Where's the fish?

Greta had a mini-tantrum last night because one of her stuffed aquariam friends was not in the fish bowl.


Thank goodness Mommy remembered that Greta had taken the fish upstairs the night before for a bath, thus realigning the planets and making everything right in Greta's world.

Greta's first photo

She snapped this a couple days ago after work while we were horsing around post-bath and pre-bed. We set the digital camera up so it was showing its image through the LCD screen, and then we berated her until she pushed the button. It happened to be pointed towards me at the time, so I'm the lucky subject. Genius, huh?

Bath time = play time

We've moved Greta back into the guest bathroom, after failing to solve the mystery of our leaking bathtub. It hasn't drained into the living room ceiling since July. Two plumbers have looked at it and neither wants to knock down a wall or ceiling if they can't recreate the leak. So Greta gets her tub back until the next flood. And her hair rinsing hat as well. What a smile. If that's not worth the sepia treatment, what is?

Miscellany

Greta dances on command now. We sing: "Dancing, dancing, dancing all around..." And she twirls and twirls and twirls.

She also plays an abbreviated version of "Ring around the Rosie," in which you join hands with her, start to move in a circle, and she immediately, "falls down!"

She's enjoying the occassional trip on my shoulders as well, which pleases me. I have fond memories of riding on my father's shoulders as a kid.

The weekend's over: AHHHHHHHH!!!

Carey snapped this shot on Saturday as Greta was wrapping up her lunch of fruit and cottage cheese. I was running out to get a haircut, so when Carey said, "Daddy's going to get his haircut," Greta promptly put both of her cottage cheesey hands in her hair.

Friends, it's nice to have 'em

Taken with my Motorola "smart" phone. Kinda cool. Mercedes Jane Bengs and Greta Corleen Merrill on a tire swing in Vienna, Va.

Greta's first gallery showing

Write it down, Dad. Greta became a real artist this week, just a couple weeks past 17 months old. Here is the display case at the Ft. Myer Child Development Center:

The two multimedia works on the left and right of the case's corner post are hers. She's obviously working on some sort of series, like Vermeer's portraits of Dutch women. On the left, a closer look at what Greta has called "Tape on... Tape off." Note the precise lines, the symmetry on top and bottom, and the diagonal strip connecting the two, which most certainly represents her belief in the interconnectedness of humanity.

The second piece, below, is a study in contrasts, underscoring the entropy that governs us all. The slashing, bold lines suggest the disorder she witnesses daily at daycare. It too is called "Tape on... Tape off," but I don't think we should criticize her for lack of originality. The flourish of unevenly cut tape on the right of this piece is truly profound.

Let's Make a Mess!

After work today, Greta and I spent a half hour at the playground, where she enjoyed pouring sand from a bucket onto a table, scooping it into her hands, and then letting it fall onto my lap. She was very deliberate in spreading the sand all over the table, and all over me. Not that I minded. She isn't a "sand thrower" and I clean up easy enough.

But she didn't stop there! (Something tells me she's picked up a bad habit from someone at daycare). Tonight's feast was ravioli, cheese, and a banana. Despite repeated, stern, "We don't throw food" comments, at least five ravioli were flung beyond the reaches of her splat mat, accompanied by a diabolical laugh.

Her antics continued post dinner. She went for anything in a container and dumped it out: the train set, legos, shape sorter pieces, and the contents of her picnic backpack. I swore she would have to pick up her toys, but by the time we finished playing with them, it was past bath and bedtime!

Here she is enjoying her mess. Now she is fast asleep, and it is time for Mommy to clean up.

Super busy Sunday!

Woke up at 7, had cereal at home, then went for a bike ride down to the river to feed the duck, duck, ducks! After the bike ride, we walked around the new development behind our house (north, north, north Old Town). Greta enjoyed this spider web, which she thought would also impress her friend Klaus.

Daddy went to his soccer game sans the girls at 11:45. Gorgeous artificial turf outdoor field at a hoity toity high school in the district. We lost 1-0. When I got home, the ladies were out grocery shopping, so I had 20 minutes of football watching over lunch. Can't believe Peter's Giants pulled one out of their ---.

We twittered away the afternoon chasing Greta around the house and preparing to entertain our friends and relative. Aunt Kathy and Jenny Bengs came over, with her two kids and their dog Chelsea. Today was the last day our community pool was open, so they closed it to people at 5 p.m. and let the dogs take over. Greta had a super time watching them leap for tennis balls and shake, shake, shake on the water's edge. Made me want a dog, or at least to drown one of our two cats.

The best photo of the day though is clear. When we left the pool, Sadie Bengs, who is 3, said she wanted to walk Greta home. Most of the day Greta was Mommy's girl, clinging to her like a baby possum. But with the sun setting and her first real pool season behind her, she boldly stepped forward to take Sadie's proffered hand.

