Do Tell

A tell in poker is a subtle but detectable change in a player's behavior or demeanor that gives clues to that player's assessment of his hand. A player gains an advantage if he observes and understands the meaning of another player's tell, particularly if the tell is unconscious and reliable. Sometimes a player may fake a tell, hoping to induce his opponents to make poor judgments in response to the false tell.

Everyone has a tell. It's something you look for when you have kids (or spouses or friends for that matter). I was never so much aware of this when it was just the three of us, but it's so obvious with the Little Ones that it's sometimes hard to keep a straight face.

David's tell looks a lot like a fish face; cheeks sucked in, lips puckered ever so slightly, eyebrows raised and is usually noticeable before he's done anything wrong. This comes in handy when trying to avoid trouble... Sometimes he will saunter through a room telling on himself...followed soon by a sister tattling on him...

Aubri's tells are the funniest; sometimes she pooches her lips under her nose like she smells something bad (and it's entirely possible that she might smell something bad at 2 years old) and other times she looks to me like George Constanza's mother-in-law during the infamous carriage ride with Rusty the Horse. She does this very awkward looking "camel face" (something Morgans are known for) and it's hard not to laugh when she tells on herself. The second parent on the scene usually has to do the disciplining when she is telling on herself because the first parent is stifling a smile/giggles.

Emi's is a little more subtle and hard to capture on film. She's gotten pretty crafty in her 8 years.