It's Normal, Right?

The above picture was Hadley's afternoon project. 

Color coordinated.

All facing the same direction.

Don't mess.

It seems appropriate to record a few conversations Hadley and I have had recently (or those I've overheard) because, well, they're worth recording.

Hadley's pretty interested in how things are spelled.  She likes to say things like, "I think my sister, H-A-R-P-E-R is hungry." or, "Are you going to take H-A-D-L-E-Y to the park?"  She also continually asks how things are spelled.  It can get a little tiring.  Like today, when "Go, Diego Go!" was on, we had this conversation:

"Mom, how do you spell, 'go'?"

"G-O."

"OK, how do you spell, 'Diego'?"

"D-I-E-G-O."

"And how do you spell, 'G-O'?"

"G-O."

"Good job, Mom."

Recently, Hadley has decided that butts are extremely funny.  This part of Hadley has definetely come from my genes.  Jesse has learned to appreciate the humor in the word "butt" but I think for him it has developed over time.  It's not intrinsic, like with me and Hadley.  Anyway, Hadley and Harper were in the living room the other day and Hadley was trying to teach Harper what her name is.

"Harper, what is your name?"

"Mama!"

"No, you're name is Harper."

"Let's try again.  Harper, what is your name?"

"Mama!"

"No, it's HARRRRRPERRRR."

Then there was a very long pause, a bit of a snicker, and then Hadley says:

"Harper, what is your name?" (she's giggling so much she can hardly get the question out)

"Mama!"

"No, you're name is Butt!"

I was in the bedroom making the bed so luckily I could enjoy the well-crafted joke before putting my "Mom face" on and telling Hadley that she cannot, under any circumstances, tell her sister that her name is "Butt."

And last, dealing with Hadley is hilarious but exhausting.  It seems that she is always one step ahead of me.  The other day I was so angry with her (I forgot why; it probably had to do with explaining that the bathroom is not a recreational area).  I said to her, "Hadley, if you don't cut it out, we are not going anywhere!  No parks, no splash park, no library, no nothing!"

She looked at me for a minute and then said, "What about Starbucks?  Will we still go to Starbucks?"

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

On Saturday we went to the Nationals/Orioles game in Baltimore.

You can't not be excited about baseball when you know Jesse, but even if you weren't this ballpark is really nice.  We spent some time exploring before we sat down to watch the game.

It's always a party if there's a moonbounce.  That's what I always say anyway.

Hadley had a good time jumping inside, but Harper didn't want to have anything to do with it. She'll understand how wonderful moonbounces are soon enough.

I'm not sure what you call this part, but in between the stadium and the warehouse on the right is this really cool alleyway with restaurants. 

Jesse and I were prepared to maybe watch a few minutes of the game here and there, but once we got to our seats, Hadley was hooked.  She kept telling Jesse, "Thanks for taking me to this baseball game, Daddy. I'm having so much fun!"  You can imagine how disappointing that was for Jesse to hear.  I think he was ready to buy season tickets before we left the ballpark.

Harper was busy writing her memoirs.

The girls especially liked when everybody clapped and cheered.  Always ready for a good time, the two of them clapped right along and yelled, "YEA!" with everybody else.  Hadley also enjoyed dancing and playing on the stairs and railings in between the innings.

We stayed for most of the game, and left around the 8th inning.  But not before we got some ice-cream!

I'd say all four of us were happy campers.

A Post Where I Don't Mess Up The Baking

I'm not sure why, but on Father's Day, I like to bake Jesse cupcakes.  They're so cute, just like him.  I usually make him coconut cupcakes using Ina Garten's recipe in her Barefoot Contessa cookbook.  They're delicious, but I'm not a one recipe kind of gal.  I get confident in the kitchen and decide I'd rather mix things up before mastering one recipe.  That's usually when disaster sets in, but past experiences have taught me nothing.

This year, I wanted to try these deliciuos looking things.  This is my new favorite blog.  Besides mine, of course.  It is so hilarious, and the recipes look so good I don't know whether to laugh or bake.  So I do both.

The girls helped me, of course.

A muffin pan for each, and a stack of muffin cups for each.  The girls take pride in doing their OWN work.

I let the girls try the batter before we baked it.  This recipe didn't call for eggs, so I figured it'd be OK.  Harper would have none of it, but Hadley would've gladly eaten the entire bowl if I let her.   On another note, I think Harper's hemline is pushing the boundary a bit.

This picture cracks me up.  It captures their personalities so well.  Hadley dives right in, completely oblivious to the world around her.  Harper sits back and observes, planning her next move.

Harper's on to other things, Hadley's still savoring the moment.

She could try out for a Dove chocolate commercial.

Helping me put the peanut butter frosting on the cupcakes:

They turned out to be quite delicious, and Jesse enjoyed them, too.  Nothing like the Afro Brownies of '09.

The Beach

Saturday we took a trip to Deleware to spend some time at the beach.

Here's a shot of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge:

Another shot from the bridge.

The day was a perfect day to go because it wasn't humid, and there were lots of clouds, so just when you thought it was too hot, you'd get a little relief from the clouds.  There was a nice breeze, too.

The girls loved it.  They played in the sand for hours.

They also enjoyed the water. 

This was a huge difference for Hadley from the last time we took her to the beach.  She hated it.

But she really enjoyed the water this time around.

Harper had a great time too and literally played until she crashed.

Taking two kids to the beach is no day at the beach, let me tell ya.  But it was fun.  The "new fun" in our household.  Definetely worth all the preparations it took to get there.

We Went Anyway

I'd planned on going to the Splash Park in Germantown today, except that the forecast had not just rain, but severe thunderstorms in it. 

But I packed.  And looked for a bathing suit.  And wrote it down on my planner, for Pete's sake.  I HATE writing something down on my planner and not being able to cross it off.  So we went.

And we were the only people there.  It was so cool!

Harper's saying, "Seriously, Mom?  With this bikini?  This thing is ridiculous!"

Just a little apprehensive....

"You gonna turn into a prince later?"

We all had a good time, and I get to cross something off my list.  Life is good.

Discovery Room

It takes a little advanced planning, but in the summer I love to take the girls to the Discovery Room at our library.  There are two rooms in the library filled with toys that parents can reserve for an hour at a time, and let their kids play.  I like going in the summer because of the insane heat that comes to live in the DC area.  But the rooms fill up fast so I have to reserve them weeks in advance, hence the advanced planning.
Yesterday we were in my favorite of the two rooms.  This one is smaller, but it has great big windows that I can look out at the neighborhood while the girls play.

Isn't this the cutest little grocery stand?

Harper is on a very important conference call.

Like I mentioned, the girls played, and I got to do this:

I took this picture and was reminded of the book Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith.  The book's story is told through a series of letters written by the main character.  In one of the letters, the woman tells a friend, who must've been overwhelmed with several responsibilities, to pour herself a cup of coffee and put her feet up.  I think that's great advice.

Once are hour was up, the girls and I went around the corner to Starbucks for a snack.

One hand on the juice, one hand on the donut.  No one will get hurt as long as you all stay away from my snack, understand?

And when the music's good, sometimes you just gotta stand on your chair and dance.