going camping

E and I are going camping with a friend in the mountains, just overnight. We'll see how this goes. The friends have a little girl 2 weeks older than Emma and they camp a lot, so I expect to pick up some tips.

"50 Ft. Baby" - The Making Of

mural bridge

This bridge is in Frederick, Maryland. The stones and scuptures, even the vines, are really one big mural painting. David's friend knew this was something he would need to see.

Daddies catching up on old times.

another DC attraction

Riding on the luggage cart in the hotel.

telephone conversation

Last week E talked to me on the phone for the first time. She had said "bye bye" to her grandma once, but this time "the penny dropped" as they say (i.e., she suddenly got it). Or at least partially. David was keeping her and called me at work. He put her on the phone and told her to say bye-bye. She wasn't saying anything, so I started babbling. I said, "Emma, this is Mommy." And she said, incredulously, "Mommy???" And then she started babbling. I heard her next few sentences as worried, with "mommy" sprinkled in there a few times. I imagined her saying, "Mommy's in the phone and can't get out." David said she was fine, not worried, and forgot about me right after we hung up.

But the next day David's cellphone rang and Emma said, "Mommy!"

Also this past week she has been saying "Daddy" again. She had stopped for a while. Now she enjoys saying both Mommy and Daddy as part of her daily narration. She'll hold up my hat and say "Mommy," or the plate David used for lunch and say "Daddy." I really like this! And it's fun to tell her "Go show Daddy," or "Ask Daddy to help you."

And she's back into shoes again. First thing every morning, she wants all of us to put on our shoes. I complied for a short time but now I argue back, "But Emma I don't want to put on my shoes yet." And David just pretends not to understand when she treks across the house to carry his big sandals to him. He just says, "Yes, it's shoes." So maybe she'll stop hassling us soon. There's one pair right now, of the shoes that fit her, that she can put on herself. She's happy just wearing one of them, for hours, if the other is temporarily missing. And she doesn't get yet that I can't wear her shoes. She keeps insisting, as if maybe I'll like hers better than mine!

carousel at washington mall

Emma and I rode the carousel while Daddy was doing something else.

anticipating her turn

As you can tell, she wasn't exactly relaxed, but she wasn't upset either.

It went surprisingly fast, fast enough to blow back our hair. We were the only ones on it! And I wasn't confident enough to let go of E in order to stand back and take a picture. All of these shots were one-handed.

zoo again

tired girl

need advice

Anyone know how to get the mildew out of the inside of a rubber duck?

the panda series

Monday June 4 we went to the National Zoo. It was hot.

E and the baby panda - can you see him?

panting hot baby panda

smarter adult panda in the A/C enclosure

adult panda playing with a milk crate

50 ft baby

Caption Contest! Post a comment with your suggestions.

rainy vacation day

Stoic Daddy pushing the stroller down the steps in the rain, outside the Native American Museum. The umbrella was for Emma, but he couldn't hold it in place while maneuvering down the steps. He didn't really want to stop and pose for a photo either! We didn't take the big canopied stroller on this trip - no room in the car - so we gave her a wide-brimmed hat and the water resistant diaper changing pad to drape over her lap.

That night (June 3rd) we visited one of my high school friends. Her kids did a great job of entertaining the toddler.

Seven Things Tag?

Marie "tagged" me so I think it's my turn to reveal "7 things you might not know about me" (depending who you are).

1. I wasn't as precocious as Marie, but Sam Whatsisname stole my idea. When I was about 9 (circa 1975) I had what I thought was an original idea: I'd have a store that had the lowest prices anywhere and everyone would come there because of the low prices. It would help poor people and I might still get rich.

2. I wrote a screenplay last month and entered it in a contest! The title is Moving the Universe Along. No, you can't read it yet. I'm having serious "page fright".

3. I wrote novels in high school and college for course credit. I think they're awful, and it will be embarrassing later when I'm famous and someone digs them up.

4. I don't have (never had) wisdom teeth or frontal sinuses -- which apparently develop around age 12 in most people.

5. My birthday is a holiday in England, "Guy Fawkes Day" or "Bonfire Night".

6. I keep a horribly unclean house, but my family and I are healthier than most people - if I didn't just jinx it by typing that.

7. I hate being ignored. If you want to push my buttons, that's the way to do it. But why would anyone want to do that???

I know very few people who read this who keep a blog themselves, so hmmm, let's see. Boback, what about you? "Tag!"

D and E on the Metro

It was a rainy Sunday and Emma was tired as we headed out to the Mall.

gravelly

This park, Gravelly Point, is a nice wide open space for a toddler to run around in. It's on the river, and she liked to go to the edge and say "splash? splash?" She also loved the gravel. It kept her still temporarily.

priceless photo

David took this picture on June 2nd when he took E to the Air & Space Museum by Dulles airport. (http://www.nasm.si.edu/udvarhazy/). I think I'm going to order some prints of this one! I was visiting with a friend/former colleague in Alexandria. This was the first full day of our vacation.

little girl and the plane

Emma can say "plane" now. This was taken at Gravelly Point (?) a park where people go to watch planes.

we're back and blogging

Hi everyone, it's good to be back. We spent a week on vacation in the Washington DC area. Visited friends in Alexandria, Frederick, and Baltimore. It was a good trip, and E handled it well. She was sick of riding in the car by the last day -- I was too.

First vacation accomplishment:

learning to snap closed one of those plastic buckles (what are they called, anyway?)

A pensive pose at a park