Triumphant Travelers

We hit the road shortly before 9:30, off like a herd of turtles. Turns out it was exactly the right time to depart, based on Greta's schedule. She enjoyed some cheerios for the first 15 minutes of the drive, and by minute 24, was in the Land of Nod. She slept for a glorious 98 minutes, and awoke quite happy (although she did appear a bit surprised to find that she was still in a moving vehicle). All was well (thank goodness for Gerber "Puffs") until we were literally two miles from our planned rest stop in Pine Grove. But a two minute meltdown is minor in the scheme of what I thought would be an 8+ hour day.

At Pine Grove, we enjoyed cheeseburgers, french fries, and milk at the McDonald's Play Place. Greta is too little to crawl through the contraption, but she enjoyed watching the other screeching children hustle over and around her. I let her play with the dirty Lego table and wall puzzles, making sure we scrubbed up as soon as she was done (before her fingers could find their way into her mouth, where she seems to like the feel of her new teeth).

She didn't protest at all when I strapped her back into the car seat, played nicely for about 40 minutes, and then started to fuss. No toy or book seemed to appease her. Then I remembered the bag of goldfish crackers and all was right with the world. Another nap, this time 50 minutes, waking briefly at Binghamton to cry for two minutes before dozing off again (I think she just wanted to roll over and couldn't). I am so glad she fell asleep because we sat in traffic for 25 minutes crawling two miles until we passed some kind of accident.

She woke up when we were just 30 minutes from Grandma's. Again, a rather confused look, but I quickly replaced that with a smile by giving her a blueberry muffin. We arrived safe and sound at 4:30. After getting the lay of the land at Grandma's, we helped shuck corn for dinner. Mom had just put the chicken in the oven when I went outside to unload the car. I smelled smoke, but thought someone was burning their dinner. Then I heard Mom yell "The utility pole is on fire!" I turned around, and saw the smoke and flames shooting up the pole just across the street. Fortunately, Greta still had her fire chief hat in the car, so she was the first on the scene. She enjoyed watching the police cars and fire trucks, although I think she was disappointed they didn't seek her assistance.

After all the excitement was over, we realized that Grandma and Grandpa had lost electricity, cable, and phone service. No chicken and corn for dinner! So it was off to Tulley's, where Greta enjoyed tilapia, fettucine, fresh tomatoes, garlic bread, and mashed potatoes (I tried to make up for McD's). We got home at 7:30, and following bath and books, she was asleep at 8:15.

I have some good pics to post, but I'm not ambitious enough to figure out how to hook up our camera to the computer. Might get around to it tomorrow, or you might have to wait until Rob gets here on Wednesday night!

Smiley Saturday

"Greta smiled more today than I have ever seen her."
--Caregiver Nancy, Ft. Myer Child Development Center, Aug. 25, 2006

That's what Nancy wrote on Greta's daily report on Friday. We think Greta's happiness was related to the fact that she won't go back there until Sept. 5! She and Mommy are on vacation as of right now -- on their way to Syracuse. It's a 6 1/2 hour trip without a child. Nobody ever said my wife wasn't brave.

We had a terrific Saturday. Greta's waking up an hour earlier these days, so I got up with her at 5:30, then we woke up Mommy around 6:30. By 7 we were out the door, on our way to our favorite bagel shop, where Greta enjoyed The Biggest Strawberry Bagel Ever. About the size of her face, as you can see in the photo. She ate probably a third of it. After breakfast, we checked out a playground nearby at Key Elementary School (Greta loves ramps, just walking up and down them, proud as can be about her mobility). From the playground, it was a stroll through the Arlington Farmer's Market, then a brief drive to Hains Point, a spit of land that juts into the Potomac River between Ft. McNair and National Airport. We wanted to show her the sculpture called "The Awakening," because Carey read somewhere that it's going to be dug up. Apparently it wasn't ever supposed to be permanent, but it's been here since 1995 when I first moved here. Greta enjoyed checking it out; she was scared at first by the gigantic old man's face clawing out of the ground, but Mommy told her it was OK. She enjoyed the ducks more, who enjoyed the rest of The Biggest Strawberry Bagel Ever. Here are a couple photos, then a link to the full slideshow.

Link to full slideshow (14 photos).

Post-Work Playtime

Rob made me promise to fill people in on Greta's evenings. Of course, last night I had lots of cute stories: how funny she was when I picked her up from the CDC, how she shoveled hamburger into her mouth at dinnertime, her fascination with the little caterpillar we found in a flower box outside, and her mocking attempt to put sidewalk chalk in her mouth because she knows she isn't supposed to. I swear I saw the devil in her eyes on more than one occasion--she can be so mischievous!

So tonight I took the camera with me when we went to play outside. And of course, nothing nearly as darling happened this evening. She liked watching a bumblebee in the neighbor's flower bed (and she can almost say "bumble"), she played with the two rocks she brought back from the playground on Sunday, she enjoyed reaching for leaves and realized she can pull herself up on the branches, and she tried to smell the (almost dead) hydrangea. No adorable stories, just simple things, yet very sweet.

Missing her already

I don't get on the train to New York for another hour or so, but I'm missing Greta already! She left with Mommy to daycare about 30 minutes ago. Mommy promises to blog at least once in my absence (I'll be home late Thurs. night). She shared a couple great stories last night but never has the camera with her to document them. So like a game of Telephone, I'll tell the stories and see how much they change in the re-telling.

Once again yesterday at daycare, when Carey arrived to pick her up, Greta did her super-fast toddle/walk/jog toward her, threw herself into Mommy's arms, then turned around to each of the kids still waiting for their parents and said, "BUH-BYE!" We've raised a spiteful child.

When they got home, Demon Child surfaced for a bit. At dinner time, Carey asked Greta if she wanted hamburger and Greta nodded. So Carey started to get it out of the fridge, and when Greta saw it, she got a glint in her eye, then thrust her hand into the tupperware, grabbed a fistful of ground meat, and shoved it in her mouth. She knows to wait until she's in the high chair, of course, but she loves testing us to see what's really wrong and what's just playful.

OK, I'm off. Daddy loves Greta.

Sunday fun

Sunday dawned bleary-eyed ... Greta cut a molar Saturday night and howled about it from 2-5 a.m. If you're keeping score, that's four teeth, none of them fully distended. Two uppers, one adjacent to those uppers, and a top, right molar. Strange kid.

She slept until 8, but still, we all woke up tired. Didn't stop us from driving to Vienna, Va., to see our Air Force friends Brian & Jenny Bengs, who just moved here from Louisiana so Brian can get his LLM in International Law at George Washington Univ. They have a lovely split-level ranch just outside the Beltway. Close enough to get into the city when they want but far enough out to have a two-car "carport" and a lawn with a tire swing. Greta enjoyed exploring a new space, crawling up the stairs between levels and generally following the Bengs' 3-year-old, Sadie, around the house. They also have a newborn, almost 6 months, named Imogen. Sadie's proper name is Mercedes. Yes, Mercedes Bengs. We never said the Air Force attracted "normal" people. :-) We left their place around 1130, hoping Greta would fall asleep on the drive home and then transfer easily to her crib. She managed the first part, but woke up about 10 minutes after being put in her crib. So just a 45-minute nap. I fetched her while Mommy took a well-deserved 2 1/2 hour nap to try and recover from the sleepless night of teething. We had lunch (diced pears and cheese!) played with every toy downstairs and went for a "ride" in her plastic car. When Mommy woke up around 3, she and Greta went to the community playground while I watched Tiger Woods' coronation at the PGA Championship. I can't swing a club and don't even really want to, but I can watch that guy hit the little white ball all day. Strange, I know. Around 5, we drove a couple miles to Barnes & Noble, where Greta eschewed the Thomas the Tank Engine train set for the amphitheater area where she could crawl and sit/stand in the toddler Adirondack chairs, as you can see in the lead photo. Here are a few more from the weekend.
Sadie dragged out her Barbies to show Greta...

Greta was way too excited about the nail polish.

She also liked the 32" TV, which makes Daddy think that ours at home, a paltry 27", should be flatter, wider, and maybe plasma.

A "Fair" Saturday

Standard Saturday morning: up at 7, enjoyed a breakfast bar and some playing with the shape sorter while Mommy and Daddy took showers, then headed to Daddy's most favorite bagel place EVER: Brooklyn Bagel Shop in Clarendon, where Greta had a second breakfast of strawberry bagel, mixed fruit, and ham from Mommy's breakfast sandwich. Really liked watching the bagel-maker stir and cut the dough.
Then it was across the street to the farmer's market where Greta waved at almost everyone who was there once she finished her bagel. She is remarkably friendly toward strangers, which we should probably be a little worried about. Daddy bought three Asian pears and Mommy bought a HUGE pot filled with different plants for the deck, which Daddy thinks will be dead in about three weeks. From the market, we headed to the commissary, with a pit stop at the playground to ride the triceratops and run off some excess energy before being strapped in the shopping cart. Mommy and Daddy made it all the way to aisle 9 before someone decided she had ridden long enough.

After we got home from the market, Greta took a 100 minute nap, during which time Mommy packed up all the bottles and tops and threw out all the nipples. It's official: NO MORE BOTTLES! She was down to a few sips of water from a bottle just before bed, but after refusing it the last two nights, we figured she was done. Our goal was 31 August, so we are very proud of her.

Post nap, we ate lunch at home and then met up with Jennie-Bob and Sadie Bengs and Mommy's co-worker Melinda at the Arlington County Fair. It was Greta's first fair experience (we don't count the Renaissance Fair we went to last year...she slept through most of it) and she had a wonderful time. So much to see: flags on top of the gaming booths flying in the breeze, colors and lights and balloons everywhere, rides spinning in circles, and people, people, people! Greta LOVES to watch people. And so much to do: ride the carousel with Daddy, pat the donkey at the petting zoo, win a noise maker at the ducky pickup, eat her first ice cream cone by herself, ride the choo choo train with Mommy, taste banana jam and deep fried oreos, and run up and down the ramp at the playground.
The afternoon flew by, and we could hardly wait to get home and take a dip in the pool to cool off. After a half-hour of splashing around, she had chicken, corn, and mac & cheese for dinner (although she didn't really eat much corn, she just put pieces in her mouth and then spit them out). We washed up at the sink after dinner and only made it through three books before starting to doze in Mommy's arms. What a day (click here to see more pictures)!

Greta's Fab Vocab

Polonius: What do you read, my lord?
Hamlet: Words, words, words.

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Act II Scene 2 (1594)

She can't read yet, but her word list is quite impressive for a 15-month-old! Makes you forget she actually came two months early. She may look like Daddy, but she talks like her mother!

Da-da/Daddy, Ma-ma/Mommy, 'Nana (Banana), Hi, Ball, Shhh, Pop, Around, Bye-bye, Rock, Sit, Walk, Roar, Wa-wa (Water), Um-e-num-e-num (Yummy), Meow, More, Shoes, Turtle, Duck, Da Done (All done), Star, Moon, Baby, Choo-choo, 'Ni-night, Bottle, Bubble, Up.

Sink bath

Greta didn't want to take a bath in the tub tonight for some reason, so we improvised. She also felt like multi-tasking, so we gave her a toothbrush or three.


When she was done, we told her to shake like a dog to dry off, but she had a better idea.

Health update: No UTI, so doc says it was a virus. No fever or vomiting since Tues. a.m., but daycare ladies said she was lethargic and not playful today. Probably just pissed to be back at the place.

There will be sunshine after rain

After four miserable nights of fever dreams and late-night wailing, The Princess looks to have kicked what ailed her. She slept from 8pm-6:30am and woke up ravenous. Shoveled diced pears down her throat like they were chocolate and is now at daycare where she will see what virus she's up for next. Anyway, some promised photos:

102 degrees and climbing on Monday morning...

Feeling better Mon. afternoon after 2 gallons of Motrin and enjoying a snack. Note the new outfit; first one covered with milk vomit.

She made a new spot for the Merrill family portrait; moved it from the glass two-tiered table to the foot of the stairs. She doesn't say "Da-Da" anymore when she looks at it, but she always points at Grandma instead. Actually tried to feed Grandma a cinnamon oatmeal cookie on Monday. Sorry, Mom, doesn't say "Grandma" yet. Does say about 25 other words though, which Carey has started writing down. I'll have her put the list in the blog tonight.

