August

The last full month of summer passed quickly, but that doesn't mean we let it pass us by. I had about three weeks off work in August, and we spent much of the time on adventures both near and far. We even decided to pull Madeline out of her final two-week session of summer school so we could spend our days together before the regular school year begins in September.

Aside from her abiding fascination with everything related to space, Madeline also loved running this month. She would velcro on her running shoes and just take off, running laps through the house or running circles around its perimeter on nice days. Madeline also loves cooking in her little kitchen - a present from Santa a couple years ago - and spends lots of time coming up with exotic concoctions of imaginary spices and fruits, some of which actually sound tasty.

Speaking of her imagination, Madeline has a couple well-developed imaginary companions - Daley (a girl) and Morrow (a boy). They have their own complex families and relationships, and also their own homes, which Madeline assures me are close to ours even though she often points to central Africa when locating them on the globe. While she doesn't talk to them, she often talks about them, using them in her own way to make sense of larger ideas and concepts. Frequently she'll bring them up in conversation with other people, talking about their exploits as easily and confidently as she would mention an actual occurrence she witnessed with her own eyes.

Here are some pictures from the month:

After briefly visiting the playground at the local park, Madeline loves hitting the baseball diamond, where she just runs . . .

and runs . . .

and runs.

Madeline and Granddad engrossed in some playground conversation on a lazy summer morning.

One of our many activities this month was visiting the children's garden at Lewis Ginter. Madeline loved playing in the kid-sized houses.

She also liked tidying the natural accouterments that cluttered the structures and then sweeping the concrete floors.

But the highlight of the visit - even more exciting than climbing a tree or walking through the maze or running to the top of the treehouse - was playing in the sprinklers at the children's garden.

Papa John delivers a rocket to the young slugger, who, with the support of Grandma's steady presence, knocked it out of the park, or at least well into the driveway.

Another of August's adventures was a trip to the Science Museum. They had an expansive space-themed display that kept Madeline rapt, but she got some hands-on experience in the science lab upstairs, where she viewed some pond life under the microscope.

Madeline and Mommy check out the train engine at the science museum. Trains are also high on Madeline's list of excitement-inducing subjects.

Not all of our fun was had away from home - I built Madeline an amazing fort (if I do say so myself) in the living room. She gathered some stuffed friends and read - you guessed it - space books.

Probably the highlight of the month was our trip to Maryland to visit with some relatives - Claudia and Jared - who both happen to study space professionally. Madeline was in heaven discussing facts and ideas about the solar system, reading new books about space, and watching technical videos of the Mars exploration rovers. Oh, and we also spent a morning at Great Falls National Park, checking out the amazing falls of the Potomac.

While we were in Maryland, we visited the National Aquarium in Baltimore. We had a great day and saw tons of sea life - from sharks to seahorses - but I accidentally left behind my camera!

At Great Falls, Madeline built up the nerve to sit atop Molly the Mule.

The last adventure of the month was Hurricane Irene. The storm left us plenty of debris to clean up, and also took our power for a few days. We made the most of the situation and Madeline was pretty understanding about it, but we were still happy when the lights finally flickered back to life.

From the archives

I'm not sure why this video was never posted. I know I'm biased, but watching this today made me a little nostalgic - it's cute and it made me chuckle. It was recorded on Nov. 16, 2009, when Madeline was about 21 months old. You just have to ignore the nonstop leafblowers and dog barking - the prices we pay for living in the suburbs.

July

The big, wonderful news from July is that we're finally diaper free! After her success from last month, it was only another week or so before she said she was ready to not wear a diaper to bed. So she didn't, and hasn't had any issues since then.

Otherwise we've had a fun month. Madeline spent two weeks in preschool summer camp and the other two at home with me during the week. We had lots of fun together, and now that preschool's out for the rest of the summer we have a long list of fun summer activities to keep us busy through August.

Madeline has been great this month. It's been a long and gradual process, but the 'tude she was so good at wielding during her late-1s and 2s has subsided. It's not that she was a bad kid, obviously, but we now know that the Terrible Twos is not just a myth. But the last few months have just been, well, easier. She's still having some trouble at bedtime, but from what I've heard that's a pretty common issue with kids her age. But we've even been making progress there in the past week or two.

Something that hasn't subsided is Madeline's interest in all things space. She's still acquiring an encyclopedic mastery of information about the planets and the solar system. As a tangent to that, she's also becoming familiar with global geography. I got a 12-inch globe earlier this year, thinking she would find it interesting. Sure enough, she can spend a long time checking it out and describing to her dolls where certain countries are located and where imaginary people live. She knows some real things, too - like where we live and the locations of Australia, China, the Equator, the north and south poles and, oddly, Namibia.

