Marc, Nanny & Pop Pop

Last Monday, Madeline played with her presents from Uncle Marc -- Finnegan (whom she calls Gilligan) and Sheepy.

Monday night, after she went to bed, there was a spectacular rainbow!

Ooo.

Tuesday involved more playing.  Madeline really enjoys monsters (see the end of this post).

Wednesday was a bit calmer.  Madeline loved having Uncle Marc read to her.

But Thursday, Marc had to leave.

He and Madeline got in some last minute bonding before his morning departure.

And we took the obligatory posed shot.

And before school, we deposited Marc at the train station then fielded questions from Madeline: "Uncle Marc's going on a trip?  He's going to Minnesota?"

Then Friday, Nanny and Pop Pop came to town!  Madeline checked out the vegetables growing in our garden when she wasn't helping me grill.  She also found a worm -- "That's a nice worm. That's my friend worm." -- in the garden.

At bed time, Madeline was enthralled with the books Nanny and Pop Pop gave her.  Dr. Duck has proved to be a particular favorite (Nanny and Pop Pop each read it at least once, and we read it twice tonight, too).

Saturday morning, after Madeline's standard sing-song "Daddy, open the door; come get me!," she announced, "I want to go downstairs and see Nanny and Pop Pop."  So we did, and I made breakfast, and then we relaxed in the yard.

We played with dinosaurs, too.

After a while, Madeline announced, "Time to go inside, everyone. I'm all done with outside."  We complied but ended up back outside during her nap.

Later, inside, Pop Pop helped Madeline give her bears checkups.

Nanny and Pop Pop also gave Madeline a crib and some other accessories for her baby doll.  Madeline especially enjoyed the toy diaper cream tube, which she has used to treat imaginary diaper rash on both the baby doll and her Bubby Bear.

Last night at bedtime, there was more reading (of Dr. Duck, of course).

Today, after brunch and some more playing, Nanny and Pop Pop read Madeline more books at naptime.

Look closely: as you can see, Pop Pop is reading Dr. Duck.

After books, Madeline said her goodbyes.  And while Madeline slept, Nanny and Pop Pop took the train back to Delaware.

When Madeline woke up, asking about Nanny and Pop Pop and the train to Delaware, the day was hot but she wanted to spend time outside.

So we set up a sprinkler that Grandpa John and Grandma Susy had brought two weekends ago.

We had fun.

Then, again, Madeline announced, "I'm all done with outside.  Time to go inside."  So we did.

During her bath tonight, Madeline made water and chocolate chip soup.  Then she told me, "There's a monster in the bath with me."  I asked her about the monster and learned that it was originally green but then turned pink and later settled on red.  It had two eyes, one nose, two teeth, ears shaped like circles, and no horns or fur or scales.  It was a nice monster, not a scary one.  And most importantly, it was filled with chocolate chips and was bite-sized.  Before she got out of the bath, Madeline ate the monster.

Finally, Madeline asked me three times today after Nanny and Pop Pop's departure to sing her "the state song" -- a song every Tatnall child learns (or did in my day) that lists all the states in alphabetical order.  It occurs to me now that maybe Grandma Mandy's flight to Oregon, Grandma Susy and Grandpa John's drive to Delaware, Uncle Marc's train to Massachusetts and flight to Minnesota, and Nanny and Pop Pop's train to Delaware might have prompted this interest in state names.

Braid, twenty-eight months, run, zoo, Uncle Marc, Fathers Day & Arcadia

Thursday, I attempted to braid Madeline's hair for the first time.  It seemed to work.

Friday, Madeline was twenty-eight months old!

She posed with a beetle.

Saturday, we took our craigslist-purchased jogging stroller out for an inaugural run. Madeline saw how cool I looked in my bandanna and she wanted to wear one too.

After our run, we looked for bugs in the driveway ...

... and then went to the zoo.  We ate lunch there, and Summer and Madeline modeled their super-cool shades.

