#collins jones

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Dear Gus & Magnus,

I came home after work today, so Gus and I went over to Connie's to get my stuff. While I cleaned up, Gus and Collin's played in her backyard. And by "played" I mean Gus took it upon himself to pick up Charlie's poop and Collins watched.

Dad.

Little Rock, Arkansas. 10.12.2021 - 5.28pm.

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Dear Gus & Magnus,

This morning we had a playdate with the Grummers and the Joneses -- we haven't seen Collins since leaving the Village, so it was good to reconnect. Afterward, we visited Aunt Connie, who has temporarily moved into the quarters in the Joneses back yard.

Dad.

Little Rock, Arkansas. 9.25.2021 - 11.01am.

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Dear Gus & Baby #2,

After school today, we hung out with the regular crew until it was just Gus and Collins. I opened my truck door and they both crawled in and played in my truck for a bit while Katherine and I talked. Here's a video of what that looked like.

Dad.

Little Rock, Arkansas. 4.1.2021 - 5.06pm.

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Dear Gus & Baby #2,

When I picked Gus up from daycare today, Collins's mom mentioned they were going to Hillcrest's First Thursday, so we joined. Gus and Collins did sidewalk chalk while we waited on our table at Hill Station. A photographer from Hillcrest Life spotted us and asked if we would all get together for a photo. This is the result.

Mom ended up joining us after she got off work. Our food took forever and Gus got hangry. The server gave us a free milkshake, which definitely helped things. Gus tried to get every taste out of that cup that he could before we went home and put him to bed.

It's going to be a good spring, I think.

Dad.

Little Rock, Arkansas. 3.4.2021 - 6.15(ish)pm.

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Dear Gus,

We met Collins and her parents at the Motley Farms Pumpkin Patch this morning and had a good time. You two get along so well and are the most adorable thing to watch. Here are more photos.

Dad.

Little Rock, Arkansas. 10.4.2020. - 12.59pm.

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Dear Gus & Magnus,

We played after school with Collins again today and everything went great again until about an hour in, when Gus and Collins decided they would bury Collins in the playground gravel. Gus put some gravel on her face and I told him not to. And then Collins told him not to. And then Gus got really contemplative for a few seconds before appearing to put more gravel on Collins's face. She said a few tame words to him, then stomped off to another piece of playground equipment, telling me and Katherine that Gus was being mean. Meanwhile, Gus sat quietly under the slide. When I walked over, I asked him if he had done something mean.

"I put a worm on Collins's head," he said. And immediately followed up with, "You didn't say not to do that."

I explained the importance of living by The Golden Rule and concluded with, "Would you want someone to put a worm on your head."

"Yeah," he said. And I don't think he was lying.

In the end, he agreed to walk over and apologize, which he did. And then he gave Collins "a crystal," but it was really a pebble. Collins immediately forgave him and said she wanted him to come to her birthday party (which won't be until October).

Dad.

Little Rock, Arkansas. 7.14.2021 - 5.35pm.

SIDENOTE: Gus is still on the death thing. Last night we had this conversation. And tonight he hit me with this.

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Dear Gus & Magnus,

After school today, Gus and Collins played for a solid hour and it was the most precious thing. It was just the two of them and they play so well together.

Yesterday, we found a bloated bird carcass in the yard and I taught him to use two sticks to pick it up so we wouldn't get dirty hands. When he and Collins found a dead beetle, he showed her how to use two sticks to pick it up. After a while, Katherine suggested they find a nice place to say goodbye to the beetle and Gus immediately launched into how they should bury it and put a sign up telling people that's where the beetle is buried.

He got that strategy from a conversation we had last night after reading books and snuggling. He had a lot of questions about when Papa died. "Did you see him die?" "What did he look like when he died?" "Can I see a picture of when he died?" We ended up looking at pictures of him on this blog. (Turns out I do have a picture of him after he died.) He was especially fascinated with the picture of his headstone (or "sign") that said he was a Choate, just like us.

Dad.

Little Rock, Arkansas. 7.13.2021 - 4.46pm.