The online community of the Ellen DeGeneres show asked readers to send in their 'so horrible they're great' baby pictures. Here are some of the funny shots they ended up with. Bad baby photos are the most understandable (and probably most likely) of the awkward photos category. After all, if a baby wants to make a certain face or pose, there's not much anyone can do about that. However, when it comes to awkward engagement and family photos, the phenomenon is a lot harder to understand.
The photos collected by the Ellen show are in slideshow format and that link is here. If you'd rather not click through a slideshow, see this collection, which borrowed many of the shots from the Ellen post.
It's no secret that toddlers can be a handful. At times, mommy or other caretakers are at their wit's end, and that's a dicey time when humor can be a great coping mechanism. Sometimes one just has to laugh, or else they might cry. There's a Tumblr for that. "If Toddlers Texted" is a Tumblr (and a Facebook page) that anyone at the mercy of the terrible twos (threes or fours) can visit to get perspective and some laughs.
For an article in The Saline Courier, a paper in Benton, Arkansas, a number of second graders were asked to share things for which they are grateful. It's a pretty standard question over the Thanksgiving holiday, and the reporter received some pretty standard answers... except from eight-year-old Isabella Jerhigan. Isabella's thankful "for all the dead people, because at least they tried." Now that's an original answer! Perhaps she's a future writer (or a goth)! Either way, she got a laugh out of a lot of people, as her response has gone viral since being posted on Reddit.
ExPhysGuy posted a picture at reddit of a man in Ireland who fills the role of Santa Claus at the local schools. Even when he’s off-duty, he takes his role seriously for the little kids who see him. There were several stories in the comments underneath that show appreciation for men like this who take time to be Santa Claus for kids, because they know that children will recognize them wherever they are, no matter what time of the year it is.
So, my uncle used to look a lot like Santa pretty much all the time. Pot belly, deep but kind voice, sweet grey beard, the works. Just like this guy here.
One year in the fall he drove home from the grocery store, and when he got inside, noticed a car drove up and parked right in front of his house. No one came out for awhile so he went to check it out, when some guy got out of the car and approached him. The dude had two kids in the car, who had seen my uncle at the store, and just cried and cried to their dad how he was "letting Santa get away!" so they made him drive after my uncle. The guy was real apologetic and asked if my uncle can just say hi to his kids, but my uncle being the amazing person he was, ran inside to get them cookies, and sure to talk to them awhile. The kids left happy as clams and I'm sure the dad got major dad points.
I just really miss my uncle. The idea of people thinking about him, even just for the duration of this post, makes me not miss him so badly.
They've had the same Santa at my local mall for at least 12 years, and he is fantastic. He's got a real beard, has a personally owned awesome looking suit, is great with kids etc. I've seen him do the same thing when it's the "off season" and he's at the mall doing his shopping.
There were rumors that he was retiring 2 years ago, and I was very happy to see that he was still there last year. It will be difficult to replace someone as good as him.
I was in the back of my suburban, digging around one day, while my boyfriend was in the grocery store. A man walked passed our truck and saw my partner's 5-year-old sitting in the back seat. He said to him (through the open window), "Hi, there! You're being good, right?"
I popped my head up and said, "He is," thinking this dude must be a friend of his mom or dad's (we live in a small town).
He walked away, and I said, "Do you know that guy?"
Kid: "No, but I'm pretty sure Santa just told me to behave."
There is a guy that works with me who looks like Santa. WHEN EVER a kid comes up to him, he reaches in his backpack and gives him a candy cane and a Christmas card. Saw it in mid July a few years ago. Was sweet.
My Great Uncle was a professional Mall Santa. He had a big white beard and wore red all year around. It really did look spot on. He loved kids always coming up to him and enjoyed it all year around. I seriously thought he was santa till I was like 10.
There is a professional Santa in my hometown. All Christmas season he is in another state, playing Santa at a mall. However, all year he keeps his beard and hair trimmed, wears his glasses, and always wears clothing that involves red and green and suspenders at a minimum.
He never breaks character for any child. He also has some great stories, like when he was walking down the street and a kid came running up to him crying because he was lost but then saw Santa and knew he would be fine.
I've talked to him several times about it and he said, "Being Santa is one of the greatest responsibilities I have ever had. It is a way of life, not a job, and you have to treat it that way."
The smiles and lights in the eyes of the kids shown here are the result of their youthful imaginings materializing into soft, huggable form. A company called "Budsies" takes childrens' drawings of their fantasy friends and transforms them into charming, nice sized (16-inch-tall) plush toys. This looks like something I would have coveted for Christmas when I was a kid. The cost is $69 and lead time is eight weeks.
