Cherry Picking

These top photos were how Lucy spent some of her time in the cherry trees- taking photos. She wanted to share them. She was also particularly proud of the yellow leaves she had found. It has been a particular agenda of hers to point out whenever she sees yellow leaves since I explained to her that the spring meant everything turned green. She is constantly wanting to prove to me that not everything is green in spring and summer, that sometimes things are yellow, brown, etc. She actually took about 15 photos of yellow leaves to make her point, I only posted one- point made.

We headed to Homestead Farm with our friends the Wells last week to pick cherries. They were so tart that the kids mostly refrained from eating them by the handful, but no worries, they still got plenty down the hatch. We used ours for cobbler and crisp.

Lucy and Parish picked cherries for about 30 seconds and then spent the rest of the time running through the orchard and hiding in the trees. They spotted a birds nest and helped keep and eye on the little girls. Caroline and Harper did most of the eating, and once I convinced Harper that picking cherries was like cleaning up cherries, she was on board for picking. It was her personal mission to make sure that each branch she could reach was rid of cherries and that they ended up in our box. The kid loves to clean up!

Lucy's first soccer camp

Lucy started soccer camp this week. Or, I should say, Lucy, Harper and myself started soccer camp this week. Nobody mentioned that it involved parental involvement. The first day entailed me, 6 months pregnant, holding Harper and practicing my passes and traps with Lucy. Not exactly what I pictured. Thank goodness that Lucy has decided that she wants to do camp all on her own and I have been sidelined. She will even go to the far side of the field away from us so that she can have the one of the coaches as her partner. Fine by me! In all actuality, the parents are more optional in most of the lessons but some just can't stand to sit it out. I think I have my hands full enough since Harper likes to spend the hour each day picking up all the cones the coaches have put out, eating, and chasing kids in the middle of their drills. She also likes to line up with the kids or just hang on to Lucy while she is getting instructions. I think she thinks she is part of the action as well. She hasn't noticed that not everybody runs around with a naked baby doll or a cracker in their hand.

So far, so good. Lucy is wiped out a the end of each camp day. She has learned passes, traps, dribbling and other skills I can't even name. She loves her coaches and finds them very funny and they liven up the camp by playing games about dragons and pirates, having wacky hair day, and having all the kids decorate their soccer balls. They are British and many times the kids have no idea what they are saying or talking about, but I think that makes Lucy like them even more. Her favorite game so far is "Blast off" where they place their soccer ball on a short cone and take 5 big steps back from it, then countdown and the whole group runs forward at blast off to kick their ball down the field.

I'll post photos of the rest of the week later, but here it is so far.

Off to bed

Harper is obsessed with climbing on things. She will carry out the stool from the bathroom and spend 10 minutes trying to figure out a way to climb up on it. She tries to scale bookcases, chairs, her crib, whatever. Her new favorite is to climb up on Lucy's bed. She gets up there, plays for a while and then cries because she can't figure out how to get down. Each and everytime she ends up there, though, she has a bit of a celebration.

When is it our turn?

Lucy asked today, "when is it kids' day?" I replied, "Everyday". This was not the answer she was looking for. She is not keen on having a Mother's Day and a Father's Day with no "Kids' Day" to even things out. Nevermind that her past week has consisted of swimming, playdates, the candy store, feeding ducks, picking cherries, the library, the farmer's market, a ladybug release, the air and space museum, watching the colorful sailboats on the river, sprinkler fun, and endless treats and funtime with friends outside. Indeed, she just celebrated Kids' Week. Where's my week?

Repeat

Harper has moved on to a few phrases. That might sound great and would seem to help with communication, but that is not always the case. Here are the phrases:
"Get down"- used when she actually wants to get down from a chair or your lap, but also when she wants to get up onto something, like our bed. Can get confusing.
"Stop it"-she likes to say this whenever I tell her to do something, or not to do something. She also says it when she is at the top of stairs to signal that we should all stop before going down.
"More, mine"- she uses this a lot when she wants more food. The problem is that it is always unclear what she wants and she will usually throw herself to the ground kicking and screaming if I don't react properly. And all drinks are "milk", even if she wants water. More tantrums if I get it wrong.
All of these are said daily, although on any given day they are said a million times. She begins to say something and until you respond correctly she repeats it over and over again, or falls into a tantrum. Another case of easier said than done.

