Spring in earnest

Earlier this week, while I grilled dinner, Madeline admired the grape hyacinths that have sprung up in our backyard.

Another day ...

... Madeline made silly faces for the camera!

Yesterday, Madeline conked out on the couch at 11:30 am for an early nap.  Petey joined her.

Then in the warm afternoon, Summer and I went to lie outside in the sun while Madeline gathered dandelions.  Madeline declared that we should go out front and look at our tulips.  She took a dandelion with her and wondered whether it was edible.

We had fun.

I wasn't feeling well, however, so we went out for pho to help clear my sinuses.

Although Madeline appears to be biting off her own fingers in this picture ...

... she actually loved her dinner of bean sprouts, rice noodles, and beef.  We boxed some up for leftovers, and Madeline was excited by the little paper container with its wire handle.  She wanted to carry it, and we said yes.  Then she wanted to open it, and we said no -- but she could help us put it in the fridge when we got home.  So she made up a song to sing on the drive home: "Dooon't open it!  Put it in the fridge!"

Today, after a morning of seeing to domestic demands (grocery store, cleaning, etc.), we went for an afternoon outing to Tiverton and Little Compton.  We started with an early dinner at Evelyn's (this was nowhere near Madeline's first time).

Madeline showed off some serious chowder-eating prowess that we had no idea she possessed.

Then we went to Little Compton to check out the relatively new Dundery Brook Trail (also called the Bumble Bee Preserve, which I prefer).  For her part, Madeline preferred the playground we spied on arriving at the elementary school whose grounds host the trailhead.  By the time she was ready to embark on our walk, she was also thirsty.  So we didn't get too far -- this time.  Something tells me we'll be heading back to Little Compton again this summer.

For instance, the area hosts attractions like Gray's Ice Cream, which we visited on the way home.  Madeline again asked for cherry ice cream; neither Summer nor I can figure out the origin of this flavor preference.

However Madeline decided cherry is the flavor for her, she sure does like it.

Sick day, zoo, and Buttonwood Farm

Friday, Madeline stayed home sick.  She had a fever and was a little quicker than usual to become grumpy, but otherwise was her usual spirited self.  Summer stayed home with her, and they played with play-doh.

When I came home, we made a blanket fort.

Yesterday, she seemed improved in the morning, she wanted to go to the zoo, and we're members, so we figured why not?

At the zoo, Madeline was most interested in the elephants (we saw Alice get a bath), but we also took a few minutes to admire the red pandas.

By the end of the trip, though, we realized Madeline was feeling sick again.  Sure enough, by the time we got home, her fever had reemerged.

So we stayed home for the rest of the day, cleaned up the house, and did some yard work.

Today, Madeline was back to usual.

We went to Buttonwood Farm to meet up with Lauren, Dan, and their canine child Maggie.  Madeline was excited to play with Maggie.

And she was excited for delicious ice cream.

And she was excited to see pigs ...

... and cows.

At home, Madeline pretended to be pregnant.

And she helped me grill turkey burgers for dinner.

RAAAAAWWWWRRRR!!!!

Sunday, I was feeling better.  We had a play date with Ilan in the morning, and brunch too (no pictures, though, sadly).  Then Madeline napped, and when she woke up we planned the week's meals together.  Her contribution to meal-planning was erasing anything I wrote on the chalk board.

We also got chair pictures now that Madeline's 26 months old!

Monday, Madeline was happy.

Yesterday and today, she was happy too.  This morning in bed, Summer and I heard Madeline roaring in the other room: "Raaaawr!  RAAAAAWWWWRRRR!!!!"  When Summer hustled in to see what was up, Madeline announced, "I'm a tiger!"  She's also been treating us to an increasing repertoire of songs on our car rides, most recently adding "Down by the Bay" and "Down by the Station."

Also, our turtle died.  Madeline doesn't seem to have noticed that there's now an empty spot where his enclosure once sat.  Rest in peace, Monroe.

Sick and seeds

Early on, this week was pretty standard.

But Summer had some stomach upset on Wednesday, and I've had an unusually long stomach bug that's been troubling me since Thursday.

Madeline has made out just fine, though.

Today I was still plenty sick, and Madeline was still plenty happy.

Despite Madeline's apparent wellness, we cancelled some plans we'd all been looking forward to for fear of Summer or Madeline exposing others to the bug.  Instead, they started some seeds for our eventual vegetable garden.

There are sweet peppers, tomatoes, basil, and -- Madeline's choice -- pumpkins.

I hope tomorrow everyone's well and happy, yes indeed.

Museum of Science

Today, we went on a special trip to the Museum of Science in Boston.

We visited the butterfly garden and admired its many residents, especially the blue morphos and Atlas moth.

Then came the dinosaurs!

Madeline was awed by the to-scale Tyrannosaurus rex, and when I asked Madeline what the beast in this picture is --

-- she immediately, and correctly, said, "Triceratops!"  Indeed, it's apparently "one of only four nearly complete Triceratops on public display anywhere in the world" -- an actual fossil, not a cast.  (It's real, and it's spectacular!)

The dinosaur exhibit has lots of other fun stuff ...

... like this cast of a Eubrontes track, which likely belonged to a dinosaur like Dilophosaurus (whose skull is on the shirt I wore today!).

The rest of the museum has lots of other fun stuff, too!

Like this crazy, giant microscope.

And these cute, freshly hatched baby chicks.

And this optical illusion and jet engine.

All in all, we had a great visit.  And we topped it off with mussels for dinner -- yum!

Crazy week

This week was a little crazy.  I had to work two evenings and had to attend a 9 AM meeting in southern Rhode Island one day (after dropping off Madeline and Summer in Providence), so there's not much more for me to say than that.  We have one weekday picture for you, from Monday, as Madeline and Summer dressed up our Easter eggs with bug-related stickers.

Then weekend arrived.  This morning, we opened a gift of baby doll clothes and a blanket from Nanny.  Madeline enjoyed playing with them, and she repeatedly tucked her baby in with the blanket.

In fact, baby is tucked in with her blanket next to me right at this very minute.

Next, we had brunch at Olga's.  Afterward, we figured it was well past time to visit the Providence Children's Museum (which is a very easy walk from Olga's).  Madeline loved it, and we felt silly for waiting so long to go.  She played in the water room:

And she enjoyed a trip through Rhode Island history, with stops at an early English settler girl's house, a Quebecois boy's mill-family house, a sailing ship, and this 1960s Dominican grocery store:

After the museum, we went to look for seals.

There still aren't any.  But we have fun anyway.