three of her friends out to see the place. She and her friends visit a new place each month just to broaden their horizons a bit. I gave them a full tour of our winery and they loved it all. They were thrilled to see so much of the history being saved for future visitors to see.

I put together a couple of cheese plates and let them try a couple of the wines. They chatted about a bunch of things while I was doing some work around the building. When they were finished up, two of them both told me that I had made their day by taking them through the place and chatting with them. While we run a business that is highly based on customer service, it's always nice to hear someone note that your efforts to make them feel welcome have made a positive impact on their day. Things like that boost you to do just as well for the next customers that walk through your doors.

Random notes.........

-When you go into a Wal-Mart, always note that the older gentleman with a name tag that says 'greeter' is just that, a greeter. If you ask him where an electronics item is, he's likely to look at you with a clueless look.

-If you suddenly realize that your greeter has hearing aids, you then have to decipher whether he couldn't hear your question or if he doesn't know what the item is you're asking about.

-When your four year-old makes observations that you never thought she noticed, you're in big trouble as a parent.

-A second child learns things much faster when watching the first born child. Giselle 1.2 may not be talking, but she's wicked smart.

-Running your own business brings on all new forms of challenges, but it's fantastic to invest your time in something you believe in as opposed to investing your time on what you feel are fruitless endeavors.

-It's amazing how many businesses don't understand that a smile and friendly conversation goes a long, long way to making customers very happy.

The letter of the day.......

The other day, we were in the car on a drive home. I decided to mix things on the ride to keep things interesting.

Me: Kali, do you know what the letter of the day is?

Kali 4.0: What's the letter of the day, Daddy?

Me: I'm going to let you pick it! What's the letter of the day?

Kali 4.0: The letter of the day is 'A'!

Me: Great choice! So now let's name some words that start with 'A'!

Kali 4.0: Apple starts with 'A'. Acorn starts with 'A'.

Me: OK, my turn. Ant starts with 'A'.

Mrs. Lime: I've got one! Orangutan!

Me: (Laughing) Did you just say "orangutan"?

Mrs. Lime: (smiling a nervous grin) Yes, doesn't that start with 'A'?

Me: (Laughing harder) Try an 'O'.

Mrs. Lime: (Laughing) Oh.

Dinner equity

Tonight's dinner was hot dogs. The breakdown was as follows:

Daddy - 2 hot dogs
Mommy - 2 hot dogs
Kali 3.11 - 2 hot dogs
Giselle 1.2 - 2 hot dogs

You know your family has reached an interesting transition point when the kids are eating just as much for dinner as the parents. Evidently, we've reached that point.