We were in the kitchen when Hallie was trying to open something and it dropped.

Hallie: (Frustrated) Oh, shoot!
Kara: (Ignoring her)
Hallie: (Looking at me and realizing I didn’t react to her) We can say “shoot” huh mommy? Because shoot isn’t a bad word is it?
Kara: It’s not a bad word, but it doesn’t sound very nice, you probably shouldn’t say it.
Hallie: But mom it’s just like “Shooting”. And you can say that. Like when grandpa shot that little reindeer. Do you remember that mom? Remember when we were staying with him and he shot one of the reindeers. I helped him with it. I held it’s legs. That’s why we can say shoot, huh?!
Kara: (laughing really hard inside and wishing with all my heart my dad could’ve heard the conversation!) Sure


While we were visiting my family a while back my dad was at the end of his hunting season, and came home with a small deer. He had it in the back of the truck and asked me if he could take Hallie out to see it. I grew up with deer/elk hanging in our backyard, lying on our table, their blood stained to the bed of the truck. It didn’t phase me. So of course I let Hallie go see the deer. After seeing it for the first time she came inside the house one concerned little three year old. “Grandpa says he’s going to eat that deer and so is grandma, but we’re not are we?” Thinking quickly I reply, “Sure, I eat deer. I eat cow. I eat chicken. We all do, isn’t that cool.” Her first response was, “You eat cows?” I guess I never thought to explain where all the food on our table comes from, but I guess that cat is out of the bag, and no we don’t eat cat!

For the rest of the afternoon she did not leave my dad’s side. She watched him clean it up a bit, and then cut it up. She came running inside after a while and said with an excited voice, “I held the legs while grandpa cut the head off.” (I’m sure this was a slight exaggeration on her part.) Which I was glad to hear. I think by this point she forgot that we were going to be eating “bambi”.

It seems as though now that we’re in the holiday season she tells everyone that her grandpa shot one of Santa’s reindeer. My, how a three year old and transform a story! Thanks dad for being the highlight of  Hallie’s trip!

POST-EDIT: Hallie was looking at the blog and she saw the above picture. Immediately she says, “Oh cool mom. Can I see the picture where I’m holding the legs?” Unfortunately I don’t have a picture of that. She’s got a great memory.