Tennis and Teeth

Every family has its own culture. Every parent has his or her particular hobbies. As my dad recently told me, "Of course all the kids had to learn to play tennis. That's where I was going to be, so it was how we would spend time together." Not everyone in the family took to tennis as intensely as I did. Of course, most everyone else is a little bit less intense than I am in general. 

But I love the game. Still to this day. I'm not competing anymore (although I've vowed to play a 30+ tournament this year in honor of my big birthday), but I still love to pound the ball. It's my therapy, and getting to hang out with my dad while I exercise is an added bonus.

Caleb stopped by the courts the other day (he and Paul were out for a stroll). 

 

He was mostly interested in eating the ball, but he sat and watched for a little bit. What he really enjoys is pressing his face up against his junior racket and making goofy noises. Here he is with the racket, trying to get Grandma and Grandpa DeHaan to pack him in their suitcase and take him to London with them (they're at Wimbledon!).

He looks so serious in this picture, I almost don't recognize him. Most of the time he looks like this:

Yes, the shoving something in his mouth feature is an important part of his usual look. He has four teeth on top now in addition to the two guys on the bottom. I don't have a good picture of them yet, but honestly, they freak me out. First of all, they're huge. Secondly, they have prominent gaps between each tooth. You know how couples imagine their future kids as a combination of their best features? Well we were hard pressed to pick whose teeth we wanted Caleb to have since we both did our time with the orthodontist as kids. So I guess we shouldn't be surprised by this new development, but it still makes me a little sad. Oh, vanity, vanity, vanity. I still think he's the cutest kid I've ever seen - scary teeth and all.