Satisfying Saturday

Naturally, after sleeping relatively late (7:30) on Thursday and Friday, Greta woke up at 6:15 today. We were all up by 7 and out the door for breakfast soon after. We've decided Key Elementary School in Arlington has the area's best playground, so we spent about 30 minutes there after our cinnamon raisin bagel. Carey took this nice shot looking down the tunnel slide:

We also caught her in action on the standard slide, which she conquers now without assistance:

When we got home, Mommy thought Greta would enjoy planting mums in the front garden, but her ADHD kicked in, so I whisked her away for a bike ride. She was asleep soon after we turned the corner. We did a 1-hour loop down to the water and then back out to the airport. She snored through it all. After lunch, Carey broke out her latest investment in the Crayola Crayon Co., something called window markers. As you can see from the photos, Greta wasn't convinced that they should be used only on glass. But they wash off easy, and take note, Dad, how pleased she looks with her own artwork.

Daydreaming with Jinx

Greta's love for Jinx -- who she now calls "Mrow, mrow" -- grows daily. She follows him around the house, bends over and makes kissing noises around him, and gently pats him while saying, "Nice, nice." Carey was actually told yesterday that she's starting to pat kids at daycare, too, preferring not to differentiate between animal species. Problem is, the kids sometimes think she's slapping them, so that's a habit we need to nip in the bud.

Greta's art therapy

The gals at daycare helped the kids cope with the fifth anniversary of 9/11 by giving them art supplies to express their grief. Greta created this masterpiece. Obviously, each of the 9 red dots represent about 333 people, which equates to the roughly 3,000 souls who lost their lives that day. The scribbles in the lower left denote the crazy flight plans of the hijacked planes. She did not sign her work, but she did clearly date it 9/11/06.

Developing at the Child Development Center

Here's Greta one minute after dropoff on Tuesday. I interpret the expression one of two ways: 1) Why are you taking a picture of me when you should be holding me? or 2) Here we go, again... when will these people stop trying to cheer me up?

Miss Nancy (not pictured, that's Miss Nouri, not sure of the spelling) reports, however, that Greta is very comfortable in the classroom now. She is calling other kids by name, particularly liking to say, "Kayisha" (again, not sure of the spelling). She reportedly dominates play in the afternoons, post-nap, talking to all the kids, checking out what they are doing but not grabbing their toys too often. In other words, we should be proud and keep writing our $580 monthly check (a pittance, I know, Sara).

Second breakfast

Greta usually tucks into some sort of foodstuff soon after waking... half a mini-bagel, a handful of Cheerios, a banana. That fuels her play for about an hour at home, then we drive to daycare (about 6 miles, 15 minutes) and aim to arrive before 8:30 so she can enjoy her SECOND breakfast. The plan worked perfectly today. Half a bagel and 4 oz. of milk at home, some cat and ball chasing, and daycare arrival at 8:15. Five other kids were already at the table, so I put Greta down and she dutifully walked over to the kid-sized sink and presented her hands for washing. Then she walked over to the counter where they keep the plastic bibs, grabbed a blue one, and led me to the breakfast table. The Queen's position at the end was undoubtedly kept open for her, so she climbed up and grabbed a fistful of English muffin with butter. Didn't crack a smile, of course, but at least she didn't have a tantrum. I left after blowing a kiss and I think I heard Greta say, "Whatever."

Better Late Than Never

Here is the link to our vacation last week. There are three albums: one from our time in Syracuse, and two from South Lake (one album has pictures from Grandpa Jerry's camera).

When the first slideshow ends (91 pictures!), the computer will automatically load the next album, and the next. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!

As you will see from her many smiles, Greta had a very nice time. She laughed so much with her cousins and grandparents. We look forward to seeing everyone over the holidays!

My mini-me

We've told you how everybody thinks Greta is a boy. How we'll dress her up in the pinkest, frilliest dress and the cashier at checkout will ask, "How old is he?" Well, now I have visual proof.

I'm a few years older than Greta in this photo, at least (Mom, how old was I?), but the resemblance is uncanny. Here's hoping that as Greta ages she'll grow into girlhood and find a guy at least as pretty as me, I mean, her.

Mommy, mommy, mommy!

As my Mom & Dad and Carey's Mom already know, that has become Greta's all-purpose distress signal. She says it when she drops her bagel, she says it when Jinx paws at her for pulling her hair, and of course, she says it in the middle of the night when something wakes her up. At first, it was a nice break for me... after all, Daddy wouldn't do if Mommy was being summoned! But now I'm starting to feel a little unloved. This morning Carey left for work just before 7 and Greta watched her go. She sweetly said "bye-bye!" as Carey walked out the door, but then she lost it. 20 minutes of angry protesting ensued. I tried everything -- every soothing voice, every toy, every TV show, every gimmick I know from 16-months of parenting. Nothing worked. It was as if she just needed to get it out of her system.

Thankfully, by 7:30 it was over and we had 15 minutes of genuinely happy playtime before getting in the car to daycare. The good news? She was all cried out when we got there and sat down immediately for breakfast. No smiles for the daycare ladies who try so hard, but at least she didn't pitch a fit.

Summer vacation!

I'm too exhausted to provide much color commentary, but two images from the week sum it up for me. First, my daughter and I appreciating the solitude and peace we will only ever find at South Lake:


Second, there is no feeling on earth that compares with a kiss from your daughter:

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).