Memo Received

She got the memo... Nutella is amazing.

Waning Days of Warmth

I have never lived anywhere that I couldn't smell the imminence of fall. I wonder what it would be like, how I would cope, if I couldn't feel the air cooling and smell the leaves crispening and watch the twilight fall earlier. I am wistful and hopeful all at the same time. In honor of the imminence of fall, and to savor the waning days of warmth, we mounted the Swan Boats in the public garden this past weekend. I don't know why we are so delusional to think that Baby Girl would be kicking back and just letting the college kids pedal her along the Public Garden basin, like she was just going to sit and admire the romance of the weeping willows (WE REALLY BE TRIPPIN'?!?).

Of course, once on the boat, Baby Girl immediately wanted to reach over into the duck poop-laden water. She was not impressed with the lack of hilly inclines, the lack of musical accompaniment. Rather, the little man-mad slab of cement where the "Duck makes the poopy" made the biggest impression on her, and no doubt it would on you, too, if you were 19 months-old.

First Day of School

It kind of reminded of a group home for recovering addicts. All the other kids were well-adjusted, going through the very regimented routine of putting away blocks and playing wooden instruments, and they all looked at my kid, the new kid, in a way that was assuring, like, "Hey, man. This place ain't so bad once you get used to it. Food's really good. I think you'll really like it here." Meanwhile, Baby Girl was going ape. She's not really used to a routine, or sitting in a chair for purposes other than eating or watching Elmo on Youtube. Plus, suddenly she had carte blanche to all these groovy toys, all tailored to her height, and why would she want to sit on a rug with all these other kids and listen when there were BIG BALLS to play with, when there was a dolly AND a dolly stroller that NO ONE ELSE WAS USING!?!?

First day of Big Girl School went pretty okay. Her daily report said only one meltdown at lunch and a boycott of the nap, but otherwise, she was a cool customer. I kept wanting to go back and snuggle her and bring her home to nap in her own crib, but I know this is a good thing for all of us and, just like a group home, it's where she needs to be :)

***

You gotta start the first day of school with a brand new pair of kicks, man.

Giving herself achievement stickers before she had even left home.

After school, she had rightly earned a faceful of stickers. So proud of Baby Girl.