Maybe you have kids, or maybe you don’t.  But it doesn’t take too much effort for anyone to imagine the unpredictability of children.  I’ve only been a dad for 4 years, but the things my kids do never ceases to surprise me – and oftentimes flat out crack me up.

I could tell you about the time my daughter walked up to a complete stranger to introduce herself and shake his hand (she was 2 and a half), or the time she sang Tangled’s “When Will My Life Begin” in its entirety while scribbling in her coloring book, or the time she said her tummy was “fat” when she really meant it was full. Of course, there are many others…

I recently had to take our dog, Hobbes, outside to brush him and since it was nice out, I figured Ava could use some fresh air.  She’s pretty adventurous, so if eyes aren’t on her, she’s probably going to disappear.  To keep her occupied, I gave her some sidewalk chalk.  She quickly became bored with that and wanted something else, so I brought in the big guns: bubbles.  Ava loves bubbles! She once spent an entire afternoon last summer blowing bubbles without distraction.

Ava received the bubbles with a huge smile and a twinkle in her eye, spreading those little multi-chromatic, semi floating transparent orbs across the yard. She was happy, so I was able to focus on Hobbes with what I thought would be little interruption.  But with kids, nothing is ever quite that simple. After 30 seconds of brushing the dog, I noticed that I did not hear her giggle, or the sound of the wand in the container…

I turned to find Ava right where I left her (about 10 feet away), only instead of using the wand to blow bubbles, she decided to use…wait for it…her mouth.  My sweet little Ava had taken a swig of the bubble solution, and by the time I saw her, she had a bubble about as big as her own head expanding out of her mouth! I immediately told her to stop, but I was so shocked to see it that I kinda laughed. My first thought was, “she’s not even acting like it tastes bad!” I then thought, “How come I never thought of that???”

Clearly, the ingenuity of children should not be underestimated. For kids, nothing is really off limits. However, the first time Ava mouths off or says something crude, I guess we’ll have to think twice about washing her mouth out with soap, because the chances are good that she’ll turn it into an entertaining recreational activity…