WWW

We just returned from a long roundtrip down to Maryland for Dylan's fourth birthday party. We had a wonderful time, but the car trip was unexpectedly long.

Marley may have many great qualities, but she is not the best travel partner. First of all, she doesn't sleep in the car. And not only does she not sleep, she talks the whole time. Except it's not really talking so much as shouting. And she doesn't just shout, she shouts questions and demands.

So after four hours of this shouting, I finally said to Marley: "Listen Marley. If you please be quiet for five minutes, I'll give you a lollipop."

No more than 30 seconds passed before Marley shouted out: "I need help!"

"What do you need help with Marley?"

"With a lollipop," she said.

Not what I had in mind.

If you've read previous blog entries, you know that Hayden knows what her Hebrew name (Chaya) means. So she asked Beth what her Hebrew name (Brina) means.

"I don't know," Beth answered.

"Well, what does 'Hayden' mean?"

"It's a name," Beth said. "It doesn't mean anything."

"Well, I think it means 'Superstar.'" Hayden announced.

And so it is written, so it shall be.

We were watching one of our many Sesame Street DVDs, and this one focused on the alphabet. They were talking about words that start with W.

"What's your favorite W word?" I asked Hayden.

"Hmmm. I don't know," she answered. "Why don't you tell me all of them and I'll decide."

I'm waiting for her to learn to read the dictionary.

Speaking of W words, I got home from work this week and Hayden knew I had been to court since I was uncommonly wearing a suit. She greeted me at the door by saying:

"Daddy, how was court? I hope it was wonderful!"

Not really, but I'm glad to have the support.

And finally, and also speaking of W words, Hayden was watching Diego on TV and asked me what nada means. I told her that they were actually saying de nada, and it means "you're welcome" in Spanish.

She was very excited to start using the term, so she said to me:

"Daddy, de nada to come into my room if you want."

I was confused for a second and then realized that she meant that I was welcome to come into her room.

I was going to correct her, but I didn't know how to say it in Spanish either.

Getting Dressed

Hayden was sitting in her closet, trying to pick out an outfit to wear. This is a process that can stretch on for 20 minutes or more.

Marley, prankster that she is, went to close Hayden's closet door while Hayden was still sitting in it. Hayden yelled in protest and pushed it back open, but Marley kept trying to close it on her.

Sandra came over and asked "Marley, why do you keep closing the door on Hayden in the closet?"

No response from Marley other than looking down at her shoes.

"Marley, answer me. Why do you keep closing the door on Hayden?"

Still no response from Marley.

"Marley, tell me why you keep closing the door on her."

Finally, Marley looks up and says "To keep her safe."

Nice but, of course, dubious.


Beth asked Hayden if she remembered that Dylan's birthday was this weekend.
Hayden said she had forgot and she explained: "I forgot to turn my brain on."


Marley was sitting naked watching tv in our living room one morning when all of a sudden our little 2 and a half year old blurted out, "Jesus Christ, I need to get dressed!"

I'll be expecting a call from the pre-school any day now . . .

Dancing in the Parks

Hayden likes to treat playgrounds not only as playgrounds, but also as her own personal performing spaces/tai chi studios. Here is an example of her impromptu performances, and this was not done for the camera:

And, since Marley loves the camera, she asked to have me record one of her own performances:

Self esteem and an alias

When I found out we were having girls, I became committed to making sure they had healthy self esteem. As this exchange shows, it turns out that I shouldn't have worried:

Me: Hayden, I was looking through old pictures trying to find a picture of Sandra (our wonderful nanny) for her birthday card and I saw lots of pictures of you as a baby. I forgot how smiley, happy and cute you were as a baby.

Hayden: When I was a baby, did you know how pretty I was going to grow up to be?

Me: Well, I did hope that you would grow up to be as pretty as mommy.

Hayden: I'm actually prettier than mommy, you know.

Me: Nobody's prettier than mommy, Hayden.

[short pause]

Hayden: Well, I think I'm prettier than mommy . . .



When Beth or I come home for the last few days, Marley runs to the door and greets us the same way:

"Here comes The Tushie!"

I'm not sure if this is her superhero alter ego, her school nickname, or what. But it's pretty cute.



I took the girls out for Ben & Jerry's one night and we were walking home. Hayden wanted to stop in at Duane Reade and buy a toy or magazine or something and I said no.

Hayden started whining and complaining in a way that was completely disproportionate to the slight she suffered, leading to this exchange:

Me: You know Hayden, I think you girls are spoiled. I give you too much stuff.

[short pause]

Hayden: You know, you really didn't do anything that great.

She instantly took it back, but it was a pretty good point.