Don't tell the Secret Service

We were hanging out in the family room a couple of nights ago when Ian caught a whiff of something. He inquired if Lucy and I smelled anything. We did not. He asked Harper if she smelled anything. She replied with her only answer to any question, "No!"
Then he asked, "Harper, are you stinky?"
Harper replied, "No!"
Ian, "Harper, did you toot?"
Harper, "No!"
Ian, "Well, if you didn't toot, who did?"
Harper in the clearest voice said, "Barackobama!"
Now, you can say it was babble, and maybe you are right, but we like to think that she was blaming her stink on the president.

Name that boy

Here is a typical conversation that I could be having with any adult at anytime, on any day.
Me: "Hi, how are you?"
Adult #2: "Great, how are you?"
Me: "Fine, blah, blah, blah, blah..." (I hear a murmur to my right at about this time in a mouselike voice)
Me: "Excuse me. What Lucy?"
Lucy: "What are we going to name our baby brother?"

No joke. This happens a lot. In pretty much that same order and usually with people that I don't see that often. Why this pops into her head the second I try to have an adult conversation with a seldom-seen friend, I have no idea.
The other time she brings this conversation up is when she doesn't have anything else to talk about. This is when she likes to offer her suggestions. So far, the best (read WORST) suggestion she has is to name her sweet baby brother Toenail. Other suggestions are Mushin', Bushin', and Cushin' as well as Alex, Reggie, and Melon. She honestly can't understand why we wouldn't consider the name Toenail for her brother. She likes the name, why wouldn't we? But why Toenail? I don't know, but what I do know is that Toenail has to be clipped from the list.

City Kids and Capers

Lucy has created some sort of alternate universe. No, this is not a first, but this one is a bit different than the others. Yesterday she said, "Mom, can you help me find the child with the spooky eyes?" When I replied that I did not know what the child with the spooky eyes looked like she said, "Just like Harper." She continued looking for said child.
Then she said, "Me and the city kids are searching for the truth." I asked who the city kids were and she said, "LaLa and Heart" (Heart is her stuffed dog that she drags around on a "leash"). When I asked what "the Truth" looked like she said, "I don't know, but we're gonna find it!"
All of this was said while she looked under beds, behind doors, in cabinets and in her toy bags. Harper followed. She was not a City Kid, but the child with the spooky eyes, so her role was limited. I'm not sure if the truth was ever found, but Lucy was busy looking for it for a few hours.

They look alike, they talk alike...

I don't do this much, dress them the same that is, but when I do, it is funny to see this tiny little shadow of Lucy following her around. They are starting to look more alike and dressing them alike only enhances that fact. I don't, however, think they look like twins (I have been asked that on numerous occasions. It seems people think I have one petite 3 1/2 year old and her twin dwarf sister who, well, acts like a baby!) Lucy, of course, notices that they are dressed the same and Harper has started to as well. If they are sitting next to each other Harper will touch her outfit, then Lucy's and repeat over and over again. I'm sure that as a little sister, who just wants to be like her big sister, it is a thrill to look like her. You can always tell them apart though, Harper is the only one that likes to play in the toilet, trash, recycling or dirty laundry.

A slice of life...

Lucy and Harper are absolutely gaga for watermelon these days. Actually, they are consuming the produce aisle and the farmer's market on a daily basis. They just can't get enough of the fresh fruit and vegetables we have around right now. Being tired of tackling stains, I declared that watermelon time was time to strip down. And so they did. It is much easier to hose down a bare chest sticky with fruit juice than it is to clean their clothes each and everytime they drench themselves in juice. They seem to think it adds to the fun as well.

The Big Chill

Our pool was closed due to a broken pipe for the past few weeks. Today it opened- much to Lucy's pure delight! But let me give the background. They fixed the pool, then filled it Thursday. It rained Thursday and Friday with high temps around 70 degrees with very chilly nights. You can do the math, that means the temperature of the pool today was something like FROSTY. To top it off, the morning was cool and cloudy, not helping the temps. But she was not to be deterred.

