Hobby, doll, petals

Madeline has a new hobby. She brings her little bench (the one that came with the horribly out-of-tune xylophone) to a random spot on the floor, sets it down, circles around it to find the best approach angle, and then sits on it. Proudly.

She's also very into her baby doll.  (She calls Petey "baby" too.  And she likes to say "mamadaddydaddydaddymamamama.")

After dinner this evening we went for a little stroll.  Our front walk is covered with pink petals.

That is all.

Saturday with Alexander, Sunday at the park

I didn't have a chance to write last night because I didn't get home until after midnight.  Why?  Because we watched Alexander for most of the day, and in the evening he and I went to his house where he went to bed and I waited for his mom to return home.  While he was at our house, though, he and Madeline played.  Let's call this game "dinosaur farm":

Madeline has a funny habit of wearing her bucket like a purse and saying "bye bye!"

Alexander is into dinosaurs and so asked me to read him the dense, 880-page tome The Dinosauria, edited by David Weishampel.  We peeked at it and he decided perhaps a dinosaur pop-up would be more appropriate.  Meanwhile Madeline sought tickles nearby.

Everything went smoothly, and we even ran into James (plus entourage) at the park!

Now for today.  Our first event was a late brunch at Olga's with friend Tyler (stopping by on a visit from New Haven).  We got a table next to Madeline's favorite corner of the garden, and after we'd finished eating she sifted through the rocks and shells in search of particularly choice specimens.  She also found something our server thought might be a premature apricot from one of the trees.

Madeline seemed to have a lot of energy, so we stopped at India Point Park for her to let loose and run around some.  She first ran to the water.

She tried to climb through the fence to swim with the swans.

Next up: India Point Park has a playground that, it turns out, is mostly for bigger kids.  So Summer helped Madeline play.

At the playground Madeline admired a mural; this section depicts the Providence Coal Company.  I'm not sure whether the company specialized in import or extraction, but the mural presents a nice opportunity to mention the reputation of Rhode Island coal (back when there was such a thing).  A fine example comes from a 1915 U.S.G.S. Bulletin, which reported that some folks "contend[] that in the final great conflagration Rhode Island coal will be the last thing to take fire."

Anyway, back to Madeline: she makes a fine boat captain:

After the playground, we returned to the waterfront to observe some fowl (two ducks and a swan).

And on the way back to the car Madeline stopped to admire one of the park's (relatively) new signs.

Apparently romping at the park did the trick, because Madeline napped in the car from about 3:30 to 5, at which point the rest of the day was given over to cooking, dinner, bathtime, and bedtime.

Little and speedy

I got Madeline a present.  She's little and speedy, just like DeSean Jackson!

This afternoon, though, she was mostly sleepy and hungry and therefore a bit grumpy.  But she still found time for smiling and playing with Petey.

She also let her impish side out.  As this picture was taken, she announced "no!" and grabbed Petey's tail.  We reiterated the "no!" and, after failing to transition her to gentle petting, removed her to the floor.

Sure enough, peanut allergy

This morning Madeline tried on one of Summer's old shirts.  It made a fine robe.

Mid-day, we picked up Madeline for her allergist appointment.  She did some reading and watched her stories while we waited.

The news: sure enough, she has a peanut allergy.

The allergist's office is across the street from a playground, so we took a few minutes for Madeline to play.

She had fun.

At home, she relaxed.

And she attacked Summer, too.

We ended up having an early dinner, leaving time for an after-dinner walk.  By the end of it, Madeline was about a hair's width from sleep.

And that was that.

Madeline, garden expert

Madeline's day began with pajamas, a hat, and a cat.

Later this morning we read The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

At daycare Madeline helped plant a vegetable garden.  She also napped for almost two hours!

Back at home, she surveyed the yard from the front porch.

She declared to me that it would be a good day to break out the grill and cook up a few burgers.  So I did.  And she shared her new-found gardening knowledge with Summer.

Being a gardening expert now, she's not too impressed with most of our containers, which we haven't even planted (and might not this year, given the likelihood of a late-summer move).  The raspberry that came back from last year, though, looks good.

After dinner, Madeline played gymnastics on the futon we keep set up as a spare bed.

We got her ready for her bath and then bed; she was happy.

Petey says goodnight

Alas! No good pictures today.  This is the best of the bunch, but (blame the inanimate object) the camera decided to focus on bike instead of baby.

Though the pictures weren't good, Madeline's day was.  At daycare they were supposed to plant a garden today; the weather didn't cooperate, but the children had fun playing anyway.  And at home, Madeline had a special bedtime visit from Petey, who came to collect some pats as we read Spot Says Goodnight.

Playful, happy activity

Madeline was a blur of playful, happy activity today, so we didn't get any clear pictures. If you look closely in this one, you can see the Tyrannosaurus rex on her shirt!

Low-key, party, under the weather?

We had a low-key morning. Madeline and Petey hung out together.

Madeline continues to enjoy her fuzzy buddy.

She took a break from Petey to help me make French toast.  Her way of helping today was to provide percussion.

Around midday we headed out for a car nap followed by a birthday party!  Madeline found a dandelion ...

... and brought it along for the ride.

That's the end of the pictures for today, but Madeline had a great time at the party.  She was shy at first but then played with the other kids.  She had a special super-happy freakout session with James, the two of them running around together shrieking with laughter.  She seemed to love Jamaican food.  And she ate all of her piece of ice cream cake and part of Summer's too.

Toward the end of the day Madeline started seeming a little grumpy and under the weather.  Maybe it was just the rainy day and consequent lack of outdoor play, or maybe she's getting sick.  Let's hope for the former.

Gardens, parks, and puppies!

While I was out interviewing this morning, Madeline and Summer had fun with markers.

When I came home, Madeline cleaned up and we went to brunch at Olga's.  Madeline's meal of waffles with banana slices was the first full meal we've ever specially ordered for her.  Also, the garden is blooming!

After Olga's, we stopped at India Point Park to enjoy the weather.  Madeline frolicked among the dandelions.

And she frolicked some more.

And she had a HAPPINESS EXPLOSION!

Then we watched some other people fly kites for a while.

Later this afternoon, we met up with friends Sara and Jesse and their new puppy Davis.  Madeline loves puppies!

We went to the Humboldt Avenue playground, where Madeline found a soccer ball that she and Davis played with.

And all was well.

Madeline ended up staying out a little later then usual, and she was well-behaved but quite sleepy when bedtime finally rolled around.

What does an elephant say?

What does an elephant say?

Rolling on the floor is so much fun!

Blurry but too happy not to share: