splish splash!

Although Marlo seems to be curious about and enjoy almost everything, lately she is especially intrigued by water. She bounces and kicks every time I turn on a faucet, and now that she sits up in a bathtub and can splash and play... well, bathtime is pure joy. I know a lot of parents give their children nightly baths to unwind and get ready for bed. This would not work for either of my kids. Hayden still plays--rowdily--in the shower and bath and Marlo is non-stop motion anywhere near water. I let her sit in the shower and she kicked at the water for 15 straight minutes, fascinated. I can't wait to get her in a swimming pool if we ever have summer here.

Vacation!

After a troublesome start (2 missed connections and a 13 hour travel day), our trip to Hilton Head was a relaxing success. Marlo was a demon on the first couple of planes and an angel thereafter. Hayden, as usual, was my good traveler. Ben and I were grouchy and pretty much homicidal by the time we made it to Atlanta, but we recovered admirably.

This trip had some firsts. Hayden caught his first fish and rode his first horse. Marlo popped her first tooth and had her first bath in a "big bathtub." And this year, no one had shingles, no one broke into our house in Minneapolis, and no bridges collapsed! As always we ate good food and played good cards (or bad cards, depending on the game and the night). And as always, a good time was had by all. We just wish the country were a bit smaller so we wouldn't have to travel so far!

Hat Trick

So Hayden's in hockey. Twice a week Hayden undergoes this Midwestern rite of passage. Ben wrestles him into an absurd amount of protective gear. The padding serves to protect Hayden when he randomly sits down on the ice. You know, to rest. Sometimes he goes into a full sprawl, spread-eagled. The other kids try to get around him, but no one in his group can exactly skate, so there are a lot of pile-ups. Sometimes the kids scrimmage. They move as a pack (a slow pack) after the puck. Someone swats at it with a stick, usually in the wrong direction. Every once in a while, the puck will dribble into a goal. Hayden often participates in the scrimmages by sitting down. On the ice. He's not grumpy about it. Apparently he just wants to take a breather, or maybe watch the other group of kids play. The coaches have taken to nudging him in the butt with their sticks to get him moving.

The whole thing is pretty comical. But to Big H's credit, he couldn't even really stand when he started, and now he is sort of half-skating. One time he stuck his stick out and even scored a goal. And last week, he didn't sit down once, except when another kid accidentally crashed into him and took out his legs. It's progress, for sure.

Enjoy. Hayden is the kid that is either reclining on the ice, or, when moving, sporting the #10, mismatched socks, and a black helmet.

Baby Parts

We get really great light in our house in the winter. Marlo likes to play in front of the window, so I decided to try and document some of those little baby parts that disappear so quickly: squishy little ears, non-existent wrists, monkey feet...