The doctor says...

Sorry to have hijacked this blog with medical updates, but it's a good way to get the news to family. Greta had a decent day yesterday while I was home with her, but continued to spike fevers while sleeping. She then had an awful night... full-throat screaming for more than an hour at one point. Temp of 103.9 that again came down with 4 cc's of Motrin. Carey is home with her today and just got back from the doctor. They took a urine sample to check for a UTI. Results by the end of the week. The antibiotics cleared up her ear infection, that's the good news. When she's awake, she's in a genial enough mood, but gets cranky at times. It's pretty obvious to this doctor that something is bugging her internally, but while she's doing a great job enunciating words like "bubbles" and "turtle," she can't quite say "my stomach hurts" or "my head is killing me" or whatever it may be.

And so we soldier on... singing silly songs, stroking her hair, telling her we love her even when she's waking up the neighborhood.

I'll post a few pix later tonight.

Sometimes sick, sometimes fine

That about sums up your grandaughter/niece's day so far. She woke up with a pretty normal temp of 99.3, but after an hour of play, she was up to 101.8. Didn't eat much breakfast, but took all her medicine and about 5 oz. of milk. Vomited it all an hour later. Took a 30-minute nap at 9, then went for a stroll to feed the "ducks, ducks, ducks!" Came home, ate like a castaway on a deserted island, and is now taking her afternoon nap. American cheese, about 1/2" of a hot dog, pears and goldfish crackers -- if that comes up, I'll be sure to take a picture.

Just another febrile weekend

Greta spiked a fever every time she fell asleep this weekend, but we didn't let that stop us! Saturday we spent 2+ hours at a local park, navigating the ramp and playing in the sandbox. Sunday we spent with Jay, riding in a double bike trailer and hanging out at his house. She pretty much hated the twin trailer, which made for a short ride. As for the fever, it's the damndest medical malady in our brief parenthood experience. Literally, about two or three hours after she falls asleep her temperature elevates. It was 101.8 once, as high as 103.2 another time. A couple times the fever was accompanied by vomiting. Dose of Motrin and 30 minutes to an hour later she's back to her regular self. Jay's Mom (aka Allison) thinks it's just teething, but the books say that's a wives' tale. Anyway, we'll see if it happens again overnight and if it does, I get to play Mr. Mom tomorrow. Not bad timing, since work is tedious in August anyway, even with multiple wars and terrorist bad guys plotting to do us harm. The photos from the weekend are pretty lame, but here's a link to the 13-shot slideshow.

"Nigh-Night!"

I didn't really believe it until I saw it for myself. It's 11:08 a.m. on Saturday. Carey is at a friend's baby shower, she left about 20 minutes ago. Greta and I played for a bit and then at 11 I simply asked her, "is it time for nigh-night?" She looked at me with her big eyes and said, "nigh-night," then picked up her nearest blanket and walked to the bottom of the stairs, just like Carey's described it to me many times. It really was quite impressive. Now she's dreaming of unicorns.

Pukey morning

Greta vomited her amoxycillin this morning, but I still dropped her off at daycare. Figured I triggered a gag reflex or something. She seemed otherwise happy and healthy. Well, she puked up her breakfast, too, prompting a phone call from daycare. So now Carey's home with her and sends this update:

She ate applesauce, cheerios, and bread and jam for lunch, didn't get sick, and fell asleep about 10 minutes ago. No fuss at all when I put her down for a nap... she had been kind of whiney downstairs and so I asked her, "do you want to get your blanket and take a nap?" She walked to the bottom of the stairs and waited for me to pick her up. I turned on some lullaby music, shut the blinds, gave her a "silky" blanket, and put her in her crib with her baby doll. She rolled onto her stomach, buried her face in the mattress, and said "ni-night." I walked out the room and she was asleep less than two minutes later! I hope she snoozes for at least two hours so I can work on my brief...