Here are some pictures from the month:

Madeline participated in a July Fourth pageant at her preschool. After observing the first song or two, she actually participated in later numbers, both vocally and physically.

She enjoyed getting decked out in her red, white and blue accessories for the occasion.

Madeline tried out the hula hoop at a neighborhood picnic.

After our original Brian the Goldfish didn't make it past the first night last month, we got a new one. Happily, he's still thriving a month later.

Madeline and Papa share a story.

Madeline was so excited about the annual summer visit from our cousins. So excited that cousin Noah started feeling a little, um, crowded.

Much of the visit was spent playing in the backyard with the soccer ball and the swingset. Fun was had by all.

Madeline and Mommy got to enjoy a quiet kayak ride together on the neighborhood lake.

Madeline and cousin Caleb enjoyed creating many gustatory delights in Madeline's kitchen.

Madeline points out the location of some imaginary friend's house on the globe.

To help foster Madeline's love of space, I pulled out the telescope for her to check out. Of course, it's hard to see much of space during the daytime, and it doesn't get dark until an hour after she's in bed for the night, and she doesn't even know how to close one eye to peek through the viewfinder. But maybe this winter when the days are shorter we'll have a chance to see some celestial objects together.




Madeline burns off a little energy during the lull between bathtime and bedtime.

June

Madeline has had an exciting month, passing a pretty huge milestone along the road to becoming a "big girl." Since that milestone involves potties and bodily functions, I won't go into too much detail here. She's been mostly autonomous when it comes to No. 1 for almost a year, but this month she finally gained the courage to complete No. 2 on the regular potty, completely unassisted.

We had been offering her various rewards for months, if she would only give it a shot, but she was never interested. About a week ago she suddenly decided she was ready, and for the next several days, as she repeated her feat, Mommy and Daddy were paying up on all the promises and bribes that had been made previously. Madeline got ice cream at night three days in a row, and after the first five days we were off to the pet store to buy her very first goldfish (see picture below).

Otherwise we've had a fun month. Madeline and I have been making the most of our days together since preschool let out for the summer. She'll be attending a few sessions of summer camp, but otherwise it's her and me on the weekdays for much of the summer. As we play she's blowing me away with her skills in counting, the alphabet and puzzle-assembling. For example, she picked up one of her calendar magnets and read the letters to me quickly and flawlessly - "O-C-T-O-B-E-R. Daddy, what does that spell?" She can count objects in a line up to 12.

And I am frequently struck how caring and perceptive she is. We certainly don't try to perpetuate any gender stereotypes around her, but she is definitely a little girl in that regard. She is very nurturing and empathetic - to her parents, to her dolls and even to her classmates at preschool.

And I think she's finally found her first major interest - space. Suddenly she loves everything that has to do with outer space, and we and her babysitter have been doing what we can to facilitate her knowledge. She has many library books on the subject, and she can name all the planets and recite characteristics of each one. She's learning about the solar system and galaxies, planets and moons. But she's not going overboard - her career choice at this point is to be the "space master," or the person that teaches other people how to go into space. She doesn't quite have the desire to become an astronaut herself. After all, it's pretty dark out there.

Here are some pictures from the month:

Madeline helped Mommy with some planting in our yard. She loves helping with chores around the house, particularly when it involves digging in the dirt.

Madeline got a chance to steer the pride of Deltaville, the buyboat F.D. Crockett, (with the help of her Papa) during a relaxing cruise on the river.

What would summer afternoons be without a sprinkler in the backyard?

And what's the fun of a sprinkler in the backyard if you don't sit on it at some point?

One one of our weekday outings, Madeline and I attended a kids art class at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art. Madeline got to learn about the artistic process, see real art in the museum, and even make some of her own.

Madeline enjoys feeding bread to the geese and ducks that wander up to the porch at her great-grandparents' home.

Lots of fathers and Madeline got together on Fathers Day to celebrate four generations.

As I mentioned above, one of Madeline's rewards for her potty prowess was her very own goldfish. The one pictured here did not actually survive the first 24 hours, but we got a new one that has been thriving for the week since we brought him home. Madeline chose the name Brian.

Madeline has been upping her game in the swimming pool, fearlessly jumping off the side to whoever is waiting below, and even floating all by herself for the very first time.

May

It's been a fun and eventful month for us, with a strikingly successful weeklong vacation and the culmination of Madeline's first year of preschool.

