No, that is not Troy’s Halloween costume this year. He was just jealous of Jeff’s pretty tiara and earrings, so I picked up this little number for him at the dollar store. It suits him, don’t you think? It brings out the sparkle in his eyes.

Nah, not really. I mean, Troy does wear the tiara well, but it’s not his. It was one of the toys Annalie packed in her bag to play with on the plane trip home from Texas last weekend. She wore it herself for a while. When she got bored with that, she gave it to me to wear. It only lasted about ten seconds on my head before she pulled it asked me to give it back. Then she handed it to Troy.

“Here, Daddy, you put this on. Let me put this blanket around your neck for decoration and…there! Now you can be the princess and I can be the prince!”

“But I’m a boy,” Troy pointed out. “Can’t I be the prince?”

“No, your highness!” Annalie chirped. (For reasons I have not figured out she often employs a sing-songy falsetto when she’s playacting. It gets used most often when she is a baby, dolphin, or cat.) She straightened out Troy’s tiara. “You look so lovely today, your highness! May I have this dance?”

Troy good-naturedly gave in and played along, agreeing he’d love to dance but wondering how they were going to manage that when they had to keep their seat belts on. That was when I got my camera out.

Troy rolled his eyes slightly at me, but he knew there was no way I could be dissuaded. I don’t think he really minded much. After all, he was just being a good dad and making his daughter happy. Nothing to be ashamed of in keeping your kid entertained on a long flight. That’s practically a public service!