doggie dentist

Please don't call Family and Protective Services on us. I swear we're loving parents, but if you look closely into June's toy bins, you might think otherwise. It seems a universal fact of parenthood that despite the fancy music, the blinking lights, and the tremendous developmental benefits that expensive new toy offers your child, they will invariably gravitate back towards the tupperware, the remote control, or in our case, these wonderful items...

Wine cork, beer coasters, a scantily clad hula dancer, a lighter (it's empty!), and a syringe (no needle!)...

Sure, it's just a velcro wallet, but I think you'll agree, it's undoubtedly the most disturbing of June's toys...

I'm thankful that Dan Aykroyd's SNL character, Irwin Mainstay, was a fictional one. I can't help but think that, if it existed, "Johnny Switchblade" would be one of June's favorites.

a throwback

June is fast becoming the Babe Zaharias of our day; she has steadfastly resisted the modern day pressure to "specialize" in a single sport. Despite early comparisons to single-sport stars like World B. Free, Happy Hairston, and Kerri Strug, it appears that she will not allow herself to be pigeon-holed into a life spent solely on the balance beam or the hardwood. And yes, she's already shown signs of a good arm for softball and a strong kick for soccer, but like Babe Zaharias, June is showing promise in some less glamorous sports. For instance...

Yo-yoing...

Bowling. Yesterday was June's first trip to the lanes. She showed skill and charisma reminiscent of Ernie 'Big Ern' McCracken (Kingpin movie reference for those in the dark)...

And this is my personal favorite because it illustrates June's deep respect for her ancestry. My dad was born in Canada and I'm sure he'd be thrilled that his granddaughter is showing an interest in Canada's national pastime: curling. Youth curling leagues appear to be few and far between down here in the South, so we'll just continue sweeping the wood floors until we can get June some ice time.

Long Time

Whoa. That was a long break. For a while we just weren't feeling inspired. Then, for the last week, we've had a whirlwind of houseguests. Here are some highlights from the last 2 weeks:

Chapter 1. June and Aaron at Duke Gardens in Durham


Splashing in a little fountain. What else to do in a fountain?Chapter 2. Cousins from Tennessee

There's something about this that's very 100 years ago to me...I can almost imagine the three of them making the journey over the Appalachian Mountains by train or stagecoach or something to visit us here in North Carolina. As it is, they made the drive in my cousin Lori's red sedan. These are her two kids, Cole, 10, and Paxton, 6. Here they are in goofball mode....


...and in sweetheart mode.

We all had a really swell time together and it was wonderful to get the chance to spend quality time with Lori and the kids. Paxton and June formed a special bond that was characterized by June wanting to do everything Paxton did about a nanosecond after Paxton did it. And Paxton playing with June, picking her up, trying to make her laugh , and so on. Also, herding her, as you see here.
Paxton sat on the steps in the back of the house...and June immediately copied her. The kids decorated Easter cookies, then demolished them in less than 24 hours. June was allowed to have one cookie. She enjoyed it tremendously.



June's intense look. Taken at Elmo's Diner. What would we do without Elmo's? We ate lunch there both days Lori and the kids were here. Very kid friendly, fast service, big menu with lots of healthy and veg options and lots of greasy spoon stuff, too. And my favorite huevos rancheros anywhere. I'm always a little embarrassed to be showing my face there again. Paxton said it was the best grilled cheese ever. See? Elmo's. And my dad is never here an hour before he wants to know when we're going up there. We'd all go hungry without it.
If you're reading this on the northern side of the Mason-Dixon, please don't hate us for the beautiful days we had. Beautiful enough to spend the afternoon outdoors with nothing heavier than a sweatshirt. Paxton made some very beautiful drawings for June. I'll truly be sad when the rain comes again.
Action shot--Cole, Lloyd, and a frisbee. Please ignore the sorry state of our lawn...the only thing I can say in its defense is that it's pesticide- and fertilizer-free. This is what an all natural, zero-effort lawn looks like:
The house was much quieter after Lori and the kids took their energy and their fun back to Knoxville. We were sad to see them go. And it wasn't until after they were gone that I realized I didn't have any pictures of the moms, only the kids. Isn't that how it always goes? Next, Lloyd's mom arrived the day after they left. That post will come soon...