For the vacation, we went camping in the woods of western North Carolina for five days before spending another couple days exploring Winston-Salem. Madeline had a great time and was a good sport as we faced chilly temperatures, sleeping in tents, hiking in the mountains and avoiding rainstorms. She's old enough to be a participant in the family vacation, rather than the baby that we pack up and take with us. During the trip she even crossed another state off her highest-point list when we crested N.C.'s highest peak - Mt. Mitchell (she scaled Virginia's Mt. Rogers in 2009).

The camping was much better this time than previous times we've had her in the forest. She loved hiking (most of the time), enjoyed playing around the campsite and even went to bed in the tent with very little trouble. The best part was taking her to see waterfalls. Sometimes we would need to hike through a half-mile or more of bland scenery, and she would become recalcitrant. But when the forest suddenly revealed a crashing waterfall, she was filled with awe and happiness. It was fun to watch that transformation and sit back as she explored the rocks and roots of the trail.

Otherwise, my little girl continues to grow and grow, adding a solid 3/4-inch to her height in the past couple months. She finished up her first year of preschool and will be attending a few 2-week sessions of summer camp over the next three months. We wanted her to remain familiar with the preschool environment, which she has really enjoyed this year. She's made several friends in her class and is looking forward to the summer sessions.

Here are some pictures from the month:
On our vacation, the campsite was right next to a river, where Madeline enjoyed tossing rocks into the water.

During the trip, Madeline got more and more confident about climbing and exploring, and loved checking out the waterfalls.


Madeline was a bit grumpy on the summit of Mt. Mitchell (the highest point in the eastern U.S.). Despite that, Madeline was still the highest person in the eastern U.S. for a couple seconds - with a little assist from Lacey.

The mornings in the N.C. woods were brisk, but Madeline warmed up with oatmeal and hot chocolate (and lots of layers).

Madeline found a new love - rolling down a grassy hill outside the Folk Art Center near Asheville.

Madeline made the almost mile-long ascent up the steep trail to the overlook of Linville Falls all by herself. She was happy to be hiking, and I was very proud. We took this hike on my birthday, and I couldn't have asked for much more than to be out there, hiking with Lacey and Madeline.

Madeline discovered some natural anomaly near our campsite and found it very humorous.

During a stop in Old Salem (in Winston-Salem), Madeline burned off some extra energy by running back and forth to the pole in the distance several times while Lacey and I lounged in the grass.

Back at home, Madeline collected wild strawberries in the back yard.

Madeline surprised me a bit with the rapidity with which she assembled her new 18-piece Dora puzzle, without any help at all.

We continue to spend as much time as possible outside, although it got pretty warm and humid this month.

Madeline flips through her preschool yearbook to find pictures of herself and her friends.

On her last day of preschool, Madeline brought home tons of artwork and a special book given to her from her teachers.

Madeline enjoyed a family cookout at Aunt Amy's house on Memorial Day.

Madeline joined me at Robious Landing Park as we scoped out the site of my upcoming triathlon. Here she gives me an enthusiastic, two-handed wave.

April

Our love of the outdoors turned on us this month, as the crazy pollen drove us indoors with sniffles and sore throats (did you know Richmond is the eighth-worst city for allergy sufferers?). But we spent as much time outside as we could stand, and spent the rest involved in sundry springtime activities (like cleaning).

Madeline had a fun month, and we got to see her interact with her preschool classmates during a pre-Easter class trip to a local playground. Madeline is pretty quiet in class, but usually has a hug and a goodbye for her friends, and plenty of stories to tell about her day as we drive home. It's fun to see those blossoming childhood friendships since Madeline has largely been an at-home kind of kid for the majority of her life. I've seen her get a little nervous around the more rambunctious kids, but also sweetly interacting with others in class or elsewhere.

Here are some pictures from the month:

In addition to planting our own vegetables this year, Madeline enjoyed harvesting some of the natural specimens in the backyard - namely the bunches of onions that sprouted everywhere. She also liked sending them down the sliding board on her new swingset.

That's my daughter, dressed in her fairy outfit - complete with homemade tiara - as she played soccer in the back yard.

Hanging out at Rockwood Park, where we made several trips this month to play on the exercise trail.

We made a stop at the beach near Grandma's house, and Madeline didn't waste any time making herself comfortable in the sand.

Madeline was almost obsessed with pollen this month, never failing to walk past a single, um, pollen conveyor (what are those things called?).
Madeline's preschool class spent a beautiful Friday morning at a local playground for a pre-Easter picnic.

Madeline shows me some of the Easter eggs she helped decorate...

including my favorite, which she made just for me.

I don't know if she has been practicing when I'm not looking, but suddenly Madeline can ride a tricycle like crazy. She loves making laps in the driveway.