Fast Car

Molly has discovered the joy of driving with the windows down (except in this car, there aren't actually any windows), scenery rushing by (as fast as the human-engine will go), hair blowing in the wind... okay not so much (although she IS getting more hair. Really). The little car that some of her cousins have loved before her is now in her hands when she goes to my parents' house for a visit. It's been modified with a rope so that a watchful adult can vroom vroom vroom his or her way around the yard. These particular pictures are from a few weeks ago but Molly enjoyed the car again this morning. A last minute canoe trip came together in Maine yesterday so we loaded ourselves and Grammy, who had been here helping/saving us while John's away, into the car and paddled away with some grandparents, an aunt, uncles and cousins in the sunshine for the afternoon. Molly did not paddle and, in fact, required a chaperon to keep her from launching herself out of the boat and into the water. It was a beautiful day... and it made us excited for some more beautiful days this week when we head to Florida to visit with Nana and Grandpa! Bring on the sunshine (and sunscreen... Molly experienced her first dome burn this weekend. Once again, Molly = Mini John).

In the Heat of the Night

Our little house is on the 1800s air conditioning plan... that is, there is none and the upstairs gets HOT. Regular jammies weren't really going to happen so Molly and I settled on a t-shirt that allowed her to be cool, seem like a big girl in a nightgown, and, most importantly, pull it up to see her belly button (which she calls her butta -- wha?).

Hew newest constant companion -- her new toothbrush -- has also been a good distraction since her goldfish died yesterday (I'm not sure what she had against her old toothbrush but this one is like a little slice of heaven in her hand). I thought those things were going to live F-O-R-E-V-E-R. I'm not really all that into domestic aquatic life so I can't say I shed any tears. Molly bid adieu by watching them swirl down in the toilet and said "bye bye fishies."

Summer Lady

Not exactly summer yet it was hot enough this weekend to make us go running for the beach, kiddie pool, and hose. Technically, I was trying to garden and water plants but I guess little people need water to grow big and strong too.

Sippy cups are for babies. Real women drink it straight.

Someone started off dry, and then a little bit damp, and then...

full on soaked.

Oh stop it. Stop it, please...

It's fun to pretend to want to run away... and then beg for it not to stop. I thought Molly was going to get a cramp from signing for more.

Can this get any better?

Ah, Spring

Nothing says spring like no pants.

Maybe We Should Have Named Her Sandy?

Last summer, we were told that if Molly ate a little bit of sand, it wouldn't be a problem and would pass right through her digestive tract. She took that to heart and now Plum Island is eroding before our eyes, thanks to Molly's ingestion of large amounts of sand from their beaches. While I don't have any empirical evidence to prove that she's the culprit, I think it's far more likely than that other scenario, like Mother Nature or global warming. Figuring the older and "wiser" Molly would have figured out that sand tastes like buttkis, I didn't anticipate a problem with her and her inaugural experience with Grammy and Grampy's sand box. As has happened on multiple occasions when it comes to "knowing" something about the Energizer Bunny, I was dead wrong. When I was up there dropping her off last weekend, she climbed in and promptly took a fistful of sand and inserted in her chompers. Undeterred, despite some "nooooooooooooooooooooos" from Grampy and myself, she munched away. The sound is worse than fingers on a chalkboard, especially because she has a lot more teeth than last summer.

In my absense, it does appear that she moved away (at least a little) from eating the sand and discovered instead that it's more comfortable wearing it. Maybe I am happy that she is still sporting a mullet because it's easy to brush sand out of the three wisps on top.

Once...

Twice...

Three times a (sandy) lady.

Not even a little sand in the pants keeps a smile away from this messy hound.

The Bunny Trails: Part Deux

For the past (roughly) six years, I've gotten awfully used to being able to refer to "the girls" when I talk about my brother and sister-in-law's kids. John also only had a niece (and now nieces) so I got myself a-plenty used to thinking about pink boas (or something along those lines) when I thought about those kids. Now, Evan has changed the equation (in the best way possible), but luckily he's giving me some time to get used to the switcharoo and hasn't quite gotten himself in a position to play on the swing set with the older crew.

We ended our bunny adventures a few weeks ago in Old Town with an Easter brunch and good old fashioned Easter egg hunt, of which Molly did her part by holding her basket and collecting absolutely no eggs. She was much better at her self directed activities, like eating, wearing, and tossing sand.



She also decided to become master of someone else's domain and took up squatting in her cousins' house. She did let Grampy in but kept the others on a strict visiting protocol.




This kid couldn't have been happier had the Easter bunny himself popped out of the woods. Between the sand, a door to open and close on the house, and a big slide -- yowza!



She obviously hadn't realized, however, that slides can be gone up as well. Every kid I know likes to go up as much as down. I want to ask what's fun about slipping and falling on your face but I'll hold my inquiry back.



Now Molly is one of the bigger kids who isn't sliding off the older ones' laps. Evan has taken the place of the slippery banana. Here are the two blondies, Nelly no hair, and el carrot top Evan "I have more hair than my older cousin" Gerbi.

Dream Weekends

I will post the rest of our Easter adventures this week. Sorry I didn't get to it last week but I ended up getting tied up preparing for this weekend's trips and we were once again battling illnesses. My dearly hilarious and hijinxing friend, Ellen, got married in Chicago on Saturday and John and I made our first trip sans Molly. Oh my goodness, the luxury of sitting on a plane and reading (or programming, pick your poison)... the unfettered sleep... the adult clothing (I mean dresses and suits)... it was a wonderful break from the typical action. Molly stayed with my parents and had a wonderful time from the sounds of it. Lots of exploring, kitty chasing, cozy coupe riding, moss/acorn gathering, and plenty of hugs and kisses -- a dream weekend in its own right.

I'll get pictures of Molly's weekend later on but I wanted to try and sneak in one last post before Ellen and her new husband, John, head off to Greece for a couple of weeks. Just want to make sure they know how much fun we had and how great it was to spend time with them and some other hi-larious friends, Laurie and Uncle Pete. All weddings are wonderful and I love them so, so much. I love to cry at them, love to dance at them, love to yell Bon Jovi lyrics at many of them. We have been lucky enough to attend (and preside over and DJ) some very, very special ones. This one, however, was one of the most poignant weddings I have ever been to. When I say that the speeches left not a dry eye in the house, I mean it. For various reasons, the mother of the bride, the best man, and the groom's speeches were so incredibly touching and heartfelt, it reminded everyone there why they love their partners, their kids, their siblings, and their parents so very much. I couldn't do justice if I tried to recreate their tributes, but it reminded me (and now, I hope, you) to pay a moment of homage to the loved ones in our lives.

Happy honeymoon, Palski.

In the meantime, being in Chicago left me missing our hometown boys. Molly accessorized with John's hat recently to show her where her true loyalties lie.


Oh, I'm sorry. Are these not clear? It's because this child doesn't. stop. moving. I was reading an article on the plane about the reduction of emissions and alternative energy sources and all that jazz and I suddenly thought... I could probably eliminate our family's dependence on oil if I could somehow harness this little engine that could's energy. Solar schmolar, I'm attaching a battery storage cell to this one and reducing my carbon footprint.