The minute the clouds parted and the sun came out Lucy and I were on our way. To say it was cold is an undertatement. It was too cold to put a toe in. But there she was, in all her purple-lipped glory dunking herself into the icy waters. It was a polar bear plunge. She spent about 20 minutes running crazy and screaming in the water, even fully submerging herself a few times. Then it was time to warm up and she only went back in up to her ankles after that. But she will be back tomorrow. And the next day and all of those after that. It doesn't snow in June, right?

Roar!

Harper knows that a duck quacks, a cow moos, a dog says "woof!" and a puppy pants. All the other animals, well, according to Harper, they roar! This is her new trick. It started with me showing her zoo animals-tigers, lions, even bears- and telling her that they roar. She then added elephants. Then every other animal. Fish roar, flamingos, owls, penguins, etc. They all roar. A couple nights ago Lucy and I were talking in the kitchen when I heard some noise coming from the girls room. It was Harper, roaring, with lion in hand. She also wants to read "Polar Bear, Polar Bear" and "Panda Bear, Panda Bear" all the time to get to the pages where the animals roar. She then will go back to those pages after we are finished and roar back at the animals. Good-bye Rooster, we have a lion in the house now!

Butterflies!

Lucy wrapped up her second year of preschool this past week. She loved being a "butterfly" in Miss Jennifer's class and was sad that the year was ending. She is not very sure about moving up to the pre-k classes next year as they are considered "the big kids" at school. Miss Jennifer sent home a great memory book that chronicles Lucy's year at school with photos of her and work that she completed month to month. It is great and you can really see the progress she made in coloring, etc. You can also see how much she has grown in the photos- no more baby face.

The grand finale of the year was the program where each class performed a song. They began with a whole school rendition of "Rockin' Robin" (recall that I was in an act that performed Rockin Robin in 5th grade in the school talent show). I wasn't able to get any good photos of that song or video as Lucy was in the middle and was dwarfed by the taller kids around her. What I did capture was her individual class performance of "She'll be Comin' Around the Mountain" (recall that my Pa used to sing this song to me all the time growing up and has many stories about doing so!) Lucy's stage fright took over a bit and she didn't sing very loudly or enthusiasticly, but she did do the motions and did a big bow at the end. I then heard the song at the top of her lungs for the entire rest of the day. Of course, had they added jumping, she would have stolen the show!

What wasn't seen by so many was Harper's response to the program. She danced and danced the whole time and gave a round of applause after each act. She even added a new move to her dance repertoire which usually just consists of bouncing up and down and doing deep knee bends. She added the hip wiggle from side to side. She was pretty proud and entertained many parents around.

Summer days are here again!

You know you are pregnant when...

I just saw Andrew Zimmerman eating something and it looked tasty. No idea what it was, I didn't stay on the channel long enough to see that it was probably some animal testical, brains or some squishy insect fried on a stick. No, I changed the channel and am now just dreaming of the yumminess that must have been.
I went to the doctor today to have my third ultrasound. This was a bonus since they didn't get a good view of little man's face last time so they wanted to check out his nose and mouth. Harper tagged along and Lucy was at school. Here is how the visit went:
8am, finish yoga and begin drinking the requisite 64 ounces of water I am to consume by 9:30.
9am- get Lucy to school and head to the doctor's office, already noting that the little guy is pressing mighty hard on the ol' bladder.
9:30, usually Harper's naptime, but she is happy. We arrive at the doctor's office and sit for 25 minutes until our name is called. No, they are not ready to see me, they just need me to fill out more paperwork (This is the third time with this pregnancy and I was just there a little over a year ago when pregnant with Harper. You would think they would know by now that I do not have an allergy to latex gloves.)
10am-We sit. Harper is all over the place. She is running her matchbox firetruck all over the carpet making vroom, vroom sounds. She is also approaching any other child and standing about 6 inches from them, just staring. She is being good, but we are approaching snack time...
10:15- Harper notices the stereo in the corner of the room. She ventures over to it and begins entertaining the room with her dancing/ deep knee bend moves. My bladder is going to burst. I ask if it is ok if I use the restroom. They smile and say no.
10:30- Harper has had enough dancing and firetruck action. We are onto bugs. She "boings" her blue grasshopper all over me, herself and the person sitting next to me. I begin playing "row row, row your boat with her to keep her happy." Rowing is not good for a full bladder.
10:35. No doc in sight. I decide to take a chance and head to the restroom. I then race to the water cooler to down 4 more cups of water so I am not wasting my trip.
10:45 they call us back one hour and 15 mintues after my scheduled appointment. Harper has to sit in her stroller. No nap. No snack. Long wait. She isn't very happy that she can't see me or can't run around. She lets us know the entire time. But there he is. He is big, according to the ultrasound tech, but is still measuring at 24 weeks. He weighs about 1 lb, 4 oz. His face looks just like a skinny baby Harper and Lucy. His lips are perfect, his nose is perfect. He is yawning and holding his foot up by his head. He showed off just enough to make the wait worthwhile.
10:55- we are leaving. Harper has a snack in hand and is asleep in the car by 11:03. I have more photos of our baby boy and Ian is calling to see how things went. I tell him "perfect".

