A Lark in the Park

Maisie and I took a little walk to the neighborhood park after dinner today. She gets so excited whenever we go for a walk. She was singing the Dora the Explorer song, "Where are we going? *clap, clap, clap* To the park!"

We had to stop for a little yoga break. She's been doing this pose off and on for over a year, I think. She never gets tired of seeing the world upside-down. Come to think of it, when I was little, I used to hang upside-down from the couch and imagine what it would be like if I could walk on the ceiling. I think Lionel Richie may have had something to do with that.

Later, Maisie saw a little bird walking in the grass and she said, "chicken!" It wasn't a chicken.

Isn't she the sweetest little poser? She likes to

climb up these little rungs so much, that she almost never gets off at the top. She forgets about the slide and just climbs back down so she can climb back up.

Maisie got into a scuffle with a boy who was also playing at the park. Unfortunately, she was the instigator. She tried to push him out of the way and he pushed back. I had to break up the fight before it came to blows. She doesn't know how to share very well yet.

Maisie loves to slide so much that I've been thinking about getting one of those little plastic slides for inside. There is one at the church building that she goes bananas over every Sunday. But for some reason they don't keep it in the nursery, they keep it under the coat rack. So she can never really play with it. I think if they put it in the nursery, she might stay in there without screaming once in a while. That's how much she loves to slide.

On the way home, she had to hug every tree she saw. There were a LOT of trees. She loves nature so much.

Right, left. Right?

Maisie put on her shoes all by herself today. She even fastened the straps. What a big girl! 

Fireworks

On Independence day night, Gavin, Maisie and I went over to the Bryants and set off some fireworks for the kids. Maisie was a little shy at first of the noise and the bright lights, but soon she was jumping up and down with excitement. She yelled, "pop, pop, pop, pop!" Fletcher screamed bloody murder every time one of the fireworks burned out, and no one could figure out whether he was scared or whether he was upset that it was over. The box of sparklers looked about 10 years old, and they turned out to be duds, mostly. The kids had fun anyway, I think.

The lovely stars n' stripes dress was sent by Nana a few months ago. I figured this would be the one day it would be appropriate to wear. Even so, it nearly crosses the line into jingoism. No offense, Nana.

Invisible Sunburn

All this swimming has given me an invisible sunburn. My skin looks normal, but it feels hot and stiff like a sunburn. How is this possible?

The other day we were swimming and Maisie June had a poop inside her swim diaper. It was the messiest thing to clean up EVER. When I took off her swim bottoms the whole thing was smeary with poo, and it was leaking up her back and down her legs. I don't have a very sensitive gag reflex, but this made me vomit inside my mouth just a little. Twenty minutes, one load of laundry, and one bath later she was reasonably clean. Yechh.

I can't wait until she is out of diapers. She goes pee-pee on the potty once in a while, but only if I suggest it. Soon. Soon.

Bacon Tray

Gavin and I were driving home last night when we spotted this vanity plate. I love bacon as much as the next person, but a whole TRAY? That's a bit much, even for me.

Burgers and Benders

Gavin and I ate at Five Guys Burgers and Fries after we saw Transformers 2 (yikes). The burger was very good. I ate at a Five Guys once in Virginia, but I don't remember much about it. It was January at the time and I was VERY cold. That part I do remember. I would recommend the burger, but the fries were soggy. There was a kid eating at another table, and he had one of those t-shirts with the numbers on the back, like a sports team. He was number 25, but above the number was the word BENDER. Is that his name? Or is he just advertising that he is, in fact, a "bender." I pointed him out to Gavin, but he didn't get it. I had to tell him what a bender was. He said I'd been watching too much BBC. Doesn't everyone know it means gay? It's not just a British thing, is it?

Maisie spent the evening with Granny Annie whilst we were at the movies. I think they had a good time. Maisie loves the backyard sandbox. I would get one for our house, but we don't have a backyard. I might put sand in her room instead of carpet.

Colonel Redenbacher, at your service!

Maisie and I went to the neighborhood pool today. She LOVES swimming and splashing and kicking in the little wading pool area. There is a big, like, umbrella-shaped fountain in the middle that kids seem to universally hate. Nobody likes it. Who wants to get splashed with water falling off an umbrella? There is something in the collective unconscious which tells us to avoid it. I say this with all the certainty a degree in anthropology can bestow. Which is quite a lot.

The first time we tried out the wading pool earlier this summer, she accidentally sat down suddenly and kind of tipped over so that her head went under water. This was kind of a spectacular feat because the wading pool is only 1 1/2 feet deep. I pulled her up, and she was coughing and sputtering for a minute, and she cried a little bit. Sad, right? Well, then I sat her down on the edge of the pool, and I noticed something pretty big in her right nostril. Mysterious! So I pinched her nose and out popped...wait for it... a POPCORN KERNEL!

What is the what? How did it get in there? It must have been there for a while because it was split open like it was going to sprout. When was the last time we even had popcorn? I can't remember. Are there more where that came from? Does she have a head full of popcorn? These are only some of the myriad of questions that keep me up late at night.

Here is a short poem about that day:

Water in the nose,
Oh, how it burns!
Kernel splits and grows,
Everybody learns.

Also, tell me if this is fair: Maisie and I wore the same sunscreen, stayed out in the sun for the same amount of time, and share half of the same genes. She came home with a golden tan, while I got some new freckles. Verdict is... not fair.

There are a lot of VERY tan people at the pool. They have leathery lizard skin. There are also a lot of people in bikinis who should NEVER be in bikinis. They have more surface area than a small scrap of spandex can reasonably be expected to hold. The categories often overlap.

Another thought about the pool: how much pee is in there? Probably a lot. I started thinking about this after Maisie June tasted the water and pronounced it, "yummy!" She went around with her tongue out, licking the surface of the water. That's my girl!