Manhattan, New York-based blogger Mommy Shorts had a contest to find the baby that looks most likely to bite your head off. It's called the "Evil Baby Glare-Off,' and it pits the mugs of 32 finalists against each other to select the biggest baby badass. See all of the funny, 32 finalist shots here. The winners have already been selected; see the post about the winners here.
This is a wonderful letter! Bennet is nice and polite, enthusiastic, and knows what a woman wants to hear, even if she’s a little girl. He also types well. The headline at reddit said, “If only adults could communicate this well.” I would be sorely disappointed if I found out that Bennet is 32 years old.
Every kid wants a picture with the characters when they visit Disney World, but Jennifer Rouch's 3-year-old daughter Lane manages to actually fit in with the stories she matches with the help of her mother's amazing costumes.
Jennifer makes all of the costumes from scratch and some of them are utterly amazing. The mother didn't just want to make cute photos that would make internet candy for Disney fans. -She actually came up with the idea after she noticed that her daughter was becoming increasingly shy.
Since Jennifer and Lane visit Disney World regularly, the mother thought that letting her daughter dress up like Disney characters might make her more comfortable around new people. The efforts paid off as little Lane certainly looks cozy playing with her favorite characters.
You can keep up with Lane's adventures over on My Disney Daze.
They got paint in on their faces, in their hair, all over their clothes, and apparently, all over the downstairs. These boys are in big trouble. Dad tries his best to be stern, but it’s hard to look at them without laughing! At least he quarantined the boys in the bathtub before he started rolling the camera. Who’s going to clean it up? -via Daily Picks and Flicks
Microsoft offers a wide array of tests that computer users can take in order to demonstrate their competency with Microsoft products. These users can then list those certifications on their resumes in order to impress perspective employers.
One of the more demanding exams is the Microsoft Certified Professional. At 5 years old, Ayan Qureshi of Coventry, UK became the youngest person to ever successfully complete that exam. He's now 6. His father, an IT consultant, introduced Ayan to computers when he was 3. He found that Ayan could remember anything that he taught him on the subject. Gurvinder Gill writes for BBC News:
"I found whatever I was telling him, the next day he'd remember everything I said, so I started to feed him more information," he explained.
"Too much computing at this age can cause a negative effect, but in Ayan's case he has cached this opportunity."
Ayan has his own computer lab at his home in Coventry, containing a computer network which he built.
He spends around two hours a day learning about the operating system and how to install programmes.
Nine months ago, Heather Penticoff, 40, and her daughter Destinee Martin, 20, of Lee County, Florida told each other that they were pregnant. The timing was coincidental and they kept it up. Both women had the same due dates. For different reasons, their 2 different doctors decided to induce labor for both women on Tuesday. Madeline, Destinee’s daughter, was then born. Two hours and 46 minutes later, Madeline’s nephew, Damien was born. That’s quite young to become an aunt!
But the family is happy with this experience. Bryan Anderson of NBC 2 reports:
"It's like having twins without carrying twins," said Heather.
Their experience expecting together is unique, just like the ages of other relatives of this Lee County family. Destinee has two aunts and an uncle younger than her.
"It's a blessing all around," Heather said, "I'm just proud of her, so proud of Destinee."
"To have my mom going through it with me is probably the most special, amazing thing ever," added Destinee.
Santa Claus planned to visit a mall in Evansville, Indiana to meet boys and girls who wanted to talk with him. But first, he needed breakfast. So he stopped at a Bob Evans restaurant.
Gracie Lynn, 3, and her mother and grandmother were also there eating breakfast. Gracie was appalled that Santa had to eat with no one to keep him company. So she decided to have breakfast with him. Kimberly Yam writes for the Huffington Post:
"They talked for about 20 minutes," Wilson, who is currently pregnant with a boy, told HuffPost, "and all she wanted to talk about was [her future baby brother]." […]
Wilson told HuffPost that the pair chatted about the North Pole's weather conditions and the movie, "Frozen." Gracie even asked Santa if she could visit him and his toy shop.
If you're Daddy, then you're a superhero. Because you have to be. Your kids appear to be intent on killing themselves through their utter recklessness. Your job is to rescue them. You're already in costume, so it's time to spring into action.
This compilation video shows dads jumping in at the last second to save their kids from injuries. Go, Super Daddy, go!
Move over, keyboard cat! Wyatt’s on the drums, and he’s ready to rock! No matter that Wyatt is only eight months old and has yet to walk or talk, here he drums along to “5 Minutes Alone” by Pantera. He’s going to be dangerous when he’s old enough to sing! -via Daily Picks and Flicks
Image: Allison G., Logansport, Indiana
Image: Kathi S., North Canton, Ohio