Strawberry Season!

We headed out with the Butler gang to the Strawberry fields over Memorial Day weekend. I knew Lucy would have a great time and eat her share in the fields. I knew Ian would love seeing friends and getting his hands dirty in the fields. We knew Jamie Butler would be most excited about the cheese fries they serve at the restaurant we visit afterwards. I knew I would be excited about making jam with Bridget the following week. I figured Harper would just be along for the ride. I was wrong.

From the onset, she took command of the field. She saw what we were doing, yelled for a strawberry, was presented one, and it was all systems go from there. She decided to plop herself right down next to a strawberry bush that was brimming with berries and she ate them. All. She would stuff them in her mouth, sandy, with straw still attached, and whole, and eat them one at a time, but about one every second. She was a pig in a, well, strawberry field. Her chin dribbled juice, her clothes were covered in red froth and she would grunt and moan and giggle with pure happiness. It even brought on a bit of a food dance. She would bounce and dance while shoving them in her mouth. It was pure love. Juicy, sticky, color-yourself-red, berry love.

DOT

Ian started work last week at the Department of Transportation in the Inspector General's office. He will be part of the oversight for bailout dollars being used within the department. So far, this has meant very little change for the girls and myself. He leaves and returns at about the same time and I still hear from him during the day. (Because of this, I still think that maybe he just got a reassignment within the CIA. Who knows? I don't just pop in on him at work and he doesn't give much in the way of details. Yep, must be a covert operative. I, clearly, am not.)
For him, it seems to be more of an adjustment. So far the highlight has been that President Obama ate lunch at the 5 Guys burger joint next door. No, Ian wasn't there. But he knew about it before the rest of us. How's that for oversight?

Botanic Garden

Our pool is still not open and it is hot outside. To beat the heat, we invited Deb and the boys to join us at the Botanic Garden for some cool splashing fun. They've added a sandbox so it was a total bonus for the girls to be able to build in the sand. Harper loved playing in the dirt, splashing in the fountains, splashing in her watering can and playing in the sand.

Lucy loved the sandbox the most. She took a lot of pride in building mountains and then watching as rivers formed when she poured water over them with the watering can. She also loved running her hands through the lettuce patches they had planted and running around in the outer gardens with Ronin. You can add going up and down stairs to Harper's favorite pastimes at the garden as well. Lucy can't wait to have a house where we can plant a small garden, a tree and flowers (her priorities, not mine!) Going to the childrens' garden gives her a taste of that fun.

Floor Routine

There is now particular reason why, but some days Harper loves to be on the floor. She just rolls around for the entire afternoon or will just drop down in the middle of doing something to lay flat on the floor. This is one of those days. It always helps when one of her babies or stuffed animals is around, then she just rolls around with them as well.

Hair out of place

Harper loves to brush hair. Mine, hers and Lucy's. Lucy is a pretty good sport, as you can tell. This took place one morning while she dwas watching a tv show. Harper would not relent- she wanted Lucy's hair to be just so. Too bad 'just so' included getting beat in the head and having your hair brushed into your face, all while you are trying to watch tv.