All the Dirt on June

March....time for yard work. Everyone gets dirt worked into the clothes, the treads of shoes, under the nails, everywhere. Truly, June has never been granted the opportunity to get as dirty as she did on this past Sunday.

Here she is helping me in my little raised plot of dirt (today I put in seedlings of mustard greens, spinach, chard, collards, romaine, and bibb lettuce. Check back for a progress report on that). She has her own set of kid-sized garden tools that are still comically out of proportion to her height and require motor skills she hasn't quite mastered.
But she's a determined little lassie, I assure you. She stuck it out with that shovel and moved a few molecules of dirt at a time.
After a while, yard work lost its gleam and it was on to the birdbath, filled to overflowing by the nearly 3 inches of rain we've had in the last week (praise the Lord. It's been a dry, dry time down here, in case you haven't heard). Here's an action shot: splash!
More exploration....
So, June has gotten funny about having any article of clothing taken off; she wouldn't let me either take off or straighten her hat. We're getting pretty good at just going with it. More difficult is when her clothing opinions extend to what I want to wear...I have 2 pairs of shoes that I can't wear around her because she just totally flips out.
Dirty....muddy.....wet.....happy....
....ditto.....
Here's an old favorite, the rain gauge. A wonderful little gadget to take apart and reassemble.
We didn't get all that much work done, but we got very dirty and we were very happy. That is, we were happy until the time came to strip off all those wet, dirty clothes. That's when the tears got going (I'm telling you, she's just funny about that, and most of all about the shoes! Don't try to take off her shoes!). Oh well; she's still a sweet pickle through and through.

June Louise: toddler, trash collector, good neighbor

These are the items June collected and handed to me during our ramble at East Campus this afternoon--some exceptionally interesting trash:
to wit: a wrapper, both sides of a bubble tape dispenser (surely you're thinking the same thing I am--they still make that?), the bottom of a red plastic cup (oh tattered red plastic cup, what a tale of collegiate debauchery you could tell), and some other odds and ends. Not pictured: twigs, acorns, old dead brown leaves, and dirt worked so far under June's fingernails I thought maybe it might enter right into the bloodstream. Also not pictured is the storm grate that was the source of much curiosity and many delighted squeals.

* * * * * * *

This is a special aside to our friends in northern places: here is a little glimpse of what is soon to come. I know, it must not feel like it sometimes, but it is coming. And though you probably envy us our four consecutive mid-60's-to-70-degree days, we will pay our dues come July and August, trust me. I'll post some more photos then, when the world is brown and parched and yet, paradoxically, oppressively humid, and every living thing is suffering with heat fatigue. But for now, it's all birds singing, swelling buds on the branches of every tree, and that unutterably delicious feeling of possibility. Some harbingers:
1. Pansies
2. Daffodils

with the fellas

Adrienne's parents are in town, so yesterday while Adrienne and her mom went shopping, June got to spend an afternoon with her grandpa and me. My attempts at giving June a yogurt for a snack failed miserably, but we managed to make it out the door in good spirits as we continued June's tour of Durham's playgrounds. June's first trip to this particular playground came only a few days ago. It's modest in size but absolutely perfect for a kid her age; any playground that doesn't require my constant hovering for fear of her plummeting off the side of the jungle-gym is a winner in my book.

Some photos from the swing. She had many a giggle with Grandpa.

I knew feeding time was soon for the farm animals at the Museum of Life and Science, so we made a quick exit from the playground and made the short journey to the museum.

At feeding time, which followed shortly after the pictures above were taken, the kids were given handfuls of hay to throw into the stalls of the goats, the sheep, and the donkey. June was having a blast, but as the saying goes, "it's all fun and games until a kid gets stabbed in the eye with a piece of straw." That kid, unfortunately, was June. She was absolutely fine, but the tears flowed for several minutes. We regrouped, played on the museum's playground for a short while, and then we headed for home. I think Junie liked her afternoon with the guys; I know we enjoyed spending it with her.