Feeding Jinx

Miss G has taken to getting up between 6:15-6:30. She used to "sleep in" until 7. Back in those "good old days," I would wake up with her, change her clothes, play a little, and we'd be in the car around 7:45 to get to daycare for breakfast between 8-8:30. Well, somewhere along the way Greta figured out if she gets up significantly before 7, nine times out of 10 she will be fed two breakfasts. Why? Simply because she's always hungry about 45 minutes after she wakes up. Not hungry like could use a little nosh, but pouty, arch the back, stamp the feet hungry.

Long story short... this morning she had blueberries, a mini-bagel and Strawberry/Kiwi yogurt before we left the house. 90 minutes later, at daycare, she had biscuits and applesauce. And yes, she cleaned her plate both times. Well, Jinx helped a little at home, as you can see.

Daddy forgot...

... that Greta can take the caps off markers. Here she is, sweet and innocent, at 7:30 a.m.:


She was babbling, moving the marker from hand-to-hand, but all with a glint in her eye. So when Daddy bent over to pick up her blanket, pop!, off went the cap:

Mommy, there's a 3" yellow stripe on the duvet cover, but as you can see, the duvet has hints of yellow in it already, so we're good.

Reaching...

One of Greta's favorite things this week is reaching for stuff. Here she is trying to grab Daddy's razor blade or a bottle of bleach. Something dangerous in the bathroom, in any case. I'm trying to teach her the phrase, "tippy-toes," because A) it's not good English, and B) I think it would be funny if she said "tippy," which was my first dog's name, or at least the first dog I can remember.

Tale of the tape

Carey just got back from Greta's 15-month checkup and sent me this e-mail. Thought it was blog-worthy:

Drs appt went ok. She weighed 20 lbs 8.5 oz. 25% for weight. Head circumference remains in the 50%. Length, I think, was 35.5 inches (95%). Dr Nayak is referring us to an allergist. We can call in two days for an appointment. Dr Nayak wanted to check Greta's iron level so they drew a CBC. Horrible experience. But they finally got the quarter-cc they needed. I deserve a medal for wrangling her still while they stuck her and waited for her to bleed. Two shots went fine. She was a trooper. Fell asleep on the way to Ft Meyer and transferred to a cot. I'm the one who is a wreck.

Yankees 6, Orioles 1

Greta made it through two innings, but we're partly to blame because we sat down 30 minutes before the first pitch. Mommy killed another inning with her strolling the upper deck and another couple at the children's play zone near Gate A. So Daddy got to see five innings of his beloved Yankees. The Oriole pitcher was a rookie so the Yankee veterans welcomed him to the majors with four solo home runs. Greta liked it when people clapped and didn't seem to care which team she supported. But we bought her the obligatory cap and I think we created a fan for life. Judge for yourself in the slideshow.

We're baaack II

Photo editing and posting with a new Mac mini computer. Like all things Mac, it's aesthetically beautiful. Nothing but a box, 6.5" wide, 2" tall. Hook up all the peripherals you already have (keyboard, mouse, monitor). Works right out of the box! Very cool. Anyway, we had a great Saturday. Breakfast in the morning at a diner in Old Town, then a stroll through the Friendship Firehouse Festival, where Greta got a red balloon and her first shiny plastic fireman's hat (which she wouldn't wear for a second). In the afternoon, soulmate Jay came over for an hour of splashing in the pool. While hoisting Greta in the air, we finally got a photo of her first tooth, which is about half descended, with the other "upper" coming in right next to it.

Today we're off to Camden Yards in Baltimore to watch the Yankees spank the Orioles, then throwing a BBQ for our long-lost friends Brian & Jenny Bengs, who have moved to the Northeast for the first time in their Air Force career, after two years of exile in Louisiana.

We're baaaacck!!

Well, sorta ... haven't been taking very many photos since the Dell crashed, but I figured out how to upload to the laptop, so we have a couple to share. Greta's home with Mommy today. She has a very runny nose and a nagging cough. Teething, common cold, take your pick. Anyway, some photos ... and our apologies for going dark for a few days.


Cousin Kate gave Greta a book called "Where is Baby's Belly Button?" Each page asks a question, then the child lifts the flap for the answer. We've read it to her since she was an infant, but now, at 15 months, when we say the catch-phrase, she lifts her own shirt to reveal the cutest belly button in the world.


Greta's first Oreo cookie; she is a huge fan.