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.

Long Pond

Yesterday, we had a somewhat leisurely day.

Today, I made chocolate chip pancakes!

Then we went to Long Pond Woods.

The preserve's hiking path requires clambering up and down and over big rocks, but Madeline was up to the challenge.

In fact, she loved it.

She collected sticks (which I'm holding up in the picture below) and called them bones for a doggie.  "I love puppies!" she said.

Then: "RAWWWR!"

Some parts of the path were interesting.

We ended up at a lookout point where the path splits -- a modest distance unless you have a two-year-old in tow, and satisfying either way.

Madeline was not a fan of the bugs in the woods.  She kept repeating, "Go away, bugs. This is not your home."  We told her that the forest was, in fact, the bugs' home, but she didn't buy it.  On our way back to the car, she announced to the bugs, "Bye bye, bugs. I'm goin' to my home."  She also announced that she wanted to sleep in a hole she found nestled among the large rocks.

She was tired.

Quite a character & Harvard Museum

Madeline has been quite a character lately.  One night she served me "butterfly soup" and "pasta with spicy cherry sauce."  She has named some of her "friends" -- her baby doll is now Sophie, and a red, heart-covered bear is Bubby Bear.  (And, of course, there's still Cheese.)  Some mornings she wakes up and sings to herself in her crib.  Some evenings before pajama time she sings in her room.


Tonight while she was singing, she was also trying to watch herself on the little screen on the camera at the same time.  And sometimes -- Tuesday, for example -- she pretends Petey is a baby.

Wednesday, Madeline, Bubby Bear, and I read a book about Japanese lucky cats that came with a Japanese lucky cat.

Thursday, Madeline wore a new sun hat to school!

Today, after promising Madeline we'd go to a dinosaur museum, we finally paid a visit to the Harvard Museum of Natural History.

There are dinosaurs there, like this Triceratops horridus!  (Or, as Madeline says, "'ceratops!")

Madeline liked the dinosaurs.

Here she is with a Corythosaurus casuarius skull ...

... and here with an ancient turtle shell!

Madeline enjoyed a hammerhead shark model hanging from the ceiling here:

But she was perhaps most impressed with the Great Mammal Hall, where whale skeletons hang from the ceiling over two tiers of stuffed mammals (and birds too).

When we finally made it across Harvard's campus and back to the car, Madeline was asleep in about five seconds.

After dinner tonight, we went out for another special treat -- frozen yogurt!

Madeline intently devoured her cake-flavored yogurt with cherries, raspberries, and sprinkles, pausing occasionally for a smile.

As Madeline said afterward, "Yum."