Madeline was excited to see Uncle Marc, but his flights were delayed and he didn't get in from Dublin until after she was asleep.

Today was Fathers Day!  Madeline gave me a card, and we had donuts.

Madeline was also very excited that Uncle Marc had arrived!

She brushed his hair.

For Fathers Day, I requested that we go to Arcadia in search of Stepstone Falls.  So we did.

And we saw horses in the forest.

Some of the trails were flooded, so we had to make our way through the woods at times and avoid poison ivy.  After some off-roading, we rested on a rock.

Madeline walked when the paths were clear, but I split carrying duty with Marc when the paths were not.  Madeline enjoyed this.

Finally we came back to the falls.  Madeline said oooooo.

And we were happy.

Later this evening, we grilled burgers and ate out on the patio.  It was a good day.

Weekend away

On Saturday, Summer and I went here:

It was our first weekend away from Madeline, but we saw reminders of her everywhere.

We wandered around town and up Wildcat Brook to the top of Jackson Falls.

While Summer and I were two states away, Madeline was with Grandma Susy and Grandpa John, having a grand old time.

On Sunday, Madeline and her grandparents went for a walk at Fisherville Brook ...

... and found flowers!

For our part, Summer and I hiked along Bemis Brook to Arethusa Falls -- a bit more of an adventure than our Jackson Falls jaunt.

We took a well-deserved rest at the base of the falls.

Grandparental reports indicate that Madeline walked much of the Fisherville Brook trail by the power of her own two little legs, so she took a well-deserved rest too -- perched on her new bug chair in our back yard.

On Monday, our last day away, Summer and I visited the base of Mount Washington but did not drive up -- the road was open only to motorcycles that day.  Instead, we admired the mountains and then headed home.

When we arrived, we played with dinosaurs.

Then on Tuesday, after early morning farewells, Grandma Susy and Grandpa John returned to Delaware, Madeline returned to day care, and Summer and I returned to work.

New things, Urban Pond Procession, first haircut!

Here are lots of pictures for you!

Thursday evening, Madeline gave baby Sophie a checkup.

Friday morning, Madeline found a new toy storage system in the family room.  She wasn't sure what to make of it, other than the certainty that she wanted to remove every toy from every bin immediately.

After work and school, I made guacamole and we ate it out in the sunshine.

We ate dinner outside, too.

Saturday morning, we attended the Urban Pond Procession.  Designed to teach children about polluted waters and teach them the power of small actions to address this pollution, the procession featured over-the-top skits, fish costumes, flags, drums, and lots of walking under the hot hot sun.

Madeline was told there would be monsters, and asked at each stop along the way when we would see them.  "I want monsters!" she'd exclaim.  "We'll find them soon.  How many do you think there'll be?"  "Two!  I want to see two monsters!" she'd answer.

Soon enough, there they were!  And there were at least six.

Madeline watched the ceremonies -- and the monsters -- raptly.

They culminated in the removal of another monster -- the symbolic Mashapaug Monster -- from the pond.

On our way back to the car, we stopped to say hi to one of the monsters.  It offered Madeline a tentacle to shake or high five, but she shied away.  I shook the proffered tentacle instead.  Later, Madeline said, "I want to give the monster a hug!"  But alas! it was too late.

The cure for lots of walking in the hot, hot sun is lots of splashing in a shaded kiddie pool.

Unfortunately, our pool seems to have sprung an air leak somewhere.  It still satisfied Madeline, though.

She also helped me to water our plants.

And we closed out the day with a fun bath.

Today a craigslist seller delivered us a new glider for downstairs.

More importantly, we decided it was time for Madeline's first haircut!

She maintained a serious face through the whole experience -- not upset or concerned, but a look of deep concentration.

Afterward she got a special toy duck.

She also got a braid tied with a special ribbon, but the ribbon blew away in the wind when we visited Pawtuxet Village in a futile search for a snack.

The braid remained, however, and we snacked on popcorn at home.

It was another fun weekend.